Two-way Televisions

Communication by television has been one-way since its beginning. However, the television watcher will soon be able to talk back. Two-way television is now a possibility, making electronic communication a goal for the future. Because of computers and cable television(有线电视), the audience(观众) will be more than watchers. They will be able to do more than choose their programs. They will also be able to give feedback(反馈) on them. Two-way TV is not a dream. The hardware(硬件) for such a two-way system already exists(存在). For example, the cable television systems that are spreading rapidly connect stations and television sets. The same equipment can be used to return information. One experimental group of cable-television watchers is called Cube, in Columbus, Ohio. Cube has thirty channels. Members pay for what they watch. The choice of programs includes everything from sports to children’s shows, from TV games to natural history. Most importantly, however, the viewers can talk back. A book-sized box of buttons makes it possible. For example, after a program, the announcer might ask for the opinions of the audience. The audience can respond by pushing buttons. An electronic signal goes to a bank of computers at the Cube station. Almost instantly, the data is analyzed, and the viewers see the results on their TV sets.

A nationwide Cube system would have many users. Government leaders could use it to get feedback from the people. It could even be used for voting. Besides, teachers in television classrooms could communicate with their unseen students. A television communication system would have a great influence on a country. For example, after a talk about a new product, an announcer could ask the audience for opinions. Would they buy the product? During a talk by a government leader, the announcer could ask the audience to talk back. The leader would know whether the audience believed him or not.

Out of all these dreams of progress, however, there comes one question: Is this what people need and want? With a Cube system, a person might not need to leave the TV set. What would happen to society?

1. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refers to__________.

A. two-way televisions

B. computers and cable TV

C. the audience

D. programs

2. The hardware for a two-way TV system is __________.

A. the cable TV system

B. the back of computers

C. the thirty channels

D. electronics

3. The most important feature of Cube is that viewers can__________.

A. watch programs on their channels

B. watch any program by sending electronic signals

C. talk back to the announcers by pushing buttons

D. use computers at the Cube station through their TV sets

4. According to the passage, the Cube system is__________.

A. widely used in the USA

B. being tested in a lab in Ohio

C. expensive

D. a dream that will never come true

Communication by television has been one-way since its beginning. However, the television watcher will soon be able to talk back. Two-way television is now a possibility, making electronic communication a goal for the future. Because of computers and cable television(有线电视), the audience(观众) will be more than watchers. They will be able to do more than choose their programs. They will also be able to give feedback(反馈) on them. Two-way TV is not a dream. The hardware(硬件) for such a two-way system already exists(存在). For example, the cable television systems that are spreading rapidly connect stations and television sets. The same equipment can be used to return information. One experimental group of cable-television watchers is called Cube, in Columbus, Ohio. Cube has thirty channels. Members pay for what they watch. The choice of programs includes everything from sports to children’s shows, from TV games to natural history. Most importantly, however, the viewers can talk back. A book-sized box of buttons makes it possible. For example, after a program, the announcer might ask for the opinions of the audience. The audience can respond by pushing buttons. An electronic signal goes to a bank of computers at the Cube station. Almost instantly, the data is analyzed, and the viewers see the results on their TV sets.

A nationwide Cube system would have many users. Government leaders could use it to get feedback from the people. It could even be used for voting. Besides, teachers in television classrooms could communicate with their unseen students. A television communication system would have a great influence on a country. For example, after a talk about a new product, an announcer could ask the audience for opinions. Would they buy the product? During a talk by a government leader, the announcer could ask the audience to talk back. The leader would know whether the audience believed him or not.

Out of all these dreams of progress, however, there comes one question: Is this what people need and want? With a Cube system, a person might not need to leave the TV set. What would happen to society?

1. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refers to__________.

A. two-way televisions

B. computers and cable TV

C. the audience

D. programs

2. The hardware for a two-way TV system is __________.

A. the cable TV system

B. the back of computers

C. the thirty channels

D. electronics

3. The most important feature of Cube is that viewers can__________.

A. watch programs on their channels

B. watch any program by sending electronic signals

C. talk back to the announcers by pushing buttons

D. use computers at the Cube station through their TV sets

4. According to the passage, the Cube system is__________.

A. widely used in the USA

B. being tested in a lab in Ohio

C. expensive

D. a dream that will never come true

One Language For Everyone

A story from the Bible tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky． But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages．They couldn't understand each other, so their dream never came true．

Yet the dream remains alive：if all men speak the same language, they can do anything．L．L．Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream．He developed Esperanto （世界语） between 1877 and 1885．

As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world．

Last month, the World Esperanto Congress （大会）, dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden．

Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland．Esperanto has two advantages．First, it's easy．Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules．The second advantage is that it belongs to no country．

But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world — such as English or Chinese．While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn't have this background．

Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question．

1．The writer tells us a story at the beginning to _______．

    A．explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all

    B．explain why men now speak different languages

    C．show the relationship between man and God

    D．prove language is very important

2．What does the word “pursue” in the second paragraph mean?

    A．realize                B．work for         C．be against         D．come true

3．What is the basic difference between Esperanto and English?

       A．More people speak English than Esperanto． 

       B．Esperanto words are easier to spell．

       C．Esperanto has fewer grammar rules． 

       D．Esperanto is not supported by any country or culture．

4．What does the story mainly talk about?

A．The advantages of Esperanto．

B．Men's dream of sharing the same language．

C．Comparison of Esperanto and other languages．

D．The most successful man-made world language — Esperanto．

When 19-year-old Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation (基金会)，nobody understood what she was talking about .But Sophia knew just how important Make – A –Wish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one her best friends .We were interested in finding out more ,so we went along to meet Sophia listen to what she had to say .

Sophia told us that Make – A –Wish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980.”It’s a charity(慈善机构)that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. Make – A –Wish help children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true,” Sophia explained.

 We asked Sophia how Make – A –Wish had first started .She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris ,who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman .Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris’s dream come true ----so, with everybody’s help , Chris, only seven years old at the time ,had been a “policeman” for a day .” when people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too, and that was the beginning of Make – A –Wish,” explained Sophia.

Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A Make-A-Wish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.

64. Sophia found out about Make-A-Wish because her best friend had ________.

A. benefited from it     B. volunteered to help it

C. dreamed about it     D. told the author about it

65. According to Sophia, Make-A-Wish  ________.

A. is an international charity

B. was understood by nobody at first

C. raises money for very poor families

D. started by drawing the interest of the public

66. What is said about Chris in Paragraph3?

A. He has been a policeman since he was seven.

B. He gave people the idea of starting Make-A-Wish

C. He wanted people to help make his dream come true.

D. He was the first child Make-A-Wish helped after it had been set up.

67. Which of the following is true about Make-A-Wish volunteers?

A. They are important for making wishes come true.

B. They try to help children get over their illnesses.

C. They visit sick children to make them feel special.

D. They provide what is necessary to make Make-A-Wish popular.

When 19-year-old Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation (基金会)，nobody understood what she was talking about. But Sophia knew just how important Make – A –Wish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one her best friends. We were interested in finding out more, so we went along to meet Sophia listen to what she had to say.
Sophia told us that Make – A –Wish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980. ” It’s a charity(慈善机构)that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. Make – A –Wish help children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true, ” Sophia explained.
We asked Sophia how Make – A –Wish had first started. She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris, who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman. Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris’s dream come true ----so, with everybody’s help, Chris, only seven years old at the time, had been a “policeman” for a day. ” when people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too , and that was the beginning of Make – A –Wish, ” explained Sophia.
Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A Make-A-Wish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.
【小题1】Sophia found out about Make-A-Wish because her best friend had  .