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.

Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays, were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David saw the railroad both as a boon(要求) to democracy(民主国家) and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler(掠夺者) of nature, furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise. It might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850’s and 1860’s, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

　 For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays and important role belong to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boys’ books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads’ prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading—works offering the ambience of stations, yards, and locomotive cabs. These writers, who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the “railroad novel”, are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.

The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to______.

　　A. railroad 　　B. manifestation　　 C. speed 　　D. nature

In the first paragraph, the author implies that writers’ reactions to the development of railroads were______.

　　A. highly enthusiastic 　 B. both positive and negative　  C. unchanging　 　D. Disinterested

According to the passage, the railroad played a significant role in literature in all of the following kinds of books except_______.　

A. thrillers 　 B. boys’ books　　C. romances　　D. important novels

The phrase “first rank” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to______.

A. largest category(类别) 　B. highest quality　  C. earliest writers 　D. most difficult language

Which of the following topics is the main idea of passage?

A. The role of the railroad in the economy of the USA　

B. Major nineteenth century writers

C. The conflict between expanding industry and preserving nature

D. The railroad as a subject for literature

Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end, we walk the dog, play golf, go fishing, sit in the garden, drink outside rather than inside the pub, have a picnic, live in the suburbs, go to the seaside, buy a weekend place in the country. The most popular free time activity in Britain is going for a walk. And when joggers (慢跑者) jog, they don’t run the streets. Every one of them automatically heads to the park or the river. It is my firm belief that not only do we all need nature, but we all seek nature, whether we know we are doing so or not.

But despite this, our children are growing up nature-deprived (丧失). I spent my boyhood climbing trees. These days, children are robbed of these ancient freedoms, due to problems like crime, traffic, the loss of the open spaces and strange new ideas about what is best for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that can be found.

The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US: families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD (多动症). Those whose housing had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.

A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability than children used only to a normal playground. A US study suggested that when a school gave children access to a natural environment, the entire school would do better in studies.

Another study found that children play differently in a natural environment. In playgrounds, children create a hierarchy (等级) based on physical abilities, with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was planted with bushes, the children got much more into fantasy play, and the social hierarchy was now based on imagination and creativity.

Most bullying (恃强凌弱) is found in schools where there is a tarmac (柏油碎石) playground; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore. This reminds me unpleasantly of Sunnyhill School, with its hard tarmac, where I used to hang about in corners dreaming about wildlife.

But children are frequently discouraged from involvement with natural spaces, for health and safety reasons, for fear that they might get dirty or that they might cause damage. So, instead, the damage is done to the children themselves: not to their bodies but to their souls.

One of the great problems of modern childhood is ADHD, now increasingly and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.

The life of old people is much better when they have access to nature. The most important for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important thing in finding that quality.

In wider and more difficult areas of life, there is evidence to indicate that natural surroundings improve all kinds of things. Even problems with crime and aggressive behaviour are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.

Dr William Bird, researcher from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, states in his study, “A natural environment can reduce violent behaviour because its process helps reduce anger and behavior that people might regret later.” Wild places need encouraging for this reason, no matter how small their contribution.

We tend to think human beings are doing nature some kind of favor when we are protecting nature. The error here is far too deep: not only do humans need nature for themselves, but the very idea that humanity and the natural world are separable things is damaging.

Human beings are a species of animals. For seven million years we lived on the planet as part of nature. So we miss the natural world and long for contact with non-human life. Anyone who has patted a dog, stroked a cat, sat under a tree with a glass of beer, given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to walk through the park on a nice day, understands that.

We need the wild world. It is necessary to our well-being, our health, our happiness. Without other living things around us we are less than human.

1.What is the author’s firm belief?

　　A. People seek nature in different ways.

　　B. People should spend most of their lives in the wild.

　　C. People have quite different ideas of nature.

　　D. People must make more efforts to study nature.

2.What does the author say people prefer for their children nowadays?

　　A. Personal freedom.　　            B. Things that are natural.

　　C. Urban surroundings.　　          D. Things that are purchased.

3.What does a study in Sweden show?

　　A. The natural environment can help children learn better.

　　B. More access to nature makes children less likely to fall ill.

　　C. A good playground helps kids develop their physical abilities.

　　D. Natural views can prevent children from developing ADHD.

4.Children who have chances to explore natural areas ________.

　  A. tend to develop a strong love for science　    

B. are more likely to dream about wildlife

　  C. tend to be physically tougher in adulthood　   

D. are less likely to be involved in bullying

5.What does the author suggest we do to help children with ADHD?

　　A. Find more effective drugs for them.　　   

B. Provide more green spaces for them.

　　C. Place them under more personal care.　　

D. Engage them in more meaningful activities

6. In what way do elderly people benefit from their contact with nature?

　　A. They look on life optimistically.　　    B. They enjoy a life of better quality.

C. They are able to live longer.            D. They become good-humored

Their products enjoy 30 percent_______of the market in this country because both the quality and their service are fine.

A. feature　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. share

C. possession　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. sale

My 8­year­old son，Kevin，has made friends with some boys in the neighborhood. He has been 36    with them after school. My wife，and I are 37    he has other kids to be with and we have __38__ and encouraged him to play with his friends. We also want Kevin to learn __39__，so we have asked him to tell us __40__ he's going and to come home at a specified time.

The __41__ started when Kevin didn't come home on time. On one occasion，I asked Kevin to be back at 6 pm. By 6：30，I needed to go __42__ him. I found him at a friend's house，and he looked 43    that he couldn't continue playing. After we came home，I sat  Kevin down for a talk about the _44  _ of  keeping his word. I told him I was not worried about his arriving a few __45__ late， after a half hour， he told me he understood and I was _46_  _.

The next day，I came home from work at about 6:30 pm and my wife asked me to go and get Kevin back __47__ she said he should be back home at 6. I walked to his friend's house and a look of __48__ appeared on Kevin's face when he came to the door.

At __49__，my wife and I spoke to Kevin about why he didn't come home on time again. He said he just wanted to _50__ playing. This was __51__，so we decided to ground(罚不准出门)him for a week. This __52_ no playing with his friends.

For the next week，whenever his friends came to ask for Kevin，we let him __53__ to them that he was grounded. We felt this would help him be responsible for his __54__.

As a __55__，I believe one of the most important things we can teach our kids is self-responsibility and that actions have consequences.