We are all busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?

Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn’t work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way, computer network system would keep on working all the time.

At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers had become cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.

Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students.

The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life.

1.The Internet has a history of about____________ years.

    A．70           B．10             C．50             D．20

2. A new network system was set up to_____________.

    A. make computers cheaper. 

    B. make itself keep on working all the time.

    C. break down the whole network.

    D. make computers large and expensive.

3. At first the Internet was only used by_____________.

A. the government.       B. scientists     C. hospitals and banks     D. schools

4.Which of the following is TRUE?

A．In the 1960s, computer networks worked well.

B．In the early 1970s, the Internet was easy to use.

C．Sending e-mail is now more popular among students.

D.Today it’s still not easy to get on-line.

 

Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to join in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to show the image of the host country and city. The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．

I．Basic Requirements for Volunteers

● Be willing to join in voluntary services of Expo 2010;

● Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary 

      Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;

● Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;

● Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;

● Have necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;

● Be in good health to meet the requirements of voluntary positions．

II．Further Information for Volunteers

● Source

   Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．

● Signup methods

   Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．

● Time

   May 1 - December 31, 2009

III．Volunteer Training

Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．

IV．Volunteer Types

● Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in   the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and volunteer management．

● Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo's information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．

 

1.If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer

A．In the Expo City．           B．In the host country．

C．In the Expo Site．               D．In Chinese mainland

2.Which of the training will be done on the Internet

A．Position training．              B．General training．

C．Classroom training．         D．Special training．

3.Which of the following service is offered by information booth volunteers?

A．Visitor flow management．        B．Helping the disabled

C．Assistance in media service．    D．Emergency First aid．

 

 

Water is very important to living things. Without water there can be no life on the earth. All animals and plants need water. Man also needs water. We need water to drink, to cook our food and to clean ourselves. Water is needed in offices, factories and schools. Water is needed everywhere.

There is water in seas, rivers and lakes. Water is found almost everywhere. Even in the desert part of the world, there is some water in the air. You can not see or feel it when it is a part of the air. The water in the seas, rivers and lakes is a liquid, the water in the air is a gas, and we call it water vapour (蒸气).

Clouds are made of water. They may be made of very small drops of water. They may also be made of snow crystals(结晶体). Snow crystals are very very small crystals of ice. Ice is frozen water. It is a solid. There can be snow and ice everywhere in winter.

Water may be a solid or a liquid or a gas. When it is a solid, it may be as hard as a stone. When it is a liquid, you can drink it. When it is a gas, you can not see or feel it.

1.Where can we find water?

A．Water can be found almost everywhere

B．We can find water when it turns into vapour.

C．Water is only in seas and rivers.

D．We can see water in deserts here and there.

2.We can drink water when it is     .

A．a solid            B．in the air          C．aliquid            D．turned into ice

3.Clouds are made of     .

A．seas, rivers and lakes                    B．solid, liquid and gas

C．very small drops of water or snow crystals     D．blocks of ice

4.Water has three states(状态). They are        .

A．solid, liquid and gas

B．solid, vapour, snow

C．drops of water, blocks of ice and crystals of water

D．ice,snow and air

 

Another man-made wonder of the United States was built long before the nation was established. About 900 years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan people built villages high in the walls of canyons in Colorado, where 600 cliff dwellings are now part of the Mesa Verde National Park.     

Visitors can stand at the top of the mesas and look into the dwellings almost hidden in openings of the rock walls. The Puebloan people cut small steps into the rock, which connected buildings containing hundreds of rooms.

The rock walls have protected the buildings from severe weather in the area; therefore, they remain mostly unchanged in the hundreds of years since they were built.

Our final man-made wonder is in the northwestern city of Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle was built as the central structure for the 1962 World's Fair.           

The 184-meter-tall structure was designed by Edward Carlson, which has a wide base on the ground, with its middle narrow and a large ring-like structure on top. The structure was meant to look like a "flying saucer," a vehicle that was popular in science fiction space travel stories.  The saucer includes an observation area and eating place. The restaurant slowly turns to provide visitors with a 360 degree view of Seattle.

The Space Needle, only costing about $4,500,000, was not very costly, and was designed and completed in about a year and opened on the first day of the World's Fair.

Today, the Space Needle is the most popular place for visitors to Seattle. And it remains the internationally known symbol of the city.

1.What the passage before this one can be about?

A. Some natural wonders in the world.

B. Sightseeing in the US.

C. Some other artificial wonders in the US.

D. American geography.

2.What does the underlined word “dwelling” mean?

         A. village                    B. house                     C. canyon                   D. step

3. Which of the following descriptions about the Space Needle is TRUE?

         A. It is a man-made wonder in Washington, D.C..

         B. Edward Carlson built the structure.

         C. It has a ring-like structure on top.

         D. It remains the internationally known symbol of the US.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

         A. Visiting the US                        B. Man-made wonders in the US

         C. Wonders in the world           D. Famous places in the US

 

  In a recently published book, I came across some exercises with interesting names such as fishbone diagrams, lotus flowers and clustering. As I used these exercises in my classes, I noticed that students were interested. They said more and wrote more. They enjoyed expressing their ideas and sharing them in groups. They were no longer passively waiting for the bell , but actively taking part in the lesson. I find that creativity can act as a way to increase participation and improve fluency.

Creativity has become a popular word in recent years. Scholars in arts, psychology, business, education and science are all working to get a deeper understanding of it. Robert J. Stemberg is a creativity specialist and Yale professor of psychology. He defines creativity as “the ability to produce work that is both new (original) and appropriate(applicable to the situation ) ”. this definition is useful, as we want our students to use language in a new way and to use it correctly and properly. Mot scholars say there are two types of creativity: big “C” creativity and small “c” creativity. Big “C” creativity refers to genius level thinking that results in artistic masterpieces and scientific breakthroughs. Small “c” creativity refers to everyday level thinking that can be used in any situation our emphasis is on the latter. While it goes without saying that any of our students could go on to be the next Picasso or Edison, our aim is to help students produce more ideas and use language in a new way.

The underlined words “waiting for the bell ” in the first paragraph probably means______.

A. longing for a phone call        B. hoping to have a bell   

C. expecting the end of the class    D. waiting to speak in the class

It can be inferred from the passage that the author thinks the exercises in the book were _____.

 A. popular    B. useful    C. scientific     D. creative   

When you use a familiar word in a new way, you are ________.

A creative in the sense of big “C” creativity.

B. creative in the sense of small “c” creativity..

C. not creative in the sense of big “C” creativity..

D. not creative in the sense of small “c” creativity.

The main purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. show how useful the book is.

B, explain what creativity 

C. discuss how one can be creative 

D. tell what reaching aims at