Most musicians agree that the best violins were first made in Italy．They were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago．These violins sound better than any others．They even sound better than violins made today．Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins．But they aren’t the same．Musicians still prefer the old ones．No one really knows why these old Italian violins are so special, but many people think they have an answer．
Some people think it is the age of the violins．They say that today’s violins will also sound wonderful someday．But there is a problem here．Not all old violins sound wonderful．Only those from Cremona are special．So age cannot be the answer．There must be something different about Cremona or those Italian violin makers．
Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood．The wood of the violin is very important．It must be from certain kinds of trees．It must not be too young or too old．Perhaps the violin makers of Cremons knew something special about wood for violins．
But the kind of wood may not be so important．It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way．Wood for a violin must be cut very carefully．It has to be the right size and shape．The smallest difference will cha
nge the sound of the violin．Musicians sometimes think that this was the secret of the Italians．Maybe they understood more than we d
o about how to cut the wood．
Size and shape may not be the answer either．Scientists measured these old violins very carefully．They can make new ones that are exactly the same size and shape．But the new violins still do not sound as good as the old one．Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish, which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny．It also helps the sound of the instrument．No one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish．So no one can make the same varnish today．
There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona．Their secret may be lost forever．Young musicians today hope this is not true．They need fine violins．But there aren’t very many of the old violins left．Also, the old violins are very expensive．Recently, a famous old Italian violin was sold for about US $ 300,000!This passage is about _______．
| A．making violins | B．musical instruments |
C．scientific ideas | D．the old Italian violins |
The best violins _______．
| A．are made with modern techniques | B．were lost many years ago |
| C．were made in Italy 200 years ago | D．were made by scientists． |
Some people think that modem violins ______．
| A．will sound better in the future | B．will sound worse in the future |
| C．sound wonderful naturally | D．will never be as old as those from Cremona |
Violins made today _______．
| A．look the same as the old ones |
B．sound the same as the old ones |
C．are better than the old ones |
| D．have the same varnish as the old ones |
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56．If you want to find more information about hotels with breakfast, which of the following websites can you go to ?
A．www.HIExpress. Com/HongKong B．www.agoda.com/Hong-Kong-hotels
C．Four Seasons.com/hongkong D．Booking.com/hotels-hong-kong
57．At a discounted hotel, how much can you save for a room for HK$200per night?
A．HK$150 B．HK$100 C．HK$50 D．HK$75
58．From the ads above we know that
A．Hong Kong Hotels guarantee low rates and free computers
B．guests can give reviews on the hotel they have lived in
C．booking a hotel online is quite a special offer
D．experience in Hong Kong is an expensive night
Dear Economist,
My newly-wedded wife and I are deeply in love. There is, however, one issue that threatens the happiness of our marriage. I absolutely insist on shopping at Walmart. My wife, meanwhile, would rather avoid Walmart at all costs.
I have recently tried to convince her that not only does Walmart offer the lowest prices known to man, but that the chain is also a force for good―lower prices mean better standards of living for all consumers, increased global trade means a tighter-knit(紧密团结的) international community, and efficient operations translate into higher productivity growth for the economy. My wife complains about poor labour policies, the “fact” that Walmart squeezes suppliers, and that it puts local shops out of business.
Who is right? Will our marriage survive?
Brian Gee
Dear Brian,
I have to agree with you about Walmart. Jason Furman, then an economist at New York University, now an adviser to President Obama, famously argued in 2005 that Walmart was unwittingly (不知不觉地) a progressive success story. The chain’s prices don’t much affect me (I prefer Whole Foods) but Furman estimated that they benefited low-and-middle-income Americans to the sum of around $250 billion a year.
Walmart does not pay much, so it may depress wages. Then again, it may increase wages by offering jobs to the otherwise-unemployed. Either way, the benefits of low prices to Walmart shoppers far outweigh any seemingly reasonable costs to Walmart employees. And while it is true that Walmart employees tend to be poor, the same is true of Walmart shoppers.
Armed with this information you can face your wife with confidence. You are sure to win the conversation. The divorce is likely to be more argued.
Economist
68. What concerns Brian Gee so much that he wrote the letter?
A. His wife refuses to shop at Walmart.
B. They are faced with a divorce.
C. They can’t afford the costs of shopping at Walmart.
D. They are in conflict about shopping at Walmart.
69. Brian Gee’s wife tends to hold the opinion that _________.
A. it is wrong for Walmart to depress its employees’ wages
B. consumers’ lives have improved thanks to Walmart
C. Walmart’s business operation increases productivity in economy
D. Walmart’s business increases global trade
70. What can be inferred from the reply letter?
A. Some employees accept the low pay to keep the job.
B. Walmart appeals to only poor consumers and poor employees.
C. Employees suffer from Walmart’s low prices more than consumers.
D. Jason Furman, a New York University economist, spoke highly of Walmart.
To be able to motivate oneself, or self-motivate, occurs when a person has the willingness to do something and is internally(内在地) motivated to do it.
Sometimes it’s very difficult to get ourselves moving. The natural tendency is to postpone. Life just seems to get in the way! There is a job to go to, groceries to do, television to watch—whoops! I guess we get pretty good at finding excuses to escape getting started on goals like an exercise routine or reading a new book. The fact is that we are creatures of routine and habit. So what can we do to motivate ourselves to accomplish our goals?
Here are some tips on how to get moving:
lDecide what you want. It’s hard to motivate an aimless mind. Set a goal and decide how you are going to go about it. Then break it down into smaller sections so it’s easier to handle and less overwhelming.（势不可挡）
lKeep track of your progress. Keep a log or journal where you can measure how much you have accomplished. Looking at it can also motivate you to keep pushing ahead.
lPost motivating pictures or slogans within your sight. It is always inspiring to see pictures of people who have accomplished what you’re going for. It makes it attainable and realistic. Likewise, little slogans like “go for it” or “just do it” can give you the little support you need.
lSometimes we forget what we set out to do and a little reminder is all we need to be revitalized (激活) and focus on the end result. If you remind yourself to go for the desired promotion, it will re-establish why you are doing what you’re doing.
lMake it a habit. Once you have accomplished your objective, e.g. becoming an early riser, keep it up so that it’s second nature to you and you don’t have to think about it anymore.
64. According to the author, some people fail to achieve their goals because ________.
A. they don’t have enough desire
B. their life is filled with routine work
C. they benefit from the force of habit
D. they naturally put off forming new habits
65. It can be inferred from the underlined sentence that ________.
A. self-motivation needs repeated self-reminding of one’s goal
B. in modern society people tend to become forgetful
C. when we forget our goal, our life becomes meaningless
D. we can achieve our goal only by focusing on the end result
66. To get moving on your goal, you can do the following EXCEPT ________.
A. keep a diary to clearly judge your distance to your goal
B. make self-improvement your second nature
C. forget your aim and revitalize yourself with slogans
D. support yourself by hanging inspiring pictures in your house
67. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Set Goals in Your Life B. Get Yourself Motivated
C. Get into Good Habits D. Do Not Postpone
Oprah Winfrey, the queen of American daytime talk TV, is considered one of the most powerful women in the world. Now, after 25 years’ hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show, the star has announced she is calling it quits.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the move “signals the beginning of the decline for the daytime talk show.” More women are working full-time jobs, and people are turning to cable (有线电视) and pre-recorded shows for their entertainment.
It may be that Oprah isn’t quitting so much as moving on. She has created the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and will most likely move her show to the network. If audiences around the world need Oprah, they well know where to look.
Oprah Winfrey was born to a single teenage mother in a small town in rural Mississippi, US. As a child, she lived with poverty and abuse. But she got a job at a local radio station, where her honesty, emotional style won her many fans. She quickly rose through the ranks of radio and television before launching her own production company and starting her own show.
Oprah’s talk show was not the first of its kind, but it quickly became the best and most popular. It made talk shows popular, and others jumped in to start similar shows. But while other talk shows turned ugly, featuring guests who argued and attacked each other with chairs, Oprah rose above the mess.
“Part of her power lies in the fact that her life story resonates (产生共鸣) with her audience, as a kind of version of the American dream,” writes Kevin Connolly, a reporter with the BBC.
She became a star because of the way she opened up about her problems to her audience. She shared her own struggles with relationships and weight. She focused on self-help. Connolly believes “something in her honesty and her sometimes painfully emotional directness struck home with a certain type of American”.
60. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. The stop of Oprah’s show reflects the decrease of audience.
B. Oprah hosted her showfor about 25 years.
C. American talk show was pioneered by Oprah.
D. Oprah used to be a radio presenter.
61. What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. Oprah could deal with the guests fighting very well.
B. Oprah’s show stood out with her unique style.
C. Oprah turned a deaf ear to other people’s quarrel.
D. Oprah’s fame rose because lots of people watch her show.
62. From Kevin Connolly, we know people like Oprah’s show for all the reasons EXCEPT ________.
A. Oprah always shares people’s life stories in her show
B. the audiences are touched by Oprah’s honesty and frankness
C. Oprah’s life story reflects the truth of American dream
D. some audiences are inspired by Oprah’s show
63. According to the text, Oprah ________.
A. always volunteers to help those who need help
B. has practiced presentational skills since she was young
C. believes that one should rely on himself to solve problems
D. calls on women to work full-time jobs
Recently, one of my best friends, whom I’ve shared just about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the weekend with me. Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we’ve both always looked forward to the few times a year when we can see each other.
Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, staying up late into the night, talking about the people she was hanging around with. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he experimented with drugs and was into other self-destructive behavior. I was blown away! She told me how she had been lying to her parents about where she was going and even stealing out to see this guy because they didn’t want her around him. No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she deserved better, she didn’t believe me. Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared.
I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble. I felt like I was getting nowhere. I just couldn’t believe that she really thought it was acceptable to hang with a bunch of losers, especially her boyfriend.
By the time she left, I was really worried about her and exhausted by the experience. It had been so frustrating, I had come close to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to continue our friendship，but I didn’t. I put the power of friendship to the final test. We’d been friends for far too long. I had to hope that she valued me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself. I wanted to believe that our friendship could conquer anything.
A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our conversation, and then she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend. I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the truly rewarding moments in my life. Never had I been so proud of a friend.
56. In the writer’s opinion, her friend ________.
A. was a girl with no self-respect
B. could find a better boyfriend
C. was brave enough to stick to her own choice
D. didn’t value the writer’s suggestion
57. What did the writer worry about?
A. She would lose the friendship with her.
B. Her friend’s parents would be worried about their daughter.
C. Her friend would get into great trouble with the boy.
D. Her friend’s boyfriend would be in great trouble.
58. We may leam from Paragraph 3 that the writer ________.
A. didn’t want to go anywhere else
B. hated her friend’s hanging with her boyfriend
C. couldn’t believe that her friend’s choice was acceptable
D. doubted that she could in any way help her friend
59. What can be concluded from the passage?
A. Friendship starting from childhood is not reliable.
B. Friendship is a cure for any injury in life.
C. Friendship should be everlasting once begun.
D. Friendship can have magical power in life.