A federal agency on Tuesday called for a ban on all cellphone use by drivers --- the most far-reaching recommendation up to now — saying its decision was based on a decade of investigations into distraction-related (与分散注意力有关的) accidents, as well as growing concerns that powerful mobile devices are giving drivers even more reasons to look away from the road.
As part of its recommendation, the National Transportation Safety Board is urging states to ban drivers from using hands-free devices, including wireless headsets. No state now has made laws to ban such activity, but the Board said that drivers faced serious risks from talking on wireless headsets, just as they do by taking a hand off the wheel to hold a phone to their ears.
However, the concern was heightened by increasingly powerful phones that people can use to send e-mails, watch movies and play games.
“Every year, new devices are being on sale.” she said. “People are attracted to update their Facebook page, to play music with cellphone, as if sitting at a desk. But they are driving a car.”
The agency based its recommendation on evidence from its investigation of numerous crashes in which electronic distraction was a major contributing factor.
Ms. Hersman said she understood that this recommendation would be unwelcome in some circles, given the number of drivers who talk and text. But she compared distracted driving to drunken driving and even smoking, which required wholesale cultural shifts to change behavior.
“It’s going to be very unpopular with some people.” she said. “We’re not here to win a popularity contest. We’re here to do the right thing. This is a difficult recommendation, but it’s the right recommendation and it is time.”
The agency’s recommendation is not required for states to adopt such a ban. And it won’t likely be agreed upon by state lawmakers who are unwillingly to anger those who have grown accustomed to using their device behind the wheel.
The ban also deserves attention because it is the first call by a federal agency to end the practice completely, rather than the partial ban that some lawmakers have put in place by allowing hands-free talking.
1. The ban on all cellphone use by drivers was put forward ______.
A. after a long discussion and recommendation
B. after about ten years’ investigation in it
C. because of the most powerful mobile devices
D. for the reason of heading away from the road
2. We can know from the passage that ______.
A. electronic distraction resulted in numerous crashes
B. numerous crashes were caused by drunk driving
C. electronic distraction contributed much to the ban
D. the recommendation was based on electronic distraction
3. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Cellphone Ban in Cars
B. Valuable Ban for Cellphones
C. Drivers Ban Cellphones
D. Cellphone Ban while Driving
This column is part of a series on websites that are useful for English language learning．Activities for ESL Students
Includes various types of tests, exercises and puzzles designed to help people studying English as a second language （ESL）．The activities include grammar, vocabulary and idiom tests at easy, medium and difficult levels．The specially designed Chinese-English vocabulary tests can help Chinese memorize English words．
http://a4esl．org/
Interesting Things for ESL Students
Contains a comprehensive list of audio clips （听力剪辑） from the Special English programs of Voice of America （VOA）．The list covers news of all kinds on VOA．The listening and vocabulary exercises and the word list designed with the clips will help English learners improve listening ability and increase vocabulary．
http://www．manythings．org/voa/
World-English
This site provides a list of radio or TV channels offering English news clips．It includes the BBC radio program clips from England, CNN and ABC news clips from the US, and other news clips from other English-speaking countries．Click on the links and you will be taken to channels where you can listen to clips．This is a good way to practice listening．
http://www．world-english．org/listening．html
Listen to English
Offers a large number of materials for English learners to practice listening．The materials include business English, English literature, history, movies, and politics．Students can improve their English while enjoying the beauty of the English of literature, songs, movies, and news in different countries．
http://eleaston．corn/listen, html
1.If you want to test how well you are learning English, which website can you enter?
A．http://a4esl．org/
B．http://www．manythings．org/voa/
C．http://www．world-english．org/listening．html
D．http://eleaston．com/listen, html
2.According to this passage, you had better listen to clips of _______ programs to learn more English words．
A．VOA B．BBC C．CNN D．ABC
3.How many of the four websites can you use to improve your English as well as to learn about recent news?
A．One． B．Two． C．Three． D．Four．
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.
1. The best title for the article is _______.
A. When the Computer Is Down B. The Most Frightening Words
C. The Computer of the Airport D. Asking the Computer
2. What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
A. She could sell a ticket.
B. She could write out a ticket.
C. She could answer the passengers’ questions.
D. She could do nothing.
3. Why do you think they had not a backup computer?
A. Because it was easy down
B. Because it was very expensive.
C. Because it was not advanced enough.
D. Because it was not as big as the main computer.
4. The last paragraph suggests that _______.
A. a modern computer won’t be down.
B. computers can take the place of humans
C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people
D. there will be great changes in computers
假如你是李华，是北京四中高一年级的一名学生。十二月份美国一中学组织部分学生到你校参观交流。Peter将在你家居住15天，作为东道主，你给Peter发一封Email, 内容如下：
1、你的基本情况(性格，业余爱好，喜欢的科目，口语不好)；
2、你的计划打算（参观长城，故宫等名胜古迹）；
3、征求对方意见
参考词汇：故宫the Forbidden City
Dear Peter,
I’m Li Hua, a student from Beijing No. four High School.___________
______________________________________________________________________________________.
______________________________________________________________________________________.
______________________________________________________________________________________.
短文改错 （共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌的作文。文中共有十处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面与上修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I first met Li Meng at a friend birthday party in five years ago. Then I invited Li Meng in my place. We listen to my CDs together and soon became good friends. Three years ago, Li Meng’s parents invited I to spend two wonderful week in Qingdao with them during the summer holiday. Li Meng and I loved walking along the beautifully beaches there. Last year I was ill but had to stay in hospital for a week. Li Meng came see me every day. Then, her father changed jobs and they moved to another city. Since then we haven’t seen each other much, but we’ve kept write to each other.
Luo Nanfeng, a female college graduate of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, joined three schoolmates of hers to open a foot massage(按摩) store in Chengdu. Their behavior has got the public very interested _1.__ the store.
At the very beginning, many people could not understand __2._ the four were willing to do such a job, which used to be considered a low one. But now they __3.___(change) their mind. Besides, people find __4.___ special because of the store’s ___5.___(different) from other ones. In their massage store, they let their customers make a __6.___ (decide) and choose the kind of massage and traditional Chinese medicine they need.
In the twenty-first century, society should treat the four college students _7.__ (fair) instead of 8.__ (look) down upon them. Actually，foot-washing is also __9.___ normal job. Therefore, there is no need to feel _10.__ (surprise).
