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. |
第二部分:阅读理解(共25小题,第一节每小题2分,第二节每小题1分;满分45分)
第一节:阅读下面的短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出最佳选项。 A
Endless sea, sand and sunshine on a tiny island--everyone' s idea of heaven. Who wouldn' t want to live in such a place.?
One person who certainly does is Ben Southall, from the UK. The 34-year-old was one of more than 34,000 people who applied for the post of "caretaker" on Hamilton Island, Australia, which the local government called "the best job in the world". The position starts in July and runs for six months. The salary is 150,000 Australian dollars(780,639 yuan).
Why Southall? Well, first let's take a look at the criteria(标准) for the job: "We're looking for applicants who like to have adventures, have a great love of the outdoors and have good commu-nication skills. "
On his application video, Southall expressed a love of adventure and included photographs of himself riding an ostrich(鸵鸟 ), running a marathon, diving, and kissing a giraffe. "From the time he was announced in the Top 50, and then the Top 16, Southall did a great job by showing true ex-citement about Queensland," Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said in a statement.
"His ideas for how he will make the role his own.., as well as his ability to rise to a challenge impressed the judges and helped him to win his place in the top job," Lawlor said.
Southall was born in Coventry, UK and used his parents' home as a base for his adventures. He had an old Land Rover that he used for a charity-fund-raising trek(跋涉) across Africa which in-volved joining in five marathons( a 42.16 km race) and climbing five mountains.
"It was sometimes hard work to make him get his head down and do his work because he always wanted to be outside," his mother said about his early years.
"He wanted to go surfing in South Africa, so he got a job house-sitting to pay for it. We regu-larly ask him when he is going to get a proper job, but he is confident and has a strong set of friends and is a great social animal. Now he has got the perfect job for his skills," said his father.
So, you see? No matter what type of person you are, there's always the possibility of getting a dream job. How' s that? Just read the job descriptions carefully and think about how your skills and qualities fit with the ones needed for the job. That' s what Southall did to get his job.
41. The post of "caretaker" on Hamilton Island is said-to be the best job in the world mainly because of_____
A. a beautiful landscapeB. a short working time
C. great pay for a fun job D. very good weather
42. According to Lawlor, what wasn' t the reason that helped Southall win the job?
A. His outstanding application video
B. His passion for the job and ability to face up to challenges
C. His great love of adventures
D. His true excitement about the Austrilian lifestyle
43. Which of the following statements about Southall is true?
A. He did a poor job in school when he was young.
B. He worked as a house-sitter to raise charity funds.
C. He has won five marathons.
D. He is good at communicating with others.
44. We can leam from Southall that_____
A. the world offers opportunities for everyone
B. setbacks will only make you stronger
C. all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
D. where there is a will, there is a way
D
There are three separate sources of danger in supplying energy by nuclear power (原子能)
First, the radioactive material must travel from its place of production to the power station. Although the power stations themselves are strongly built, the containers used for the transport of the materials are not. Normally, only two methods of transport are in use, namely road or rail. Unfortunately, both of these may have an effect on the general public, since they are sure to pass near, or even through, heavily populated areas.
Second, there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes that in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It is impossible to make these wastes non-radioactive, and so they must be stored in one of the inconvenient ways that scientists have invented. For example, they may be buried under the ground, or dropped into deserted mines, or sunk in the sea. However, these methods do not solve the problem, since an earthquake could easily break the containers.
Third, there may occur the danger of a leak(泄漏) or an explosion at the power station. As with the other two dangers, this is not very likely, so it does not provide a serious objection to the nuclear program. However, it can happen.
Separately, these three types of dangers are not a great cause for worry. Taken together, though, the probability of disaster(灾难) is extremely high.
71. Which of the following is FALSE?
A. It is possible that a leak or an explosion occurs at a power station.
B. It is unusual for radioactive materials to be transported across land.
C. The containers are likely to be broken by an earthquake.
D. Nuclear wastes remain dangerous in most cases for many years.
72. The author thinks that the ways to store nuclear wastes are ___ .
A. easy B. impossible C. reasonable D. ineffective
73. What do we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The power station is a safe place.
B. The dangers of nuclear energy can be prevented.
C. The general public are strongly against the nuclear program.
D. By itself, none of the three dangers is very likely to cause much worry.
74. What is this passage about?
A.Uses of nuclear power. B.Dangers from nuclear power.
C.Public anger at nuclear power. D.Accidents caused by nuclear power.
75. As for the possible dangers of nuclear power, ______.
A. none of them can be completely avoided
B. effective measures have been taken to avoid them
C. man will never be able to do anything about them
D. one is usually the cause of another
C
Tech-Camp
6 Devon Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong a technology day camp for students 12-17.
About Tech-Camp
Tech-Camp is a day camp with a focus on computers and electronic technology. We offer 2-week summer programmes for students of 12-17 years of age. We have a computer lab with the latest and fastest equipment, an electronics lab and a video production studio. Our staff is special, too. Our programme leaders are experts in computer and electronics, of course, but they are also people who care about children and enjoy working with them.
The Benefits of Tech-Camp
In all of our programmes, we show students how to work in teams and how to solve problems by themselves. We encourage them to think creatively(有创造性地).
What students will do at Tech-Camp
Each day Tech-camp is filled with useful, interesting and challenging activities. For example, in the Computer Programme, students lean the basic computer programming, and how to use the Internet. In the Tech-Camp Programme, they make radio-controlled model cars and produce their own short videos.
Programme |
Session 1 |
Session 2 |
Session 3 |
Computer programme |
15June-26June |
15June-26June |
15June-26June |
High-tech Programme |
29June-10July |
27July-7August |
15June-26July |
Fee: HK $2,000 per student
(10% discount for groups of 10 or more students)
For more information about Tech-Camp, please contact Director of Summer Programmes, Ms Julia Brown, by phone, fax or e-mail.
Telephone: 26548898 Fax: 26948850
E-mail: juliab@techcamp.comhk
66. What would you like to ask about if you phone Ms Julia Brown after reading this passage?
A. The time for application (申请)
B. The fee each student should pay
C. The e-mail address of Tech-Camp
D. What the students will do in the camp
67. According to the passage, how much will they pay if a group of 20 students enter for Tech-Camp?
A. HK $ 3, 600 B. HK $3,500 C. HK $36,000 D. HK $40,000
68. The passage is written to ______.
A. introduce to us some information about Tech-Camp
B. attract(吸引)students to take part in Tech-Camp
C. tell students something about computers
D. teach students how to use computers and electronics
69. If a student has time from June 4 to July 20 and he wants to take both the computer programme and the High-tech programme, which session should he take?
A. session 1 B. session 2 C. session 3 D. none
70. Which of following is not true about the Tech-Camp?
A. They have a very good computer lab.
B. People who work for the Camp enjoy working with children.
C. Students can do team work in the camp.
D. With the help of the experts the students don’t need to solve problems by themselves.
B
When I was looking at my railway timetable, I read with satisfaction that there was an express train (快车) to Westhaven. It went to the station in my hometown and the journey lasted only an hour and 17 minutes. When I got on the train, I couldn’t help noticing that a lot of villagers got on as well. At that time I was not surprised at all. I thought that there might be many people besides myself who wished to take the express train to save time. Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Wildly, a small station a few miles along the line. Even an express train can be delayed sometimes. But when the train stopped station after station, I began to wonder. It suddenly struck me that this express was not running down the line at 90 miles an hour, but no more than 30. One hour and 17 minutes passed and we had not covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was Westhaven Express, but he said he had not even heard of it. Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven. When he said there was not such an express train, I asked for his copy of the timetable. There was a sign of victory in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. Looking at the timetable, he told me to look careful. At the bottom of the page it said, “This service has been stopped.”
61. The passage mainly tells us about ______.
A. the writer’s unhappy journey on a train
B. a mistake in the railway timetable
C. a careless mistake made by the writer
D. the reason why the train was delayed
62. An express train should travel at the speed of ______.
A. more than 40 miles an hour
B. no more than 40 miles an hour
C. 90 miles an hour
D. less than 90 miles an hour
63. Which of the following is true according to the story?
A. The writer got a wrong timetable.
B. The writer had wanted to take an express train.
C. The villagers got on an express train to save time.
D. None of the passengers had heard of Westhaven Express
64. The writer didn’t realize he was on the wrong train until ______.
A. he saw a lot of villagers getting on the train
B. the train stopped at a small station
C. he found the train was delayed
D. an hour passed after he got on the train
65. What was the writer’s mistake?
A. He didn’t notice the words at the bottom of the timetable.
B. He didn’t know that Westhaven Express was not in the timetable at all.
C. He got on a train which didn’t go to Westhaven.
D. The express train changed it speed.
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题。每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.
After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had been fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this” the owner said. The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change and headed west.
On the way out of town, he began to understand what the waiter did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all. “Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”
Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now, he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.
56. The young man was traveling across the country in 1971 to ______.
A. find a piece of work to do
B. hand out gifts to passers-by
C. look for a good restaurant
D. show his new car to others
57. The underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 means ______.
A. a wallet B. his luck C. the $20 bill D. his tip
58. On the way out of town, the young man got to know that ______.
A. it was very honest of the owner to return his money
B. another man who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money
C. he could find a job in the restaurant
D. the owner helped him in a way that didn’t hurt his feelings.
59. From this text we can see that ______.
A. the man dropped $20 on the floor of the restaurant
B. the man did carry out his promise
C. Santa gives the man money each year
D. the man was not successful in the end
60. The best title for this passage may be ______.
A. Secret Santa of Kansas City
B. The Key to Success
C. A Kind Waiter in the Restaurant
D. Never Give Up