Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they're always coming in for criticism (批评). Their
critics (批评家) seem to hate them because they think this entirely unproductive industry should absorb
millions of pounds each year. Why don't they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods?
     The poor consumer (消费者)! He'd have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn't create mass markets
for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get
the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function
is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods comes largely from the
advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones
we already know about.
      Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim (说法) may be seriously doubted.
It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a
railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or
reading railway bylaws while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news
in your daily paper?
     We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers,
commercial radio and television companies could not exist without this source of revenue (税收). The fact
that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money
spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!

1. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The Advertising industry is an entirely unproductive industry.
B. Advertisements keep the consumers fully informed of the goods.
C. Advertisers perform a useful service to the public.
D. Advertisements make the goods more expensive.

2. The attitude of the author toward advertisers is ______.

A. appreciative.
B. optimistic.
C. negative.
D. dissatisfactory

3. Why do the critics criticize (批评) advertisers?

A. Because critics think advertisers make a lot of profit.
B. Because advertisement is a"waste of money".
C. Because customers are encouraged to buy more than necessary.
D. Because advertisements often misunderstand consumers.

4. Which of the following is Not True?

A. Advertisements can beautify the surroundings.
B. We can buy what we want thanks to advertisements.
C. Good quality products don't need to be advertised.
D. In terms of money, we benefit a lot from the advertisements.

     American magician David Blaine left the glass box in which he had lived for 44 days without food on
October 19, 2003. Hundreds of people came to watch the end of his starvation experiment, which has
become one of London's main tourist attractions.
     Looking thinner and darker, 30 year-old Blaine was taken out of his box over the River Thames and
immediately went to hospital. He was then slowly reintroduced to food, a process doctors say could be
life threatening. He had been drinking only water since September 5.
     A native of Brooklyn, New York, Blaine first became known as a street magician in the early 1990s.
He soon found himself doing magic tricks in bars for the likes of American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and
his super model friends.
     Over the last decade Blaine has become famous with a combination of breathtaking magic and clever
tricks aimed at getting a lot of attentionIn 1999, he was buried in a coffin (棺材) for one week and, in 2000,
he spent 62 hours in a giant block of ice. Last year he stood on top of a 25-meter pillar (柱子) in the center
of New York for 35 hours before jumping into a pile of boxes.
     "I think a lot of people are unable to accept that they're able to do what they can do," he said. "They
don't realize we can survive. The human being is an amazing creation."
     But he seems to have suffered from spending so long in the glass box. He said that at times he was
unable to see, had serious back pains and lost his sense of taste.

1. It is ____ for David Blaine to eat food after such a long starvation.

A. pleasant
B. delicious
C. dangerous
D. important

2. Having spent such a long time in the glass box, he suffered the following EXCEPT that _____.

A. he had become blind
B. he had serious back pains
C. he lost his sense of taste
D. he was in weak health

3. Which of the following can best describe David Blaine?

A. Serious
B. Adventurous
C. Smart
D. Crazy

4. Which of the following is NOT true of David Blaine?

A. Blaine immediately went to hospital after he was taken out of his box.
B. Blaine was born and brought up in England.
C. In Blaine's opinion, people can work a wonder.
D. Blaine didn't have any food for 44 days.

     After Jon Corzine suffered serious injuries in a car accident on April 12, many of the reports focused on his
failure to wear a seat belt. It's reported that seatbelt use has gone up by 10 percent since 2000, hitting a record
81 percent nationwide in 2006. And the agency reports that safety belts saved about 15,434 lives in 2004. But
for some groups, particularly teens and young adults, usage still lags. Sixty-two percent of the 5,135 young
people ages 16 to 20 killed when riding in passenger vehicles (交通工具) in 2004 were not wearing safety belts.
So if you're the parent of a teen, remind them to fasten up every time they get into a car. Yes, even it's just for
a short ride and even if they're in the back seat. And for kids under 13, be sure to follow these safety guidelines
(准则).
     ● Children from birth until age 1 or under 20 pounds should ride in the back seat in a rear-facing (向后)
child safety seat.
     ● Children over 1 year old and weighing more than 20 pounds can ride in a forward-facing child safety seat
in the back seat.
     ● All children who have outgrown child safety seats should be properly put in booster seats (幼儿加高座位)
until they are at least 8 years old or 4 feet, 9 inches tall.
     ● Once children outgrow their booster seats, they can use an adult seat belt in the back seat as long as it fits
properly.
     ● New rules require manufacturers(制造商 )to start using"smart" air bags for all 2007 cars. The new air
bags are constructed so that they don't injure smaller passengers in the front seat.

1. In 2000 about ______ percent people use seat belts nationwide.

A. 10
B. 71
C. 81
D. 91

2. The underlined word "lags" in Paragraph 1 means ___.

A. develops slowly
B. moves very quickly
C. holds still
D. slows down

3. According to the safety guidelines, we can learn that ______.

A. children can never use an adult seat belt in the back seat
B. when the children are in the back seat of the car, they needn't wear a seat belt
C. a 2-year-old child can ride in a forward-facing child safety seat in the back seat
D. the smaller passengers in the cars with new air bags won't have danger

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Jon Corzine was putting the seat belt on when the accident happened.
B. You don't have to wear a seat belt when you are just going for a short ride.
C. 62% of the young people were killed when riding in passenger vehicles in 2004.
D. Teens and young adults should always remember to wear seat belts.

     Thirty years ago not many people would have dreamed of doing the repairs and decorations in
their own homes. In those days labor was fairly cheap and most people would have thought it
worthwhile to employ a professional painter and decorator, unless of course they were either very
hand up or were in the trade themselves. Today, however, it is quite a different story. Men and
women in all walks of life turn their hands to all sorts of jobs round the house including painting,
papering, putting up shelves and wall units, and tiling walls and floors. Some people with no
professional training of any kind have even successfully built their own houses. These jobs have
been made easier today by the introduction of prepared materials, which require the minimum amount
of skill to use. In every high street throughout Britain nowadays there is at least one
"Do-it-Yourself" shop containing a vast range of timber, tiles, paints, wallpapers and floor
coverings besides tools of every description including power drills and many accessories.
"Do-it-Yourself" is a booming business; all these shops do a roaring trade and look like continuing
to do so. Probably the main reason for the craze is the high cost of present-day labor and the shortage
of building firms willing to do small jobs.

1. Why did people employ professional workers to decorate homes thirty years ago? 　

A. Because they could not do it themselves. 　
B. Because professional workers were very cheap. 　
C. Because they had no time. 　
D. Because professional workers could do much better.

2. Thirty years later what changes took place? 　

A. People could do everything themselves. 　
B. Few people chose to be a professional worker. 　
C. People with no professional training successfully built their own houses. 　
D. New expensive materials required no skills at all.

3. What caused the DIY craze? 　

A. Young people liked to follow the fashion. 　
B. "Do-it-Yourself" is a booming business. 　
C. There were fewer building companies. 　
D. High cost of professional workers.

4. What is the speaker telling us? 　

A. How DIY comes into being. 　
B. Changes in building. 　
C. Changes in housing. 　
D. Great changes in these thirty years.

                                                                  What Is a Boy?
      Between the innocence of babyhood and the seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called
a "boy". Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every
second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males send them
off to bed at night.
     Boys are found everywhere-on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or
jumping to. Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects
them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face, BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its
hair, and the HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket.
     When you are busy, a boy is a trouble-maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression,
his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature destroying the world and himself with it.
     A boy is a mixture-he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic
bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a
bull, the violence of a firecracker (鞭炮), but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on
each hand.
     He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large
animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday schools, company,
schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime. Nobody
else is so early to rise, or so late to supper.
     Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty
knife, a half eaten apple, a three-foot rope, six cents and some unknown things.
     A boy is a magical creature-he is your headache but when you come home at night with only destroyed
pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, "Hi, Dad!"

1. The whole passage is in a tone (语气) of ______.

A. humor and love
B. anger and disappointment
C. hope and expectation
D. confidence and imagination

2. What's the meaning of the underlined sentence?

A. He has altogether five fingers.
B. He is slow, foolish and clumsy.
C. He becomes clever and smart.
D. He cuts his hand with a knife.

3. According to the writer, boys appreciate everything in the following except ______.

A. ice cream
B. comic books
C. Saturday mornings
D. Sunday schools

4. What does the writer feel about boys?

A. He feels curious about their noise.
B. He is tired of these creatures.
C. He is amazed by their naughtiness.
D. He feels unsafe staying with them.

     Reading is not the only way to gain knowledge of the work in the past.There is another large reservoir
(知识库) which may be called experience, and the college students will find that every craftsman (工匠)
has something he can teach and will generally teach gladly to any college student who does not look down
upon them.The information from them differs from that in textbooks and papers chiefly in that its theoretical
(理论的) part-the explanations of why things happen-is frequently quite fantastic (神奇的). But the
demonstration (示范) and report of what happens,and how it happens are correct even if the reports are in
completely unscientific terms.Presently the college students will learn, in this case also, what to accept and
what to reject. One important thing for a college student to remember is that if Aristotle could talk to the
fisherman, so can he. 　　
     Another source of knowledge is the vast store of traditional practices handed down from father to son,
or mother to daughter, of old country customs,of folklore (风俗). All this is very difficult for a college
student to examine, for much knowledge and personal experience is needed here to separate good plants
from wild grass.The college students should learn to realize and remember how much of real value science
has found in this wide, confused wilderness and how often scientific discoveries of what had existed in this
area long age.

1. In the last paragraph the phrase "this wide, confused wilderness" refers to _____.

A. personal experience　
B. wild weeds among good plants
C. the information from the parents　
D. the vast store of traditional practices

2. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?

A. The college students have trouble separating good plants from wild grass
B. Craftsman's experience is usually unscientific
C. The contemptuous (傲慢的) college students will receive nothing from craftsmen
D. Traditional practices are as important as experience for the college students

3. The author advises the college students to ______.

A. be contemptuous to the craftsman
B. be patient in helping the craftsman with scientific terms
C. learn the craftsman's experience by judging it carefully
D. gain the craftsman's experience without rejection

4. The main idea of this passage is about ______.

A. what to learn from the parents
B. how to gain knowledge
C. why to learn from craftsman
D. how to deal with experience

     Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way
many North Americans interact (互动) these days. The term is "networked individualism". This concept is
not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings. How can we be individuals (个体)
and be networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.
     Here is what Professor Wellman means. Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail, our social networks
included live interactions with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it
was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time. A recent research study by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project showed that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced
this person-to-person interaction. However, a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that's a good
thing. Why?
      In the past, many people were worried that the Internet isolated (孤立) us and caused us to spend too
much time in the imaginary world of the computer. But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true. The
Internet connects us with more real people than expected－helpful people who can give advice on careers,
medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told Pew that
the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.
     Thanks to the computer. We are able to be alone and together with other people－at the same time!

1. The underlined phrase "networked individualism" probably means that by using computers people  _____.

A. stick to their own ways no matter what other people say
B. have the rights and freedom to do things of their own interest
C. do things in their own ways and express opinions different from other people
D. are able to keep to themselves but at the same time reach out to other people

2. According to the Pew study, what do many people rely on to make major life decisions?

A. Networks.
B. Friends.
C. Phones.
D. Parents.

3. It can be inferred from the Pew study that _____.

A. people have been separated from each other by using computers
B. the Internet makes people waste a lot of time and feel very lonely
C. the Internet has become a tool for a new kind of social communication
D. a lot of people regard the person-to-person communication as a good thing

4. Which would be the best title for this passage?

A. We're Alone on the Internet.
B. We're Communicating on the Internet.
C. We're Alone Together on the Internet.
D. We're in the Imaginary World of the Internet.

                                                                    Count Me Out 
     Call me old-fashioned. Call me old. Call me what you want, but I refuse to become part of this new
Internet world.
     I do not possess a computer at home or at the office. Actually, I stopped going to an office 35 years ago,
when all communications were done with a pen, a typewriter, or, if the matter was of world-shaking
importance, over the telephone. Likewise, if you like something advertised in a newspaper or magazine, you
visited the shop selling it at the given address, or you phoned the number shown. Then you spoke to the fellow
and asked for further details.
     Tell me what you think of the following ad that appeared the other day in the newspaper. It was for a cure
for cancer and this is what it said: "Awareness is the key. Visit spfulford. com at the awareness site." There
was no address or telephone number for the site. So what do unfortunate people without a computer do if they
are seeking a cure for their illness?
     There are, I am told, certain advantages in having access to the Internet. You can, for example, send love
messages across the world or even get married to someone that you meet online. This bit doesn't interest me;
I have been happily married for 60 years. There are, of course, other activities for Internet users besides finding
love. They can pay bills, order groceries, or discuss with their doctors.
     And this is by no means all. More amazing things are yet to come in the near future. I read a newspaper
report recently that quoted Stephen Hawking, an important British scientist. "The complexity of a computer as
it exists today is probably less than the brain of an earthworm," he said. "But, as technology advances,
computers will become more complex, and a time may come when the Internet may develop 'consciousness.'
In other words, the Internet will be able to think, have feelings, and may well be able to act on its own."
     If Professor Hawking is right, I may change my attitude to computers. As I grow older each day, I would
like one of those that not only thinks for me but also accepts responsibilities for all my mistakes.

1. What's the meaning of the title "Count Me Out"?

A. Get me out of the Internet world.
B. Computers are trying to take control of life.
C. Modern technology pushes old people away.
D. Do not expect me to be a supporter of the Internet.

2. According to Paragraph 2, the author thinks computers are _____.

A. unnecessary
B. convenient
C. expensive
D. advanced

3. What might the author like about the future computer?

A. Taking blames.
B. Curing illnesses.
C. Delivering messages.
D. Responding to emotions.

     Our mood may change suddenly like a storm with lightning and thunderbolts that comes without notice.
     The good news is that bad moods can leave as suddenly as they have come. Exceptions to this rule of
course are cases where there are other problems such as depression or any other mental destruction.
     How to improve your mood? 
      1   When you understand that you are not feeling happy but you are in depression or disappointment, then
you can use these simple techniques that will be able to change the negative situation and improve your mood. 
      2  . Exercises, gymnastics and sports help a lot to achieve a better emotional balance.
     If you feel that you are in a bad mood, take a hot bath or sauna.   3  .    
     Watch a movie, read a book or talk to a friend. 
      4  . When you leave work or home, go to places that make you happy and calm. This helps to improve
your mood.
     Make relations with happy, optimistic and pleasant people.   5  . Positive and optimistic feelings that create
positive thinking for the future will help you overcome your bad feelings and defeat your bad mood.
     When the problem of bad moods, frustration and negative emotions beyond normal situations becomes
chronic (长期的), it is important to turn to a specialist for help.

A. The relaxation of the muscles will help.
B. Change your environment.
C. Use physical activity to fight against feelings of depression.
D. This can help you improve your mood significantly.
E. First you have to learn to recognize when you are in a bad mood.
F. There are ways to improve your mood.
G. Changes in feelings and mood can happen for various reasons.

     The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party. The time printed on the invitation was
7:30 pm. Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song.
     By 9:45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared. Jane and David were restless. Other
guests began whispering that they, too, were starving. But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was
about to appear. By 11:00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads. Jane and
David left hungry and angry.
     Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer. Everyone reads
and understands the invitations differently. Most of us would agree that 6:30-8:30 pm means drinks only, go
out to dinner afterwards; 8:00 pm or 8:30 pm means possible dinner, but 9:30 pm and any time thereafter means no food, eat beforehand, roll up late.
     But this is not always the case. If asked to a students' party at 6:30 pm, it is unaccepted for guests to appear on time. Being the first to arrive-looking eager-is social death. When my mother is asked to a party at 6:30, she
likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven. My age group (late thirties) falls somewhere between
the two, but because we still think we're young, we're probably closer to student-time than grown-up time.
     The accepted custom at present is confusing, sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home
hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element of surprise.

1. The underlined words "off their heads" probably mean ______.

A. tired
B. crazy
C. happy
D. encouraging

2. Jane and David's story is used to show that ______.

A. party invitations can be confusing
B. party-goers usually get hungry at parties
C. people should ask for food at parties
D. birthday parties for middle-aged people are dull

3. For some young people, arriving on time for a students' party will probably be considered ______.

A. very difficult
B. particularly thoughtful
C. friendly and polite
D. socially unacceptable

4. What is the general idea of the text?

A. It's safe to arrive late just when food is served.
B. It's wise to eat something before going to a party.
C. It's important to follow social rules of party-going.
D. There's no need to read invitations carefully.