题目内容

The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin's older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.

Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin's Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed form will remain alive for long. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor of the Times said recently, "At places where they gather, editors ask one another, ‘How are you?’, as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case." An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guardian, under the headline "NOT DEAD YET."

Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death. Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock (股票) drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock - holders sell off their Times stock.

The Washington Post Company has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company's income.

1.What can we learn about the New England Courant?

A. It is mainly about the stock market.

B. It carries articles by political leaders.

C. It marks the beginning of newspapers.

D. It remains a successful newspaper in America.

2.What can we infer about the newspaper editors?

A. They often accept readers' suggestions.

B. They care a lot about each other's health.

C. They stop doing business with advertisers.

D. They face great difficulties in their business.

3.Which of the following found a new way for its development?

A. The Washington Post. B. The Guardian.

C. The New York Times. D. New England Courant.

4.How does the author seem to feel about the future of newspapers?

A. Satisfied. B. Hopeful. C. Surprised. D. Worried.

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Two traveling angels(天使) stop to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor but very hospitable(好客的) farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen? Why didn’t you watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you didn’t help.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal(封口) the wall so he couldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

1.Why did the old angel repair the hole for the rich family?

A. Because the basement was too cold to stay in.

B. Because she wanted to save the gold for the poor.

C. Because she wanted to punish the greedy owner.

D. Because she believed that one should always be ready to offer help.

2.In Paragraph Two, “the pair” refers to ________.

A. the poor couple B. the rich couple

C. the guests D. the angels

3.The story tries to tell the readers that_________.

A. sometimes things are not what they seem

B. angels are always ready to help the poor

C. angels are always ready to help the rich

D. the young should always learn from the old

For Canadians, backpacking Europe is a special ceremony signifying a new life stage. Unlike package tours, backpacking is a struggle, full of discovery and chance connections. It is about focusing on something different from our own lives and losing ourselves in a new world, if only for a moment.

Well, that's what backpacking Europe is supposed to do. That’s what it used to do before modern communications, social media, and commercial hostelling (旅社). Older Canadians would not recognize the Europe that they backpacked in the 1960s, 1970s and even the 1980s. Far from a rough adventure into foreign cultures, the European experience has been shattered in part by today's technology.

A few years ago, I took my then 60-year-old father on a backpacking trip across part of Europe and Turkey. As he is an experienced traveler and someone who possesses a strong sense of adventure, I decided that we'd travel on a budget, staying in hostel dorms. For him, backpacking through Europe in 1969 was about independence and struggle. But two things surprised him at the end of our journey. First was how technology-based backpacking had become: Young people were so directly connected to home that they were hardly away in any meaningful sense. Second, the lack of connections we made with locals. Instead of making us feel closer to a place, he found commercial hostelling actually made us more alienated (疏远的).

But there was some room for hope. While technology takes our attention away from the beauty and history before us, there were also ways in which it helped us to connect with our surroundings. Websites like Airbnb have made it easier to stay with enthusiastic locals. Couch Surfing helps organize meet-ups between locals and travelers. The online marketplace Dopios offers a chance to meet locals through enjoyable experiences like a personalized city tour.

Backpacking can never be the way it was for our parents’ generation. But doing a little study of history and culture before leaving, and bravely getting rid of any electronic devices while traveling, will help give young travelers a taste of the glory days.

1.The underlined word “shattered” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. broadened B. relived C. ruined D. acquired

2.After the recent backpacking trip in Europe, the author’s father finds ________.

A. backpackers connect less with locals than before

B. young people dislike getting in touch with their family

C. a hostel is a nice place for travelers to meet each other

D. backpacking in Europe becomes more difficult than before

3.What’s the author’s attitude towards technology?

A. Negative. B. Objective. C. Uncertain. D. Uninterested.

4.The text mainly discusses the relationship between ________.

A. adventures and cultures B. technology and traveling

C. young people and their family D. Canadian travelers and Europeans

When I talked to some businessmen earlier today, one fellow asked me, “Would you give money to a homeless person, even when you know he’s going to use it to buy alcohol?” I replied, “If all I was giving was money, it’ll be one thing. But for me, whenever I do give money, that’s just the wrapping (包装纸) . The real gift is hidden inside—it’s love. And I haven’t ever found any reason to limit gifts of love.”

By the end of the night, I decided to get some pizza. In front of me in line was a homeless-looking man. He was counting the few dollars bills in his hand, over and over again, until it was his turn to order. Just then, he told the young woman behind the counter, “I’ll have the full cheese pizza.” “Full?” she asked. “It’s really big,” she added, although what she really meant to say was that it’d be too expensive for him. “Yeah, the full” “$18.65,” she submitted. The bills he was counting weren’t going to make it. I wasn’t intending to get the whole pizza for him. But thinking back to my conversation with the business man, I realized that money was really just the wrapping.

I made my move. “Can you charge that pizza with my order” I said to the cashier. “Really?” the homeless-looking man said. “Really?” the young woman behind the counter repeated. “Yes, really.” That confused man and I had a sweet silent moment. To his silent question of why I was doing it, I added, “Just pay it forward for someone else.” And he said, “Well, you know what? I was actually treating these five homeless guys out there.” He was actually paying it forward, in the first place. What an unexpected fortune to get a chance to be a part of a man’s act of kindness.

1.What can we learn about the author from the first paragraph?

A. He believes it’s not money but love that matters.

B. He is mean with his money.

C. He cares little about money.

D. He seldom gives money to the poor.

2.What made the author decide to help the man?

A. The request from the homeless-looking man.

B. His sympathy for the homeless-looking man.

C. His recalling the talk with the businessman earlier that day.

D. The urgency from the young woman behind the counter.

3.Why did the homeless-looking man want to buy the whole pizza?

A. Because he was too hungry.

B. Because he wanted to pay it forward.

C. Because he wanted to treat his own five children.

D. Because he wanted to help some homeless people.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. Paying it forward B. Helping a homeless man

C. A talk with a businessman D. Money was just the wrapping

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