How the iron of tomorrow (the first Self Clean Iron)can change your lifestyle today?

General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.How? With a push of a magic blue button.

The magic blue button.The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits  that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.

Less chance of brown spotsSure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.Steams much longerCommon sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.What does it mean to youToday you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids. You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better housemaker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.

Lifestlye.We’re with yours. GENERAL ELECTRIC

9.This passage is ______.

A.an introduction to General Electric     B.an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron

C.an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron  D.a description of the change of lifestyle

10.This iron can clean itself by ______.

A.empting itself                       B.washing out mineral deposits 

C.blocking up mineral deposits          D.giving off more steam

11.According to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?

A.It is made by General Electric.            

B.The iron will not produce mineral deposits.

C.There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.

D.Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.

12.Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because ______.

A.you can run your house better         B.you don’t have to run after the kids

C.you can use it while you are working    D.we want you to be a better housemaker

Most people, when they travel to space, would like to stay in orbit for a few days of more. And this stands to reason, if you’re paying $20,000 for your trip to orbit! Strain order for tourism to reach its full potential there’s going to be a need for orbital accommodation---or space hotels. What would a space hotel actually be like to visit? Hotels in orbit will offer the services you expect from a hotel------private rooms, meals, bars. But they’ll also offer two unique experiences: impressive views----of Earth and space---and the endless entertainment of living in zero gravity---including sports and other activities that make use of this.

The hotels themselves will vary greatly----from being quite simple in the early days to huge luxury structure at a later date. It’s actually surprising that as later as 1997, very few designs for space hotels were published. This is mainly because those who might be expected to design them haven’t expected launch costs to come down far enough to make them possible.

    Lots of people who’ve been to space have described vividly what it’s like to live in zero gravity. There are obviously all sort of possibilities for dancing, gymnastics, and zero-G sports. Luckily, you don’t need to sleep much living in zero gravity, so you’ll have plenty of time for relaxing by hanging out in a bar with a window looking down at the turning Earth below.

    Of course all good things have come to an end. Unfortunately, And so after a few days you’ll find yourself heading back enough you’ll be much more expert at exercising in zero gravity than you were when you arrived. You’ll be thinking how soon you can save up enough to get back up again---or maybe you should change jobs to get to work in an orbiting hotel.

When traveling in space, most people would like to stay in orbit for a few days because _______.

A. It is expensive to travel in space 

B. they would find the possible life in other star systems

C. they could enjoy the luxury of space hotels

D. they want to realise the full potential of tourism

Which of the following is a unique experience that space hotels will offer?

A. The gravitational pull                   B. The special views.

C. The relaxation in a bar                  D. The space walk.

Which of the following is not discussed in the passage?

A. When was the space traveling made possible?

B. What are the unique experiences that space hotels will offer?

C. Why were there not many published designs for space hotels?

D. How can the travelers enjoy themselves in space hotels?

This passage is mainly about ________.

A. traveling in space                     B. the ways of living in space hotels

C. zero gravity and space hotels            D. the description of space hotels

Pulling heavy suitcases all day in the summer is hard work, especially when you’re a thin 14-year-old. That was me in 1940―the youngest and smallest baggage boy at New York City’s Pennsyl­vania Railway Station.

After just a few days on the job, I began noticing that the other fellows were overcharging pas­sengers. I’d like to join them, thinking, “Everyone else is doing it.”

When I got home that night, I told my dad what I wanted to do. “You give an honest day’s work,” he said, looking at me straight in the eye. “They’re paying you. If they want to do that, you let them do that.”

I followed my dad's advice for the rest of that summer and have lived by his words ever since.

Of all the jobs I've had, it was my experience at Pennsylvania Railway Station that has stuck with me. Now I teach my players to have respect for other people and their possessions. Being a member of a team is a totally shared experience. If one person steals, it destroys trust and hurts everyone. I can put up with many things, but not with people who steal. If one of my players were caught stealing, he'd be gone.

Whether you’re on a sports team, in an office or a member of a family, if you can’t trust one another, there’s going to be trouble.

68. What can be inferred about the baggage boys?

A. They could earn much, but they had to work hard.

B. Many of them earned money in a dishonest way.

C. They were all from poor families.

D. They were all thin, young boys.

69. What does the father's advice imply?

A. It is wrong to give more pay to the passengers.

B. Don’t believe them if they are paying you more.

C. Don’t follow others to overcharge the passengers.

D. It is difficult to work hard and live as an honest boy.

70. The writer can't put up with stealing because he thinks that ______.

A. it is a totally shared experience

B. it is considered as the most dangerous

C. it does great harm to human relationship

D. it may lead to the loss of his sports team

71. It can be concluded from the text that ______.

A. his father's advice helped him to decide which job to take up

B. working in the sports team was his most important experience

C. he learnt much from his shared experience with his team members

D. his experience as a baggage boy had a great influence on his later life

There is a joke among flu researchers: “If you've seen one flu season, you've seen one flu season.” The joke is about the unpredictable nature of the flu virus. Every year it looks different, and every strain (类型) follows its own pattern — it's the reason why new strains like H1N1 are extremely difficult to predict.

Dr. Michael Osterholm is a former adviser to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “I know less about influenza today than I did 10 years ago,” he says in a joking way. “Every stone we've turned over, we get more questions.”

The flu rectums every season and the world experiences terrible pandemics (全国或全世界范围流行的疾病), but researchers still do not understand why some strains infect people and others do not; they are not entirely sure about how the flu is transmitted; nor do they understand why some patients become seriously ill while others develop mild symptoms (症状). As a result, when a new strain shows up — like H1N1 — they often have little information to fall back on, and the lessons of previous pandemics are only somewhat helpful. While researchers are still putting together a complete picture of H1N1, for example, its most striking difference with the seasonal flu is that the elder1y are not the most vulnerable (易受攻击的) population.

Influenza's unpredictable nature makes it a moving target for researchers, says researcher Allison Aiello at the University of Michigan. “Even if we had complete seasonal flu data from the past, it wouldn't be much helpful for a new strain of influenza,” she explains.

Whi1e researchers are frustrated by the holes in their knowledge, they say, however, that the pub1ic--health community is generally doing a very good job responding to H1N1 with seasonal flu data that do exist. Studying influenza, says Osterholm, is “like looking through the windows of a house you can't get into because the door is locked.” Gathering the data researchers do have is like “looking through the windows to get a pretty good picture of what the inside looks like.”

One thing researchers do know for sure: the best way for people to protect against H1N1 is to get the vaccine once it becomes available to them.

What do we learn about H1N1 from the passage?

A. In fact it is not a kind of influenza virus.

B. It is quite possible to predict it in theory.

C. Old people are more likely to contract it than kids.

D. Receiving vaccines will be effective to protect against it.

The underlined phrase “fall back on” in Para. 3 probably means      .

A. rely on       B. pass on       C. col1ect      D. exchange

What do we know about previous seasonal flu data?

A. It is useless to study them.      

B. It is still necessary to study them.

C. They are misleading most of the time.

D. They are much more helpful than expected.

Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?

A. Outbreaks of the flu  B. Symptoms of the flu

C. Mysteries of the flu   D. Risks of the flu

　Having one of those days or weeks — when everything seems to annoy you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster — often within a day or two.

　　Walk it off

　　Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster. A person who’s in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.

　　Tune it out

　　Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we’ve had.

　　Give yourself a pep talk

　　Stop and listen to what’s on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic (悲观的) messages you’ve been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers. ("I still don’t have a job. "vs" I have two interviews next week.")

　　Reduce your stress

　　Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing (想象), all of which sound complicated but aren’t. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to against distress is to make a to-do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options(选择权) By taking control over certain areas, you realize you’re not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.

　　Avoid things that won’t improve your mood

　　TV may not help much: You need to increase your energy level and stimulate your mind something — that the TV show "Neighbors" won’t do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect in people who have a desire for them.

　　We learn from the text that it might help rid us of a bad mood ________.

　　A. to do nothing about it

　　B. to take a long walk on the beach

　　C. to do some exercises with light music

　　D. to talk it to neighbours

　 Why is it suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?

　　A. It is not complicated to do so.

　　B. It is an area to be easily controlled.

　　C. It helps beat a bad mood.

　　D. It brings us a new technique.

　　 TV may not improve your mood because ________.

　　A. it sometimes shows what happens around you

　　B. it keeps you stay unmoved

　　C. it reminds you of eating and drinking

　　D. it produces a calming effect

　　This text most probably appears in ________.

　　A. a book on physical exercises            B. a doctor’s handbook

C. a notice                                          D. a magazine