Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict, "he jokes." I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes – khaki pants and sports shirt – to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable."

    More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday, but only on Friday. This became known as "dress-down Friday" or "casual Friday." "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones.

    Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale (士气). Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative effect on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes."

David Smith refers to himself as having been "a clothes addict," because         .  

    A. he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt

    B. he couldn't stand a clean appearance

    C. he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time

    D. he didn't want to spend much money on clothes

David Smith wears casual clothes now, because         .  

    A. they make him feel at ease when working

    B. he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes

    C. he looks handsome in casual clothes

    D. he no longer works for any company

According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE? 

    A. Many employees don't like a conservative dress code.

    B. Comfortable clothes make employees more productive.

    C. A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees.

    D. All the employers in the U.S. are for casual office wear.

According to this passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?   

    A. Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago.

    B. Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s.

    C. "Dress-down Friday" was first given as a favor from employers.

    D. Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people.

In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned except         .    

    A. saving employees' money B. making employees more attractive

    C. improving employees' motivation D. making employees happier

NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad memories. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars.

Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a scary events. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase, the effect of painful memories.

    In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body producing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.

    The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.

    Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers’ troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.

    “Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don’t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,” said Roger Pitman.

    But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories make us different from others. They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.

“All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I’m not sure whether we want to wipe those memories out,” said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.

What does the underlined word “erase” mean?

A. change           B. forgive            C. add              D. remove

The passage is mainly about _________.

A. a new medical invention                 B. a new research on the pill

C. the argument about the research on the pill     D. a way of erasing painful memories

The drug tested on people can _________.

   A. cause the brain to fix memories         B. stop people remembering bad events

   C. prevent body producing certain chemicals   D. wipe out the bad memories

Which of the following statements is true?

   A. Some people doubt if the pills should be used to help people forget bad memories.

   B. The pill will stop people’s bad memories.

   C. Taking the pill will do harm to people’s health.

  D. The pill has been produced in America.

Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with?

A. Some memories can ruin people’s lives.

B. People want to get rid of bad memories.

C. The pill will reduce people’s sufferings from bad memories.

D. Having bad events makes us different from others.

Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.

Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.

E-mail makes it easier to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my younger daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.

The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun—see a great movie perhaps—and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.

With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends who you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.

E-mail is also an inexpensive way to stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.

We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.

The purpose of this passage is to ________.

explain how to use the Internet       

describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology

tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the Internet

introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet

The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to ________.

  A. spend less time working         B. have more free time with his child

  C. work at home on weekends      D. work at a speed comfortable to him

According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because E-mail helps one ________.

A. reach a group of people at one time conveniently

B. keep one’s communication as personal as possible

C. pass on much more information than the latter

D. get in touch with one’s friends faster than telephone.

The best title for this passage is _________.

Computer: New Technological Advances

Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship

Computer Have Made Life Easier

Internet Have helped us to communicate

Nowadays people are troubled by the violence that spreads throughout the media. Movies, television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what’s wrong with a society that presents videos of violence as entertainment.

Viewing large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute to violent behavior in certain individuals. The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality(因果关系). Skeptics were dismayed several years ago when a group of societies including the American Medical Association tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement: “At this time, well over 1,000 studies… point to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children.”

Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of catering to politicians, and even disputed the number of studies (most were review articles and essays, they said). When Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto, reviewed the literature, he found only 200 or so studies of television-watching and aggression. And when he weeded out “the most doubtful measures of aggression”, only 28% supported a connection.

The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined. When labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read “aggressive” or “non-aggressive” words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring? The intention of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health to collect and standardize studies of media violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions is an important step in the right direction.

Another appropriate step would be to tone down the criticism until we know more. Several researchers write, speak and testify quite a lot on the threat posed by violence in the media. That is, of course, their privilege. But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues. In response, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters of being deceived by the entertainment industry. Such clashes help neither science nor society.

Why is there so much violence shown in movies, TV and video games?

A. Showing violence is thought to be entertaining.

B. Something has gone wrong with today’s society

C. Many people are fond of gunplay and bloodshed.

D. There is a lot of violence in the real world today.

What is the skeptics’ view of media violence?

A. Violence on television is fairly accurate reflection of real-world life.

B. Most studies exaggerate (夸大) the effect of media violence on the viewers.

C. A causal relationship exists between media and real-world violence.

D. The influence of media violence on children has been underestimated.

The author uses the term “alarmists” to refer to those who _________.

A. use standardized measurements in the studies of media violence

B. initiated the debate over the influence of violent media on reality

C. insist on a direct link between violent media and aggressive behavior

D. use appropriate methodology in examining aggressive behavior

The underlined phrase “weeded out” in Paragraph 3 most probably means _________.

   A. got rid of things that are not good     B. removed unwanted parts from something

   C. picked out things that are useful        D. took away unnecessary details of a report

What does the writer think of the debate concerning the relationship between the media and violence?

A. He more than agrees with the views held by the alarmists. 

B. It should come to an end since the matter has now been settled.

C. The past studies in this field have proved to be misleading.

D. More studies should be conducted before conclusions are drawn.

请阅读下列应用文及其相关信息,并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。(选E时,同时涂AB; 选F时,同时涂CD)

以下是几本儿童书籍的封面:

A. I Will Hold You 'til You Sleep           B. Two Finger Puppet Magnet Books

C. I SPY TREASURE HUNT            D. Disney's Little Einsteins

 

E. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz         F. Learn About Math With Bert & Ernie  

以下是儿童书籍的介绍,请匹配与之对应的书籍:

Based on the new hit animated show airing on the Disney Channel, this new series takes preschoolers along on the thrilling adventures of Leo, June, Quincy, and Annie, whose missions are illustrated with beautiful, full-color photos. Emmy-Award winner Susan Ring specializes in writing for children, and has written for all types of media. Her books for Disney Publishing Worldwide include boxed sets of Pixar’s Fun with Phonics, featuring Nemo and Toy Story characters and the Baby Einstein books.

Here is the rare book that not only expresses a parent's love for their child, but offers a hope for what that love will become. It begins with a wish at bedtime, as parents hold their children tight and hope their love will cradle them, safe and sound. It continues through the day their children have grown up, proud and strong, and can pass that love on to someone else. This is a book that goes beyond a parent's "I love you" to the generous wish that our children will make the world a better place.

This bestselling book features riddles that send readers searching for hidden objects in 12 photographs with treasure hunt themes. Children will love to pursue the mystery of the pirate's hidden treasure, narrowing their search with every delightfully cluttered page. Looking for an additional challenge? Try the extra-credit riddles.

Pooh, Piglet, and the gang from the Hundred-Acre wood are here to guide you through some amazing activities. Just slip one of the pointing puppets (木偶)onto your finger, and see if you can solve the puzzles inside. Your puppet will be drawn to the solutions, and your heart will be hooked by the colorful crew! This book includes 2 magnetic finger puppets.

This exciting new workbook from Sesame Workshop and Learning Horizons is designed so your child can have fun learning right along with Big Bird and the other friends from Sesame Street! In this workbook, your child will learn to recognize numbers, count and match sets of like items. Your child will even begin to add and subtract! A special “think icon” feature calls attention to activities that are challenging and more advanced. A special Explore More feature provides several easy-to-do home activities to extend learning in practical and fun ways.

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