A new enemy is threatening Japanese traditions: leisure（闲暇）. As part of its attempt to increase imports, the government is trying to get people to work less and spend more. The workers are disgusted.

The figures support the western prejudice（偏见） that the Japanese are all work and no play. Trying to force workers away from their desks and machines, the government said last April that the country should cut down from its 2,100 hours average work year to 1,899 hours and a five-day week by 1992. Beginning in February, banks and stock markets will be closed on Saturdays, staff of civil service will be forced out of their offices two Saturdays a month. The government hopes that others will follow that practice.

But some persuasion will be needed. Small companies are very angry about it and they fear competitors may not cut hours. The unions are no happier: they have even advertised in newspapers arguing their case against the foreign pressure that is forcing leisure upon them. They say that shorter hours are a disguised（隐性的） pay cut. The industrialists, who have no objection to the government’s plans, admit that shorter hours will help them cut costs. Younger Japanese who are supposed to be acting against their hard-working parents, show no sign of wanting time off, either. But unlike older workers, they do spend money in their spare time. Not content with watching television, they dance, dress up, sit in cafes, go to pop concerts and generally drive the leisure-industry boom. Now that they know how to consume, maybe the West can teach them to relax and enjoy themselves, too.

The purpose of getting the Japanese to have more spare time is that           .

    A．the government wants to show more concern for the health of the people

    B．the government needs to get more goods from abroad

    C．the Japanese have been working too hard

    D．the Japanese hope to change the western prejudice

The group of people who welcome the shorter-hour system in Japan is           .

    A．the small companies          B．the industrialists

    C．the unions                   D．the younger generation

The unions think that           .

    A．the shorter hours they work, the higher pay the can get

    B．the more they work, the less leisure they can enjoy

    C．the shorter hours they work, the less pay they can have

    D．the greater pressure the government is forcing on them, the less happy they can be

The best title for this passage can be           .

    A．Oh no! Not Saturday Again!   B．Leisure: the Greatest Threat!

    C．Enjoy While You are Young!   D．Less Work and More Play!

       A recent study, while showing a generally positive attitude toward science, also suggests a widespread worry that it may be “running out of control”．This idea is dangerous．

       Science can be a force for evil as well as for good．Its applications can be channeled either way, depending on our decisions．The decisions we make, personally or collectively, will determine the outcomes of science．But here is a real danger．Science is advancing so fast is so strongly influenced by businesses that we are likely to believe whatever decisions we come to will make little difference．And, rather than fighting for the best possible policies, we may step back and do nothing．

       Some people go even further．They say that despite the moral and legal objections （反对）, whatever is scientifically possible will be done ——somewhere, sometime．They believe that science will get out of control in the end．This belief is dangerous too, because it a fuels sense of hopelessness and discourages them from making efforts to build a safer world．

       In our interconnected world, the lack of agreement in and of the world of science can lead to the failure to control the use of science．Without a common understanding, the challenges of “controlling” science in this century will be really tough．Take human cloning for example．Despite the general agreement among scientists on its possible huge impact （影响） on traditional moral values, some countries still go ahead with the research and development of its related techniques．The outcomes are hard to predict．

       Therefore, discussions on how science is applied should be extended far beyond scientific societies．Only through the united efforts of people with hope, can we be fully safe against the misuse of science and can science best serve mankind in the future．

What can we conclude from the recent study?

       A．People think highly of science．

       B．People hold mixed opinions about science．

       C．Science is getting dangerously out of control．

       D．Science is used for both good and bad purposes．

According to the passage, what will happen if we hold that science is getting beyond control?

       A．The development of science will hopelessly slow down．

       B．Businesses will have even greater influence on science．

       C．The public will lose faith in bringing about a bright future．

       D．People will work more actively to put science under control．

The discussion should reach beyond scientific societies because __________．

       A．scientists have failed to predict the outcomes

       B．the ties between different areas need strengthening

       C．united efforts are necessary for the development of science

       D．people need to work together to prevent the bad use of science

What is the main idea of the passage?

       A．Science and its applications bring us many dangers．

       B．The development of science mostly lies in people’s attitudes．

       C．Mankind can largely take control of science with their efforts．

       D．The future of science will be influenced by the dangerous ideas．

A new research has uncovered that culture is a determining factor when interpreting facial emotions （情感）．The study reveals that in cultures where emotional control is the standard, such as Japan, focus is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions．Whereas in cultures where emotion is  openly expressed, such as the United States, the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotion．

       "These findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be universally recognized," said University of Alberta researcher Dr．Takahiko Masuda．"A person's culture plays a very strong role in determining how they will read emotions and needs to be considered when interpreting facial expression．"

       These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emoticons （情感符号）, which are used to convey a writer's emotions over email and text messaging．The Japanese emoticons for happiness and sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are drawn, while American emoticons vary with the direction of the mouth．In the United States the emoticons :） and :-） show a happy face, whereas the emoticons  : （ or : -（  show a sad face．However, Japanese tend to use the symbol （ ' ' ） to indicate a happy face, and （ ;_; ）to indicate a sad face．

       "We think it is quite interesting and appropriate that a culture tends to mask its emotions．The Japanese would focus on a person's eyes when determining emotion, as eyes tend to be quite subtle （微妙的）," said Masuda．"In the United States, where open emotion is quite common, it makes sense to focus on the mouth, which is the most expressive feature on a person's face．"

The text mainly tells us that __________．

       A．cultural differences are expressed in emotions

       B．culture is the key to interpreting facial emotions

       C．different emoticons are preferred in different cultures

       D．people from different cultures express emotions differently

Which emoticon is used by Americans to show a happy face?

       A．（;_;）            B．:-）         C．:-（                D．: （

If a Japanese wants to detect whether a smile is true or false, he will probably_______．

       A．read the whole face  B．focus on the mouth

       C．look into the eyes    D．judge by the voice

People used to believe that _______．

       A．some facial expressions of emotions were too complex to be recognized

       B．people in the world interpreted basic emotions in different ways

       C．people could only recognize the facial expressions of basic emotions

       D．people all over the world understood basic emotions in the same way

A new research shows that in Britain more and more people are returning to the old tradition that the whole family have a meal at table. Worrying about the obesity and breakdown of a family, people change their eating habits so greatly, according to analysis. They find the number of the family having a meal together increases by 5% from 2002 to 2004, and most people who have meals with their family come from the rich social class.

       The new discovery makes doctors and the people struggling against obesity extremely excited. Giving up the tradition that the whole family have a meal together is exactly one of the reasons for a series of problems including children’s overweight. If a child has a meal in front of the television or the computer alone, he will often eat some fast food.

       Jason Collins is one of the persons returning to the old tradition. Collins is a manager of a bake(烘面包) house. He finds after he gets used to having a meal at home with his child, the child becomes much more obedient(听话的). Dr. Jin is a child psychologist, and she expresses welcome to this result of the study.  She says it can make parents have a very good chance to chat with the child when the whole family have a meal together.

What makes people change their eating habit back to the old tradition in Britain?

A. Worrying about their children.        B. Worrying about some social problems.

C. Worrying about the living expense.  D. Worrying about health and family problems.

We can infer from the passage that _______.

A.people’s eating habit has much effect on their family

B. most rich people have meals with their family

C. most children have the problem of overweight

D. most children don’t like having dinner with the parents

How do the people who hope to lose weight feel about the new discovery?

A. They feel glad.                       B. They feel surprised.     

C. They feel sorry.                   D. They feel disappointed.

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

A. The child having dinner with his parents doesn’t like watching TV.

B. Children become overweight all because of having dinner alone.

C. The family having dinner together is more united and friendly.

D. The reason a child has dinner alone is that he likes fast food.      

A mobile phone is no longer just a phone -- it is also a music player, video camera and personal organizer. And mobile phones with television programming are just around the corner. But the more functions cell phone manufacturers add, the greater the amount of power the phones use and the less practical running them on lithium (锂) batteries becomes -- so the race to find a viable alternative is on.

    Two of the world's biggest electronics makers, Hitachi and Toshiba, are currently competing against each other to come up with an alternative, most likely to be micro fuel cells. The task has been set by Japan's second largest mobile phone provider, KDDI, which wants its customers to soon be able to use special television programming on their handsets, and has asked the two electronics companies to come up with a better power source. Hitomi Murakami, of KDDI, says battery-operated mobile phones cannot keep up with the new applications. "We're looking at various ways to expand content and services that we can provide to the people. And we don't want to have battery issues delaying us from doing that," he says.

    Hitachi's Atsushi Morihara says it is a critical race for both of the companies as the resulting product will have a major impact on the mobile market in the future. "We are in competition and it's up to both of us to come up with a good product. A product that will satisfy KDDI's needs. I think I can go as far to say that the winner will take all."

    Miniaturized direct methanol (甲醇) fuel cells are different batteries in that they create power instead of simply storing it. That power is made by new technology utilizing cheap methanol. If all gees to plan, come 2007, Japanese phone users will not use an electric charger to power their mobiles, they will instead carry a small bottle of methanol and with just a few squirts, they will have power for their phones. But the method has its downsides, including how passengers will be able to take small mounts of flammable methanol on airliners. Fumio Ueno of Toshiba says that once developed, the uses of miniaturized direct methanol fuel cells have endless possibilities.

The lithium batteries are becoming improper for the cell phone because ______.

     A) there is a television in the phone         C) it is inconvenient to use

     B) it can't provide enough power              D) people have found substitutes

According to the passage, Toshiba ______.

     A) is in critical competition with KDDI

     B) will probably beat its rival

     C) attaches great importance to methanol fuel

     D) is one of the largest battery provider

Which of the following is NOT the characteristic of methanol fuel?

     A) Easy to catch fire.                         C) Portable.

     B) Inexpensive.                              D) Available everywhere.

The best title for the passage is ______.

     A) Search for better phone power.

     B) Development of cell phone battery.

     C) Competition between two electronic firms.

     D) Advantage and disadvantage of methanol fuel.