Why do people buy art? To answer this question, ask yourself what your reasons are for thinking of getting a piece of art. An artwork can cost a large amount of money, but if it meets your needs, it’ s worth every penny.
People buy art for many reasons. Many people buy an artwork simply because they like it, even if it is by an unknown artist. Art, as long as you enjoy it, is never a waste of money.
Art is for enjoyment. Art is meant to be shown. Don’t ever feel pressured into buying something you won’t enjoy looking at day after day, no matter what other people may say. Don’t buy something that doesn’t attract you just because it is trendy, or because the artist is famous, or because you have been advised that the artwork will make a good investment. If you don’t like the artwork at all, don’t buy it!
Art improves your environment. Have you ever noticed that all beautiful homes have art as an integral（必需的） part of the decoration? Art lends life and color to otherwise plain and ordinary walls. A well thought--out art collection will help create a unique atmosphere in your home and make it more attractive.
Art makes a statement. The kind of art you surround yourself with says much about your personality, tastes and values. Art truly is a mirror of the soul.
Art enriches your life. Love--even the love of a work of art--contributes to healthier living and a longer lifespan (寿命). Art should enrich your life. Otherwise, why do you spend precious time and resources on it?
Just remember to select something which will appeal to your tastes, and keep to a sensible budget. Good art needn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Happy art collecting!
64. What’s the purpose of the passage?
A. To advise us to buy an expensive artwork.
B. To remind us to be sensible when buying an artwork.
C. To teach us how to choose works of art.
D. To explain the benefit of art to people.
65. According to the author, what should you consider when buying a piece of art?
A. Whether it brings pleasure to you.
B. Whether it is fashionable at present.
C. Whether you can profit from it in the end.
D. Whether it is created by a famous artist.
66. Which of the following words best describes a work of art placed in a house?
A. Ordinary B. Attractive C. Necessary D. Unique
67. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 means that ____.
A. art can show what you look like
B. art is an expression of yourself
C. a mirror has a feature similar to art
D. a mirror can be a piece of true art
Special trees that grow faster, fight pollution, produce better wood, and even sense chemical attacks are being planted by scientists in the US．
When 40 per cent of Hawaii's US$14 million-a-year papaya （木瓜）industry was destroyed by a virus five years ago, work began on creating genetically engineered（转基因的）trees．
Researchers successfully introduced seeds that were designed to resist the virus．Since then, more and more people have been testing genetically engineered trees．Some researchers put special bacteria into trees to help them grow faster and produce better wood．Others are trying to create trees that can clean polluted soil．Meanwhile fruit farmers are looking for trees that are strong enough to resist worms, and paper companies want trees that produce more wood and therefore more paper．
The Pentagon （五角大楼） even gave the researchers US$500,000 this year after they developed a pine tree that changes its colours if it senses a chemical attack．So far, the poplar, eucalyptus （杨树与桉树）, apple and coffee trees are among those being engineered．All this can be done today because we have a better understanding of tree genomes （基因组）．
However, some people fear that the genetically engineered trees will cause dangerous results．They are worried that the new trees will breed with natural species and change the balance of the forest environment．
“It could be destructive,” said Jim Diamond, an environmentalist. “Trees are what is left of our natural environment and home to many endangered species.”
But researchers insist that science could give nature a fighting chance against both natural and man-made dangers．They hope to answer the critics by stopping the new trees from breeding, so their effect on the environment can be controlled．
63．Which kind of tree is not the ones that scientists are planting in the US?
A．Trees that worms can't hurt．
B．Genetically engineered trees．
C．Trees that can resist wind better．
D．Trees that can protect themselves at a chemical attack．
64．What caused the American scientists to work on special trees?
A．Tree genomes are mapped out so scientists know how to improve trees．
B．Great numbers of trees have been lost due to attacks by viruses．
C．Researchers successfully introduced seeds designed to resist the virus．
D．They think science could give nature a fighting chance against both natural and man-made dangers．
65．Which of the following was probably the first kind of trees being engineered?
A．Papaya． B．Pine． C．Apple． D．Poplar．
66．Why did critics think engineered trees dangerous? Because ________．
A．these trees can destroy the balance of nature
B．everything except trees has been genetically engineered
C．trees are home to many endangered species
D．these trees may affect normal trees
Putting Movies on Mobiles
Movies in the theater get their recognition at awards ceremonies such as the Oscars．But how about movies for phones? They are getting their turn at MoFilm — the first mobile film festival.
The first MoFilm competition received 250 entries from more than 100 countries．Entries were restricted to films that were five minutes or less in length — ideal for viewing and sharing on mobile phones．An independent jury then selected a shortlist of five film-makers．The winner was chosen from the shortlist by an audience voting using their phones.
New Platforms
The awards highlight the increasing impact that mobile phones are making in the entertainment industry．Many grassroots filmmakers start out with short films．They are thwarted by the lack of opportunities to screen their work．Therefore, mobile phones are increasingly being seen as a new platform for these short works.
It is a good place for anyone who wants to express themselves and find a way to have that expression be seen by a wide audience．Just think about how many people have mobile phones in the world!
New Technology Advances
MoFilm is pioneering content for mobile and online services that is a world away from Hollywood．The majority of films made for mobiles are now short in length, taking into account the screen size．However this could be overcome as technology advances.
In the near future, longer films will likely be seen on the mobile phone．And there are mobile companies creating phones where users can watch movies at higher quality．
Wherever you see movies, one thing is certain: the quality of work, the simple ability at story telling, and the thing that inspires someone to tell a story can really come from anywhere.
60．At the first MoFilm, ________．
A．movies in the theater got their recognition
B．more than 100 countries took part in the competition
C．ideal films were five minutes or less in length
D．the winner was chosen by experts’ voting
61．They are thwarted by the lack of opportunities to screen their work．The underlined word means “________”．
A．disappointedB．surprised C．frightened D．encouraged
62．Nowadays the majority of films made for mobiles are short in length because of ________．
A．online services B．the mobile phone C．technology advances D．the screen size
The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My God, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry. I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington.
“Take that seat，” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one，in the back of the room.
Carlos grinned,“But I need a couple of dictionaries.”Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos，not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president. “How come?”I kept asking myself,“How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”
So that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn’t seem to bother you — being short.”He looked up at me , “Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin，I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,”I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
56．The author was angry because ________.
A．the class made fun of her B．Carlos was too rude to her
C．she had to carry many books D．Reed Harrington didn’t date her
57．Which of the following about Carlos is NOT TRUE?
A．He was popular. B．He was new in the school.
C．He was shorter than the author. D．He was chosen president in the school elections.
58．We can infer from the passage that ________.
A．Carlos and the author have become good friends
B．the author will be more confident
C．Carlos always encouraged the author
D．the author was tall
59．What’s the best title of the passage?
A．How to be popular B．A tall girl
C．Be yourself D．Something about Carlos
New York Times-The already crazed competition for admission to the nation’s most famous universities and colleges became even more intense (激烈的) this year, with many recording the lowest acceptance rates.
Harvard College, for example, offered admission to only 7.1 percent of the 27,462 high school seniors who applied — or, put another way, it rejected 93 of every 100 applicants, many with extraordinary achievements, like a perfect score on one of the SAT exams. Yale College accepted 8.3 percent of its 22,813 applicants. Both rates were records.
Columbia College admitted 8.7 percent of its applicants, Brown University and Dartmouth College about 13 percent, and Bowdoin College and Georgetown University 18 percent — also records.
“We love the people we admitted, but we also love a very large number of the people who we were not able to admit,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean (主任) of admissions and financial aid at Harvard College.
Some colleges said they placed more students on their waiting lists than in recent years, in part because of uncertainty over how many admitted students would decide to enroll （登记入学）. Harvard and Princeton stopped accepting students through early admission this academic year; that meant that more than 1,500 students who would have been admitted in December were likely to have applied to many famous schools in the regular round.
Many factors contributed to the tightening of the competition at the most selective colleges, admissions deans said. The number of high school graduates in the nation has grown each year over the last decade and a half, experts estimate that the figure will reach the highest point this year or next, which might reduce the competition a little.
Other factors were the ease of online applications, expanded financial aid packages, an ambitious students’ applying to ever more colleges.
48．What’s the passage mainly about?
A．Harvard has the lowest admission rate this year.
B．Many factors have led to the intense competition.
C．Famous universities prefer to have more students on their waiting lists.
D．Admission to famous universities became even more difficult this year.
49．Which of the following has the highest acceptance rate this year?
A．Yale College. B．Georgetown University.
C．Columbia College. D．Dartmouth College.
50．How many of the 20,000 applicants would be rejected by Columbia College this year?
A．18,260 B．1,740 C．18,350 D．1,950
A well-dressed man came into a famous jeweler shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl (珍珠) for his wife's birthday and that the price didn't matter since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a number of beautiful and valuable pearls, he chose a nice black one that cost $ 5,000. He paid for the pearl, shook hands with the jeweler and left.
A few days later the man returned and said his wife had liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality(质地) as she wanted a pair of earrings (耳环) made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler replied, "I would say it's nearly impossible to find an exact one like that pearl.”
The rich man asked the jeweler to advertise(登广告) in the newspapers, and offered $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the ad(广告), but nobody had a pearl that was just right. Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came in. To his surprise, she pulled the wonderful pearl from her handbag. "I don't like to sell it," she said sadly. "I inherited(继承) it from my mother, and my mother inherited from hers. But now I really need the money. "
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The rich man, however, was nowhere to be found.
44. From the first paragraph we can guess that the jeweler considered the well-dressed man as_____________.
A. an honest jeweler to make friends with B. a clever cheat (骗子) with a 1ol
C. a rich businessman and good husband D. a poor gentleman who spent mc
45. He paid$ 5,000 for the pearl without bargaining(讨价还价)______________.
A. because he loved his wife very much
B. in order to get it as quickly as possible
C. since his business had been successful
D. so as to make the jeweler believe him
46. Which of the following is true?
A. The people who answered the ad wanted to sell their pearls at a high price.
B. The woman was the well-dressed man's wife.
C. The jeweler was lucky enough to buy the little old lady's pearl.
D. The rich man didn't know the little old lady.
47. The jeweler could not find the rich man anywhere because he__________.
A. had moved to another hotel B. was busy doing business with others
C. had escaped with $ 20,000 D. had told the wrong telephone number