Have you ever thought about what determines the way we are when we grow up? Remember the TV program Seven Up? It started following the lives of a group of children in 1973. We first meet them as wide-eyed seven-year-olds and catch up with them at seven-year intervals: nervous 14-year-olds, serious 21-year-olds and then grown-ups.
Some of the stories are inspiring, others sad, but what is interesting in almost all the cases is the way in which the children’s early hopes and dreams are shown in their future lives. For example, at seven, Tony is a lively child who says he wants to become a sportsman or a taxi driver. When he grows up, he goes on to do both. How about Niki? She says, “I would like to find out about the moon.” And she goes on to become a space scientist. As a child, soft-spoken Bruce says he wants to help “poor children” and ends up teaching in India.
But if the lives of all the children had followed this pattern, the program would be far less interesting than it actually was. It was the children whose childhood did not prepare them for what was to come that made the program so interesting. Where did their ideas come from about what they wanted to do when they grew up? Are children influenced by what their parents do, by what they see on television or by what their teachers say? How great is the effect of a single important event? Many film directors, including Steven Spielberg, say that an early visit to the cinema was the turning point in their lives. Dr. Margaret McAllister, who has done a lot of research in this area, thinks that the major factors are parents, friends and their wider society.
【小题1】What does the text mainly discuss?

1.

The use of health supplements such as multivitamin tablets has increased greatly in the western world. People take these supplements because advertising suggests that they prevent a range of medical conditions from developing. However, there is concern that people are consuming worryingly high doses of these supplements and the European Union (EU) has issued a directive that will ban the sale of a wide range of them. This EU directive should be supported.

2.

Research suggests that people who take Vitamin C supplements of over 5000 milligrams a day are more likely to develop cancer. This shows how much damage these health supplements do to people’s health. A spokesman for the health supplement industry has argued that other research shows that Vitamin C supplements help prevent heart disease, but we can dismiss this evidence as it is from a biased source.

3.

Science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s predicted that pills would replace meals as the way in which people would get the fuel they needed. This, it was argued, would mean a more efficient use of time as people wouldn’t have to waste it preparing or eating meals. The EU directive would help prevent this nightmare of pills replacing food becoming a reality.

4.

Peop0le already take too many pills instead of adopting a healthier lifestyle. For example, the consumption of painkillers in Britain in 1998 was 21 tablets per year for every man, woman and child in the country. People do not need all these pills.

5.

Some might argue that the EU directive denies people’s right to freedom of choice. However, there are many legal examples for such intervention when it is in the individual’s best interests. We now make people wear seatbelts rather than allowing them to choose to do so. Opposing the EU directive would mean beneficial measures like this would be threatened.

Not very long ago, a special family system(体系) existed in certain parts of South India. In the system, the actual head of a family unit was the mother’s eldest brother, though the mother also had an important position in the family. In families of this kind, a husband was actually no more than a visitor. He did not live with his wife, but with his own mother, brothers and sisters in another house. He saw his sons and daughters sometimes, but the man who actually fed and cared for them and acted as their father was their uncle--- their mother’s brother.
But this system, in which brothers and sisters take the place of the father, no longer exists in South India except in a few villages. Economic(经济的) changes have had far- reaching effect on family life. Family life began to change when men went out to work in factories and offices instead of working with their mothers, brothers, and sisters on the land. When a man went out to work, he had money of his own and could buy his own land and build his own family, instead of depending on his mother and his brothers. He wanted to be independent(独立的). This is an example of the way in which economic relations can have an effect on family relationships.
【小题1】 The best title of this passage is ______.

 A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers. "Last week," said he, "my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, 1 spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn't get it back."

"How did you write your advertisement?" asked one of the listeners, a merchant.

"Here it is," said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper. The other man took it and read, "Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No l0 Broad Street."

"Now," said the merchant, "I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try your umbrella again, and if it fails, I will buy you a new one."

The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote: "If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street. He is well-known."

This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors that had been thrown in and his own was among them. Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter.

1. This is a story about_______.

2. "If it fails, I will buy you a new one "suggested that______.

3.The result of the first advertisement was that______.

4.According to the first advertisement, anyone who_____ would receive ten shillings.

Win $ 50 in the Coolest Gadget of the Week

Look at what’s the coolest gadget (vote for a chance to win $ 50).

Cryo S: A Cool Netbook Cooler

Like the other devices of NZXT, the Cryo S was designed to provide a competitive advantage at PC gaming. It has two adjustable 120mm fans that provide powerful cooling.

The full post can be found on Trends Updates.

Starry Night Bed

Are you having trouble getting that good nights sleep that you’re needing? Well, not any more. Why not take a look at the Starry Night Bed? The Starry Night Bed is a great new invention which will revolutionize the way in which you sleep. Not only is this bed fashionable and comfortable but it’s also a gadget heaven. With this bed you get many added gadgets including anti-snore technology, movie projector with speakers, temperature control and many more.

The full post can be found on Tech Styling.

Fugoo—talking gadgets

Fugoo gets all your appliances(装置，设备) talking to each other so your alarm clock could first wake you up and then tell the coffee machine to start working  while checking traffic conditions online to tell you how long it will take you to get to work.

The full post can be found on Decide What to Buy.

Vote  What is this week's coolest gadget?

〇 A Cool Netbook Cooler

〇 Starry Night Bed

〇 Fugoo—talking gadgets

1.Where can you find the full post of the “Cryo S”?

A. Tech Styling.                            B. Super Cool Pets.

C. Decide What to Buy.                      D. Trends Updates.

2.If you buy a Starry Night Bed, you can get all the following gadgets EXCEPT ___________.

A. temperature control          B. movie projector

C. adjustable fans               D. anti-snore technology

3.From this passage, we learn that Fugoo can_________.

A. check traffic conditions                     B. wake you up

C. take you to work                         D. make coffee

4.Where does this advertisement probably come from?

A. A magazine.       B. A website.         C. A newspaper.    D. A textbook.