Back those photos up
The images were striking．Homes on the East Coast were washed away by Superstorm Sandy. People were in tears, picking up faded photographs, among their only remaining possessions．
If that doesn't move you to get serious about safekeeping your lifetime of memories, what will? The digital age offers tools never imaginable before—including one-click access to a lifetime of family photos．
Here is a brochure (手册) on how to back up (存) your photos and save them online, where they can live forever and be accessible in good times and bad．
Scanning
The first step for those old photos is to scan them and save them to a digital format (格式)．Most，printers come with scanners these days, so that's an easy but extremely time-consuming step．
Storing the photos
With your scans in place, import the photos into your computer, and back them up．
You could make multiple copies of the disks and spread them to loved ones．Or you could choose external (外接的) hard drives or USB thumb drive, and add your photo and video collection from your computer．
Online backup
If you need lots of space, look at a pure online backup service, Caronite．
Caronite backs up 300 million files daily．Once you sign up, it starts to pick up everything you have on your hard drive．But photo collection on your computer's main hard drive charges for $ 59 a year．
Cloud Storage
For folks who don't need automatic backup, but instead want to take a more active approach, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft's SkyDrive let you store files online by yourself, share and instantly access them．All offer free options—2GB of free storage for Dropbox, 5GB for Google and 7GB for SkyDrive．But if you want more, you need to pay．
Bottom Line
The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and easiest．But drives can fail．Online services are more expensive, but more secure．With more of us switching back and forth between our computers, such services are the best way to get access to our data from wherever we are．

  1. 1.

    What can we know from the passage?

    1. A.
      Scanning photos takes little time but costs a lot．
    2. B.
      The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and safest．
    3. C.
      Google Drive offers unlimited free photo storage on line．
    4. D.
      Caronite charges for backing up photos from hard drive．
  2. 2.

    Which of the following allows storing files automatically?

    1. A.
      Caronite．
    2. B.
      Dropbox．
    3. C.
      SkyDrive．
    4. D.
      Flash drive
  3. 3.

    The main purpose of the passage is to ______．

    1. A.
      tell real stories about storage services
    2. B.
      introduce some of the storage services
    3. C.
      describe the functions of storage services
    4. D.
      argue about the advantage of storage services

Being that I worked in a grocery store for 7 years, I know quite a bit about impulsive purchases. In fact, I helped (sadly to say) push certain products by placing them in a certain fashion. Through said experience, I tend to know some of the best ways to counter the impulsive nature of buying things that are unnecessary.
The following is a 3- point list to counter the need to buy something shoved in your face…
Don't bring the kids.
You wouldn't believe (or maybe you parents would) how much more junk parents buy for their kids that is completely impulsive. Working as a checker at a grocery store, I quickly learned that most of the time kids were with their parents, the parents would buy something else within 10 feet of the check stand.
Bring exact cash.
I like to use my debit card because I am able to track every penny better, but holding and letting go of cash is much tougher for me personally. So, if I am going through a tough time budgeting properly, I will bring the allotted (限定的)amount of cash to the place of business and only allow that to be used.
Ignore salesman.
If you are at a department store and someone asks if you need help, try to ignore their push as much as possible. Sure, if you know nothing about laptops, get their advice, but even then I suggest doing your research pre-shop. Salesman could care less what you want. It's all about what their quota or commission is. Ignore them

  1. 1.

    Why does the author write the passage?

    1. A.
      To talk about her own shopping experiences
    2. B.
      To give readers some advice about resisting buying unnecessary things
    3. C.
      To complain about some bad experiences
    4. D.
      To tell us she has the habit of buying things that are unnecessary
  2. 2.

    Why does the author like to use debit card?

    1. A.
      Because her debit card is convenient
    2. B.
      Because she has not much cash
    3. C.
      Because she can know where every her penny goes
    4. D.
      Because she has many debit cards
  3. 3.

    Which statement about the passage is WRONG?

    1. A.
      Parents always bring something else for their children
    2. B.
      The author will bring the exact cash to buy things when going through a tough time
    3. C.
      Salesmen care much about what you want, so you can follow their advice
    4. D.
      The author worked in a grocery store for 7 years

There was a time in my life when beauty meant something special to me. I guess that would have been when I was about six or seven years old, just several weeks or maybe a month before the orphanage（孤儿院）turned me into an old man．
I would get up every morning at the orphanage, make my bed just like the little soldier that I had become and then I would get into one of the two straight lines and march to breakfast with the other twenty or thirty boys who also lived in my dormitory.
After breakfast one Saturday morning I returned to the dormitory and saw the house parent chasing the beautiful monarch butterflies who lived by the hundreds in the bushes scattered around the orphanage.
I carefully watched as he caught these beautiful creatures, one after another, and then took them from the net and then stuck straight pins through their head and wings，pinning them onto a heavy cardboard sheet．
How cruel it was to kill something of such beauty. I had walked many times out into the bushes，all by myself, just so the butterflies could land on my head，face and hands so I could look at them up close.
When the telephone rang the house parent laid the large cardboard paper down on the back cement（水泥）step and went inside to answer the phone. I walked up to the cardboard and looked at the one butterfly who he had just pinned to the large paper. It was still moving about so I reached down and touched it on the wing causing one of the pins to fall out．It started flying around and around trying to get away but it was still pinned by the one wing with the other straight pin．Finally its wing broke off and the butterfly fell to the ground and just trembled.
I picked up the torn wing and the butterfly and I spat on its wing and tried to get it to stick back on so it could fly away and be free before the house parent came back．But it would not stay on him

  1. 1.

    The author set the living butterfly free because_______

    1. A.
      he liked it very much
    2. B.
      he had sympathy for the beautiful butterfly
    3. C.
      he couldn’t bear a butterfly dying in his favorite bushes
    4. D.
      its wing broke off
  2. 2.

    According to the passage，the author’s life in the orphanage was_____

    1. A.
      dull and full of strict rules
    2. B.
      simple and easy
    3. C.
      happy and full of hope
    4. D.
      hard and busy
  3. 3.

    What is the author’s attitude towards the house parent’s pinning some butterflies on the cardboard?

    1. A.
      tolerant
    2. B.
      unconcerned
    3. C.
      disgusted
    4. D.
      discouraged
  4. 4.

    We know from the passage that_________

    1. A.
      the author lived alone in the dormitory
    2. B.
      there were one hundred butterflies living in the bushes
    3. C.
      the cardboard paper was left on the step so as to be watched
    4. D.
      the author failed to stick the worn wing onto the butterfly with his spit
  5. 5.

    Which of the following is right according to the passage?

    1. A.
      I found beauty meant nothing special to me
    2. B.
      The house parent helped the children handle the quilt
    3. C.
      The house parent chased the butterfly in order to show it to the children
    4. D.
      I thought it cruel to catch the butterfly

Miss Gogers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”
Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.” “That’s every good,” Miss Gogers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gogers said. “Yes, Kate.”
“I disagree,” Kate said. “Your brother would hear you earlier because when it’s 11 o’clock here it’s only 8 o’clock in Los Angeles.”

  1. 1.

    Miss Gogers was teaching her class_________

    1. A.
      how to telephone 　
    2. B.
      about electricity 　
    3. C.
      about time zone(时区) 　
    4. D.
      about sound
  2. 2.

    Miss Gogers raised this question because she wanted to know whether______

    1. A.
      it was easy to phone to Los Angeles 　
    2. B.
      her student could hear her from 75 feet away
    3. C.
      her students had grasped（理解）her lesson
    4. D.
      sound waves were slower than electricity
  3. 3.

    Tom thought that electricity was _________

    1. A.
      slower than sound waves　　
    2. B.
      faster than sound waves
    3. C.
      not so fast as sound waves 　　
    4. D.
      as fast as sound waves
  4. 4.

    Kate thought Tom was wrong because _______

    1. A.
      clocks in Los Angeles showed a different time from those in New York
    2. B.
      electricity was slower than sound waves
    3. C.
      Tom was not good at physics at all
    4. D.
      Tom’s answer had nothing to do with sound waves
  5. 5.

    Whose answer do you think is correct according to the law of physics?

    1. A.
      Tom’s
    2. B.
      Kate’s
    3. C.
      Bath A and B
    4. D.
      Neither A nor B

Growers around the world are using new methods to grow grapes to make wine. They use natural and organic methods to control harmful insects and weeds instead of using chemicals. Now, a winery in Canada has adopted a natural way to control its grapevines (葡萄藤).The Featherstone Winery is in southern Ontario. The grapevines, like other plants, need to be cut every year.
Cutting grapevines must be done very carefully. Only a targeted area of leaves is removed from the lower part of the vines to help the grapes grow better. But at the Featherstone Winery, no man or machine does the cutting. Instead, the job is done by 40 little wooly lambs.www.zxxk.com
David Johnson owns the vineyard. He says he learned about using lambs while visiting wineries in New Zealand. The young lambs are perfectly designed to do the job. They eat the grape leaves on the lower parts of the vine. But they are not tall enough to reach the grapes. They only weigh about 22 kilograms, so they do not beat down the soil. And their waste makes good organic fertilizer. In addition, using the lambs costs much less than hiring workers to cut the vines for seven weeks in summer. And when the cutting is done in August, the lambs become tasty dishes.
Mr Johnson says he had a difficult time finding enough lambs to do the job. There are about 50 million lambs in New Zealand. But there are not nearly as many in Ontario. Also, some organic pesticides (杀虫剂) are harmful to lambs. And the lambs must be watched to make sure they do not eat too much of the grapevines.
David Johnson says the lambs help him carry out his environmental ideas about farming. They are lovely and peaceful and he likes having them in his vineyard. People visiting the vineyard also enjoy watching the lambs do their job

  1. 1.

    Farmers who grow grapes with natural and organic methods _____

    1. A.
      don't cut grapevines every year
    2. B.
      don't use chemicals to control harmful insects and weeds
    3. C.
      don't need to control harmful insects and weeds
    4. D.
      don't use organic fertilizer
  2. 2.

    In order to help the grapes grow better, growers _____

    1. A.
      only have to remove the dead leaves
    2. B.
      need to remove a specific area of leaves
    3. C.
      shouldn't remove any part of the plants
    4. D.
      should let little lambs do the cutting
  3. 3.

    Paragraph 4 is mainly about _____

    1. A.
      the future of getting lambs to do the cutting
    2. B.
      the worries about using organic pesticides
    3. C.
      the ways to get lambs to do the cutting
    4. D.
      the problems related to lambs doing the cutting
  4. 4.

    We can infer from the passage that David Johnson______

    1. A.
      owns several wineries in Canada
    2. B.
      buys lambs from New Zealand
    3. C.
      is concerned about protecting the environment
    4. D.
      loves keeping lambs instead of farming

Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it’s likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a husband or wife, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen—the 21st century equivalent (相等物) of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it’s important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread pieces you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is Does that matter?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is “no.”
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found a serious depression about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessanfro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券).
But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it

  1. 1.

    What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?

    1. A.
      There should be a distance even between friends
    2. B.
      Friends should always be faithful to each other
    3. C.
      Friends should open their hearts to each other
    4. D.
      There should be fewer disagreements between friends
  2. 2.

    Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret”?

    1. A.
      People leave tracks around when using modern technology
    2. B.
      Modern society has finally developed into an open society
    3. C.
      There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs
    4. D.
      Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities
  3. 3.

    What do most Americans do about privacy protection?

    1. A.
      They change behaviors that might disclose their identity
    2. B.
      They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it
    3. C.
      They rely more and more on electronic devices
    4. D.
      They use various loyalty cards for business deals
  4. 4.

    According to the passage, privacy is like health because __________

    1. A.
      people don’t treasure it until they lose it
    2. B.
      its importance is rarely understood
    3. C.
      it is something that can easily be lost
    4. D.
      people will make every effort to keep it

Your smartphone can do a lot of things. It can call people. It connects to the Internet. It enables you to play fun games. But there is a dark side to this smart little equipment of yours----- it might also spread disease.
“People are just likely to get sick from their phones as from handles of the bathroom, ” Jeffrey Cain, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians , told The Wall Street Journal.
This may be hard to believe, but scientists reached this conclusion after they tested eight cell phones from an office in Chicago. All the tested phones showed high numbers of coliforms (大肠菌), a kind of bacteria found in human waste , with about 2700 to 4200 units of the bacteria on each phone. The bacteria can cause flu, pinkeye and other diseases . That is right --- your phone is covered in our human waste.
Although computers, keys and pens carry germs (细菌) , our phones get far dirtier. They touch a lot of things, including our hands and the inside of our pocket or purse. We take them almost everywhere: the bus, the subway and who hasn’t played Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja while sitting on the toilet?
“Some things that we think are personal are actually more public than we imagine,” Cain said.  What is even worse is that after the phone returns from its dirty trip, it then spends most of its time cozying up to our faces. You don’t think about how often you touch your phone to your face, do you? Our noses, mouths and ears are all warm and rich in grease (油脂) , an environment that germs really like.
So how do you keep your phone clean? Alcohol is effective when used to kill germs from the back and side of your phone. But it might harm the screen. There is one simple and reliable way you can reduce the germs on your phone’s surface: wash your hands regularly

  1. 1.

    The underlined word “dark” in the first paragraph means _______

    1. A.
      black
    2. B.
      hopeless
    3. C.
      unpleasant
    4. D.
      unclear
  2. 2.

    Which of the following best describe the tone of the third paragraph?

    1. A.
      Terrified
    2. B.
      concerned
    3. C.
      Satisfying
    4. D.
      Threatening
  3. 3.

    By saying “Some things we think are personal are actually more public than we imagine,” Cain means that ________

    1. A.
      people love to share their phones more than they realize
    2. B.
      our personal items could be as risky to our health as public items
    3. C.
      phones are used in public places more than people realize
    4. D.
      Most people don’t know how dirty their cell phones are
  4. 4.

    What is the article mainly about?

    1. A.
      Tips on the use of phones
    2. B.
      Health problems caused by the use of phones
    3. C.
      The danger of coliforms infection
    4. D.
      The influence that phone have on our life

Something that has always interested me about Abraham Lincoln is，not surprisingly，his sense of humor. As far as I can tell，he's the first American President to have one．
That's because the term“sense of humor” really wasn't in common usage until the eighteen-sixties and seventies．In the eighteen-forties and fifties，it was called“the sense of the ridiculous," and didn't have the positive connotations（隐含意义）that“sense of humor" has today. Back then，what was ridiculous was what invited ridicule（讥笑）．Funniness and cruelty went hand in hand．Of course，they still do a lot of arm-in-arm walking in our day as well．
Lincoln’s humor was very different because，for one thing，it was actually "humor＂as what the word meant in his time. We don't make the distinction between "wit（风趣）”and "humor”anymore; but in the nineteenth century people did．Wit was unpleasant and offensive while humor was pleasant and sympathetic．It’s the difference we note now when we distinguish between "laughing with”and“laughing at．”Lincoln was much more about "laughing with”than "laughing at．”And when“laughing at，”it was often himself he was teasing.
In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates，when Douglas accused Lincoln of being two-faced，Lincoln replied，referencing his plain looking，“Honestly，if I were two-faced，would I be showing you this one？”And，in a way，Lincoln's face itself tells us much about his sense of humor．
You can comb through thousands of photographs of politicians，soldiers，and the like from Lincoln's time and not find a single smile．
True, the long exposures（曝光）required for photographs of that time made smiling difficult．Yet Lincoln alone，as far as I can tell，overcame that difficulty.
Interestingly, while having a sense of humor，or at least the appearance of one provided by comedy writers has become a necessary characteristic for an American President in our time，in the nineteenth century，too much humor was considered problem.  And that was the case for Lincoln．A journalist covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates commented that“I could not take a real personal liking to the man，owing to an inborn weakness. . .that he was extremely, fond of jokes，anecdotes，and stories．”

  1. 1.

    We can infer from Paragraph 2 that＿＿

    1. A.
      the American President could influence the use of English
    2. B.
      the term "sense of humor”wasn't invented until the 1860s
    3. C.
      what is funny to someone might be offensive to someone else
    4. D.
      the concept of humor remains the same despite the passing of time
  2. 2.

    The underlined words“this one”in Paragraph 4 refer to＿＿．

    1. A.
      Lincoln's unattractive face
    2. B.
      Lincoln's sense of humor
    3. C.
      the debate they were having
    4. D.
      cruelty that went with funniness
  3. 3.

    We rarely see people from Lincoln's time wear smile in their photos because＿．

    1. A.
      being humorous was considered inappropriate
    2. B.
      they found it quite funny to smile before camera
    3. C.
      not smiling for photographs was the fashion
    4. D.
      photography technology then was not advanced
  4. 4.

    What might the writer think of the journalist covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates？

    1. A.
      His comment accurately reflected his time
    2. B.
      He created a false picture of Lincoln
    3. C.
      He was prejudiced and self-centered
    4. D.
      He was brave to point out Lincoln's weakness

One Canada, Two Languages
Canada is one of the few nations in the world to have two official languages: English and French. There are 10 provinces in the country but only one of these—Quebec is known as “French Canada”. This is because it was founded by French explorers while British adventurers discovered the rest.
Canada left the British empire（帝国） in 1867 to become an independent country, and English and French have been recognized as the official languages ever since.
Most people speak English as their first language and the two national television networks broadcast in English throughout the country. Apart from in Quebec and a few places on the east coast, French television is very rare.
The same goes for traffic signs and menus. For example, outside of Quebec, there are only a few places where you’ll see traffic signs in French. In restaurants, it’s almost impossible to find French on the menu unless you are in the heartland（中心地带）of French Canada. However, all products sold in Canada must, by law, have labels（标签）and instructions in both languages.
In Canada’s English speaking provinces, official bilingualism（双语） means that students can choose to complete a special French language course. Under this programme, they are taught most of their subjects in French.
If a student begins the course in kindergarten（幼儿园） or Grade One, it is likely that all their lessons will be in French. However, if they start at junior high school,25 per cent of the teaching will continue to be in English.

  1. 1.

    How many provinces are there in Canada?

    1. A.
      Ten
    2. B.
      Nine
    3. C.
      Eleven
    4. D.
      Two.
  2. 2.

    Which country controlled Canada before its independence?

    1. A.
      France
    2. B.
      Britain
    3. C.
      America
    4. D.
      Germany.
  3. 3.

    Which of the following sentences is right?

    1. A.
      English is the only official language, though French is also spoken there.
    2. B.
      The two national television networks broadcast both in English and French.
    3. C.
      All products sold in Canada must, by law, have labels and instructions in both English and French.
    4. D.
      The lessons in kindergarten or Grade One are likely to be only in English.

Faced with a tough job market, fresh graduates are dreaming of running their own businesses instead．But a recent survey has showed that such ambitions lack the required support and remain just that---dreams．
The Shanghai Municipal Employment Promotion Center poll of 1,276 graduates in several universities and colleges in the city, released last Friday, showed 59.78 percent of respondents considered the possibility of setting up a company or at least a small store．“But they just stop at the‘thinking’stage,” it stated．
Respondents put the top reasons for not going it alone down to a shortage of investment and a lack of business opportunity．They also listed lack of business experience and social networks, the need to advanced study and objections from family members as factors that stood in their way．
More than 90 percent of the interviewees said they would rather take up a job after graduating and then consider starting their own business two or three years down the road．
Guo Bing, a senior student in Shanghai International Studies University majoring in English, decided he wanted to be his own boss last year．But he is looking for a job first．“If I fail to find a satisfying job, I would like to establish a company in exhibition services,” Guo said．The Shanghai native has some relatives working in a local printing plant．With their help, Guo hopes to produce exhibition brochures(小册子） at a relatively low price．He is also confident that his English language skills can help him do well in the industry．
“Social networking is an important factor leading to business success,” Guo said．
Guo said that the shortage of graduate jobs is the main reason driving more university students to set up a business right after their graduation．
Jiang Ye, deputy director of Yangpu District Business Guide Center, said the universitysets up a business guide team made of government officials and professionals．They
regularly give training courses to students who show an interest in having their own business．
The parents of university graduates are more willing to help their children start up alone, the survey showed．"Once you win the support of your family, you have won half the battle," Guo added．

  1. 1.

    Which of the following can be the best title?

    1. A.
      A Tough Job Market
    2. B.
      Graduates Dream of Being Boss
    3. C.
      The Ambitious Fresh Graduates
    4. D.
      The Story of Guo Bing
  2. 2.

    In the view of Guo Bing, what is the key factor that makes fresh graduates dream of being boss soon after graduation?

    1. A.
      Their family don't support them．
    2. B.
      Their social networking is not good．
    3. C.
      There are not enough graduate jobs．
    4. D.
      They want to achieve greater success．
  3. 3.

    Who is this article mostly intended for?

    1. A.
      The parents whose child goes to university soon
    2. B.
      Those who will graduate from university．
    3. C.
      Those who want to be bosses．
    4. D.
      The officials who work in the government．
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