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On November 4, 2008, Obama made history by being elected as the first black president of the United States. He defeated John McCain in a landslide victory.
Obama’s story starts in opposite corners of the world. His white mother was born in the heartland of the US. His black father grew up in a tiny village in Kenya. They met during college in Hawaii, but his father left the family when Obama was just two years old and his mother moved to Indonesia.
At 10, Obama moved back to live with his white grandparents in Hawaii. At his class, a white boy asked Obama if his father ate people. Out of embarrassment, Obama lied to hi classmates that his father was a prince. “I kept asking who I am and I ended up trying drugs and drinking,” Obama recalled.
Things came to change after the young man made friends with those with a similar background at college. Their experiences back in Africa helped Obama to finally face up to his African origin. He worked hard to become a star at Harvard Law School and the third black senator in US history.
At the beginning of his campaign for the White House, few people viewed Obama favorably. Many doubted his unusual background, which left him neither “black” enough nor white enough.
But Obama turned his pain of growing up into a tool to make Americans believe: “There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America, an Asian America. There’s the United States of America.”
“Barack Obama’s victory is a historic victory that promised change and overcame centuries of prejudice. His success fulfilled Martin Luther King’s dream that a man be judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character,” wrote ABC. News.
Title Obama’s __2____ Obama’s ___5____ His indulgence in ____6__ and alcohol Because the ____8___ of those friends with similar background helped His ____7____ Obama face up to his African origin and work hard to become a star at college First, few people ___9___ him, and many doubted his background. He turned his pain of growing up into a tool to support him. He finally won a historic history and was __10_____ as the first black president of the United States.
Suggested Answers: 1. success / victory 2. origin 3. white 4. rural 5. childhood
6. drugs 7. change 8. experience 9. favored / supported 10. elected
Road to ___1____ His mother was ___3__ and born in the heartland of America, while his father came from a ____4__ area of Africa. His father left the family when he was two years old. At 10, he lived with his white grandparents in Hawaii. Because his unknown identity upset him a lot. His election campaign 2
A recent survey of teachers found that an unhealthy passion with celebrity culture is having a negative impact on British students’ studies and it discovered that celebrity couple, the Beckhams, are the favorites among most students. Many students are ignoring building their own careers to seek a chance at fame instead, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) survey found.
Almost two-thirds of teachers said sports stars were the type of celebrity many pupils wanted
to follow while more than half of students wanted to be pop stars. The survey said the celebrities that students aspired to mostly
were David and Victoria Beckham who live in Los Angeles now. Soccer player Beckham is on the top of the survey while in second place, with almost a third of the survey’s votes, was his 33-year-old pop star wife.
Almost half of the 300 teachers surveyed said pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing \"unsuitably\".
\"We are not surprised about the influence of celebrity culture in
schools —it reflects the current media passion with celebrities and the effect of celebrity culture on society as a whole,\" ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said in a statement.
\"Celebrities can have a positive effect on pupils. They can raise pupils’ aspirations and desires for the future. However, celebrity culture can spread the idea that celebrity status is the greatest achievement and reinforce the belief that other career choices are not as valuable,\" said one primary school teacher. \"Too many of the pupils believe that school success is unnecessary, because they will be able to get fame and fortune quite easily through a reality TV show.\"
Title The subjects of the survey Harmful Effect of ___1____ on Students 300 ____2____ Soccer player Beckham and his __3___ are the most __4____ among most British students. Most students think that being pop stars is more ____5___ than other career choices Many students seek a chance at fame instead of ___7__ their own careers. ____6___ impacts of celebrities on students Pupils try to look like or behave like the celebrities they most ___8___ and some girls even dress ___9____. The so-called celebrity culture does harm to the pupils’ ideas about achievement and many students don’t think that school success is ___10_____. Negative impact of They can raise pupils’ aspirations and desires for the future. celebrities on students Suggested Answers: 1. celebrities 2. teachers 3. wife 4. popular 5. valuable 6. Positive 7. building 8. popular 9. nsuitably 10. necessary
Results 3
Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , U.S. researchers reported on Thursday. Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.
“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,” Kinsley said.
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”
Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline. “When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.
“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变) to the brain.”
Title Theme A Scientific ___1______ ___2____ May Make Women Smarter The tests were conducted by Craig Kinsley, a ___4___ professor of University of Richmond. The research shows rats who raise ___6___ behave better than those who have no babies. The research shows the ___7____ of pregnancy are protecting the ___8___. Hormones change a woman’s ____9___ toward young, if she goes through pregnancy “It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.”
Suggested Answers: 1. Research/ test/ experiment 2. Motherhood 3. rats 4. psychology
5. Findings 6. babies/ pups 7. hormones 8. brain
9. behavior 10. same
The sentence means that the experiments on the rats are much the __10____ on humans. Tests on ___3___ ____5_____ 4
Some spiders hunt on the ground, others build webs to trap their food, but the grass water spider catches its prey by running along the surface of the water.
This special water spider lives on the grassy banks of streams where mosquitoes, damsel flies and other insects come to feed and breed.
Although it is one of the largest spiders in New Zealand, it has an unusual ability. It doesn’t disturb the water as it waits for its meal, and there is barely a ripple(波纹) when it skims(掠过) across the surface at lightning speed to catch its prey.
Grass water spiders deal swiftly with larger insects like damsel flies by pulling their heads under the water and holding them there until they drown.
After a meal, the grass water spider spends up to half an hour grooming(修饰) itself. It wipes its eight eyes, brushes its antennae(触角), and takes special care to clean the hairs on its body. It is the hairs that trap tiny bubbles(泡沫) of air so that the spider can run down a blade(叶片) of grass and stay underwater for up to an hour when it is frightened. The hairs also keep the spider dry, even underwater.
It is only when the female spider is caring for the young that she does not hunt on the water. After mating, she produces a large egg sac(囊), which she carries around for five weeks. Once the eggs start to hatch, she attaches the sac to some blades of grass or a thistle. She then tears the sac open and releases the tiny spiders into the nursery web.
Title Theme Habitat The Grass Water Spider describing the characteristics of the grass water spider It lives in the ___1___ surroundings as mosquitoes, damsel flies and other insects. It deals swiftly with larger insects like damsel flies by pulling their heads under the water and ___2____ them there . A female spider produces a large egg sac after ___3____, carries around for over a month. Breeding She attaches the sac to some blades of grass or a thistle when the eggs start to ____4___. She then tears the sac open and releases the tiny spiders into a ___5___. It is one of the largest spiders in New Zealand. It can catch its prey by skimming across the the surface of the water ___6___ Distinctive Features without ____7___ the water. It usually ___8___ itself after a meal. Its __9___ can not only trap air bubbles to help itself stay underwater, but keep itself __10____
Suggested Answers: 1. same 2. drowning 3. mating 4. hatch 5. web
6.quickly/swiftly 7. disturbing 8. grooms 9.hairs 10. dry
Preying 5
Humor is a social lubricant (润滑剂). It gives us something to share and creats an atmosphere of appreciation. We are automatically attracted to people who make us laugh.
Successful people take their duties seriously, but seldom take themselves or life too seriously. Above all, they have the ability to laugh at themselves. People appreciate those who can see the humorous side of any situation.
Humor should be appreciated, however, if it is going to be effective. Keep the following suggestions in mind.
Okay, the first thing you need to do is relax. No one’s going to throw tomatoes at you if you strike out, and you’re not going for some life-changing test. You just want to add some interest to your life and conversations, and appear more easygoing. So don’t put so much pressure on yourself. See the humor in situations; you’ll see that most situations, even getting a $200 dollars speeding ticket or falling down on a banana peel have humor written all over them — the trick is finding them and being able to laugh at yourself.
You can always take bits and pieces of others’ humor, but you’ll want to adapt your character to your own style and personality — in turn, this will be easier for you and sound more true as you won’t have to try as hard.
Being funny isn’t only about telling great jokes; it’s all in your attitude, how you project yourself, and your delivery. Be lively and alive when you speak, and you can make any story funny.
Make eye contact with people, speak with confidence, and everyone will want to hear your stories. On the other hand, if your humor is darker, sarcastic (讽刺), then play the part and talk in a monotonous voice. Your delivery has to go with your humor, and if your timing is off,k then it can ruin the entire joke.
Title Introduction ____3____ on keeping your humor appreciated. Tips on making humor ___1____ Humor is of great help in social life and adds some __2_____ to your life and conversations. Be ___4____ to appear more easygoing. Have the ability to laugh at ___5____. Develop your own humor ___6____ and personality. Try to speak in a lively and alive ___7___. Speak with confidence and eye ___8____. Project your __9____ and make it adapted to your humor. Kindly reminder Take your __10____ seriouly, but don’t take yourself or your life too serously.
Suggested Answers: 1. effective 2. interest 3. suggestions/tips/advice 4. relaxed
5. yourself 6. style 7. way 8. contact 9. delivery
10. duties/ reponsibilities
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The common cold is a self-limited epidemic that can be caused be a nmuber of types of viruses. More than 200 different types of viruses are known to cause the common cold. Because so many different viruses can cause a cold and because new cold viruses constantly develop, the body never builds up resistance against all of them. The common cold is the most frequently occurring illness in the world.
Symptoms of the common cold include sore throat, sneezing, cough, and perhaps a fever and headache. Many people with a cold feel tired and achy. These symptoms will usually last anywhere from three to ten days.
The common cold is usually spread by direct hand-to-hand contact with infected (带菌的) secretions (分泌物) or from contaminated (被污染的) surfaces. For example, if a person with a cold blows or touches his nose and then touches someone else, that person can later become infected with the virus. Additionally, a cold virus can live on objects such as pens, books, telephones, computer keyboards, and coffee cups for several hours and can thus be acquired from contact with these objects.
Though the common cold usually occurs in the fall and winter months, the cold weather itself does not cause the common cold. Rather, it is thought that during cold-weather months people spend more time indoors and are close to each other, thus making the spread of the virus much more easily.
Supportive measures for the common cold include rest and drinking plenty of water. The most important measure to prevent the common cold is frequent hand washing, as this can destroy viruses that you have acquired from touching contaminated surfaces. Also, try to avoid sharing things if someone in your family has a cold.
Title Introduction Common cold The common cold is a self-limited and the most frequently occuring ___1____ in the world that can be caused by various kinds of virus. ___2____ of the common cold Many people with a cold feel tired and achy. People who __3___ a cold usually have some symptoms __4_____ sore throat, sneezing, cough, and perhaps a fever and headache. The common cold can be spread from person to person. A cold can be acquired from contact with the ___6___ with virus. People who spend most of the time ___7_ are likely to catch a cold. Measures to __8___ the It’s a good idea to drink much water if one catches a cold. common cold
Answers: 1. epidemic 2. symtoms 3. catch/ have/get/ 4.like/as/including 5.Sread 6. objects 7. indoors 8. prevent/prohibit 9. frequently/often 10.cold
Washing hands ____9___ can destroy cold virus. Try to avoid sharing things with someone with a __10____. ____5___ of the common cold 7
One kilogram --- that was all it took to crown（给……加冕） the world's strongest man. German weightlifter Matthias Steiner pulled ahead of Russian rival Evgeny Chigishev to win the Olympic men's +105 kg weightlifting gold medal on Tuesday.
Steiner lifted a total of 461kg, 203kg in the snatch(抓举) and 258kg in the clean and jerk(挺举), to beat Chigishev by a single kilogram. The German won the battle of giants in his last lift, winning his country's first gold medal in the event at this year's Games.
Steiner's winning lift was also the last effort of the sport for this Olympics at which China earned eight of the 15 golds.
Steiner was born in Austria and represented his country of birth at the Athens Olympics four years ago, placing seventh in the lower 105kg category, but had a falling out with Austria's weightlifting federation afterwards.
He applied for German citizenship in 2005 and got married, but his career went into deep freeze（困境）as he could not
compete without a passport. He finally obtained the document last January.
The German, who turns 26 on Monday, had come to these Games on a mission to win the title for his wife Susann, who died in a car accident in July last year. The German team said he used the personal tragedy to motivate himself to win the gold medal.
Chigishev was the strongest in the snatch session Tuesday. He kissed his fists after a 210-kg lift that gave him a 7-kg advantage over fourth-placed Steiner going into the second event -- the clean and jerk. He let out a victorious roar（吼叫）after clearing 250 kg in his last lift, but the glory was short-lived as Steiner stunned（使瞠目）everyone with his final, winning clean and jerk effort.
Steiner had finished seventh in the 2004 Olympics in the 105kg weight category, and took the gold in the 2008 European Championship +105kg snatch competition, bronze in the clean and jerk and silver overall, with a total weight of 446kg. Title General itroduction Gold Medal for His Dearest ___1____ Steiner beat Russian rival Evgeny Chigishev by ___2___ kilogram to win the 2008 Olympic men's +105 kg ___3____ gold medal. His Steiner was ranked seventh in the lower 105kg category at the Athens ahletic career Olympics, ___5____ Austria. and ____4_____ He applied for German citizenship in 2005 and got married, but didn’t get a ____6___ until 2007, which caused his career fall into deep freeze. In July 2007, a car accident took his wife’s ___7___. He took the __8___ medal in the 2008 European Championship +105kg snatch competition, bronze in the clean and jerk and silver overall, lifting a total weight of 446kg. Steiner took the Beijing Olympic gold medal with an ___9___ over Chigishev in the clean and jerk session. __10___ weightlifting team won eight of the 15 gold medals at the 2008 Games Suggested Answers: 1. Wife 2. one/a 3. weightlifting 4. ahievement 5. representing 6. passport 7. life 8. gold 9. advantage 10. Chinese
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Believe it or not, optical illusion(错觉) can cut highway crashes.
Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. But stripes, called chevrons(人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.
Now the American Automobile Association Foundation(基金会) for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan’s success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.
Excessive (too great) speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents, according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards (danger) are the greatest curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.
Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.
Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.
Title Theme Chevrons and other patterns of stripes A New ___1___ of Highway Speed Control Optical illusion can be used to __2____ automobile crashes on highways. not only making drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are but also making a lane appear to be ___3____ , and thus drivers ___4____down. Straight, horizontal bars initially cutting the average speed of drivers in half. However, they are ignored in a ___5___ period of time and traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers get __6____ to seeing the painted bars.. The ___7____of chevrons The former will have a longer effect on drivers over straight, horizontal bars Test on chevrons Based on Japan’s ___8____, the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety will carry out its ___9___ in areas with speed-related ___10____.
Suggested Answers: 1.Way/Method/Measure 2. reduce/cut 3. narrower 4. slow
5. longer/ long 6. used/accustomed 7. advantage
8. success/experience 9.test/experiment/trial 10. hazards/danger
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Lego, the inventor of those colorful bricks that have inspired kids’ imaginations world-wide, has celebrated its 50th anniversary.
On January 28, 1958, a man named Godtfred Kirk Christiansen created the plastic building bricks that can now be found in almost every child’s toy box. The simple building block has become one of the most well-known and popular toys around the world.
\"The Lego brick continues to be very attractive, because it allows children, and others, to develop their creativity and imagination,\" said Charlotte Simonsen, a spokeswoman of the Danish Lego company.
The company’s building brick allows an infinite number of links. With just two bricks there are 24 different links, and with six, there are 915 million possibilities, according to Lego. A half-century after its creation, more than 400 million children and adults spend five billion hours a year putting the bricks together and pulling them apart. Also, the bricks made today can still interlock with those made in 1958.
Lego bricks are not just child’s play: they also attract the interest of adults. South Korean adventurer, Heo Young-Ho, who climbed Mount Everest in 1987, left a Lego toy behind in the snow during his climb.
After its great success Lego experienced a severe crisis at the end of the 1990s, hit hard by fierce competition from electronic games. This so-called \"Toy of the Century\" then suffered a dark period that lasted several years.
With great efforts, the company began to prosper again, and in 2006 it earned about 1.5 billion dollars in 130 countries. Seven boxes of Lego are now sold every second around the world, and 19 billion bricks are produced each year: enough to encircle the Earth five times！
Title Theme ___1___ of the Century Lego bricks: brilliant past and struggling future Introduction Lego bricks, ___2___ by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen on January 28, 1958, are of the product a type of plastic building brick toy and allow an infinite number of ___3____. Brilliant Past The Lego bricks have remained ___4____ in the past 50 years as a result of making the children and even __5____ worldwide creative and imaginative A half-century after its creation, Lego bricks are now ___6___ in almost every child’s box and more than 400 million children and adults spend five billion hours a year ___7___ with the toy. Dark ___8____ Lego experienced a severe crisis and fierce ___9____ against electronic games at the end of the 1990s, Properous Lego company continue to proper today and make a considerable fortune with Today and Future ____10____ of 19 billion bricks per year.
Suggested Answers: 1. Toy 2. created/invented 3. links 4. popular/ successful 5. adults/grown-ups 6. found 7. playing 8. Period 9. competition 10. production
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“If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives — the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic(基因) engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do — as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted(传送) electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I’m pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read — sports and international news, etc.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media. They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet, it’s never really pleasant to read something just on a screen.
title Theme The ___1____ of Newspaper In the writer’s opinion, in a hundred years from now reading newspapers will not ____2_____. Possibe The nature of what is news may change and there will be more ____3____ in the _____4____ of scientific research and there scientific explanations of future why we feel as we do. In the next century newspapers will possibly be transmitted electronically from Fleet Street and printed out at ___5____. Analysis reasons of What basically makes news is what affects our lives and new scientific research is already ___6____ our lives; and in the future we’ll develop a better understanding of the brain’s ___7_____ and the nature of our feelings . People like to ___8___ the things they want to read. Conclusion What is read on the printed page lasts __9_____ than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. ___10____ will win the competition among the different media.
Suggested Answers: 1. Future/Prospect 2.disappear 3. changes 4. coverage 5. home 6. affecting/ influencing 7. operation 8. select/ choose 9. longer 10. Newspapers
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