Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word mouth. But some of them are not so nice.

For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say “Do not bad mouth me.”

Sometimes, people say something to a friend or a family member that they later regret because it hurts that person’s feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen, the speaker might feel down in the mouth. In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.

Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest: “I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth.”

Information is often spread through word of mouth. This is general communication between people, like friends talking to each other. “How did you hear about that new movie?” someone might ask. “Oh, by word of mouth.” A more official way of getting information is through a company or government mouthpiece. This is an official spokesperson. Government-run media could also be called a mouthpiece.

Sometimes when one person is speaking, he says the same thing that his friend was going to say. When this happens, the friend might say: “You took the words right out of my mouth!” Sometimes a person has a bad or unpleasant experience with another person. He might say that experience “l(fā)eft a bad taste in my mouth.” Or the person might have had a very frightening experience, like being chased by an angry dog. He might say: “I had my heart in my mouth.”

Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.

Parents might sometimes withhold sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.

But enough of all this talk. I have been running my mouth long enough.

1.Which of the following can best describe his or her feeling if a speaker feels down in the mouth?

A. Delighted B. Regretful

C. Disappointed D. Respectful

2.When your car was close to knocking into a truck, you might say “_______”

A. I really put my foot in my mouth this time.

B. I had my heart in my mouth.

C. I live from hand to mouth.

D.I get to know it by word of mouth.

3.According to the passage, which behavior is surely Not welcome?

a. bad mouthing somebody

b. mouthing off about something

c. putting words in somebody’s mouth

d. taking the words right out of somebody’s mouth

A. abc B. abd C. bcd D. acd

4.What do “I” probably (in the last Para.) do?

A. A host B. A journalist

C. A director D. A listener

On Sept 18, they arrived before polling stations even opened, dressed in school uniforms, with book bags over their shoulders—and, for the first time in British history, ballot (選票) cards in hands.

More than 109,000 Scottish teenagers aged 16 to 17 took part in the Scottish independence referendum (公民投票), in which Scotland eventually decided not to become independent.

The age group only made up a small part of the 4.29 million total voters, but they have “demonstrated how the youngest voters can be some of the most enthusiastic in a mature democracy”, commented The Associated Press. Casting their ballots, they were “proud and passionate” to help their nation decide whether to break away from the UK after 307 years in union.

“You feel like you’ve got a say, because it is going to be you. You are going to decide what it is like when you’re older,” 16-year-old Erin Cheshire in Glasgow, who voted “yes”, told The Wall Street Journal.

At age 16, Scottish residents are allowed to join the military, get married, and work. Eighteen is the legal drinking age, as well as the UK’s voting age. But in 2013, Scottish law was changed to allow 16- and 17-year-olds in Scotland to vote in the referendum. The government pushed for the change because “younger voters are more likely to vote with their hearts, not their heads—and embrace fundamental change by voting for the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign”, NBC News said.

But when the decision was handed down, some worried that high school students might not be as informed as adult voters. However, many experts said that assumption was wrong.

Professor Jan Eichhorn of the University of Edinburgh insisted that Scottish teenagers were as likely to read newspaper articles and campaign materials as their parents. They would simply get these resources through social media.

“There’s no evidence to suggest that they’re less capable than adults of voting, from a research point of view,” Eichhorn told NPR.

Scotland’s move to let younger teenagers vote in the referendum has led to a discussion about whether the voting age ought to be lowered to 16, both in the UK and the US.

“By 16, most people have about as stable an ideology (思想意識) as they are going to get,” Professor Jason Brennan of Georgetown University wrote for CNN, arguing that the US should also think about allowing younger US citizens to vote.

1. The Scottish independence referendum was held on Sept. 18 ______.

A. to encourage youngsters to be concerned with politics

B. to lower the minimum voting age to 16 for the referendum

C. to elect who would be the new leader of Scotland

D. to decide whether Scotland would become independent from the UK

2. According to the passage, we can learn ______.

A.It is possible for the USA to lower the voting age to 16 in the future.

B.Scotland gained its independence from the UK eventually.

C.All the people in Scotland thought highly of the government’s decision to lower the voting age to 16.

D.Scottish teenagers aged 16 are allowed to join the military, get married, work and drink alcohol now.

3.What doe the underlined word “embrace” (in para.5) probably mean?

A. Approve of B. Object to

C. Know about D. Admit to

4.What is Jan Eichhorn’s opinion of the Scottish teenagers aged 16 to 17?

A.They are too enthusiastic to make informed decisions.

B.They make no difference to the voting result.

C.They are as informed and capable as adults of voting.

D.They are unwilling to be involved in the decision of the country’s future.

閱讀下列各小題，根據(jù)漢語提示，用句末括號內(nèi)的英語單詞完成句子，并將答案寫在答題卡上的相應(yīng)題號后。

1.______________________ the film Transformers 4: Age of Extinction, Lucy absolutely didn’t notice someone dipping into her bag. (devote)

專心于看電影《變形金剛4：絕跡重生》，露西全然沒有注意到有人把手伸進(jìn)她的包。

2. Many netizens to spend 2,000 dollars going to Brazil just to watch a football match. (think)

許多網(wǎng)民認(rèn)為花兩千美元去巴西只為看一場足球不值得。

3. I had never been exposed to the terms at the seminar. (come)

我從沒有接觸過在研討會(huì)上提出的這些術(shù)語。

4. He is wearing that I am sure the exam result has been made known to him. (such)

他面帶難過的表情，以至于我確信他已經(jīng)知道了考試結(jié)果。

5. The technology is great. Without it we the ocean’s depth or put a man on the moon in the last century. (explore)

這項(xiàng)技術(shù)了不起。沒有它， 我們不可能在上個(gè)世紀(jì)探索海洋的深度以及把人送上月球。

6.“It took me about twenty minutes to dig out that black sweater. The cupboard does need .” my husband complained. (sort)

“今天早上我花了二十分鐘才找到那件黑色的毛衣。衣柜確實(shí)需要整理了”丈夫抱怨道。

7.Most students in Senior 3 have been burying themselves in study all day. Seldom

a variety of activities. (part)

高三的大多數(shù)學(xué)生整天忙于學(xué)習(xí)。他們很少參加各種各樣的活動(dòng)。

8. There is some doubt the Most Welcome Singer this year. (award)

不確定他今年是否會(huì)被授予“最受歡迎的歌手”。

9.The project manager as well as his team members us so far, which undoubtedly puts us at a disadvantage. (familiar)

到目前為止那個(gè)項(xiàng)目經(jīng)理和他團(tuán)隊(duì)的成員都不為我們所了解，這毫無疑問讓我們處于劣勢。

10. her colleagues, whether young or old, she always remains a modest attitude. (consult)

她無論什么時(shí)候向年輕或年長的同事請教，都保持謙遜的態(tài)度。

請根據(jù)以下提示，并結(jié)合具體事例，用英語寫一篇短文。

People nowadays are facing more and more pressures in life and therefore they are more likely to do something they like in their spare time. They hold the belief that a hobby is a good way to relax themselves and live a colorful life.

注意：1、無需寫標(biāo)題；

2、除詩歌外，文體不限；

3、內(nèi)容必須結(jié)合你生活中的具體事例；

4、文中不能透露個(gè)人姓名和學(xué)校名稱；

5、字?jǐn)?shù)不少于120詞，如引用提示語則不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)。

Every day, Daisy wakes up next to a man，who has to convince her they are married．When she expresses doubt，he takes out a photo album and shows her pictures of their wedding 13 years ago·

Only then does amnesiac Daisy accept that she has been married，and that everything he has told her is true．The lady’s condition was caused by brain injuries suffered in two road accidents，a motorbike crash in 1985 and a car accident in 1990.Since then everything that happens on one day is forgotten the next day.

She has no day-to-day memory after the car crash．And it is not just loved ones that Daisy struggles with．She uses hundreds of notes and reminders on her mobile phone’s calendar to keep her informed of appointments and everyday duties．And on the rare occasions when she takes the risk of going out of her home alone，she has to be armed with navigation(導(dǎo)航)programmed with her address.

There are some benefits，however．There is no such thing as a repeat on TV and every joke is funny, because it seemed she has heard it the first time．“It’s like I am living the same day, day after day,’’said Daisy, who does voluntary work at a charity for people with disabilities three days a week．

Dr Peter Nestor said Daisy was suffering from anterograde(順行的)amnesia. He added，“It is reasonably rare，but it does exist．You are able to carry out day-to-day things，and don’t forget how to do certain things like speaking. But if someone was to ask you what you did yesterday, you wouldn’t have a clue.”

1.What caused Daisy’s condition?

A．Her disability since birth．

B．Brain injuries in accidents．

C．Her declining health．

D．Tiring working．

2.How did Daisy’s family help remind her?

A．By taking her to the hospital．

B．By telling her jokes．

C．By showing her old photos and pictures．

D．By persuading her to recall the car crash．

3.The underlined word“amnesiac”in Paragraph 2 probably means

A．strong B． optimistic

C．warm-hearted D．forgetful

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Daisy could still enjoy a lot in spite of her illness．

B．The only thing Daisy kept in mind was her home．

C．Daisy couldn’t do anything but stay at home．

D．Daisy didn’t want to trust anyone else．

Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers．But last summer，Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son：suddenly he seemed to be talking more to his friends than to his parents．“The door to his room is always shut，”Joanna noted．

Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter．“She used to cuddle up(蜷伏)with me on the sofa and talk，”said Mark．“Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something．Sometimes she wants to be treated like a 1ittle girl and sometimes like a young lady．The problem is figuring out which time is which．”

Before age 11，children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds．“In fact，parents are first on the list，”said Michael Riera，author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers．“This completely changes during the teen years，”Riera explained．“They talk to their friends first，then maybe their teachers，and their parents last．”

Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them．To break down the wall of silence，parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say，and try to find ways to talk and write to them．And they must give their children a mental break，for children also need freedom，though young．Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend，not a manager，with their children is a better way to know them.

1.“The door to his room is always shut”suggests that the son________.

A．is always busy with his studies

B．is angry with his parents

C．keeps himself away from his parents

D．begins to dislike his parents

2.What troubles Tina and Mark most is that_______.

A．their daughter isn’t as lovely as before

B．they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly

C．they don’t know what to say to their daughter

D．their daughter has grown up so quickly

3.Which of the following best explains“the wall of silence”in the last paragraph?

A．Teenagers do not talk much with their parents．

B．Teenagers do not want to understand their parents．

C．Teenagers talk a lot with their friends．

D．Teenagers talk much about their own lives．

4.What can be learned from the passage?

A．Parents are unhappy with their growing children．

B．Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers．

C．Parents should force their children to talk with them．

D．Parents should try to understand their teenagers．

American cities are similar to other cities around the world．In every country, cities reflect the values of the culture．American cities are changing，just as American society is changing．

After World War II，the population of most large American cities decreased；however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increased．In the late 1940s and early 1950s，city residents became wealthier．They had more children so they needed more space．They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes．They bought houses in the suburbs(郊區(qū))．

Now things are changing，the children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults．Many, unlike their parents，want to live in the cities．They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest．Many young professionals are moving back into the city．They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there；or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers．

This population shift(遷移)is bringing problems as well as benefits．Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent．In the 1950s，many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs；now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities．

Only a few years ago，people thought that the older American cities were dying．Some city residents now see a bright，new future．Others see only problems and conflicts．One thing is sure：many dying cities in America are alive again．

1.What does the author think of cities all over the world?

A．They are dying． B．They are hopeless．

C．They are similar． D．They are different．

2.Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War II?

A．Because older American cities were dying．

B．Because they were richer and needed more space．

C．Because cities contained the worst parts of society．

D．Because they could hardly afford to live in the city．

3.According to the 4th paragraph，a great many poor people in American cities____．

A．a(chǎn)re faced with housing problems

B．a(chǎn)re forced to move back to the suburbs

C．want to sell their buildings

D．need more money for daily expenses

4.We can conclude from the text that_________________.

A．American cities are changing for the worse

B．people have different views on American cities

C．older people prefer the city to the suburbs in America

D．the population is decreasing in older American cities

Do you sleep well? Some people get off to sleep as soon as the head hits the pillow, but many others are not so lucky．In fact，the lack of quality sleep has become a public health issue around the world．According to the World Association of Sleep Medicine，45 percent of the world’s population suffer from sleep problems．One in eight people don’t sleep well and are easily woken．7．6 percent sleep less than 3 hours each night．Some even can not fall asleep for several days in a row．

As a basic bodily and mental need，sleep is essential for our survival．It helps us to fight diseases，strengthen our memory, perform better in work and school and improve our quality of life．Lack of sleep is known to have a significant negative influence on health，both in the short and long term．Poor sleep has been associated with obesity, weakened immune systems and even some cancers，as well as depression and anxiety．

The World Sleep Day, held on the third Friday of March，is an annual celebration of sleep to lighten the burden of sleep problems through better prevention and management of sleep disorders．

Unhealthy lifestyle may be the first to blame for sleeplessness．More and more people use cellphones and computers in bed，with many staying up until midnight．Modern technology does make our life convenient，but abuse of it ruins our health．Environmental conditions，such as temperature，noise，light，bed comfort also play an important role in one’s ability to get proper sleep．Besides，improper evening diet，like a full or an empty stomach，coffee and alcohol all contribute to sleep problems．Of course，when it comes to causing poor sleep stress from finances，family or work should never be ignored．

However, those who suffer from sleep disorders don’t necessarily have to continue to do so—most sleep problems can be solved．

1.What can be inferred from Paragraph 1 ？

A．Nobody can stay awake for several days．

B．All people are going through sleep problems．

C．Sleep problems have become a worldwide concern．

D．The majority of the world’s population can’t sleep well．

2.What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?

A．The influences of lack of sleep．

B．The possible causes of poor sleep．

C．Poor sleep is associated with illness．

D．Good sleep helps us to perform better.

3.What will be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A．The harm of sleep problems．

B．Activities on the World Sleep Day．

C．Interviews of poor sleep sufferers．

D．Measures against sleep problems．

I had the meanest mother in the world． other kids ate candy, I had to have cereal(谷物食品)，eggs or toast．While others had cakes and French fries，I had to eat a sandwich．But at least，I wasn’t in my suffering．My sisters and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．

My mother knowing where we were at all times and who our friends were . She insisted if we said we’d be gone an hour, then we be gone one hour or —not one hour and one minute．She made us wear the clothes made by herself，just to money．Now you can see how she was．

The is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9：00 each night and at 7：45 the next morning．We had to wash dishes． beds，and learn to cook．I believe she lay at night thinking up mean things to do to us．

Through the years，things didn’t a bit．We could not lie in bed，pretending to be“ ”like our friends did to miss school．Our friends’report cards had beautiful colors on them，black for passing，red for ．My mother, ，would only be content with black marks．

As the years by，we graduated from high school．Out of the four children，a couple of us !higher education than university level．With our mother us pushing and demanding， of us was allowed to drop out of school．She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults．

Now I'm trying to my three children．I'm filled with when my children call me mean．Because，you see，I thank God，he gave me the meanest mother in the whole world．

1.A．While B．As C．Unless D．If

2.A．weak B．a(chǎn)lone C．happy D．1ucky

3.A．replied to B．went on C．insisted on D．took up

4.A．not B．more C．so D．1ess

5.A．make B．collect C．save D．get

6.A．funny B．mean C．kind D．interesting

7.A．worst B．best C．1east D．1ast

8.A．off B．a(chǎn)way C．up D．out

9.A．make B．a(chǎn)rrange C．place D．fold

10.A．a(chǎn)ctive B．a(chǎn)sleep C．a(chǎn)live D．a(chǎn)wake

11.A．develop B．improve C．happen D．a(chǎn)ssess

12.A．sick B．sad C．honest D．a(chǎn)mbitious

13.A．success B．progress C．courage D．failure

14.A．however B．otherwise C．besides D．moreover

15.A．came B．pulled C．went D．filled

16.A．a(chǎn)ttended B．wanted C．a(chǎn)ttained D．a(chǎn)pproached

17.A．before B．in C．a(chǎn)bout D．behind

18.A．none B．a(chǎn)ll C．both D．neither

19.A．raise B．meet C．change D．bring

20.A．a(chǎn)pology B．pride C．shame D．a(chǎn)nger

What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange and red? 1. ．Do you prefer grey and blue? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and you would rather follow than lead．You tend to be a pessimist(悲觀主義者)．At least，this is what psychologists tell us，and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference，as well as the effect that colors have on human beings．2. ．If you happen to love brown，you did so，as soon as you opened your eyes，or at least as soon as you could see clearly．

3. ．On the one hand，a yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one；and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the coldest winter day． 4. ．A black bridge over the Thames River, near London．used to be the scene of more suicides(自殺)than any other bridge in the area—until it was repainted green．The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply．Perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue．

5. ．It is self-evident that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey．

A．On the other hand，black is depressing．

B．The rooms are painted in different colors as you like．

C．They tell us that we do not choose our favorite color as grow up—we are born with our preference．

D．If you do，you must be an optimist(樂觀主義者)，a leader or an active person who enjoys life．

E．Light and bright colors make people not only happier but more active.

F．Life is like a picture or a poem，full of different colors．

G.．Colors do influence our moods—there is no doubt about it