B
When TV news programs report wars or disasters, the editors rarely use the most horrifying pictures of dead or wounded victims because they don’t want to upset their viewers. Even so, viewers are usually warned in advance that they may find some of these scenes disturbing, so they can look away if they choose. But the men and women whose job is to record those scenes－the TV cameramen－have no such choice. It is their duty to witness the horrors of the world and record them, no matter how terrible and unpleasant they may be. Consequently, it is one of the most dangerous, exposed and emotionally taxing jobs the world has to offer.
Today, the demand for their work is rising. The explosion of satellite broadcasting and 24-hour news in recent years has created an almost insatiable (贪得无厌的) demand for TV information. But major broadcasters and the TV news agencies—such as Reuters and WTN－have never had enough staff to meet the worldwide demand for up-to-date pictures, so increasingly they turn to “freelance” TV cameramen.
These freelance cameramen are independent operators tied to no particular organization. They will work for any company which hires them, be it for just a few hours or for several weeks in a war zone. But if the freelance cameraman is injured in the course of the job, the TV company is not responsible for him. The freelancer must survive on his own.
TV will always need hard, vivid moving pictures which are fresh, but these companies feel uncomfortable with large numbers of employees on their books, explains Nick Growing, once foreign editor for Britain Channel 4 News and now a BBC news presenter.
By hiring freelancers, they can buy in the skills they need only when they need them. It also enables them to contract out the risk, he says.
69. The freelance cameramen .
A. have better skills than other cameramen
B. are tied to many TV news agencies
C. have to take tremendous(巨大的) risks in the course of work
D. need to contract out risks of work for TV companies
70. It is implied in the passage that .
A. TV cameramen have to witness disasters and killing whether they like them or not
B. TV cameramen are a special group of people who enjoy horrifying pictures
C. TV cameramen should be given greater choice of work
D. the development of TV resulted in the growing demand for TV cameramen’s work
71. According to this passage, some major broadcasters and TV news agencies .
A. have employed enough cameramen
B. are not willing to employ many cameramen
C. are very mean to freelancers
D. are responsible for the freelancer if he is injured
72. The author of this passage shows his the freelance cameramen.
A. respect for B. sympathy to C. anger to D. admiration to
Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me.
There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be.
The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adults’ tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady told him the price.
The man’s wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man’s face. He quietly asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady again told him the price.
The man obviously didn’t have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news?
Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, you dropped this.”
The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad’s eyes, and in tears replied. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family.”
Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn’t go without.Why does the writer say “Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean” ( Paragraph 2)?
| A．To show how rich the family were. |
| B．To show cheap clothes could be popular. |
| C．To show how hard the mother worked. |
| D．To show the children were well looked after. |
Why was the poor man unhappy after he spoke with the ticket lady?
| A．He had lost his money. |
| B．His children were noisy. |
| C．The tickets were sold out. |
| D．The tickets were too expensive. |
Who did the $20 note belong to?
| A．The poor man . | B．The writer’s father. |
| C．The poor man’s wife. | D．The ticket lady. |
Why was the poor man in tears at the end of the story?
| A．He found the money he lost. |
| B．He wanted others to help him. |
| C．He made his children unhappy. |
| D．He was thankful for the kindness. |
Which of the following statements is probably true according to the passage?
| A．The poor mans saw the circus that night. |
| B．The two families became close friends. |
| C．The writer’s father earned some money. |
| D．The writer saw the circs that night. |
Growers around the world are using new methods to grow grapes to make wine. They use natural and organic methods to control harmful insects and weeds instead of using chemicals. Now, a winery in Canada has adopted a natural way to control its grapevines (葡萄藤).The Featherstone Winery is in southern Ontario. The grapevines, like other plants, need to be cut every year.
Cutting grapevines must be done very carefully. Only a targeted area of leaves is removed from the lower part of the vines to help the grapes grow better. But at the Featherstone Winery, no man or machine does the cutting. Instead, the job is done by 40 little wooly lambs.
David Johnson owns the vineyard. He says he learned about using lambs while visiting wineries in New Zealand. The young lambs are perfectly designed to do the job. They eat the grape leaves on the lower parts of the vine. But they are not tall enough to reach the grapes. They only weigh about 22 kilograms, so they do not beat down the soil. And their waste makes good organic fertilizer. In addition, using the lambs costs much less than hiring workers to cut the vines for seven weeks in summer. And when the cutting is done in August, the lambs become tasty dishes.
Mr Johnson says he had a difficult time finding enough lambs to do the job. There are about 50 million lambs in New Zealand. But there are not nearly as many in Ontario. Also, some organic pesticides (杀虫剂) are harmful to lambs. And the lambs must be watched to make sure they do not eat too much of the grapevines.
David Johnson says the lambs help him carry out his environmental ideas about farming. They are lovely and peaceful and he likes having them in his vineyard. People visiting the vineyard also enjoy watching the lambs do their job.Farmers who grow grapes with natural and organic methods _____.
| A．don't cut grapevines every year |
| B．don't use chemicals to control harmful insects and weeds |
| C．don't need to control harmful insects and weeds |
| D．don't use organic fertilizer |
In order to help the grapes grow better, growers _____.
| A．only have to remove the dead leaves |
| B．need to remove a specific area of leaves |
| C．shouldn't remove any part of the plants |
| D．should let little lambs do the cutting |
Paragraph 4 is mainly about _____.
| A．the future of getting lambs to do the cutting |
| B．the worries about using organic pesticides |
| C．the ways to get lambs to do the cutting |
| D．the problems related to lambs doing the cutting |
We can infer from the passage that David Johnson______.
| A．owns several wineries in Canada |
| B．buys lambs from New Zealand |
| C．is concerned about protecting the environment |
| D．loves keeping lambs instead of farming |
In the 18th century, New York was smaller than Philadelphia and Boston. Today it is the largest city in America. How can the change in its size and importance be explained?
To answer this question we must consider certain facts about geography, history, and economics. Together these three will explain the huge growth of America’s most famous city.
The map of the Northeast shows that the four areas with the largest populations in this region are around seaports. At these points materials from across the sea enter the United States, and the products of the land are sent there for export across the sea.
We know that places where transportation lines meet are good places for making raw materials into finished goods. That is why seaports often have cities nearby. But cities like New York needed more than their geographical location in order to become great industrial centers. Their development did not happen simply by chance.
About 1815, when many Americans from the east had already moved toward the west, transportation routes from the seaports to the central regions of the country began to be a serious problem. The slow wagons of that time, usually drawn by horses, were too expensive for moving heavy freight (货物) very far. In New York State a canal seemed the best answer to the transportation problem. From the eastern end of Lake Erie all the way across the state to the Hudson River there is a long strip of low land. Here the Erie Canal was built, and after several years of work it was completed in 1825.
The canal produced an immediate effect. Freight costs were cut to about one tenth of what they had been. New York City, which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston, quickly became the leading city of the coast. In the years that followed, transportation routes on the Great Lakes were joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end point of a great inland shipping system that started from the Atlantic Ocean far up the western branches of the Mississippi.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Development of Transportation in New York |
| B．Export and Import of New York |
| C．How New York Became America's Largest City |
| D．How New York Exchanged with Europe |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The Erie Canal connected Lake Erie with the Hudson River. |
| B．Economists are of the opinion that places where farming is done are good for making raw materials into finished goods. |
| C．Wagons drawn by horses and oxen soon proved to be better and cheaper than canal transportation. |
| D．The seaports usually have less population but more business. |
Freight costs were reduced to 10% of what they had been because of ________.
| A．cheap and fast wagons | B．the new sea routes |
| C．the construction of the Erie Canal | D．the development of industry |
Risk of death is 3.5 to 5 times greater for obese (肥胖的) smokers than it is for people who have never smoked and are at a normal weight, according to a study published in the November, 2006 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The study, which began with a self-administered questionnaire taken between 1983 and 1989, asked more than 80,000 radiologic technologists aged 22 to 92 questions about age, height, weight and smoking behavior.
BMI (body mass index) was calculated, with a BMI of 30 to 34.9 being considered obese, and 35 and over being very obese. Smoking behavior was analyzed by looking at a person's tobacco consumption level, number of years smoked, and current smoking status. Researchers then followed participants through December of 2002, noting the number of deaths that occurred.
The study involved researchers from the National Cancer Institute, the University of Minnesota and the American Registry of Radiolegic Technologists.
Key Findings:
20 percent of obese adults in the United States smoke.
Obese smokers face a greater risk of death from cancer and circulatory disease.
Current smoking is a greater risk factor for death by cancer than obesity is, generally speaking.
The higher a person's pack-years (number of packs smoked per day times the number of years smoked) are, the greater the risk of death.
Men and women of all ages faced an elevated risk of death due to circulatory disease as BMI increased. And for those who were both obese and currently smoking, risk of circulatory disease increased 6 to 11 times under the age of 65, as compared to their never-smoking, normal weight counterparts.
While it's not surprising that obesity coupled with smoking is a recipe for trouble, it is important to highlight this growing health concern in America today.
Taking Charge of Your Health
Making healthy choices can be difficult when we're constantly exposed to products that are dangerous to our health, but it's not impossible. With education and some motivation, we all have the ability to make lasting changes for the better. If you're an overweight smoker worried about gaining weight due to quitting, take heart. It's never too late to change your course and even reduce damage to some extent.60. What is the American Journal of Preventive Medicine?
| A．An medical institute. | B．A research center. |
| C．A medical magazine | D．A TV station |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Obese smokers are less likely to suffer from cancer. |
| B．Obese smokers are more likely to suffer from cancer. |
| C．Obese smokers tend to gain fewer body mass index. |
| D．Obese smokers tend to get heavier than those who never smoke. |
According to the author, it is ________ to get rid of smoking.
| A．easy and possible | B．difficult and impossible |
| C．easy ant worthwhile | D．difficult but worthwhile |
What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To inform the readers of the findings about obese smoking. |
| B．To warn the readers of the danger of obese smoking. |
| C．To tell us what obese smoking is. |
| D．To call on the obese smokers to quit smoking. |
Twenty years is just a blink in time. But 20 years is also long enough for a man to grow up. It is always painful. For Andrew Agassi, maturing in the spotlight of international tennis competition was even harder.
On September 3, the American tennis player said a tearful goodbye to his 21-year career after a third-round defeat in the US Open. The 36-year-old tried his best, but was unable to keep up with German Benjamin Becker, more than ten years his junior.
"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what I've found," Agassi said to the fans. "I have found inspiration and you willed me to succeed." It was an emotional speech at the end of a long career.
Agassi hated tennis as a teenager as much as he loves it now. His father made him play when he was a child. He got bored, and became a rebel(叛逆). The strict training that his father pushed upon him got in the way of his wild lifestyle. He grew hair long, wore colorful clothes and spat at a judge. Over the years, he has made bad jokes during news conferences. Asked what he would say to his 17-year-old self, Agassi answered, "I would say, I understand you a lot more than I want to be you."
The turning point in Agassi's career came in 1992 when he unexpectedly won his first Grand Slam (大满贯赛事)at Wimbledon. It was the first time Agassi understood what real champions finally understand: winning is a test of courage and not just power, it's a marathon, not a sprint(短跑).
And what a marathon Agassi was about to begin. He cut his long hair, got fitter and tightened up emotionally. On the court, he ranked No. 1 for almost two years. His lowest point came in 1997 when his ranking dropped to No. 141. He didn't quit though. "I knew that I would try to get the most out of myself every day from that day forward. That was my promise," he said. "That never stopped." The underlined phrase "more than ten years his junior" in the second paragraph means _________.
| A．having lower ranking than Agassi for more than ten years |
| B．having higher ranking than Agassi for more than ten years |
| C．more than ten years older than Agassi |
| D．more than ten years younger than Agassi |
How did Agassi feel when he was defeated in the competition?
| A．He felt angry with the judge |
| B．He felt satisfied with the scoreboard |
| C．He felt regretful but encouraged |
| D．He felt in great desperation |
The passage implies ______.
| A．after 1997 Agassi began to take up marathon besides tennis |
| B．Agassi began to play tennis before he was fifteen |
| C．Agassi hesitated to quit his sports career |
| D．the reason why Agassi lost his last competition was that he lacked courage and power |
The score of the match between Agassi and Becker is ______.
| A．0-2 | B．0-3 | C．1-3 | D．2-3 |