The Voice of America began during the World WarⅡ. When Germany was broadcasting a radio program to get international __1__， American officials believed they should __2__ the German broadcast with words that they thought were the facts of world events. The first VOA news report began with words in __3__. “The __4__ may be good or bad, but we shall tell you the truth.” Within a week, other VOA __5__ were broadcasting in Italian, French and English.
After the World War Ⅱended in 1945, some Americans felt VOA's __6__ had to be changed，__7__ the Soviet Union became enemy of America. They wanted to __8__ Soviet listeners. Then VOA began broadcasting in Russian.
In the early years VOA began adding something new to its broadcast that was __9__“ Music USA”. Another new idea came along in 1959. VOA knew that many listeners did not know __10__ English to completely understand its __11__ English broadcast. So VOA __12__ a simpler kind of English, __13__ uses about 1,500 words and is spoken __14__ of course, it is special English.
In the __15__ of most VOA listeners, the most __16__ program is the news report. News from around the world __17__ into the VOA news rooms in Washington 24 hours a day. It comes from VOA reporters in __18__ cities and also from other __19__ like BBC. VOA writers and editors use these materials to __20__ news reports, which are being broadcast in 43 languages.
1. A. business B. culture C. support D. information
2. A. reply B. answer C. join D. interrupt
3. A. same B. short C. English D. German
4. A. news B. problems C. effects D. opinions
5. A. stations B. news C. announcers D. officials
6. A. home B. position C. purpose D. results
7. A. if B. supposing C. considering D. in order that
8. A. reach B. satisfy C. attack D. support
9. A. known B. reported C. called D. printed
10. A. American B. British
C. standard D. enough
11. A. normal B. fast C. good D. exact
12. A. invented B. discovered C. taught D. stopped
13. A. it B. who C. which D. that
14. A. slowly B. rapidly C. normally D. loudly
15. A. pleasure B. course C. opinion D. advice
16. A. difficult B. important C. various D. common
17. A. flies B. sends C. delivers D. pasts
18. A. all B. major C. American D. news
19. A. broadcasts B. forms
C. newspapers D. countries
20. A. broadcast B. announce
C. translate D. prepare
1. 解析：选C。由文意可知，二战期间，德国做广播节目的初衷应是呼吁国际“支持(support)”，而不可能是商业，文化及消息。
2. 解析：选B。由文中的with words可推断出answer。reply后接宾语时要加to。
3. 解析：选D。由常识可知，要回复德国电台，得用“德文”来播，这样德国人才能听懂。
4. 解析：选A。前文已说了播出的是news report，故选A。
5. 解析：选C。由常识可知，播音的主体是announcers(播音员)了。
6. 解析：选C。由文意可知，VOA电台成立之初的目标主要是对二战中的一些敌对国家进行宣传，随着二战的结束，敌对国家有所改变，那么广播的目的与对象也应随之发生改变。
7. 解析：选C。considering考虑到，表示改变广播目的背景。
8. 解析：选A。reach是中性词，其他三个词要么是褒义，要么是贬义，在此不符合语境。
9. 解析：选C。be called 被称做……，符合语境。
10. 解析：选D。由常识可知，对英语不是很精通才导致不能完全听懂英文广播。
11. 解析：选A。此处的normal区别于后文提到的special English。
12. 解析：选A。原来没有的东西，现在发明出来，故用invent。
13. 解析：选C。分析语境及句子结构可知，此处应是引导非限制性定语从句，指物。
14. 解析：选A。由常识可知，正常英语听不懂，除了词汇问题，更重要的还有语速问题，即速度要“慢”。
15. 解析：选C。opinion观点，看法。后面叙述的就是看法、观点。
16. 解析：选B。由文意可知，后面的内容体现了新闻报道的重要性。
17. 解析：选A。此处的flies表示新闻的及时、快速的特点。
18. 解析：选B。major cities大城市。根据常识可排除A、D两项；根据around the world，可排除C项。
19. 解析：选A。由like可知，所选词须与BBC同类。
20. 解析：选D。由后面的定语从句可推知，这里指新闻报道的前期“准备”工作。
阅读快车系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
On October 19, 1959, the first Special English program was broadcast on the Voice of America. It was an experiment. The goal was to communicate by radio in clear and simple English with people whose native language is not English. Experts said the goal was admirable, but the method would not work. They were proved wrong. The Special English programs quickly became some of the most popular on VOA. And they still are.
Forty years later, Special English continues to communicate with people who are not fluent in English. But during the years its role has expanded. It also helps people learn American English. And it provides listeners, even those who are native English speakers, with information they cannot find elsewhere.
Today, Special English broadcasts around the world seven days a week, five times a day. Each half-hour broadcast begins with ten minutes of the latest news followed by 20 minutes of feature programming. There is a different short feature every weekday about science, development, agriculture and environment, and on the weekend, about news events and American idioms.
Three elements make Special English unique. It has a limited vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions. Some are more difficult. They are used for reporting world events and describing discoveries in medicine and science. Special English is written in short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. No idioms are used. And Special English is spoken at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of Standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are English speakers understand complex subjects.
Through the years, Special English has become a very popular tool for teaching English, even though it was not designed as teaching program. It succeeds in helping people learn English in a non-traditional way. Individuals record the programs and play them over and over to practice their listening skills. In countries around the world, English teachers assign Special English to their students. They praise it for improving their students' ability to understand American English and for the content of the programs. Universities and private companies in many countries produce packages of Special English materials for student use.
At the beginning, Special English program was .
A．well received
B．rejected by native people
C．doubted by some professionals
D．intended for teaching English
What kind of English is spoken on Special English?
A．British English.
B．American English.
C．Both British and American English.
D．Not certain.
Which of the following are the elements that make Special English unique?
a．limited vocabulary
b．short simple sentences
b．good communication method
d．slow speed
e．interesting feature programming
A．a, b, c B．a, c, d C．a, b, d D．b, d, e
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．Special English has been founded for less than 50 years.
B．Native English speakers don’t have a great affection for Special English.
C．Special English usually starts with 20 minutes of the latest news.
D．People can learn some idioms from Special English.
From the last paragraph we can infer that .
A．listening to Special English can be a student’s homework
B．listening to Special English can improve the content of the program
C．some student record the Special English material for sale
D．learning English from VOA is a traditional way for English learner.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2013届山东省菏泽一中高三11月阶段性测试英语试卷（带解析） 题型：阅读理解
IMAGINE if there was a device that could do everything for you – wake you up every morning, chat with you and type your e-mails.
The piece of technology in question would be smart, able to tell you about the weather and where the nearest restaurants are.
The good thing is you no longer need to wonder, because something like this already exists. And its name is Siri.
Siri is a voice recognition application designed for Apple products and the concept has been around for almost a year.
When Siri first came out it could only speak English, but now it has “learned” lots of new languages, including Chinese, Cantonese and Taiwanese, reported The Wall Street Journal. So, you can give it orders in your mother tongue.
But how could a cell phone or a computer “hear” what you are saying and understand it? This is all because of voice recognition technology.
When you speak, your voice creates vibrations (振动) in the air – a bit like waves in the water when you throw a rock into the lake. The microphone receives the vibrations and the computer changes them into digital data that is then divided into many parts. They are analyzed one by one to see what pronunciations each part stands for. The computer then puts these pronunciations together into possible words according to its built-in dictionary.
But figuring out the words is far from enough; building words into meaningful sentences is the most difficult part. The computer has to compare what it hears to a large library of known phrases and sentences to determine what the user is saying.
However, people don’t always talk in the most standard way and sometimes make grammatical mistakes. This is why traditional voice recognition software always requires you to remember keywords and to speak in a certain way.
Fortunately, Siri isn’t like that. It’s not just “voice recognition”; it’s “natural language understanding (NLU)”. You can ask it things like “Do I need an umbrella today?” and it will know that you are asking about the weather, according to ABC News.
“The key thing is NLU – understanding what you mean and what you want,” Neil Grant from Nuance, a software company in the US, told The Guardian. “Historically, you had to learn a huge long list of commands . As NLU progresses, you can say what you want in a way that’s natural to you.”
【小题1】What is the function of the first two paragraphs?
| A．To show that invention usually results from need. |
| B．To clear doubts about voice recognition technology. |
| C．To introduce something that offers these helpful services. |
| D．To show how the voice recognition works. |
| A．Changing the received vibrations into digital data. |
| B．Analyzing the digital data to see what pronunciations it represents. |
| C．Putting the pronunciations together into possible words. |
| D．Figuring out meaningful sentences based on the words. |
| A．You can speak in a natural way as you would to a person. |
| B．You can only speak English and Chinese. |
| C．You have to say things in a certain way. |
| D．You have to remember keywords and speak specific commands. |
| A．Siri can record and save what you say frequently into a computer dictionary. |
| B．Siri will fail to understand what you say if you make grammatical mistakes. |
| C．The biggest advantage of Siri is that it’s NLU is rather than just voice recognition. |
| D．Since first applied to Apple products a year ago, Siri has made great improvements. |
| A．the convenience of future life. |
| B．an introduction to the Apple products. |
| C．the working system of voice recognition |
| D．the introduction to Siri |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010年浙江省绍兴一中高二上学期期中考试英语卷 题型：阅读理解
Western New Bridge Library Announcement
| Shortened Library Hours for Spring Break |
| Library Hours have been shortened to 7 hours a day (9:00 a.m. – 4:00p.m.) for Spring Break from March 24 to March 30. |
| Coming Events |
| On Monday, March 24, at 10:30 a.m., Scott Sutton, a children’s writer, will tell stories to kid over seven. Sutton’s attractive style will surely inspire everyone present! At 1:00 p.m., on March 26, the Geogetown Musicians will present an Irish Folk Concert, which will be entertaining for the entire family. Come for the music and stay to check out some relevant books for the rest of the week! On Thursday, March 27, at 2:00 p.m., the annual Children’s Gathering will take place in Room 201, the second-floor. Pick up an invitation in the Children’s Room and return your RSVP(回复) to reserve your seat at the table by 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25. Only children are allowed in the Gathering. At 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 28, Enzo Monfre of the hit kid’s science show, Enzoology, will bring Fossils Live! Surely Enzo will take the audience back in time, deep beneath the surface of the earth, to uncover the mysteries of killer dinosaurs, and more. Enzo recently appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show—come and see him at the library! |
| Please note：In case of emergency, please call the Help Desk at 926-3736 and follow the procedures outlined on the voice message. The call-down service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies. The Help Desk supplies service to you all the year around! For questions about all these, please contacthld@wnbl.corg. |
| Come for the great Fun; Stay for the relevant Books! |
| A．buy a ticket | B．apply in advance |
| C．make a reservation | D．contact the call-down service |
| A．show the children around a zoo |
| B．tell stories to children over seven |
| C．be present at the science show in person |
| D．lead the children to the Ellen DeGeneres Show |
| A．attend all the activities with their parents |
| B．borrow some relevant books for the activities. |
| C．participate in the activities form 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
| D．choose only one of the activities according to their interest |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年山东省高三11月阶段性测试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
IMAGINE if there was a device that could do everything for you – wake you up every morning, chat with you and type your e-mails.
The piece of technology in question would be smart, able to tell you about the weather and where the nearest restaurants are.
The good thing is you no longer need to wonder, because something like this already exists. And its name is Siri.
Siri is a voice recognition application designed for Apple products and the concept has been around for almost a year.
When Siri first came out it could only speak English, but now it has “learned” lots of new languages, including Chinese, Cantonese and Taiwanese, reported The Wall Street Journal. So, you can give it orders in your mother tongue.
But how could a cell phone or a computer “hear” what you are saying and understand it? This is all because of voice recognition technology.
When you speak, your voice creates vibrations (振动) in the air – a bit like waves in the water when you throw a rock into the lake. The microphone receives the vibrations and the computer changes them into digital data that is then divided into many parts. They are analyzed one by one to see what pronunciations each part stands for. The computer then puts these pronunciations together into possible words according to its built-in dictionary.
But figuring out the words is far from enough; building words into meaningful sentences is the most difficult part. The computer has to compare what it hears to a large library of known phrases and sentences to determine what the user is saying.
However, people don’t always talk in the most standard way and sometimes make grammatical mistakes. This is why traditional voice recognition software always requires you to remember keywords and to speak in a certain way.
Fortunately, Siri isn’t like that. It’s not just “voice recognition”; it’s “natural language understanding (NLU)”. You can ask it things like “Do I need an umbrella today?” and it will know that you are asking about the weather, according to ABC News.
“The key thing is NLU – understanding what you mean and what you want,” Neil Grant from Nuance, a software company in the US, told The Guardian. “Historically, you had to learn a huge long list of commands . As NLU progresses, you can say what you want in a way that’s natural to you.”
1.What is the function of the first two paragraphs?
A．To show that invention usually results from need.
B．To clear doubts about voice recognition technology.
C．To introduce something that offers these helpful services.
D．To show how the voice recognition works.
2.Which step is the most complicated in the process of voice recognition according to the article?
A．Changing the received vibrations into digital data.
B．Analyzing the digital data to see what pronunciations it represents.
C．Putting the pronunciations together into possible words.
D．Figuring out meaningful sentences based on the words.
3.How can you get Siri to respond according to the article?
A．You can speak in a natural way as you would to a person.
B．You can only speak English and Chinese.
C．You have to say things in a certain way.
D．You have to remember keywords and speak specific commands.
4.What can be concluded from the article?
A．Siri can record and save what you say frequently into a computer dictionary.
B．Siri will fail to understand what you say if you make grammatical mistakes.
C．The biggest advantage of Siri is that it’s NLU is rather than just voice recognition.
D．Since first applied to Apple products a year ago, Siri has made great improvements.
5.The text is mainly about ________.
A．the convenience of future life.
B．an introduction to the Apple products.
C．the working system of voice recognition
D．the introduction to Siri
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年福建省福州市高三第二次月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
A funny thing happened on the way to the communications revolutions: we stopped talking to one another.
I was walking in the park with a friend recently，and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and…I became invisible, absent from the conversation.
The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communications technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction. With email and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another, With voice mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated, the alienation index goes up. You can't even call a person to get the phone number of another person my more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.
I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card a voice mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn't wise…they're a great help to use. It's some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.
More and more .I find myself hiding behind e-mail to do a job meant for conversation. Or being relieved that voice mail picked up because I didn't really have time to talk, The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier…or at least facilitating my antisocial instincts．
So I've put myself on technology restriction: no instant messaging. with people who live near me，no cell phoning in the presence of friends, no letting the voice mail pick up when I'm at home.
1.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
|
A．The Advance of Communications Technology |
|
B．The Consequences of Modern Technology |
|
C．The Story of Communications Revolution |
|
D．The Automation of Modern Communications |
2.The sentence “Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent，”means that .
|
A．the people sitting beside you have to go away to receive a phone call |
|
B．you can hardly get in touch with the people sitting beside you |
|
C．modem technology makes it hard for people to have a face-to-face talk |
|
D．people can now go to work without going to the office |
3.The writer feels that the use of modern communications is ．
|
A．encouraging |
B．disappointing |
C．satisfying |
D．embarrassing |
4.The passage implies that .
|
A．modern technology is bridging the people. |
|
B．modern technology is separating the people |
|
C．modern technology is developing too fast |
|
D．modern technology is interrupting our communications |
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