Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie．For example, a two-hour movie costs $ 6 million to make．A TV commercial can cost more than $ 6 000 a second．And that does not include cost of paying for air time(电视节目开始的时间)．Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money--and making money is what television is all about the commercial is by far the more important．
Research, market testing, talent, time and money-----all come together to make us want to buy a product．No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works．The sales of Charm went up once the ads began．TV commercials actually buy their way into our head．We, in turn, buy the product．
And the ads work because so much time an attention are given them．Here are some rules of commercial ad making．If you want to get the low middle-class buyer, make sure the announcer has a tough, manly voice．Put some people in the ad who work with their hands．If you want to sell to upper-class audience, make sure that the house, the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies (识别) with．If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself
We laugh at commercials．We don't think we pay that much attention them．But facts show we are kidding ourselves．The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff．It's big, big business．And it's telling us what to think, what we need, and what to buy．To put it simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing．TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because _______．
| A．they bring in great profits (利润) | B．they require a lot of money to make |
| C．they are not difficult to produce | D．they attract more viewers than other programs |
The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is ________．
| A．to persuade people to buy the product | B．to show how valuable the product is |
| C．to test the market value of the product | D．to make them as interesting as TV movies |
From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that_________．
| A．the lower-middle-class buyer likes to work with his hand |
| B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product |
| C．ad designers attract different people with different skills |
| D．an upper-class buyer is more interested in houses and furniture than a lower-middle-class buyer |
It is believed by the writer that_________．
| A．few people like to watch TV commercials |
| B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers |
| C．TV commercials often make people laugh |
| D．people do not think highly of TV commercials |
Here are a few tips we’ve put together to help you learn English well.
Speak, speak, speak
Practise speaking as often as you can—even speaking to yourself is good practice.
Try recording yourself whenever you can. Compare your pronunciation with some famous persons’, see how you can do better and have another go. If you do this several times, you will find that each time is better than the last.
Why not learn with someone else?
It helps if you can learn with someone else. If you can persuade a friend or a family member to study with you, it will make you keep working.
Don’t get stuck by a word you don’t know.
Practise improvising（即兴的）ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously（本能地）, even if you don’t know the exact words or phrases. Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time. Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to get your meaning across.
Language learning is also about intuition（直觉）.
Guesswork is an important way to learn a new language. When listening to recorded material, you aren’t expected to understand everything at once. If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time.
Build up your vocabulary.
A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once. It’s best to study often, for short periods of time. Take at most six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them. Put them into sentences to remember them in your mind, then come back to them later.
And above all, have fun!Why should one have himself recorded when practicing speaking?
| A．To improve his speaking. |
| B．To record his own progress. |
| C．To encourage others to start. |
| D．To become a famous person. |
It is implied(暗示) in the passage that _______ is helpful when you are learning English.
| A．a good dictionary | B．a good school |
| C．excellent pronunciation | D．body language |
According to the passage, one should ______ when you are learning English.
| A．always work with other people |
| B．be able to guess everything new |
| C．often review what he has learnt |
| D．take little notice of grammar |
In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet“fair weather friends”. They will be with you if you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener. At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.
Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on (信赖) a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?
| A．understanding. | B．honesty. |
| C．reliability. | D．a sense of humor. |
If you have fair weather friends, ______ .
| A．they will give you all that they have when you need help |
| B．you will be refused when you get into trouble |
| C．you will become rich |
| D．you can be sure that you get real friends |
This passage mainly discuss ______ .
| A．the qualities of a friend |
| B．where to choose friends |
| C．how to get along with friends |
| D．the importance of having a friend |
Have you ever done something foolish that made you feel so embarrassed（尴尬的）?
Well, that’s exactly how I felt. On a Saturday morning last autumn．I had gone to town to do some shopping and as I was on my way home，it suddenly began to rain. I at once ran into a nearby phone box because I didn’t have an umbrella．It was raining so heavily that I have to stay in the phone box until it stopped．
A few moments later，I saw a young man walk up to the phone box，wearing a yellow raincoat and holding a box. I didn’t want to go out into the rain，so I picked up the phone and pretended（假装） I was talking to someone. I thought the man would go away，but he didn’t. He just waited in the rain，watching me. I had to wave my hands about and acted as if I was deep in conversation.
Luckily，it began to stop after about ten minutes．“Okay，Mum，” I said loudly into the phone，“I’ll see you later Bye!” I put the phone down, picked up my shopping bag and walked out of the phone box “I’m sorry I took so long,”I said to the man．
“Oh, I don’t want to use the phone,”he replied, smiling．“I’ve just come to repair it. It’s out of order．you see.” I felt myself go red in the face and I hurried away with my head down，feeling a complete fool. That was certainly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life!Why did the writer go to the phone box and stay there?
| A．Because she wanted to keep warm. |
| B．Because she wanted to wait for her friend there. |
| C．Because she wanted to phone her mother. |
| D．Because it rained heavily and she had no umbrella with her. |
What did the writer think the young man wanted to do?
| A．To repair the phone. | B．To use the phone. |
| C．To shake hands with her. | D．To listen to the phone box. |
How long did the young man wait for?
| A．About five minutes． | B．About fifteen minutes. |
| C．About ten minutes. | D．About thirty minutes. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The story happened on a cold Saturday morning last summer. |
| B．The writer was telephoning to her mother when the it rained． |
| C．It suddenly rained when the writer was on her way home after shopping. |
| D．The writer thought the rain would last long. |
The World Bank is warning that the West Africa Ebola outbreak could seriously harm the economies(经济) of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone unless action is taken quickly. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim spoke to reporters recently to discuss the effects of the Ebola spread.
"Our findings show that if the virus(病毒) continues to spread, the economic cost to these countries could grow eight times by 2015. This would be a big catastrophe to their already weak economies," said Kim.
Mr. Kim says, "saving lives and preventing new spread" is most important. The bank has given $117-million for an "immediate help." The World Bank President says the SARS outbreak between 2002 and 2004 showed how a disease could damage economies. 800 people died from SARS and the economic losses were up to $40-billion.
Mr. Kim says SARS and the H1N1 outbreak of 2009 taught that fear and avoidance resulted in about 90-percent of the economic losses. That means the disease is causing two levels of economic damage.
"There are two kinds of contagion(传染). One is connected with the virus itself and the second is connected with the spread of fear about the virus," said Kim.
The World Bank thinks the losses to the economies of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will be big .Mr. Kim says losses could be about $97-million at the moment.
Mr. Kim says fast action is necessary. He says getting the disease under control is still far away. That is because there are not enough health care workers in the affected areas. The World Bank President says the most important measure is to act quickly in order to limit economic losses.What does the underlined word mean in the second paragraph?
| A．effort | B．disaster |
| C．warning | D．result |
If quick action is not taken to stop the spread of Ebola, the economic losses could reach about_______by 2015.
| A．$800-million | B．$97-million |
| C．$117-million | D．$40-billion. |
What’s the main idea of the whole passage?
| A．Ebola is a serious and infectious(传染的）illness. |
| B．Large numbers of people have died from Ebola. |
| C．People in the West Africa are in great fear of the spread of Ebola virus. |
| D．Ebola will harm economies in the West Africa seriously without quick action. |
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. In her biography（传记）, she well remembers her good friend, Sean, whom she met in secondary school, helped build her confidence in becoming a very good writer. “He was the first person to know my serious dream to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was certain to be a success at it, which meant much more to me.”
Rowling met many difficulties in her writing, especially fantasy(幻想) stories. It wasn't until l990 that she first got the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four(delayed train) hours, and all the details appear in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, glasses-wearing boy who didn't know he was a wizard (男巫) became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother passed away after a ten-year illness, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling suffered from depression(抑郁症). She, out of work,completed her first novel in the cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with the confidence of a friend!
Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?
| A．Confidence of a Friend Helped the Success of Harry Potter |
| B．J.K.Rowing’s Hard Life and the Success of Harry Potter |
| C．J.K.Rowing---author of the Harry Potter book series |
| D．How J.K.Rowing Firstly Got the Idea of Harry Potter |
According to the passage, we know J.K.Rowing_______.
| A．had a happy family |
| B．had a ten-year illness |
| C．earned a lot from her novels |
| D．published 12 books in 64 languages |
Where did J.K.Rowing first have the shape of Harry Potter?
| A．in the cafes | B．on a train |
| C．in a secondary school | D．in a publishing house |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Harry Potter’s friends didn’t know he was a wizard until he graduated. |
| B．J.K.Rowing wrote down her idea while she was on the train by borrowing a pen. |
| C．It’s lucky that J.K.Rowing didn’t have a pen while she got the idea of Harry Potter. |
| D．Harry Potter was a thin, yellow-haired handsome boy with a pair of glasses on his nose. |