The first reality TV show in the world was called Expedition Robinson and it was shown in Sweden in 1997. Half the population of the country watched the final event and a new kind of TV program was born. Two years later in Holland , the first series of Big Brother was filmed. Again, it was a great success and the final program was watched by 15 million people. Now more than 20 countries around the world have Big Brother or Expedition Robinson on their TV screens. The ordinary people who take part in the programs are known by millions of people in their own countries and reality TV has become big, big business.

  For the TV producers, reality TV is a dream come true because many of the programs cost nothing to make. At some point, the television viewers are asked to telephone the program to vote or to apply to take part in the show. It is the cost of these telephone calls that pays for the shows. One of the most popular shows is Pop Idol. In the show a group of attractive young people are made into pop stars. TV viewers vote for their favorite person on the show. The winner makes a record and millions of copies of the record are sold. His or her pictures are published on the covers of magazines or on the front pages of newspapers, and then, they are quickly forgotten.

   But not everyone is happy about reality TV. In Portugal, two TV channels got into trouble because they showed too much of the personal lives of the people in the shows. In France, reality TV is called “rubbish TV” and the TV studios of Big Brother were attacked three times in one week. In Greece, Big Brother was described as “ against human rights and civilization”.

Those who take part in the reality TV shows are usually _____.

  A. common people     B. pop TV stars   C. attractive people    D. famous film stars  

Who would pay for the cost of the reality TV shows according to the passage?

  A. TV producers who make reality TV shows

  B. TV actors who take part in reality TV shows.

  C. TV viewers who telephone reality TV shows

  D. TV companies which broadcast reality TV shows 

It can be concluded from the passage that ______.

 A. everyone is happy about reality TV.

 B. reality TV will do well in many countries.

 C. all the people in Europe are in favor of reality TV

 D. reality TV will not be broadcast in any countries.

Animals can move from place to place, but plants cannot. When an animal is under attack, it can run away or fight back.. Plants certainly cannot run away, and they lack teeth and claws. But plants can defend themselves by using both physical and chemical means.

      Some plants have their own ways to keep animals away. For example, the leaves of the holly plant have sharp spines (刺) that discourage grass-eating animals. Holly leaves on lower branches have more spines than leaves on upper branches. This is because the lower leaves are easier for most animals to reach.

      Some plants, such as the oak tree, have thick and hard leaves that are difficult for animals to eat. Some grasses may contain a sandy material; eating such grasses wears down the animal's teeth.

      Many plants also have chemical defenses. Some plants produce chemicals that taste bitter or cause an unpleasant reaction. Some plants may fight against an attack by increasing the production of these chemicals. When a caterpillar (毛虫) bites a tobacco leaf, the leaf produces a chemical messenger. This messenger sends to the roots the information to produce more nicotine. The higher levels of nicotine discourage the caterpillar.

      Many plants depend on both physical and chemical defenses. A certain plant in China, for

instance, has prickly (多刺的) leaves, and each prickle contains poisonous venom (毒液) A single experience with this kind of plant will teach an animal to stay away from it in the future.

The holly plant has more spines on the lower leaves because most animals________.

A. are not tall enough                    B. like the lower leaves only

C. are not clever enough                 D. can get the lower leaves easily

To defend themselves, oak trees use________.

 A. chemical means                     B. physical means

C. bitter chemicals                    D. sandy materials

How does tobacco protect itself against an attack from a caterpillar?

A. Its leaves fight against the attack by physical means.

B. Its roots send a messenger to discourage the caterpillar.

C. Its roots increase the production of nicotine when it is attacked.

D. Its leaves produce poisonous sand to drive the caterpillar away.

What would be the best title for this passage?

A. Plants and Animals                   B. How Plants Defend Themselves

C. Attacks and Defenses                 D. How Animals Eat Plant Leaves

The man who invented Coca-Cola was not a native Atlanta, but on the day of his funeral every drugstore in town shut up the shop in honor of him. He was John Styth Pemberton, born in 1833 in Knoxville, Georgia, eighty miles away. Pemberton was a chemist, sometimes known as Doctor, who, during the Civil War, became an officer and led a cavalry troop. He settled in Atlanta in 1869, and soon began making such patent medicines as Triplex Liver Pills and Globe of Flower Cough Syrup.

In 1885, he registered a trademark for something called French Wine Coca-Ideal Nerve and Tonic Stimulant. A few months later, he formed the Pemberton Chemical Company, and hired an accountant named Frank M. Robinson, who had not only a good head for figures, but, attached to it, so unique a nose that he could judge the ingredients of a batch of syrup merely by sniffing it.

In 1886 --- a year in which, as contemporary Coca-Cola officials like to point out, the English writer Conan Doyle made Sherlock Holmes known publicly and France found the truth about the Statue of Liberty --- Pemberton invented a syrup that he called Coca-Cola. It was a change of his French Wine Coca. He had taken out the wine and added a bit of caffeine, and, when the end product tasted awful, had thrown in some cola nut oil and a few other oils, mixing the mixture in a three-legged iron pot in his back yard and swishing it around with an oar.

He distributed it to soda fountains in used beer bottles, and Robinson, with his elegant account’s script, instantly designed a label, on which "Coca-Cola" was written in the style which is still employed. Pemberton looked upon his mixture less as a drink than as a headache cure.

One morning in 1886, a man suffering from a headache dragged himself into an Atlanta drugstore and asked for a bottle of Coca-Cola. According to usual practice, druggists should pour a teaspoonful of syrup into a glass of water, but at that time, the man on duty was too lazy to walk to the fresh-water tap. Instead, he mixed the syrup with some soda water, which was closer at hand. After drinking it, the suffering customer cheered up almost at once, and word quickly spread that the best Coca-Cola was a fizzy (冒泡泡的)one.

According to the passage, which of the following about Pemberton is wrong?

A. He was highly respected by Atlantans because of his great contribution. 

B. Medicines like Triplex Liver Pills and Globe of Flower Cough Syrup are his patent products.

C. During the Civil War, he was an officer of a cavalry troop, a chemist and a doctor.

D. Coca-Cola which is very popular now was invented by him.

Why do contemporary Coca-Cola officials especially like to mention the year 1886?

A. Because Conan Doyle contributed to Pemberton’s Coca-Cola invention.

B. Because France sent the Statue of Liberty to America and Pemberton loved it.

C. Because they are still proud of Pemberton’s invention.

D. Because Pemberton made more money for the company this year than in any other year.

What does the passage tell us about Frank M. Robinson?

A. He helped his boss and began making patent medicines together with his boss in 1869.

B. He had a special nose with an acute sense of smell and especially was good at drawing.

C. When he found the end product tasted awful, he threw in some cola nut oil and other oils.

D. He designed a label “Coca-Cola” for the Coca-Cola Company with his elegant handwriting.

How did Pemberton change French Wine Coca formula to make it taste delicious?

A. He mixed it with several oils instead of water.         

B. He put some beer into the mixture.

C. He added more coffee into the mixture than before.     

D. He added some cola nut oil and a few other oils.

According to the passage, what was Coca-Cola intended for at first?

A. It was intended for the children as a soft drink.  

B. It was intended for a substitute for French Wine Coca

C. It was intended for a cure for the common headache        

D. It was intended for the need of the war

 0  18303  18311  18317  18321  18327  18329  18333  18339  18341  18347  18353  18357  18359  18363  18369  18371  18377  18381  18383  18387  18389  18393  18395  18397  18398  18399  18401  18402  18403  18405  18407  18411  18413  18417  18419  18423  18429  18431  18437  18441  18443  18447  18453  18459  18461  18467  18471  18473  18479  18483  18489  18497  151629 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网