A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords （声带） can heal．

It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. “It’s a proud moment for all of us,” his wife told DNAIndia．com．

I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm．Don’t get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity．But his record—singing for 80 hours straight—is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records．

Granted, I’m not qualified to speak on the subject．I’ve got no world records to my name, and I never expect to have any．Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley （集成曲） of pop songs．

But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure．He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades （荣誉）．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake．

To all of these enterprising souls I ask, simply, “What was it all for?”

Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you, with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese．

After all, records are made to be broken．

1．From the text, we can conclude that the author _________．

       A．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

       B．feels it a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures

       C．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

       D．has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat

2．Before someone wins a Guinness record, he or she has to ________．

       A．become an international celebrity

       B．know all about Guinness records

       C．practice a great deal

       D．bear great stress for fear of injury

3．We can infer from the article that ________．

       A．after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak

       B．Burbure’s wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record

       C．many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior

       D．challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health

4．The author’s attitude to some Guinness world records is ________．

       A．positive              B．impressed           C．negative              D．touched

       Although credit cards are becoming a more acceptable part of the financial scene, they are still regarded with doubts by many as being a major part of the “live now pay later” syndrome（综合症）．Along with hire-purchase, rental and leasing schemes（租赁项目）, they provide encouragement to spend more money．Of course, it is only the hotheaded who give way to the temptation to live, temporarily at least, beyond their means, and such people would no doubt manage to do so even without credit cards．

Advertising campaigns have, however, promoted a growing realization of the advantages of these small pieces of plastic. They prevent need to carry large amounts of cash and are always useful in emergencies．

All the credit card organizations charge interest on a monthly basis which may work out as high as 25 per cent a year, yet sensible purchasing using a card can mean that you obtain up to seven weeks, interest-free credit．Using the card abroad, where items frequently take a long time to be included on your account, can extend this period even further．

It is worthwhile shopping around before deciding on a particular credit card. It is necessary to consider the amount of credit granted; interest rates, which may vary slightly; the number and range of outlets（经销店）, though most cards cover major garages, hotels, restaurants and department stores; and of course, what happens if your card is lost or stolen．A credit card thief may be sitting on a potential goldmine particularly if there is a delay in reporting the loss of the card．

However, if used wisely, a credit card can cost nothing, or at least help to tide you over a period of financial difficulty．

1．The hotheaded are people who ________．

       A．spend more money than they have         B．spend less money than other people

       C．save money                                         D．make money

2．The disadvantage of credit cards is ________．

　   A．to enable you to buy things without carrying large amount of cash

　   B．to encourage people to spend more money

　   C．to be always useful in emergencies

       D．to help people tide over a period of financial difficulty

3．Deciding on a particular credit, you do not have to consider ________．

       A．the amount of credit granted

       B．the number and range of outlets

　   C．the possibility of loss of money

       D．the department stores where you are going to use your credit cards

4．The underlined words in the last paragraph probably means ________．

       A．floating with the tide of                      B．going through a difficult period of

       C．rising and falling with the tide of            D．attempting to go against the tide of

Most shoplifters agree that the January sales offer wonderful opportunities for the hard-working thief．With the shops so crowded and the staff so busy, it does not require any extraordinary talent to help you to take one or two little things and escape unnoticed. It is known, in the business, as “hoisting”．

But the hoisting game is not what it used to be．Even at the height of the sales, shoplifters today never know if they are being watched by one of those evil little balls that hang from the ceilings of so many department stores above the most desirable goods．

As if that was not trouble enough for them, they can now be filmed at work and obliged to attend a showing of their performance in court．

Selfridges was the first big London store to install closed-circuit videotape equipment to watch its sales floors．In October last year the store won its first court case for shoplifting using an evidence a videotape clearly showing a couple stealing dresses．It was an important test case  which encouraged other stores to install similar equipment．

When the balls, called sputniks, first make an appearance in shops, it was widely believed that their only function was to frighten shoplifters．Their somewhat ridiculous appearances, the curious holes and red lights going on and off, certainly make the theory believable．

It did not take long, however, for serious shoplifters to start showing suitable respect．Soon after the equipment was in operation at Selfridges, store detective Brian Chadwick was sitting in the control room watching a woman secretly putting bottles of perfume into her bag．

 “As she turned to go,” Chadwick recalled, “she suddenly looked up at the ‘sputnik’ and stopped. She could not possibly have seen that the camera was trained on her because it is completely hidden, but she must have had a feeling that I was looking at her．”

“For a moment she paused, but then she returned to counter and started putting everything back．When she had finished, she opened her bag towards the camera to show it was empty and hurried out of the store．”

1．January is a good month for shoplifters because ________．

　   A．they don’t need to wait for staff to serve them

　   B．they don’t need any previous experience as thieves

　   C．January sales offer wonderful opportunities for them

　   D．there are so many people in the store

2．The case last October was important because ________．

　   A．the store got the dresses back

　   B．the equipment was able to frighten shoplifters

　   C．other shops found out about the equipment

　   D．the kind of evidence supplied was accepted by court

3．The woman stealing perfume ________．

　   A．guessed what the sputniks were for

　   B．was frightened by its shape

     C．could see the camera filming her

       D．knew that the detective had seen her

4．The woman’s action before leaving the store shows that she ________．

　   A．was sorry for what she had done

　   B．decided she didn’t want what she had picked up

　   C．was afraid she would be arrested

       D．wanted to prove she had not intended to steal anything

       Ron Meyer is the president and COO（首席运营官） of Universal Studios．As one of the most successful business leaders in Hollywood, he heads up Universal Pictures and Universal Parks & Resorts．He’s the guy who oversees the production of Multimillion-dollar extravaganzas（作品） like King Kong and Cinderella Man．

Meyer’s story sounds like the plot of one of his motion pictures．He grew up in a modest home where there was little income．It was a big deal to go to a restaurant．At 15, he quit high school and spent his time hanging out with the neighborhood toughs（流氓）．He was then a kid quick with his fists who seemed to get into fights somewhat regularly．At one point, he was separated from others with an infectious disease, having no TV and nothing to do．His mother sent him two books．One was The Amboy Dukes, a novel about kids in street gangs．The other was The Flesh Peddlers, about a guy in the talent agency（星探公司） who lived a successful life．“I realized,” he says, “that I was no longer that silly kid I had been, and I wanted to change my life．”

Meyer took any job he could get．He worked as a busboy and short-order cook．He cleaned offices and sold shoes．That attitude made an impression on people．One day he received a call from Paul Kohner, a successful agent who represented stars like John Huston, Charles Bronson and Lana Turner．Their messenger and driver had quit, and they knew Ron was willing to take whatever job they offered. He started the job the next day．

Meyer was lucky to work with a good boss―and he had the brains to make the most of that experience．In nearly six years of driving for Kohner, Meyer became his right-hand man and learned a lot．By the 1970s, Meyer had built many relationships in the business．In 1975, the fate presented an opportunity and he started his own operation Creative Artists Agency, which became a huge success, representing Hollywood legends like Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise．

Twenty years later, Meyer was appointed to run Universal Studios, a position far beyond his youthful dream．But once he saw success was possible, he was driven to achieve it．Today, colleagues regularly owe his success―and theirs―to his humility and perseverance．It’s a level of success that takes determination, personality and intelligence, whether it comes from a college education or from the street．

1．What is the main idea of the passage? 

       A．How a bitter childhood contributes to one’s success．

       B．It’s important to choose a right career to achieve one’s life goal．

       C．A talent agency helps a person to become famous．

       D．It’s people’s determination, intelligence and personality that decide their success．

2．What does the author mean by saying “he had the brains to make the most of that experience”?

       A．He benefited a good deal from the experience．

       B．He smartly took the opportunity to learn from the experience．

       C．That experience made him ever smarter than ever before．

       D．He used his brains to impress his boss．

3．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．A talent agency is to oversee the production of movies．

       B．Ron Meyer did far more successfully than Raul Kohner．

       C．Relationship is the most important thing in the film industry．

       D．Meyer had never thought of being as successful as today．

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

     1      

If your complaint is immediate, suppose you got the wrong order at a restaurant, make a polite but firm request to see the manager．When the manager comes, ask his or her name．And then state your problem and what you expect to have done about it．

Be polite!    2      

But also be firm in making your complaint．

     3      This doesn’t mean to put on airs and say “do you know who I am?” What it means is that people are often treated the way they expect to be treated．If you act like someone who expects a fair request to be granted, chances are that it will be granted．

     4      You are speaking to a voice coming from someone you cannot see．So you can’t tell how the person on the line is reacting．It is easy for that person to give you the run-around.

     5      If your complaint doesn’t require an immediate response, it often helps to complain by letter．If you have an appliance that doesn’t work, send a letter to the store that sold it．Be business-like and stick to the point．Don’t spend a paragraph on how your uncle John tried to fix the problem and couldn’t．

       A．Shouting or acting rude will get you nowhere．

       B．Complaining in person or by letter is generally more effective．

       C．The worst way to complain is over the telephone．

       D．Telephone complaint is never efficient．

       E．The way to complain is to act business-like and important．

       F．Besides, act important．

       G．There are many ways to complain．

根据所给句子及横线后的汉语意思写出正确形式的单词。

1．She exhibited great powers of ______________ （耐力） during the climb.

2．With the advance in science, the ______________ （界限） of human knowledge are being pushed further out．

3．We are impressed by the energy and _______________ （敬业精神） shown by the teachers．

4．For best results, store the cassette with the tape fully _______________ （倒带）．

5．It was no _______________ （偶然） that he quit his job at the bank a day before the robbery．

根据所给句子及横线后的汉语意思写出正确形式的短语，注意每空一词。

1．___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ （讨厌） people who are always complaining, Jack left his brother’s house without saying a word．

2．At the airport he read an address of welcome ___________ ___________ ___________ （代表） the association．

3．She ___________ ___________ （抓住） the opportunity to tell her side of the story．

4．People always believe anything Mark says; his honesty is ________ _________ （无可争辩）．

5．Pollen becomes ___________  __________ （附着） the animal during its visit to a flower and is then passed on to another plant’s blossom on its next visit．

假如你是李华，最近你班同学就中学生是否可以带手机上学进行了讨论。请你根据下列信息，给校长写一封信，客观地介绍你班讨论的情况。

注意：

       1．词数100字左右 

       2．信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入词数。

Dear principle,

       I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we’ve had about whether a mobile phone should be brought to school．

                                                                 Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

A single mistake here could ____ you your life．

A．pay        B．take          C．spend           D．cost

The sports meet will be ____ till next week because of the bad weather．

A．put off              B．put away       C．put up               D．put down