B
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Every afternoon in South Korea, when school and work finish, over 100,000 people meet on the Internet to play a game called Lineage. They meet in a virtual（虚拟的） world 500 years in the past. They form teams and fight for justice and money. They are part of one of the Internet's many online gaming communities. The people who play these games are called gamers. Often they meet in 24-hour cafés to play Lineage, as well as other games such as Diablo, StarCraft and Counter Strike. Most gamers just play for fun, but for some people, it can become an obsession （着迷）. |
When gaming becomes an obsession it can become dangerous. In Hong Kong, a seventeen-year-old boy died as a result of playing his favourite game in the café where he worked. After working for eight hours, he often stayed at the café and played Diablo II. On some nights he slept for only two hours. In May 2002, he was found unconscious at a computer after playing all night. When he died later in hospital, doctors said it was because he was exhausted.
In Korea, the dangers can come from other gamers. In the virtual world of Lineage, gamers can create new characters for themselves. High school students can become very powerful fighters and leaders. They play against doctors, businessmen and even members of dangerous gangs. But sometimes things that happen in the game affect real life. Gamers have been beaten up in real life by people they have killed online!
56. How many people play Lineage when school and work are over every day in South Korea?
57. What do people do in the virtual world of Lineage?
58. The online games mentioned in the passage are ________.
59. What does the underlined word “exhausted” mean?
60. What does the passage mainly talk about?
What Is a Boy?
Between the innocence of babyhood and the seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called a "boy". Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males send them off to bed at night.
Boys are found everywhere-on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to. Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face, BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its hair, and the HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket.
When you are busy, a boy is a trouble-maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression,his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature destroying the world and himself with it.
A boy is a mixture-he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a bull, the violence of a firecracker (鞭炮), but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on each hand.
He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday schools, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime. Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper.
Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty knife, a half eaten apple, a three-foot rope, six cents and some unknown things.
A boy is a magical creature-he is your headache but when you come home at night with only destroyed pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, "Hi, Dad!" The whole passage is in a tone (调子) of ______.
| A．humor and affection |
| B．respect and harmony |
| C．ambition and expectation |
| D．confidence and imagination |
Could you figure out the meaning of the underlined sentence?
| A．He has altogether five fingers. |
| B．He is slow, foolish and clumsy. |
| C．He becomes clever and smart. |
| D．He cuts his hand with a knife. |
According to the writer, boys appreciate everything in the following except ______.
| A．ice cream |
| B．comic books |
| C．Saturday mornings |
| D．Sunday schools |
What does the writer feel about boys?
| A．He feels curious about their noise. |
| B．He is fed up with these creatures. |
| C．He is amazed by their naughtiness. |
| D．He feels unsafe staying with them. |
A study of English learning problems was carried out among a total of 106 foreign students. It shows that most students considered understanding spoken English to be their biggest problem on arrival. This was followed by speaking. Writing increased as a problem as students discovered difficultties in writing papers that they were now expected to hand in. Reading remained as a significant (显著的) problem.
Information gained helped us in determining where special attention should be paid in our course. Although many students have chosen to join the course with a reasonable motivation (动机), we considered it important to note what seemed to encourage interest. Nearly all the students have experienced some kind of grammar-based English teaching in their own country. To use the same method would be self-defeating because it might reduce motivation, especially if it has failed in the past. Therefore a different method may help because it is different.
Variety of activity was also seen as a way of maintaining (保持) or increasing motivation. Several years ago we had one timetable that operated throughout, but we soon found that both the students and the teachers lost interest by about halfway through the ten weeks. This led us to a major re-think, so finally we brought it into line with the expressed language needs of the students. What is the text mainly about?
| A．Foreign students have more problems. |
| B．There are many ways to improve English. |
| C．Teaching should meet students' needs. |
| D．English learning problems should be studied again. |
Writing became a bigger problem when foreign students _____.
| A．had to write their papers |
| B．became better at speaking |
| C．became less interested in reading |
| D．had fewer problems with listening |
We may infer from the last two paragraphs that _____.
| A．different teaching methods should be used |
| B．grammar-based teaching seems to be encouraging |
| C．English courses are necessary for foreign students |
| D．teaching content should be changed halfway |
Ten years ago I went into the studio and recorded a 56-minute video for teenagers called “Three keys to greatness.” Although my focus was for teenagers, the principles I shared certainly apply to adults as well. Recently I was asked to list these three things. Now for your benefit here they are again.
Firstly, set goals. I call it the view of the future. Most people, including kids, will pay the price if they can see the promise of the future. So we need to help our kids see a clear future, and they will be ready to pay the price today to attain the rewards of tomorrow. Goals help them do this.
Secondly, pay attention to personal development. Simply making consistent investments in our education and knowledge we will benefit throughout our lives. I suggest having an amount of time set aside for reading books, listening to recording, attending discussion, keeping a journal and spending time with other successful people. Mr Jones recommends reading a lot as a good method of improving yourself. The simple fact is that you need to change your outlook on life and on yourself, as it will have a positive influence on your personality and outlook. You should learn something new about your profession every single day until you’re an expert in the field.
Thirdly, make a financial plan. I call it the 70/30 plan. After receiving your salary, simply setting aside 10% for saving, 10% for investing and 10% for giving, the rest for your life. And over time when you have your own family this will guarantee financial independence for you.
If people focus on doing these three simple things over a long period of time, I believe they will be surely successful! The advantage of setting goals is that ___.
| A．you’ll know the future of the world |
| B．you’ll know what kind of person you will become |
| C．you’ll be willing to work hard for your future |
| D．you’ll be satisfied with what you have achieved |
The author lays the most stress on ___.
| A．gaining knowledge |
| B．making good friends |
| C．attending discussions |
| D．listening to recordings |
According to the passage, one picture of reading a lot is to ___.
| A．lead a better life |
| B．have a good personality and outlook |
| C．change your position |
| D．become an expert in many fields |
Whom does the author mainly advise to make a financial plan?
| A．All kinds of people |
| B．The young people |
| C．The middle-aged people |
| D．The rich people |
The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 p.m. in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch.
The results were published in the Journal of Phonetics.What is the text mainly about?
| A．The relationship between accents and social classes. |
| B．The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV. |
| C．The changes in a person’s accent. |
| D．The recent development of the English language. |
The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ___.
| A．she has been Queen for many years |
| B．she has a less upper-class accent now |
| C．her speeches are familiar to many people |
| D．her speeches have been recorded for 50 years |
We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ___.
| A．speech sounds | B．Christmas customs |
| C．TV broadcasting | D．personal messages |
Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?
| A．“dutay” | B．“citee” | C．“hame” | D．“lorst” |
Most likely, you aren’t the family breadwinner. But doing a small job or getting a weekly allowance would put some money in your pocket. For kids and grown-ups alike money is easy to spend. If you aren’t careful, it can be gone in no time.
Being responsible with your money is an important skill to learn and the sooner you start the better. Whether you are tracking your spending or saving for something special, creating a budget can help you deal with expenses and plan for the future. All you need are paper and a pencil and some self-control.
First, take a look at our sample monthly budget. Then, use a separate sheet of paper to plan your own. In the first two columns, list your sources of income and how much you expect to earn from them. In the third and fourth columns, list what you expect to spend your money on and the amount.
Sample Monthly Budget
| Monthly income |
Amount |
Monthly Expenses |
Amount |
| Allowance |
$ 20.00 |
Snacks |
$ 26.00 |
| Money earned selling drinks |
$ 25.00 |
Music downloads |
$ 12.00 |
| Money earned babysitting |
$ 12.50 |
Movies |
$ 18.00 |
| Money earned delivering newspapers |
$ 30.00 |
Video Rentals |
$ 10.00 |
| Total: |
$ 87.50 |
Total： |
$ 66.00 |
The left-hand total should be more than or equal to the right-hand total. If it is, you have an effective budget.
Budgets are not complex, but sticking to them can be tough. When planning your budget, be realistic about your expenses. If you know that you drop $18 at a movie, don’t write $12 in that space simply because you wish you were spending less.
If you are eyeing a big purchase, such as a $150 skateboard, spend less and save more until you have the total amount. No matter how attractive it may be, avoid spending your savings. One day, you will thank yourself!The purpose of making a budget is to help people ___.
| A．learn to be realistic |
| B．manage their money well |
| C．increase their savings |
| D．test their power of self-control |
What should people do when planning a budget?
| A．Fill in the expenses as they really are. |
| B．Avoid spending money on expensive things. |
| C．Set aside a fixed amount of money as savings. |
| D．List income and expenses on two pieces of paper. |
Who is the passage written for?
| A．Bank manager | B．Parents |
| C．Breadwinners | D．Children |