Central Park

Outside among the trees, watch the wildlife — both the human and animal varieties. Call (212)360 — 3465 or (212)360 — 2726 for events and tours. Central Park stretches from 59th to 110th Sts., and from 5th Ave. to Central Park. West.

Empire State Building

This is among the most striking building in the city, the nation,even the world. The observation dock (瞭望台) on the 86th floor is open to general public, offering a wonderful view of the second floor youll find the New York Skyride, a simulated (模拟的) helicopter ride. Over Manhattan.5th Ave. at 34th St., Midtown/ (212)736 — 3100.

Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum

Five blocks west of Time Square, this museum has hundreds of air, deep-sea and space exhibit’s. Walk the fight deck of the 900-foot-long aircraft carrier Intrepid,see dozens of old and modern aircraft and ride the Intrepid Navy Flight Simulator.Pier 86,W. 46th St.and 12th Ave./(212)245-0072.

Madison Square Garden

If it’s big, it probably happens at the Garden. Check out sporting events, concerts and much more.Tours are available. 7th Ave, btwn. 31th and 33th Sts., Midtown/(212)4656-741.

1. The New York Skyride is for ______.

A. sightseeing                B. fight training

C. model plane-sports          D. city transportation

2. If a visitor is interested in music,he will probably go to______.

A. Central Park                        B. Empire State Building

C. Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum        D. Madison Square Garden

3. What is the purpose of these texts?

A. To provide information of living in New York.

B. To provide directions of city traffic in New York.

C. To give visitors a guide to New York.

D. To give a brief introduction to the history of New York.

Tens of thousands of smartphone applications are running ads from the overwhelming(势不可挡的) advertising networks that change smartphone settings and copy people’s contact information without permission.

Aggressive ad networks can disguise（假扮） ads as text message notifications (通告), and sometimes change browser settings and bookmarks. Often, the ads will upload your contacts list to the ad network’s servers--- information that the ad network can then sell to marketers.

Sounds scary? It’s not a giant problem yet, but it’s a growing one. As many as 5% of free mobile apps use an “aggressive” ad network to make money, according to Lookout, a San Francisco-based mobile security company. PhoneLiving was one of the most popular app developers to use these kinds of ad networks; their dozens of talking animal apps have been downloaded several million times. Later, PhoneLiving says it has mended its ways. The company admittedusing invasive techniques to make money from its apps, but said it dropped those methods at the start of July because of bad reviews and declining downloads.

The most popular type of apps that use aggressive ad networks are “Personalisation” apps, which include wallpapers. Comic and entertainment apps are also among the most likely to have rogue(凶猛的) ad networks running behind the scenes. Like aggressive pop-ups on PCs, the bad software isn’t easy to get rid of. Though the damage can typically be removed by deleting the app, it can be hard to tell which app is causing the problems.

When developers create free mobile apps, they usually make money through ads displayed within the app. App makers don’t usually tell people which ad network they are using, which makes it hard to avoid the known offenders. The best defense is to read reviews and avoid downloading apps that have attracted many complaints.

1.What is an example of bad behavior by the annoying mobile ads?

A．They change browser settings and bookmarks.

B．They change people’s calendar settings.

C．They send scam text messages occasionally.

D．They download free versions of games.

2.What do we know about PhoneLiving?

A．Its operation model is against the will of netizens.

B．It was forced to admit its bad behavior.

C．It has changed its business model rapidly.

D．Its relationship with Lookout may break up.

3.Why is the bad software hard to get rid of?

A．The software runs behind the scenes.

B．The app is very hard to delete.

C．It is difficult to find the problem app.

D．The network antivirus is out of date.

4.What does the underlined word, “ invasive”, mean in the third paragraph?

A．innovative         B．positive           C．flexible           D．aggressive

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Mobile ads can attack your phone and steal your contacts.

B．Mobile ads have become popular in recent years.

C．Smartphones have been damaged by mobile ads.

D．You may download some aggressive apps unconsciously.

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity, others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self – worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life – and – death affairs. In their single – minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
　However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self – respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.
【小题1】What does this passage mainly talk about?

Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March, 1853---29 July, 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist. He is considered one of the greatest artists with great influence on the greatest artists with great influence on the 20th-century art.

Van Gogh spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. After a brief period as a teacher, he became a missionary (传教士) in a very poor mining region. He did not begin his career as an artist until 1880; however, during the last ten years of his life, he produced more than 2,000 pieces, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawing and sketches (素描). He worked only with somber colours until he met Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism in Paris. Van Gogh used their bright colours and style of painting in a uniquely recognizable style. Most of his best-known works were produced during his final two years, when he was suffering from serious mental illness.

In 1890, at the age of 37, van Gogh shot himself in the chest. He died two days later, with Theo, his brother and his best friend, at his side, who reported his last words as “The sadness will last forever”. It would not take long before his fame grew higher and higher.

Van Gogh’s mother threw away quite a number of his paintings. The only painting he sold during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, was created in 1888. It is now on display in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia. Several paintings by van Gogh rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. On March 30, 1987 van Gogh’s painting Irises was sold for a record of $53.9 million at Southby’s, New York. On May 15, 1990 his Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold for $83.5 million at Christie’s, thus setting a new price record.

1.When did van Gogh begin his career as an artist?

2.The underlined word “somber” in Para. 2 means         .

3.What’s the right order of van Gogh’s life experience?

a. worked as a teacher

b. took up drawing

c. worked in an art firm

d. worked as a missionary

4.Which of the following can best describe van Gogh’s final two years?

5.What can we learn from the passage?

Quiet Virtue: The Conscientious
The everyday signs of conscientiousness (认真尽责)—being punctual, careful in doing work, self-disciplined, and scrupulous (一丝不苟的) in attending to responsibilities—are typical characteristics of the model organizational citizen, the people who keep things running as they should. They follow the rules, help out, and are concerned about the people they work with. It’s the conscientious worker who helps newcomers or updates people who return after an absence, who gets to work on time and never abuses sick leaves, who always gets things done on deadline.
Conscientiousness is a key to success in any field. In studies of job performance, outstanding effectiveness for almost all jobs, from semi-skilled labor to sales and management, depends on conscientiousness. It is particularly important for outstanding performance in jobs at the lower levels of an organization: the secretary whose message taking is perfect, the delivery truck driver who is always on time.
Among sales representatives for a large American car manufacturer, those who were most conscientious had the largest volume of sales. Conscientiousness also offers a buffer (缓冲) against the threat of job loss in today’s constantly changing market, because employees with this quality are among the most valued. For the sales representatives, their level of conscientiousness mattered almost as much as their sales in determining who stayed on.
There is an air around highly conscientious people that makes them seem even better than they actually are. Their reputation for dependability influences managers’ evaluations of their work, giving them higher evaluations than objective measures of their performance would predict.
But conscientiousness in the absence of social skills can lead to problems. Since conscientious people demand so much of themselves, they can hold other people to their own standards, and so be overly judgmental when others don’t show the same high levels of model behavior. Factory workers in Great Britain and the United States who were extremely conscientious, for example, tended to criticize co-workers even about failures that seemed unimportant to those they criticized, which damaged their relationships.
When conscientiousness takes the form of living up to expectations, it can discourage creativity. In creative professions like art or advertising, openness to wild ideas and spontaneity (自发性) are scarce and in demand. Success in such occupations calls for a balance, however; without enough conscientiousness to follow through, people become mere dreamers, with nothing to show for their imaginativeness.