Tired of all the pushing in supermarkets? Fed up with waiting in endless lines to pay for what you have bought? Angry at wasting time in traffic jams only to find no parking spaces when you eventually arrive at the store? If this is you, then online shopping is the answer to your dreams of trouble-free shopping. Or is it?

Online shopping brings its own challenges. Here are a few things to bear in mind when browsing (浏览) various websites. The claim made by online sites is that shopping online is a safe and secure way to make purchases. The evidence challenges this. In any case, you only have to be the victim of fraud (诈骗) once to experience all the problems that come with this form of stealing. Use only sites that have a trusted history and an excellent reputation.

Another problem is the appearance of items in reality is often quite different from what you see on your computer screen. This might not be a problem if you are buying washing up powder but could be a major disappointment when that beautiful blue dress you ordered turns up in green. Also, product descriptions are sometimes simply untrue. Perhaps the wisest plan is to purchase items where design and color are not essential to customer satisfaction.

Some even argue that online shopping indirectly contributes to global warming. Yes, your car can stay parked but how are online goods delivered? Often by some large vans pouring out carbon monoxide and adding to our already desperate traffic problems. You are also by now becoming increasingly irritated (使烦恼) by the fact that the delivery is late and you have wasted the leave from work you have taken to receive it!

Without question, online shopping is here to stay and it has its benefits. However, perhaps it is not as wonderful as some of its supporters claim it to be.

1.The author lists several questions in Para. 1 to .

A. support online shopping

B. collect answers from readers

C. show his dislike of going shopping

D. introduce the topic of the passage

2. By what can online shoppers avoid fraud?

A. Using only trusted websites.

B. Choosing big websites.

C. Collecting shopping evidence.

D. Seeking advice from the police.

3.The author agrees with the fact that ______.

A. customers are never satisfied with products

B. online shopping is a safe way to make purchases

C. online shopping has nothing to do with global warming

D. delivery delay often makes online shoppers unhappy

4.What is the author’s attitude towards online shopping?

A. Very popular. B. A wise choice.

C. Not trouble free. D. A waste of time.

The crowd cheered and cheered. The man with the horn waved and smiled his great, happy smile.“More! More!” cried the crowd. And Louis Satchmo Armstrong took his horn and began to play again.Here he was in England. Now a famous man, he was rich.He knew many important people.Wherever he went, people knew his name.They wanted to hear his music. As Louis played the sad, slow songs, he thought of his home in New Orleans.He lived there as a boy.How many years ago was it? It was a busy, exciting city.But Louis’ family was very poor.He went to work to help his mother.He also went to school.One of Louis’ teachers asked him to be in the school band. “This horn is yours until you leave our school.” his teacher said. Louis’ music was jazz and he loved it.He remembered all the music he heard. He didn’t learn to read music until he was a man.

When he left school, he played in many bands.He loved his work and people loved him.They knew he had a wonderful talent.Louis played on the boats that sailed up and down the river.He played in little towns and in big cities.Satchmo’s horn had as many sounds as ten horns – sometimes slow and sweet; sometimes fast and hot, high and low.His music was always strong and exciting.“He does make wonderful music, ” said the man who listened happily.“Yes,” said another man, “he makes that horn speak.” “I thought jazz was my music, but now I understand it is ours.Isn’t it beautiful how music brings us together!” Louis Satchmo Armstrong remarked.

1.When did Louis Satchmo Armstrong learn to read music?

A. When he was less than 14 years old.

B. When he was in the school band.

C. After he became a grown-up.

D. His beautiful speech.

2.What was Louis Armstrong most famous for?

A. His great happy smile.

B. His sad and slow songs.

C. His wonderful jazz music.

D. His beautiful speech.

3.What is the passage mainly about?

A. The origin of jazz music.

B. The famous jazz musician Louis Armstrong.

C. How Louis came to play his horn.

D. How people loved Louis and his horn.

4.Which of the following is the best title for this story?

A. Musician

B. A Beautiful Horn

C. Sweet Smiles

D. The Man With the Horn

Every year, the fascinating tourist destinations below are attracting travelers from home and abroad to St. Louis, which, founded in 1764 by French traders, today is the fifteenth largest urban area in the United States.

★American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog

Dog lovers who visit St. Louis won’t want to miss this 14,000-square-foot museum. Inside are over 500 paintings, prints, watercolors, and a variety of other dog art objects. The Museum is open year round, Tuesday through Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM, and Sunday 1 PM to 5 PM. Admission is $5 for adults,$2.50 for seniors, and $1 for children up to 14.

★Anheuser Busch Brewery

The Anheuser Buxch Brewery tour is not just for beer lovers. The tour includes the historic Brew House. Then the tour continues to the modern Bevo Packaging Plant. The best will be the Budweiser Clydesdale stables. The tours are always free.

★Gateway Arch

Designed by Eero Sarinen and Hannskari Bandel, it took over two years and 900 tons of stainless steel to build. It is the tallest of the country’s National Monuments. The Arch is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. About one million people per year come to the top of the Arch, where there is an observation platform providing a great view of the city.

★The St. Louis Zoo

First version of the St. Louis Zoo opened in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair, but now it has grown into one of the chief zoos in the world. The passenger train takes visitors around the Zoo, which contains over 9,000 animals of over 800 species.

The Zoo is open every day but Christmas and New Year, with summer hours of 8 AM to 7 PM, and hours the rest of the year of 9 AM to 5 PM. Admission to the Zoo is free.

1.If you are interested in how to make beer, you can visit __________.

A. Gateway Arch

B. The St. Louis Zoo

C. Anheuser Busch Brewery

D. American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog

2.Which of the following statements about Gateway Arch is TRUE?

A. It was designed by two famous Italian architects.

B. People can see the city clearly on the top of the arch.

C. It took 900 tons of stainless steel and cement to build.

D. It is the largest of the country’s National Monuments.

3.If you plan to visit the St. Louis Zoo, you can go there _____.

A. at 9:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day

B. at 5:30 p.m. in winter

C. at 8:30 a.m. in summer

D. at 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Day

George Gershwin, born in 1898, was one of America’s greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs. Many of Gershwin’s songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way—from jazz to country.

In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-­famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.

In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-­influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.

George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty ­nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written.

1.Many of Gershwin’s musical works were________.

A. written about New Yorkers

B. composed for Paul Whiteman

C. performed in various ways

D. played mainly in the countryside

2.What do we know about the concert organized by Whiteman?

A. It proved jazz could be serious music.

B. It attracted more people to theatres.

C. It made Gershwin leader of the orchestra.

D. It caused a debate among jazz musicians.

3.What do we learn from the last paragraph?

A. Many of Gershwin’s works were lost.

B. A concert was held in memory of Gershwin.

C. The death of Gershwin was widely reported.

D. Brain cancer research started after Gershwin’s death.

4.Which of the following best describes Gershwin?

A. Serious and boring. B. Talented and productive.

C. Popular and unhappy. D. Friendly and honest.

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