Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie. For example, a two-hour movie costs $6 million to make. A TV commercial （商业广告）can cost more than $6000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time(电视节目开始的时间). Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money – and making money is what television is all about– the commercial is by far the more important.
Research, market testing, talent, time and money—all come together to make us want to buy a product. No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works. The sales of Charm went up once the ads began. TV commercials actually buy their way into our head. We, in turn, buy the product.
And the ads work because so much time and attention are given to them. Here are some rules of commercial ad making. If you want to get the low middle-class buyer, make sure the announcer has a tough, manly voice. Put some people in the ad who work with their hands. If you want to sell to upper-class audience, make sure that the house, the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies(识别) with. If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself.
We laugh at commercials. We don’t think we pay that much attention to them. But facts show we are kidding（哄骗，嘲弄）ourselves. The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff. It’s big, big business. And it’s telling us what to think, what we need, and what to buy. To put it simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.
40. TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because _______.
A. they bring in great profits(利润)
B. they require a lot of money to make
C. they are not difficult to produce
D. they attract more viewers than other programs
41. The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is _______.
A. to persuade people to buy the product
B. to show how valuable the product is
C. to test the market value of the product
D. to make them as interesting as TV movies
42. From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that_______.
A. the lower-middle-class buyer likes to work with his hand
B. the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product
C. ad designers attract different people with different skills
D. an upper-class buyer is more interested in houses and furniture than a lower-middle-class buyer
43. It is believed by the writer that_______.
A. few people like to watch TV commercials
B. TV commercials are a good guide to buyers
C. TV commercials often make people laugh
D. people do not think highly of TV commercials
Next time you hear a funny joke you’d better not laugh too hard. According to a paper published by the British Medical Journal, laughter isn’t always the best medicine. Sometimes it can even be harmful. Professor Robin Ferner from the University of Birmingham, one of the authors of the study, found that bad things could happen to people who laughed too much. He says: “We found people with heartbeat problems which had stopped their heart, we found people who had fainted(昏倒), and we found people who’d dislocated their jaws or burst their lungs.”
It seems that laughing can be no laughing matter. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Professor Ferner says there are benefits to laughing when you want to lose weight, for example. Yes, that’s right: laugh and be slimmer! Professor Ferner explains that: “You use energy when you laugh, you move your diaphragm(横膈膜), you expand your lungs, and both those things can be helpful.”
According to the research, laughing for a quarter of an hour can burn up to 40 calories, and if you laughed all day you’d use up about 2,000 calories, which is what most people consume in a day. But don’t do that or you might end up with a painful jaw. Ouch! Or you might find people looking at you in a funny way.
But I don’t want to finish this article leaving you feeling desperate. Laughter comes naturally for most of us. Babies begin to laugh at around 3-6 months. So give in to your sense of humor and keep smiling. Life is short anyway.Laughing too much may cause the following harmful results EXCEPT_________.
| A．diaphragm movement | B．heart stop |
| C．lung burst | D．jaw dislocation |
The underlined phrase “doom and gloom” in Paragraph 2 probably means_______.
| A．nervous | B．funny | C．painful | D．hopeless |
How many calories can you use if you laugh for half a day?
| A．About 40. | B．About 2,000. |
| C．About 1,000. | D．About 2,040. |
What is the author’s attitude towards laughing in the last paragraph?
| A．Uninterested. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Worried. | D．Disapproving. |
The Cuban iguana(大蜥蜴) is a species of lizard（蜥蜴） of the iguana family． It is the largest of the West Indian rock iguanas, one of the most endangered groups of lizards． This species with red eyes and a thick tail is one of the largest lizards in the Caribbean．
The Cuban iguana is primarily herbivorous; 95% of its diet consists of the leaves, flowers and fruits from as many as 30 plant species, including the seaside rock bush and various grasses．However, Cuban iguanas occasionally consume animal matter, and individuals have been observed eating the dead flesh of birds, fish and crabs, The researchers wrote that quite a few people on Isla Magueyes could have caused this incident．
The Cuban iguana is distributed throughout the rocky southern coastal areas of mainland Cuba and its surrounding islands with a wild population booming on Isla Magueyes, Puerto Rico. It is also found on the Cayman Islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, where a separate subspecies occurs. Females guard their nest sites and often nest in sites half destroyed by Cuban crocodiles. To avoid the attack from them, the Cuban iguana often makes its home within or near prickly-pear cacti （仙人掌）.
In general the species is in decline, more quickly on the mainland than on the outlying islands． One of the reasons for their decline is habitat destruction caused by the over consuming of farm animals, housing development, and the building of tourist resorts on the beaches where the animals prefer to build their nests． Although the wild population is in decline, the numbers of iguanas have been sharply increased as a result of captive-breeding（圈养） and other conservation programs．The underlined word "herbivorous" （Paragraph 2） probably means ．
| A．dangerous | B．gentle |
| C．flesh-eating | D．plant-eating |
Why does the Cuban iguana build its nest near prickly-pear cacti?
| A．To keep itself cool． |
| B．To avoid crocodiles' attack． |
| C．To stay away from people． |
| D．To get the food easily． |
How many reasons are mentioned for the habitat destruction?
| A．Two． | B．Five． | C．Four． | D．Three． |
What's the author's purpose of writing the text?
| A．To give us a brief introduction to the Cuban iguana． |
| B．To show he is concerned about the Cuban iguana． |
| C．To explain reasons for the Cuban iguana's decline． |
| D．To draw people's attention to the endangered Cuban iguana． |
When she moved the covering cloth to look upon his tiny face, she was shocked. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be full of heart- breaks for his imperfect appearance.
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune and popular with his fellow students. He might have been class monitor，but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.
Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret.” The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person turned up. His talents blossomed into genius, and his school and college became a series of success. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service.
One day ,he urged his father, “Who gave so much for me？I must know! I could never do enough for him.”
“I do not believe you could, ” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet.”
The years kept their secret, but the day did come--- one of the darkest days that a son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket (棺材). Slowly, tenderly, the father reached out a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to show that the mother had no outer ears.
“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut, ” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they？”
Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance，but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen，but in what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what is done and not known.The mother was shocked at the first sight of her baby because.
| A．her baby was born without hair |
| B．her baby had a tiny face |
| C．her baby was born imperfect |
| D．the doctor turned to look out of the window |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The son attempted to repay the donator’s kindness. |
| B．The son didn't know the truth until his mother died. |
| C．With donated ears, the son’s life developed smoothly. |
| D．The boy couldn't hear clearly without ears at first. |
Why did the boy's mother never have her hair cut?
| A．Because her hair helped to keep a secret. |
| B．Because her hair added to her beauty. |
| C．Because her long hair was her pride. |
| D．Because she liked her thick and brown hair. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Misfortunate Boy |
| B．Mother’s Hair |
| C．Mother’s Secret Love |
| D．A Successful Ear Operation |
Children in the United States are exposed to many influences other than that of their families．Television is the most significant of these influences，because the habit of watching television usually begins before children start attending school．
Parents are concerned about the lack of quality in television programs for children．The degree of violence in many of these shows also worries them．Studies indicate that，when children are exposed to violence，they many become aggressive or insecure.
Parents are also concerned at，out the commercials that their children see on television． Many parents would like to see fewer commercials during programs for children．And some parents feel that these shows should not have any commercials at all because young minds are not mature enough to deal with the claims made by advertisers．
Educational television has no commercials and has programs for children that many parents approve of The most famous of these is Sesame Street，which tries to give preschool children a head start in learning the alphabet(字母)and numbers．It also flies to teach children useful things about the world in which they live．
Even though most parents and educators give Sesame Street and shows like it high marks for quality，some critics argue that all television，whether educational or not，is harmful to children．These critics feel that the habit of watching hours of television every day turns children into bored and passive(被动的)consumers of their world rather than encouraging them to become active explorers of it．Which of the following statements is NOT based on the passage?
| A． Parents are worried about the influence from television on their children |
| B． Television has much influence on children |
| C． Both parents and their children like watching educational television． |
| D． Some critics think that television is no good for children． |
In what ways do children suffer from television?
| A． They become the victims of social violence |
| B． They spend hours watching television instead of doing school work |
| C． The programs make the children lose interest in the world． |
| D． The programs make the children spend too much of their parents’ money |
Parents would not like their children to see commercials because ____
| A． they think that their children ore not old enough to handle advertising |
| B． commercials teach children alphabet and numbers |
| C． commercials help to sell products |
| D． they don’t like commercials |
Although the United States covers so much land and the land produces far more food than the present population needs，its people are by now almost entirely an urban society Less than a tenth of the people are engaged in agriculture and forestry(林业)，and most of the rest live in or around towns，small and large．Here the traditional picture is changing：every small town may still be very like other small towns，and the typical small town may represent a widely accepted view of the country，but most Americans do not live in small towns any more．Half the population now lives in some thirty metropolitan areas(1arge cities with their suburbs、of more than a million people each—a larger proportion than in Germany or England，let alone France．The statistics(统计)of urban and rural population should be treated with caution because so many people who live in areas classified as rural travel by car to work in a nearby town each day．As the rush to live out of town continues．rural areas within reach of towns are gradually filled with houses，so that it is hard to say at what moment a piece of country becomes a suburb But more and more the typical American lives in a metropolitan rather than a small town environment．If now America has 250 million people．how many of them are engaged in agriculture and forestry?
| A．About 25 million． | B．More than 25 million． |
| C．Less than 25 million． | D．Less than 225 million |
Which of the following four countries has the smallest proportion of people living in metropolitan areas?
| A．United States． | B．Germany. |
| C．France． | D．England． |
What’s the meaning of the word“metropolitan”in the middle of the passage?
| A．Of a large city with its suburbs． |
| B．Of small and large towns． |
| C．Of urban areas． |
| D．Of rural areas． |
According to the passage，what can we learn about small towns in the United States?
A Most small towns become gradually crowded
B．Small towns are still similar to each other．
C．As the traditional picture is changing，towns are different．
D .Small towns are turning into large cities