If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It’s not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.

The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives — the big political stories, the coverage（报导）of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic（基因）engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do — as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.

It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted（传送） electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I’m pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read — sports and international news, etc.

I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media. They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound in the air. And as for the Internet, it’s never really pleasant to read something just on a screen. 

1.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Best Way to Get News.                

B. The Changes of Media.

C. Make Your Own Newspaper.                 

D. The Future of Newspaper.

2.In the writer’s opinion, in the future, _______. 

A. more big political affairs, wars and disasters will make news

B. newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer

C. newspapers will cover more scientific researches

D. more and more people will prefer watching TV to reading newspapers

3.From the passage, we can infer _______. 

A. newspapers will win the competition among the different media

B. newspapers will stay with us together with other media

C. television will take the place of newspaper in the future

D. the writer believes some media will die out

4.The phrase “feed off” in the last paragraph means ______.

A. depend on        B. compete with        C. fight with       D. kill off

Working hard for fun

No more pencils! No more books

No more teacher’s serious looks!

    After a long period of study and work, the young Americans burst through the school doors singing.

But unfortunately, American students do very poorly and are among the worst students in the world. In the entire field of subjects---from geography and maths to science and general knowledge. American students are the poorest performers. Why? What’s the reason behind the scene? One problem lies in the fact that so little is expected from them. The standards of success are too low. Teachers are not willing to give out low grades and fail students. Besides, the existing negative results are few and mean little to students if their performance in study is poor . Of course some students realize that a high school diploma is a measure of success and will be important to get a job or get admitted into college. But they only have to go through the motions without really trying. They learn to get by with a minimum of effort.

In America, it is simply too easy for high school students to enter college. This forms a sharp contrast with the students in China and other Asian countries who have to suffer heavy pressure from parents, teachers and cruel social facts. Chinese students have to study hard for long years to pass the national college entrance examination which few Americans will take such trouble to enter to university. The majority American students know that they will be able to get into some college, so they do not really worry about it.

It turns out that American high school students are just too busy to find time to study. They spend almost no time on study while students from other countries spend four or five hours per day on homework. American students on the average give less than five hours per week to their studies. Learning and reading for future are not important to them. Many American never read. It is little wonder why Americans knows less than students from other countries.

1. Why are American students the poorest performers in the entire field of subjects?

   A. Because they are too busy to find time to study.

   B. Because they are too stupid and too lazy.

   C. Because they care little about their study.

   D. Because so little is required from them

2. Which of the following is Not true ?

   A. Most of American students spend less than five hours on their study every week.

   B. Few American students have trouble to enter college.

   C. American students can be admitted into college even without a high school diploma.

   D. It is hard for the students in China to enter college.

3. What seems to be the writer’s attitude towards American students?

   A. He probably thinks much should be expected from them.

   B. He is in favour of American students’ learning methods.

   C. He shows no interest in American students’ study.

   D. He thinks American students study hard.

Mo Yan, the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, said he is not sure about whether he is happy after winning the prize.

In an interview with China Central Television broadcast on Sunday night, Mo said “I don't know,” when a reporter asked if he was happy.“Happiness means a healthy body and a total absence of mental burdens, but now I’m under high pressure and bothered by worries. Can I say that I'm happy?” he said. “But if I say I'm not happy, people will consider that I'm striking a pose. How could you be unhappy after winning the Nobel Prize?”

Mo, born into a farmer’s family in East China’s Shandong province, As a 12-year-old during the Cultural Revolution he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the People’s Liberation Army and during this time began to study literature and write. His first short story was published in a literary journal in 1981.

“In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth. This is apparent in his novel Hong gaoliang jiazu (1987, in English Red Sorghum 1993),” said the academy in a statement of Mo’s biography. Red Sorghum was successfully filmed in 1987, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

Mo won the Nobel Prize for Literature, which is worth $1.2 million, on Oct 11 for his “hallucinatory realism” which merges “folk tales, history and the contemporary”. Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French and Japanese and many other languages.

He is the first Chinese citizen to win the prize.The award sparked strong interest about contemporary Chinese literature among the public, and his books have been flying off the shelves in many bookstores across the country.

1.The followings are TRUE except_____________.

A．He has won about 8 million yuan.

B．His works are all about farmers.

C．He has a big influence on Chinese contemporary literature.

D．Reporters have interviewed him about his winning.

2.From the passage we can know__________.

A．He won the prize because of his story Red Sorghum.

B．He wanted to become a writer when he was very young.

C．Mo Yan’s works have been translated into Russian.

D．Mo Yan was born in a farmer family.

3.What is Paragraph Three mainly about ?

A．His different work.                      B．His early life.

C．He switched over to literature.             D．His family and hometown.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A．Mo Yan is very happy to win the Nobel Prize.

B．More and more readers are buying Mo’s books to read in China.

C．Winning the Nobel Prize is not easy.

D．Mo Yan won the prize with the help of Zhang Yimou.

请阅读下列寓言小故事和故事寓意，从所给的六个选项（ A、B、C、D、E和F）中，选出附和各小题要求的最佳选项

下面是几则寓言小故事：

46. An ant went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and being carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of drowning.  A dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her.  The ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank.  Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, aiming at the dove.  The ant, perceiving his design, stung him in the foot.  In pain the birdcatcher shouted, and noise made the dove take wing.

47. Two men were travelling together, when a bear suddenly met them on their path.  One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and hid himself in the branches.  The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and pretended to be dead as much as he could.  The bear soon left him, for he will not touch a dead body.  When he disappeared, the other traveler descended from the tree, and asked his friend what it was the bear had whispered in his ear.  “He gave me this advice,” his companion replied.  “Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”

48. A prince had some monkeys trained to dance.  Being naturally good at learning, they showed themselves excellent pupils, and in their rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as any of the courtiers.  Their performance was often repeated with great applause, till on one occasion a courtier, bent on mischief, took from his pocket a handful of nuts and threw them upon the stage.  The monkeys at the sight of the nuts forgot their dancing and became (as indeed they were) monkeys instead of actors.  Pulling off their masks and tearing their robes, they fought with one another for the nuts.  The dancing spectacle thus came to an end in the laughter and ridicule of the audience.

49. A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he noticed something shining in the straw.  “Ho! Ho!” said he, “that’s for me,” and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw.  It turned out to be a pearl that by some chance had been lost in the yard.  “You may be a treasure,” signed the cock, “to man, but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn.”

50. An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around hi to give them some parting advice.  He ordered his servants to bring in a bunch of sticks, and said to his eldest son: “Break it.”  The son tried hard, but with all his efforts was unable to break the bundle.  The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful.  “Untie it,” said the father, “and each of you take a stick.”  When they had done so, he called out to them: “Now, break,” and each stick was easily broken.

请阅读下面的故事寓意，然后匹配与之对应的小故事。

A. Not everything you see is what it appears to be.

B. One man’s pleasure may be another’s pain. / One man’s meat is another’s poison.

C. Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

D. One good turn deserves another.

E. Union gives strength.

F. Precious things are for those that can prize them.

Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars,  a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.

Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy.  The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.

Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”

1.Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because         .

2.Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with       according to the study.

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?

4.What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?

5.We may read this article in a        section of a newspaper.