Women turn to online shopping
Women have jumped ahead of men for the first time in using the Internet to do their holiday shopping, according to a study published last week in the US. For years men have been more likely to shop on the Internet than women, but during the 2004 holiday season 58 percent of those making online purchases were women. “It shows how mainstream the Internet is becoming,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project group, which carried out the study. Rainie said it was only a matter of time before women shoppers caught up with men. This is because women traditionally make decisions about spending. Users were more likely to shop online to save time . Internet users between the ages 18 and 29 were responsible for some of the most dramatic increase in the online gift-buying population this time around. However, three-quarters of the US Internet users did not buy holiday gifts online in 2004. They worried about credit card security, or just compared online prices with off-line prices, then dashed off to the shops to get the best deals. “But even if shoppers don’t buy online, websites are becoming promotion tools for stores,” said Dan Hess, vice president of ComScore Networks Inc. Hess said that actually most stores’ websites can make customers fully believe the security of their credit card numbers. And most are able to ensure that gifts arrive on time“It’s all about making the shopping experience more efficient, more reliable and more comfortable.” Hess said.
60. Which of the following statements is true?There were fewer women online shoppers than men in 2004. Most of the Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are women. People in the US were more likely to buy gifts online. More women shopped online than men in 2004.
61. From the passage we can infer that ______________. men usually decide how to spend money in the familywomen usually decide what to buy in the familythe Internet is used in all the shopsmore and more shops will sell their goods online
62. According to Dan Hess , shopping online ______________. A. is unsafe B. is convenient C. is a waste of money D. is cheaper
63. What can we know from the passage?
A. American people only gifts in holidays.
B. Shopping online is fun for women.
C. Shopping off-line provides better serve.
D. Young people like to do gift-shopping online.
If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter(（中枢神经系统的）灰白质). This is the area of the brain which processes(加工,处理) information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals ” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density(密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible,” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.
| A．science on learning a second language |
| B．language learning and the increase in one’s brain power. |
| C．man’s ability of learning a second language |
| D．language learning and the study of maths |
In the second paragraph, the writer mentions exercise in order to _____.
| A．say language is also a kind of physical labour |
| B．prove that one needs more practice when he or she is learning a language |
| C．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well |
| D．to show the importance of using the language when you learn it. |
What change can we get during the experience of learning a second language?
| A．The increase of the ability to learn. |
| B．The development of muscles. |
| C．The improvement of strange pronunciation. |
| D．A worse understanding of different ideas. |
We may know from the scientific findings that _______.
| A．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language |
| B．the experience of learning a second language has a bad effect on people’s brain |
| C．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time |
| D．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is |
In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that ______.
| A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths |
| B．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language |
| C．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects |
| D．you’d better start to learn a second language between 2 and 34 |
Sports
All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy, happy and help them to live longer.
Sports change with the season. People play different games in winter and summer. Games and sports often grow out of people’s work and everyday activities. The Arabs use horses or camels in much of their everyday life; they use them in their sports, too.
Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them. Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers.
Some sports or games go back to thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese boxing, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Both of them are just about a hundred years old. People are inventing new sports or games all the time.
People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game they often become good friends. Sports help to train a person’s character. One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.From the passage we know that ______.
| A．people began to play sports about one hundred years ago |
| B．about 100 years ago people ran or jumped when they played |
| C．basketball has a longer history than volleyball |
| D．not all the games have a long history. |
According to this passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Sports help to train a person’s character. |
| B．People from different countries may not be able to understand each other before a game. |
| C．People swim only because there are a lot of rivers in their country. |
| D．Sports and games can develop the friendship between people all over the world. |
The writer did NOT tell us in this passage that ______.
| A．basketball was invented in America |
| B．sports change with the season |
| C．games and sports often grow out of people’s work and everyday activities |
| D．football is played all over the world |
The writer writes about the Arab’s using camels in their sports to show that _____.
| A．it is a unique sport |
| B．it has a long history |
| C．sports help to train one’s character |
| D．some sports are closely related to people’s work and daily activities |
The underlined word “grace” in the last paragraph probably means “________” in Chinese.
| A．成功 | B．风度 | C．公平 | D．梦想 |
Statistics show that every year, about 4 million students fail to pass the national college entrance exam. However, as China recently publicized students’ scores for this year’s college entrance exam, it seems that schools, parents and society at large give more attention to students who succeed in the exam, few people care about those who fail, the China Education Daily reported.
Some students, after failing the exam, cannot get a timely support from their parents or teachers and begin to display some serious mental problems. How to help these students to get rid of the shadow on their mind has become a problem to be taken seriously.
First, students’ friends, parents and relatives should offer their sympathy and care to them in order to comfort their heart. At this time, parents should not blame students for their failure, otherwise they might bear more psychological (心理的) burden.
Secondly, teachers and the whole society should also offer more support to students who fail the exam.
Lastly, students themselves should also try to overcome their depressions and adjust their mood.
The newspaper urges the general public to offer their care, trust and support to these students. It also expects that students can face their failure bravely and try to start a new life happily.What can we infer from the passage?
| A．After the college entrance exam, more attention is paid to students who failed the exam. |
| B．Students who failed the college entrance exam may suffer from some mental problems. |
| C．People have done a lot to help students who failed the college entrance exam. |
| D．Students failing the college entrance exam know how to remove the shadow on their mind. |
What’s the writer’s attitude towards the students who failed the college entrance examination?
| A．He looks down upon them. |
| B．He expresses concern for them. |
| C．He doubts about their learning ability. |
| D．He feels positive about their optimism. |
What would do harm to students who failed the college entrance examination?
| A．Friends, parents and relatives show more concern for them. |
| B．Teachers and the whole society offer more support to them. |
| C．They themselves get over their depression and adopt an optimistic attitude. |
| D．Parents put the blame on them for their failure. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Give more attention to students who failed the college entrance exam |
| B．Adjust your mood and start a new life happily |
| C．Who is to blame for their failing the college entrance exam? |
| D．How to get rid of the shadow of failing the college entrance exam |
Genetically modified (转基因 ) foods have become a focus point of agriculture throughout the news today. This has an effect on many different aspects of the agriculture world. From the seed dealer, to the farmer that buys the seed, to the workers that the farmer sells to; all are affected by the new technologies that are involved in this part of production agriculture.
Genetically modified foods have come under heavy fire lately. There are some countries that are against buying these types of foods. They are being tested for safety by the best scientific experts in Europe, the US and the rest of the world. They are not for sale until they have gone through this complete safety process. Since they are a new product, and any slight problem with them could affect a whole country, these tests are very necessary.
These safety tests are carried out because of the new rules that were made with the Novel Foods Regulation. Begun in May of 1997, the Novel Foods Regulation set up an EU-wide pre-market system for all novel foods. A novel food is described as one that has not been eaten by EU consumers widely in the past. By setting up this program the EU hopes to keep its consumers safe from any possible side effects of any new food products.
There are a variety of ways in which genetic modification has helped food producers. They can improve the nutritional (营养的) value or the storage conditions of the food. Today there are only two genetically modified foods that have been allowed for use, these are GM soybean and GM maize.
Despite any safety checks, many people are still cautious about eating genetically modified foods. By providing these people with the necessary information, we can allow them to make decisions about these foods.What do we know about the novel food?
| A．It’s very popular in EU. |
| B．It’s bad for people’s health. |
| C．It’s a new kind of food. |
| D．Its story has been published. |
Genetically foods are allowed to be sold if they are.
| A．tested for safety | B．of high quality |
| C．more nutritional | D．grown in Europe |
From paragraph 2, we can learn that genetically modified foods .
| A．do no harm to people |
| B．have caused some problems |
| C．are well received after being tested |
| D．are criticized and attacked by many people |
What’s the writer’s attitude towards genetically modified foods?
| A．We should warn people that they are too dangerous to be eaten. |
| B．We should give people information about them so that they can decide whether to buy them |
| C．We should encourage people to eat them because they are more nutritional. |
| D．We should tell people that they are trying to fool the farmers. |
A young man approached the foreman（工头）of a logging crew (伐木队) and asked for a job. “That depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you fell (砍伐) this tree.” The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman said, “You can start Monday.”
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday went by — and on Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “You can pick up your wages on the way out today.” Shocked, the young man replied, “I thought you would pay me on Friday.”
“Normally we do,” said the foreman. “But we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you’ve dropped from first place on Monday to the last place today.”
“But I’m quite hardworking,” the young man disagreed. “I am the first to arrive and the last to leave and even have worked through my coffee breaks!”
The foreman thought for a minute and then asked “Have you sharpened your axe?”
The young man replied, “No, sir. I’ve been working too hard to take time for that!”
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to “sharpen” the axe. In today’s world it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp?
There’s nothing wrong with hard work. But we shouldn’t get so busy that we ignore the truly important things in life. We all need time to relax, to think, to learn and to grow. If we don’t take time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.By telling the story, the writer wanted to tell us.
| A．where there is a will, there is a way |
| B．all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy |
| C．hard work can make up for lack of intelligence |
| D．health is over wealth |
The young man got the job by.
| A．defeating others | B．giving promises |
| C．showing skills | D．answering questions |
Why did the foreman pay the young man on Thursday instead of on the normal Friday?
| A．He wanted the young man to have a rest. |
| B．He wanted the young man to work harder. |
| C．He wanted to reward the young man for his hard work. |
| D．He was unsatisfied with the young man and was to fire him. |
What can we learn about the young man?
| A．He is optimistic. | B．He is a little dishonest. |
| C．He is intelligent. | D．He is hardworking. |