What is eBay? The simple answer is that it is a global trading platform where nearly anyone can trade practically anything. People can sell and buy all kinds of products and goods, including cars, movies and DVDs, sporting goods, travel tickets, musical instruments, clothes and shoes — the list goes on and on The idea came from Peter Omidyar, who was born in Paris and moved to Washington when he was still a child. At high school, he became very interested in computer programming and after graduating from Tuft University in 1988, he worked for the next few years as a computer engineer. In his free time he started Bay as a kind of hobby, at first offering the service free by word of mouth. By 1996 there was so much traffic on the website that he had to upgrade (升级) and he began charging a fee to members. Joined by a friend, Peter Skill, and in 1998 by his capable CEO, Meg Whitman, he has never looked back. Even in the great crashes of the late 1990s, ebay has gone from strength to strength. It is now one of the ten most visited online shopping websites on the Internet
Ebay sells connections, not goods, putting buyer and seller into contact with each other. All you have to do is lake an e-photo, write a description, fill out a sales form and you are in business. The world is your market place. Of course for each item, eBay gets a percentage and that is a great deal of money. Every day there are more than sixteen million items listed on eBay and eighty percent of the items are sold.
42. We learn from the text that eBay provides people with _________.
A. a way of buying and selling goods
B. a place to show their own photos
C. a website for them to upgrade
D. a chance to buy things at low prices
43. Why did Peter create eBay after graduating from university?
A. For fun B. To make money
C. For gathering the engineers D. To fulfill a task of his company
44. From “he has never looked back” in Paragraph 2 we learn that Peter _________.
A. did not feel lonely B. was always hopeful
C. did not think about the past D. became more and more successful
45. How does eBay make money from its website?
A. By bringing sellers together. B. By charging for each sale
C. By listing items online D. By making e-photos.
There is a story about the moon cake.During the Yuan dynasty, China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Song dynasty were unhappy about being ruled by foreigners, so they began to organize a secret rebellion. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Baked into each cake was a message containing the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. Today, these cakes are eaten to commemorate(纪念)this legend and are called Moon Cakes.
For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of this rich tasting dessert. Some people have compared moon cakes to the plum puddings and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons.
Nowadays, there are hundreds of varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of the Moon Festival.According to this passage, people eat moon cakes on the Moon Festival because___________ .
A.it is a tradition |
B.moon cakes are tasty |
C.moon cakes look like the moon |
D.people want to remember the rebellion against the Mongolian rulers |
The leaders ordered the special cakes to be made in order to _________________
A.prize the rebels | B.celebrate the holiday |
C.plan the attack | D.carry the message secretly |
Why did those leaders want to overthrow the government? __________________ .
A.Because they wanted to rule the country. |
B.Because they were unhappy that China was ruled by the Mongolian. |
C.Because they were from the preceding Song dynasty. |
D.Because they wanted to celebrate the Moon Festival in their way. |
Which of the following statements is WRONG? __________________ .
A.China was once ruled by the Mongolian people during the Yuan dynasty. |
B.Moon cakes were originally made to carry a message. |
C.All moon cakes have a cooked egg yolk in them. |
D.A variety of moon cakes can be bought a month before the Moon Festival now. |
The best title for the passage is “_______”.
A.The origin of moon cakes | B.Moon cakes and the Moon Festival |
C.Moon Festival | D.How the Moon Festival came into being |
Autumn and winter are cold and flu seasons. Will the old advice about dressing warmly help prevent a cold, or if you get sick, should you follow the old saying, “feed a cold and starve a fever?” And what about that fever? Should you take medicine to reduce your temperature, or is it better to let the body treat the fever itself? Everyone seems to have an answer. But is popular wisdom valuable?
Doctor Nelson knows a lot about cold and flu seasons. Nelson says research may be just starting to provide proofs for long-held beliefs. For example, scientists for years were against the idea that getting cold and wet might cause colds or flu. But recent studies have shown that cold temperatures cause stress on the body, and that stress can create conditions more inviting to viruses. So maybe it does make sense to wrap up warmly before going outside.
And what about feeding a cold and starving a fever? Nelson says if you have a cold and are hungry, you should eat. But a fever, especially a high one, suggests a more serious problem. He says people are usually not hungry when they have a high fever. Eating might even make a person sick. But drinking enough water is important. A fever easily makes the body lose water.
Finally, when should you treat a fever? Nelson says a fever should be treated if it stays at
40℃ or above for a day or more. A high temperature can damage brain cells. The doctor also believes in treating a fever if it prevents a person from sleeping.
Medicine like aspirin, for example, can be used to reduce pain and fever. But aspirin should not be given to children because it can cause serious problems.We can learn from the passage that Doctor Nelson________.
A.doesn’t believe in the old advice about preventing colds |
B.is now trying his best to provide proofs for long-held beliefs. |
C.doesn’t think it necessary to see a doctor immediately if a person has a temperature of 40℃ |
D.doesn’t think it necessary to treat a fever even if it prevents someone from sleeping. |
According to Doctor Nelson, if someone catches a fever, he should________.
A.bathe in cold water | B.drink enough water |
C.try to eat something | D.take some exercise outside |
Which of the following is Not mentioned in the passage?
A.When people should treat a fever |
B.Whether the old advice about preventing a cold is valuable. |
C.What the medicine , aspirin, is used for. |
D.Why people should eat when having a cold. |
The passage suggests that_______.
A.aspirin can damage train cells if an adult takes too much of it. |
B.it is easier for people to catch colds when their bodies are stressed. |
C.some old advice about preventing colds doesn’t make any sense. |
D.the idea that getting cold can cause flu was proved true years ago. |
After we finished thirteen miles of hiking, we were tired and our muscles ached as we made our way back to New England. The car ride to the airport followed by a two-hour flight left our legs more worse condition than they were when we first came off the mountain we just climbed.
When we heard that two seats in first class on our next flight were available for a bit higher price, we jumped at the opportunity. Our spirits lifted immediately. After all, flying first class was a new experience for us, and we would end our adventure in comfort and style.
As we boarded the plane, we noticed that the stewardess(空姐) was working non-stop to ensure the comfort of the first class passengers. She could not walk by a seat without receiving an order. How much she must love her job! She smiled kindly at each one while attending to their needs.
As the stewardess walked by our seats near the end of the flight, I looked at her and said, “Thank you and I hope you have a great night.” She stopped, bent down, looked at me and said, “Excuse me.” I repeated my words and she smiled in a rather funny way, almost as if I had asked her a question that she did not know how to answer.
After a few moments she returned to our seats. “I can tell you work with the public,” she said. “Why do you think so?” I asked. She answered very quietly, “Because you are the only passenger here to say something nice to me tonight and I really appreciate your kindness.”
The sense of belonging to the elite(精英) group of people in first class disappeared as we heard her words. Our first class seats offered us more than a comfortable ride. We were reminded that without kindness, we would be flying in no class.Where did the writer ever go hiking?
A.In a forest | B.In a mountain | C.Along a river | D.Near an airport |
Why did they choose to take a first class flight?
A.Because they were extremely tired |
B.Because they wanted to go back as soon as possible |
C.Because the tickets were cheaper |
D.Because they wanted to enjoy the first class service. |
After boarding the plane, the writer felt_______.
A.proud | B.uncomfortable | C.nervous | D.disappointed |
When the stewardess first heard what the writer said, she_________.
A.didn’t understand the writer | B.knew what work the writer did |
C.didn’t believe her ears | D.had a big smile on her face |
Jodie Foster was born on Nobember 19,1962,in Los Angeles, Carlif., US. She is an American film actress who began her career as a mature(成熟的) child actress.
Jodie began her performing career as a very young child in television, appearing first in commercials(商业广告). She starred in her own short-lived series, Paper Moon (1974), based on the 1973 film of the same name. She appeared in a number of Disney films, beginning with Napoleon and Samantha (1972).
Director Martin Scorsese cast Jodie in a bit part in Alice Doesn’t live Here Anymore (1974) before giving her the role of Iris in Taxi Driver (1976). Her mature performance in Taxi Driver earned her an Academy Award nomination(提名) as best supporting actress. Her later films as child actress were less impressive, but her performances were always admired. Jodie graduated from Yale University in 1985.
Perhaps because of her screen image of early maturity, Foster was abler to make a relatively smooth transition to adult roles. In The Accused (1988), she gave a perfect performance as Sarah Tobias. In The Silence of the Lames (1991), she tracks a killer as FBI agent Clarice Starling. Both performances won her Academy Awards as best actress.
In 1990s, Jodie went into other areas of filmmaking. She directed her best film, Little Man Tate, in 1991,in which she also co-starred. In 1994, she co-produced Nell, for which she also received an Oscar nomination for best actress. In 1997, Foster starred in Contact. Her later films included Panic Room (2002), Inside Man (2006), and The Brave One (2007).Which of the following film won Jodie Foster Academy Awards as best actress?
a.Taxi Driver b.The Accused c.Nell d.The Silence of the Lambs
A.bcd | B.ac | C.bd | D.abcd |
We can learn from the passage that________.
A.it was in a TV series that Jodie made her first TV appearance. |
B.some of Jodie’s performances as a child actress were thought to be very bad. |
C.Jodie became famous at a young age because of her mature performance. |
D.Jodie played a very important role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. |
In which part of a newspaper would you most probably read this passage?
A.People | B.Business | C.Fashion | D.Career |
English is a very interesting language. It has borrowed words from many other languages. Immigrants(移民) coming into the United States have contributed many words to the language, which have kept their original pronunciation. “Coolie” and “kowtow” were taken from the Chinese language, “kamikaze from the Japanese, “shampoo” from India, “blitz” from German, “amigo” and “Los Angeles” from Spanish and so on.
Many students have studied English for years, some as many as eight. However, some students still have difficulty in speaking fluent English. Some know many words but are unable to discern them when native speakers use them. In our Oral English classes we will focus on speaking and listening to native English speakers. For this reason, because we are trying to train your ears to hear English and your mouths to speak intelligible (易理解的) English, we will have a rule that ONLY ENGLISH will be spoken in our English classes. Anyone speaking Chinese in class will be required to pay a fine in order to encourage the speaking and understanding of English. If teachers enter a classroom and discover that anyone is speaking Chinese, they will require everyone in the room to pay the fine. It is everyone’s job to enforce the English-Only rule. It is for your benefit. It is because we want to accustom (使习惯于) your ears to hearing English.
Other subjects may be learned solely from books but the only way to learn a foreign language is to SPEAK IT! Students are often nervous about speaking in class at first but we hope to make the classes fun, so you will forget your nervousness and learn to speak out. Enjoy your classes.The first paragraph is mainly about________.
A.the difficulty of learning English. | B.how interesting and various English is |
C.different words in different languages | D.the immigrants’ contributions to America |
The underlined word “discern” in Para 2 can be replaced by___________.
A.understand | B.notice | C.hear | D.speak |
In the author’s opinion , the only way to learn a language well is to__________.
A.listen to it on the radio | B.learn it from books | C.play games with it | D.speak it often |
The article is probably aimed at________.
A.Japanese students | B.German students | C.Chinese students | D.Indian students |