The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.
Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station's competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered for a peculiar（古怪的） "experiment" organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England. Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio. They took a lie detector (测谎仪）test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges included an astrologer (占卜家) who declared that they were suited .
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine's mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr. Cordell's parents are reported to be less than delighted.
Organizations, including the marriage guidance service Relate, have criticized the marriage. As one expert put it, "we have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love. "
The couples are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year's free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?
72. How did the couple's parents react to the wedding?
A. The bride's mother shared their joy.
B. The bride's father felt comfortable about the wedding.
C. The bridegroom's parents were quite delighted.
D. The bridegroom's parents were not that joyful.
73. Some experts believe that_______ .
A. marriage without the couple's meeting each other first ends up in divorce.
B. young people nowadays are too careless about marriage
C. taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems
D. most young people take marriage seriously except this couple.
74. One of the prizes for the couple is .
A. to spend their honeymoon wherever they like.
B. to use an apartment free for some time.
C. to have a wedding dress free. D. to own an American sports car.
75. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Two Strangers and a Wedding. B. A Wedding Based on love.
C. A Short-lived Marriage. D. A Well-Matched Couple.
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病) . Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it—the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believe in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success—you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool.”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．Difficulties influenced his career |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice. |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease. |
| D．He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her achievements | B．Her daily happenings |
| C．Her training schedule | D．Her sports career |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
| A．Ways that help one to focus. |
| B．Activities that turn one’s attention away. |
| C．Words that help one to feel less tense. |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
| A．Hard work. | B．Devotion |
| C．Courage | D．Self-confidence |
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties（地方特色菜）in Germany, Spain and France. At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handed frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like making drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television.He says Lieberman’s charisma is key.“Food TV isn’t about food any more,” says Flay. “It’s about your personality and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show.”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing sandwiches. An airline company was looking for someone to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, Lieberman got the job.We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family __________.
| A．love cooking at home | B．have relatives in Europe |
| C．often hold parties | D．own a restaurant |
The Food Network got to know Lieberman __________.
| A．at one of his parties | B．from his teachers |
| C．on a television program | D．through his taped show |
What does the underlined word “charisma” in the text refer to?
| A．A way to show one’s achievement. |
| B．A natural ability to attract others. |
| C．Lieberman’s after-class interest. |
| D．Lieberman’s fine cooking skill. |
Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
| A．He could prepare meals in a small kitchen. |
| B．He was famous for his shows on Food TV. |
| C．He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals. |
| D．He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches. |
Before your child's final exam: and the graduation announcements, you face a significant task together: choosing the right college or university. There is no "one size fits all" approach to selecting a college—it's a very personal process for most teenagers. Consider a wide range of factors to help your child make the best possible choice.
Discuss with your child her post-high school choices, such as college, finding work or starting a business, or joining the army. If you determine together that college is the best choice for your child, talk about the importance of college, and her longer-term goals by going to college.
Talk to your child about what she thinks is important in a college experience and share your opinions as well. Identify the issues that will directly impact her college choice, such as her grades, test scores and family finances. Then make a list of the key criteria for her dream school, including factors such as the school's location, its size, the types of prograM:, the after school activities available and the type of financial aid available.
Prioritize the item: on your child's list, at least to the extent of sorting it into "must-haves," "highly desirable" and "nice-to-have" categories. Put these factors into an online search engine specifically designed to identify colleges and universities that best meet your criteria, such as that offered by CollegeBoard.org. Start with the most important criteria, then experiment with additional factors to narrow the search results to a number you can work with, such as 10 or 20 different schools.
Use the search results as a guide to further focus your college search. Research each school by reviewing its website, requesting information directly from the school and attending local presentations about the school.The underlined word "prioritize" in Paragraph 4 probably means "______".
| A．list in order of importance | B．write down |
| C．add to | D．do research into |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．It's better to decide the college for your child. |
| B．It's necessary to take your child's opinion into consideration. |
| C．There is a "one size fits all" way to select a college. |
| D．An online search engine is of great help to you. |
What's the author's purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To argue | B．To persuade |
| C．To introduce | D．To amuse |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
BEIJING — Rising smartphone star Xiaomi is moving upmarket and taking aim at Apple's iPhone. The Chinese maker known for low-priced phones on Thursday unveiled (发布) a new model that Chairman J un Lei said is comparable to Apple's iPhone 6 but thinner, lighter and much cheaper. The phone starts at 2, 299 yuan ($375), less than half the 5,288 yuan ($ 865) price of an iPhone 6 in China.
Xiaomi, founded in 2010, passed South Korea's SaM:ung Electronics Co. in the second quarter of last year as the best-selling smartphone brand in China by number of phones sold. The company is expanding into India and other developing markets but has yet to announce plans to enter the United States or Europe.
Xiaomi "is a respected brand that already has an Apple-like following" in China, said analyst Brian Blair, who tracks mobile device makers at Rosenblatt Securities. Apple is still a relatively small player in China, selling about 45 million iPhones there last year, Blair estimates, but will continue to grow.
"Apple is very much a premium (高端的) brand," said Blair. "The company that's more at risk is SaM:ung, which has been losing share in that market."
Privately held (私人控股的) Xiaomi said last year's sales tripled to 61. 1 million phones and revenue (收益) more than doubled to 74. 3 billion yuan ($12.2 billion). The company, based in Beijing, recently completed a round of fundraising from investors that it said valued Xiaomi at $ 45 billion, making it one of the world's most valuable technology brands.
Xiaomi ran into legal trouble in India in December after a court blocked sales while it hears a complaint by Sweden's LM Ericcson that the Chinese company violated its patents.
In a blog post earlier this month, Lei called the case a "rite of passage" (成年礼) for a young company.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Xiaomi sold more cellphones than SaM:ung in 2010 in China. |
| B．Compared to Xiaomi, Apple's iPhone 6 is thinner and lighter. |
| C．Low-price is Xiaomi's advantage over Apple's iPhones. |
| D．The company is expanding into the United States or Europe. |
What can be inferred from the passage according to Brian Blair?
| A．More than 45 million iPhones will be sold this year. |
| B．Xiaomi can beat Apple in the market of China. |
| C．He thinks Xiaomi is superior to Apple. |
| D．SaM:ung will be closed for losing share in the market. |
How is the 5th paragraph developed?
| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| C．By providing data. |
| D．By making comparisons. |
What's the attitude of Jun Lei towards the case of Xiaomi in India?
| A．Negative. | B．Satisfied. |
| C．Positive. | D．Doubtful. |
For light sleepers
Millions of people have trouble falling asleep each night, which is why Light Sleeper was created.
Developed in the United Kingdom, Light Sleeper's makers say it can help a person fall asleep and also help a person fall back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.
Light Sleeper works by projecting (投射) a light onto the ceiling while the person is lying down. The idea is to watch the light, because the light moving in a circle has a relaxing effect.
One of the advantages of the product is that it won't disturb other people in the room. The product can be easily moved and will switch itself off after 30 minutes to save power.
Stop the snoring (打鼾)
Here's a new product designed to slow down the frequency and level of your snoring. The Snore Stopper has a sensitive instrument that will detect when you're snoring. Once it does that, it will send a very mild electronic signal to your wrist. This consequently changes your sleeping position to stop you from snoring. The Snore Stopper; won't cause any damage to your body.
Get your true colors
Photoshop features a pen that will copy the color settings of what you are monitoring onscreen to use as a color in your program. Now an off-line product allows you to pick a color when not using the computer software.
The Color Picker is a concept pen. After placing the pen against an object, the user just presses the scan button. Color sensors (感应器) inside the pen send information to a box, which then mixes red, green and blue to produce the desired ink color.
Keep it fresh
More high technology products are showing up in the kitchen. A new Bagel dome (圆顶形物) advertises that it will keep your baked goods fresher for longer periods of time. The product, which is able to remove air, works for bread rolls, cakes and other perishables. To use it, you just push a button at the top.The Color Picker will probably be used while you're .
| A．using the computer | B．drawing pictures |
| C．collecting information | D．designing a program |
The underlined word "perishables" in the last paragraph refers to foods which .
| A．are easy to keep | B．go bad easily |
| C．are rich in vitamins | D．keep you thin |
It can be learned from the passage that .
| A．the Color Picker is convenient to use |
| B．Light Sleeper was designed by an American |
| C．the Bagel dome mainly serves as decoration |
| D．few people would like to try the Snore Stopper |