This year, Facebook, the social media website, announced that it would cooperate with several news organizations —including The New York Times, The Guardian, and the BBC —to place news stories directly into users’ personal Facebook webpage. Stories published using Facebook Instant will load more quickly and keep the style of the original publisher, who will keep all the advertising income the stories earn —at least for now. The deal shows how important social media has become to news organizations, and it is a clear sign of how the world of news is changing —and has been for a while.
Many thought of it as the death of the newspaper, when Google News began in 2002. It had no human editor. Instead, Google used, and still uses, a secret computer program that selects and displays news stories according to the reader’s personal interests. More recently, Associated Press and Yahoo have been punishing computer-written articles. Both use special software to automatically produce stories about company financial results and sports reports —areas where the quality of writing is felt to be of secondary importance to the accuracy of the data.
I think we should be concerned about such developments. One concern is that Facebook, Google and other social media websites see journalism as a sideline(副业), a way of putting people in front of advertisements. It isn’t their primary function —so if it stops making them lots of money, they're likely to stop doing it.
There’s another concern that computer-written articles are not actually journalism at all, because what a human news team produces is actually quite complex. A well-written news story puts information in context, offers a voice to each side of an argument and brings the public new knowledge.
Though economics and speed of delivery mean readers will probably choose a computer-written story over a carefully shaped article — at least for daily news —I don’t think the computers will be writing any in-depth articles for a while yet.
1.What is the main purpose of the article?
A. To report on a new computer service offered by Facebook.
B. To advise readers against reading computer-written news.
C. To express concern about recent trends in online news.
D. To describe the process of online news reporting.
2.Computer-written news reports have so far focused on sports and finance because ________.
A. these are the most popular topics for online readers
B. writing style is less important than accuracy in these areas
C. information on these topics is more easily available
D. there are fewer journalists specializing in these areas
3.What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Journalism.B. Advertising.C. Facebook.D. Business.
4.In Paragraph 4, which of the following is mentioned as a characteristic of a well-written news article?
A. The information presented is up-to-date.
B. The author's opinion is clear
C. The language used is vivid.
D. Different views on the topic are presented.
My father was always a good gardener. One of my earliest memories is standing without shoes in the freshly tilled soil, my hands blackened from digging in the ground.
As a child, I loved following Dad around in the garden. I remember Dad pushing the tiller(耕作机) ahead in perfectly straight lines. Dad loved growing all sorts of things: yellow and green onions, watermelons almost as big as me, rows of yellow corn, and our favorite — red tomatoes.
As I grew into a teenager, I didn’t get so excited about gardening with Dad. Instead of magical land of possibility, it had turned into some kind of prison. As Dad grew older, his love for gardening never disappeared. After all the kids were grown and had started families of their own, Dad turned to gardening like never before. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still took care of his garden.
But then, the cancer, bit by bit, invaded his body. I had to do the things he used to do. What really convinced me that Dad was dying was the state of his garden that year. The rows and rows of multicolored vegetables were gone. Too tired to weed them, he simply let them be. He only planted tomatoes.
For the first few years after he died, I couldn’t even bear to look at anyone’s garden without having strong memories pour over me like cold water from a bucket. Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden and started out with just a few tomatoes. That morning, after breaking up a fair amount of soil, something caught the corner of my eye and I had to smile. It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, happily playing in the freshly tilled soil.
1.Why did the author like the garden when he was a child?
A. He enjoyed being in the garden with his father.
B. The garden was just freshly tilled by his father.
C. He loved what his father grew in the garden.
D. The garden was planted with colorful flowers.
2.When all the kids started their own families, the author’s father ________.
A. stopped his gardening
B. turned to other hobbies
C. devoted more to gardening
D. focused on planting tomatoes
3.What happened to the garden when the author’s father was seriously ill?
A. The author’s son took charge of the garden.
B. No plant grew in the garden at all.
C. The garden was almost deserted.
D. It brought the author a great harvest.
4.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A. the author’s son played happily in the garden
B. the author’s son reminded him of his own childhood
C. the author’s son was very glad to help the author
D. the author’s son will continue gardening as well
Located in the inner London Borough of Southwark, this hugely improved non-selective Secondary Academy School is looking to recruit (招募) and appoint a talented Science Teacher in April 2016 or sooner.
POSITION：Science Teacher |KS3 —5| All Science specialists are welcomed
DEPARTMENT：Popular & Ambitious Science Department
LOCATION：Borough of Southwark —Zone 2 —Inner London
PERSON：Qualified Science Teacher required —experience in UK
START DATE：April 2016 or sooner —full time & permanent contract on offer
SALARY：Inner London Pay Scale —£29,270 ～ £37,862 a year
PERSON REQUIREMENT：
All applicants will need to be suitably skilled, trained and qualified to be considered for this Science Teacher position. Applicants should feel confident across Key Stage 3, 4 and 5, in addition to having a real desire to make a difference and provide pupils under their care with a first class education.
SCHOOL & TRAVEL INFORMATION：
This is a typically diverse inner city school, suitable for a broad range of pupils aged 11 to 18 years old. The school has made huge steps and progressed from a satisfactory to a good school. Results are constantly improving, thanks to the staff in place, who are responsible for creating and delivering a broad curriculum. The school site is a short walk away from the nearest underground and rail stations, positioned within inner London, Zone 2. Those living in South and Central London are perfectly positioned for this position.
If you are a hardworking Science Teacher, hoping to become part of an improving Inner London Secondary, get in touch today. Please apply and submit your up-to-date CV using the form. One of the Clarus Education Team will be in touch within 48 hours if shortlisted(入围).
1.What is a must for the recruited teacher?
A. Being trained in England.
B. Experience in UK.
C. Diploma of Higher Education.
D. Being qualified for all grades.
2.What should the applicant be able to do?
A. Teach KS3-5 pupils well.
B. Be very confident across Key Stage 3 and 4.
C. Be good at using traditional methods.
D. Put advanced ideas into practice every day.
3.Which is true according to the last two paragraphs?
A. The school was well-known at first.
B. All the staff must be natives of London.
C. Applicants must sign up within 48 hours.
D. The transport system is convenient.
假定你是高中学生李华，你的美国朋友Jim即将升入中国的一所高中学习，想让你给他一些学习建议。请你给他写一封电子邮件，内容包括：
1. 与老师交流，征求老师意见；
2. 上课积极参与讨论，专心听讲，做好笔记；
3. 课后积极完成作业，巩固知识。
注意：1.词数100左右； 2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Jim,
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Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10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。
I like travelling and my dream of visit Beijing, the capital city of our country, come true during the National Day holidays this year. In October 1st, I went to Tian’anmen Square with my parents, there we watched the flag-raising ceremony. As I watched flag rising slowly, I sang the national anthem, feeling extremely exciting. Then we went to some other famous tourist attraction, like the Great Wall. Standing on the Great Wall, I felt very proudly. I thought of the old saying that “One who fail to reach the Great Wall is not a hero.” Although I was tired, but I really had a good time.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
My husband and I were paying a visit 1. my parents in Tucson. We went to a fast-food restaurant for dinner together. My husband went to the counter 2.__ (order) dishes and I stood with my parents.
My dad is 90 years old. He can hardly see very well and walks with a stick. I was scanning the restaurant, 3. (wait) to sit at the first table that was 4.__ (convenient) than others. A woman who was sitting with her son made eye contact with me and asked me to come to her. With a 5. (puzzle) look on my face, I pointed to myself and said , “Me?” She 6. (nod) and said, “Yes, you.” I walked to the table and she said, “Bring your family here. I can finish eating at the counter. My son is in 7. hurry to leave anyway.” My eyes 8. (fill) with tears as she wiped down the table and guided my dad to the seat.
I always believe that there are 9. (nature) kind people in this world. This woman has set a good example to her son, 10. is a really lucky guy.
