VOA. And they still are.

Forty years later, Special English continues to communicate with people who are not fluent in English. But during the years its role has expanded. It also helps people learn American English. And it provides listeners, even those who are native English speakers, with information they cannot find elsewhere.

Today, Special English broadcasts around the world seven days a week, five times a day. Each half-hour broadcast begins with ten minutes of the latest news followed by 20 minutes of feature programming. There is a different short feature every weekday about science, development, agriculture and environment, and on the weekend, about news events and American idioms.

Three elements make Special English unique. It has a limited vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions. Some are more difficult. They are used for reporting world events and describing discoveries in medicine and science. Special English is written in short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. No idioms are used. And Special English is spoken at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of Standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are English speakers understand complex subjects.

Through the years, Special English has become a very popular tool for teaching English, even though it was not designed as teaching program. It succeeds in helping people learn English in a non-traditional way. Individuals record the programs and play them over and over to practice their listening skills. In countries around the world, English teachers assign Special English to their students. They praise it for improving their students’ ability to understand American English and for the content of the programs. Universities and private companies in many countries produce packages of Special English materials for student use. 24. At the beginning, Special English program was . A. doubted by some professionals C. well received

B. rejected by native people

D. intended for teaching English

25. What kind of English is spoken on Special English? A. British English

B. Not certain D. American English

C. Both British and American English

5

26. Which of the following are the elements that make Special English unique? a. limited vocabulary b. short simple sentences c. good communication method d. slow speed e. interesting feature programming A. a, c, d c

27. From the last paragraph we can infer that . A. listening to Special English can be a student’s homework

B. listening to Special English can improve the content of the program C. some student record the Special English material for sale

D. learning English from VOA is a traditional way for English learner

C

When I was in middle school, a poisonous spider bit my right hand. I ran to my mom for help —but instead of taking me to a doctor, my mom set my hand on fire. After wrapping my hand with several layers of cotton, then soaking it in wine, she put a chopstick into my mouth, and ignited the cotton. Heat quickly penetrated the cotton and began to roast my hand. The pain made me want to scream, but the chopstick prevented it. All I could do was watch my hand burn —one minute, then two minutes— until mom put out the fire.

You see, the part of China I grew up in was a rural village, and at that time preindustrial. When I was born, my village had no cars, no telephones, no electricity, and even no running water. And we certainly didn’t have access to modern medical resources. There was no doctor my mother could bring me to see about my spider bite.

For those who study biology, you may have grasped the science behind my mom’s cure: heat deactivates(使失去活性) proteins, and a spider’s venom (毒液) is simply a form of protein. It’s cool how that folk remedy actually incorporates basic biochemistry, isn’t it? But I am a PhD student in biochemistry at Harvard, I now know that better, less painful and less risky treatments existed. So I can’t help but ask myself why I didn’t receive one at the time.

Fifteen years have passed since that incident I am happy to report that my hand is fine. But this question lingers, and I continue to be troubled by it. We have learned to

6

B. a, b, d C. b, d, e D. a, b,

edit the human genome(基因组) and unlock many secrets of how cancer progresses. We can control neuronal activity literally with the switch of a light. Each year brings more advances in biomedical research—exciting, transformative accomplishments. Yet, despite the knowledge we have accumulated, we haven’ t been so successful in distributing it to where it’s needed most. According to the World Bank, twelve percent of the world’s population lives on less than $ 2 a day. Malnutrition kills more than 3 million children annually. Three hundred million people are suffering malaria globally. All over the world, we constantly see these problems of poverty, illness, and lack of resources preventing the flow of scientific information. Life-saving knowledge we take for granted in the modern world is often unavailable in these underdeveloped regions. And in far too many places, people are still essentially trying to cure a spider bite with fire.

28. How did the author’s mom cure him of the spider’s bite? A. She sent him to the nearby hospital immediately. neighbors for help.

C. She wrapped the wound with cotton and burnt it. some wine.

29. What was NOT the author’s hometown like? A. It was a backward village in China. village.

C. It had no running water, telephones or cars. modern medical care.

30. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “incorporates” in Paragraph 3? A. includes

B. resists

C. inspires D. invents

D. People there had no access to

B. It was an industrial rural

D. She let him drink

B. She asked the

31. What does the author want to do most?

A. Change the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge. more secrets to cancer.

C. Bring more advances in biochemistry. treatments.

D

Kids will often ignore your requests for them to shut off the TV，start their

7

B. Discover

D. Invent better and less painful

chores(杂事)，or do their homework as a way to avoid following your directions. Before you know it，you’ ve started to sound like a broken record as you repeatedly ask them to do their assignments, clean their rooms, or take out the trash. Rather than saying ，“Do your chores now.” You’ ll be more effective if you set a target time for when the chores have to be completed. So instead of arguing about starting chores，just say，“If chores aren’t done by 4 pm.，here are the consequences.” Then it’s up to your child to complete the chores. Put the ball back in their court. Don’ t argue or fight with them，just say，“That’s the way it’s going to be.” It shouldn’t be punitive(惩罚性的)as much as it should be persuasive. “If your chores aren’t done by 4 p.m，then no video game time until chores are done. And if finishing those chores runs into homework time，that’s going to be your loss.” On the other hand，when dealing with homework，keep it very simple. Have a time when homework starts，and at that time，all electronics go off and do not go back on until you see that their homework is done. If your kids say they have no homework，then they should use the time to study or read. Either way，there should be a time set aside when the electronics are off.

When a kid wears his iPod or headphones when you’re trying to talk to him，make no bones about it；he is not ignoring you，he is disrespecting you. At that point，everything else should stop until he takes the earplugs out of his ears. Don’t try to communicate with him when he’s wearing headphones—even if he tells you he can hear you. Wearing them while you’re talking to him is a sign of disrespect. Parents should be very tough about this kind of thing. Remember，mutual respect becomes more important as children mature.

32．According to the passage，it seldom happens that ________. A．kids turn a deaf ear to their parents’ requests B．parents’ directions sound like a broken record C．children are ready to follow their parents’ directions D．parents are unaware of what they are repeating to their kids

33．Parents will be able to deal with their children more effectively if they ________.

8