Gemini Television is a large independent broadcaster(广播公司). They have had success in television with mini-series and situation comedies. Recently the company has decided to move into film--making.

They have received some film projects from directors working in different countries.

Title: Hands up for Happiness

Genre (类型): Romantic(浪漫的) comedy

Plot(情节): Two pairs of twins, one Italian and one Russian, meet and start relationships. They have problems telling the difference between each twin. Will they end up with the right person?

Cast(演员阵容): Unknown actors as need to be real twins.

Special features: Very romantic locations, e.g. Venice, St. Petersburg.

Budget: $40-50 million at most.

Audience: 20-35 year olds.

Title: Alien Attack

Genre: Science fiction

Plot: Story takes place 500 years in the future. The Earth is attacked by aliens. A small group survive the attack and try to save the planet. Will they succeed before the aliens reproduce?

Cast: To be decided (by the director) .

Special features: Shocking special effects, exciting visually.

Budget: $60-80 million at most.

Audience: 15 upwards.

Title: Exit Strategy

Genre: Thriller

Plot: A woman picks up the wrong bag at an airport and is mistaken for a foreign agent who has secret documents. She is tracked around the world by criminals, government agents and the real owner of the bag.

Cast: Major Hollywood star as lead actress (undecided).

Special features: Many locations around the world, lots of twists and turns in the story, strong possibility for a follow-up, and for turning the lead character into a female James Bond (a character from serial films).

Budget: At least $100-120 million.

Audience: 15 upwards.

Title: Midnight Sun

Genre: Action / Adventure

Plot: A story of family honour, revenge(复仇) great love and of good vs. bad. A young Japanese man brought up in the USA returns to the country of his birth. He discovers the dark secret of the family, and the reason he was brought up in the USA. His search for the truth leads him to the Philippines and to the beautiful princess Satsuki.

Cast: Young, unknown actors.

Special features: Excellently designed fight scenes.

Budget: $50-70 million at most.

Audience: Worldwide, but probably over 18 due to violence.

1.What are specially needed to produce Alien Attack?

A. Two pairs of twins.

B. Impressive fight scenes.

C. Amazing special effects.

D. Very romantic locations.

2.Which of the following films may be turned into a series?

A. Alien Attack. B. Exit Strategy.

C. Midnight Sun. D. Hands up for Happiness.

3.The four films mentioned in the text.

A. are of the same type

B. all have fight scenes

C. haven’t decided on the actors

D. are all intended for teenagers

The Oxford Dictionary has announced its word of the year. It's spelled... Actually, it isn't spelled at all, because it contains no letters, just a “face with tears of joy” emoji.

“The fact that English alone is proving not enough to meet the needs of 21st-century digital communication is a huge change,” says Caspar Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries. When one of his dictionary colleagues suggested using an emoji instead of the word “emoji”, “lightbulbs went off”. Until recently, Grathwohl, who is 44, avoided using emojis altogether because he worried that he would look as if he “was trying to get in on teen culture”. “I felt inauthentic. But I think there was a tipping point this year. It's now moved into the mainstream.”

Some 76% of the UK adult population owns a smart phone, and of those, between 80% and 90% use emojis. Worldwide, six billion are sent daily. The “face with tears of joy” is the most used, representing 20% of all UK and 17% of all US emoji use. It has overtaken the standard smiley-face emoji in popularity, which may mean that emoji users are moving towards exaggeration or irony or fun, or that all this emoji use has brought everyone to a higher emotional plane. Even if you don't send emojis yourself, you will probably receive them.

How far do emojis function as a language? “There's a lot of prejudice against emojis,” Vyvyan Evans, a professor in linguistics at Bangor University, says. “A lot of people think they are a backward step, but this misunderstands the nature of human communication.” The picture is more complicated, with emojis offering both greater freedom and limitations than verbal language. “Emoji isn't a language as such. They don't develop in the way that the natural language does. But they are working according to the same principles of communication as the spoken language. What is the value of an emoji? I think I can prove this with an ordinary sentence.” There is a pause. “I love you,” he says. “Crikey(哎呀), I love you.” He says it again. The first time I think he means it; the second time we both know he doesn't. “The meaning is coming from extra-language factors,” he says. “Emojis are performing the same function in digital speech.”

Like any sort-of language, emoji is evolving. “I do think they are subtle(微妙) and rich,” Grathwohl says. “They can mean different things to different people. The fact that we are using emoji in combination to express more complex ideas and experiences is one of the most fun and playful parts of the whole words. Will emoji finally come to look something more like traditional language that we understand?” he asks. “That would be interesting.”

1.The sentence “lightbulbs went off” (Para. 2) means that     .

A. the president became embarrassed and annoyed

B. the president suddenly realized he was outdated

C. the suggestion was immediately adopted

D. the suggestion started a heated discussion

2.The “face with tears of joy” is more popular than smiley-face emoji, which means that     .

A. emoji is changing constantly

B. smiley-face emoji is too traditional

C. adults have more sorrow than joy in their daily life

D. people like to express their emotions in a richer way

3.Vyvyan Evans uses the sentence “I love you” as an example (Para. 4) to prove that     .

A. emoji can express the real meaning behind words

B. emoji is different from the natural language

C. people feel free to use emoji in communication

D. emoji will limit people in expressing their feelings

4.Which of the following statements might Grathwohl agree with?

A. Emoji is too childish for adults.

B. People have the same explanation for an emoji.

C. Using emoji can add fun to communication.

D. Emoji won't develop into a language.

A Welcome Gift

Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them ______ side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud ______ filled the room and made them feel very happy.

The next morning, ______, their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a ______ under their door during the night. One of their neighbors had written to complain about the sound of the piano. Dario’s mother asked the building superintendent (管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all ______ people and he couldn’t imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their ____ and apologize for their playing.

“Maybe we could go and ______ everyone in person.” his mother said.

“What if we invited them to come here for a ______ instead?” Dario asked.

They both loved the ______. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts ______ their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers (彩带) and party lights.

Finally, the day of the party ______. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to ______. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, ______ Dario’s mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I ____ that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don’t think I disliked the playing.”

Dario’s mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we ______ you an apology.” she said. “I didn’t ______ how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.

“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such ______ music.”

“These songs are beautiful music.” Dario’s mother said. “We will be ______ to play them in the evening.”

“And we won’t play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to ______ the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother’s face. It gave him a feeling of ______ and made him feel that they were home at last.

1.A. sat B. stood C. lay D. walked

2.A. voice B. ring C. music D. cry

3.A. therefore B. however C. otherwise D. instead

4.A. note B. poster C. bill D. report

5.A. proud B. rich C. lucky D. nice

6.A. neighbors B. friends C. relatives D. audience

7.A. blame B. instruct C. question D. visit

8.A. party B. concert C. show D. play

9.A. experience B. idea C. performance D. action

10.A. to B. with C. for D. from

11.A. continued B. arrived C. passed D. finished

12.A. order B. sell C. share D. advertise

13.A. treated B. presented C. helped D. served

14.A. promised B. admitted C. agreed D. worried

15.A. give B. send C. offer D. owe

16.A. realize B. remember C. understand D. accept

17.A. sweet B. strange C. funny D. loud

18.A. brave B. sorry C. happy D. afraid

19.A. changing B. practicing C. recording D. writing

20.A. equality B. freedom C. warmth D. sympathy

American women who work as computer programmers, chefs and dentists earn 28 percent less than men doing the same jobs. Those are the jobs with the biggest wage differences between men and women, according to a new study.

Overall, the study found that women earn 5. 4 percent less than men for doing the same job, in the same location and for the same employer. The wage differences between women and men were similar in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and France.

5.4 percent is a big difference in pay between men and women because it cannot be explained by women and men taking the same kinds of jobs. It can only be explained by bias(倔见)against women, or other causes, such as women not being good at asking for pay.

Research suggests that women do not negotiate(交涉)as well as men when it comes to pay.

And women are generally more uncomfortable asking fellow employees how much they make, sothey can see if they are being paid fairly.

According to the study, women earned at least 15 percent less than men in these job categories:psychologists,pharmacists,physicians,opticians,pilots and game artists.

But in the fields of social work, selling merchandise, research assistants and physician advisors, women earn more than men. In social work, women earned 7. 8 percent more than men, the report said. That was the job category with the biggest advantage for women. It was still far less than the 28 percent pay advantage for men in some fields.

Comparing salaries for full-time workers, women earn only 79 percent as much as men. Over a lifetime, that much of a difference in pay can amount to a large amount of money.

Women only earned 57 percent as much as men in 1975. It is now up t0 79 percent. That is

progress, the report says, but not enough.

1.Which of the following has the biggest pay differences between women and men?

A. A pilot. B. A game artist.

C. A research assistant. D. A computer programmer.

2.Why do women earn less than men when doing the same job?

A. They don’t try their best to fight for better pay.

B. They care less about their pay than men.

C. Bosses usually looks down upon women.

D. They don-t work as effectively as men.

3.How much income do full-time women workers lose compared with men?

A. 5.4%. B. 7.8%.

C. 21%. D. 28%.

4.What does the report think of the women's pay?

A. It is growing rather quickly. B. It is rising but not satisfying.

C. It is not fair for women workers. D. It is reasonable for present situation.

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