Fix it on your own
     Did you know that a bowl of rice could save your iPod if you drop it in a swimming pool by accident?
Or that the camera on your phone could tell you what's wrong with your TV remote control? The experts
at Geek Squad (geelsquad.co.uk) have made a gadget (小机件) rescue guide. So, let's take a look at some
of their useful advice. 
     ● How to get more juice out of your phone battery (电池)
     If your battery goes dead but you need to get a number or send one last text, try warming it up. That
may give you a tiny bit of power. Take the battery from the phone and rub it between your hands. Or warm
it under your arm for a few minutes. Then try to start the phone-but use it quickly. 
     ● What to do if your gadget gets wet
     First, try drying it out with a vacuum cleaner. If a vacuum cleaner isn't at hand, fill a pot or bowl with
uncooked rice and put your wet gadget inside. The dry, uncooked rice will absorb all the water and, after
a few hours, you should be able to use the gadget: Don't forget to remove the battery and SIM card before
you dry it. 
     ● What to do if your TV remote control stops working
     If replacing the batteries doesn't work, get the camera function up on your phone and point the remote
at the lens (镜头). When you press a button on the remote, if it is working, the glass bobble (小球) at the
front of the remote will light up when you look at it on the screen of your phone. This is because the screen
on a phone or digital camera picks up infrared rays (红外线), even though your eyes don't. If the glass bobble
doesn't light up, the remote is broken. If it does, the receiving device is broken.

1. If your cell phone falls into a sink, you can _____.

A. warm it up under your arm
B. put it into the uncooked rice
C. press it with both of your hands
D. remove the battery after you dry it

2. Why can a phone be used to prove the TV remote control works well?

A. Because it can receive infrared ray.
B. Because it can reflect infrared ray.
C. Because it can improve the TV remote control.
D. Because it can picture the TV remote control.

3. In which section of a newspaper can we possibly read this text?

A. Entertainment.
B. Finance.
C. Culture.
D. Life.

4. The purpose of the passage is to give people _____.

A. professional guides
B. necessary warnings
C. practical tips
D. personal opinions

     How can we all get more laughter into our lives? Here is what the experts suggest: 
     1_____. Nancy Alguire, a teacher in Clifton Park, N.Y., was once painfully shy and had a hard time
laughing. Then she married a circus clown (小丑). "I became interested in the clowns," she recalls "One
day, I put on a costume and paint my face. That afternoon my whole life changed. I leamed to laugh and
enjoy life in a way I had never done before." 2_____ To this day, she still makes it a rule to be with people
who enjoy life and laughing. 
     3_____ It doesn't take you too much time and can be easy. Collect favorite cartoons and jokes. Also,
keep a paper for writing down humor you find in everyday life. "Good ideas come and go fast, you have
to capture them quickly or they are gone," says Virginia Tooper.
     Laugh when you need it most "4_____" says comedian Bill Cosby. "And once you find laughter, no
matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it," he insists.
     Gray Alan, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, claims that laughter is a skill we can
all gain-because it comes naturally. 5_____ Just remember: we are just here for a period, so get a few laughs.

A. You can soften the worst blows through humor.
B. Mix with people who laugh.
C. Practise the art of laughing.
D. Keep a laughter file.
E. He who laughs last laughs best.
F. But it's also something that has to be developed.
G. People's joy can affect those around them

     1_____ Many things can become distractions (分散注意力). Your ability to focus your mind, emotions,
and physical movements will directly influence your success. Staying focused on the task at hand can be
easier said than done. Here are some powerful techniques that can help you improve your ability to focus.
     For physical control, it helps to have a constant exercise schedule. 2_____ Exercising helps you gain
better command of your body, and even goes beyond the body, giving you more flexibility not just physically
but also emotionally and mentally. When you feel more comfortable in your body, you increase your self-
confidence, which helps you feel more relaxed.
     For mental control, meditation (沉思; 冥想) does the task. 3_____ It's easy to get distracted by things in
your background, but in order to perform well you have to maintain a high degree of focus. When you relax
your thoughts it trains your mind to deal effectively with outside distractions so you can stay centered on
what matters most at the moment. 
     4_____ It prevents you from overreaction and also from overacting. When your emotions settle down,
you gain greater awareness of the environment you're in, and feel calm and in control.
     5_____ The good thing is that self-control can be developed. Start exercising frequently, get yourself into
meditation, and start to feel positive changes in your career and your life in general.

A. In short, focus requires self-control.
B. There are many benefits of exercising.
C. Generally speaking, you need to practise a lot.
D. There are still some disadvantages of exercises.
E. Your emotions are well served by meditation as well.
F. Focus is an important part of success and achievement in general.
G. It helps block out all the noise and activities that are going on around you.

     Games originally are entertainment. Contemporary games are very realistic and for this reason they are
a source of great experience for the player and develop the imagination. Games are entertainment and even
more than that. The statistics (统计) of the New York University led by Green claim that the player
preferring active games get improvement of some types of brain activity. In particular, game players deal
with problems of simultaneously (同时地) tracking several moving objects at the average level of 30%
better than people who do not play active computer video games. The "gaming" violent experience may not
be the cause of violent behavior in reality. None of the playing experience will become the priority in making
important decisions concerning problems in real life. A game is an abstraction (虚拟物). A player gets
abstract tasks and acts according to abstract rules.
     Games are also the possibility to be however a person wants to be and to rest from the outside world for
some time. But what if a person gets so much excited with the game scenes that he becomes violent in reality?
Then, it proves that the games cause people to become violent in reality. But a psychologically healthy person
will never confuse these two different worlds. A game is a virtual world with visual images very similar to
human. These images represent by themselves nothing but playing obstacles (障碍). A game may potentially
give the opportunity to "destroy the obstacles" that may not be destroyed according to the rules but it is more
about personal choice whether to do it or not. This leads us to the conclusion that violence is not a
consequence but the cause. People who are originally trended to violence may get into a temper by games and
perform violence in the "real world". But in this case violence in games is a simple justification (理由) of the
violent nature of the player.

1. The passage is _____.

A. a story
B. a descriptive writing
C. an argumentative writing
D. a scientific essay

2. In the first paragraph the author used the statistics to prove that _____.

A. games can provide experience for the players
B. games can help develop players' imagination
C. games can cause violent behavior
D. games are more than entertainment

3. What is the author's attitude towards the "computer games"?

A. "Violent games" can lead to the performance of violence in the real world
B. Violence is not a consequence of the "computer games" but the cause
C. Games are just entertainment and nothing more.
D. The virtual world and the real world are just the same.

4. The best title for this passage is _____.

A. Violent games cause violence
B. Games: good or bad?
C. The cause of violence
D. The consequence of games

Dear Mary,
     You say in one of your emails that you are worried about your little boy Frank, because he always wants
you to buy him toys that he learnt about on television. I don't think children should play with the commercial
(商业的) toys. When you were young I used to give you big cardboard boxes to play with as well as building
blocks (积木), books, paper and colored pencils. I expect you to do the same.
     Adults are also much influenced by the things they see on television. If you think about what you see on
television, you will find the money that people earn from their jobs can't support the lifestyles they have. The
apartments in TV programmes are far too large and have the most up-to-date furniture. This always makes
you sad when you compare what you have with what you see on TV.
     If I were you, I would buy Frank the movies and stories that I think are good and interesting. I would have
a good collection of them and I would borrow books from the library. But I would not allow Frank to watch
television. I tell you: it surely makes for a much more pleasant and easier life.
     I prefer to keep him away from advertising, and let him have more time to read, and select his entertainment
(娱乐) for himself. I hope you will find this idea of not letting your little guy watch TV to avoid the advertising
useful to think about.
                                                                                                                                            Warmly,
                                                                                                                             Canada, Mum Linda

1. In this passage Linda gives Mary advice on _____.

A. whether she should let her child play with cardboard boxes
B. how to educate her child today
C. what she should do to make her child happy
D. how to solve the problem that her child is influenced by TV

2. What did Mary do to have fun when she was young?

A. She played with expensive toys.
B. She planted trees to make building blocks.
C. She drew picture on paper.
D. She played cards.

3. In Linda's opinion,TV programmes would make people _____.

A. feel unhappy about what they have
B. save as much money as they can
C. work harder to earn more money
D. live a better life

4. If Mary were young today, Linda would _____.

A. let her watch TV programmes
B. not allow her to watch any movies
C. borrow books from the library for her
D. let her do what she wants to do

5. From the passage we know Linda is Frank's _____.

A. aunt
B. sister
C. grandma
D. mother

     Most friendships die a natural death: people move, change jobs, or start different stages of life. Other
friendships, however, end unexpectedly. When a friendship is over and you don't understand why, it can
be especially painful. Sometimes a friend ends your relationship without telling you why.
     The loss of friendship might be worth reflecting on. Knowing when a friendship is over and why it ends
may help you build stronger friendships in the future. 
     ● See if you can find a problem. When a friendship is over, examine your relationship. Perhaps you
remember your friend complaining that you're always late. Maybe you seldom return your friends' phone
calls. When afriend ends your relationship, try to find out the reasons why the friendship is over. 
      ● Write a letter to your friend. Express your feeling about the friendship. Do you miss seeing them?
Do you have any regrets (遗憾)? Would you act differently if you were still friends? Make it an honest
communication(交流)． 
      ● Express your feelings of hurt or anger. Write or talk about how you feel in a letter. When a friendship
is over, it's important to communicate exactly how hurt you feel,and why. Write until you have nothing left
to say. When a friend ends your relationship, you do have the right to express yourself. 
      ● Communicate that you are open to picking up the friendship. When afriendship is over and you
want to reconnect (再接合) some day, send Christmas, or birthday cards. Say hi and send greetings through
mutual (共有的) friends. When a friendship is over, don't give up until you're ready. 
      ● Decide to make your present friendsbips better. An adviser once told me that simply talking about
your relationship strengthens your relationship. Talk to your present friends. Are they happy with your
friendship? If a friend ends your relationship, learn something from it.

1. The underlined phrase "reflecting on" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _____.

A. thinking about
B. giving up
C. keeping on
D. getting angry

2. In which situation do you probably feel painful most when afriendship ends?

A. Your friend doesn't work with you any longer.
B. Your friend goes to another place to live.
C. Your friend leaves for further study in another country.
D. Your friend suddenly refuses to speak to you or even meet you.

3. What can we know from "See if you can find a problem"?

A. You are always late when you and your friend plan to go out.
B. You often refuse to answer your friends' phone calls.
C. Your friend is fond of complaining all the time.
D. Perhaps your friendship is over because of your problem.

4. When afriendship is over,we may do all the following EXCEPT _____.

A. write a letter to your friend to tell your regrets
B. talk about how you feel about your friendship
C. ask your friend whose fault on earth it is
D. send your greetings to your friend before giving up

     Many students want to find friends on the Internet as a way of practising their language skills and learning
more about new cultures. Traditional pen pals were the main source (起源) of such contacts, and students
could write to each other. With the Internet, finding friends has become much easier, and such relationships
are called keypals.
     However, careful thinking should be given when finding friends on the Internet:
     First, search the Internet for famous services. Look for reviews of such sites to learn more about other
students' experiences. Don't join a service until you have done your research.
     Second, check to see if you can use a false name, rather than your real name, to protect your identity.
Never give personal information to anyone, including your home address, phone number and birthday.
     Third, stop contacting others if you feel uncomfortable with the topics of conversation. Tell your teachers,
parents, or even the local government if you find that you are in danger.
     And finally, try to use the language you are studying in the classroom in your communications with others.
Ask proper questions that will also help you learn about other cultures. Remember that one's personal
experience might be just that: To understand a whole culture, you have to talk to many people, but this will get
you started. Good luck.

1. If you are not comfortable with the topics,you should _____.

A. talk about something else with others
B. stop communicating with others
C. ask your teachers or parents for advice
D. tell him to stop talking about the topics

2. The underlined word"identity" probably means _____.

A. name
B. address
C. family
D. personal information

3. It can be seen from the passage that _____.

A. the writer is worried about the studens searching the Intemet
B. to know more about a culture,you need to communicate with many people
C. in order to protect yourself,you'd better tell lies on the Internet
D. many people will talk to you if you ask questions about their culture

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Many students want to make friends on the Internet to practe their English.
B. It's easy to make friends with experienced students on the Internet.
C. Exchange your phone number with your keypals to keep in touch with them.
D. Ask your teachers or parents for help when you find that you are in danger

5. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. How to Find Friends on the Internet
B. How to go on the Internet
C. How to Practise Language Skills
D. How to Contact People