Protecting Copyright

Having finished her homework, Ma Li wants some music. As usual, she starts her computer and goes to Baidu.com to download music files. But this time she is surprised when an announcement about protecting songs’ copyright bursts onto the screen. The age of free music and movie downloads may have come to an end as Web companies like Baidu are accused of pirating copyright. Lawsuits have been filed against four websites offering free downloads. In September 2005, a Beijing court ordered Baidu to pay recording company Shanghai Push compensation for their losses. Baidu was also told to block the links to the pirated music on the website. This caused a heated discussion on Interact file sharing.

“Baidu’s defeat in the lawsuit shows it is not right to get copyrighted songs without paying. Down loaders may face lawsuits or fines,” said an official.

Like many teens, Huang Ruoru, an 18-year-old girl from Puning in Guangdong Province, doesn’t think that getting music from websites is wrong. She always shares her favourite songs downloaded from Baidu with her friends. When told about the lawsuit, she began to feel a little guilty about obtaining others’ work without paying.

However, other teenagers have different ideas. Wang Yafei, a Senior 2 girl from Jinan, Shandong Province pointed out that file sharing is a good way to promote pop singers. “If I download a song and really like it, I will buy the CD,” she said. “So what the recording companies really should concentrate on is improving their music, rather than pursuing file-sharers.”

1.Which of the following best describes the passage?

A. Downloading material can be illegal.

B. Music on the Internet is of better quality.  

C. It’s good to get free music on the Internet.

D. Baidu is a popular web company.

2.The four web companies were put to court because ________.

A. they got copyrighted songs without paying    

B. they make copyrighted files for free downloads

C. they downloaded copyrighted music for people

D. they offer free music on line

3.How do some of the teenagers feel while downloading free music after the lawsuit?

A. A bit guilty. 　                      B. A little sad.  　   

C. Extremely angry. 　                  D. Awfully sorry.

4.What’s the advantage of file sharing for recording companies?

A. Getting more money from web companies.  

B. Making pop singers more popular.

C. Helping to improve the music.           

D. Enabling people to download favorite songs.

5.It can be inferred from the text that _________.

A. Web companies are still ignoring the copyright laws.

B. Teenagers haven’t got money to buy CDs.

C. Teenagers are probably still downloading free music.

D. Teenagers prefer CDs with copyright to pirated music.

He almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front her Mercedes and got out.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt.

He said, “I am here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened, had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were many people who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

1.This story most probably took place_______.

2.When the man approached the old lady, the first thing he did was to______.

3.The underlined part in Paragraph 6 suggests that________.

4.Which of the following words can best describe the man?

5.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______________.

For a small but increasing  number of young women in modern-day China, true love is all about the numbers. A potential suitor may have a good sense of humor and reasonable good looks, but what they say really matters is if he owns an apartment and how many square feet it is. A sizable bank account is also a must, and, some say, so is a luxury car。
At least, that’s the way things look if you watch Chinese television these days. The latest reality-TV scandal to shock the nation involves Ma Nuo, a 22-year-old model from Beijing who appeared on China's most popular dating show, If You Are the One. She rejected an offer from a male contestant to take a ride on his bike. "I'd rather cry in a BMW (宝马) car than laugh on the backseat of a bicycle," Ma told her suitor with a giggle.
The televised words swept the Internet and made an instant celebrity of Ma, who becomes one of the most talked-about women in the country. The reaction  among young Chinese was especially severe, reflecting growing anxieties over the widening gap between rich and poor, shifting societal values and public attention on the difficulties of finding a mate in a country where men are expected to outnumber women by 24 million in a decade.
As disgusted as they have been by some of the contestants, viewers continue to watch religiously. Why are people still tuning in? "Audiences like programs because they are honest. They show the current reality of Chinese society," says Yan Mu, one of the founders of Baihe.com. Young people are so focused on making money and building their careers these days, they have little time to devote to dating, he says. "Many people feel pressure from their parents and peers," Yan adds. " It can be a struggle to find a partner." Money may not buy you love. But on China's reality shows, it can at least get you a date.
【小题1】The underlined words“numbers”in the first paragraph include the following except_______

    A German company was concerned about talks in Moscow trying to sell some 100 million dollars worth of equipment to a Russian State company. Talks went smoothly but differences remained. So Martin Bayer himself, the CEO of the German Company, decided to come to Moscow to head the talks. Besides caring about his business, the CEO wanted to go to Russia to hunt bears.

    Martin Bayer was one of the greatest hunters of our time (and the Russians knew about it). He went to the Sahara more than hundred times and hunted lions, crocodiles; he hunted polar bears in the North Pole and tigers in the rain forests of India. But he had never hunted Russian bears.

    So the Russians decided to organize a bear hunt for Mr. Bayer to sweeten the talks. This wasn't a simple task. Some people in the west still believe that bears may be found and seen everywhere in Russian cities just like squirrels may be seen in our back yards. This is not true. The closest place one may find bears in the wild is maybe 2,500 miles away from Moscow. However, a solution was quickly found. The Russian businessmen went to Moscow Circus（马戏团）and for $2,000 bought a very old bear. This bear used to amuse and amaze audiences in many countries for 30 years, but got and looked too old, and was retired.

    “Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening,” they told to Mr. Bayer. “If compared to the Russian bears, your African lions are nothing more than harmless cats.” The bear was brought to a forest 50 miles from Moscow and was left there. Mr. Bayer was told that bears were plentiful in that forest and that many cattle and even people had been eaten in the surrounding villages.

    Meanwhile, an 18-year old female drove through the forest on a motorcycle and suddenly saw a bear (no bears had been seen in those places for 200 years). She was frightened, fell, left her helmet and her motorcycle and ran away.

    Mr. Bayer was excited and ready to hunt. This could become the most successful part of his extraordinary hunting experience. The next moment Mr. Bayer saw a bear in a helmet driving on a motorcycle through the forest in front of him. The bear had a happy expression on his face, as he was doing something he had been doing in the circus for 30 years: circling on a motorcycle!

    Mr. Bayer lives in a private mental institution near Hamburg happily ever after. The equipment was never sold to Russia. It was sold to Iraq instead.

1. Why did the Russians invite Mr. Bayer to hunt bears?

         A. Russian bears are famous for their cruelty.

         B. They managed to find a bear for hunting.

         C. They expected the trade to be successful.

         D. There was a bear in Moscow Circus.

2. Why did the Russians say “Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening”?

         A. To tell Mr. Bayer that many people had been killed by bears.

         B. To make Mr. Bayer feel the hunting really challenging.

         C. To warn Mr. Bayer to mind his safety while hunting.

         D. To tell Mr. Bayer that the bear is really dangerous.

3. We can infer from the last paragraph that __________.

         A. Mr. Bayer has gone ma   

B. the bear injured him badly

         C. he has worked in a mental institution since then

         D. the trade has gone smoothly between Russian and Iraq

4. Which would be the best title of the passage?

         A. Mr. Bayer, a Brave Hunter        B. Russian Bears, Dangerous Animals

         C. Don’t Hunt in Russia         D. Don’t Deal with the Russians

The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.
“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.
Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he had been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.
“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.
“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.
Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the telephone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”
“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.
Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs. Higgins finally arrived . She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.
“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.
Mrs. Higgins pulled out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr.Carr?”
The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner, “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again and I will let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’ hand.
Mrs. Higgins thanked the old ma for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”
In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.
His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.
This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.
【小题1】Which of the following is true according to the passage?