We're all connected. You can send an e-mail message to a friend, and your friend can pass it on to one of his or her friends, and that friend can do the same, continuing the chain. Eventually, your message could reach just about anyone in the world, and it might take only five to seven e-mails for the message to get there.

Scientists recently tested that idea in a study involving 24,000 people. Participants had to try to get a message forwarded to one of 18 randomly chosen people. Each participant started by sending one e-mail to someone they knew. Recipients could then forward the e-mail once to someone they knew, and so on.

Targets, who were randomly assigned by researchers from Columbia University in New York, lived in 13 countries. They included an Australian police officer, a Norwegian veterinarian, and a college professor.

Out of 24,000 chains, only 384 reached their goal. The rest petered out, usually because one of the recipients was either too busy to forward the message or thought it was junk mail.

The links that reached their goal made it in an average of 4.05 e-mails. Based on the lengths of the failed chains, the researchers estimated that two strangers could generally make contact in five to seven e-mails. The most successful chains relied on casual acquaintances rather than close friends. That's because your close friends know each other whereas your acquaintances tend to know people you don't know. The phenomenon, known as the strength of weak ties, explains why people tend to get jobs through people they know casually but aren't that close to.

So, start networking and instant messaging now. As they say in show business: It's all about who you know.

41. If you want to get into touch with a stranger in the world, how many e-mails might it take for the message to reach him/her?

A. 5 to 7        B. 18           C. 13         D. 384

42. Which of the following is Not true about the test?

A. 24,000 people took part in the study and sent e-mails to people they knew.

B. The 18 targets were chosen by chance.

C. About 98.4% of the mails didn’t reach their goal because some people were too busy or they mistook the message for junk mail.

D. The targets come from 13 countries, such as Australia, Norway and New York.

43. What does the word “estimate” mean in the passage?

A. make sure     B. suppose         C. think over         D. imagine

44. Why do people tend to get jobs more easily through casual acquaintances than close friends?

A. Because close friends don’t talk with each other so much.

B. Because casual acquaintances can help you know more people and make more friends.

C. Because close friends don’t spend so much time gathering together.

D. Because casual acquaintances are kinder and more willing to help others.

45. In which part of a newspaper will readers read this passage?

A. Culture       B. Entertainment     C. Information and Technology    D. Health

According to a report , more than a million workers will fail to take their full annul leave(年假) this year in UK. That’s to say, totally, those workers will give up 6.2 million days of vacation, with an average of five days for each worker. For their employers, they feel happy because that is equal to a potential $500 million of ‘free’ work, which, according to an economist will boost(使增长) the output of the economy by about two percent.

The report also showed that the main reasons employees give up their remaining annul leave are due to pressures at work and their failing to appreciate that taking a break could make them more productive and, in turn, boost the economy in the long term.

The research, done by price comparison website Travel Supermarket, found that more than one in four of those who will give up their remaining holidays (28 percent) will do so due to pressures at work. Bob Atkinson, travel expert for Travel Supermarket said: “As the economy is not so satisfying, it’s no surprise that people are cautious to take all their leave, especially if they feel stressed and uncertainty at work.” Nine percent of the 2,020 people surveyed also said they would feel guilty about taking the leave because their work would have to be taken care of by their colleagues. A further three percent said they would be concerned about how taking time off would look to their employer, while the same percentage said they did not want to miss anything interesting or beneficial at work in the time they would be away.

Vicky Redwood, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “Suppose that there are about 250 working days in a year, getting an extra five ‘free’ days of work from their employees could in theory boost the output of  the economy by about two percent. On the other hand, if workers are less productive as a result of not getting enough breaks from work, taking all the annual leave, in fact, will perhaps increase the economy.”

41. According to the report, in UK more than a million workers         .

A. will not ask for leave in their working days

B. will take five days leave on average

C. will work 500 million days freely for their employers

D. will not take all their holiday leave this year

42. Which of the following is NOT a reason why employees don’t take all their holiday leave?

A. They have a lot of pressures at work.

B. They don’t realize that they will be more productive after taking a break.

C. They are busy and have no time because they have a lot of work to do.

D. They don’t think it proper to have their work taken care of by their colleagues.

43. According to the report above, three percent of the people don’t take all their holiday leave     because        ________.

A. they are worried about their employer’s view on their taking holidays

B. they are under great pressure from the work

C. they are afraid of being found by their employers while taking holidays

D. they worry about losing their jobs after taking holidays

44. From what Vicky Redwood said, we can infer that ________.

A. employees’ extra five days of work will certainly boost the output of the economy by               about two percent.

B. not getting enough breaks from work may cause workers less productive

C. in order to boost output in the economy, employees should give up some holidays

D. the more leave the employees take, the better the economy will become

45. The passage is mainly about ________.

A. a report about how the workers in UK take their holidays

B. the fact that one million employees in UK don’t take all their annual leave

C. how the pressures at work affect the workers in UK

D. reasons why employees give up their right to take holidays

　It is true that we live longer, travel faster and own more things than we used to． We have 1 great progress in science and technology． But we 2 have lots of problems． One of the major problems 3 that at the same time as we 4 our industry and modern life, our natural environment 5 polluted．

　Sometimes the air is too polluted to 6 and the rivers are 7 filthy to swim in or to take water 8 ． In the big cities the roads are too crowded to drive 9 ． In the countryside 10 farmland is being taken up by development projects． Today, things 11 open land , clean water and good air are getting scarcer and scarcer ． But industry and modern life 12 be enemies of beauty． Progress 13 be ugly ．It doesn’t have to 14 all the countryside around it． We can have both beauty and progress 15 we really want to ． There are 16 things the government should do to overcome the environmental problems we face today ． First of all, the government should regard the protection of the environment as one of the most important issues it 17 on its agendA．The government should consider the environment 18 jobs ． Secondly, more money should be given to scientists to research the problems 19 by the pollution of the environment． Thirdly, strict laws and fines should be imposed on factories which do not 20 environmental laws ．It isn’t just the government that should pay attention to the environment． We as individuals should also be prepared to do something to help the environment． We should stop littering around． We should dispose of rubbish in the regular rubbish bin． We should recycle aluminum cans, bottles and newspapers．Above all, we should increase our environmental awareness．

　As I have said earlier, our planet is being polluted． We will not be able to live on the planet much longer unless we protect and improve it the best way we can．

1．A．Achieved B．obtained C．gained D． made

2．A．even B．ever C．still D． yet

3．A．Are B．is　　C．were D． was

4．A．Are developing B．have been developing C．have developed D． develop

5．A．is being B．will be C．has been D． was

6．A．breathe B．be breathed C．have breathed D． have been breathed

7．A．so B．too C．very D． far more

8．A．from　　　　　　　　　　　B．from under the surface

　C．from the depth of the river　　D． out of the river

9．A．Along B．Around C．All the way D．All through

10．A．more and more　　　　　　　　B．people find more and more

　 C．there will be more and more　　　D． it is more and more

11．A．As B．As if C．like D．As though

12．A．needn’t B．must not C．shouldn’t D． do not have to

13．A．needn’t B．must not C．shouldn’t D． shouldn’t have to

14．A．ruin　　 B．hurt　　 C．destroy D． break

15．A．unless B．if　　　　C．in case　　D． suppose

16．A．few　　 B．A few　　 C．quite a few D． many

17．A．faces　　B．meets　　 C．has　　 D． prepares

18．A．After　　B．before　　 C．And　　 D． together with

19．A．caused B．produced C．brought about D． made happen

20．A．listen to B．obey　　 C．do what is ordered to do by　　 D． carry out

No one knows for sure when advertising first started. It is possible that it grew out of the discovery that some people did certain kinds of work better than others did them. That led to the concept of specialization, which means that people would specialize, or focus, on doing one specific job.

Let’s take a man we'll call Mr. Fielder, for example. He did everything connected with fanning. He planted seeds, tended the fields» and harvested and sold his crops. At the same lime, he did many other jobs on the farm. However, he didn't make the bricks for his house, cut his trees into boards, make the plows (犁) , or any of the other hundreds of things a farm needs. Instead, he got them from people who specialized in doing each of those things.

Suppose there was another man we shall call Mr. Plowright. Using what he knew about fanning and working with iron, Mr. Plowright invented a plow that made fanning easier. Mr. Plowright did not really like fanning himself and wanted to specialize in making really good plows. Perhaps, he thought, other farmers will trade what they grow far one of my plows.

How did Mr. Plowright let people know what he was doing? Why, he advertised, of course. First he opened a shop and then he put up a sign outside the shop to attract customers. That sign may have been no more than a plow carved into a piece of wood and a simple arrow pointing to the $hop door. It was probably all the information people needed to find Mr, Plowright and his really good plows.

Many historians believe that the first outdoor signs were used about five thousand yean; ago. Even before most people could read, they understood such signs. Shopkeeper« would carve into stone, clay, or wood symbols for the product they had for sale.

A medium, in advertising talk, is the way you communicate your message. You might say that the first medium used in advertising was signs with symbols. The second medium was audio, or sound, although that term is not used exactly in the way we use it today. Originally, just the human voice and maybe some kind of simple instrument, such as a bell, were used to get people's attention.

A crier, in the historical sense, is not someone who weeps easily. It is someone, probably a man, with a voice loud enough to be heard over the other noises of a city. In ancient Egypt, shopkeepers might hire such b person to spread the news about their products. Often this earliest form of advertising involved a newly arrived ship loaded with goods. Perhaps the crier described the goods, explained where they came from, and praised their quality. His job was, in other words, not too different from a TV or radio commercial in today's world.

41. What probably led to the start of advertising?

A. The discovery of iron.                      B. The specialization of labor.

C. The appearance of new jobs.             D. The development of fanning techniques.

42. To advertise his plows, Mr. Plowright ______.

A. praised his plows in public                 R. placed a sign outside the shop

C. hung an arrow pointing to the shop     D. showed hut products to the customers

43. The writer makes up the two stories of Mr. Fielder and Mr. Plowright in order to ______.

A. explain the origin of advertising          B. predict the future of advertising

C. expose problems in advertising           D, provide suggestions for advertising

44. In ancient Egypt, a crier was probably someone who ______.

A. owned a ship

B. had the loudest voice

C. ran a shop selling goods to fanners

D. functioned like today's TV or radio commercial

45. The last two paragraphs are mainly about ______.

A. the history of advertising                   B. the benefits of advertising

C. the early forms of advertising             D. the basic design of advertising