Lots of people have hobbies. Some people collect old coins or foreign stamps; some do needlework; others spend most of their spare time on a particular sport.
A lot of people enjoy reading. But reading tastes differ widely. Some people only read newspapers or comics, some like reading novels, while others prefer books on astronomy, wildlife, or technological discoveries.
If I happen to be interested in horses or precious stones, I cannot expect everyone else to share my enthusiasm. If I watch all the sports programs on TV with great pleasure, I must put up with the fact that other people find sports boring.
Is there nothing that interests us all? Is there nothing that concerns everyone—no matter who they are or where they live in the world? Yes, dear Sophie, there are questions that certainly should interest everyone. They are precisely the questions this course is about.
What is the most important thing in life? If we ask someone living on the edge of starvation, the answer is food. If we ask someone dying of cold, the answer is warmth. If we put the same question to someone who feels lonely and isolated, the answer will probably be the company of other people.
But when these basic needs have been satisfied—will there still be something that everybody needs? Philosophers think so. They believe that man cannot live by bread alone. Of course everyone needs food. And everyone needs love and care. But there is something else—apart from that—which everyone needs, and that is to figure out who we are and why we are here.
Being interested in why we are here is not a “casual” interest like collecting stamps. People who ask such questions are taking part in a debate that has gone on as long as man has lived on this planet. How the universe, the earth, and life came into being is a bigger and more important question than who won the most gold medals in the last Olympics.
【小题1】 This text is most probably taken from __________. 

Review by Rose at midwestbookreview.com
Written by Johannah Biuedorm, My Mommy ,My Teacher is an enjoyable, full-color, children’s picture book about a little girl who learns from her family how to work on a farm..
Review by Dena wood at timestales.com
My Mommy ,My Teacher is a delighrful story of a little girl who shares the events(事情) of her daily life as she works, learns and plays with her family. the beautiful country life of this home-schooling family offers a feeling of peace, safety and meaning to both children and grown-ups. Love, respect, responsibility(责任) and joy are very easy to find as we follow this littile girl through her day.
Review by Britta McColl at morningstarlearning.com
I just read it to my daughters last night, and we all enjoyed it so much. My 13-year-old son who was listening said, “We should have home-school like that !”There are several things that appealed to him:
The farm (chickens and strawberries),the parrot, the love and joy .This is really a wonderful book for both parents and children.
Review by Rebekan Wilson at hopechestlegacy.com
If you have ever had a hard home—schooling day, and if you are ever unhappy and ready to cry ,take out this simple little book and allow the story and picture to wash your heart clean, think again why you are doing what you do, and open your heart to your children once more. Surely you will feel much better.
【小题1】According to Rose ,all of the following about My Mommy ,My Teacher is true EXCEPT that         

A．it is an enjoyable book	B．it is a full—color book
C．it is mainly about a mother	D．it’s a story that happens on a farm

A．Johannah Blurdorn spent her chidhood in a big city

B．Britta McColl has two daughters and one son

C．the little girl in the book lives a very happy life

D．Rebekah Wilson has never cried since she read the book

The Writers' Strike：Making the Best of the Worst

  By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike-the decision of television writers to stop working．With few new TV shows，I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period?

    Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on network TV. With a most perfect cast(全体演员)，the show sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family，a group of selfish staff who manage to still put family first.

For more comedy goodness，I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever broadcast．30 Rock．Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin，two stars with impressive comic timing, the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show (幽默短剧),similar to Saturday Nigth Live, from the funny writers to the self-centered cast all the way up to the boss.

If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps Friday Night lights might be more to your liking , If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of great drama, both soapy and serious, this show is probably for you, If you are a fan of good-looking people, this show is definitely for you .

If those shows were not enough for you, might I recommend a show with a more heart-pounding excitement? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV, Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience far-out adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing.

67．If you are fond of soapy TV shows，you will probably choose to watch      

    A．Fridav Night Lights                     B．30 Rock

    C．the Amazing Race                        D．Saturday Night Live

68．From the DVD shows listed above，we can learn that　　　

    A．two teams won the amazing race

    B．football fans enjoy the Amazing Race

    C．the Bluths care about their family though selfish

    D．30 Rock and Saturday Night Live have nothing in common

69．The author writes the passage to tell us that       

    A．the effects of the TV writers’ strike are great

    B．the strike puts TV shows in the worst situation

    C．watching DVD is a good choice during the strike

    D．we should choose DVD shows according to our tastes

70．The passage is most probably taken from      

    A．a book review     B．a newspaper      C. a film poster     D．a  DVD menu

The Writers’ Strike：Making the Best of the Worst

  By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike―the decision of television writers to stop working．With few new TV shows，I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period.

    Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on net-work TV . With a most perfect cast，the show sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family，a group of selfish staff who manage to still put family first.

For more comedy goodness，I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever aired．30 Rock．Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin，two stars with impressive comic timing, the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show (幽默短剧),similar to Saturday Night Live, from the funny writers to the self-centered cast all the way up to the boss,

If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps more juicy, Friday Night Lights might be more to your liking , If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of great drama, both soapy and serious , this show is probably for you, If you are a fan of good-looking people, this show is definitely for you .

If those shows were not enough for you , might I recommend a show with a more heart-pounding excitement? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV, Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience far-out adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing.

56．If you are fond of soapy TV shows，you will probably choose to watch      

    A．Friday Night Lights         B．30 Rock

    C．the Amazing Race           D． Saturday Night Live

57．From the DVD shows listed above，we can learn that　　　

    A．two teams won the amazing race

    B．football fans enjoy the Amazing Race

    C．the Bluths care about their family though selfish

    D．30 Rock and Saturday Night Live have nothing in common

 58．The author writes the passage to tell us that       

    A．the effects of the TV writers’ strike are great

    B．the strike puts TV shows in the worst situation

    C．watching DVD is a good choice during the strike

    D．we should choose DVD shows according to our tastes

59．The passage is most probably taken from      

    A．a book review     B．a newspaper      C. a film poster     D．a  DVD menu

       Last year was the year of the travel deal, with resorts and

airlines practically begging for bookings, and many travelers

finding bargain airfares and hotel rooms as a result．Now the

economy looks as if it might be on a slight rebound．So now is

the perfect time to review your booking strategy（策略）．

Here are 4 simple steps you can take to help cut your travel costs in 2010．

1．Find the Cheapest Dates to Fly

ITASoftware．com, which provides the technological backbone for many airfare shopping sites, allows users to scan an entire month's fares for the least expensive rate．（Log in as a "guest" and click on "month-long search．"） In January, the 28th and 30th were the cheapest dates to fly nonstop to London from New York （$536） for a week's vacation, according to a recent search．The next best was Saturday, Jan．23, at $640．To book the ticket, users must go to another site．Kayak．com has a flexible-dates option （registration is required）and a calendar that shows the best fares found by other Kayak users in the last 48 hours．Bing Travel, the Microsoft search engine, offers a similar option, found under "plan trips," about halfway down the page．

2．Consider Nearby Airports

A recent Web search showed nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Miami International from $299 round trip on American in early January．But flying into Fort Lauderdale, roughly 30 miles north of Miami, was $219 on Virgin America, an $80 saving．

3．Go Against the Grain

If possible, avoid popular travel dates like holidays and spring break because airlines have begun to charge anywhere from $10 to $30 extra at those times．Farecompare．com offers a handy breakdown of the new fees by date, airline and amount．Early-morning and late-night flights may also be cheaper depending on the route．

4．Make Yourself at Home

For a 6 to 12 percent booking fee, AirBnB/com connects budget travelers with locals who are offering a place to bed down．The Times's Frugal Traveler, Matt Gross, described it as "a cross between CouchSurfing．com and the vacation rentals section of Craigslist．" There were more than 2,000 listings in a recent search for New York including a futon （床垫） in a one-bedroom near Gramercy Park （$65） and a bedroom with private bath and separate entrance in Hell's Kitchen （$150）．

65．According to the first paragraph, ____．

       A．the economy in 2010 is surely getting better

       B．2009 saw a sharp decrease in travel fees

       C．the booking strategies can be put away in 2010

       D．in 2009, airlines begged the travelers to buy more travel guides

66．If you want to book a ticket, you may log on to _____．

       A．ITASoftware．com                B．CouchSurfing．com

       C．AirBnB．com         D．Kayak．com

67．What does "Go Against the Grain" probably mean in the passage?

       A．Going travelling in the off-season．

       B．Going travelling without taking any grain．

       C．Going travelling during holidays and spring break．

       D．Going travelling without meals served on early-morning and late-night flights．

68．The passage is most probably taken from ____．

       A．a book review          B．a magazine 

     C．a website             D．a story book