They like using the Internet. They have lots of pocket money to spend. And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us. Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy-games, CDs and clothing-are easily sold on the Web.
But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards. Most have to use a parent’s card. They want a facility that allows them to spend money.
That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber (网络的) space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic. If successful, these products can stimulate online sales.
In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153bn (billion) in the US last year and £20bn annually in the UK. Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school-88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK. According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online-mainly CDs and books.
In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children. Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street. They are more likely to ask “Why?” if you ask to spend some money online.
One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cybercash is through prepaid cards such as InternetCash in the US and Smart cards in the UK. Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as£20 or $50 with a concealed 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account.
【小题1】 What does the word “They” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A.Sellers.B.Buyers.C.Teenagers.D.Parents.
【小题2】According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.More than half of the teenagers in the US and the UK have Internet access.
B.Teenagers pay for goods online with their own credit cards.
C.Most teenagers in the US and the UK have bought something online.
D.Teenagers found it easier to persuade parents to buy online than in a shop.
【小题3】New way to help teenagers shop online is to use ______.
A.a new machineB.special coins and notes
C.prepaid cardsD.pay-as-you-go mobile phones
【小题4】What is the passage mainly about?
A.Online shopping traps.B.Internet users in the US and the UK.
C.New credit cards for parents.D.The arrival of cyber pocket money.

A volcanic eruption in Iceland has sent ash across northern Europe. Airlines have stopped or changed the flights across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in airports.  
Grimsvom is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvom different is that it lies under a huge glacier(冰川)of ice up to 12 maters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice above it, which then forms a layer(层)of water between the glacier and the volcano This layer of water puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it stable, As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava(岩浆)from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.  
Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of volcanic ash. According to KLM. one of Europe’s biggest airlines, airplanes cannot go under the cloud or over it. Going through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in the airplane’s engines, causing damage to the plane.  
The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp. Glass-like rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them from eating ash- covered grass to the sharp object.  
【小题1】What makes Grimsvom different from other volcanoes? 

A.It is below ice.B.It lies under the sea
C.It is the largest volcanoD.It is lava affects the airlines
【小题2】What keeps Grimsvom still? 
A.The slow flow of waterB.The low water temperature
C.The thick glacierD.The water pressure
【小题3】Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption? 
A.People stop traveling in Europe
B.Airlines suffer from the loss of planes
C.It becomes dangerous for animals to eat outside
D.Farmers have lost many of their animals
【小题4】This text is most probably taken from_____ 
A.a research paperB.a newspaper report
C.a class presentationD.a geography textbook.

In the 18th century, New York was smaller than Philadelphia and Boston. Today it is the largest city in America. How can the change in its size and importance be explained?

    To answer this question we must consider certain facts about geography, history, and economics. Together these three will explain the huge growth of America’s most famous city.

    The map of the Northeast shows that the four areas with the largest populations in this region are around seaports. At these points materials from across the sea enter the United States, and the products of the land are sent there for export across the sea.

     We know that places where transportation lines meet are good places for making raw materials into finished goods. That is why seaports often have cities nearby. But cities like New York needed more than their geographical location in order to become great industrial centers. Their development did not happen simply by chance.www.zxxk.com

     About 1815, when many Americans from the east had already moved toward the west, transportation routes from the seaports to the central regions of the country began to be a serious problem. The slow wagons of that time, usually drawn by horses, were too expensive for moving heavy freight (货物) very far. In New York State a canal seemed the best answer to the transportation problem. From the eastern end of Lake Erie all the way across the state to the Hudson River there is a long strip of low land. Here the Erie Canal was built, and after several years of work it was completed in 1825.

     The canal produced an immediate effect. Freight costs were cut to about one tenth of what they had been. New York City, which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston, quickly became the leading city of the coast. In the years that followed, transportation routes on the Great Lakes were joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end point of a great inland shipping system that started from the Atlantic Ocean far up the western branches of the Mississippi.

1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Development of Transportation in New York

B. Export and Import of New York

C. How New York Became America's Largest City

D. How New York Exchanged with Europe

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

A. The Erie Canal connected Lake Erie with the Hudson River.

B. Economists are of the opinion that places where farming is done are good for making raw materials into finished goods.

C. Wagons drawn by horses and oxen soon proved to be better and cheaper than canal transportation.

D. The seaports usually have less population but more business.

3.Freight costs were reduced to 10% of what they had been because of ________.

A. cheap and fast wagons                          B. the new sea routes

C. the construction of the Erie Canal       D. the development of industry

 

The first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman Laurent Clerc. He and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded America’s first school for the deaf.

When Laurent Clerc was one year old, he fell into a fire. As a result, he lost both his hearing and his sense of smell. At the age of 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.

Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister when he met a young deaf girl, Alice Cogswell. He was upset to learn that there were no schools for the deaf in America. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. However, he was unable to get help. He met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to Paris to learn at the Royal Institution for the Deaf.

Gallaudet went to the Royal Institution for the Deaf, where Clerc became his Sign Language teacher. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return to America, he asked Clerc to come with him.

The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.

1.

America’s first school for the deaf was founded __________.

A.in 1816

B.in 1817

C.by a Fenchman

D.by an American

2.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sailed to London because __________.

A.he wanted to study the system of deaf education

B.he needed to finish his studies to become a minister

C.he wanted to get help from Clerc

D.he wanted to find schools for the deaf

3.

." After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher." From this

sentence we can infer that __________.

A.the school wanted to help Clerc to get a job

B.the school wanted Clerc to be prepared to teach Americans

C.the school was impressed with Clerc, and thought he would do a good job

D.the school wanted other deaf students to model after Clerc

4.

The main idea of this passage could best be stated as __________.

A.Clerc was an intelligent man

B.Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was grateful to Clerc for all that he taught him

C.Clerc would teach the deaf in America rather than in Paris

D.Clerc, an educated Frenchman, made a difference to American Deaf Education

 

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