Another food which is closely associated with Americans is apple pie．Apple pie is often served hot with a spoon of ice cream or a slice of cheese at the end of the biggest meal of the day—dinner, and it is a favorite dessert throughout the nation, if a person is typical of Americans, we can say, "He is as American as apple pie．"

It is true that the apple and apple pie do not originate in America, but the expression "as American as apple pie" is not the product of a pure imagination．As early as 1625, the English colonists, having brought orchards （果园） on this new land and in most of the colonial times, the apple was a main material of both plain and fancy cooking．The first Massachusetts governor, William Endicott, was one of many keen apple planters who helped to lay the foundations for today' s apple-growing industry in America．

A major attraction of the apple for the colonists was that it could be made into cider （苹果酒）. Like most Europeans, English colonists held a strong suspicion （怀疑） of drinking water, and since grapegrowing was hindered by plant peats, cider became an alternative to wine．Cheap and easy to produce, it was the American drink of first choice well into the nineteenth century． Whether it was dried, raw or cooked, the apple also found its way into numerous colonial dishes, including apple sauces, pudding, stuffings and many desserts．Therefore, the conclusion to be drawn here is obvious．The apple pie became known as American, not because it was invented on this land （since it was proved that Europeans had been eating apple pies for centuries）, but because, thanks to the huge orchards in the states of Washington and New York, America became the world's largest apple-producing nation．

1.If a person is said to be as American as apple pie, it means that _______．

2.The apple can be used to make into all of the following except _______．

3.The underlined word hindered in Paragraph 3 means．________．

4.It can be concluded from the passage that_______．

It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh. Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him. He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence. He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day. As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday—which burnt him like fire.
He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind. He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness.
Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight—munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along. Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat. 
“Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence.
Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”
Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you.”
“I’m going swimming,” Ben said. “Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?”
Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?”
“Isn’t that work?”
Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Do you mean that you enjoy it?”
“I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it.”
“Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom.
Ben stopped munching his apple.
Tom moved his brush back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a little paint here and there. Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1. After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it. But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it. It has to be done right.”
“Oh, come on, let me try. I’ll be careful. Listen, Tom. I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint.”
“No, Ben, I’m afraid—”
“I’ll give you all the apple!”
Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart. While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys.
Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint. By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village.
Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all. He had discovered a great law of human action: in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
【小题1】By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.

Lawmakers in the United States have expanded an investigation into the use of location-tracking systems on mobile devices． The action follows recent reports about the storing of information on the Apple iPhone． Some people consider location tracking to be a threat to personal privacy and security．

    Allan Friedman, the research director, says, “All wireless companies do some location tracking as part of their networks． This information is usually stored by the companies, not the devices, and there are laws to protect it． Law enforcement（执法） agencies, for example, have to have a fairly high standard before it can access that data． And the phone company is also prohibited from selling that information．

    Now, two researchers report that location tracking information is being stored directly on Apple devices． They said Apple’s newest operating systems gather global positioning system and timestamp information． The information is stored on the device in a file that is also uploaded （上传） to any computer that the device is connected to． The researchers say the information is available to anyone who has access to the device or computer．

Allan Friedman says, “This raises additional concerns． There’s the idea that because it’s on my phone and on my computer, rogue applications（恶意程序） that I pay for or that I’m tricked into downloading may be able to access this data and somehow misuse it．”

Apple says it is “not tracking the location of your iPhone”． It is simply keeping a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cellphone towers near the user’s location． This information is meant to help the iPhone quickly find its location when needed．

Letters have been sent to some of the leading mobile device developers, including Apple and Google． The letters asked for more information about their location tracking systems． Allan Friedman calls this an important start to strengthening privacy laws． He says, “There aren’t strong controls over things like location information, what they are doing with it, how long they are keeping it． And perhaps the most important question is, is my location data with other facts about me?”

1.Why did American lawmakers investigate the use of location-tracking systems on cell-phones?

A.Because the systems can store users’ information

B.Because many users have suffered loss after using them．

C.Because it is thought to threaten users’ privacy．

D.Because many reporters have shown the problem of the systems．

2. Allan Friedman believes that ________．

A.wireless companies focus on personal privacy．

B.people are forbidden to get access to private data at will

C.phone companies may sell private information secretly

D.customers may ask wireless companies to locate their tracking

3. What do we know from Paragraph 3?

    A．  Location tracking information is stored online．

B.Apple’s newest operating systems collect all kinds of information．

C.Location tracking information may be uploaded to any iPhone．

D.Apple’s newest operating systems may reveal the private information of users．

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A.Apple denies that it tracks the location of users．

B.The researchers may misunderstand the Apple’s systems．[来源:Z,xx,k.Com]

C.The global positioning system is to blame for rogue applications．

D.The iPhone can quickly find its location by using its user’s information．

76. He cut the apple ________, and gave the big to his little sister.

BEIJING—Apple Inc is one step closer to beginning sales of iPad3 tablet computers with cellular (手机) network compatibility (兼容) for the first time in the Chinese mainland, where the consumer-electronics giant is in the midst of an aggressive expansion.

According to China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, a device by Apple with third-generation high-speed wireless data capabilities was issued the network access license needed for the company to begin official sales in China. The device, listed under model number “A1396”, is compatible with the 3G standard WCDMA, and would work with the cellular network operated by Apple’s local iPhone partner, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.

China Unicom declined (谢绝) to comment.

Apple already offers the 3G iPad3 in Hong Kong through its partners, but currently only offers Wi-Fi versions of the device in the Chinese mainland. Still, consumers in China, which according to research firm IDC surpassed (超过) the US as the world’s largest PC market in the second quarter, have been purchasing 3G tablets through unofficial channels.

Separately, Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said Sept 6 that the company’s first Hong Kong store, set to open this quarter, will be located in the city’s central shopping and business district in the International Finance Center’s upscale (高档的) IFC mall, a commercial center and sightseeing spot along the city’s waterfront. Wu also said that Apple is planning a new store in Shanghai later this quarter, which will be its biggest store in China. She declined to give more details or to comment on the 3G iPad3.

Apple currently has four full-service Apple stores in the mainland, which receive the most traffic of any Apple stores in the world. The company otherwise relies on resellers to get its products into the market.

The new stores reflect Apple’s confidence in rising demand for its products such as smart phones and tablet computers. Sales in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan helped boost (增长) the company’s third-quarter results, newly appointed Chief Executive Tim Cook said in July. China revenue (收益) surged (激增) six-fold to about $3.8 billion during the three months ended June 25.

“This has been a substantial (重大) opportunity for Apple and I firmly believe that we’re just scratching the surface right now,” Cook said at the time, referring to strong sales in China. “I see an incredible opportunity for Apple there.”

From China Daily 2012

1.According to the news, which of the following statements is true?

A．WCDMA is not the only 3G standard in the world.

B．Apple Inc sells its products in the market of the Chinese mainland all by its own stores.

C．The consumers in China can only get iPad3 of Wi-Fi versions.

D．Chinese mainland is the second largest PC market in this year’s second quarter.

2.Which one of the following phrases can replace the underlined word in paragraph 1?

A．in the interests of                       B．in the front of

C．in the process of                        D．in the case of

3.How many full-service Apple stores in China?

A．4.               B．6.                C．8.               D．Unknown.

4.What’s the probable meaning of “six-fold” in the last but one paragraph?

A．one-sixth          B．six times          C．60 percent        D．2times

5.45. By saying “we’re just scratching the surface right now”, Cook means ________.

A．they don’t know much about China’s market

B．they will sell more products and gain more profit in China

C．they need to obtain more permission from China’s government

D．they ignored the rural market in China