You’ll find taxis waiting at the bus station ______ you can hire to reach your host family.

A. which                B. where               C. when             D. as

Today we have chat rooms, text messaging, emailing… but we seem ______ the art of communicating face-to-face.

A. losing               B. to be losing        C. to be lost           D. having lost

How would you like to wear the same underwear (内衣裤) for weeks? Owing to the work that has gone into developing intelligent materials, this may not be as   41   as it sounds. Self-cleaning clothes have now been created, and these new materials provide   42   resistance to dirt as well as water. As a result, they require much less cleaning than traditional materials.

The creation of self-cleaning clothes provides an example of how nature helps scientists develop better products. This self-cleaning nature is known as the “lotus effect”. The name comes, of course, from the lotus leaves, which are famous for growing in muddy lakes and rivers while remaining almost   43 

clean. By observing nature, scientists are   44   the qualities of the lotus leaves to the materials they have engineered. Because of this, some remarkable new products have been   45  . Among them are special windows that are resistant to dirt and water. A special   46   on these windows not only prevents dirt from sticking to their surfaces, but also allows dust to be easily washed off by the rain. In fact, these new windows have already been   47   to some cars. Even when traveling at high speed through rain, these cars never have to use their windshield wipers (雨刮器).

Although we have already seen some practical applications, even more dramatic   48   will be made in the future, and they will, perhaps, change our world completely. Undoubtedly, technology is an important development, and it will have an even bigger   49   on our lives.

Everyone in business has been told that success is all about attracting and retaining (留住) customers. It sounds simple and achievable. But,   50  , words of wisdom are soon forgotten. Once companies have attracted customers they often   51   the second half of the story. In the excitement of beating off the competition, negotiating prices, securing orders, and delivering the product, managers tend to become carried away. They forget what they regard as the boring side of business—  52   that the customer remains a customer.

  53   to concentrate on retaining as well as attracting customers costs business huge amounts of money annually. It has been estimated that the average company loses between 10 and 30 per cent of its customers every years. In constantly changing   54  , this is not surprising. What is surprising is the fact that few companies have any idea how many customers they have lost.

Only now are organizations beginning to wake up to those lost opportunities and calculate the   55 

implications. Cutting down the number of customers a company loses can make a big   56   in its performance. Research in the US found that a five per cent decrease in the number of defecting (流失的) customers led to   57   increases of between 25 and 85 per cent.

In the US, Domino’s Pizza estimates that a regular customer is worth more than $5,000 over ten years. A customer who receives a poor quality product or service on their first visit and   58   never returns, is losing the company thousands of dollars in   59   profits (more if you consider how many people they are likely to tell about their bad experience).

The logic behind cultivating customer   60   is impossible to deny. “In practice most companies’ marketing effort is focused on getting customers, with little attention paid to   61   them”, says Adrian Payne of Cornfield University’ School of Management. “Research suggests that there is a close relationship between retaining customers and making profits.   62   customers tend to buy more, are predictable and usually cost less to service than new customers. Furthermore, they tend to be less price   63  , and may provide free word-of-mouth advertising. Retaining customers also makes it   64   for competitors to enter a market or increase their share of a market.

1.A. in particular          B. in reality          C. at least              D. first of all

2.A. emphasize          B. doubt               C. overlook         D. believe

3.A. denying            B. ensuring        C. arguing              D. proving

4.A. Moving         B. Hoping          C. Starting             D. Failing

5.A. markets            B. tastes              C. prices                D. expenses

6.A. culture                B. social              C. financial        D. economical

7.A. promise            B. plan            C. mistake               D. difference

8.A. cost               B. opportunity         C. profit                D. budget

9.A. as a result       B. on the whole    C. in conclusion    D. on the contrary

10.A. huge              B. potential           C. extra             D. reasonable

11.A. beliefs              B. loyalty             C. habits                D. interest

12.A. altering              B. understanding       C. keeping               D. attracting

13.A. Assumed           B. Respected           C. Established           D. Unexpected

14.A. agreeable         B. flexible        C. friendly              D. sensitive

15.A. unfair                B. difficult           C. essential         D. convenient

The teacher who did the most to encourage me was, as it happens, my aunt. She was Myrtle C. Manigault, the wife of my mother’s brother Bill. She taught me in second grade at all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.

During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouraged me to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what was considered practical or possible for black females. I liked to sing; she listened to my voice and pronounced it good. I couldn’t dance; she taught me the basic dancing steps. She took me to the theatre—not just children’s theatre, but adult comedies and dramas—and her faith that I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.

My aunt also took down books from her extensive library and shared them with me. I had books at home, but they were all serious classics. Even as a child I had a strong liking for humour, and I’ll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis’s Archy & Mehitabel through her.

Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided my first opportunity to write for publication. A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to the editor as a “youth columnist”. My column, begun when I was fourteen, was supposed to cover teenage social activities—and it did—but it also gave me the freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gathering material, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation from college six years later, a solid collection of published material that carried my name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.

Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her “favourite niece”. Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted (多面的) image of possibilities to every pupil who has crossed her path.

1.Which of the following did Aunt Myrtle do to the author during her childhood and youth?

A. She lent her some serious classics.              B. She cultivated her taste for music.

C. She discovered her talent for dancing.           D. She introduced her to adult plays.

2.What does Archy and Mehitabel in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?

A. A book of great fun.                    B. A writer of high fame.

C. A serious masterpiece.                       D. A heartbreaking play.

3.Aunt Myrtle recommended the author to a newspaper editor mainly to ______.

A. develop her capabilities for writing         B. give her a chance to collect material

C. involve her in teenage social activities         D. offer her a series of writing jobs

4.We can conclude from the passage that Aunt Myrtle was a teacher who ______.

A. trained pupils to be diligent and well-disciplined

B. gave pupils confidence in exploiting their potential

C. emphasized what was practical or possible for pupils.

D. helped pupils overcome difficulties in learning

Humpback whales

1.According to Quick Facts, a humpback whale ______.

A. cannot survive in waters near the shore          B. doesn’t live in the same waters all the time

C. lives mainly on underwater plants            D. prefers to work alone when hunting food

2.To make a breach, a humpback whale must ______.

A. use its tail flukes to leap out of the water     B. twist its body sideways to jump high.

C. blow two streams of water               D. communicate with a group of humpbacks.

3.From the passage we can learn that a humpback whale ______.

A. has its unique markings on it tail flukes        B. has black and white fingerprints

C. gets its name from the way it hunts         D. is a great performer due to its songs

 Human remains of ancient settlements will be reburied and lost to science under a law that threatens research into the history of humans in Britain, a group of leading archeologists (考古学家) says. In a letter addressed to the justice secretary, Ken Clarke, 40 archaeologists write of their “deep and widespread concern” about the issue. It centers on the law introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2008 which requires all human remains unearthed in England and Wales to be reburied within two years, regardless of their age. The decision means scientists have too little time to study bones and other human remains of national and cultural significance.

   “Your current requirement that all archaeologically unearthed human remains should be reburied, whether after a standard period of two years or a further special extension, is contrary to basic principles of archaeological and scientific research and of museum practice,” they write.

   The law applies to any pieces of bone uncovered at around 400 dig sites, including the remains of 60 or so bodies found at Stonehenge in 2008 that date back to 3,000 BC. Archaeologists have been granted a temporary extension to give them more time, but eventuallly the bones will have to be returned to the ground.

   The arrangements may result in the waste of future discoveries at sites such as Happisburgh in Norfolk, where digging is continuing after the discovery of stone tools made by early humans 950,000 years ago. If human remains were found at Happisburgh, they would be the oldest in northern Europe and the first indication of what this species was. Under the current practice of the law those remains would have to be reburied and effectively destroyed.

   Before 2008, guidelines allowed for the proper preservation and study of bones of sufficient age and historical interest, while the Burial Act 1857 applied to more recent remains. The Ministry of Justice assured archaeologists two years ago that the law was temporary, but has so far failed to revise it.

   Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at Sheffield University, said: “Archaeologists have been extremely patient because we were led to believe the ministry was sorting out this problem, but we feel that we cannot wait any longer.”

   The ministry has no guidelines on where or how remains should be reburied, or on what records should be kept.

1.According to the passage, scientists are unhappy with the law mainly because ______.

A. it is only a temporary measure on the human remains

B. it is unreasonable and thus destructive to scientific research

C. it was introduced by the government without their knowledge

D. it is vague about where and how to rebury human remains

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Temporary extension of two years will guarantee scientists enough time.

B. Human remains of the oldest species were dug out at Happisburgh.

C. Human remains will have to be reburied despite the extension of time.

D. Scientists have been warned that the law can hardly be changed.

3.What can be inferred about the British law governing human remains?

A. The Ministry of Justice did not intend it to protect human remains.

B. The Burial Act 1857 only applied to remains uncovered before 1857.

C. The law on human remains hasn’t changed in recent decades.

D. The Ministry of Justice has not done enough about the law.

4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A. New discoveries should be reburied, the government demands.

B. Research time should be extended, scientists require.

C. Law on human remains needs thorough discussion, authorities say.

D. Law could bury ancient secrets for ever, archeologists warn.

Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

1.______

   With the arrival of the age of “information economy”, intellectual work is becoming a more important source of wealth than manufacturing. Organizations in all walks of life are doing more to spread their information. So people of the Public Relations are hired to speak for them. A lot of our news is actually collected from press releases and reports of events intentionally staged for journalists. In the information age, journalists spend their time, not investigating, but passing on the words of a spokesperson.

2.______

   There is a joke in the novel Scoop about the newspaper’s owner, Lord Copper. The editors can never disagree with him. When he’s right about something they answer “definitely”, and when he’s wrong they say “to some extent, Lord Copper.” It seems reasonable to suppose that, in the real world, the opinions of such powerful people still influence the journalists and editors who work for them.

3.______

   In countries where the news is not officially controlled, it is likely to be provided by commercial organizations who depend on advertising. The news has to attract viewers and maintain its audience ratings. I suspect that some stories get air-time just because there happen to be exciting pictures to show. In Britain, we have the tabloid newspapers which millions of people read simply for entertainment. There is progressively less room for historical background, or statistics, which are harder to present as a sensational story.

4.______

  There is an argument that with spreading access to the internet and cheap technology for recording sound and images we will all be able to find exactly the information we want. People around the world will be able to publish their own eye-witness accounts and compete with the widely-accepted news-gatherers on equal terms. But what it will mean also is that we’ll be subjected to a still greater amount of nonsense and lies. Any web log may contain the latest information of the year, or equally, a made-up story that you will never be able to check.

5.______

   Maybe the time has come to do something about it, and I don’t just mean changing your choice of TV channel or newspaper. In a world where everyone wants you to listen to their version, you only have two choices: switch off altogether or start looking for sources you can trust. The investigative journalist of the future is everyone who wants to know the truth.

 Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.

   Sociologists have long recognised that organisations of less than 200 individuals can operate through the free flow of information among the members. Once their size goes beyond this figure, the organizations are getting less flexible. So it seems necessary to prevent total disorder resulting from failures of communication.

   One solution to this problem would, of course, be to structure large organisations into smaller units of a size that can act as a group. By allowing these groups to build reliance on each other, larger organizations can be built up. However, merely having groups of, say, 150 will never of itself be a complete solution to the problems of the organization. Something else is needed: the people involved must be able to build direct personal relationships. To allow free flow of information, they have to be able to communicate with each other in a casual way. Maintaining too formal a structure of relationships inevitably prevents the way a system works.

   The importance of this was drawn to my attention two years ago by the case of a TV station. Whether by chance or by design, it so happened that there were almost exactly 150 people in the station. The whole process worked very smoothly as an organization for many years until they were moved into purpose-built accommodation. Then, for no apparent reason, the work seemed to be more difficult to do, not to say less satisfying.

   It was some time before they work out what the problem was. It turn out that, when the architects were designing the new building, they decided that the coffee room where everyone ate their sandwiches at lunch times was an unnecessary luxury and so did away with it. And with that, they accidentally destroyed the close social networks that strengthened the whole organization. What had apparently been happening was that, as people gathered informally over their sandwiches in the coffee room, useful information was casually being exchanged.

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN EIGHT WORDS.)

1.What size of an organization may lead to communication failures?

2.What are the two solutions to the communication problem within a large organization?

3.After the TV station moved into new accommodation, its operation ___________________________.

4.From the case of the TV station, we can conclude it is ____________________________________ that make(s) an organization more successful.

1.你为什么不在网上订票?  (Why)

2.我常把王海误认为他的双胞胎弟弟，因为他们长得太像了。(mistake)

3.对父母而言，没有什么能与孩子的身心健康相比。 (compare)

4.自从出国留学后，她就不再和我们保持联系了。 (No longer)

5.如果能找到任何适合你的学习方法，你的学习效率就可能明显提高。(whatever)