What’ s the fastest way to learn a language?

Learning a new language seems hard and frightening as

we look back on the years of grammar and translations in

school．Yet babies communicate t eighteen months and speak

the language fluently before they go to school.

Firstly and most importantly, a child’ s natural language-learning ability exits only in a speech environment free of translations and explanations of translations and explanations of grammar．Secondly, a child’ s language learning speeds up by constant feedback（反馈）from family and friends．Thirdly, children learn through play.

At Rosetta Stone, you know adults can recover the native language-learning ability they once had as children．At every step and in every skill, you receive immediate and actionable feedback, including speech recognition（识别）, advice and attention.

Every act is an act of play for children and there’ s no reason why it should be different for learners of any age．With Rosetta Stone programs, you rediscover the joy of learning languages．Clever, puzzle-like activities produce sudden “aha!” moments and astonishing language discoveries, we see it all the time．A slow of recognition, as though the brain suddenly realizes what is like to learn a language as a child.

Visit our website and find out how you can make your own language-learning ability active with Rosetta Stone．It’ s the fastest way to learn a language.

1.Which of the following as is TRUE about Rosetta Stone?

      A．You can learn only a few languages.

      B．You will get some advice in time during learning.

      C．You may take part in the language school today.

      D．You can get your money back after seven months.

2.The main purpose of the text is to         ．

    A．tell adults how to 1earn a language well

    B．present readers to buy CDs of Rosetta Stone

    C．present some problems of learning languages

    D．compare adults and children 1earning 1anguages

3.If there’ s a$499 program，you order it today and pay        .

    A．$479                B．$459              C．$449                    D．$439

4.The passage is most 1ikely to be a（ n）           ．

    A．education paper                               B．review on 1anguage

C．science report                                    D．advertisement for a product

根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项多余选项。（共五小题；每小题5分，满分10分）

—How often do you use the Internet?

—  1  But I usually use it o check my email. I don’t often surf the Internet. You use the Internet a lot, don’t you?

—   2  

—So, you’re working online eight hours a day. It can be awful when the connection is poor.

—    3  Sometimes I also help others in the office if they’re having trouble online.

—How useful do you think the Internet is as a source of information?

—I think it’s useful.    4   The information online may be false. You don’t see what you buy online until you actually get it.

—   5

—We usually find the website of shops, then visit the shop and buy when we’ve seen the products.

E. Yes. I like the job though.

F. How do you solve the problems when shopping online?

G. I use it almost every day.

　A few months ago, it wasn't unusual for 47-year-old Carla Toebe to spend 15 hours per day online. She'd wake up early, turn on her laptop and chat on Internet dating sites and instant-messaging programs – leaving her bed for only brief breaks. Her household bills piled up, along with the dishes and dirty laundry, but it took constant complaints from her four daughters before she realized she had a problem.

　　"I was starting to feel like my whole world was falling apart – kind of slipping into a depression," said Carla. "I knew that if I didn't get off the dating sites, I'd just keep going," detaching (使脱离) herself further from the outside world.

　　Toebe's conclusion: She felt like she was "addicted" to the Internet. She's not alone.

　　Concern about excessive Internet use isn't new. As far back as 1995, articles in medical journals and the establishment of a Pennsylvania treatment center for overusers aroused interest in the subject. But as reliance on the Web grows, there are signs that the question is getting more serious attention: Last month, a study published in CNS Spectrums claimed to be the first large-scale look at Internet overuse. The American Psychiatric Association may also consider listing Internet addiction in the next edition. And scores of online discussion boards have popped up, on which people discuss negative experiences tied to too much time on the Web.

    The new CNS Spectrums study was based on results of a nationwide telephone survey of more than 2,500 adults. Like the latest survey, this one was conducted by Stanford University researchers. About 6% of respondents reported that "their relationships suffered because of excessive Internet use." About 9% attempted to conceal "nonessential Internet use," and nearly 4% reported feeling " still occupied by the Internet when offline."

　　"The Internet problem is still in its early stage," said Maressa Orzack, a Harvard University professor. No single online activity is to blame for excessive use, he said. "They're online in chat rooms, checking e-mail, or writing blogs. The problem is not limited to porn (色情) or gambling websites.”

　　“Excessive Internet use should be defined not by the number of hours spent online but in terms of losses.”said Maressa Orzack. "If it's a loss where you're not getting to work, and family relationships are breaking down as a result, then it's too much."

　　Since the early 1990s, several clinics have been established in the U. S. to treat heavy Internet users. They include the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery and the Center for Internet Behavior.

　　The website for Orzack's center lists the following among the psychological symptoms of computer addiction:

　　● Having a sense of happiness or excitement while at the computer.

　　● Longing for more and more time at the computer.

　　● Neglect of family and friends.

　　● Feeling empty, depremssed or irritable when not at the computer.

　　● Lying to employers and family about activities.

　　● Inability to stop the activity.

　　● Problems with school or job.

　　Physical symptoms listed include dry eyes, backaches, skipping meals, poor personal hygiene (卫生) and sleep disturbances.

　　“People who struggle with Internet overuse maybe depressed or have other mood disorders.” Orzack said. When she discusses Internet habits with her patients, they often report that being online offers a "sense of belonging, and escape, excitement and fun," she said. “Some people say relief…because they find themselves so relaxed.”

　　Some parts of the Internet seem to draw people in more than others. Internet gamers spend countless hours competing in games against people from all over the world. One such game, called World of Warcraft, is cited on many sites by posters complaining of a "gaming addiction."

　　Andrew Heidrich, an education network administrator from Sacramento, plays World of Warcraft for about two to four hours every other night, but that's nothing compared with the 40 to 60 hours a week he spent playing online games when he was in college. He cut back only after a full-scale family intervention (干预), in which relatives told him he'd gained weight.

　　“There's this whole culture of competition that sucks people in with online gaming, ”said Heidrich, now a father of two. People do it at the expense of everything that was a constant in their lives." Heidrich now visits websites that discuss gaming addiction regularly “to remind myself to keep my love for online games in check”.

　　Toebe also regularly visits a site where posters discuss Internet overuse. In August, when she first realized she had a problem, she posted a message on a Yahoo Internet addiction group with the subject line:“I have an Internet Addiction.”

　　“I'm self-employed and need the Internet for my work, but I'm failing to accomplish my work, to take care of my home, to give attention to my children,”she wrote in a message sent to the group. “I have no money or insurance to get professional help; I can't even pay my loan and face losing everything.”

　　Since then, Toebe said, she has kept her promise to herself to cut back on her Internet use. "I have a boyfriend now, and I'm not interested in online dating," she said by phone last week. "It's a lot better now."

1. What eventually made Carla Toebe realize she was spending too much time on the Internet?

　A. Her daughter's repeated complaints.

　B. Tiredness resulting from lack of sleep.

　C. The poorly managed state of her house.

　D. The high financial costs adding up.

2.What is the main idea of para4?

A. A study claimed to be the first large-scale look at Internet overuse.

B. The American Psychiatric Association plans to list Internet addiction in its edition.

C. There are heated discussions about negative experiences over internet overuse.

D. There is a growing concern towards internet addiction.

3. According to Professor Maressa Orzack, Internet use would be considered excessive if ______.

　A. it seriously affected family relationships

　B. one visited porn websites frequently

　C. too much time was spent in chat rooms

　D. people got involved in online gambling

4. According to Orzack, people who struggle with heavy dependence on    

the Internet may feel ______.

　A. discouraged   B. pressured    C. depressed    D. puzzled

5. Andrew Heidrich now visits websites that discuss online gaming addiction to _____.

　A. improve his online gaming skills

　B. control his desire for online gaming

　C. show how good he is at online gaming

　D. exchange online gaming experience

6.Which of the following best describes the tone(口吻) of the passage ?

 A. Humorous      B. Ironic       C. Objective      D. Casual

The website FarmersOnly.com calls itself an online dating and friendship finder. The idea started in the mind of a man, Jerry Miller in Ohio. He wondered how farmers could meet new people who understand the life of a farmer. Jerry Miller is not a farmer but he represents a lot of farmers.

As he tells it, the idea for the site was planted when a farmer told him one day that she was recently divorced and would like to date. But someone would invite her to meet for coffee at nine o’clock at night, when she had to start her day at five the next morning.

So, in 2005, Jerry Miller launched his website. “You don’t have to be a farmer to be on FarmersOnly.com, but you do have to have the good old-fashioned traditional values of America’s Heartland.” 

You also have to live in the United States or Canada to be a member of the site. Some services are free, but a full membership costs fifty dollars for a year. As of last week the site listed more than 58,000 members. Many of them are farmers in the United States. Others are students or workers involved in some way with agriculture. Jerry Miller tells us about thirty marriages in the last year have resulted from his website.

Some farmers have also found love through a group, Singles in Agriculture, which was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1986. It organizes gatherings that usually end with a dance, but is not a dating service. The purpose is to support educational and social activities that offer people a chance for friendship. Its website, singlesinag.org, says there are more than 1,000 members across the nation and as far away as France.

1.Jerry Miller started singlesinag.org in order to     .

A. help farmers                     B. support traditions

C. understand farmers                   D. represent farmers

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate?

A. She dislikes city lifestyle.

B. She prefers late night coffee

C. Country life isn’t well understood.

D. It’s tiring to get up early.

3.Which of the following is true of singlesinag.org?

A. Its services are free.

B. It provides dating services.

C. Only farmers can become its members.

D. Farmers in France can’t benefit from it.

4.The author of the text intends to     .

A. advertise for the two websites

B. introduce two websites

C. encourage social activities

D. urge readers to help farmers

5. It can be inferred from the text that     .

A. all farmers desire marriage

B. farmers are easy to meet new people

C. more farmers get divorced in the USA

D. the Internet helps improve farmers’ social life

Mapping Your World

    Different forms of maps are appearing．They allow independent travelers to get local knowledge of places they are visiting, from the official to the unusual．Meanwhile, hi-tech developments are creating new ways for us to map the world．Here are two of our favorites：

Green Maps

    Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of environmentally friendly places and attractions in the local areas．Users add information with a set of icons（图标）, making it easy to read any map, whatever the nationalities of those who produce it．At present there are over five hundred map projects being developed in 54 countries．Green Maps’ advertised idea is “think global, map local”．It is a wonderful way of gaining all sorts of information of a place, ranging from community gardens to good places of birdwatching．

    Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers．Not all of its maps are online, so it may be necessary for some users to communicate with the producers through the Green Maps website．

Maps Mashups

    Many people use online maps developed by Google, but not many know about the mashups of them．Working in a similar way to Green Maps, Map Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to existing maps to express a certain topic．The mashups is so called because it combines all the knowledge you could ever need．It ranges from the extremely useful, such as where all the World Heritage Sites are, to the most bizarre （古怪的），such as where America’s drunkest cities are．With the mashups added to the basic Google Maps, a multi-layered （多层的） map can be created．

1.According to the passage, which of the following is a characteristic of Green Maps?

    A．Introducing local attractions with icons

    B．Aiming at environmental protection

    C．Offering advice to independent travelers．

    D．Collecting icons worldwide for local maps．

2.Which of the following icons is most probably NOT used in Green Maps?

3.“Map Mashups” is named with the word “mashups” because       ．

A．it is produced by users all over the world B．it is a branch of Google Maps

C．it shares icons with Green Maps          D．it gathers various kinds of information

4.What do Green Maps and Map Mashups have in common?

    A．They are created by local people．

    B．They are environmentally friendly．

    C．Users can edit maps on the Internet．

    D．Users need to communicate with producers．