It seems like every year brings a new outbreak of sickness. Recent research tells us how diseases spread, from person to person. And it also gives us an idea how we can spread something better than diseases.

       An author called Malcom Gladwell recently published a book explaining how the process works. We usually think of an epidemic (流行病) as a force of nature that rolls over anyone in its way. In fact, it starts with a single person or very few people. These people travel around and infect (传染) small groups in different places. When enough of these groups are infected, then the disease suddenly seems to be everywhere. Gladwell also found that the process of infection was not just limited to disease? It also affects the world of ideas.

       The process can be seen in books and fashion. So called “underground bestsellers” are not pushed towards the public. They spread through hundreds of small reading groups until the day when everybody you know seems to have a copy. A group of young people may decide to wear an item of clothing simply because no one else is wearing it. Designers who monitor street fashion then pick up the idea and spread it. Finally everyone is wearing it.

       New York is often described as an unfriendly place. People are too busy looking after business to look after each other. In the early 1990s, one unknown person decided to perform at least one kind act a day. This caught on with his or her friends. The newspapers noticed the trend (趋势). New York became full of people smiling and carrying each other’s bags.

       The success of trends like this fits in with other social phenomena (现象). One is the 80/20 rule. This was invented by economists who noticed that in any situation 20 percent of the people did 80 percent of the work. Another is the “bystander problem”. Psychologists noticed that in accidents where a large number of people were around, no one stepped forward to help. Each person supposed that someone else would do something. When there were less people present, more of them decided to offer help.

What all this proves is the power of individuals (个人) and small groups. The “epidemic model” could be a great way of making a business grow or spreading an idea. A small start can make a big difference.

73．The writer’s main purpose is to tell us_________.

       A. how diseases spread                                            B. how ideas are formed

C. how popularity takes place                                   D. what diseases and ideas have in common

74．What do the underlined words “underground bestsellers” (in Paragraph 3) refer to in this text?

       A. Books which are good but few people know about.

B. Books which become popular without putting advertisements

C. Booksellers who sell books without putting advertisements

D. Booksellers who are good at selling books.

75．The 80/20 rule shows the fact that _________.

       A. the majority of people are powerless                      B. there is not enough work for people

C. a small group may be a great power                      D. there exists a problem of overpopulation

76．According to the passage, we know _________.

       A. The “epidemic model” doesn’t exist nowadays.

B. The “epidemic model” plays an important role in making a business grow or spreading an idea.

C. The “epidemic model” came into being in the early 1990s.

D. The “epidemic model” is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell.

　　　 It seems like every year brings a new outbreak of sickness．Recent research tells us how diseases spread, from person to person．And it also gives us an idea how we can spread something better than diseases．

　　　 An author called Malcom Gladwell recently published a book explaining how the process works．We usually think of an epidemic (流行病) as a force of nature that rolls over anyone in its way．In fact, it starts with a single person or very few people．These people travel around and infect (传染) small groups in different places．When enough of these groups are infected, then the disease suddenly seems to be everywhere．Gladwell also found that the process of infection was not just limited to disease? It also affects the world of ideas．

　　　 The process can be seen in books and fashion．So called “underground bestsellers” are not pushed towards the public．They spread through hundreds of small reading groups until the day when everybody you know seems to have a copy．A group of young people may decide to wear an item of clothing simply because no one else is wearing it．Designers who monitor street fashion then pick up the idea and spread it．Finally everyone is wearing it．

　　　 New York is often described as an unfriendly place．People are too busy looking after business to look after each other．In the early 1990s, one unknown person decided to perform at least one kind act a day．This caught on with his or her friends．The newspapers noticed the trend (趋势)．New York became full of people smiling and carrying each other’s bags．

　　　 The success of trends like this fits in with other social phenomena (现象)．One is the 80/20 rule．This was invented by economists who noticed that in any situation 20 percent of the people did 80 percent of the work．Another is the “bystander problem”．Psychologists noticed that in accidents where a large number of people were around, no one stepped forward to help．Each person supposed that someone else would do something．When there were less people present, more of them decided to offer help．

What all this proves is the power of individuals (个人) and small groups．The “epidemic model” could be a great way of making a business grow or spreading an idea．A small start can make a big difference．

68．The writer’s main purpose is to tell us_________．

A．how diseases spread B．how ideas are formed

C．how popularity takes place D．what diseases and ideas have in common

69．What do the underlined words “underground bestsellers” (in Paragraph 3) refer to in this text?

A．Books which are good but few people know about．

B．Books which become popular without putting advertisements

C．Booksellers who sell books without putting advertisements

D．Booksellers who are good at selling books．

70．The 80/20 rule shows the fact that _________．

A．the majority of people are powerless B．there is not enough work for people

C．a small group may be a great power D．there exists a problem of overpopulation

71．According to the passage, we know _________．

A．The “epidemic model” doesn’t exist nowadays．

B．The “epidemic model” plays an important role in making a business grow or spreading an idea．

C．The “epidemic model” came into being in the early 1990s．

D．The “epidemic model” is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell．

March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.
SongKran--Thailand
Dates: 13^th-15th, April
In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran, when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!
Naghol--Vanuatu
Dates: Every Saturday from April to May
Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the peopls’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines attached(附于)to their ankles(脚踝）. The divers’ heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump---something very dangerous if the vines are not measured（测量）properly.
Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan
Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.
The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣） fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.
Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka
Dates: 13^th or 14^th, April
Just like in many other countries in South an South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.
【小题1】. What does the underlined word “ soaked” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.
SongKran--Thailand
Dates: 13^th-15th, April
In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran, when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!
Naghol--Vanuatu
Dates: Every Saturday from April to May
Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the peopls’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines attached(附于)to their ankles(脚踝）. The divers’ heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump---something very dangerous if the vines are not measured（测量）properly.
Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan
Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.
The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣） fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.
Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka
Dates: 13^th or 14^th, April
Just like in many other countries in South an South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration

1. 1.

   What does the underlined word “ soaked” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

   1. A.
      tired
   2. B.
      wet
   3. C.
      crazy
   4. D.
      interested
2. 2.

   The writer thinks that the “land diving ceremony” can be dangerous for the divers because ___________

   1. A.
      the divers may fall onto the ground if the thin vines break
   2. B.
      the divers may bump into （撞在…上）the wooden tower on the way down
   3. C.
      the divers’ ankles may get injured if the vines are tied too tightly
   4. D.
      the divers may injure（伤害）their heads if the vines aren’t measured properly
3. 3.

   We can learn from the passage that__________________

   1. A.
      the Cherry Blossom Celebration usually lasts a long time in Japan
   2. B.
      the Cherry Blossom Celebration is the most important festival in Japan
   3. C.
      the time for the Cherry Blossom Celebration in Japan can be different yearly
   4. D.
      people usually stay at home for celebration during the cherry blossom season

March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.

SongKran--Thailand

Dates: 13th-15th, April

In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran，when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!

Naghol--Vanuatu

Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land di ving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines(藤条) attached(附于)to their ankles(脚踝）. The divers’ heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump---something very dangerous if the vines are not measured（测量）properly.

Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan

Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣） fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka

Dates: 13th or 14th, April

Just like in many other countries in South an South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.

1.What does the underlined word “soaked” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. tired       B. wet      C. crazy       D. interested

2.The writer thinks that the “land diving ceremony” can be dangerous for the divers because ___________.

A. the divers may fall onto the ground if the thin vines break

B. the divers may bump into （撞在…上）the wooden tower on the way down

C. the divers’ ankles may get injured if the vines are tied too tightly

D. the divers may injure their heads if the vines aren’t measured properly

3.. We can learn from the passage that__________________.

A. the Cherry Blossom Celebration usually lasts a  long time in Japan

B. the Cherry Blossom Celebration is the most important festival in Japan

C. the time for the Cherry Blossom Celebration in Japan can be different yearly

D. people usually stay at home for celebration during the cherry blossom season