When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices （装置） tell the time ― which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.  

But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others ― apparently including some distinguished men of our time ― are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to ￡250,000 for a piece.  

This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions ― but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?  

If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.  

Watches are now classified as “investments” （投资）. A 1994 Patek Philippe recently sold for nearly ￡350,000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from ￡15,000 to ￡30,000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It’s a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up ― they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that ￡350,000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.  

59. The sales of watches to young people have fallen because they      .  

A. have other devices to tell the time                      B. think watches too expensive  

C. prefer to wear an iPod                                      D. have no sense of time  

60. It seems ridiculous to the writer that ______.  

A. people dive 300 metres into the sea  

B. expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones  

C. cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones  

D. expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell  

61. What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?  

A. It targets rich people as its potential customers.  

B. It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors.  

C. It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising.  

D. It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches.  

62. Which would be the best title for the passage?  

A. Timex or Rolex?                                      B. My Childhood Timex  

C. Watches? Not for Me!                              D. Watches ― a Valuable Collection  

第三节  完形填空（共20小题；每小题1. 5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Friendship has great power, and it can inspire the people in trouble as well as in easy circumstances.
Recently, one of my best friends, whom I've   21    just about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the weekend with me. Since I   22   to a new town several years ago, we've both always looked forward to   23   times a year when we can see each other.
Over the weekend, we   24   hours and hours, staying up late   25   the night, talking about the people she was hanging around with. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he   26   with drugs and was into other self-destructive[自毁]  27  . I was blown away! She told me how she had been   28   to her parents about where she was going and even sneaking out to see this guy because they didn't want her around him. No matter   29  hard I tried to tell her that she deserved better, she didn't believe me. Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared.
I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future and heading for big   30  . I felt like I was getting   31  . I just couldn't believe that she really thought it was acceptable to hang with a bunch of losers, especially her boyfriend.
By the time she left, I was really worried about her and   32   by the experience. It had been so  33  , I had come close to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to continue our friendship - but I didn't. I put the   34   of friendship to the   35   test. We'd been friends for far too long. I had to hope that she   36   me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself. I wanted to believe that our friendship could conquer anything.
A few days   37  , she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our   38  , and then she told me that she had  39   with her boyfriend. I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the   40   rewarding moments in my life. Never had I been so proud of a friend.
21. A. divided               B. shared               C. experienced              D. enjoyed
22. A. got                            B. traveled             C. moved                     D. arrived
23. A. the few               B. the little            C. few                   D. little
24. A. took                   B. spared               C. offered                 D. spent
25. A. into                    B. in                            C. for                    D. at
26. A. supplied                 B. experimented     C. tried                 D. provided
27. A. action                 B. movements        C. behavior            D. activities
28. A. explaining           B. speaking            C. calling                     D. lying
29. A. what                   B. why                  C. how                  D. however
30. A. trouble               B. worry               C. difficulty           D. task
31. A. somewhere          B. nowhere            C. anywhere          D. everywhere
32. A. burned down              B. turned down      C. turned out         D. worn out
33. A. discouraging              B. encouraging       C. exciting             D. inspiring
34. A. strength                     B. force                 C. power               D. energy
35. A. last                        B. final                 C. late                   D. recent
36. A. treated                B. regarded            C. honored            D. valued
37. A. later                   B. after                 C. ago                   D. before
38. A. information         B. dialogue            C. conversation      D. communication
39. A. broken out          B. broken up          C. broken away      D. broken off
40. A. luckily                B. correctly           C. naturally           D. truly

Advertisers Perform a Useful Service to the Community

Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism. Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around. ‘It’s iniquitous,’ they say, ‘that this entirely unproductive industry (if we can call it that) should absorb millions of pounds each year. It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making. Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays…’

The poor old consumer! He’d have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn’t create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods derives largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.

Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway byelaws while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a newspaper full of the daily ration of calamities.

We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not subsist without this source of revenue. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!

Another thing we mustn’t forget is the ‘small ads.’ which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine.  What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished(完成的,实现的)through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the ‘hatch, match and dispatch’ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or ‘agony’ column. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is!

1. What is main idea of this passage?

A. Advertisement.    

B. The benefits of advertisement.

C. Advertisers perform a useful service to communities.   

D. The costs of advertisement.

2. The attitude of the author toward advertisers is

A. appreciative.    B.  trustworthy.   

C. critical.     D.  dissatisfactory.

3. Why do the critics criticize advertisers?

A. Because advertisers often brag. 

B. Because critics think advertisement is a “waste of money”.

C. Because customers are encouraged to buy more than necessary. 

D. Because customers pay more.

4. Which of the following is Not True?

A. Advertisement makes contribution to our pockets and we may know everything.

B. We can buy what we want.

C. Good quality products don’t need to be advertised.

D. Advertisement makes our life colorful.

5. The passage is_______________

A. Narration.     B.  Description.

C. Criticism.     D.  Argumentation.

    Every year more people recognize that it is wrong to kill wildlife for “sport.” Progress in this direction is slow because shooting is not a sport for watching, and only those few who take part realize the cruelty and destruction.

   The number of gunners, however, grows rapidly. Children too young to develop proper judgments through independent thought are led along way away by their gunning parents. They are subjected to advertisements of gun producers who describe shooting as good for their health and guncarrying as a way of putting redder blood in the veins (血管). They are persuaded by gunner magazines with stories honoring the chase and the kill. In school they view motion pictures which are supposedly meant to teach them how to deal with arms safely but which are actually designed to stimulate (刺激) a desire to own a gun. Wildlife is disappearing because of shooting and because of the loss of wildland habitat (栖息地). Habitat loss will continue with our increasing population, but can we slow the loss of wildlife caused by shooting? There doesn't seem to be any chance if the serious condition of our birds is not improved.

     Wildlife belongs to everyone and not to the gunners alone. Although most people do not shoot, they seem to forgive shooting for sport because they know little or nothing about it. The only answer, then, is to bring the truth about sport shooting to the great majority of people.

     Now, it is time to realize that animals have the same right to life as we do and that there is nothing fair or right about a person with a gun shooting the harmless and beautiful creatures. The gunners like to describe what they do as character-building, but we know that to wound an animal and watch it go through the agony of dying can make nobody happy. If, as they would have you believe, gun-carrying and killing improve human-character, then perhaps we should encourage war.

72. According to the text, most people do not seem to be against hunting because___________.

      A. they have little knowledge of it          B. it helps to build human character

      C. it is too costly to stop killing wildlife     D. they want to keep wildlife under control

73. The underlined word "agony" in the last paragraph probably means______________.

     A. form            B. Condition           C. pain                     D. sadness

74. According to the text, the films children watch at school actually__________.

     A. teach them how to deal with guns safely                B. praise hunting as character-building

   C. describe hunting as an exercise                                D. encourage them to have guns of their own

75. It can be inferred from the text that the author seems to_____________.

      A. blame the majority of people                B. worry about the existence of wildlife

      C. be in favour of war                             D. be in support of character-building

For thousands of millions of years the moon has been going round the earth. At that time, the moon was the 　36 satellite(卫星)of the earth. Today, 　37 , the earth has many other satellites. All of them are 38 by man. These man-made satellites are very much smaller than the moon. However, some of them will still be going 39 the earth thousands of years from now.

Man-made satellites don’t 40 because they are going too fast to do so. As they speed along, they 41 to go straight off into space. They 42 out of the earth, or its gravity, which 43 them from doing this. As a result, they travel in an orbit(轨道)round the earth.

If a man-made satellite travels about at a certain height, it can keep going 44 round the earth, just like the moon. This is 45 it is above the atmosphere(大气), and there is nothing to 46 it down. If it travels 47 than that, it will be slowed down so much that it will 48 the earth.

Men have 49 spaceships to the moon and to the two 50 planets Mars(火星) and Venus(金星). By putting a camera on 51 the spaceship to the moon, men have been able to 52 photographs of the other side of the moon. This side is always 53 from us as the moon 54 the earth. The 55 were later transmitted by radio to the earth. They showed that the other side of the moon is very much the same as the side that turns towards us.

36. A. first　　　　　　 B. second　　　　　　　　　C. last　　　　　　　　　　 D. only

37. A. then　　　　　　B. however　　　　　 　 C. though　　　　　　　　 D. so

38. A. found　　　　　B. discovered　　　　　　C. made　　　　　　　　　 D. sent

39. A. with　　　　　 B. round　　　　　　　　　 C. behind　　　　　　　　 D. after

40. A. fall　　　　　　 B. rise　　　　　　　　　　　　C. break　　　　　　　　 D. stop

41. A. want　　　　 B. wish　　　　　　　　　 C. hope　　　　　　　　　 D. tend

42. A. pull　　　　　 B. push　　　　　　　　　　 C. take　　　　　　　　　　 D. launch

43. A. protects　　B. keeps　　　　　　　　　　C. makes　　　　　　　　 D. discourages

44. A. in and in　 B. on and on　　　　　　 C. out and out　　　　　D. up and up

45. A. because　 B. why　　　　　　　　　　　 C. whether　　　　　　　 D. when

46. A. hand　　　　 B. force　　　　　　　　　 C. slow　　　　　　　　　　 D. bring

47. A. higher　　　 B. longer　　　　　　　　　　 C. more　　　　　　　　　 D. lower

48. A. leave away　　　　　 B. fall to　　 C. go after　　　　　　　　 D. knock over

49. A. gave　　　　 B. offered　　　　　　　　　　C. sent　　　　　　　　　 D. drove

50. A. nearest　　 B. smallest　　　　　　　　　C. biggest　　　　　　 D. closest

51. A. board　　　 B. right　　　　　　　　　　 C. left　　　　　　　　　　 D. top

52. A. form　　　　 B. film　　　　　　　　　　　　C. catch　　　　　　　 D. take

53. A. far　　　　　　　B. hidden　　　　　　　　　C. different　　　　　　 D. separated

54. A. leads　　　　　 B. obeys　　　　　　　　　 C. circles　　　　　　　 D. pursues

55. A. information　 B. letters　　　　　　　　　C. sounds　　　　　　 D. photos