For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain. Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?

       Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices. Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home. The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound.

The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity. The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size. Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages. And you can connect it to your PC to download books.

Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain. For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15.19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16.19.

The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music. So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, a lot. Book lovers like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging. You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves.

The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material. Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today.

1．What would be the best title for the passage?

       A. The age of the electronic book reader is coming

       B. Printed books are out of date

       C. The Sony reader meets many readers’ needs

       D. The revolution in book readers

2．According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________.

       A. is as light as a laptop computer               B. can hold more than 200 books

       C. is convenient to carry around                  D. cannot be connected to a PC

3．What is the author’s point when he mentions “Stone Cold”?

       A. Amazon’s printed books are very cheap

       B. “Stone Cold” can be got from the Sony site and Amazon

       C. The Sony book reader is not very cheap to use

       D. The Sony book reader can benefit its buyers a lot

4．The underlined word “bibliophiles” in Paragraph 5 refers to “__________”.

       A. music lovers                                             B. book lovers

       C. electronic reading devices                      D. Sony readers

5．According to the author, what’s the future for the electronic reading devices?

       A. They’ll replace printed newspapers and magazines

       B. They’ll still be more expensive than printed newspapers

       C. They’ll become a must in people’s daily life

       D. They’ll become more popular as time goes on

For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain． Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?
Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices． Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home． The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound．
The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity． The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size． Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages． And you can connect it to your PC to download books．
Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain． For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15．19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16．19．
The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music． So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, a lot． Book lovers like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging． You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves．The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material． Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today．

【小题1】According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________．

 You’ve bought what you need. The grocery cashier asks, “Will that be paper or plastic? You reply “Plastic, please.”

This seems like a simple question and there are plenty of reasons we choose plastic: easier to carry, lighter than paper bags, possibly less damaging to the environment, less expensive to the shop owners, able to be used as trash bag, and so on. There are different opinions on plastic and paper. Now let’s follow the travels of 3 plastic bags. It begins at the grocery store with the customer’s choice.

Plastic Bag 1: As the waste engineer come by and pick up the trash, the first plastic bag falls out. It sits on a small street for a couple of hours until a car comes along and takes it down to the road. Then a gust of wind blows it across the road, then another car, then another gust of wind finally makes its way to the beach. Water fills the plastic bag and makes it look like a jellyfish. A seal(海豹) swims by, thinking it looks very interesting, and swallowed it. The plastic bag may stay in the seal’s stomach for months, maybe years. You see, our lovely animals have been living thousands of years in a world where everything can be eaten.

Plastic Bag 2: This bag does make its way to landfill(垃圾场). Before they have a chance to cover up the thousands of pounds of daily waste, a strong wind comes up and blows these plastic bags out of the landfill. Once the wind stops, workers will be sent to collect thousands of bags around. But they can’t possibly get them all. So our little bag continues his adventure getting caught in trees, eaten by birds or making its way to our lakes or rivers.

Plastic Bag 3: The last bag also blows away but is caught in a landfill where it sits for many years, as all the trash is wrapped in a big plastic bag, making natural degradation(降解) impossible. Although workers do much work to make sure water and air system won’t be polluted, some do. Guess what, plastic bags are made from petrol, a harmful waste material, which in one way or another makes its way to the environment.

Another problem with putting plastic bags in out trash is that our landfills for most cities may be filled in about 20 years. More importantly, since we are running out of land to build homes, you might have the pleasure of one day living on top of your plastic bags!

One of the best suggestions is not to use a bag at all or bring your own cloth bags. If you must, please choose paper bags, which, though not suggested, can be eaten by animals. And there are more opportunities recycle paper bags. It does take a little extra effort. But please have a thought about the little seal next time you say, “Plastic please.”   

1.According to the passage, what is NOT the reason for a customer to choose plastic bags?

A. He can use plastic bags to carry trash later.

B. He finds paper bags heavier than plastic bags.

C. He finds plastic bags more convenient to carry.

D. He can save money for plastic bags are cheaper.

2.The author describes the travel of Plastic Bag 1 to show ______.

A. seals like eating plastic bags around them.

B. seals really have a good stomach.

C. seals are potential victims of plastic bags.

D. seals are not able to differ plastic from food.

3.Wrapped in a big plastic bag, Plastic Bag3_____.

A. still does harm to the environment

B. can hardly be harmful to the environment

C. is much safer than Plastic Bag2

D. will end up being eaten by seals or some fish

4.What will the following part of this passage talk about?

A. Suggestions on reducing harm of plastic bags.

B. Disadvantages of using too many plastic bags.

C. Persuading people into using paper bags.

D. Other potential victims of plastic bags.

5.What is the overall tone of this passage?

A. Excited    B. Serious    C. Ironical   D. Casual

For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain． Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?

         Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices． Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home． The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound．

The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity． The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size． Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages． And you can connect it to your PC to download books．

Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain． For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15．19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16．19．

The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music． So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, a lot． Book lovers like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging． You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves．The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material． Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today．

1.According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________．

         A． is as light as a laptop computer

    B． can hold more than 200 books

         C． is convenient to carry around

         D． cannot be connected to a PC

2.What is the author’s point when he mentions “Stone Cold”?

            A． Amazon’s printed books are very cheap

            B． “Stone Cold” can be got from the Sony site and Amazon

            C． The Sony book reader is not very cheap to use

            D． The Sony book reader can benefit its buyers a lot

3.The underlined word “bibliophiles” in Paragraph 5 refers to “__________”．

            A． music lovers                                                          B． book lovers

            C． electronic reading devices                                D． Sony readers

4.According to the author, what’s the future for the electronic reading devices?

            A． They’ll replace printed newspapers and magazines

            B． They’ll still be more expensive than printed newspapers

            C． They’ll become a must in people’s daily life

            D． They’ll become more popular as time goes on