Wikipedia (维基百科) is a non-profit website funded by donations, started on 15th January, 2001. “Wiki” means “quick” in the Hawaiian language. These days, most people go straight to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia (百科), to look something up. But how reliable is it?

The site attracts 78 million visitors every month, and it is available in more than 270 different languages. It’s one of the most comprehensive (综合的) resources available, and it’s got much more information than an ordinary encyclopedia. The site is updated on a daily basis by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with an Internet connection can look through and edit the contents or add a new page at any time. And you don’t need any formal training.

Of course, there are some controls. Wikipedia has a team of more than 1,500 administrators who check for false information. And main targets for horrible comments (such as politicians) are forbidden to public editing. But with more than 16 million articles to keep an eye on, it isn’t easy. So, while Wikipedia benefits from being constantly updated with information from all over the world, it’s also open to “vandals”(故意捣乱者).

Some of the damage is easy to notice. Someone drew horns and a moustache on Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ photo. But other things are harder to spot. The most common form of vandalism involves adding tiny items of false information into the biography of a famous person. Unbelievably, some of this misinformation has appeared in newspapers, with The Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Independent all having fallen victim to the tricks. For example, in an obituary (讣告) for British comedian Sir Norman Wisdom, one newspaper claimed that he co-wrote Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime song “There’ll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover”. In fact, he did no such thing.

So if you’re going to use any information from Wikipedia, make sure you double-check it first.

1.What do we know about Wikipedia?

A. It makes profits from its users.

B. It is run by the Hawaiian government.

C. It provides a huge amount of information.

D. It is the most popular website worldwide.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. 78 million people visit Wiki each day

B. To forbid wrong public editings is quite easy

C. Formal education is needed to do editing for Wifi

D. Some people change the information on Wiki just for fun

3. The example of Norman Wisdom’s obituary is used to show _________.

A. Wikipedia sometimes contains false information

B. some newspapers like The Guardian are irresponsible

C. Norman Wisdom is unpopular with some people

D. Wikipedia affects people’s lives greatly

4.What does the author advise readers to do?

A. To look through Wikipedia frequently.

B. To update Wikipedia on a daily basis.

C. To turn to other websites for valid information.

D. To be careful when using the information from Wikipedia.

Unique New Year's Traditions from Around the World

How do you celebrate New Year’s? If I had to take a guess,you probably celebrate New Year’s surrounded by family and friends,enjoying drinks of your choice and watching the ball drop with Dick Clark.1.Listed below are five of the top ten“Unique New Year Traditions from Around the World.”

1.Breaking Dishes on Neighbor’s Door

A strange Danish New Year tradition,depending on how you look at it, is throwing dishes at neighbor’s door.2.The family with the tallest tower of broken plates,glasses,cups and other crockery is considered to be the luckiest person because it symbolizes their large amount of loyal friends.

2.Talking to Spirits

Talking to spirits is a part of Mexican belief.Mexicans strongly believe that they can communicate with the souls of their dead loved ones.3.And this is not done at home on an individual basis but is a legal Mexican practice.Taos Inn,in New Mexico for example,offers 15 minutes session of spiritualism and meditation for $15.6.Not a bad price for some helpful guidance!

3.Wearing Polka Dots

Imagine streets full of people wearing polka dots and dining room tables full of round shaped food and fruits on one single day of the year.4.Philippines believe that this will bring them prosperity by associating the round dots to coins and wealth.

4.Burning Scarecrow Dummy

Ecuador has a unique custom of crafting Scarecrows and then burning them at midnight.They adorn them and fill the scarecrows with newspapers and pieces of wood.As midnight approaches,everyone gathers outside their home and each family burns their own scarecrow.5.The scarecrow also scares away bad luck,which in rurn,fills their new year with luck and happiness.

A.New Year’s Eve is considered the best time to communicate with dead spirits to convey a message or ask for guidance.

B.It is also believed in the Irish culture that this act will help them get rid of bad luck.

C.Have you ever imagined how New Year’s would look in another country?

D.This all actually happens in the Philippines on New Year’s Eve every year.

E.Strangely,this makes them happy instead of annoying them.

F.We all want to start a new,fresh year with renewed enthusiasm and hope.

G.The tradition says that this destroys all the bad things that took place in the past months.

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We provide recordings of real conversations and interviews,with transcripts(文字记录)of the conversations so you can read and listen at the same time.It is a good way to learn real English.

1.This website mainly provides users with _____________.

A.free courses on traveling abroad

B.plenty of language resources

C.interesting conversations

D.1ots of amazing stories

2.If one wants to enrich his grammar and words,he should click _____________.

A.Be Aware B.The Water Car

C.The Business Trip D.Interactive Stories

3.Which of the following is designed for intermediate level learners?

A.The Children of Kenji Takeuehi.

B.A New Life in Mosquito City

C.Hiromi’s Trip to Thailand.

D. Miyako’s Education.

4.Real conversations is a good may to learn real English because ____________.

A.you can read while listening

B.you can see a native speaker

C.you can record your own voice and listen to it

D.you can transcript every word of real speakers

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