One of the first such clocks was built for a king of France and placed in a tower of the royal palace, The clock did not 1 minutes or seconds.

　　Usually it did not even show the correct hour! Since there was no planes or trains to catch, people were not 2 knowing the exact time.

　　Gradually, clocks began to be popular, but they did not keep correct time. They were 3 a cart with a horse and driver. One of the wheels was the face of the clock. Watches 4 as soon as clocks were made small enough to be carried. These did not always tell the correct time, either. They were often put into beautiful watchcases, which were made 5 anything the owner wanted.

　　The pendulum (钟摆) clock was invented in 1657. This was the beginning of the style of clocks we call “ grandfather clocks “, which were enclosed in tall wooden boxes. Pendulum clocks showed the hours more exactly than earlier clocks, since the wright on the pendulum could be moved 6 to make the clock go faster or lower. About forty years later, minute and second hands were put on some clocks. Grandfather clocks are very much in demand again today. They are usually very expensive, however, and require 7 than other styles of clocks.

　　As people began to travel more and do more things, they were more interested in knowing the correct time, By 1900, almost every house had a clock, and nearly every well-dressed gentleman 8 on a chain tucked in his vest pocket.

　　Today, of course, we have electric clocks that keep giving the right time until they are unplugged or the electricity goes off. Scientists have invented clocks that look like large machines all tell the correct time to a split second.

　　The most modern electric clocks for home use do not have faces or hands. These clocks are called digital clocks(数字显示式电子钟), and they tell the time with 9 which appear in a little window.

　　Many electric locks are combined with radios, which can sometimes be set to turn on automatically(自动). Thus, 10 an alarm ringing in your ear in the morning, you can hear soft music playing when it is time to get up. Some clocks will even start the coffee maker!

1. A. count　　　 B. ring out

   C. show　　　　D. show off

[　　]

2. A. care for　　　　   B. concerned about

　 C. suggested about    D. anxious to

[　　]

3. A. drawn by　　  B. of the same size as

   C. pulled by　　 D. in the shape of

[　　]

4. A. had been used　　    B. came into use

   C. became a reality　　 D. didn’t appear

[　　]

5. A. to look like　　 B. to look as

   C. very valuable    D. as small as possible

[　　]

6. A. up or down　　    B. right or left

   C. here and there    D. this way or that

[　　]

7. A. many room　　    B. much room

   C. more space　　   D. less money

[　　]

8. A. carried a clock    B. wearing a watch

   C. bought a watch　　 D. bought a watch

[　　]

9. A. a series of letters

   B. a set of numerals

   C. minute hands

   D. second hands

[　　]

10. A. take the place of

    B. in spite of

    C. without 

    D. instead of

[　　]

Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year's surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.
On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake. This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. "It's very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one," said an expert from Britain's National Portrait Gallery.
　 The discovery comes after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image —commonly known as the "Flower portrait"— was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare's death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814. Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.
　"We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays," Tarnya Cooper, the gallery's curator (馆长), told the Associated President.
　　The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
　　"There have always been questions about the painting," said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. "Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture."
Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation (调查) and the results will come out later this month._________________
【小题1】What makes the birthday of Shakespeare dramatic this year?

E
Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth－but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (通俗电视连续剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering, the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.
“Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values － not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers (消费者). “This led to an enormous change in consumption (消耗、消费) patterns and consumption was incompatible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction.” Says Martine.
57. According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth ____.
A. by educating its citizens 　　　　　　　　B. by careful family planning
C. by developing TV programs 　　　　　　　D. by chance
58. According to the passage, many Third World countries ______.
A. haven’t attacked much importance to birth control
B. would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate
C. haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population
D. neglected the role of TV plays in family planning
59. Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because ____.
A. they keep people sitting long hours watching TV
B. they have gradually changed people’s way of life
C. people are drawn to their attractive package
D. they popularize birth control measures
60. What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?
A. The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.
B. The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.
C. Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory (互相矛盾的)
D. A country’s production is limited by its population growth.

 Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth, but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.

　　Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.

　　Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (通俗电视连续剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.

　　“Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values-not many children, different attitudes towards life, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people aware of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”

1.According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth _____.

2.What can you infer from the passage about many Third World countries ?

3.Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because ______.

There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. Three basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.

　　In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy commodities from other economic units or sell commodities to them. In a market, transactions may take place via barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and pizzas are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sailboat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy, goods and services are bought or sold for money.

　　An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each good and service should be produced, exchanged, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of administering such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each commodity produced by the various firms and allocated to different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.

　　In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person’s place within the economic system is fixed by parentage, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. People belonging to a certain group or caste（阶级） may have an obligation to care for other persons, provide them with food and shelter, care for their health, and provide for their education. Clearly, in a system where every decision is made on the basis of tradition alone, progress may be difficult to achieve. An inactive society may result.

1.What is the main purpose of the passage?

　 A. To outline contrasting types of economic systems.

　 B. To explain the science of economics.

　 C. To argue for the superiority of one economic system.

　 D. To compare barter and money-exchange markets.

2. In the second paragraph, the underlined word “real” could best be replaced by _______.

　 A. valuable         B. concrete         C. absolute            D. reliable

3.According to the passage, a barter economy can generate ______.

　 A. rapid speed of transactions               B. misunderstandings

　 C. inflation                             D. difficulties for the traders

4. According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control in the administered system?

　 A. Individual households.                    B. Small businesses.

　 C. Major corporations.                   D. The government.

5.Which of the following is not mentioned by the author as a criterion（标准）for determining a person’s position in a traditional society?

　 A. Family background                 B. Age

　 C. Religious beliefs.                        D. Custom