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 can cost more than $6 000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time. 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 though, 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(认同)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 evidence shows we are kidding 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 simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.
1.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
2.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
3.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 only interested in houses and furniture
4.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
5.What does the author actually mean in the last paragraph?
A.He asks TV viewers never to laugh at the TV commercial ads.
B.Commercials are used to show the true value of a product to be sold.
C.TV commercials cost much and they do influence us in one way or another.
D.Brainwashing must be introduced to sell something on TV.
B
As a kid, I can remember going to the supermarket and grabbing eggs off the shelf. I would run them home to my mother because they were usually going into a delicious cake. Times have changed. Cage-free? Organic? Brown? White? Omega-3s(一种脂肪酸)?Help! Here are some tips to help you figure out which eggs you should be eating.
Brown or white? In fact, color is simply a sign of the breed of hen. Find the freshest egg with the most flavor and let color be a secondary concern.
Extra Omega-3s? Omega-3 eggs come from a hen whose diet has added flaxseed (亚麻籽),which produces an egg containing an average of 225 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E. The countless health benefits for humans make these eggs an attractive purchase. My opinion? Eat a piece of fresh fish and get a pure pill of Omega-3s. Let eggs be eggs.
Does your egg need exercise? Free-range eggs are from hens raised without the limit of a cage, though they may or may not have spent much time outdoors. Organic eggs are from hens whose food must meet organic standards. These hens must be raised humanly, and they must be given time to the outdoors. Hey, happier hens do lay tastier eggs.
Does local make a difference? Nothing is better than local eggs. They may have a feather or two stuck to them or be a little imperfect in shape and may or may not be certified organic; however, they have one quality. I know exactly where my food came from and how it came into being! In some cases I can even ask the farmer when the eggs were laid and what they were fed.
55.What’s the best title for this passage?
A.Which Eggs Should You Be Eating? B.Eggs Are Changing as Times Are Changing
C.Which Kind of Egg Is the Best? D. The First Concern When Choosing Eggs
56. What does the author think of extra Omega-3s eggs?
A.They are a good choice for people to buy.
B.They contain fewer Omega-3s than fresh fish.
C.They have the highest content of pure Omega-3s.
D.They are not the best source of Omega-3s.
57. The underlined word “free-range” probably means “________ ”
A.wild B.cage-free C.organic D.Omega-3-free
58.According to the passage, which of the following has nothing to do with an egg’s quality?
A.The egg’s color. B.The hen’s exercise.
C.The hen’s living conditions. D.The hen’s food.
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
A
“Mr. Mandela has spent 67 years making the world a better place. We’re asking you for 67 minutes”. Nelson Mandela turns 91 on the 18th of July, and the call has gone out for people everywhere to celebrate his birthday and the global launch of Mandela Day by acting on the idea that each person has the power to change the world.
The call by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and its sister organizations for the creation of an official global Mandela Day is gaining great support. It is to be celebrated on the 18th of July every year-Mandela’s birthday.
“The celebration of Mandela Day aims to call on people to recognize their power and devote 67 minutes to making an imprint (印记) and helping change the world around them for the better”, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said at the launch of the campaign in April.
“Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years, beginning in 1942 when he first started to fight for the human rights of every South African. He has set a good example to the world. ”
Mandela said at the time of the launch that he would be honoured if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and improve peace.
Former US president Bill Clinton said Mandela’s example showed that the power of public kindness does not require public office, but a well-placed heart and a determined mind .
South African President Jacob Zuma said it would give people in South Africa and all over the world the opportunity to do something good to help others. Let us wholeheartedly support Mandela Day and encourage the world to join us in this wonderful campaign.
51. The underlined word “launch” in the first paragraph can be replaced by“________”.
A.celebration B.creation C.realization D. activity
52. The aim of setting up Mandela Day is to________ .
A.celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday
B.improve the international position of South Africa
C.encourage people to fight poverty
D.call on people to make the world a much better place
53. It can be inferred from the passage that Bill Clinton and Jacob Zuma________.
A.do not support some ideas of Nelson Mandela
B.were too busy to attend Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday celebration
C.think highly of the contribution Nelson Mandela has made to the world
D.disagree with the idea of setting up a global Mandela Day
54. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Nelson Mandela began to fight for the human rights in 1942.
B.It took 67 minutes to celebrate Mandela’s birthday.
C.Presidents form all around the world will attend the celebration.
D.The Nelson Mandela Foundation made 18th July Mandela Day.
E
It is true that good writers rewrite and rewrite and then rewrite some more .But in order to work up the desire to rewrite, it is important to learn to like what you write at the early stage.
I am surprised at the number of famous writers I know who say that they so dislike reading their own writing later that they even hate to look over the publishers’ opinions .One reason we may dislike reading our own work is that we’re often disappointed that the rich ideas in our minds seem very thin and plain when first written down .Jerry Fodor and Steven Pinker suggest that this fact may be a result of how our minds work..
Different from popular belief ,we do not usually think in the works and sentences of ordinary language but in symbols for ideas (known as “mentalese”), and writing our ideas down is an act of translation from that symbolic language .But while mentalese contains our thoughts in the form of a complex tapestry (织锦),writing can only be composed one thread at a time .Therefore it should not be surprising that our first attempt at expressing ideas should look so simple .It is only by repeatedly rewriting that we produce new threads and connect them to get closer to the ideas formed in our minds.
When people write as if some strict critics (批评家) are looking over their shoulder, they are so worried about what this critic might say that they get stuck before they even start. Peter Elbow makes an excellent suggestion to deal with this problem. When writing we should have two different minds. At the first stage, we should see every idea, as well as the words we use to express it, as wonderful and worth putting down. It is only during rewrites that we should examine what we excitedly wrote in the first stage and check for weaknesses.
68. What do we learn from the text about those famous writers?
A. They often regret writing poor works
B. Some of them write surprisingly much.
C. Many of them hate reading their own works
D. They are happy to review the publishers’ opinions.
69. What do people generally believe about the way human minds work?
A. People think in words and sentences.
B. Human ideas are translated into symbols.
C. People think by connecting threads of ideas.
D. Human thoughts are expressed through pictures.
70. What can we conclude from the text?
A. Most people believe we think in symbols.
B. Loving our own writing is scientifically reasonable.
C. The writers and critics can never reach an agreement.
D. Thinking and writing are different stages of mind at work.
D
Remembering names is an important social skill.Here are some ways to master it.
Recite and repeat in conversation.
When you hear a person’s name,repeat it.Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips.You could also repeat the name in a way that does not sound forced or artificial.
Ask the other person to recite and repeat.
You can let other people help you remember their names.After you’ve been introduced to someone,ask that person to spell the name and pronounce it correctly for you.Most people will be pleased by the effort you’re making to learn their names.
Admit you don’t know.
Admitting that you can’t remember someone’s name can actually make people relaxed.Most of them will feel sympathy if you say.“I’m working to remember names better.Yours is right on the tip of my tongue.What is it again?”
Use associations.
Link each person yon meet with one thing you find interesting or unusual.For example,you could make a mental note: "Vicki Cheng -- tall, black hair.” To reinforce (加强) your associations, write them on a small card as soon as possible.
Limit the number of new names you learn at one time.
When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names. Free yourself from remembering every one. Few of the people in mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come later.
Go early.
Consider going early to conferences, parties and classes. Sometimes just a few people show up on time. That's fewer names for you to remember. And as more people arrive, you can hear them being introduced to others -- an automatic review for you.
64. How will most people feel when you try hard to remember their names?
A. They will be moved. B. They will be annoyed.
C. They will be delighted. D. They will be discouraged.
65. If you can't remember someone's name, you may ________
A. tell him the truthB. tell him a white lie
C. ask him for pity D. ask others to help you
66. When you meet a group of people, it is better to remember _______
A. all their names B. a couple of names first
C. just their last names D. as many names as possible
67. What does the text mainly tell us?
A. Tips on an important social skill. B. Importance of attending parties.
C. How to make use of associations. D. How to recite and repeat names.
C
We have met the enemy, and he is ours. We bought him at a pet shop. When monkey-pox, a disease usually found in the African rain forest, suddenly turns up in children in the American Midwest, it’s hard not to wonder if the disease that comes from foreign animals is homing in on human beings. “Most of the infections (感染) we think of as human infections started in other animals,” says Stephen Morse, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.
It’s not just that we’re going to where the animals are; we’re also bringing them closer to us. Popular foreign pets have brought a whole new disease to this country. A strange illness killed Isaksen’s pets, and she now thinks that keeping foreign pets is a bad idea. “I don’t think it’s fair to have them as pets when we have such a limited knowledge of them,” says Isaksen.
“Laws allowing these animals to be brought in from deep forest areas without stricter control need changing,” says Peter Schantz. Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call. Researchers believe infected animals may infect their owners. We know very little about these new diseases. A new bug (病毒) may be kind at first. But it may develop into something harmful. Monkey-pox doesn’t look a major infectious disease. But it is not impossible to pass the disease from person to person.
60. We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold at the shop may _________.
A. come from Columbia B. prevent us from being infected
C. enjoy being with childrenD. suffer from monkey-pox
61. Why did Isaksen advise people not to have foreign pets?
A. They attack human beings. B. We need to study native animals.
C. They can’t live out of the rain forest. D. We do not know much about them yet.
62. What does the phrase “the wake-up call” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A. a new diseaseB. a clear warning
C. a dangerous animal D. a morning call
63. The text suggests that in the future we _______.
A. may have to fight against more new diseases
B. may easily get infected by diseases from dogs
C. should not be allowed to have pets
D. should stop buying pets from Africa