【推荐1】阅读理解。

There are probably no people on Earth who like to gossip (说闲话) as much as the British. If prying into other’s lives were an Olympic sport, then Team GB would surely take the gold medal.

And when the British can’t watch the lives of real people with glee, they have another source of entertainment to fall back on—the soap opera. British soap operas are very different to US TV dramas. For one, they are normally longer running. The two most popular, Coronation Street and Eastenders, have been running for 48 and 24 years respectively. Both are broadcast several times a week, so remarkably there have been more than 7,000 episodes of Coronation Street.

The most obvious difference is that, unlike US dramas, the British soap operas focus on the real world. There is little glamour, the stars are rarely rich, and they normally have boring jobs. Perhaps the appeal is that the lives of the characters often mirror the lives of the audience—but with some drama added. This means the viewer can relate to the characters and feel the pain and happiness they go through on the show.

Because these soap operas last for decades, the cast is ever changing. The shows rarely focus on one or two main characters. Like the real world, people come and go all the time. However, there are exceptions. Coronation Street’s William Roach, 76, has played the role of Ken Barlow since the very first episode of the show in 1960, and he is still a regular.

The choice of which soap opera you follow is often cultural: People from the north of British tend to watch Coronation Street as it is set in Manchester. People from the south generally prefer Eastenders, which is set in the east of London. The show is generally considered grittier and is aimed at a younger audience.

1. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A．British people like to know things about other people.

B．British team can get Olympic gold medals.

C．What is British soap opera.

D．People in the north like different things from the people in the south.

2. What is the main difference between American dramas and British soap operas?

A．American dramas are longer.

B．British soap operas are longer.

C．American dramas deal with dangerous things.

D．British soap operas deal with real people.

3. Why do British people like to watch such operas?

A．They can find their own life from the operas.

B．They can enjoy the operas in their free time.

C．They can watch the operas for many years.

D．They care about the fate of the characters in the operas.

4. The underlined word “episodes” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.

A．plays	B．pages
C．issues	D．parts

5. One characteristic of British operas is that ________.

A．the characters play the same role for a long time

B．the characters in the play often change

C．people don’t know what will happen next

D．there is only one or two characters in them

【推荐2】The long-running Detective Conan (名侦探柯南) has a strong fan base on Asian TV today.

Detective Conan tells a story about a gifted high school student detective who turns into a young boy after he is forced to take a poison. He attends a primary school and together with detective Kogoro Mouri and his daughter Ran, Conan helps the police solve difficult mysteries.

Since1994, the comic (连环漫画) has grown up with the generation of 1980s and become an indispensable part of their childhood memory. Another well-loved series is coming back—Slam Dunk. The basketball-themed manga (动漫) from 1990 to 1996 is also a fond memory from childhood.

Many people said, “Now the basketballers are coming back, and so is the little detective boy. For a moment, I thought I was turning back the clock.”

Most people can relate with the two comic series because both of them attach importance to (重视) common values that we have when we were children.

The main characters in Slam Dunk are growing up and struggling with their dreams. There are courage, friendship and intelligence in Detective Conan. The return of the comic is a chance to remember who we once were.

It wasn’t until we were adults that we realized the world wasn’t what it looked like in comics. Time flies, but the young man we admire will always stay young.

1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．The duty of a detective.	B．The mystery of the police
C．The importance of childhood.	D．The content of Detective Conan.

2. What does the underlined word “indispensable” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Incorrect.	B．Frightening.
C．Necessary.	D．Unfortunate.

3. What is the similarity between Detective Conan and Slam Dunk?

A．They are European comics.

B．They are not popular with children.

C．They attach importance to adults’ life.

D．They focus on children’s common values.

4. From which is the text probably taken?

A．A TV review (评论).	B．A biology report.
C．A healthy magazine.	D．A travel guidebook.

【推荐3】In order to help customers find what they want quickly, it’s important to keep the thousands of titles in the Main Street Movies store organized properly. This section of the Employee Handbook will tell you how to organize videos.

Each Main street Movies store has three main sections:

.1.New Releases Wall.
.2.Film library.
.3.Video Games.
New Releases Wall. Almost 70 percent of movie rentals are new releases, and that is the first place where most customers go when they enter the store. The center section of shelves on this wall holds Hottest Hits. When new titles come into the store, place them on this wall in alphabetical order. The shelves beside Hottest Hits are called Recent Releases. The New Releases Wall, including the Hottest Hits and Recent Releases shelves, holds about 350 titles.

Film Library. The thousands of titles in the Film Library are organized into categories. The films within each category are displayed alphabetically. Here are the categories and their two-letter computer codes:

AC	Action	DR	Drama	HO	Horror
CH	Children	FA	Family	MU	Music
CO	Comedy	FL	Foreign Language	SC	SCIENCE Fiction

Foreign Language titles include films that were originally made in a foreign language and films with foreign language subtitles. A sticker on the back of each box tells which type of film it is.

Video Game. All the video games in Main street Movies are arranged in alphabetical order. Although video games represent only a small percentage of our inventory(库存), they are stolen more often than any other type of goods in our store. Therefore, video games are never displayed on the shelves. Shelves in the Video Game section hold cardboard with pictures and information about each game. When a customer wants to rent a particular game, you then find the game from the locked case behind the counter.

1. Whom do you think this passage is most probably addressed to?

A．The readers in the store.

B．The manager of the store.

C．The customers in the store.

D．The salespersons of the store.

2. In which order are the new movies moved in the store?

A．From Hottest Hits to Film Library to Recent Releases.

B．From Film Library to Hottest Hits to Recent Releases.

C．From Recent Releases to Film Library to Hottest Hits.

D．From Hottest Hits to Recent Releases to Film Library.

3. Why can’t video games be seen on the shelves?

A．Because they’ve been sold out.

B．Because they’re in the storehouse.

C．Because they’re in a locked case behind the counter.

D．Because they represent a small percentage of the inventory.

4. How can a customer find a film with foreign language subtitles?

A．Check the computer.

B．Look at the back of the box.

C．Check the center section.

D．Watch a few minutes of the film.

【推荐1】Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

LT123 Workshops

“I’m pleased to say that 2015 is our third year sponsoring the IATEFL information desk. This year, we are running three workshops covering some of the key areas of our wide-ranging special skills: testing, editing and vocabulary. We hope to see you.”

—— Russell Whitehead Director

Vocabulary testing: why, what and how?     By Felicity O’ Dell & Russell Whitehead
Saturday 11^th April 3:50-4:35 pm       Charter 4

Should vocabulary be one of the language features that we test and, if so, why? What vocabulary and what aspects of vocabulary should we focus on in our tests? What methods can we use to test vocabulary?

We will discuss answers to these questions, considering the strengths and weaknesses of different types of vocabulary test for different teaching contexts.

There’s something missing from your project - the editor!     By David Baker & Fiona MacKenzie
Sunday 12 April     10:25-11:10 am     Charter 8

Big publishing companies no longer offer the single route to publication. Whether you are self-publishing, a teaching institution developing its own materials, or a digital start-up, in a highly competitive environment it isn’t enough to write something and just put it out there.

Quality still matters - you can’t afford to forget one of the key roles in successful publishing.

Vocabulary levels: which words are at which level?     By Stephen Bullon.
Monday 13th April 1:35-2:20 pm     Charter 8

While students develop their competence in the four skills and in their ability to master grammatical structures, they are together building their vocabulary.

We will try to establish the standards involved in selecting appropriate vocabulary at the various levels students pass through: frequency, teaching requirements, and register are all factors that need to be weighed in the balance.

LT123 is the new name for Language Testing 123, and we are proud sponsors of the 49^th Annual.

International IATEFL Conference and Exhibition.

Manchester, April 2015.

1. To help improve vocabulary teaching and testing, the workshops will focus on ________.

A．how to employ more scientific methods in vocabulary testing

B．how to test vocabulary as the most important language feature

C．what advanced standards to set for the students of different levels

D．what to be concentrated on rather than four basic language skills

2. From this handout we can know that ________.

A．the audience are editors in the field of language teaching

B．the director of LT123 will be talking in one of the workshops

C．some publishing companies will sponsor similar workshops soon

D．each workshop lasts 45 minutes in the same meeting room

3. What is the purpose of this handout?

A．To sell newly published books on language testing.

B．To get the audience informed of the events

C．To show the breakthrough in vocabulary teaching.

D．To attract the attention of the host of 2015 IATEFL.

【推荐2】Events Long March exhibit

The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of the Long March. On show are more than 220 photos and 40 items that explain with pictures how the communist Red Army drew back from its besieged ( 被围困的) bases in Jiangxi Province and fought its way to northern Shanxi province in the mid-1930s. Explanations are all in Chinese. The show will end on November 20.

Time: 10:00 am—4:00 pm.

Address: 1286 Hongqiao Road

Admission: 8 yuan for Chinese/ 15 yuan for foreigners

Thai elephants

Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes, playing basketball, balancing on a beam, dancing and blowing a mouth-organ. People are encouraged to have a tug-of-war (拔河比赛) with the animals or lie on the ground and have the elephants walk over them. The elephants give three shows a day at 9:30 am, 3:30 pm and 8:00 pm and there is an additional show at 1:30 pm at weekends. The show will end on November 15.Address: 189 Daduhe Road

Admission: 30-40 yuan

Dancing dolphins

Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball, swaying their bodies to music, kissing people and solving math by tapping their tails have made the dolphinarium in Peace Park an attraction for children. Seals and sea lions also perform.

Hours: 10:30 am, 4:00 pm, and 7:30 pm

Admission: 20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children.

1. If you go to visit the Long March exhibit with an Australian, how much will you pay altogether for the admission?

A．16 yuan	B．20 yuan
C．30 yuan	D．23yuan

2. At the exhibition, you will see ________.

A．many articles written by famous writers

B．many things left by the Red Army

C．books on the Long March

D．many photos and pictures about the Long Match.

3. Which of the following is NOT done by the Thai elephants?

A．Doing math	B．Blowing a mouth-organ
C．Riding bicycles.	D．Having a tug-of-war with people.