B

For a song to become popular, people need to bear it.  In order for people　to hear it, the program directors at radio stations have to play it on the air. A song’s popularity is directly related to how often it is played. That is a big responsibility for program directors. How do they decide what gets played and what doesn’t?

In the past, disc jockeys(音乐节目主持人) decided what music was played on the radio. These DJs had an ear for music and an understanding of what their audience wanted to hear. Today, that is all changing. Most major radio stations are owned by a few large national businesses. The decision of what gets played on the radio is made by executives(主管) who have little or no interest in music. They do, however, know how to run a business, and they know what sells. So, the music industry designs and creates pop entertainers, and executives in the radio industry make sure that their music is played on the radio. This explains why you do not often hear anything new and fresh on the radio. The executives do not want to give air time to music that has not been tested on the market. It is too risky. They prefer to go with music that they already know will sell. They know it will sell because it sold last week and last month and last year. They just have to change it a little.

One of the most criticized(批评) practices in the music industry is the practice of “payola”. This is when record companies pay radio stations to play the music of a given artist. This practice makes many people lose trust in the music industry and is therefore against the law. A radio station can accept money in exchange for air time of a song, but they have to make it clear that the song is being played because its air time was paid for. They cannot present the song as if it were part of the normal play schedule(时刻表).

Payola affects both artists and audiences. The artists who work with small record companies that cannot pay a lot of money to radio stations have a much harder time getting exposure. It creates an unfair playing field. Music lovers suffer because they are not able to hear all the music that is available.

60. According to the passage, most major radio stations belong to       .

A. national businesses                      B. program directors   

C. pop entertainers                         D. record companies

61. “Payola” is the practice of        .

A. artists paying radio stations to play their songs

B. record companies buying air time for certain music

C. radio station paying record company for new songs

D. program directors deciding what music gets played

62. Who can make the largest profits from payola?

A. Disc Jockeys.                               B. The given artists.

C.  Business executives.                        D. Program directors.

63. It can be concluded from the passage that the author        .

A. has a positive attitude towards the practice of “payola”

B. is dissatisfied with the present situation in music industry

C. is calling for a change in the normal play schedule

D. thinks that the radio stations are doing the right thing

B

For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.   

45．Which is the main idea of this passage?

       A．Opera is famous for its long history.          

       B．Opera is only performed for rich people.

       C．Young people are not interested in opera.     

       D．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

46．The underlined phrase “loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes” (paragraph 2) means ______.

       A．breaking up the old rules B．changing the formal suits

       C．making the audience at ease    D．advertising themselves

47．The San Francisco Opera Company employs student actors in order to ______.

       A．celebrate its 75th anniversary  B．reduce the cost

       C．attract young people D．make Cinderella popular

48．From the passage we can infer that ______.

       A．the tickets for operas are very expensive      

       B．operas are performed in a difficult language

       C．operas are not so popular an art form today  

       D．students enjoy performing operas very much

C

As A/H1N1 continues to spread, experts from the Centers for Disease Control to the World Health Organization to neighborhood doctors are calling on the people to practice smart flu prevention techniques. Here are some tips to keep body improved and immune（免疫）system ready to fight infection.

Wash Your Hands

And wash them often, in hot soapy water, and for the amount of time it takes you to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.

Get Enough Sleep

This means slightly different things to different people, but try to get 8 hours of good rest each night to keep your immune system in top flu-fighting shape.

Keep Hydrated

Drink enough water each day to clear poisonous matter from your system and keep up good moisture（湿度）production in your body.

Eat Immune-Improving Foods

Keeping you body strong and ready to fight infection is important in flu prevention. Fatty foods can slow your metabolism（新陈代谢）, make you feel inactive, and weaken your immune system. So stick with whole grains, colorful vegetables, and vitamin-rich fruits.

Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol is likely to decrease your resistance to infections and further damages the immune system. So avoid alcoholic drinks to keep your immune system strong.                         

Proper exercise-for example walking for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week-supports the immune system by increasing circulation, oxygenating the body, removing poisonous material through sweat, and reducing tension and stress. So get moving!

Avoid Contact with Sick People

If you’re coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth(and then wash your hands),and if you have to be around someone who is sick, try to stay a few feet away from them and avoid physical contact.

Know When to Get Help

A/H1N1 can look like regular flu, so don’t feel like you necessarily are infected if you’re exhibiting flu-like symptoms（症状）. But do go to your doctor if you live in an area where there are recorded cases, or if your symptoms are very serious.

44．To fight A/H1N1 infection, it’s helpful for us to_______ .

       A．sing “Happy Birthday” while washing hands

       B．eat more fatty foods and colorful fruits

       C．keep away from alcoholic drinks

       D．refuse communication with patients

45．A suitable title for paragraph 7 might be _______.

       A．Support the Immune System     B．Keep Physically Active

       C．Get Enough Sweat             D．Walk to Reduce Stress

46．The passage seems to suggest that we should_______.

       A．get enough sleep after eating fatty foods

       B．wash hands with soap after a cough or sneeze

       C．drink more water after drinking alcohol

       D．see a doctor immediately if you have flu-like symptoms

47．What can help clear poisonous matter from the body?

       A．Washing your hands.       B．Eating fatty foods.

       C．Getting enough sleep.      D．Drinking enough water.

                                          B

      For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do？

      Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

      In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends.

Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is— politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority — someone who actually knows something —and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

55. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

     A. Both can continue for generations.

     B. Both are about where to draw the line.

     C. Neither has any clear winner.

     D. Neither can be put to an end.

56. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

     A. The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

     B. The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.

     C. The teens accuse their parents of misleading them.

     D. The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

57. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ____

     A. give orders to the other

     B. know more than the other

     C. gain respect from the other

     D. get the other to behave properly

58. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

     A. Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.

     B. Examples of the parent-teen war.

     C. Solutions for the parent-teen problems.

     D.  Future of the parent-teen relationship.

B

For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.”

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.

I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.

Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on — and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: “IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin.”

Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis (棚架), a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.

That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.

I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes — every time.

I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

59．By saying “Do you see a money tree outside .….,” the mother actually means “      ”

       A．Observation is the best teacher.      B．Seeing is believing.

       C．The outsider sees the most of the game.       D．It is not easy to gain money

60．The best title for the passage would probably be         .

      A．My flower garden          B．Marvin helps to realize my dream

       C．Love in Michigan          D．Money grows on trees

61．The underlined word “no - frills” in the fifth paragraph is similar in meaning to        .

       A．wasteful   B．tight  C．absurd      D．helpful

62．From the last two paragraphs we can infer that the mother is         .

       A．divorced when she was young

B．not caring for her kids any longer

       C．alone but not at all lonely      

D．prouder with her garden than with her kids.