B

Books are typically written first, then narrated (朗读) for audio books. Until now, Audible, the largest company of audio books, has begun asking well-known writers to create works specifically for audio, instead of inviting people to narrate already existing print books. It’s a new chapter for the book industry.

Audible now has about 30 totally new audio works in production. And it turns out that audio books, which have long been regarded as less important than e-books, have actually been doing quite well. They are a $1,000,000,000 industry, with more than 35,000 titles published in 2013 alone.

What promotes that progress is not only an evolution of technology, but more importantly, the rise of the celebrity (名人) narrator. Narrators are key to the success of an audio book and these days, producers are signing on more and more celebrities. Celebrities’ narration is like a private performance to customers, who get a feeling of closeness in listening to their voices. Many of the customers buy audio books based on the narrator. They will listen to anything a specific actor or actress reads.

That is why Audible is taking the risk of not producing print books at all but starting totally new audio works. There’s another reason why the company is expecting its risk-taking action to pay off: humans have been telling stories since the beginning of time. We are taking part in a little habit that goes back thousands and thousands of years — before the first mark was ever made on a stone. Long before writing, people were telling each other stories and the audio book goes all the way back to that tradition. As Peter Allen sang softly in the 1970s, everything old is new again.

1.The "new chapter" (Para. 1) refers to a time of _________.

A. starting audio companies B. producing new audio works

C. narrating print books for audio D. creating electronic books

2.What does Paragraph 2 tell about audio books?

A. Their bright future B. Their difference from e-books

C. Their great importance D. Their previous production

3.Customers like celebrities’ narration because ______.

A. celebrities help them understand the stories

B. celebrities have more attractive voices

C. celebrities seem to be within their reach

D. celebrities have better narrating skills

4.Audible believes its risk-taking action will be rewarding because ______.

A. the action has lasted for a long time

B. customers play an active role in the action

C. the company has spent a lot on the action

D. the action agrees with the story-telling tradition

1.Xie Lei's preparation course is helping her to get used to the academic r______(要求)of a Western university.

2.Xie Lei highly r______(推荐)it.

3.But I was also very nervous as I didn't know what to expect,"Xie Lei told me when I saw her waiting in a q_______(队伍)at the student cafeteria between lectures.

4.Made me very thoughtful and t______(感激)for my life today.

5.The industry b______(繁荣)attracted Europeans including many Jewish people.

6.From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people a______(申请)for right to live in USA.

7.By the time California e______(选举)to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850,it was already a multicultural society.

8.Firstly,gardeners use it all the time to produce c______(商业的)quantities of plants.

9.Cloning plants is s______(直接的)while cloning animals is very complicated.

10.But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a b______(突破)-the cloning of Dolly the sheep.

11.On the other hand,Dolly's appearance raised a storm of o______(反对)and had a great impact on the media and public imagination.

12.The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die,but others will survive and pass on the ability to r______(抵抗)that disease to the next generation.

13.All efforts of cloning an animal will be in v______(徒劳)if there is not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses.

14.Here was a chance for me to distinguish myself by inventing something m______(仁慈的)that would catch snakes but harm them.

15.Of the first Spanish to go to California,the m______(大多数)were religious men,whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives.

For many people.leisure time is an opportunity to get outdoors,have some fun and meet interesting people.Add two pieces of advanced 21st century technology—global positioning system (GPS) devices and the Internet—to get "geocaching".

The word geocaching comes from “geo” (earth) and “cache” (hidden storage).Geocachers log onto a website to find information about the location of a cache—usually a waterproof plastic box containing small items such as toys and CDs—along with a notebook where “finders” can enter comments and learn about the cache “owner”,the person who created and hid the cache.Finders may take any of the items in the cache but are expected to replace them with something of similar value.They then visit the website again and write a message to the owner.

Geocaching became possible on May 1,2000,when a satellite system developed by the U.S.Department of Defense was made public.Using an inexpensive GPS device,anyone on earth can send a signal to the satellites and receive information about their position.This is basically a high-tech version of orienteering,the traditional pastime which uses maps and compasses instead of GPS to determine one’s location.

Geocachers are a very considerate group.Owners carefully choose a cache’s location to give finders an enjoyable experience,such as a beautiful view or a good campsite.They also consider the environmental impact of their cache since it could result in an increased number of visitors to an area.As for the content of the caches,owners and finders must only use items that are suitable for the whole family,as caches are found by geocachers of all ages.

1.According to the passage,geocaching is_______.

A. an outdoor leisure activity

B. a new type of technology

C. a game used to teach geography

D. a program to protect environment

2.How can finders learn about the cache owners?

A. By meeting them. B. By going to a website.

C. From the notebook. D. From the satellite.

3.Which of the following is NOT used in geocaching?

A. A GPS device. B. A compass.

C. A plastic container. D. The Internet.

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Most geocachers are adults.

B. Any item can be placed in the caches.

C. The caches should be put in a remote place.

D. Geocachers try to avoid damaging the environment.

完形填空

阅读下面短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had 1 a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and 2 his father could well 3 it, he told him that was all he wanted.

On the morning of his graduation day his father called him into his own study and told him how 4 he was to have such a fine son. He handed his son a beautiful gift box. 5 but slightly disappointed, the young man __6__ the box and found a lovely book. 7 , he raised his voice at his father and said, " 8 all your money you give me a book? " and rushed out of the house, 9 the book in the study.

He did not contact his father for a whole year 10 one day he saw in the street an old man who looked like his father. He 11 he had to go back home and see his father.

When he arrived at his father’s house, he was told that his father had been in hospital for a week. The moment he was about to 12 the hospital, he saw on the desk the 13 new book, just as he had left it one __14__ ago. He opened it and began to 15 the pages. Suddenly, a car key 16 from an envelope attached behind the book. It had a tag(标签)with the dealer’s name, the 17 dealer who had the sports car he had 18 . On the tag was the 19 of his graduation, and the 20 PAID IN FULL.

1.A. expected B. enjoyed C. admired D. owned

2.A. finding B. proving C. deciding D. knowing

3.A. afford B. offer C. keep D. like

4.A. encouraged B. comfortable C. proud D. moved

5.A. Nervous B. Serious C. Careful D. Curious

6.A. packed B. opened C. picked up D. put aside

7.A. Angrily B. Eagerly C. Calmly D. Anxiously

8.A. At B. From C. With D. To

9.A. toasting B. putting C. forgetting D. leaving

10.A. until B. as C. before D. unless

11.A. learned B. realized C. recognized D. admitted

12.A. get to B. search for C. turn to D. leave for

13. A. much B. still C. hardly D. quite

14.A. year B. month C. week D. day

15.A. clean B. read C. turn D. count

16.A. lost B. came C. appeared D. dropped

17.A. old B. same C. special D. new

18.A. remembered B. desired C. found D. met

19.A. picture B. place C. date D. sign

20.A. words B. information C. messages D. card

B

The rise in smartphones (智能手机) among young people may be having a direct effect on how successful they become as adults.

Research from the University of Nebraska Lincoln has discovered university students check their phones 11 times per lesson on average, and more than 80 percent believe this tech addiction is interfering with their learning.

A quarter of students across five American states also blamed poor grades in exams specifically on the fact that they used mobile devices when they should have been concentrating and revising and these grades could determine the jobs they end up going into.

Barney McCoy, an associate professor of broadcasting at the university, surveyed 777 students at six universities across five states about how they used digital devices in the classroom.

The students were from UNL, the University of Nebraska Lincoln at Omaha in Nebraska, Morningside College in Iowa, the University of North Carolina, the University of Kansas and the University of Mississippi.

Around two thirds said they used phones, tablets and laptops for "non-classroom purposes" up to ten times during a typical university day, while 15 percent admitted this figure was closer to 30 times.

Among the top reasons why 55 percent of students checked their devices so regularly were staying connected and fighting boredom. Less than half said the devices were used for classwork.

Texting was the most popular distraction (娱乐) technique at 86 percent, while 68 percent said they used their phones to check personal emails. Two thirds used social networks, 38 percent surfed the web and 8 percent admitted playing games when they should have been studying.

Despite eight out of ten students admitting their devices were distracting, fewer than five percent considered it to be a "very big" distraction.

"I don’t think students necessarily think it’s a big problem," said McCoy. "They think it’s part of their lives."

1.The majority of the students think that using smartphones __________.

A. helps to improve their grades

B. contributes to their poor grades

C. has a bad effect on their study

D. determines their jobs in the future

2. How many students surveyed used digital devices for "non-classroom purposes" about 30 times during a day?

A. About 518. B. About 116.

C. About 427. D. Less than 388.

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Barney McCoy surveyed 777 students at the university he works in.

B. A minority of the students said they used digital devices for classwork.

C. Around two thirds admitted they used digital devices because lessons were boring.

D. Barney McCoy doesn’t think students’ using digital devices is a big problem.

4.The text is most likely to be found in a section about __________.

A. successful people B. political systems

C. science and technology D. historical events

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