Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald
We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag. The designs we received include:
James Anthony, Drummoyne
James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether. At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross. His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag.
As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small. When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive.”
Joe Bollen, Turranmurra
Joe’s flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平線), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross. He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag. He believes it represents life. The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere. (半球)
Maria Ieraci, Sydney
Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star. She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack ---- when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010.
Ron Bennett, Sydney
Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia. He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs.”
小題1:Which of the four designs can remind you of the past of the country?

A．Joe’s

B．Maria’s

C．Ron’s

D．Jame’s

小題2:The Southern Cross in some of the designs represents _________.

A．the spirit of the nation	B．the position of the country
C．the tradition of Britain	D．the expectations of the people

小題3:What does the Union Jack refer to?

A．the British flag	B．A former British ruler
C．group of stars	D．A former symbol of Australia

小題4:Which of the following shows the correct matches of the designs and their designers?
           

A．by Maria by Ron by Joe by James

B．by Joeby Mariaby James by Ron

C． by Ron by James by Maria by Joe

D．by Jamesby Joe by Ron by Maria

Celebrity (名人) has become one of the most important representatives of popular culture. Fans used to be crazy about a specific film, but now the public tends to base its consumption on the interest of celebrity attached to any given product. Besides, fashion magazines have almost abandoned the practice of putting models on the cover because they don’t sell nearly as well as famous faces. As a result, celebrities have realized their unbelievably powerful market potential, moving from advertising for others’ products to developing their own.
Celebrity clothing lines aren’t a completely new phenomenon, but in the past they were typically aimed at the ordinary consumers, and limited to a few TV actresses. Today they’re started by first-class stars whose products enjoy equal fame with some world top brands. The most successful start-ups have been those by celebrities with specific personal style. As celebrities become more and more experienced at the market, they expand their production scale rapidly, covering almost all the products of daily life.
However, for every success story, there’s a related warning tale of a celebrity who overvalued his consumer appeal. No matter how famous the product’s origins is, if it fails to impress consumers with its own qualities it begins to resemble an exercise in self-promotional marketing. And once the initial (最初的）attention dies down, consumer interest might fade, loyalty returning to tried-and-true labels.
Today, celebrities face ever more severe embarrassment. The pop-cultural circle might be bigger than ever, but its rate of turnover has speeded up as well. Each misstep threatens to reduce a celebrity’s shelf life, and the same newspaper or magazine that once brought him fame has no problem picking him to pieces when the opportunity appears. Still, the ego’s (自我的）potential for expansion is limitless. Having already achieved great wealth and public recognition, many celebrities see fashion as the next frontier to be conquered. As the saying goes, success and failure always go hand in hand. Their success as designers might last only a short time, but fashion — like celebrity — has always been temporary.
小題1:Fashion magazines today ________.

A．seldom put models on the cover

B．no longer put models on the cover

C．need not worry about celebrities’ market potential

D．judge the market potential of every celebrity correctly

小題2:A change in the consumer market can be found today that _______.

A．price rather than brand name is more concerned

B．producers prefer models to celebrities for achievements

C．producers prefer TV actresses to film stars for advertisements

D．quality rather than the outside of products is more concerned

小題3:The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 indicates that any wrong step will possibly ______.

A．decrease the popularity of a celebrity and the sales of his products

B．damage the image of a celebrity in the eyes of the general public

C．cut short the artistic careen of a celebrity in show business

D．influence the price of a celebrity’s products

小題4:The passage is mainly about _______.

A．celebrity and personal style

B．celebrity and market potential

C．celebrity and fashion design

D．celebrity and clothing industry

Adult Basic Education (ABE) and GED Preparation

Task:
The Adult Ba sic Education Department serves a huge population of learners. Our task is to teach basic skills and help learners to get more knowledge to function effectively as a family member, citizen, worker, and lifelong learner in a changing world.
Description:
ABE is a non-credit program of self-improvement designed to improve basic skills for students who are of different educational level. Development of reading, writing, and math  skills are paid special attention to, as well as life skills, employability, and technology. Students without a high school diploma(文憑)also have the opportunity to prepare for the GED exams in the five subject areas writing, social studies, science, literature, and math.
Prerequisites (條件):
ABE classes are open to anyone 18 or over who desires to improve basic reading, writing, and math skills at the pre-college level. Students who are 16 or 17 must first obtain an official release( 證書) from high school before attending class.
To be accepted, students must attend an Educational Planning Session. During the Educational Planning Session students will be given an overview of the ABE programs as well as PCC policies, fees, etc. Students will also have their reading, writing, and math abilities assessed (評估) during the Educational Planning Session The results of their assessment will help the teachers develop individual programs of study for students to guide them toward their personal goals. Students needing special help must get in touch with the Office for Students with Disabilities (503-977-4341) at least two weeks before the session is held.
Courses:
小題1: The ABE Department serves an aim to___________.

A．provide learners with basic knowledge and skills to fit in with society

B．help learners successfully get a job in a changing world

C．offer diplomas to those who fail to finish secondary education

D．provide students with opportunities to prepare for the GED exams

小題2:A 17-year-old is not accepted to ABE classes only because he_________.

A．is below 18

B．can't offer a high school diploma

C．has left school without official permission

D．is assessed as poor in learning performances

小題3:What is the Educational Planning Session intended for?

A．Providing special help to disabled students.

B．Helping students be better at the four basic skills.

C．Finding out whether they can be accepted to ABE classes.

D．An assessment of students' basic skill levels.

小題4:Different courses are offered to different students according to _____.

A．their own choices

B．the assessments during the Educational Planning Session

C．their performances in school

D．how much they pay for the courses

Starry Night
Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (產(chǎn)生幻覺的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.
I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (無限).
Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (絕望) and collapse in hopelessness.
Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.
And so the sky flows across the canvas (畫布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (發(fā)光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.
What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?
小題1:Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.

A．The singing angels	B．the giant trees
C．the sleepy village	D．the sparkling stars

小題2:Van Gogh does NOT describe a feeling of ______ through the Starry Night.

A．happiness

B．vitality

C．power

D．despair

小題3:The underlined word “prison” in the 3rd paragraph probably means ______.

A．trouble in one’s life	B．mental illness
C．control from the authority	D．a(chǎn) place where criminals are kept

小題4:What is the main purpose of this passage?

A．To explain how Van Gogh painted the Starry Night.

B．To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night.

C．To prove Van Gogh was in a hallucinating state of mind while painting the picture.

D．To show us the beauty of the sky on a starry night.

Many families in the United States observe National Grandparents Day on the first Sunday of September after America’s Labor Day. People often  36   their parents on this day.
Many people  37  the day through a lot of activities such as gift-giving and card giving. Some children  38  their grandparents to school for a day where they take special lessons. Some students  39  storytelling activities that relate to their grandparents, as well as picture or music competitions where children use a story about their grandparents in their  40 .
About four million greeting cards are  41  within the United States each year on National Grandparents Day. This day is also a  42  for people to appreciate and express their  43  to their grandparents through  44  actions such as making a phone call and inviting their grandparents for dinner. People living in nursing homes may  45  a visit from their grandchildren.
National Grandparents Day has more than one  46 . Some people consider it to have been first proposed by Michael Goldgar in the 1970s after he visited his aunt in an Atlanta nursing home. Others  47  Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade to have been the main  48  of National Grandparents Day. Throughout the 1970s McQuade worked hard to  49  people about the important contributions senior citizens made and the contributions that they would be willing to make  50  asked. She also urged(強(qiáng)烈要求) people to take good care of a grandparent, not for one day a year and not for material giving,  51  for a lifetime of experience.
National Grandparents Day was  52  signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. Marian McQuade received a phone call from the White House to  53  her of this event. Many people believe that National Grandparents Day was inspired by her  54 . A presidential proclamation(聲明) on September 6, 1979 made this day  55 .

小題1:	A．support B．praise C．reward D．honor

小題2:	A．begin B．hold C．celebrate D．remember

小題3:	A．invite B．expose C．force D．remind

小題4:	A．make the use of B．take part in C．take up D．build up

小題5:	A．diaries B．plans C．reports D．a(chǎn)rtworks

小題6:	A．signed B．sent C．carried D．brought

小題7:	A．chance B．luck C．condition D．possibility

小題8:	A．satisfaction B．interest C．love D．a(chǎn)greement

小題9:	A．quick B．careful C．difficult D．kind

小題10:

A．create B．receive C．present D．realize

小題11:

A．cause B．origin C．background D．beginning

小題12:A make     B. expect   C. consider     D. allow

小題13:

A．driver B．owner C．researcher D．inventor

小題14:

A．warn B．educate C．interview D．a(chǎn)sk

小題15:

A．if B．though C．so D．until

小題16:

A．since B．but C．even D．unless

小題17:

A．finally B．recently C．nearly D．generally

小題18:

A．rid B．persuade C．clear D．inform

小題19:

A．energy B．goals C．bravery D．efforts

小題20:

A．reliable B．changeable C．official D．beautiful

Prince Charles yesterday promised to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule. The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services.
The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact of their activities.
He said, “Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, ‘How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded, how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities? ’ These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked. ”
He added, “At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone’s books… Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a relatively short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy. ” He said the world was “running up the biggest global credit card debt in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid”.
Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James’ Palace, the prince said his new “accounting for sustainability” project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet.
Duchy Originals, the prince’s food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other green-house gases are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products. The changes to the prince’s travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences. Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate(莊園), as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 105 full-time staff. Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The review will report in June , when Clarence House will announce annual targets to reduce carbon emission.
小題1:How does Prince Charles feel about business leaders in terms of environmental protection?

A．Dissatisfied.	B．Disappointed.
C．Doubtful.	D．Impatient.

小題2:In response to Prince Charles’ calls, Duchy Originals will ______.

A．make as much green food as possible

B．cut down its cost

C．figure out its greenhouse gas emission

D．continue its greenhouse gas emission

小題3:The underlined phrase in paragraph 4 probably refers to ______.

A．the great amount of waste produced by industry

B．the great damage caused to the environment

C．the great amount of debts of the royal family

D．the high cost of industry in their producing process

小題4:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Prince Charles promised Greener Royal Lifestyle

B．Better Late than Never

C．Prince Charles and His Concern for Environment

D．The Royal Family Has a Role to Play in Environment Protection

The Luck of the Irish
Look at a map of Britain, and the island on the left is Ireland. It’s a small but beautiful country with a long tradition of folk music. Up until 10 years ago just about the only thing that Ireland was famous for was its specialty black beer.
Now Ireland is famous around the world for its music with names like "Kenya","U2" ,"Van Morrison"and more recently "the Corers". "Boyzone",one of the world's top boy bands ,is from Ireland too.What's more,Boyzone member shane has twin sisters,Adele and Heavy,who are members of "B Witched"
The "Boyzone"story is interesting because they were created in 1993 by Dublin nightclub owner John Reynolds.They advertised in newspapers to find members for the group and 300wannabe pop stars applied!
Ronan,who was just 17 when he dropped out of school to make his bid for stardom,and shane,who had been working as trained mechanic in his father's garage when he left to join Boyzone,were both lucky enough to be chosen. The other members are shoe-shop attendant stephen lately,former mechanic Mike Graham and one-time clothes store assistant Keith Dully.
Many people expect bands that have been created by the music industry to produce boring music which doesn't become popular. Even the boys themselves knew they the would not easily achieve international pop music success.
Boyzone quickly proved that they were more than just pretty faces and have sold millions of records around the world.At the moment ,they are not big stars in America,but they say that will change,when they begin a tour of the United States.
Ronan will shortly also start recording as a solo artist. That does not mean the band will spilt yet,but we can expect Boyzone to split sometime in the next 18 months or so.Ronan has also recently become involved as one of the managers of new Irish boy band "West Life" whose song "Swear It Again"has recently been Number 1 in the British charts.
小題1:Ireland is famous for         now.

A．its black beer	B．its long tradition
C．popular music	D．its scenery

小題2:The words “wannabe pop stars” in the third paragraph mean      .

A．the pops who want to join the band

B．the persons who want to become pop stars

C．the pop stars who want to become more popular

D．the persons who want to be as famous as they are

小題3:Boy zone was formed by       members in 1993.

A．3

B．4

C．5

D．6

小題4:Acording to the passage, we know that        .

A．Boy zone will split some day

B．Boy zone was successful because it was created by music industry

C．The boys in Boy zone were certain that they would be famous one day

D．Boy zone are going to perform in the States for Americans love them very much

Though war is something people hate, Director Feng Xiaoning often exposes his audience to it.
“If we don’t impress the audience, who are without the painful experience of war, with the cruel injury to life and human nature war causes, how can we bring them a love of peace and objection to war?” asked the director with a glance in his eyes.
After Red River Valley and Lover’s Grief over the Yellow River, both of which star Chinese model and actress Ning Jing, Feng drew a satisfactory full stop to his war trilogy (三部曲) last month with Purple Sunset.
The film tells a story which took place in 1945, at the very moment when World War II was drawing to an end. A Chinese peasant and a Soviet woman soldier flee into a forest, where they seize a Japanese girl. They follow the girl in the hope that she will take them out of the forest, but instead they arrive in a Japanese base. Humanity (人道主義) prevents them from killing the young, innocent (無辜的) victim of Japanese militarism. This humanity, the longing for peace and eagerness to survive, make the three unite.
“If people are touched by justice, tolerance and unselfishness, I think I have achieved my goal,” Feng said. Feng admits that there are violent and bloody scenes in the film, such as tanks fighting and Japanese burning Chinese people alive, to show the cruelty of the war. But that’s never his personal preference, he says.
“Everyone who has watched my films can tell how much I hate war,” he said. “I wrote all the things for my war films by myself. Whenever I finished one, I felt as though I had suffered great pain.”
Feng regards every one of his productions as an opportunity to learn about human nature and humanity. In spite of violent scenes which frighten and sicken the audience, a balance is sought with beautiful scenery. Just like the snowy mountains in Red River Valley and the grand plateau (高原) in Lover’s Grief over the Yellow River, a beautiful vast grassland appears in this film. “I used to study art, and I appreciate beautiful things,” Feng said. “I believe that films should offer the audience a chance to enjoy beauty.”
小題1:Director Feng Xiaoning shot war film because _____.

A．he was deeply interested in such a topic

B．he wanted to give the audience the painful experience of war

C．he hoped to arouse people’s love of peace and objection to war

D．he dreamed of becoming a world-famous director

小題2:All of the following belong to Feng’s war trilogy except _____.

A．Red River Valley	B．Lover’s Grief over the Yellow River
C．Purple Sunset	D．In the Mood for Love

小題3:A Chinese peasant and a Soviet woman solider seized a Japanese girl so that _____.

A．they could find the Japanese base easily

B．she could take them out of the forest

C．they could kill her for revenge

D．it would cause the Japanese militarism to give in

小題4:Scenes of Japanese burning Chinese people alive in the film are to ______.

A．show that war is cruel

B．a(chǎn)ttract people’s interest

C．show Feng’s personal preference in dealing with details

D．make the film moving and interesting

Everybody hates it, but everybody does it. A recent report said that 40％of Americans hate tipping. In America alone, tipping is a $16 billion-a-year industry. Consumers acting politely ought not to pay more than they have to for a given service. Tips should not exist. So why do they? The common opinion in the past was that tips both rewarded the efforts of good service and reduced uncomfortable feelings of inequality. And also, tipping makes for closer relations. It went without saying that the better the service, the bigger the tip.
But according to new research from Cornell University, tips no longer serve any useful function. The paper analyzes numbers they got from 2,547 groups dining at 20 different restaurants. The connection between larger tips and better service was very weak. Only a tiny part of the size of the tip had anything to do with the quality of service.
Tipping is better explained, by culture than by the money people spend. In America, the custom came into being a long time ago. It is regarded as part of the accepted cost of a service. In New York restaurants, failing to tip at least l5％ could well mean dissatisfaction from the customers. Hairdressers can expect to get l5％-20％, and the man who delivers your fast food $2. In Europe, tipping is less common. In many restaurants the amount of tip is decided by a standard service charge. In many Asian countries, tipping has never really caught on at all. Only a few have really taken to tipping.
According to Michael Lynn，the Cornell papers’ author, countries in which people are more social or outgoing tend to tip more. Tipping may reduce anxiety about being served by strangers. And Mr. Lynn says, “In America, where people are expressive and eager to mix up with others, tipping is about social approval. If you tip badly, people think less of you. Tipping well is a chance to show off.”
小題1:This passage is mainly about________.

A．different kinds of tipping in different countries

B．the relationship between tipping and custom

C．the origin and present meaning of tipping

D．most American people hate tipping

小題2:Which of the following best explains the underlined phrase “caught on” ?

A．Been hated．	B．Become popular．
C．Been stopped．	D．Been permitted

小題3:Among the following situations, in your opinion, who is likely to tip most?

A．A Frenchman just quarreled with the barber who did his hair badly in New York.

B．A Chinese student enjoyed his meal in a famous fast food restaurant in New York.

C．A Japanese businessman asked for a pizza delivery from a Pizza Hut in New York.

D．An American just had a wonderful dinner in a well known restaurant in New York.

小題4:We can infer from this passage that________.

A．tipping is no longer a good way to satisfy some customers themselves

B．tipping has something to do with people’s character

C．tipping in America can make service better now

D．tipping is especially popular in New York

Money is all surrounding us．Every day, we see it, use it, and it is on the tip of our tongue．Did you ever stop to take into consideration where the money that you carry around every day comes from?
Making new money is a very unique job and no easy task．It has up to 65 steps When the money in circulation（流通） gets dirty and worn out, it is replaced with new money The old money is taken from banks and brought to places where it is destroyed Usually, the old money is burned．The burned money is replaced by new paper money
If old money is being replaced, then new money is printed in a place called a mint（造幣廠）．Large sheets 01 paper are printed with many pictures of some currency （流通貨幣）．These large sheets are cut into individual bills．The individual bills are then put together in big stacks and then sent to banks．
Sometimes the mint will make a new bill with a new picture （portraits of statesman and places of interest are favoured） or a new colour. It is not easy for the government to make a new bill. It takes a long time, and there are many steps to go through before a new bill can be sent to banks, first, people m the government decide that a new kind of bill is needed Then, they ask and artist to design the new bill．A different artist cuts the new picture into a soft piece of metal called a die．The dies are made and put onto large printing machines．Then, very special paper is used, which no one but the mint can have．Along with this special paper, the mint also prints currency using special colours．After the dies print the new currency onto the paper, the bills are cut, stacked, and sent off to the banks．
小題1:From the passage we know that

A．banks make new money

B．it takes 65 procedures to make new money

C．mints decide what kind of bill is needed

D．old money that is not used is forever stored in a special place

小題2:We can infer from the passage that a die is ____

A．something for dead people

B．a(chǎn) special machine that prints the money

C．a(chǎn) special piece of paper that the money is made from

D．a(chǎn) piece of metal that puts the picture on the money

小題3:'Which of the following shows the right order of dealing with new money?
①New money is printed in a mint．
②Bills are cut from large sheets of special paper．
③New money is sent in large amounts to banks．
④The government decides to make new money．

A．①②③④

B．④③②①

C．④①③②

D．④①②③

小題4:Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．The reason for making new money．

B．The processes of making a new bill．

C．The amount of new money needed．

D．Things used．to make new money or a new bill．