June 27, 2010, is the 130^th anniversary of the birth of Helen Keller, and each year the week in which her birthday falls is recognized as Deaf-Blind Awareness Week (海伦凯勒周). In honor of Helen Keller—and other members of the deaf-blind community, this week is devoted to the deaf-blind.

Every year the last week of June is devoted to one thing – recognition of the deaf-blind people in our midst. While the purpose of Deaf-Blind Awareness Week is to show respect for Helen Keller, the deaf-blind woman who was born that week, the week focuses on increasing public awareness and understanding of deaf-blindness.

According to the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC), about 70,000 people have hearing and vision loss. More than ten years ago, Deaf-Blind Awareness

 

Week became an event officially recognized by the Federal government.

The story of Helen Keller is well known. Born on June 27, 1880, the healthy baby was developing normally. But at the age of 19 months, an illness left her deaf and blind. When Helen was six, her equally famous teacher, Anne Sullivan, was able to teach her to communicate. Helen Keller went on to do well in all aspects of her life: graduating from college with honors and writing, lecturing, and inspiring people worldwide.

1. Which of the following is NOT the purpose of Deaf-Blind Awareness Week according to the passage?

  A. To show respect for Helen Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan.

  B. To show respect for Helen Keller.

C. To increase public awareness of deaf-blindness.

  D. To increase public understanding of deaf-blindness.

2.When is Deaf-Blind Awareness Week?

  A. June 27, 2007.   B. The last week of June ten years ago.

C. June 27, 1880.   D. The last week of June every year.

3.According to the passage, Helen Keller______.

  A. was born deaf and blind    B. did not do very well in college

  C. was taught to communicate at the age of 16

  D. inspired people all over the world with her books and lectures

4. What might be the best title for the passage?

  A. Deaf-Blind Awareness Week        B. Helen Keller 

  C. The Helen Keller National Center    D. Anne Sullivan

 

 

Hundreds of people lined up at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, but they weren’t there to catch a train. They came to New York City’s famous railroad station to trade in old dollar bills for the new George Washington Presidential $ 1 coin.

The gold-colored coin is the first in a new series by the U.S. Mint（造币厂）that honors former U.S. Presidents. The Mint will issue four Presidential $ 1 coins a year through 2016. Like the popular 50 State Quarters(纪念币) program, which issues coins in the order in which each state joined the Union, Presidential $ 1 coins will come out in the order in which each President served. The George Washington coin is the first to be released. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison coins will come out later this year.

The Presidential $ 1 coins will be the same size and color as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar. However, there is an important difference. For the first time since the 1930s, there is an inscription（题字）on the edge of each coin. Each coin will show a different President on its face, or head side. It will also show the President’s name, the order in which he served and his years in office. The other side of the coin will show the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “$ 1”.

There will be one Presidential $ 1 coin for each President, except Grover Cleveland. He will have two! Cleveland is the only U.S. President to have served two nonconsecutive（不连续的）terms.

The last President scheduled to get a coin is Gerald Ford because a President must have been dead for two years before he can be on a coin.

Hundreds of people lined up at the railway station in order to ____________.

  A. exchange money           B. visit a coin show        

  C. book train tickets           D. do some shopping

What may you find on the head side of the new US $ 1 coin?

  A. The Statue of Liberty               B. The name of a U.S. president

  C. The year when the coin was made     D. The inscriptions “ United States of America”

Why will Grover Cleveland have two coins ?

A. He is the only one who has served two terms

B. He is the most famous President in the U.S.

C. He served longer than any other President.

From the passage we can infer that_________.

  A. the new presidential coin can buy more than the old coin.

  B. the U.S. Mint has issued all the presidential coins by now.

  C. no presidential coin has been released for president Obama

  D. the coins are issued to honor the greatest presidents in America

When Andrea Peterson landed her first teaching job, she faced the daunting task of creating a music program with almost no money for equipment or supplies in a climate where standards-based learning was the focus and music just provided a break for students and teachers.

For her drive and creativity in overcoming those challenges, she’s been named national teacher of the year.

Principal Waynes Kettler said he’s worked with many outstanding teachers in his 22 years as an educator, but Peterson is “just that one step above anybody I’ve ever worked with before.”

Kettler and others at Monte Cristo Elementary School talk about the ways she has introduced the learning from other classrooms into her music program and her creativity in working around things such as the lack of money for new music.

When students were reading S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders in their regular classroom, Peterson helped them write a 30-minute play with scenes from the book. Then they chose three Broadway tunes that focused on race, equality and social justice, the themes of the book. Peterson composed two other songs herself after classroom discussions about the play and the book.

The honor means a lot to residents of Granite Falls. It’s inspiring to know that people from small towns can even win national honors.

As national teacher of the year, Peterson will spend the next year outside the classroom, as a national and international spokeswoman for education.

Not surpassingly, she is a big believe in the value of acts education. She said it’s essential for schools to offer classes such as act or music and physical education because for some kids one of those subjects is the only thing that motivates them to come back to school day after day.

1.The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 1 most probably means __________.

A．discouraging   B．interesting

C．creative          D．unbearable

2.When Peterson began her teaching career, ____________.

A．music was a focus of learning in most schools

B．the environment was favorable to music teaching

C．the school lacked teaching facilities for music

D．financial support for music programs was unavailable

3.What is the most important reason that Peterson won the award?

A．She concerned herself with current social problems.

B．She motivated students to learn music with her creativity.

C．She has taught music at the elementary school for 22 years.

D．She made great efforts to arouse students’ interest in literature.

4.Which of the following is an example of Peterson’s way of teaching music?

A．She wrote plays on themes of race, equality and social justice.

B．She made use of the contents of other classes in her teaching.

C．She organized classroom discussions of Broadway tunes.

D．She helped students compose songs by themselves.

5.In Peterson’s opinion, ____________.

A．art, music and PE classes are all important

B．more subjects should be offered to students

C．students should be motivated to attend art classes

D．arts education is more important than other subjects

6.It can be inferred from the text that ________.

A．Peterson’s honor was a surprise for the local people

B．Peterson’s art classes attracted students back to school

C．Peterson aroused the local residents’ passion for music

D．Peterson will change her profession next year

 

Our listener question this week comes from Abdullahi Farah, who wants to know about the life and work of Doctor Benjamin Carson.

Doctor Carson is an internationally recognized doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the hospital for twenty-five years. At the age of thirty-three, he became one of the youngest doctors in the United States to hold that position. And he was the first African-American to have that position at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Ben Carson is known for his work as a brain surgeon for children. For example, in nineteen eighty-seven, he led a team of seventy doctors and nurses in an operation to separate two babies joined at the head. Earlier attempts by other surgeons on other babies had failed. Doctor Carson successfully performed the operation. Both babies were able to survive independently.

Doctor Carson has written four books. His first book, "Gifted Hands," tells the story of his life. Benjamin Carson was born in nineteen fifty-one in Detroit, Michigan.

As a boy, Ben was not a good student. In fact, he was the worst in his class. When his mother learned of his failing grades she asked her sons to read two library books every week. She limited the amount of time they watched television. And she told them to respect every person.

Ben Carson soon became the top student in his class. He went on to study at Yale University, one of the best universities in the country, and later to medical school at the University of Michigan.

Doctor Carson has received many awards and honors. Last year he received the nation's highest civilian honor. Former President George W. Bush presented Benjamin Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House.

1.The passage is probably taken from _____.

A．a radio

B．a magazine

C．TV

D．a paper

2.What does the word “surgeons” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．nurses

B．doctors

C．hospitals

D．points

3.Benjamin Carson’s change in study was largely because of ______

A．his hard work	B．his teacher
C．his mother	D．his father

4.What’s the aim to write the passage?

A．To call on us to learn from Benjamin Carson.

B．To praise Benjamin Carson for his achievements.

C．To show us how Benjamin Carson succeeded

D．To introduce Benjamin Carson’s life and work

 

When Andrea Peterson landed her first teaching job, she faced the daunting task of creating a music program with almost no money for equipment or supplies in a climate where standards-based learning was the focus and music just provided a break for students and teachers.

For her drive and creativity in overcoming those challenges, she’s been named national teacher of  the year.

Principal Waynes Kettler said he’s worked with many outstanding teachers in his 22 years as an educator, but Peterson is “just that one step above anybody I’ve ever worked with before.”

Kettler and others at Monte Cristo Elementary School talk about the ways she has introduced the learning from other classrooms into her music program and her creativity in working around things such as the lack of money for new music.

When students were reading S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders in their regular classroom, Peterson helped them write a 30-minute play with scenes from the book. Then they chose three Broadway tunes that focused no race, equality and social justice, the themes of the book. Peterson composed two other songs herself after classroom discussions about the play and the book.

The honor means a lot to residents of Granite Foils. It’s inspiring to know that people from small towns own even win national honors.

As national teacher of the year, Peterson will spend the more year outside the classroom, as a national and international spokeswoman for education.

Not surpassingly. She is a big believe in the white of acts education. She said it’s essential for schools to offer classes such as act or music and physical education because for some kids one of those subjects is the only thing that motivates them to come back to school day after day.

65．The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 1 most probably means __________.

A．discouraging   B．interesting   C．creative    D．unbearable

66．When Peterson began her teaching career, ____________.

A．music was a focus of learning in most schools

B．theenvironment was favorable to music teaching

C．the school backed teaching facilities for music

D．immemorial support for music programs was unavailable

67．What is the most important reason that Peterson won the award?

A．She concerned herself with current social problems.

B．She motivated students to learn music with her creativity.

C．She has aught music at the elementary school for 22 years.

D．She make great efforts to amuse students’ interest in literature.

68．Which of the following is an example of Peterson’s way of teaching music?

A．She wrote plays on themes of race, equality and social justice.

B．She made use of the contents of other classes in her teaching.

C．She organized classroom discussions of Broadway tunes.

D．She helped students compose songs by themselves.

69．In Peterson’s opinion, ____________.

A．art music and PE classes are all important

B．more subjects should be offered to students

C．students should be nativated to attend art classes

D．arts education is more important than other subjects

70．It can be inferred from the text that ________.

A．Peterson’s honor was a surprise for the local people

B．Peterson’s art classes attracted students back to school

C．Peterson aroused the local residents’ passion for music

D．Peterson will change her profession next year