Five million people visit Grand Canyon in the US every year. For the purpose of helping project Grand Canyon for your fellow visitors and future generations, please follow the guidelines below.

Camping

To project the park, camping is allowed only within permitted campgrounds. Permits are required for overnight camping at the North Rim. Advance booking can be received by mail. Please write: Information Center, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023

Fires

Because of the extreme fire danger, campfires are not allowed except at Mather and Desert View campgrounds. Collection of firewood is not allowed either.

Hiking(远足)

Please stay on permitted paths. Otherwise you may destroy desert plants. Pack out what you pack in, so you leave no signs of your visit. It is important to keep in mind that you are in a national park where wildlife exists.

Weather

The weather at Gramd Canyon can change very quickly. With so much rock, lightning(闪电) causes a particular danger during sudden summer storms. These storms also frequently bring floods inside valleys, a danger to hikers. Watch the skies and check daily weather reports.

Wildlife

Do not feed park wildlife. There have been a few cases at Gramd Canyon National Park where deer(鹿) were purposely shot because they are plastic bags that left them sick and weak. Hungry deer can be danger and have kicked and bitten visitors at Grand Canyon. Some other animals will also beg and bite. For your own safety and the well-being of the animals, please do not feed wildlife, no matter how gentle they may appear.

What can you do first if you want to go camping?

   A. Know the permitted         B. Book campgrounds in advance

   C. Make sure not to make a fire  D. Stop at Mather and Desert View

What do the underlined words “pack out what you pack in” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

   A. keep every out of campgrounds

   B. take away everything you bring in

   C. carry all the necessary food

   D. look after your personal belongings

Why were some deer killed on purpose at Grand Canyon?

   A. They ate wrong things and became very ill.

   B. They were a danger to other gentle animals.

   C. They begged food from visitors.

   D. They kicked and bit visitors.

What is the main purpose of the text?

   A. To provide travel information            B. To report some recent news.

   C. To teach tourists hiking skills             D. To introduce the wild life

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. A few weeks ago, we talked about the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL. A listener in Cambodia named Thida asks if American colleges and universities also accept the IELTS exam. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. It was developed by the University of Cambridge ESOL examiners.

Cambridge ESOL says the test measures true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration or employment. The IELTS tests listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. It uses a mixture of accents and spellings, including British English and American English.

The test is used by government agencies, schools and professional organizations in one hundred and twenty countries. And, yes, that includes the United States. The many American schools that accepted the IELTS can be found on the Web at felts.org.

Some schools accept both the TOEFL and the IELTS, but the graduate school at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, for example, says it prefers the IEITS.

The listening and speaking parts are the same for everyone who takes the IELTS, but people have a choice of reading and writing tests -- either academic or general training.

The listening test takes thirty minutes. There are forty questions based on a recording. The reading test takes sixty minutes. Students answer forty questions based on three written passages.

The writing test also takes sixty minutes. Students have to write two essays. One essay has to be at least one hundred and fifty words long and the other at least two hundred and fifty words. The shorter one is description of something; the longer one has to support and argument.

The speaking test takes less than fifteen minutes. The score is based on a recorded talk between the student and a test examiner.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. If you have a general question for our series, write to special@voanews.com. I'm Barbara Klein.

1.What does TOEFL stand for?

A. The Voice of America            B. The International English Language Testing System

C. The Test of English as a Foreign Language

D. The Test of English as a Native Language

2.The International English Language Testing System commonly takes _______ in all.

A. less than 160 minutes                       B. more than 165 minutes

C. no more than 160 minutes                     D. less than 166 minutes

3. According to the passage, we can infer _______.

A. IELTS is efficient and necessary if you want to go to English-speaking countries

B. IELTS is completely different from TOEFL

C. every American needs to accept TOEFL      D. IEITS isn't used more widely than TOEFL

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. How can the readers write papers to the VOA programme?

B. It talks about some ways to pass TOEFL.

C. It introduces IELTS.                                          

D. How can the readers pass two kinds of tests?

 

STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.

Speed dating

It’s exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US $35 for three minutes with more than two dozen future dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again―25 times in all.

Lock and key party

Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock has several matches. One can hunt for his/her later-to-be sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot (票数） for top prizes!

Dinner in the dark

Waiters wearing night vision glasses guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will appear.

Message party

Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait… You’ve got a message… Go and collect it! You can make new friends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.

1.What do you think the similarities of these parties are?

   A. All the parties have very strict rules for their members.

   B. If you want to go to any of the parties, you have to buy a ticket.

   C. All the parties are aimed at strangers who want to be lovers.

   D. All the parties are suitable not only for the young but for the old.

2.In which party does a participant have to be careful with the time?

A. Speed dating.                          B. Lock and key party.    

C. Dinner in the dark.                    D. Message party.

3.If you go to the Dinner in the dark, ____________.

   A. you have to wear night vision glasses    

B. you have to eat with your hands

   C. guests eat all the courses in the darkness

   D. your dining partners will help you choose the food

4. How many of the parties offer gifts or prizes?

   A. 1.                  B. 2.              C. 3.              D. 4.

 

 

STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.

Speed dating

It’s exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US $35 for three minutes with more than two dozen future dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again―25 times in all.

Lock and key party

Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock has several matches. One can hunt for his/her later-to-be sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot (票数） for top prizes!

Dinner in the dark

Waiters wearing night vision glasses guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will appear.

Message party

Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait… You’ve got a message… Go and collect it! You can make new friends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.

1.What do you think the similarities of these parties are?

   A. All the parties have very strict rules for their members.

   B. If you want to go to any of the parties, you have to buy a ticket.

   C. All the parties are aimed at strangers who want to be lovers.

   D. All the parties are suitable not only for the young but for the old.

2. In which party does a participant have to be careful with the time?

A. Speed dating.                             B. Lock and key party.    

C. Dinner in the dark.                       D. Message party.

3.If you go to the Dinner in the dark, ________.

   A. you have to wear night vision glasses    

   B. you have to eat with your hands

   C. guests eat all the courses in the darkness

   D. your dining partners will help you choose the food

4. How many of the parties offer gifts or prizes?

   A. 1.                  B. 2. C. 3.               D. 4.

 

My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.
If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN （个人身份号码）to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.
Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console (控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.
The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.
I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today.
I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?”
【小题1】What does the passage mainly discuss?

A．How to develop a new system.	B．The function of the PIN.
C．A home for the future.	D．Easy life in the future.

【小题2】What’s the purpose when the writer wrote the fourth paragraph?

A．To let readers know why his ideas are new.

B．To let readers know how special his house is.

C．To explain the importance of the PIN and the console.

D．To explain more easily what the functions of the PIN and the console are.

【小题3】The writer’s new house is different from ordinary ones mainly because _____.

A．it has been controlled by computers

B．you can make a telephone call anywhere

C．it has your favorite music following you

D．the writer is able to change his new idea into practice

【小题4】What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage?

A．An IT expert.	B．A famous doctor.
C．An idealist	D．An experienced teacher.

【小题5】What can’t be done in the writer’s new house?

A．turns on the lights

B．play music

C．get a telephone call

D．go swimming