Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
Oscar night 2013 was full of surprises – not all of them pleasant, judging from the
responses of some of Hollywood's creative folks, students of American culture, and social
media .
personnel
inspectors
supervisors
commentary
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
The unexpected appearance and explosion of a small asteroid over Russia's Ural
Mountains on Friday the challenges astronomers face.
exaggerates
highlights
undermines
overrules
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
An understanding of the role of language education in economic development should
begin with a of the concept of development.
determination
prescription
definition
specification
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) announced yesterday that the Cabinet is willing to accept
a on the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
referendum
deliberation
postponement
formulation
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
Robert Gibbs, former press secretary, says that he was once instructed by the White House
not to the administration's use of drones.
appreciate
acknowledge
predicate
extrapolate
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
A very large of language use is made up of a small number of high frequency
vocabulary.
proponent
proposition
proportion
composition
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
"The potential costs of increased risk-taking in some financial markets are not seen as
the benefits of promoting a stronger economic recovery and more rapid job
creation," Bernanke said recently.
outweighing
accelerating
differentiating
supplementing
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
The rise of communicative and especially task-based approaches to language
teaching and learning have led to a focus on communication and away from instruction in
grammatical rules.
consciousness
accuracy
engineering
competence
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
The U.S. Army private accused of providing secret documents to the WikiLeaks website
pleaded guilty on Thursday to classified material
overestimating
interpolating
misusing
extenuating
Vocabulary
Please choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following questions.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin, by all a private guy and brilliant logician,
took the stage at the TED Conference Wednesday in Long Beach, California.
accounts
viewpoints
endorsements
calculations
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
Jogging as a form of exercise appeals to some people not a very strenuous
activity.
it is
since it is
insofar as
because of
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
After the explosion, the directors of the industrial complex failed steps to
prevent a similar disaster.
take
took
taking
to take
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
Before building a new MRT line, the city government must consider it is the
most effective solution to the city's traffic problems.
when
in that
whether
although
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
If the increase in population at its present rate, the number of people in this
city will double by the end of 2015.
continues
will continues
would continue
had continued
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
of sundials was considered an acceptable part of a student's education as late as
the seventeenth century.
Construct
Constructor
Constructing
The construction
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
Korean a large percentage of their products to Europe each year.
manufacturers export
exporting manufactures
manufactures that export
that export to manufacturers
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
Your teacher is very strict. I think .
he is a strictly teacher
quite strict teacher he is
he is quite a strict teacher
he is a teacher quite strict
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
, we brought all the plants into the house.
A storm was coming
Because a storm coming
Although a storm is coming
Aware that a storm was coming
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
The theory is accepted by many linguists.
there is the ability children to learn language
the ability to learn language children are born with
that children are born with the ability to learn language
although children are born with the ability to learn language
Structure
Choose the word or expression (A, B, C, or D) that best completes each of the following
sentences.
Computer technology is progressing much faster even a decade ago.
as it was
than it was
more than it was
as much as it did
Reading Comprehension
Please read the following passages and choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each
question
A conclave is a meeting of cardinals specifically to choose a new pope. Only cardinals
who are under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. The word conclave originates from the Latin
cum clavi – with a key – because cardinals used to literally be cloistered behind locked doors
until they came to a decision.
Conclaves are held in the Sistine Chapel, in the heart of the Vatican. In the past, the
process of choosing a new pope could take days, and cardinals had to sleep in the chapel,
famous for its frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and other Renaissance masters.
These days they are permitted to spend the night in a Vatican residence, but they cannot
leave the walls of the city-state until a decision is made. The conclave is held amid tight
security – the chapel is swept for listening devices and cardinals must take a vow of secrecy,
promising to reveal nothing to the outside world. The cardinals are denied access to radio and
television and are not allowed to carry in their mobile phones. They are prohibited from talking
to the media.
Two votes are held each morning and two each afternoon in the Sistine Chapel. Any
cardinal can vote for any other cardinal, and then they narrow it down, bit by bit. A two-thirds
majority is required before it is decided who will be pope. Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John
Paul II, changed the rules during his papacy, so that a simple majority was deemed sufficient if
no clear choice had been made after 12 days. But Pope Benedict reverted to the old rules in
2007 – he feared that a bloc of cardinals might deliberately stall for 12 days and then elect a
cardinal with only a slim majority.
Cardinals write their choice on a ballot paper, then fold up the pieces of paper and walk to
the altar. They put the votes into a paten – the shallow metal plate used to hold communion
wafers during mass – and then slide them into a large chalice.
The ballots are burned in a stove after every second vote. The smoke from the stove
comes out of a special chimney erected on top of the chapel in the days before the conclave
starts. Black smoke means no decision has been made. White smoke signals that cardinals have
chosen a new pope. The bells of Saint Peter’s Basilica will also ring, to help avoid possible
confusion if the color of the smoke is gray. In times past, damp straw was added to the stove
fire to create dark smoke, but since the 1960s chemicals have been used to create the effect.
The senior deacon of the College of Cardinals, a body that represents all cardinals in the
Catholic Church, asks the chosen cardinal if he accepts the decision to become pope. While
those chosen are, in theory, free to decline, it doesn’t really happen at this stage in the process
because any potential pope elect who doesn’t want the office will state that before he has been
given a sufficient number of votes to become pope. Once the chosen answers yes, the senior
deacon then steps out onto the balcony of the Vatican and shouts in Latin: "Habemus Papam"
("We have a pope!"). The new pope chooses the name by which he wishes to be called, pulls on
his new robes and steps on to the balcony himself. He then gives his first blessing, watched on
television by millions of people around the world.
Which of the following statement is TRUE?
Botticelli Michelangelo was one of the famous popes in the history.
The rule, “a two-thirds majority is required,” was set up by Pope John Paul II.
The chosen cardinal is free to decline to become a pope at the end of election.
The senior deacon names a new pope and dismisses the election meeting in public.
Reading Comprehension
Please read the following passages and choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each
question
A conclave is a meeting of cardinals specifically to choose a new pope. Only cardinals
who are under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. The word conclave originates from the Latin
cum clavi – with a key – because cardinals used to literally be cloistered behind locked doors
until they came to a decision.
Conclaves are held in the Sistine Chapel, in the heart of the Vatican. In the past, the
process of choosing a new pope could take days, and cardinals had to sleep in the chapel,
famous for its frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and other Renaissance masters.
These days they are permitted to spend the night in a Vatican residence, but they cannot
leave the walls of the city-state until a decision is made. The conclave is held amid tight
security – the chapel is swept for listening devices and cardinals must take a vow of secrecy,
promising to reveal nothing to the outside world. The cardinals are denied access to radio and
television and are not allowed to carry in their mobile phones. They are prohibited from talking
to the media.
Two votes are held each morning and two each afternoon in the Sistine Chapel. Any
cardinal can vote for any other cardinal, and then they narrow it down, bit by bit. A two-thirds
majority is required before it is decided who will be pope. Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John
Paul II, changed the rules during his papacy, so that a simple majority was deemed sufficient if
no clear choice had been made after 12 days. But Pope Benedict reverted to the old rules in
2007 – he feared that a bloc of cardinals might deliberately stall for 12 days and then elect a
cardinal with only a slim majority.
Cardinals write their choice on a ballot paper, then fold up the pieces of paper and walk to
the altar. They put the votes into a paten – the shallow metal plate used to hold communion
wafers during mass – and then slide them into a large chalice.
The ballots are burned in a stove after every second vote. The smoke from the stove
comes out of a special chimney erected on top of the chapel in the days before the conclave
starts. Black smoke means no decision has been made. White smoke signals that cardinals have
chosen a new pope. The bells of Saint Peter’s Basilica will also ring, to help avoid possible
confusion if the color of the smoke is gray. In times past, damp straw was added to the stove
fire to create dark smoke, but since the 1960s chemicals have been used to create the effect.
The senior deacon of the College of Cardinals, a body that represents all cardinals in the
Catholic Church, asks the chosen cardinal if he accepts the decision to become pope. While
those chosen are, in theory, free to decline, it doesn’t really happen at this stage in the process
because any potential pope elect who doesn’t want the office will state that before he has been
given a sufficient number of votes to become pope. Once the chosen answers yes, the senior
deacon then steps out onto the balcony of the Vatican and shouts in Latin: "Habemus Papam"
("We have a pope!"). The new pope chooses the name by which he wishes to be called, pulls on
his new robes and steps on to the balcony himself. He then gives his first blessing, watched on
television by millions of people around the world.
The best title for the article is:
How much influence will a pope have over the conclave?
How does the rest of the world know when a new pope has been selected?
How is the new pope presented to the world?
How does the Vatican elect a new pope?
Reading Comprehension
Please read the following passages and choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each
question
A conclave is a meeting of cardinals specifically to choose a new pope. Only cardinals
who are under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. The word conclave originates from the Latin
cum clavi – with a key – because cardinals used to literally be cloistered behind locked doors
until they came to a decision.
Conclaves are held in the Sistine Chapel, in the heart of the Vatican. In the past, the
process of choosing a new pope could take days, and cardinals had to sleep in the chapel,
famous for its frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and other Renaissance masters.
These days they are permitted to spend the night in a Vatican residence, but they cannot
leave the walls of the city-state until a decision is made. The conclave is held amid tight
security – the chapel is swept for listening devices and cardinals must take a vow of secrecy,
promising to reveal nothing to the outside world. The cardinals are denied access to radio and
television and are not allowed to carry in their mobile phones. They are prohibited from talking
to the media.
Two votes are held each morning and two each afternoon in the Sistine Chapel. Any
cardinal can vote for any other cardinal, and then they narrow it down, bit by bit. A two-thirds
majority is required before it is decided who will be pope. Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John
Paul II, changed the rules during his papacy, so that a simple majority was deemed sufficient if
no clear choice had been made after 12 days. But Pope Benedict reverted to the old rules in
2007 – he feared that a bloc of cardinals might deliberately stall for 12 days and then elect a
cardinal with only a slim majority.
Cardinals write their choice on a ballot paper, then fold up the pieces of paper and walk to
the altar. They put the votes into a paten – the shallow metal plate used to hold communion
wafers during mass – and then slide them into a large chalice.
The ballots are burned in a stove after every second vote. The smoke from the stove
comes out of a special chimney erected on top of the chapel in the days before the conclave
starts. Black smoke means no decision has been made. White smoke signals that cardinals have
chosen a new pope. The bells of Saint Peter’s Basilica will also ring, to help avoid possible
confusion if the color of the smoke is gray. In times past, damp straw was added to the stove
fire to create dark smoke, but since the 1960s chemicals have been used to create the effect.
The senior deacon of the College of Cardinals, a body that represents all cardinals in the
Catholic Church, asks the chosen cardinal if he accepts the decision to become pope. While
those chosen are, in theory, free to decline, it doesn’t really happen at this stage in the process
because any potential pope elect who doesn’t want the office will state that before he has been
given a sufficient number of votes to become pope. Once the chosen answers yes, the senior
deacon then steps out onto the balcony of the Vatican and shouts in Latin: "Habemus Papam"
("We have a pope!"). The new pope chooses the name by which he wishes to be called, pulls on
his new robes and steps on to the balcony himself. He then gives his first blessing, watched on
television by millions of people around the world.
Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE?
Cardinals cannot leave Vatican until a new pope is decided.
There are four votes every day during 12 days.
Any conclave is held under protection and secrecy.
Cardinals’ ballot paper should go from a paten to a chalice.
Reading Comprehension
Please read the following passages and choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each
question
A conclave is a meeting of cardinals specifically to choose a new pope. Only cardinals
who are under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. The word conclave originates from the Latin
cum clavi – with a key – because cardinals used to literally be cloistered behind locked doors
until they came to a decision.
Conclaves are held in the Sistine Chapel, in the heart of the Vatican. In the past, the
process of choosing a new pope could take days, and cardinals had to sleep in the chapel,
famous for its frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and other Renaissance masters.
These days they are permitted to spend the night in a Vatican residence, but they cannot
leave the walls of the city-state until a decision is made. The conclave is held amid tight
security – the chapel is swept for listening devices and cardinals must take a vow of secrecy,
promising to reveal nothing to the outside world. The cardinals are denied access to radio and
television and are not allowed to carry in their mobile phones. They are prohibited from talking
to the media.
Two votes are held each morning and two each afternoon in the Sistine Chapel. Any
cardinal can vote for any other cardinal, and then they narrow it down, bit by bit. A two-thirds
majority is required before it is decided who will be pope. Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John
Paul II, changed the rules during his papacy, so that a simple majority was deemed sufficient if
no clear choice had been made after 12 days. But Pope Benedict reverted to the old rules in
2007 – he feared that a bloc of cardinals might deliberately stall for 12 days and then elect a
cardinal with only a slim majority.
Cardinals write their choice on a ballot paper, then fold up the pieces of paper and walk to
the altar. They put the votes into a paten – the shallow metal plate used to hold communion
wafers during mass – and then slide them into a large chalice.
The ballots are burned in a stove after every second vote. The smoke from the stove
comes out of a special chimney erected on top of the chapel in the days before the conclave
starts. Black smoke means no decision has been made. White smoke signals that cardinals have
chosen a new pope. The bells of Saint Peter’s Basilica will also ring, to help avoid possible
confusion if the color of the smoke is gray. In times past, damp straw was added to the stove
fire to create dark smoke, but since the 1960s chemicals have been used to create the effect.
The senior deacon of the College of Cardinals, a body that represents all cardinals in the
Catholic Church, asks the chosen cardinal if he accepts the decision to become pope. While
those chosen are, in theory, free to decline, it doesn’t really happen at this stage in the process
because any potential pope elect who doesn’t want the office will state that before he has been
given a sufficient number of votes to become pope. Once the chosen answers yes, the senior
deacon then steps out onto the balcony of the Vatican and shouts in Latin: "Habemus Papam"
("We have a pope!"). The new pope chooses the name by which he wishes to be called, pulls on
his new robes and steps on to the balcony himself. He then gives his first blessing, watched on
television by millions of people around the world.
According to the passage, the smoke
is from the chimney to signal a conclave to start.
results from the burning of ballots every day.
normally can be black, white or gray as planned.
has turned to be darker due to damp straw since 1960s.
Reading Comprehension
Please read the following passages and choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each
question
A conclave is a meeting of cardinals specifically to choose a new pope. Only cardinals
who are under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. The word conclave originates from the Latin
cum clavi – with a key – because cardinals used to literally be cloistered behind locked doors
until they came to a decision.
Conclaves are held in the Sistine Chapel, in the heart of the Vatican. In the past, the
process of choosing a new pope could take days, and cardinals had to sleep in the chapel,
famous for its frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and other Renaissance masters.
These days they are permitted to spend the night in a Vatican residence, but they cannot
leave the walls of the city-state until a decision is made. The conclave is held amid tight
security – the chapel is swept for listening devices and cardinals must take a vow of secrecy,
promising to reveal nothing to the outside world. The cardinals are denied access to radio and
television and are not allowed to carry in their mobile phones. They are prohibited from talking
to the media.
Two votes are held each morning and two each afternoon in the Sistine Chapel. Any
cardinal can vote for any other cardinal, and then they narrow it down, bit by bit. A two-thirds
majority is required before it is decided who will be pope. Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John
Paul II, changed the rules during his papacy, so that a simple majority was deemed sufficient if
no clear choice had been made after 12 days. But Pope Benedict reverted to the old rules in
2007 – he feared that a bloc of cardinals might deliberately stall for 12 days and then elect a
cardinal with only a slim majority.
Cardinals write their choice on a ballot paper, then fold up the pieces of paper and walk to
the altar. They put the votes into a paten – the shallow metal plate used to hold communion
wafers during mass – and then slide them into a large chalice.
The ballots are burned in a stove after every second vote. The smoke from the stove
comes out of a special chimney erected on top of the chapel in the days before the conclave
starts. Black smoke means no decision has been made. White smoke signals that cardinals have
chosen a new pope. The bells of Saint Peter’s Basilica will also ring, to help avoid possible
confusion if the color of the smoke is gray. In times past, damp straw was added to the stove
fire to create dark smoke, but since the 1960s chemicals have been used to create the effect.
The senior deacon of the College of Cardinals, a body that represents all cardinals in the
Catholic Church, asks the chosen cardinal if he accepts the decision to become pope. While
those chosen are, in theory, free to decline, it doesn’t really happen at this stage in the process
because any potential pope elect who doesn’t want the office will state that before he has been
given a sufficient number of votes to become pope. Once the chosen answers yes, the senior
deacon then steps out onto the balcony of the Vatican and shouts in Latin: "Habemus Papam"
("We have a pope!"). The new pope chooses the name by which he wishes to be called, pulls on
his new robes and steps on to the balcony himself. He then gives his first blessing, watched on
television by millions of people around the world.
The word conclave means?
a private and secret meeting
a pope’s secret home
a cardinals’ temporally prison
a king’s palace in Vatican
The New York Times lost its top spot in comScore's ranking of the world's biggest
newspaper websites to Britain's Daily Mail. The Times sniffed at the accuracy of comScore's
figures, which exaggerate the Mail's online audience by including a personal-finance site that
the paper owns. But the battle to be biggest reflects a growing phenomenon: national news
publications going global.
A mere one-quarter of the Mail's online readers are in Britain. The Guardian, which caters
to those who like their news left-leaning and serious in contrast to the Mail's right-wing
raciness, has one-third in Britain and another third in America. Their chief competitors are two
American publications: the New York Times, which like the Guardian aims at readers of
serious news, and the Huffington Post, which since its launch in 2005 has become the biggest
site of the four (it is not in comScore's "newspaper" category).
That the HuffPo is beating papers with a history stretching back to the 19th century is a
sign of just how differently news works online. The HuffPo is designed for the wired
generation's short attention spans and addiction to social media; alone of the four, it has
managed recently to increase its "stickiness", the number of stories each visitor reads. And it
mixes both hard and frothy news (much of it rewritten from other sources, though an
increasing amount is original) with generous dollops of opinion by guest bloggers.
Global news outlets are of course nothing new: the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera, as well as
the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and indeed The Economist, have long aimed at a
worldwide audience, and newswires like Reuters and Bloomberg have big, free online
offerings. But in future, argues Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell, a consultancy, there will
be fewer national news outlets online. More will either look for new ways to make money from
a small local audience, or try to get as big a global one as possible.
The reason is the grim economics of online news. Only a few, business-oriented
newspapers are making money by charging readers for access. For most papers, what they
publish is too similar to what people can get free elsewhere. Advertising, the other chief source
of revenue, is worth far less per reader online than in print. So their best bet for making money
is to pull in more readers for the same content.
What is at stake for all four of these news giants, however, is very different. The Mail's
print circulation of 2m is second only to that of the tabloid Sun in Britain and is falling more
slowly than that of most other papers. It also remains decently profitable. The Guardian and
New York Times are losing readers faster, their heavyweight journalism costs more, and
although their holding companies recently posted profits, revenues have been falling
alarmingly. Both are hoping to increase digital revenues sharply through their tablet and
smartphone apps, where readers must pay for news (the Times now charges on its website too;
the Guardian does not plan to). Even so, in the medium term they may not be able to sustain
their big newsrooms, making it harder to do the journalism that distinguishes them.
The main idea of the article is:
To survive online, newspapers are seeking a worldwide audience.
New York Times disagreed the ranking of comScore’s survey.
News readers tend to have a political slant.
Advertising squeezes because of poor economics.
The New York Times lost its top spot in comScore's ranking of the world's biggest
newspaper websites to Britain's Daily Mail. The Times sniffed at the accuracy of comScore's
figures, which exaggerate the Mail's online audience by including a personal-finance site that
the paper owns. But the battle to be biggest reflects a growing phenomenon: national news
publications going global.
A mere one-quarter of the Mail's online readers are in Britain. The Guardian, which caters
to those who like their news left-leaning and serious in contrast to the Mail's right-wing
raciness, has one-third in Britain and another third in America. Their chief competitors are two
American publications: the New York Times, which like the Guardian aims at readers of
serious news, and the Huffington Post, which since its launch in 2005 has become the biggest
site of the four (it is not in comScore's "newspaper" category).
That the HuffPo is beating papers with a history stretching back to the 19th century is a
sign of just how differently news works online. The HuffPo is designed for the wired
generation's short attention spans and addiction to social media; alone of the four, it has
managed recently to increase its "stickiness", the number of stories each visitor reads. And it
mixes both hard and frothy news (much of it rewritten from other sources, though an
increasing amount is original) with generous dollops of opinion by guest bloggers.
Global news outlets are of course nothing new: the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera, as well as
the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and indeed The Economist, have long aimed at a
worldwide audience, and newswires like Reuters and Bloomberg have big, free online
offerings. But in future, argues Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell, a consultancy, there will
be fewer national news outlets online. More will either look for new ways to make money from
a small local audience, or try to get as big a global one as possible.
The reason is the grim economics of online news. Only a few, business-oriented
newspapers are making money by charging readers for access. For most papers, what they
publish is too similar to what people can get free elsewhere. Advertising, the other chief source
of revenue, is worth far less per reader online than in print. So their best bet for making money
is to pull in more readers for the same content.
What is at stake for all four of these news giants, however, is very different. The Mail's
print circulation of 2m is second only to that of the tabloid Sun in Britain and is falling more
slowly than that of most other papers. It also remains decently profitable. The Guardian and
New York Times are losing readers faster, their heavyweight journalism costs more, and
although their holding companies recently posted profits, revenues have been falling
alarmingly. Both are hoping to increase digital revenues sharply through their tablet and
smartphone apps, where readers must pay for news (the Times now charges on its website too;
the Guardian does not plan to). Even so, in the medium term they may not be able to sustain
their big newsrooms, making it harder to do the journalism that distinguishes them.
Which of the following statement is TRUE?
The Daily Mail and the Guardian are American publications.
The Daily Mail caters to those who like serious news.
Huffington Post actually is the top spot of the world’s biggest newspaper websites.
The news in the New York Times is right-wing raciness.
The New York Times lost its top spot in comScore's ranking of the world's biggest
newspaper websites to Britain's Daily Mail. The Times sniffed at the accuracy of comScore's
figures, which exaggerate the Mail's online audience by including a personal-finance site that
the paper owns. But the battle to be biggest reflects a growing phenomenon: national news
publications going global.
A mere one-quarter of the Mail's online readers are in Britain. The Guardian, which caters
to those who like their news left-leaning and serious in contrast to the Mail's right-wing
raciness, has one-third in Britain and another third in America. Their chief competitors are two
American publications: the New York Times, which like the Guardian aims at readers of
serious news, and the Huffington Post, which since its launch in 2005 has become the biggest
site of the four (it is not in comScore's "newspaper" category).
That the HuffPo is beating papers with a history stretching back to the 19th century is a
sign of just how differently news works online. The HuffPo is designed for the wired
generation's short attention spans and addiction to social media; alone of the four, it has
managed recently to increase its "stickiness", the number of stories each visitor reads. And it
mixes both hard and frothy news (much of it rewritten from other sources, though an
increasing amount is original) with generous dollops of opinion by guest bloggers.
Global news outlets are of course nothing new: the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera, as well as
the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and indeed The Economist, have long aimed at a
worldwide audience, and newswires like Reuters and Bloomberg have big, free online
offerings. But in future, argues Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell, a consultancy, there will
be fewer national news outlets online. More will either look for new ways to make money from
a small local audience, or try to get as big a global one as possible.
The reason is the grim economics of online news. Only a few, business-oriented
newspapers are making money by charging readers for access. For most papers, what they
publish is too similar to what people can get free elsewhere. Advertising, the other chief source
of revenue, is worth far less per reader online than in print. So their best bet for making money
is to pull in more readers for the same content.
What is at stake for all four of these news giants, however, is very different. The Mail's
print circulation of 2m is second only to that of the tabloid Sun in Britain and is falling more
slowly than that of most other papers. It also remains decently profitable. The Guardian and
New York Times are losing readers faster, their heavyweight journalism costs more, and
although their holding companies recently posted profits, revenues have been falling
alarmingly. Both are hoping to increase digital revenues sharply through their tablet and
smartphone apps, where readers must pay for news (the Times now charges on its website too;
the Guardian does not plan to). Even so, in the medium term they may not be able to sustain
their big newsrooms, making it harder to do the journalism that distinguishes them.
Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE?
In comparison to the Mail, the Times and Guardian are losing readers faster.
Any news of the Times on the tablet and smartphone apps is charged.
The Daily Mail’s print circulation is more than that of the tabloid Sun.
The journalist isn’t positive to the development of the New York Times.
The New York Times lost its top spot in comScore's ranking of the world's biggest
newspaper websites to Britain's Daily Mail. The Times sniffed at the accuracy of comScore's
figures, which exaggerate the Mail's online audience by including a personal-finance site that
the paper owns. But the battle to be biggest reflects a growing phenomenon: national news
publications going global.
A mere one-quarter of the Mail's online readers are in Britain. The Guardian, which caters
to those who like their news left-leaning and serious in contrast to the Mail's right-wing
raciness, has one-third in Britain and another third in America. Their chief competitors are two
American publications: the New York Times, which like the Guardian aims at readers of
serious news, and the Huffington Post, which since its launch in 2005 has become the biggest
site of the four (it is not in comScore's "newspaper" category).
That the HuffPo is beating papers with a history stretching back to the 19th century is a
sign of just how differently news works online. The HuffPo is designed for the wired
generation's short attention spans and addiction to social media; alone of the four, it has
managed recently to increase its "stickiness", the number of stories each visitor reads. And it
mixes both hard and frothy news (much of it rewritten from other sources, though an
increasing amount is original) with generous dollops of opinion by guest bloggers.
Global news outlets are of course nothing new: the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera, as well as
the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and indeed The Economist, have long aimed at a
worldwide audience, and newswires like Reuters and Bloomberg have big, free online
offerings. But in future, argues Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell, a consultancy, there will
be fewer national news outlets online. More will either look for new ways to make money from
a small local audience, or try to get as big a global one as possible.
The reason is the grim economics of online news. Only a few, business-oriented
newspapers are making money by charging readers for access. For most papers, what they
publish is too similar to what people can get free elsewhere. Advertising, the other chief source
of revenue, is worth far less per reader online than in print. So their best bet for making money
is to pull in more readers for the same content.
What is at stake for all four of these news giants, however, is very different. The Mail's
print circulation of 2m is second only to that of the tabloid Sun in Britain and is falling more
slowly than that of most other papers. It also remains decently profitable. The Guardian and
New York Times are losing readers faster, their heavyweight journalism costs more, and
although their holding companies recently posted profits, revenues have been falling
alarmingly. Both are hoping to increase digital revenues sharply through their tablet and
smartphone apps, where readers must pay for news (the Times now charges on its website too;
the Guardian does not plan to). Even so, in the medium term they may not be able to sustain
their big newsrooms, making it harder to do the journalism that distinguishes them.
In paragraph 3, what does frothy mean?
of rich substance
light and entertaining
opinionate comments
illegal and copied
The New York Times lost its top spot in comScore's ranking of the world's biggest
newspaper websites to Britain's Daily Mail. The Times sniffed at the accuracy of comScore's
figures, which exaggerate the Mail's online audience by including a personal-finance site that
the paper owns. But the battle to be biggest reflects a growing phenomenon: national news
publications going global.
A mere one-quarter of the Mail's online readers are in Britain. The Guardian, which caters
to those who like their news left-leaning and serious in contrast to the Mail's right-wing
raciness, has one-third in Britain and another third in America. Their chief competitors are two
American publications: the New York Times, which like the Guardian aims at readers of
serious news, and the Huffington Post, which since its launch in 2005 has become the biggest
site of the four (it is not in comScore's "newspaper" category).
That the HuffPo is beating papers with a history stretching back to the 19th century is a
sign of just how differently news works online. The HuffPo is designed for the wired
generation's short attention spans and addiction to social media; alone of the four, it has
managed recently to increase its "stickiness", the number of stories each visitor reads. And it
mixes both hard and frothy news (much of it rewritten from other sources, though an
increasing amount is original) with generous dollops of opinion by guest bloggers.
Global news outlets are of course nothing new: the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera, as well as
the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and indeed The Economist, have long aimed at a
worldwide audience, and newswires like Reuters and Bloomberg have big, free online
offerings. But in future, argues Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell, a consultancy, there will
be fewer national news outlets online. More will either look for new ways to make money from
a small local audience, or try to get as big a global one as possible.
The reason is the grim economics of online news. Only a few, business-oriented
newspapers are making money by charging readers for access. For most papers, what they
publish is too similar to what people can get free elsewhere. Advertising, the other chief source
of revenue, is worth far less per reader online than in print. So their best bet for making money
is to pull in more readers for the same content.
What is at stake for all four of these news giants, however, is very different. The Mail's
print circulation of 2m is second only to that of the tabloid Sun in Britain and is falling more
slowly than that of most other papers. It also remains decently profitable. The Guardian and
New York Times are losing readers faster, their heavyweight journalism costs more, and
although their holding companies recently posted profits, revenues have been falling
alarmingly. Both are hoping to increase digital revenues sharply through their tablet and
smartphone apps, where readers must pay for news (the Times now charges on its website too;
the Guardian does not plan to). Even so, in the medium term they may not be able to sustain
their big newsrooms, making it harder to do the journalism that distinguishes them.
According to the passage, which suggestion to increase digital revenues is appropriate for
“news giants” nowadays?
The best way is to sustain big newsrooms.
The best way is to invite more guest bloggers to write stories.
The best way is to cooperate with more newswires and offer free offerings.
The best way is to make money from both local and global readers.
Translation
Please translate the following English passage into Chinese and write your answer on
the writing test answer sheet.
What is more surprising is how much extensive reading improves students’ writing skills.
In one study on extensive reading, students in extensive reading programmes were evaluated as
2-3 times better in writing when compared with students who did not read much yet actually
practiced writing more! Surprisingly, extensive reading can also help speaking skills, as well as
listening skills to a lesser extent.
(摘錄自Scott Miles "Essential Reading")
English Composition
Please write your composition on the writing test answer sheet.
Facebook is one of the most successful social media sites of all time. However, even
though many people like using Facebook , some people have criticized the site. Please give
TWO REASONS, and TWO REASONS ONLY, explaining why you think Facebook has or
has not made a positive impact throughout the world. Please write at least 350 words, but no
more than 400 words to express your opinion.
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