Model-Test-1知识讲解

M o d e l-T e s t-1
News Report One
The United States central bank has raised an important interest rate
by one-fourth of 1 percent. The federal funds rate, a rate paid by banks
for short-team loans, is now one-half of 1 percent.
Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve System, spoke after the announcement. The decision was based on a few factors. Yellen said Economic growth is expected to continue in the U.S. Another reason to increase interest rates, Yellen noted, was the low official rate of inflation . The central bank has said its target inflation rate is 2 percent. It says that rate would help support employment and keep prices stable. However, inflation currently is not at the target rate, but below 1 percent. The federal reserve chief also said the strong labor market provided
another reason to raise rates. The U.S. Economy is adding about 20000
jobs each month.
1.What is the news report mainly about?
2 . What do we learn about the target inflation rate set by the central bank? News Report Two
The campaign group Amnesty International says it has evidences
that Russian air strikes in Syria since September have killed hundreds of civilians, causing widespread to basic facilities. Amnesty suggests the strikes are in violations of international humanitarian law and accuses Russia of attempting a cover-up. After interviewing witnesses, doctors
and human rights groups, Amnesty reports that homes and hospitals were hit as well as a market and a Muslim building. In most cases, the location and timing of the attacks correspond with Russian defense ministry reports on air strikes though it says it was targeting so-called IS. Militants. Despite dropping thousands of bombs in Syria, Russian officials have never acknowledged causing any civilian casualties there. There were proud of their effective pinpoints strikes against terrorists and had dismissed previous claims to the country as part of an anti-Russian information war by the west
3.What did Amnesty International say about the Russian air strikes?
4.What was Russia’s reaction towards civilian casualties?
News Report Three
Road traffic crashes kill 1.25 million people each year worldwide. But the Word Health Organization (WHO) say they are preventable.
The report surveyed 180 countries, and it shows the number of annual deaths from traffic crashes is stabilizing. [5]And that is good news the number of motor vehicles grows worldwide.
But the data also show that road crashes are the No.1 cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29. Young adults around the world are the worst driving risks. Even in the U.S., drivers aged 15 to 24 account
for about 30 percent of all driving-related accidents.
The WHO report also finds a big gap in road safety and deaths between poor and rich countries. Poor countries have only 54 percent of world’s vehicles. But those countries have some of the worse safety statistics in the report.
‘‘Africa has only two percent of the word’s vehicles, but has the highest death rat e on the road. ’’ That is what Etienne Krug, the head of the
WHO Department of Non-communicable Diseases, says. Sweden, the Netherlands and the United kingdom are leaders in preventing traffic deaths. The highest death rates are in Africa and the Middle East.
5.Why is the survey result good news?
6.What does the survey report show?
7.What do we learn about the road crashes in poor countries?
Conversation One
W: Hi, Mr. Johnson. When do you usually get up?
M:I usually get up about five ,and then go for jog before breakfast, We usually have breakfast at around 6:30. Then I have time to read the papers. W: Which paper do you read?
M: Well, the Financial Times, the Times and the Independent. I don’t exactly read them from cover to cover.
W: I see.
M: After reading. I have for the office. I’m usually behind my desk by 7:30. The first job of the day is the post. My secretary sorts out those letters which need immediate attention. Then at about 9:00, I have a daily meeting with my deputy. We run through the agenda for the day.
W: What’s a typical day like?
M: Well, there’s no such things as a typical day, but I have regular morning meetings with my Finance and Sales Directors. Of course, I travel a lot , then I keep up-to-date by telephone.
W: What about lunch?
M: I try to have lunch in the company canteen as often as possible. Of course, sometimes I have lunch out with some customers.
W: What about the afternoons?
M: I often go down to our plant and see how things are going. We have weekly management committee meetings on Friday afternoon. Then there are monthly board meetings, usually the first Monday of the month.
W: When do you finish work?
M: At about seven. If there is nothing evening, I’ll go home. More often than not, there’s a dinner engagement.
W: All right, thank you for accepting my interview, Mr. Johnson.
8.What does Mr. Johnson usually do before breakfast?
9.What is Mr. Johnson’s first job in his office?
10.W hat is Mr. Johnson’s typical day like?
11.W hat does Mr. Johnson do on Friday afternoon/
Conversation Two
W: Hello?
M: Hi, Jessica?
W: Oh, hi, Mike. What’s up?
M: [12]Sorry to call you so lat but I’m having trouble with the math assignment.
W: Don’t worry, it’s not that bad. But I do have to say that I haven’t worked this hard on an assignment all term. I’ve already spent more than two hours on it and I’m still not halfway through it.
M: Well, that’s still farther than I’ve gotten. I have no idea even where to start. I was thinking about calling Professor Johnson.
W: Now? [13]But the assignment’s due tomorrow.He’ll wonder why you waited until now to ask for help.
M: This always happens. I mean, when I first got the assignment, [14]I thought it looked OK and I figured I could do it in two hours. But now, it turn s out I can’t even figure out how to get started.
W: Oh… well, [15]do you want to come over? I could show you what I’ve worked out so far, and then we could work on the rest together.
M: Are you sure? I hate to interrupt you. I don’t want to hold you back.
W: It’s OK, I’m sick of working on it alone. And anyway, if I’m thinking out loud, it’ll probably help clarify the most difficult parts for me, too. Headed for another bad grade.
W: No problem.
M: See you in a few minutes.
W: Okay. Bye.
12 Why does the man call the woman?
13 When will the speakers have to hand in the assignment?
14 What do we know about the man?
15 How does the woman respond to the man’s problem?
Passage One
Some kinds of mental skills naturally decrease as people get older. [16]Yet research seems to show that some training can improve such skills. A recently published study also appears to demonstrate that the good effect of training can last for many years after that training has ended.
[17]Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland wanted to learn how long memory and thinking skills would last in older people who trained to keep them. The people were part of the ten-year research project. They were taught methods meant to improve their memory, thinking and ability to perform everyday tasks.
More than 2,800 volunteered for the study. Most studied when they were than 70 years old. The volunteers took one of several short training classes meant to help them keep their mental abilities. One class trained participants in skills including how to remember word lists. Another group trained in reasoning.[18]A third group received help with speed-of-processing-speed of receiving and understanding information . A fourth group-the control group did not get any training.
Earlier results had established that the training helped the participants for up to five years .Now, lead study writer George Rebok says, [19] the research showed most of the training remained effective a full ten years later. Professor Rebok and his team found that the people trained in reasoning and speed-of-processing did better on tests than the control group. [19]They are wondering whether those effects which endured over time would still be there ten years following the training, and in fast, that’s exactly what they found.
16. What can improve mental skills according to the research?
17. What was the purpose of Johns Hopkins University’s research?
18. What does the term speed-of-processing refer to?
19. What do we learn about the effects of most training?
Passage Two
Singapore has topped 131 cities globally to beco me the world’s most expensive city to live this year, ac-cording to the Economist Intelligence Unit. [20]The city’s strong currency combined with the high cost of running a car and soaring utility bills contributed to Singapore topping the list. It is also the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes.
[21]Singapore replaces Tokyo, which topped the list last year. Other cities making up the top five most expensive cities to live in are Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney, with Tokyo falling to sixth place. The EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey is a relocation tool that uses New York City as a base. It looks at more than 400 individual prices. The editor of the report Jon Copestake said , improving sentiment in structurally expensive European cities combined with the continued rise of Asian cities means that that these two regions continue to supply most of the world’s most expensive cities. But Asian cities also continue to make up many of the world’s cheapest, especially in the Indian areas.[22]Most Asian cities that top the list are there for mainly higher costs of groceries. Tokyo is still at the top of the list for everyday food items.
20.What contributed to Singapore being one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in?
21.What city topped the list last year?
22.What is the main reason that most Asian cities top the list? Passage Three
[23]According to new research by British scientists, teens who don’t smoke, drink only moderately or not at all, and who don’t eat much junk food tend to be happier than other teens. The study looked at 40,000 British households and came up with some interesting findings. For example, kids who never drank alcohol were up to six times more likely to report higher on happiness than kids who drank. And teens who smoked were five times less likely to rate high on happiness charts compared to kids who don’t smoke. Same goes for diet and physical activity. The more fruits and vegetables kids ate, and the more hours they spent playing sports, the happier they were.
Now, of course this doesn’t mean that not smoking or drinking, and playing sports guarantees happiness. [24]It could be that kids who have happy characters tend to be more active and less inclined to drink or smoke. And it could equally be the case that kids who are unhappy are more likely to drink and smoke and eat junk food, instead of the other way around.
[25]Other studies have shown that exercise is a proven way to fend off and treat anxiety and depression. Future studies may support the notion that other healthful behaviors, including keeping away from smoking, drinking, and eating too much junk, can ward off sadness and boost happiness, too.
23. Who are more likely to be happier according to the study?
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24. What can we infer from the research?
25. What is a proven way to get rid of anxiety?
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