1 . I hear some actors keep a sad thought or memory tucked away to help them with scenes where they might need to cry. I think we should each try to find the opposite; a happy memory, something to lift us up on those inevitable down days. I’m saying this because I think I just found mine!
I had some work in Glasgow today. I was on a really tight schedule, which meant I would have no time for myself (or my own work) all day. I was having one of those days, the train was completely packed out and the conversation going on around me seemed to be particularly inane. On top of all that, I had a bit of a headache.
Walking briskly across the concourse, I fished some change from my pocket. There was usually someone at the exit selling The Big Issue (a magazine that helps homeless folk earn a living).
As the crowd parted ways at the bottom of the concourse, I saw someone selling the Big Issue. You had to be homeless to sell the Big Issue. She really looked like she’d been sleeping rough. Her clothes were ragged and she obviously hadn’t had a scrub up for quite a while.
As I approached the exit, I saw that she was also rocking from side to side. At first I thought maybe she was trying to keep warm against the biting wind. But she wasn’t, she was moving in time to a tune. I couldn’t hear her, but I could see her lips moving.
As I got closer, I saw a white cane hanging from her elbow and noticed that she had sunken eyes. She was blind, dirty and living on the streets. I came closer and through the noise of the traffic and the commuters I heard her sing the immortal line, “… and I think to myself, what a wonderful world!”
I bought her last magazine for twice what I’d originally intended. She thanked me, then she picked up her stuff and went tapping off along the pavement - still singing!
So, I have my happy memory for the day. And I think it will stay with me a long, long time. Feel free to borrow it if you like.
1. Why do some actors keep a sad thought or memory according to the passage?| A．Because some of them always feel unhappy | B．because they are scolded by the director |
| C．Because it helps meet the needs of their roles | D．Because they can’t find a happy memory |
| A．Made | B．exchanged | C．pull into | D．took out |
| A．Only those homeless people can sell the magazine |
| B．The author heard her singing as he came close to the exit |
| C．The girl selling the magazines was blind, dirty and homeless |
| D．The author never heard what the girl was singing |
| A．the author had a headache because of his busy work |
| B．the author bought more magazines than planned to |
| C．the girl went away as soon as she sold out magazines |
| D．the author felt unhappy because he missed his train |
| A．A happy Memory to Lift You Up |
| B．An Unforgettable Day I Experienced |
| C．The Roses in Her Hand: the Flavor in Mine |
| D．A Bird in the Hand is Worth than Two in the Bush. |
2 . People who have got rhythm might have an advantage when it comes to language and reading skills. A new study shows the brains of people who can move to a musical beat react to speech on a more consistent basis than those who can't. Researchers also find that musical training can sharpen the brain’s response to language.
The researchers say their discovery provides the first biological link between the ability to keep a beat and how the brain responds to speech, something that can have important value for reading skills. To gather materials for their research, the team got more than 100 teenagers who lived in Chicago, Illinois. The teens were given two tests. First, they were instructed to listen to and tap their fingers along to the beat. The researchers calculated low accurately their young volunteers were able to tap along to the musical timekeeper. Second, the teen subjects were linked to an EEG device, which measures electrical activity in the brain. The EEG device was focused on an area of the brain that not only processes sound, but is also connected to parts of the brain responsible for motor-movement. The researchers recorded the brainwaves as their teen subjects listened to the synthesized speech sound, which was repeated irregularly for half an hour. The researchers were able to find out how the nerve cells in that particular region of the brain responded every time the synthesized sound was played.“Across this population of adolescents, the more accurate they were at tapping along to the beat, the more consistent their brains' response to the letter unit was,” said Nina Kraus.
While past studies have showed the links between reading skills and a person’s ability to keep a beat, the researchers said their new findings show the hearing system is what provides a common basis for those links. “Rhythm is naturally a part of music and language.” Nina said.
1. According to the first paragraph, what can get the brain’s reaction to language more effectively?| A．Rhythm. | B．Reading skills. |
| C．Language. | D．Musical training. |
| A．It shows how the brain works. |
| B．It is very important for reading ability. |
| C．It shows how the brain reacts to speech. |
| D．It is helpful to researchers' findings. |
| A．persons or animals that are studied in an experiment or a research |
| B．areas of knowledge studied in a school, college, and so on |
| C．things that are being discussed in a conversation or a book |
| D．persons or things that are the main features of works of art |
| A．reading skills may make language learners keep a beat |
| B．the hearing system may be useless while a person is learning to read |
| C．the hearing system may separate sound from meaning while a person is reading |
| D．the hearing system may be used while a person is reading or taking musical training |
| A．Moving to a musical beat is more popular. |
| B．Experts are expanding their studies on rhythm. |
| C．Rhythm might help us improve our reading skills. |
| D．Experts find the links between the hearing system and reading. |
3 . A Visitor Oyster card is the cheapest way to pay for a single adult journey in London. It's a plastic smartcard.You can use it on the bus, tube, tram, DL R. London Overground and most National Rail services. It's much cheaper than buying individual tickets, in some cases costing 50%less than the price of a regular paper ticket.
How to get a Visitor Oyster card
You can buy a Visitor Oyster card online.Your card will be delivered by post.The card costs ￡5 and you choose how much money you want to add to the card. This means you can start using the card the moment you arrive in Central London.
How does the Visitor Oyster card work?
The Oyster card works on a pay-as-you-go system.You start by adding money to the card. Then you travel, the cost of the fare will automatically be deducted from your Visitor Oyster card. For example, if you add ￡20 to the card and make a tube journey of￡2.30, you will have ￡17.70 left on the card.
A few more points:
A child under the age of ll travels free when accompanied by an adult.
You'll save more money if you use the tube several times.The Visitor Oyster card is capped at ￡6.80 per day.
You'll pay more during peak times.Peak fares apply from Monday to Friday(6:30 am- 9:30 am;4:00 pm-7:00 pm).except for public holidays.
Reuse the Oyster card by adding credit at a tube station,Oyster ticket shop or Visitor Centre.
Receive a discount on the Thames Clippers River Bus services:
1. What can we learn about the Visitor Oyster card?| A．You can't use it during public holidays. |
| B．You can have it mailed directly to your home. |
| C．You can get a free Oyster card if you order online. |
| D．You can receive a 50%discount at any shop in London. |
| A．￡2.30. | B．￡3.40. |
| C．￡6.80. | D．￡9.20. |
| A．At a tube station. |
| B．At a bus station. |
| C．On the Internet |
| D．In convenience stores. |
| A．set an upper limit |
| B．meet a deadline |
| C．follow a principle |
| D．prohibit visiting |
4 . Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middle class peers (同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today. The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ annual conference.
Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons.
He told delegates (代表) in Manchester: “For children who come from homes where parents don’t have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer.”
“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives,” he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge is Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 am to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays.
But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added.
Parents said Saturday classes could become a “badge of dishonor” if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload.
Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said: “I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children’s performance. I’m just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week.”
The ATL’s general secretary, Mary Bousted, said: “If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer.”
1. The program is intended for children____________.| A．who are from middle-class families |
| B．whose parents can’t afford extra help |
| C．who perform poorly academically |
| D．whose weekends are mostly unoccupied |
| A．music lessons |
| B．physical relaxation |
| C．entertainment activities |
| D．out-of-school improvement |
| A．To make a comparison. |
| B．To introduce a new program. |
| C．To seek supportive evidence. |
| D．To prove his program is better. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Optimistic. | D．Acceptable. |
| A．Teachers may not like the program. | B．Schools are trying to make profits. |
| C．The program is already under way. | D．The program is popular with children. |
