Happy April Fool’s Day! In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes (恶作剧) in history. They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them.
▲INSTANT COLOR TV
In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s Kjell Stepson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, were taken in. Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
▲SAN SERRIFFE
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement (增刊) in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serfiffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was made up.
▲NIXON FOR PRESIDENT
In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips (片断) of Nixon delivering his election speech. Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger. Only during the second haft of the show did the host John Huckleberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little.Which of the following western countries is NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．India | B．the UK |
| C．the United States | D．Sweden |
Who worked as a host on the radio?
| A．Kjell Stepson | B．Rich Little |
| C．Richard Nixon | D．John Huckleberry |
When did the small republic San Serriffe come into being?
| A．In 1962. | B．In 1977. |
| C．In 1992. | D．Never. |
Where can we probably read this article?
| A．In an ad. | B．In a magazine. |
| C．In a novel. | D．In a news report. |
阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题(请注意问题后的词数要求)。
In 2009, the number of hungry people in the world reached one billion for the first time. It is difficult not to be shocked by the fact that more than one in seven people on the planet do not have enough to eat. By the end of this year, more than 35 million people will have died as a result of. Hunger kills more people per year than AIDS and malaria(疟疾 ) combined.
The UN calculates that almost two-thirds of the world's hungry people are in Asia. More than a quarter are in sub-Saharan Africa. Almost all of the rest are in Latin America, North Africa and the Caribbean. In the richest regions of the world there are only a small number of people who don't have enough to eat. There are many reasons for world hunger. They include wars, droughts, floods and the overuse of farming land. All of them affect food production. But the most important reason is, quite simple, poverty—which has increased recently due to the economic effects of the financial crisis of 2008.
Although many people point out that there would be less hunger if the global population were smaller, few people would argue that there is not enough food to go around. The basic problem seems to be not a lack of food, but its distribution. In the last 50 years, global food production has risen even more quickly than the global population and there are of course many areas of the world where people generally have more than enough food. Overweight is a far bigger problem than hunger there.What's the main topic of the passage? (no more than 3 words )
Where do most of the hungry people live? (no more than 3 words)
Fill in the blank in Para. 1 with proper words. (no more than 5 words )
What does the underlined word "they"(line 4, paragraph 2 ) probably refer to? (no more than 6 words)
What is the suggested way to reduce hunger in Paragraph 3? (no more than 8 words )
Recently, university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged. It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours．
Unplugged is being run by Dr. Roman Gerodimos, a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University．During the experiment, Dr. Gerodimos said there were already signs of how much the exercise affected volunteers．He said：“They’re reporting withdrawal symptoms, overeating, feeling nervous, isolated and disconnected．”
During their 24-hour test, three of the experiment’s participants were followed around by a BBC reporter plus cameraman．They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day offline, but of course, they all waited until the next day when they had access to their laptops．
Elliot Day wrote：“Today, my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air．Despite being aware of the social importance of the media, I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers．”
From Caroline Scott, we read：“I didn’t expect it, but being deprived of the media for 24 hours resulted in my day-to-day activities becoming so much harder to carry out than usual…I didn’t break out in a cold sweat like our lecturer expected us all to, but It’s not something I would like to do again！”
And Charlotte Gay wrote：“I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been my mobile；not only is it a social device, it’s my main access point of communication．”
Earlier in the year, a UK government study found that in the UK we spend about half our waking hours using the media, often plugged into several things at once．So, with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate, how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future?What can we learn about the volunteers?
| A．Volunteers didn’t write down about their day offline． |
| B．Volunteers weren’t allowed to use any media for 24 hours． |
| C．Volunteers were followed around by Dr Roman Gerodimos． |
| D．Only volunteers in the UK took part in Unplugged experiment． |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the participants’ feelings？
| A．Anxious． | B．Lonely | C．Bored． | D．Despaired． |
Which of the following is true of Caroline Scott？
| A．The media ban affected his temperature． |
| B．His work went on smoothly without the media． |
| C．His work was carried on hard without the media． |
| D．His life was empty without the radio or newspapers． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．People should use the media devices reasonably． |
| B．People can easily survive the media devices addict． |
| C．People can spend more time sleeping in the future． |
| D．People spend about half the time using the media devices． |
The text is most probably a ．
| A．newspaper ad | B．book review | C．news report | D．science fiction story |
In modem 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 and that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people．
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied(依赖)on how well they performed at tennis and other skills．For them，playing well and winning are often life-and-death affair. 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．What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect． |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people． |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development． |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition． |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It pushes society forward． |
| B．it builds up a sense of duty． |
| C．It improves personal abilities． |
| D．It encourages individual efforts． |
The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means________．
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
| A．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others’． |
| B．One’s success in competition needs great efforts． |
| C．One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills． |
| D．One’s success is based on how hard he has tried． |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back． |
| B．Competition should be encouraged． |
| C．Winning should be a life—and—death matter． |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition． |
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LYG2560@sohu.comMargaret is now looking for________.
| A．her lost cat | B．an apartment | C．a job | D．a roommate |
Which of the following is NOT the requirement of EL house?
| A．Experienced in exam preparations. |
| B．Experienced in teaching Chinese. |
| C．Excellent command of English. |
| D．Degree holder. |
Tolook for a person to work in your restaurant, you can contact________.
| A．LYG2560@sohu. com | B．MLCT@sina. com |
| C．Backerl896@126. com | D．JGHTR@gmail. com |
If you rent the apartment near West Nanjing Road, ________.
| A．you should pay RMB 13，000 each month |
| B．you can work out in the gym |
| C．you can go shopping in the neighborhood |
| D．you can swim in an outdoor swimming pool |
What does the underlined word “incumbent” mean?
| A．Businessman. | B．Student. | C．Employee. | D．Employer. |
When Boris left school，he could not find a job．He tried hard and pestered(纠缠)his relatives，but they had problems of their Own. He answered advertisements until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris grew annoyed，then depressed，then a little hardened．Still he went on trying and still he failed．He began to think that he had no future at all.
“Why don’t you start your own business?” one of his uncles told him．“The world is a money-locker. You’d better find a way of opening it.”
“But what can I do?”
“Get out and have a look round,” advised his uncle in a vague sort of way．“See what people want；then give it to them，and they will pay for it.”
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of a waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer．He worked hard，made friends with his customers and gradually managed to build up his goodwill and profit．A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself．He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good：in the wrong position，too expensive or with some other snag(障碍). But at long last，he managed to find an empty shop on a new estate where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair scooters and motor-cycles．Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last，Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold Coins inside．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage ?
| A．Goodwill is the key to success． |
| B．The world is a money-locker |
| C．No education, no future |
| D．Difficulty of starting a small business |
Which of the following best describes Boris’ job hunting experience?
| A．Surprising | B．Encouraging | C．Boring | D．Disappointing |
Boris start his career by .
| A．cycling around the town |
| B．developing a waste ground |
| C．repairing cycles |
| D．buying empty shops |
Boris finally chose an empty shop on a new estate because.
| A．it was not so expensive |
| B．he had a lot of old customers there |
| C．he could make good use of his skills there |
| D．there were good opportunities there |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Boris.
| A．still couldn’t make good profits |
| B．set off in a successful career |
| C．found a lot of gold coins by accident |
| D．had great difficulty running his business |