A couple of years ago, those who forecast that oil price would reach $ 100 a barrel were seen as doomsters. However, now some are predicting $ 200 a barrel.
Had economists been told that oil price would barely pause at $ 100 before reaching the recent peak of nearly $ 127, they would no doubt have forecast terrible economic consequences. But the global economy, though interrupted by the high price of energy, is still chugging along. Meanwhile, inflation has picked up, but the headline rates of inflation (通貨膨脹率) in most developed countries are nowhere near the levels seen in the 1970s and 1980s.
There are three explanations for the oil price’s unclear impact. The first is that nowadays developed economies are more efficient in their use of energy, thanks partly to the increased importance of service industries and the diminished role of manufacturing(制造業(yè)). According to the Energy Information Administration, the energy intensity of America’s GDP fell by 42% between 1980 and 2007.
A second theory is that the oil-price rise has been steady, not sudden, giving the economy time to adjust. Giovanni Serio of Goldman Sachs points out that in 1973 there was a severe supply shock because of the oil embargo(石油禁運), when the world had to cope with 10%-15% less crude almost overnight. Not this time.
The third explanation turns the argument on its head; rather than oil harming the global economy, it is global expansion that is driving up the price of oil.
The most important factor is the shift in favor of the developing economies. America has responded to high price in familiar fashion: UBS forecasts that demand will drop by 1.1% this year and will be no higher in 2010 than it was in 2004. But the demand from China and other emerging markets is more than offsetting(抵消) this shortfall.
小題1:What is the passage mainly talking about?

A．The prediction of economists.	B．The situation of economy
C．The increase of oil price	D．The American response to high price

小題2:How many explanations for the oil price’s impact are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two

B．Three

C．Four

D．Five

小題3:What can we conclude from the passage?

A．In USA, the demand for oil in 2010 will be very high.

B．In USA, the demand for oil in 2010 will be higher than it was in 2004.

C．In USA, the demand for oil in 2010 will be as high as it was in 2004.

D．In USA, the demand for oil in 2010 will be as low as it was in 2004.

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. A few weeks ago, we talked about the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL. A listener in Cambodia named Thida asks if American colleges and universities also accept the IELTS exam. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. It was developed by the University of Cambridge ESOL examiners.
Cambridge ESOL says the test measures true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration or employment. The IELTS tests listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. It uses a mixture of accents and spellings, including British English and American English.
The test is used by government agencies, schools and professional organizations in one hundred and twenty countries. And, yes, that includes the United States. The many American schools that accepted the IELTS can be found on the Web at felts.org.
Some schools accept both the TOEFL and the IELTS, but the graduate school at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, for example, says it prefers the IEITS.
The listening and speaking parts are the same for everyone who takes the IELTS, but people have a choice of reading and writing tests -- either academic or general training.
The listening test takes thirty minutes. There are forty questions based on a recording. The reading test takes sixty minutes. Students answer forty questions based on three written passages.
The writing test also takes sixty minutes. Students have to write two essays. One essay has to be at least one hundred and fifty words long and the other at least two hundred and fifty words. The shorter one is description of something; the longer one has to support and argument.
The speaking test takes less than fifteen minutes. The score is based on a recorded talk between the student and a test examiner.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. If you have a general question for our series, write to special@voanews.com. I'm Barbara Klein.
小題1:What does TOEFL stand for?

A．The Voice of America	B．The International English Language Testing System
C．The Test of English as a Foreign Language
D．The Test of English as a Native Language

小題2:The International English Language Testing System commonly takes _______ in all.

A．less than 160 minutes	B．more than 165 minutes
C．no more than 160 minutes	D．less than 166 minutes

小題3: According to the passage, we can infer _______.

A．IELTS is efficient and necessary if you want to go to English-speaking countries
B．IELTS is completely different from TOEFL
C．every American needs to accept TOEFL	D．IEITS isn't used more widely than TOEFL

小題4:What is the main idea of the passage?

A．How can the readers write papers to the VOA programme?

B．It talks about some ways to pass TOEFL.

C．It introduces IELTS.

D．How can the readers pass two kinds of tests?

The China Daily newspaper group is looking for English-language senior business editors, senior copy-editors, copy-editors and graphic designers to strengthen its international team．We offer a competitive salary package, free accommodations with useful things paid for, 90 percent medical reimbursement （補償）, seven days of paid leave, eleven public holidays and a return ticket to the country of residence．
Senior Business Editor
You must：
●assist the Business editor in setting goals and working on achieving them;
●be an excellent team person who can generate ideas and think creatively, be able to rewrite totally if needed and give advice to junior staff;
●ideally be working or have worked in a position of responsibility and understand what leadership involves;
●have had at least five years’ editing experience working on editing the Business Desk and be familiar with industry software．
Business Copy-editor
You must:
●work on shifts in the Business Desk and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
●edit or rewrite copy and give smart headlines and titles;
●have had at least two years’ editing experience working on editing desks and be familiar with industry software．
Copy-editor
You must:
●be good at editing or rewriting copy and writing interesting headlines and explanations;
●be able to work on shifts for different pages, and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
●have had two years of editing experience working on copy desks, and be familiar with industry software．
Senior Graphic Designer
You must:
●have excellent skills in information graphics;                   
●be good with illustrations and freehand drawings;
●be experienced in newspaper or magazine layouts（排版）；
●have a good sense of typography;
●have good news judgment;
●be well-skilled with Macintosh software: In design; Illustrator, Photoshop;
●be fluent in English．
●For enquiries or to apply, write to job @ chinadaily．com.cn
小題1:Which is NOT required about copy-editor?

A．Being familiar with industry software．

B．Having two years of editing experience．

C．Having a good sense of typography．

D．Writing interesting headlines and captions．

小題2:Which position doesn’t need the editing experience?

A．Senior Business Editor．	B．Business copy-editor．
C．Copy-editor．	D．Senior Graphic Designer

小題3:Which of the following can be used as the title of the advertisement?

A．China Daily Needs New Members

B．China Daily Is very Interesting

C．China Daily Is an International Team

D．China Daily Has Good Working Conditions

小題4:If you are admitted into China Daily, you can enjoy all the following EXCEPT

A．free accommodations

B．seven days leave without pay

C．a return ticket to the country of residence

D．eleven public holidays

Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends．A new device（裝置） called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English, Korean or Japanese．Bow-Lingual Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks．They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, assertion and desire．
Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar．The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner．When the dog barks, the unit displays translated phrases．
Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual．“Who would pay $120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask．
But those who have purchased（購買） Bow-Lingual praise the device．Pet owner Keiko Egawa, of Japan, says it helps her sympathize（同情） with her dog Harry．“Before we go to the park, he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa, “and after a walk, he always says he is hungry．”
Bow-Lingual is not yet available（可用的） in Chinese．So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom, or soon your dog may know more English than you do!
小題1:This passage is mainly talking about _____．

A．Bow-Lingual’s inventors	B．dog barks and their different emotions
C．talking dogs	D．a little help for dog owners

小題2:Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Dog owners now can understand their dogs better．

B．Bow-Lingual enables dogs to talk in English, Korean or Japanese．

C．People who have used Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs．

D．More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs．

小題3:What does “scoffed at” mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Shouted at．	B．Questioned about．
C．Laughed at．	D．Doubted about．

小題4:The writer of this passage is most likely to be _____．

A．a reporter	B．a dog owner
C．an advertiser	D．an expert on dog barks

There was simply too much news and too much information freely available on the net．But was it accurate? Whose opinion should we trust? A survey found that 60% of UK adults think it is worth paying for a "good newspaper", and most of those said they believed more of what they read in the paid-for newspapers．
Here was something newspapers understood—here was what they could offer: news plus comment and opinion．
And the Internet now offered opportunities．A newspaper was just that: news printed on paper．But the Internet now offered newspapers different places to print, and in different media．
This may explain why the readership of newspapers online in the UK is very different from people who read printed newspapers．
The most popular newspaper in the UK is The Sun and is also the most popular newspaper in the world．The "mid—market" audience mainly reads The Daily Mail．Of the "quality" newspapers, the most popular is the Daily Telegraph．
Online, it’s a different story．The most popular site is The Mail, which has 2．3 million "browsers" every day．And the next most popular site is The Guardian.
小題1:’Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Printed newspapers are disappearing．

B．The most popular newspapers has the most popular newspaper website as well．

C．People from other countries also enjoy reading British newspapers．

D．The free news on the Internet makes people unwilling to buy newspapers．

小題2:What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

A．People no longer believe what the Internet tells them．

B．Printed newspapers are out of date．

C．Different readers may have their various reading taste．

D．Printed newspapers can not deal with the challenge from the Internet．

小題3:What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The UK has the most popular printed newspapers in the world．

B．The condition of British newspapers in the information age．

C．Printed newspapers face a sever challenge．

D．The latest developments in online news sites．

小題4:From the survey we can see that the British are generally_____ to the news on the Net．

A．traditional

B．conservative

C．cautious

D．carefree

A HOLIDAY jet pilot （飛行員） said that he would land and call the police after a woman refused to stop smoking．
He warned Maureen Harkavy, “Put that cigarette out, or I’ll land the plane and have you arrested．”
Maureen, 47, was so shocked she wrote to the airline’s chairman．But his reply was even ruder．
“You seem to think you have a God-given right to pollute your neighbors’ atmosphere,” wrote John Ferriday of Paramount Airways．
（a）Said Maureen, “I only found out about it when I was checking in．I’m a nervous flyer so I lit a cigarette during the flight．A stewardess （空姐） asked me to put it out, but I said I wanted to carry on as there was no rule against smoking on the plane．” She was just finishing her cigarette when the pilot arrived．
（b） “I’ve never seen such an unpleasant letter．” She said, “I don’t think I’ll ever fly again．” But there was a funny side．Maureen explained, “We were offered duty-free （免稅） cigarette from the stewardess on the plane!”
（c） Mr．Ferriday went on: “Believe me, you haven’t．Especially when you travel on my planes．”
Maureen and her husband Michael were moved to Paramount flight just before they left Portugal．But they were not told of the company’s no smoking policy．
（d） “He was loud and rude,” said Maureen．“He said if I lit another cigarette he would land the plane at Bordeaux and hand me to the French police．”
Later, from her home in Mosely, Birmingham, Maureen wrote to the company and received the rude reply．
小題1:The second half of the story has been in wrong order．（Parts a-d） Choose the rearranged order which you think is right．

A．a, c, b, d

B．c, a, b, d

C．c, a, d, b

D．d, a, b, c

小題2:The pilot warned Maureen Harkavy ____________________．

A．to throw her cigarette out of the plane, or he would get her off the plane．

B．to stop smoking, or he would bring down the jet and hand her to the police．

C．not to light another cigarette after her first one．

D．to stop smoking, or he would bring her to justice．

小題3:Maureen Harkavy ______ on the plane．

A．accepted the warning

B．agreed to the warning

C．refused to do what she was told to

D．was so shocked that she wrote to the airline’s chairman

小題4:In the answer letter to Maureen Harkavy, the airline’s chairman ____ ．

A．made an apology to her for his worker’s rudeness

B．made sure that he would solve the problem

C．said that she had the right to smoke on his plane

D．actually completely agreed with what the pilot said

PEOPLE who have had a painful experience may wish they could wipe the memory from their minds. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, US, say that this may someday be possible.
A drug remains far off, but researchers have laid a foundation with their discovery that proteins can be removed from the brain’s fear center to cut memories forever.
Previous research had already shown that a special behavior therapy (治療) could cut painful memories. But relapse (復發(fā)) was possible because the memory hadn’t necessarily disappeared.
By looking at that process, Richard Huganir and Roger Clem, two researchers from Johns Hopkins University, discovered a “window of vulnerability (脆弱的窗口)” when proteins are created. The proteins help signals travel within the brain as painful memories are made. Because the proteins are unstable, they can be easily removed with drugs or behavior therapy to cut memories.
Researchers used mice to find the window, but think the process would be the same in humans. They used electric shocks to make the mice fear a certain sound. The sound triggered (觸發(fā)) the creation of the proteins, called calcium-permeable (鈣通透性) AMPARS, which formed for a day or two in the fear centers of the mice’s brains.
The researchers are working on ways to reopen the window by recalling (喚醒) the painful memory and using drugs to remove the protein. They published their report online last month in Science Express.
Their research has drawn interest and concern from experts in mental healthcare.
Kate Farinholt, a mental health expert with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Maryland, US, said many people suffering from a painful event might benefit from erasing a memory. “Erasing a memory and then everything bad built on that is an amazing idea, and I can see all sorts of potential ,” she said.
But there are a lot of unanswered questions, too.
“Completely deleting a memory is a little scary. How do you remove a memory without removing a part of someone’s life,” Farinholt said. “And is it best to do that, considering that people grow and learn from their experiences?”
小題1:What have researchers at Johns Hopkins University found recently?  

A．A new drug to erase painful memories from human brains.

B．A special behavior therapy to erase painful memories.

C．Removing certain proteins from the brain can wipe painful memories.

D．Erasing memory damages a patient’s brain functions.

小題2:What makes it possible to erase painful memories according to Paragraph 4? 

A．The way the brain cells are created.

B．The unstable character of the proteins in the brain.

C．The strength of the signals the proteins send.

D．The drugs that can stop the formation of memories.

小題3:Which of the following shows the stages of the process done on mice? 
a. removal of fear proteins            b. making mice fear a certain sound
c. fear proteins created in mice brains   d. making mice recall painful memories

A．a-b-c-d

B．d-a-c-b

C．b-c-d-a

D．c-b-d-a

小題4:What is Kate Farinholt’s opinion of the research? 

A．People may lose the chance to learn from their bad experiences.

B．The research will be a great breakthrough in treating painful memories.

C．People could suffer long-term memory loss.

D．People could forget happy memories as well.

NEW YORK (AP) — In a report, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 47 percent of U.S. adult Internet users have looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine.
That is more than twice the 22 percent of users who did in 2002, but Pew senior research specialist Mary Madden was surprised that the growth wasn’t higher than it had been expected.
　　“Yes it’s doubled, but it’s still the case that there’s a big chunk of Internet users who have never done this simple act of connecting their names with search engines,” she said. “Certainly more and more people have become aware of this, but I don’t know it’s necessarily kept pace with the amount of content we post about ourselves or what others post about us.”
About 60 percent of Internet users said they aren’t worried about the extent of information about themselves online, although they are increasingly concerned over how that data can be used.
Americans under 50 and those with more education and income were more likely to self-Google---in some cases because their jobs demand a certain online persona(形象).
Meanwhile, Pew found that 53 percent of adult Internet users admit to looking up information about someone else, famous people not included.
　　Often, it’s to find someone they’ve lost touch with. But looking up information about friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbors also was common.
Although men and women equally searched for online information about themselves, women were slightly more likely to look up information about someone they are dating.
　　In many cases, the search is not harmful, done to find someone’s contact information. But a third of those who have conducted searches on others have looked for public records, such as bankruptcies(破產) and divorce proceedings. A similar number have searched for someone else’s photo.
　　Pew also found that teens were more likely than adults to limit the range of people who can see their information at an online hangout like Facebook or News Corp.’s MySpace, contrary to conventional wisdom.
　　“Teens are more comfortable with the applications in some ways, (but) I also think they have their parents and teachers telling them to be very careful about what they post and who they share it with,” Madden said.
小題1: Mary Madden was surprised at the result that ______.

A．fewer and fewer adult Internet users are looking for information about themselves

B．the number of adult Internet users looking for information about themselves has doubled

C．more adult Internet users should have looked for information about themselves

D．so many people don’t know how to connect their names with search engines

小題2:According to the report some people haven’t looked for information about themselves because ______.

A．they are not rich enough to get a computer

B．they are not well educated

C．they don’t know they can look for their own information on the Internet

D．they think it unnecessary to look for their own information on the Internet

小題3: Which group of people are more likely to look for their own information on the Internet?
      

A．Teens.

B．Women.

C．The old.

D．The educated.

小題4:People look for others’ information on the Internet mainly to ______.

A．see what they are doing	B．find someone they have lost touch with
C．have a look at their photos	D．know their personal affairs

Visitors were still paying 20 yuan to hug Lele and have their photos taken yesterday despite a ban that forbids any such sontact with a wild animal. The ban was introduced more than a week ago.
“The city zoo broke the law and should be prohibited,” said an official at the State Forestry Administration.
The administration notice last Monday clearly bans contact with wild or captive animals, the abuse of wild or captive animals for performance purposes and any improper business related to wild animal products.
“Close contact with the chimp is the only bit that breaks the ban and we will end that soon,” said Beijing Zoo spokeswoman Ye Minxia yesterday.
“The chimpanzee performance can’t stopped overnight as we have a contract with a company scheduled to terminate at the end of this year,” she said.
“The zoo is negotiating with the company in the hope of terminating it sooner,” Ye said. She refused to answer directly whether the chimp photo sessions were still ongoing yesterday, instead, saying. “It’s very likely we will cancel it tomorrow.”
Zoo staff confirmed photos were taken yesterday, one employee saying 2-year-old Lele “works” form 10am to 3pm daily, according to the Leagl Mirror.
Such activities not only damage the mental and physical health of the animals, but also risk the safety of visitors, according to the official website of the State Forestry Administration where the notice was released.
“A pet male chimpanzee bit and attacked 55-year-old Chala Nash, causing serious injuries to her face, neck and hands at her friend’s home in Stamfor, Connecticut on February 16th last year,” CNN reported. The friend, Sandra Herold, called the police, who shot 14-year-old Travis many times after he also attacked an officer.”
“Putting a blue T-shirt on a wild animal and training it to bare its teeth and parade for visitors might not enhance that already-troubled image of Chinese animal protection,” the State Forestry official warned. “Some zoos even hit animals and promote themselves with commercials involving animal abuse, ” he said.
“Too much focus on the profits too often results in improper treatment of animals, contributing to their early and unnatural deaths,” the notice stated.
小題1:Where can people most probably find the article?

A．In research reports.	B．In newspapers.
C．In science fictions.	D．In book reviews.

小題2:What do we learn about Lele?

A．It’s used to make money.	B．It is hit by the people.
C．It attacked its owners.	D．It died unnaturally.

小題3:What would be the best title of the article?

A．Zoos Disobey National Ban	B．Profit-making Zoos
C．Animals in Danger	D．Animal Abuse

BEIJING, Feb 13 — Never has China's economic growth attracted so much global attention. The shock waves from the financial crisis (危機) that started in the United States have spread across the entire world, sending developed nations, including Japan and those of Europe, into serious recession(衰退). The world is now holding out hope that China, with its massive potential, will serve as the engine to fuel global economic growth.
But China's real economic growth slowed sharply to 6.8 percent in the October-December quarter. For China, this rate of economic expansion must be as disappointing as negative growth is for Japan. Beijing has set an official goal of achieving a minimum annual growth rate of 8 percent -- a pace it regards as important to ensuring job security.
The Chinese government is apparently confident the nation will achieve the minimum growth target of 8 percent in 2009. At the World Economic Forum's annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the Chinese economy began to show signs of recovery late last year.
Last week, however, the International Monetary Fund predicted that China's economic growth in 2009 will be 6.7 percent. China's economic outlook is likely to keep both hope and anxiety for the time being.
China's impressive economic growth has been fueled by swelling exports and massive investment (投資)in equipment to produce goods for overseas. But the US, Japanese and European economies, which have absorbed the bulk(數量) of China's exports, are expected to shrink simultaneous（同時）in 2009, for the first time since the end of World War II. For the first time since it started serious efforts to turn itself into a market economy in the 1990s, China is facing the challenge of maintaining healthy economic growth without depending on external demand.
Expansion of domestic (國內的) demand holds a key to China's success in tackling this challenge. Consumer spending accounts for only 35 percent of China's gross (總的)) domestic product. The ratio(比率) is considerably lower than the 70 percent for the United States and the nearly 60 percent for Japan. That is because the middle class - the group that should lead consumer spending - is still relatively small in China, where the benefits of the nation's strong economic growth in recent years have mostly eluded rural villages and low-income earners.
小題1:According to the report, in the last quarter of 2008, China's real economic growth was at least ______less than planned annual growth rate.

A．6.7% .

B．6.8%

C．1.3%

D．1.2%

小題2:Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The financial crisis has had bad effects on many countries including China.

B．China's economic growth has been depending on exports.

C．If China intends to keep the same economic growth, it must increase goods for overseas.

D．Consumer spending in China is much lower than that of the US.

小題3:The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means____.

A．benefited

B．avoided

C．influenced

D．missed

小題4:What's the best title of the passage?

A．Economic change, the only hope for china.

B．China has attracted much global attention.

C．China, the engine to fuel global economic growth.

D．The financial crisis has influenced China's economy.