D
You’ve probably heard of the butterfly effect that small changes in one place can lead to great damage elsewhere. The Toy Story II, Made-in-China, appearing on the internet, TV screens and front pages of newspapers worldwide since August, was a live show. China’s fame as “the world’s factory” was badly damaged this summer by a small, but powerful magnet (磁铁), and colorful paints on toys.
Mattel, the world’s largest toy company in the US, on August 14 announced the biggest recall (召回) of toys in its history. Among the recalled products were 17.4 million toys that had a design problem. They contained a small, powerful magnet that could harm children if it was swallowed. Another 2.2 million toys were recalled because of impermissible levels of lead (铅) in their paint.
Although the designing problem has nothing to do with where the toys were made, the reports in the western media of the recall started to draw a horrible picture in many American parent’s minds.
The toy recall issue followed shortly after recalls earlier in the year of Chinese-made pet food and toothpaste and left users all over the world worried about buying anything labeled (贴上标签) “Made-in-China”.
The recall of the toys teaches Chinese companies that quality is extremely important. However, many of the complaints by western countries about Chinese goods reflect complicated feelings about the growing Chinese economy, culture differences and various political systems.
However, more than 100 US multinational companies from many industries, including Boeing and Microsoft, signed a letter to the US Congress on September 28, to say no to the proposal against China. “Imposing (加强) unfair barriers to trade in the name of product safety is not a solution,” the companies wrote.
Toys are made for children to learn about the reality world and become more mature (成熟), however, the Chinese version of Toy Story helps lots of adults learn about responsibility, importance of quality, understanding, communications, and more.
53. The author mentions the butterfly effect at the beginning of the passage to ______.
A. explain what the butterfly effect is
B. tell the readers what causes the butterfly effect
C. say that the toy effect is similar to the butterfly effect
D. compare the differences between the butterfly effect and the toy effect
54. Which of the following are the reasons mentioned to have caused the recall?
a. The picture on the toys.
b. The designing problem.
c. The colorful paints on toys.
d. The materials toys are made of.
e. The small powerful magnet on toys.
A. abe                   B. bde                   C. bce                   D. acd
55. Boeing and Microsoft signed a letter to the US Congress because ______.
A. the growing Chinese economy makes them afraid
B. the Chinese companies have realized the importance of quality
C. the Toy Story has made some Chinese companies suffer great losses
D. they think it’s unfair to impose barriers in the name of product safety
56. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. Made in China.                              B. Butterfly Effect.
C. Western Media.                              D. Toy Story.

请认真阅读下列短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意:每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism. Their critics seem to offend them because they have a talent for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around. ‘It’s unfair,’ they say, ‘that this entirely unproductive industry (if we can call it that) should absorb millions of pounds each year. It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making. Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays…’
The poor old consumer! He’d have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn’t create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods comes largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway rules while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a dull wall or a newspaper full of disasters.
We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not survive without this source of revenue(收益). The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!
Another thing we mustn’t forget is the ‘small ads.’ which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine. What a greatly useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the ‘hatch, match and dispatch’ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or ‘agony’ column(读者来信专栏). No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is!

Topic
Advertising or not?
  1  of criticism
having a talent for self-promotion
  2  so much money
making the price of goods   3
With ads
Consumer goods are not so   4 .
People   5  a great deal of knowledge from ads.
Ads provide us with some   6  to new products or remind us of the old ones.
A cheerful, witty ad makes our life more   7  .
Without ads
Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could hardly   8 .
We pay   9  for our daily paper or cannot enjoy so many broadcast programmes.
It will not be so   10   if people want to find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death.
 

“Where is Papa going with that ax (斧子)?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

“Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.”

“I don’t see why he needs an ax,” continued Fern, who was only eight.

“Well,” said her mother, “one of the pigs is a runt (发育不良的小动物). It’s very small and weak. So your father has decided to do away with it.”

“Do away with it?” shouted Fern. “You mean kill it?”

“Don’t shout, Fern!” she said. “Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway.”

Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The grass was wet and the earth smelled springtime. Fern’s shoes were wetting by the time she caught up with her father.

“Please don’t kill it! It’s unfair,” she said.

Mr. Arable stopped.

“Fern,” he said gently, “you will have to learn to control yourself.”

“This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.” Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand.

“Fern,” said Mr. Arable, “I know more about raising a group of pigs than you do. A weak pig makes trouble.”

“But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small. If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?”

Mr. Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this is different. It’s a pig.”

“There is no difference,” replied Fern.

1.What puzzled Fern at the beginning?

A.Why her father refused to eat breakfast.     B.If the hoghouse was big enough for many pigs.

C.How pigs were born at night.               D.What his father would do with an ax.

2.Why couldn’t Fern control herself?

A.Because she was afraid of killing a pig.        B.Because the pig was treated unfairly.

C.Because she loved pet pigs very much.       D.Because her father was rude to her.

3.According to the passage, Fern’s father thought that ______.

A.it was natural for pigs to be born small       B.he couldn’t afford to have so many pigs

C.a weak pig needed more attention          D.he was troubled by raising a weak pig

4.It can be inferred from the passage that Fern was _________.

A.kind-hearted       B.brave             C.shy              D.patient

 

Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?

    In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees. As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan in order to go to university.

    They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.

    The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around £12,000 (122,952 yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach April after graduating. If you start to earn over £15,000 (153,630 yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.

    You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.

    All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year.”

    Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?

1.What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A. Universities’ charging students fees is quite common all over the world.

B. It’s unfair to charge college students fees in England and Wales.

C. Before 2006 the UK universities didn’t charge students tuition fees in England and Wales.

D. The UK universities are unwilling to carry out the government’s policy.

2.What might be the reason that the number of British students at UK universities falls?

A. It’s harder and harder for them to get a degree.

B. The credit crisis has great influnce on their families’ income.

C. College education costs them too much.

D. The competition to become a “white collar” is too fiece.

3.What does the underlined words “a piece of paper” refer to?

A. A written document from the bank.                 B. A letter of recommendation.

C. A filled application form.                                      D. A diploma.

4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

  A. More Profits for the Banks                                  B. College Life in the UK

C. Welcome! International Students                     D. UK Universities Students Become Poorer

 

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