To describe the financial status ( 财务状态 ) of today’s media is also to talk about acquisitions(获得). The media are buying and selling each other in unprecedented(空前的) numbers and forming media groups to position themselves in the market place to maintain and increase their profits(利润). In 1986, the first time a broadcast network had been sold, two networks were sold that year—ABC and NBC.

    Media acquisitions have skyrocketed(猛增) since 1980 for two reasons. The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded on one of the nation’s stock exchanges (股票交易). This makes acquisitions relatively easy.

    A media company that wants to buy a publicly owned company can buy that company's stock when the stock becomes available(有用的). The open availabilities of stock in these companies means that anybody with enough money can invest in the American media Indus tries, which is exactly how Rupert Murdoch joined the media business.

The second reason for the increase in media alliances(联合) is that beginning in 1980, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gradually deregulated (解除管制) the broadcast media. Before 1980, for example, the FCC allowed one company to own only five TV stations, five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also were required to hold onto a station for three years before the station could be sold. The post-1980 FCC eliminated the three-year rule and raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner. This trend (倾向；趋势) of media acquisitions is continuing throughout the 1990s,as changing technology expands the market for media products.

1. Which of the following is true of the media?

A. They used to sell and buy each other in great numbers.

B. They are trading each other in greater numbers today.

C. They used to be controlled by two networks—ABC and NBC.

D. They have stopped the trend of acquisitions in the 1990s.

2. According to the passage, what makes acquisitions easier?

A. The changing technology employed by the media.

B. The media's increasing profits in the marketplace.

C. The ever tougher regulations of the FCC on the media since 1980.

D. The availabilities of the media's stocks on stock exchanges.

3. What is the FCC’s new policy regarding media alliances?

B. It doesn't allow companies to sell their stocks publicly

C. It permits one company to own more media businesses at the same time.

D. It has eliminated all post 1980 companies.

4. The issue of media ownership is important because ____.

A. it affects the amount of money the stockholders will make

B. it decides whether we can have different aspects of the media

C. it concerns the channels through which to express opinions

D. it means that more and more people will hold onto only a few stations.

The most noticeable trend among today's media companies is vertical integration (垂直统一管理) , an attempt(尝试) to control several related aspects(方面) of the media business at once, each part helping the other. Besides publishing magazines and books, Time Warner, for example, owns Home Box Office ( HBO), Warner movie studios (摄影棚), various cable TV systems throughout the USA, and CNN as well. The Japanese company Matsushita Owns MCA. Records and Universal Studios and manufactures broadcast production equipment.

    To describe the financial status ( 财务状态 ) of today’s media is also to talk about acquisitions(获得). The media are buying and selling each other in unprecedented(空前的) numbers and forming media groups to position themselves in the market place to maintain and increase their profits(利润). In 1986, the first time a broadcast network had been sold, two networks were sold that year—ABC and NBC.

    Media acquisitions have skyrocketed(猛增) since 1980 for two reasons. The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded on one of the nation’s stock exchanges (股票交易). This makes acquisitions relatively easy.

    A media company that wants to buy a publicly owned company can buy that company's stock when the stock becomes available(有用的). The open availabilities of stock in these companies means that anybody with enough money can invest in the American media Indus tries, which is exactly how Rupert Murdoch joined the media business.

The second reason for the increase in media alliances(联合) is that beginning in 1980, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gradually deregulated (解除管制) the broadcast media. Before 1980, for example, the FCC allowed one company to own only five TV stations, five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also were required to hold onto a station for three years before the station could be sold. The post-1980 FCC eliminated the three-year rule and raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner. This trend (倾向；趋势) of media acquisitions is continuing throughout the 1990s,as changing technology expands the market for media products.

1. Which of the following is true of the media?

A. They used to sell and buy each other in great numbers.

B. They are trading each other in greater numbers today.

C. They used to be controlled by two networks—ABC and NBC.

D. They have stopped the trend of acquisitions in the 1990s.

2. According to the passage, what makes acquisitions easier?

A. The changing technology employed by the media.

B. The media's increasing profits in the marketplace.

C. The ever tougher regulations of the FCC on the media since 1980.

D. The availabilities of the media's stocks on stock exchanges.

3. What is the FCC’s new policy regarding media alliances?

B. It doesn't allow companies to sell their stocks publicly

C. It permits one company to own more media businesses at the same time.

D. It has eliminated all post 1980 companies.

4. The issue of media ownership is important because ____.

A. it affects the amount of money the stockholders will make

B. it decides whether we can have different aspects of the media

C. it concerns the channels through which to express opinions

D. it means that more and more people will hold onto only a few stations.

多一个词：把多余的词用（\）划掉，在横线上写出该单词，并也用斜线划掉。
缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在横线上写出该加的词。
错一个词：在错的词下面画一横线，在横线上写出改正后的词。
注意：此题直接在答题卷上改正
Last week my parents and I took a two-days trip to Mount Emei in Sichuan. As everyone knows, it’s famous mountain with all kinds of plants and animals. The weather was fine. It was almost noon we arrived at the foot of the mountain. The three of them were very excited. As we climbed the mountain, we fed monkeys, visiting temples and told stories. On the way up I was busy taking picture since the scenery was so beautiful. Time passes quickly. Evening came down. We spent the night in a hotel at the top of the mountain. The food was expensive and the service was good. I was so tired that I fell asleep at the moment my head touched the pillow.

健康问题一直是生活中的热点话题。尤其对于女性来说，你知道穿矮高跟鞋和纯粹的高跟鞋对你身体健康的影响吗？

Healthy knees aren't the main consideration in choosing high heels, but new research says chunky heels are just __________as spindly stilettos（细高跟鞋）.

"It takes a long time to feel the effects of knee osteoarthritis（骨关节炎）— and once you do, it is too late," said Dr. Casey Kerrigan, leading researcher of the study and associate professor at Harvard Medical School's department of physical medicine.

"I compare it to smoking — one cigarette is not painful, but over a lifetime it is. Wide-heeled shoes feel comfortable, so women wear them all day long, "Kerrigan said.”They are better for your feet than stiletto heels, but just as had for your knees.”

The idea that high heels are bad for your health isn't new — scientists have warned women for years that they contribute to problems ranging from corns to hammer toes, tendonitis, knee pain, sprained（扭伤）ankles and back problems.

But in 1998, Kerdgan and a team of Harvard researchers were the first to link high heels and knee osteoarthritis, a painful joint disease that destroys cartilage（软骨）surrounding the knee.

The first study looked only at stiletto heels, and Kerrigan said she wanted to study the chunky high-heeled shoes she noticed many women wearing.

"This study confirms what we all intuitively（直觉地）know that high-heeled shoes of any kind are not good for our health," said Dr. Glenn Pfeifer, a San Francisco doctor and member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons who was not connected to the study.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

2. Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

In my opinion, it is similar to smoking, for smoking one cigarette does little harm but if you smoke all your life, it’ll be very painful.

3. Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.（within ten words）

4. What do you think of wearing the chunky heels according to the passage? （within 30 words）

5. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.

阅读下面的一封信，然后按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的回信。

Dear Abby,

Last month my son was told that he no longer has to attend weekend classes at his school． Since then he spends his weekends going out with his friends to play sports or watch movies． When he is at home all he seems to do is surf the Internet or play silly computer games．I really think he is just wasting his time having fun when he should be studying．I sometimes ask him if he has homework or extra study to do, but he always says that he has already completed it all．This change makes me very worried．I feel that this free time is encouraging him to be lazy．He isn’t studying long enough and this will reduce his chances of getting into university．I also think it will cause problems when he begins to work because he will not be able to concentrate well and will think more of having fun than his job．I have considered going to the school principal and asking him to change their decision but my son says if I do so his classmates will laugh at him．I don’t want to embarrass my child but I don’t want him to fall behind either．

Please help．

Concerned Mum

[写作内容]

假设你是信中的Abby，准备给这位母亲回信。以下是回信的内容（信的开头和结尾已经为你写好）：

1．以约30个词概括你所阅读的这封信的主要内容；

2．以约120个词提出你的观点和建议，并包括如下要点：

（1）你读信后的感受；

（2）你对信中所述现象的个人观点；

（3）你对这位母亲的建议。

[写作要求]

1．信中可使用自己的亲身经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容,但不得直接引用原文中的句子；

2．信中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。

[评分标准]

概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。