It seems that all your friends’ names on MSN have added a little green “I’m” symbol overnight. If you ask what is going on, someone will tell you it’s a charity activity.
Though this charity program has not yet officially begun for Chinese users, this little green symbol has proven popular among Chinese Windows Live Messenger users.
Windows Live Messenger’s official blog announced on March 1 that Microsoft was beginning an “I’m” program in the United States. Every time someone starts a conversation using “I’m”, Microsoft shares a part of the program’s advertising income with nine organizations devoted to social causes. With every instant message a user sends, it helps deal with things one feels most interested in, including poverty, child protection, disease and worsening environment.
One only has to add a certain code next to one’s name for the organization one would like to support. “*red’u” is for the American Red Cross, “*bgca” is for Boys & Girls Clubs of America and “*unicef” stands for the American branch of UNICEF.
After a Chinese blogger named “hung” introduced this program on his blog on March 2, “I’m” entered the Internet in China with no actual support from Microsoft.
Beijing-based Youth Weekend reported that famous IT blogger Keso regarded this program’s rapid spread as a successful virus marketing case. He thinks that the success of the “I’m” program is because it’s spread by users without being a bother to others. This answers why “I’m” has spread so rapidly across the Internet like a virus with almost no advertisement.
However, Feng Jinhu from the press center for Microsoft China told Youth Weekend that the “I’m” project is only for Messenger users in the United States. Instant messages sent by Chinese users would not count.
This has not affected Chinese Messenger users’ interest in the little green symbol. These users hope their instant messages will actually contribute to charitable organizations someday.
小题1:What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?| A．The detail information about the “I’m” program. | | B．Microsoft announced the beginning of the program. | | C．The main purpose of the program. | | D．How to take part in the program in China. |
小题2:What is the reason for the success of the “I’m” program according to Keso?| A．It doesn’t bring other users trouble. | B．It is popular with the poor people. | | C．It is supported by Microsoft. | D．It is advertised through the Internet. |
小题3:The following descriptions about the “I’m” program are correct EXCEPT _________.| A．it became popular in China in a short time | | B．Microsoft will support the charity activity for free | | C．US MSN users who take part in the “I’m” program contribute to charity | | D．it covers social problems such as poverty, child protection, etc. |
小题4:What should you do to take part in the “I’m” program?| A．Send an email to Microsoft. | | B．Add a little green “I’m” symbol before your MSN name. | | C．Add the code of the organization you support next to your MSN name. | | D．Fill in an application form in advance. |
小题5:From the passage, we can come to a conclusion that _________.| A．“I’m” is a computer virus that will not be easily removed | | B．Microsoft is active in advertising the program in China | | C．modern technology is being used to raise money for charity | | D．Chinese MSN users have no interest in the program |
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小题1:A
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:C
小题5:C |
文章讲述的是微软公司通过鼓励MSN用户在用户名上添加特殊标志的方式，来帮助慈善机构。用户可以根据自己的兴趣，选择要帮助的慈善项目。该互动在中国也越来越流行，虽然没有微软官方的发起。
小题1:主旨大意题。第三段主要讲的是该活动的具体信息。
小题2:事实细节题。 根据倒数第三段“He thinks that the success of the “I’m” program is because it’s spread by users without being a bother to others. "可知。
小题3:事实细节题。根据第三段”Microsoft shares a part of the program’s advertising income with nine organizations devoted to social causes."可知。
小题4:事实细节题。根据第四段地一行可知。
小题5:推理判断题。根据文章内容可知，该活动主要是在英特网上进行的，所以是现代技术被运用到了慈善机构的筹集善款上了。 |
核心考点
试题【It seems that all your friends’ names on MSN have added a little green “I’m” sym】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The fattened (压平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots. During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.
The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain - usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.
At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmer had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks(痕迹), and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.
Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circle to communicate with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.
Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles - the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.
小题1:In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that __________.| A．some of his wheat had been damaged | | B．his grain was growing up in circles. | | C．his grain was moved into several circles | | D．some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground. |
小题2:According to the text, the underlined part “hoax” (in the 3rd paragraph) probably means __________.| A．an attempt made to fool people | | B．a special way to plant crops | | C．a research on the force of winds | | D．an experiment for the protection of crops. |
小题3:Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man?| A．The farmer couldn’t step out of the field. | | B．The farmers couldn’t make the circles round. | | C．The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints. | | D．The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up. |
小题4:A proper title for this passage is ___________.| A．An Unsolved Mystery | | B．Strange Flying Objects | | C．The Power of Natural Forces | | D．The discovery of Strange Circles |
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This economy has really got a lot of people moving and not always by a choice they wanted to make. My wife and I now find ourselves among those unfortunates feeling that 1 .
At the end of last year, our customers just 2 . We had to make the painful decision to 3 our office and put our house up for 4 . We haven’t lived in it for two years yet and expected it would be the 5 one for a long time. How 6 this world economic mess is changing our lives!
As I get older, I find moving less adventurous and more 7 . This time, we’re in the process of moving without knowing where we’ll 8 next. Job searching has been thrown into the quagmire(困境) of an unsettled life. Both my wife and I had been feeling pretty 9 from all this. I’ve been challenged to find the positive in all this down that’s 10 us.
But then it happened while I watched my wife 11 things up. She’s an absolute whiz(能手) when it comes to packing. I took delight in watching her 12 just the right boxes for 13 in front of her and filling in the 14 with pillows and towels. I began feeling something like a wind lift me up and sail me through my own 15 of the packing and loading.
Some friends will be helping us with the 16 . I’ve told them that they’re not 17 friends but gaining some new vacation spots.
I have 18 that we’ll get through this transition finally. We all will always have work to do, by choice or 19 , and we can also consciously make the effort to create a sense of 20 in a new place.
| 小题1: | | A．pressure | B．pleasure | C．heat | D．chance |
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| 小题2: | | A．stayed up | B．turned up | C．dried up | D．came up |
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| 小题3: | | A．open | B．close | C．visit | D．paint |
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| 小题4: | | A．help | B．comparison | C．decoration | D．sale |
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| 小题5: | | A．last | B．next | C．only | D．special |
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| 小题6: | | A．little | B．quickly | C．frequently | D．well |
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| 小题7: | | A．dangerous | B．common | C．stressful | D．interesting |
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| 小题8: | | A．return | B．arrive | C．study | D．prepare |
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| 小题9: | | A．relaxed | B．excited | C．ashamed | D．depressed |
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| 小题10: | | A．improving | B．encouraging | C．beating | D．killing |
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| 小题11: | | A．packing | B．washing | C．pulling | D．dividing |
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| 小题12: | | A．bring up | B．keep up | C．size up | D．set up |
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| 小题13: | | A．others | B．nothing | C．another | D．everything |
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| 小题14: | | A．cars | B．gaps | C．tanks | D．holes |
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| 小题15: | | A．boat | B．share | C．wish | D．promise |
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| 小题16: | | A．settling | B．cooking | C．cleaning | D．moving |
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| 小题17: | | A．valuing | B．losing | C．inviting | D．making |
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| 小题18: | | A．idea | B．faith | C．feeling | D．opinion |
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| 小题19: | | A．otherwise | B．indeed | C．worse | D．rather |
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| 小题20: | | A．panic | B．connection | C．humor | D．home |
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The Ice Hotel
Are you going into skiing? Is winter your favorite time of year? If you like snow and ice, maybe you should stay at Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. But, you can only check in at this hotel during the winter. Why ? Because this hotel is built every December. It has 32 rooms and 80 people can stay there each night. The hotel even has a movie theatre, art gallery, and church. Of course, all of these parts of the hotel are made of ice. In fact, all the furniture, art, lights, and even plates and drinking glasses are made out of ice.
Because this hotel is so unusual, it is becoming very popular. People from all over the world come to the Ice Hotel to look at the fantastic ice art, drink and eat from designed ice dishes and experience the unique atmosphere (独特的气氛). Some couples have even got married in the hotel"s ice church. But all these guests keep their winter coats on! Because of all the ice, the temperature inside the hotel is always between - 2ºC and - 5ºC. Surprisingly, sleeping is not a problem in the freezing cold hotel rooms. Every guest gets a special cold-weather sleeping bag and some fur blankets. These keep the room cozy and warm until morning.
小题1:What is the main idea of this reading? | A．How the Ice Hotel is built | | B．What makes the Ice Hotel special | | C．Why the Ice Hotel is made of ice | | D．The services of the Ice Hotel |
小题2:Why is sleeping NOT a problem in the hotel?| A．the rooms are warm | B．the temperature is -2ºC | | C．the sleeping bags are warm | D．the furniture is warm |
小题3:In which part of the hotel would you probably find "plates"?| A．the church | B．the restaurant | C．the rooms | D．the art gallery |
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One big difference between British and American English is in vocabulary. For example, the British use the word “autumn” 1. ________ the Americans use the word “fall”. In this case, the older word is “autumn”. However, about four hundred years ago, the word “autumn” was 2. ________ with “fall”. Later, the British returned to “autumn”, while the 3. ________ still use “fall”.
Of course, people from many different countries came to America and made their 4. ________ to American English. Indeed, in American English there are words from every major 5. ________ spoken on Earth. Many of these words are absent in British English.
6. ________ big distinction between American and British English is spelling. After the Americans defeated the British in 1781 and 7. ________ independence, they wanted to make their spelling of English words 8. ________. Therefore, Americans write “color” 9. ________ “colour”.
Finally, the pronunciations and accents are different. Both countries have slowly 10. ________ the way they say the same words, but in different ways. This process is continuing even today. |
You are mistaken if you think all Chinese people speak in the same way. Have you ever seen a person from Shanghai try talking to 1________ from Guangzhou? It is quite likely 2________ both of them may feel puzzled! The Chinese language, 3________ a whole, uses the same set of characters, but even the same characters can have 4________ pronunciations. That is 5_______ it is difficult for people to understand each other. Luckily, the widespread use of Putonghua in China has made a great contribution 6________ people’s communication, though people from different areas tend to speak with various accents.
People in Northern Europe are much luckier. Even though people from Sweden, Denmark and Norway have their own official languages, it is very convenient for them to communicate with one another. Do you know 7______? That is because their languages are quite similar, though not 8________ small distinctions. Thus, they can communicate easily in their mother tongues. |
