Among various programmes, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style(风格). But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “rubbish talk”. The contents on his show are as surprising as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people’s lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top. But Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality(质量) of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show’s main viewers are middleclass Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life’s tough problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show’s exploitation.
1. Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are ____.
A. more interesting B. unusually popular C. more detailed D. more formal
2. Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant, people who watch the shows____.
A. remain interested in them B. are ready to face up to them
C. remain cold to them D. are willing to get away from them
3. Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
A. A new type of robot. B. Nation hatred.
C. Family income planning. D. Street accident.
4. We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows_____.
A. have become the only ones of its kind
B. exploit the weaknesses in human nature
C. appear at different times of the day
D. attract different people
While assisted living centres have been available in the United States for many years, the growth and availability of assisted living has had a dramatic increase since the early 1990s. An assisted living centre is a residential alternative that promotes maximum independence for each resident through a combination of supportive services and assistance. The definition of assisted living from one state to another may vary and so will the cost and types of services.
Assisted living centres vary in size, style and the optional services they may offer. Small family style living centres or the larger complex units can be found in the United States. Some facilities are operated by nonprofit organizations, while others are proprietary In addition, some facilities may be colocated or affiliated (附属) with a hospital or nursing facility.
An assisted living centre is any institution, rest home, boarding home, place, building or agency that is maintained and operated to provide personal care and services which meet some needs beyond basic provision of food, shelter and laundry in a free standing, physically separate facility which is not otherwise required to be licensed.
In general terms, an assisted living centre is required to provide assistance with daily living activities, including eating, bathing, dressing and personal hygiene; three meals a day; supervision （监督,管理) of self-administration of medications; laundry service including personal laundry, housekeeping, and 24-hour staffing.What is an assisted living centre?
| A．A hotel that serves meals. |
| B．A place for children to be taken care of. |
| C．An entertainment place for adults. |
| D．A place which gives supportive services and assistance. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．All assisted living centres offer the same kinds of services. |
| B．A1l assisted living centres cost the same. |
| C．There are different kinds of assisted living centres in the United States. |
| D．All assisted living centres are of the same size. |
The underlined word "proprietary" in the second paragraph probably means "____".
| A．state-owned |
| B．governmental |
| C．owned by a charity organization |
| D．private |
An assisted living centre offers the following services EXCEPT ____.
| A．meals |
| B．washing |
| C．education |
| D．housekeeping |
What does the passage talk about?
| A．What's an assisted living centre? |
| B．Assisted living centres are popular in the United States. |
| C．Assisted living centres offer good services. |
| D．Welcome to the assisted living centre. |
Sport is very popular in England. In other words lots of English people like the idea of sport and watch sport on TV. But the number who takes part in sport is quite small. On the whole, English people prefer to
be fat rather than be thin.
The most popular sport in England is football. Football is played on Saturday afternoon in most towns and the supporters of a certain team will travel from one end of the country to the other to see their team play. There are four divisions (级别 ) of the footbaLl league. Not surprisingly the best teams are in the first division. But the best supporters are often in the fourth division. You have to be a good supporter to watch the fourth division football! is the most popular sport in England.
| A．Basketball | B．Football |
| C．Golf | D．Tennis |
You have to be a good supporter to watch division football.
| A．the first | B．the second |
| C．the third | D．the fourth |
Why do many English people not take part in sport?
| A．They are too busy. |
| B．They like watching sport on TV. |
| C．They would like to be fat. |
| D．They prefer to be thin. |
Fifty years ago not many people would have something repaired by themselves. In those days labour was fairly cheap and most people would have thought it worthwhile to have somebody repair their things unless they were very poor. Today, however, it is quite a different story. Men and women in all walks of life turn their hands to all kinds of jobs round the house. Some people have even successfully built their own houses. These jobs have been made easier today by using prepared materials.
In every high street throughout Britain nowadays there is at least one “DIY” shop. And “Do-it-yourself” is a booming business. A lot of people visit these shops every day because of the high cost of the present-day labour. Fifty years ago if people needed some repairs, they would .
| A．try to mend them by themselves |
| B．throw them away |
| C．repair them in their homes |
| D．have somebody repair them unless they were poor |
Many jobs have been made easier today because .
| A．some people have successfully built their own houses |
| B．men and women turn their hands to all kinds of jobs |
| C．they can be done by using prepared materials |
| D．a lot of people are very hard up for money |
From the passage we know that
| A．there are many “DIY” shops in Britain |
| B．not every high street in Britain has one “DIY” shop |
| C．people can do nothing without using prepared materials |
| D．"Do-it-yourself" is a lazy business in cities |
Why do a lot of people visit “DIY” shops every day?
| A．Because people are used to doing things at home. |
| B．Because the present-day labour is no longer cheap. |
| C．Because they are interested in shopping. |
| D．Because they enjoy the high cost of present-day labour. |
Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York — he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April 1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.
Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton's foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's hometown, Tennessee." I think, maybe Linda and I can do something like this when we retire," Tim recalled. He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder".
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on www.imaginationlibrary.com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of books and postage discounts.
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. "We don't want to give the children rubbish, "said Linda. The books — reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists, and Dollywood board members - included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series.
Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: "This program introduces us to books I've never heard of."
The Richters spend about $400 a month sending books t0 200 children. "Some people sit there and wait to die, "said Tim. "Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left."What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life?
| A．His health problem. |
| B．His love for teaching. |
| C．The influence of his wife. |
| D．The news from the web. |
What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?
| A．Give out brochures. |
| B．Mailing books to children. |
| C．Write books to children. |
| D．Retire from being a teacher. |
According to the text, Dolly Parton is____.
| A．a well-known surgeon |
| B．a mother of a child |
| C．a singer born in Tennessee |
| D．a computer programmer |
Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?
| A．To avoid signing up online. |
| B．To meet Dollywood board members. |
| C．To make sure the books were the newest. |
| D．To see if the, books were of good quality. |
The news report that night was about a famine(饥荒) in Ethiopia. The pictures were of people who were so thin that they looked like beings from another planet. The camera(摄像机) focused(聚焦 ) on one man so that he looked directly at me, sitting in my comfortable living room. All around was the sound of death.
It was clear that the world had not noticed this until now. You could hear the sadness in the voice of the reporter, Michael Buerk. At the end of the report he was silent. Paula started crying, and then rushed upstairs to check our baby, Fifi, who was sleeping peacefully.
I kept the news' pictures in my mind. What could I do? I was only a pop singer and by now not a very successful pop singer. All I could do was to make records which no one bought. But I would do that. I
would give all the profits(利润) of the next Rats(the name of the music group he was in) record to Oxfam, an organization in Britain which helps poor people around the world. What good would that do? It would only be a little money but it was more than I could give just from my bank account. Maybe some people would buy it because the profits were for Oxfam. And I would be protesting about this disaster(灾难). But that was not enough. What do we Learn about the writer from the text?
| A．He felt really bad because the news report made him think of his own hard life. |
| B．After he saw a news report on TV about the famine in Ethiopia, he decided that he had to do something about the problem. |
| C．His ideas on how to collect money for the people in Ethiopia were very successful. |
| D．He wanted to do nothing but be a famous singer. |
Which paragraph describes(描写) what he thought about after watching the news?
| A．Paragraph l. |
| B．Paragraph 2. |
| C．Paragraph 3. |
| D．None. |
The writer wished that ____ .
| A．he would be a very successful pop singer if he could have sold all his records |
| B．he would rather give all his money from his bank account than the little money made by making new records |
| C．perhaps people would be interested in his records because they knew that the money they paid for them would go to Oxfam. |
| D．he would make records which no one bought |