LONDON — British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Wednesday that boycotting the Beijing Olympic Games is not the right path to take.
“We are ever excited about prospects for the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing,” Miliband said in an interview with Chinese reporters in London before his visit to China.
“Everything we have seen and read suggests that preparations are proceeding in an excellent way. We very much look forward to a very successful Olympics, successful for China and successful for the world. We certainly believe that boycotts are not a right way,” he said.
“China has big responsibilities around the world. We are looking forward to working with the Chinese government to ensure the values of stability, security and social justice. And only today I spoke with (Chinese Foreign Minister) Yang about our joint work that could help the situation in Darfur. And the Chinese envoy (特使) to Darfur is in London today, that sort of engagement is the right way to go and boycotts are not the right way,” Miliband said.
“The prime minister (Gordon Brown) is determined to represent the whole of the country with his attendance to the Games,” he added.
Miliband expressed his high regard to the bilateral (双边的) relations between Britain and China. “I can’t think about a time that our relations are stronger, that is symbolized by the visit of the prime minister to China last month but also by cultural events like China now going on in Britain.”
British people are fascinated by the changes and improvements going on in China, and are trying to build bridges between the two nations, the foreign secretary said.
“Both our countries are challenged by the facts of globalization. Economic and social changes are producing challenges for both the societies, challenges about security and stability, challenges about justice, challenges about environment, and the theme of my visit is how our two countries can work together and learn from each other in adapting to these challenges,” the secretary told Chinese reporters.
1. According to the British Foreign Secretary, the right way to deal with China is ________.| A．to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games |
| B．to support the Beijing Olympic Games |
| C．to send the Prime Minister to attend the Beijing Olympic Games |
| D．to work together with China |
| A．Globalization is a challenge |
| B．Both countries face many different challenges |
| C．Britain wants to work together with China to face challenges |
| D．Britain wants to learn from China to face challenges |
| A．China and Britain enjoy a good relationship |
| B．Boycotts of Olympics are not the right path |
| C．Beijing Olympic Games will be successful |
| D．Foreign Secretary speaks highly of China |
相似题推荐
——By Andrea Beaty
32 pages, US $ 15.95
This book is the classic oddball (古怪的人) story about a kid whose head teacher does not recognize his great talent ( he makes buildings out of anything at hand, including table cloths, fruit and chalk) until it saves her life.
Book 2: The Chicken—Chasing Queen of Lamar County
——By Janice N. Harrington
40 pages, US $ 16.00
Our character here loves to run after chickens, particularly Miss Hen, who’s very fat. But, as all farming folk know, this is not a good way to produce happy, productive chickens. What will make her change her ways? The author is a professional storyteller and this book is full of fun, and has great illustrations (插图) .
Book 3: Diary of a Fly
——By Doreen Cronin
40 pages, US $ 15.99
This is the diary of a fly. A fly who, when she’s not landing on your head or swimming in your soup, is trying to escape her 327 brothers and sisters who are driving her crazy. Even though she’s little—just like her best friends, Worm and Spider—she wants to be a superhero. This is the story of a little fly who’s not afraid to dream really big.
Book 4：Cherry and Olive
——By Benjamin Lacombe
32 pages, US $ 16.95
Children’s books can quickly take little readers into new worlds, such as the big city, 1930s Georgia, or outer space. This book takes us on a little trip to some European capitals. Cherry is fat and likes books, and she has few friends until she meets a stray Shar—Pei puppy (迷途的沙皮犬) . She names it Olive. Through it she finds confidence and friendship. But what will happen when its owner returns?
1. In book 2, the character__________.
| A．can make buildings out of anything |
| B．is a kid who likes to play tricks on teachers |
| C．keeps lots of chickens |
| D．likes to run after chickens |
| A．Lazy and proud. | B．Stupid and funny. |
| C．Brave and courageous. | D．Loyal and honest. |
| A．Strange students are mentioned in Book 1 and Book 3. |
| B．Book 4 introduces lots of farm animals. |
| C．A fly is a superhero on outer space in Book 2. |
| D．Book 1 is the cheapest of the four books. |
| A．Benjamin Lacombe |
| B．Janice N. Harrington |
| C．Andrea Beaty |
| D．Doreen Cronin |
【推荐2】Not so long ago, most people didn’t know who Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was going to become. She was just an average high school athlete. There was every indication that she was just another Jamaican teenager without much of a future. However, one person wants to change this. Stephen Francis observed then eighteen-year-old Shelly-Ann at a track meet and was convinced that he had seen the beginning of true greatness. Her times were not exactly impressive, but even so, he sensed there was something trying to get out, something the other coaches had overlooked when they had assessed her and found her lacking. He decided to offer Shelly-Ann a place in his very strict training sessions. Their cooperation quickly produced results, and a few years later at Jamaica’s Olympic trails in early 2008, Shelly Ann, who at that time only ranked number 70 in the world, beat Jamaica’s unchallenged queen of the sprint (短跑).
“Where did she come from?” asked an astonished sprinting world, before concluding that she must be one of those one-hit wonders that spring up from time to time, only to disappear again without signs. But Shelly Ann was to prove that she was anything but a one-hit wonder. At the Beijing Olympic she swept away any doubts about her ability to perform consistently by becoming the first Jamaican woman ever to win the 100 meters Olympic gold. She did it again one year on at the World Championship in Berlin, becoming world champion with a time of 10.73 — the fourth fastest ever.
Shelly-Ann is a little woman with a big smile. She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance. Her journey to becoming the fastest woman on earth has been anything but smooth and effortless. She grew up in one of Jamaica’s toughest inner-city communities known as Waterhouse, where she lived in a one-room apartment, sleeping four in a bed with her mother and two brothers. Waterhouse, one of the poorest communities in Jamaica, is a really violent and overpopulated place. Several of Shelly-Ann's friends and family were caught up in the killings; one of her cousins was shot dead only a few streets away from where she lived. Sometimes her family didn’t have enough to eat. She ran at the school championships barefooted because she couldn’t afford shoes. Her mother Maxime, one of a family of fourteen, had been an athlete herself as a young girl but, like so many other girls in Waterhouse, had to stop after she had her first baby. Maxime’s early entry into the adult world with its responsibilities gave her the determination to ensure that her kids would not end up in Waterhouse's roundabout(循环) of poverty. One of the first things Maxime used to do with Shelly-Ann was taking her to the track, and she was ready to sacrifice everything.
It didn't take long for Shelly-Ann to realize that sports could be her way out of Waterhouse. On a summer evening in Beijing in 2008, all those long, hard hours of work and commitment finally bore fruit. The barefoot kid who just a few years previously had been living in poverty, surrounded by criminals and violence, had written a new chapter in the history of sports.
But Shelly-Ann’s victory was far greater than that. The night she won Olympic gold in Beijing, the routine murders in Waterhouse and the drug wars in the neighbouring streets stopped. The dark cloud above one of the world’s toughest criminal neighbourhoods simply disappeared for a few days. “I have so much fire burning for my country,” Shelly said. She plans to start a foundation for homeless children and wants to build a community centre in Waterhouse. She hopes to inspire the Jamaicans to lay down their weapons. She intends to fight to make it a woman’s as well as a man’s world.
As Muhammad Ali puts it, “Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire, a dream, a vision.” One of the things Shelly-Ann can be proud of is her understanding of this truth.
1. What did the sprinting world think of Shelly-Ann before the 2008 Olympic Games?| A．She would become a promising star. |
| B．She badly needed to set higher goals. |
| C．Her sprinting career would not last long. |
| D．Her talent for sprinting was known to all. |
| A．Her success and lessons in her career. |
| B．Her interest in Shelly-Ann’s quick profit. |
| C．Her wish to get Shelly-Ann out of poverty. |
| D．Her early entrance into the sprinting world. |
| A．She was highly rewarded for her efforts. |
| B．She was eager to do more for her country. |
| C．She became an athletic star in her country. |
| D．She was the envy of the whole community. |
| A．The Making of a Great Athlete |
| B．The Dream for Championship |
| C．The Key to High Performance |
| D．The Power of Full Responsibility |
【推荐3】A pacer is someone who runs in races or marathons to help set the pace for runners. There are different types of pacers. A race pacer usually carries a sign highlighting a specific competition time for a race. He helps runners reach their goals without relying on technology, such as a smart watch or GPS. Professional pacers are used in long-distance races. They run at different sections of the race to inspire runners. A record pacer helps a professional runner set a new record, who often leads the race for a predetermined distance at a predetermined pace.
A runner being paced runs directly following a pacer. Having a pacer can be helpful for a long-distance runner because researches show that it takes more energy to lead in a race all through the race than to follow another runner. The pacer takes on the responsibility of timing and establishing the pace so the runner only has to focus on his own running. Having a pacer as a guide in a long race can take some of the stress and pressure off by keeping an even pace. The pacer may also provide encouragement along the way to work towards the goal.
There are times, though, when running with a pacer can be more stressful than beneficial for a runner — especially for amateur runners. Not having taken professional training, you set a goal to run a particular pace, but then you realize this may not be the best speed for you. In some cases, the pacer is running too quickly for what you can stand. Other times, you could misjudge your abilities and run a slower pace than what your body can bear.
It is important to note that you don’t have to stay with a pacer just because you started with him. If you feel strong at the end and want to finish faster, you can run ahead. Or if he is too fast, you could slow down and maybe even join the slower pace group behind you.
1. What does a record pacer do?| A．He provides technical support. |
| B．He helps a runner keep the record. |
| C．He offers medical help to a runner. |
| D．He leads a professional runner at a speed set beforehand. |
| A．Injured. | B．Legendary. | C．Unprofessional. | D．Graceful. |
| A．Changing pacers from time to time. |
| B．Following the pacer strictly all through the race. |
| C．Giving up something and preparing for a breakthrough. |
| D．Listening to your body and doing what feels right for you. |
| A．Sport and fitness. | B．Science and technology. |
| C．History and culture. | D．Health and lifestyle. |
【推荐1】Police recently caught the suspected Golden State Killer using a tool they could only have dreamed of decades ago, when a shocking series of murders shook California: a database filled with people’s genetic data (基因数据).
Police used an open-source database called GEDmatch to find relatives who matched genetic material taken from an old crime scene, then worked backward to identify and catch 72-year-old former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo.
GEDmatch’s 950, 000 users voluntarily upload and share their genetic information, making it accessible to others who share their own data—including law enforcement (执法). More than a dozen other similar platforms also exist. “If your relatives have contributed and you are part of even a family tree that appears online in one of these shared resources, you can be indirectly tracked through the combination of their DNA and the publicly available family history,” says Dr. Robert Green, a medical geneticist at Harvard Medical School.
Data sent to commercial companies like 23andMe, which has over 5 million customers, is much tougher for outsiders to access, but the case has still highlighted the issue of genetic privacy.
Although many genetic-testing companies have been asked to cooperate with legal investigations (调查), and clearly warn customers of this possibility, not all requests are honored. “23andMe has never given customer information to law-enforcement officials, ” a company representative told TIME.
The risks of keeping such sensitive data private are high. The potential for abuse exists; for example, insurance companies could theoretically use genetic data to refuse coverage (保险项目), Green says. But the systems in place to prevent misuse appear to be working. One is the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, a 2008 law that protects consumers from employment and insurance discrimination related to genetics. As long as that’s the case, Green says, the good of genetic tests outweighs the bad.
Sharon Zehe, a lawyer for the department of laboratory medicine and pathology at the Mayo Clinic, takes a more cautious approach. “Family tree services can be fun, but make sure you are using a reputable organization that has strong privacy policies in place,” she says. “Genetic data is biologically as important as a fingerprint.”
1. Who is the Golden State Killer?| A．Robert Green. | B．Joseph James De Angelo. |
| C．The author. | D．Sharon Zehe. |
| A．The Police’s force. | B．Their relatives’ advice. |
| C．The boss’s order. | D．Their own willingness. |
| A．The police. | B．GEDmatch. |
| C．Insurance companies. | D．23andMe. |
| A．Genetic data is equal to a fingerprint. |
| B．A 72-year-old killer was put into prison. |
| C．Murders causes concern for genetic privacy. |
| D．Genetic information is shared on the Internet. |
【推荐2】As the latest crop of students pen their undergraduate application form and weigh up their options, it may be worth considering just now the point, purpose and value of a degree has changed and what Generation Z need to consider as they start the third stage of their educational journey.
Millennials were told that if you did well in school, got a decent degree, you would be set up for life. But that promise has been found wanting. As degrees became universal, they became devalued. Education was no longer a secure route of social mobility. Today, 28 percent of graduates in the UK are in non- graduate roles, a percentage which is double the average among OECD countries.
This is not to say that there is no point in getting a degree, but rather stress that a degree is not for everyone, that the switch from classroom to lecture hall is not an inevitable one and that other options are available.
Thankfully, there are signs that this is already happening, with Generation Z seeking to learn from their millennial predecessors (前辈), even if parents and teachers tend to be still set in the degree mindset. Employers have long seen the advantages of hiring school leavers who often prove themselves to be more committed and loyal employees than graduates. Many too are seeing the advantages of cancelling a degree requirement for certain roles.
Regardless, it is unlikely that Generation Z will be done with education at 18 or 21; they will need to be constantly up-skilling throughout their career to stay employable. It has been estimated that this generation, due to the pressures of technology, the wish for personal fulfillment and desire for diversity, will work for 17 different employers over the course of their working life and have five different careers. Education, and not just knowledge gained on campus, will be a core part of Generation Z’s career trajectory (轨道).
Older generations often talk about their degree in the present and personal tense: “I am a geographer” or “I am a classist”. Their sons or daughters would never say such a thing; it’s as if they already know that their degree won’t define them in the same way.
1. The percentage of UK graduates in non-graduate roles reflect __________.| A．the deceasing value of a degree | B．Millennial’s opinions about work |
| C．the desired route of social mobility | D．public dissatisfaction with education |
| A．The employers’ preference for high school leavers. |
| B．A change in parents’ attitudes towards college education. |
| C．A wider variety of choices besides pursuing a degree. |
| D．More emphasis put on lecture hall rather than classroom. |
| A．They will have a limited choice of jobs. |
| B．Education will no longer be a core part in their life. |
| C．They will focus more on personal accomplishment. |
| D．Lifelong learning will determine what they are. |
【推荐3】Why do old people dislike new music? As I’ve grown older, I often hear people my age say they just don’t make good music like they used to. Why does this happen? Luckily, psychology can give us some insights into this puzzle. Musical tastes begin to become clear as early as age 13 or 14. By the time we’re in our early 20s, these tastes get locked into place pretty firmly.
In fact, studies have found that by the time we turn 33, most of us have stopped listening to new music. Meanwhile, popular songs released when you’re in your early teens are likely to remain quite popular among your age group for the rest of your life.
There could be a biological explanation for this, as there’s evidence that the brain’s ability to make subtle distinctions between different chords, rhythms, and melodies weakens with age. So to older people, newer, less familiar songs might all “sound the same.”
But there are maybe some simpler reasons for older people’s dislike to newer music. One of the most researched laws of social psychology is something called the “mere exposure effect”, which in essence means that the more we’re exposed to something, the more we tend to like it.
This happens with people we know, the advertisements we see and, the songs we listen to. When you’re in your early teens, you probably spend a fair amount of time listening to music or watching music videos. Your favorite songs and artists become familiar, comforting parts of your routine.
For many people over 30, job and family obligations increase, so there’s less time to spend discovering new music. Instead, many will simply listen to old, familiar favorites from that period of their lives when they had more free time.
Psychology research has shown that the emotions that we experience as teens seem more intense than those that come later. And we also know that intense emotions are associated with stronger memories and preferences. Both of these might explain why the songs we listen to during this period become so memorable and beloved.
So there’s nothing wrong with your parents because they don’t like your music. Rather it’s all part of the natural order of things.
1. What have studies found about most people by the time they turn 33?| A．They no longer listen to new music. |
| B．They find all music sounds the same. |
| C．They can make subtle distinctions about music. |
| D．They seldom listen to songs released in their teens. |
| A．Tom likes the book, so he reads it more times. |
| B．Andy recites the words repeatedly and he is fed up with them. |
| C．Mike often listens to the same song and becomes more and more interested in it. |
| D．Peter goes to school by bike every day, and therefore his riding skills are better and better. |
| A．Teenagers are much more sensitive. | B．Teenagers are much more emotional. |
| C．Teenagers’ preferences are more lasting. | D．Teenagers’ emotions are more intense. |
| A．Quality issues of new music. | B．Older people’s dislike of new music. |
| C．Older people’s changing musical tastes. | D．Insights into the features of good music. |
【推荐1】Mack Rutherford, a 17-year -old pilot has become the youngest person to fly alone around the world. He landed his small plane in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia on Wednesday. That is also where he started his trip five months ago.
His trip, which started in Sofia on a plane owned by the Internet company ICDSoft on March 23, took Rutherford through 52 countries across five continents. The plane, called Shark, can travel at the speed of 300 kilometers per hour. Normally a two-seater, the plane was changed for his long trip by replacing the second seat with an extra fuel container (容器).
Rutherford first planned to make the trip in three months. But it lasted longer because of several barriers, including rainstorms, sandstorms and extreme heat. Most of the delays were caused by waits to get permits and other documents required for keeping with the flight plan.
The flight took him through Africa and the Gulf area to India. China, South Korea, and Japan. He crossed the northern Pacific and landed after 10 straight hours in the air on a volcanic island near the Bering Strait. From there, he headed to Alaska and down the West Coast of the United States to Mexico.
On Wednesday, a huge crowd of people welcomed Rutherford. His father, Sam Rutherford, told reporters that such an event helps show other children they should follow their dreams.
His sister, Zara, said, “While he was flying, I often tried to keep in touch and help him. Our parents called him every day, and I joined in those conversations. I gave him advice on the route, on the flight, so that I could be useful to him.”
1. What do we know about Shark?| A．It belongs to ICDSoft. | B．It can seat three persons. |
| C．It has two normal containers. | D．Rutherford’s father rented it. |
| A．His first plan. | B．The past hardship. |
| C．The tiring long trip. | D．The causes of delays. |
| A．Children are fond of flight. | B．People’s gathering touched him. |
| C．He has had a great effect on children. | D．He is proud of his son’s great deeds. |
| A．Zara. | B．His friends. |
| C．Rutherford’s mum. | D．Sam Rutherford. |
【推荐2】Laughing together is an important way for people to connect and bond. Though the causes of laughter can vary widely across individuals and groups, the sound of a laugh is usually recognizable between people belonging to different cultures. In humans, laughter can express a range of emotions from positive feelings like enjoyment to negative ones such as disgust. But what about animals other than humans? Do they “laugh”, and are the causes of their laughter similar to those of human laughter?
Many animals produce sounds during play that are unique to that pleasant social interaction. Researchers consider such sounds to be an analogue of human laughter. Recently, scientists investigated play sound to see how common it was among animals. The team identified 65 species that “laughed” while playing; most were mammals (哺乳动物), but a few bird species demonstrated playful laughter too. This new analysis could help scientists to trace the evolutionary origins of human laughter, according to a new study.
When Sasha Winkler, a doctoral candidate of biological anthropology at the University of California. Los Angeles (UCLA), previously worked with rhesus macaques (恒河猴), she had noticed that the monkeys panted (喘气) quietly while playing. Many other primates (灵长类动物) are also known to sound during play. However, reports of playful laughter were notably absent in studies describing fish, amphibians and reptiles, perhaps because there is some question as to whether or not play exists at all in those animal groups.
Laughter in humans is thought to have originated during play, a hypothesis supported by the play-related panting laughter of many primate species. “Human laughter may have evolved from a similar panting sound that over evolutionary time became the sounded ‘ha ha ha’ that we use today. People still laugh during play, but we also involve laughter in language and non-play behaviors,” Winkler said.
“It’s really fascinating that so many animals have a similar function of sound during play,” Winkle told the Live Science, a science news website. “But we do have these unique parts of human laughter that are also an important area for future study.”
1. What do we know about human laughter?| A．It is not shared among strangers. |
| B．It is created out of the same reason. |
| C．It may appear when people hate something. |
| D．It sounds different between European and Asian. |
| A．Something common. | B．Something similar. |
| C．Something symbolic. | D．Something attractive. |
| A．Because they are not well evolved and emotionless |
| B．Because play is not a definite behavior among them. |
| C．Because they are not as interesting as other animals. |
| D．Because only mammals and primates are able to laugh. |
| A．Distinctive features of human laughter. |
| B．Different functions of animal laughter. |
| C．The origin and development of human laughter. |
| D．The relationship between animal laughter and intelligence. |
【推荐3】Harris County expands the mobile library program with an addition of the fourth Curiosity Cruiser (巡航车). Instead of sweet music through a speaker system attached to the roof, the sides of the cruisers are decorated with cartoon images of superheroes. And the vehicles are not filled with frozen treats, but rather a collection of books, electronics and other materials that can help children learn.
“When kids see a cruiser coming into their community, they start running for it,” Melton, the director of the Houston-area library system, said. “They’re excited about it. They’re excited about reading and getting a book they can take home.”
Melton said the Curiosity Cruisers program has distributed (分发) more than 69,000 books to more than 55,000 Houston-area children, focusing on reaching low-income parts of the region where there are no nearby public libraries. Children up to age 18 can take home one book per visit while engaging with other on-site learning materials such as laptops, 3D printers and courses on robotics and other STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines.
The newest delivery truck, equipped and donated by the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation with financial support from local companies and other charities, will enable the mobile library program to make an additional 12 stops per month. “It is a huge deal,” Melton said of adding a fourth cruiser. “There is a great need for literary services in Harris County. Even with the efforts we’re putting forth, it’s really like a drop in the sea. So the more vehicles we can have, the more impact we can have.”
Julie Finck, the president of the foundation behind, said the idea was to promote reading and STEM skills in communities where there are not libraries, even in schools.
Three out of ten Houston children failed to meet the minimum, end-of-third-grade reading standard in the most recent statewide STAAR test, according to Finck. She also said research shows that if children aren’t reading skilfully by the end of the third grade, they are four times as likely as their peers (同龄人) to end up dropping out of school.
1. Why do kids get excited when they see a Curiosity Cruiser?| A．They can get a book free of charge. |
| B．They can buy frozen treats from the cruiser. |
| C．They can borrow some learning materials. |
| D．They can meet their favorite superheroes. |
| A．What they are doing is far from enough. |
| B．The number of library vehicles is sufficient. |
| C．More support is needed from the government. |
| D．They have donated too much for the vehicles. |
| A．To raise funds for the poor. | B．To bridge the educational gap. |
| C．To better people’s living standards. | D．To build more libraries in Houston. |
| A．Children can improve their social skills. |
| B．It will develop children’s interest in reading. |
| C．It will help children prepare for their STEM. |
| D．The dropout rate among children will decrease. |
