题目内容
— May I ask you a favor?
— ___________
A It’s my pleasure. B I have no time C With pleasure D Sure, go ahead.
D
解析
阅读快车系列答案The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” – and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer – which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet –adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear – popular in the US and UK – that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use. Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he said.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now linked with portability.” added Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared.
【小题1】People use iPlayer to ________.
| A．listen to music | B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online | D．read newspapers |
| A．young readers | B．old readers | C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
| A．popular | B．uncertain | C．definite | D．unique |
| A．portable | B．environmentally friendly |
| C．advanced | D．recyclable |
| A．“i” products are often of high quality |
| B．iTeddy is a live bear |
| C．the letter “b” replaces the letter “i” to name the products |
| D．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
Your name made you do it, though unconsciously, suggests new research that finds your name can negatively make you achieve less. Psychologists at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.
Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out.
Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale have conducted five studies over five years using information from thousands of individuals.
“The conscious process is baseball players want to get a hit and students want to get A's,” Nelson says. “So if you get a change in performance consistent with the name-letter effect, it clearly shows there must be some unconscious desire operating in the other direction.”
The researchers' work supports a series of studies published since 2002 that have found the “name-letter effect” causes people to make life choices based on names that resemble their own. Those studies by Brett Pelham, an associate professor at SUNY University, have found that people are disproportionately（不定比例地）likely to live in states or cities resembling their names, have careers that resemble their names and even marry those whose surnames begin with the same letter as their own.
The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.”
The researchers say the effect is definitely more than coincidence but is small nevertheless. “I know plenty of Chrises and Davids who have done very well in school,” Simmons says.
1.The new research is mainly about the relationship between one’s ______.
|
A．name and unconsciousness |
B．name and characteristics |
|
C．name and success |
D．sports and school achievements |
2.Who may serve as an example to show the “name-letter effect”?
|
A．Miss Smith working as a lawyer. |
B．Charles Brown married to Sue Rogers. |
|
C．Mr. Watt living in Washington |
D．Paula Snow fond of the color white. |
3.Which can be used to explain the underlined word “twist” in the last but one paragraph?
|
A．Difference． |
B．Conclusion． |
|
C．Funny side． |
D．Shared part． |
4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that the “name-letter effect” ______.
|
A．isn’t believed in by many people |
B．doesn’t work with certain names |
|
C．may not really exist |
D．is often too small to show |
Dear Michelle,
My mother is not a good example for me and my sister. She smokes, stays out late, and she curses. I love her but I am ashamed of her. I do not want to bring home my friends because she does not act like any of the other mothers. She says I am a loser because I sit at home and I study. I wish I could live in another family that is normal, but that will not be for another 5 years when I am 18 and legal. What am I supposed to do until then?
Prisoner of a Crazy House
Dear 7th Grade,
I am glad that you love your mother because the rest of your feelings about her may change as you mature and get older.
While it is true that your mother’s smoking, partying and cursing bring you shame, the fact that you want to stay separate from her doing is notable and very smart. It shows that you are a winner, not a loser.
I am guessing, therefore, that you do not bring shame to yourself, and that is a good thing. So, keep it that way and keep away from your mother’s habits.
In the meantime, get the best grades as possible and join clubs and after-school activities. Offer social service on weekends and visit with your friends at their homes.
Unfortunately, you are not alone. Many teens live in homes with immature, misguided, selfish parents. Those kids often feel lonely and separate from the rest of their friends because of their parents’ terrible deeds.
Yet, despite this, some of these very teens grow up to be just fine. They develop good friendships with nice kids, do well in school, and often find a teacher of guidance advisor who makes all the difference!
Do it, Miss Winning 13-year-old, and keep looking forward to your own fine future. Maybe by then your mother may even see the light and realize how surprising you really are.
Best luck!
Michelle
1.The kids asks for advice on how to _________.
|
A．make her mother change |
B．grow up in her present situation |
|
C．get along well with her mother |
D．start a new family with her sister |
2. Michelle doesn’t call her letter receiver a “Prisoner of a Crazy House” possibly because she ________.
|
A．tries to be polite |
B．doesn’t write to that kid alone |
|
C．knows that’s a girl in Grade 7 |
D．wants to cheer up the kid |
3. Michelle advises the girl to ___________.
|
A．try talking to her mother |
B．get used to the habits of her mother |
|
C．stick to her attitude towards her mother |
D．improve her relationship with her mother |
4.What does Michelle express by the paragraphs beginning with “Unfortunately” and “Yet”?
|
A．Many parents act terribly |
B．You’re not speaking for yourself |
|
C．Parents’ manners make little difference |
D．Don’t worry too much about your problem |