The US government has started a website, Admongo, to help children think critically about the advertising aimed at them. It claims to provide visitors with an “aducation” through games and other entertainment.

  A cartoon man dressed in old time pilot clothing greets visitors to Admongo. "Call me Haiz", he says upon arrival in a rocket ship that opens up with a crazy world inside it. Spacey dance music plays in the background as Haiz tells visitors that they need to learn about advertising.

    Its inventors say eight to twelve years old is the age kids develop their critical thinking abilities. Kids that age are also a big market for advertisers.

    The idea behind Admongo is to teach children three things: To identify the advertiser. To know what the advertiser is really saying. And to know what the advertisement is trying to get the child to do.

    Children learn these things through a video game. They create their own game character. They can choose different skin colors, hair styles, eye and mouth shapes. Then they begin a trip through ad-land, where there are ads on buses and billboards. The players have to find all the marketing in the neighborhood before they can move on to the next level.

    The Admongo game takes players inside a home, to the advertising studio and everywhere else ads can be found. It is a complete exploration of the world of marketing.

    One such area is food marketing. The Federal Trade Commission(FTC) says it is a big business. The FTC estimates that food, drink and fast-food restaurants spent more than one and a half billion dollars on advertising to young people in 2009.

    The FTC says children are important for three reasons. They buy products. They influence parents and caregivers to buy. And they are the future adult buyers of the products.

    A recent study says most advertising aimed at children is for foods of the lowest nutritional value. First Lady Michelle Obama has said she would like to see advertisers marketing healthy foods for children.

1.

What is the best title of the text?

    A. The guide of Admongo

    B. An aducation website for children

    C. A popular online video game

    D. A website aimed at children

2.

 Why did the government start the website?

    A. To attract the biggest market of buyers.

    B. To sell the products of its company.

    C. To help children know about advertising.

    D. To advertise the video game for children.

3.

 What can players do in the website game?

    A. Choose hair styles for their character.

    B. Travel to a supermarket.

    C. Eat in a fast-food restaurant.

    D. Play video games during the trip.

4.

 Children are important for advertising because they are        .

    A. important for the society

    B. the most potential buyers

    C. easily influenced by ads

    D. easily affected by poor products

5.

 According to Michelle Obama, lots of food advertised for children are ________.

   A. healthy                        B. of high nutrition

   C. yummy                        D. of low quality

London Underground

The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At that time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system, was born.

The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot, as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in the first year.

1.. What led the British government to build the London Underground?

A. Traffic jams and pollution

B. Population and pollution

C. Overcrowding and traffic jams

D. The poverty and subway problems

2.. The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “_____”.

A. be troublesome       B. become popular and fashionable

C. keep up with         D. seize

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. To locate the workers’ homes outside London, the government built the subway

B. There were so many problems and delays that in the 18^th century the first subway opened

C. The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic

D. There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened.

4.. It seems that the writer is going to talk about _____.

A. more problems with subways            B. subways around the world later on

C. the history and culture of London         D. the Beijing subway