Shopping in the United States changes a lot. About ninety years ago most people shopped in small stores that were owned by one person or a family. Women went from the bakery to the butcher’s to the grocer and on to the fruit and vegetable seller in order to get their food for the week. Then, about sixty years ago, supermarkets were born. In a supermarket, people could get all the different kinds of food they needed without going to different stores.
The next big change in shopping in the United States was the shopping mall. A shopping mall is a group of stores under one roof. Because malls allowed people to shop without worrying about the weather, they soon became very popular. The mall became a place for people to socialize in addition to shopping. If you walk through a mall, you will see older people sitting, chatting and drinking coffee. Malls are places for teenagers to hang out. Many teens will often just “go to the mall” and spend time with their friends.
The recent change in American shopping was the superstore. Large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Toys“R”Us have been built all across the United States. Because they are so large, they can buy goods at a great discount and sell them much cheaper than smaller stores. Sometimes, when they are built near small towns, many of the small town stores have to close. They just cannot compete with their giant neighbors.
And now, online shopping is becoming more and more popular all over the States. People are too busy to go to the physical stores, so they go shopping over the Internet. Online shopping has lots of advantages. For instance, online stores are usually available 24 hours a day. Searching or browsing online shops can be faster than browsing the physical stores. While, online shopping also has its disadvantages. People are at higher risk of being cheated on the part of the merchant than in a physical store. And privacy of personal information may be let out.Which of the following shows the right order of shopping development in the United States?
①small stores ②superstores ③shopping malls ④shopping online ⑤supermarkets
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．①⑤②③④ | C．②③④①⑤ | D．①⑤③②④ |
Which is the place for people to spend time with others according to the passage?
| A．Small stores. | B．Shopping malls. | C．Supermarkets. | D．Superstores. |
Why can the superstores sell products at much lower prices?
| A．Because they can buy goods at a reduction in price. |
| B．Because they are across the United States. |
| C．Because they sell all kinds of products people need. |
| D．Because they are built near small towns. |
What’s the disadvantage of online shopping according to the passage?
| A．Wasting time. | B．Fixed prices. |
| C．Leaking personal information. | D．No chance to do physical activities. |
Gregory Kloehn digs through dustbins every day, but not for the reason that most people would think．He isn’t homeless．In fact he is trying to help the homeless．
Gregory began his life as a sculptor．But he often felt that his sculptures．Which just stood in rich people’s houses for years，lacked a meaningful purpose．So in 201l he decided to put his artistic energies into creating homes to sell—not ordinary homes but small structures built entirely from recycled materials．
The thought of creating homes for the homeless didn’t occur to him until the year 2013,when a homeless couple asked him for a tarp(防水布)．Instead of a tarp，Gregory offered them something better：a small home with a water tank, a kitchen and a trap for waste．They were so grateful that Gregory decided to focus his efforts on helping house the homeless population in his city．And soon his“Homeless Homes Project”was started．
Before starting a new home，Gregory，goes hunting for materials by digging through dustbins．Everything he finds is usable—refrigerator doors become house doors；washing machine doors often serve as windows，and the tops of cars become strong roofs．He put wheels at the bottom for users to move their homes around easily．Each home takes two to three days to make．
So far Gregory has donated dozens of homes to the city's most needy．While his small low- cost mobile homes are not the final solution to the problem of homelessness，they are really practical and do provide a warm and safe place for the homeless to stay in．They are simply a way for one man to do something nice for those in need of some help．
Gregory has written a book titled Homeless Architecture，where he explains techniques to build those homes and he is now working on weekend workshops．“A lot of people who hear about what I’m doing want to get involved，”he said．“Maybe we can meet someplace and put a couple of homes together．”Why did Gregory turn from making sculptures to creating homes?
| A．He had no home to live in． |
| B．He had to make more money． |
| C．He lost interest in sculpture． |
| D．He wanted to help the homeless． |
The author mentions the story in paragraph 3 to tell us____________．
| A．Gregory’s small homes were popular among the homeless |
| B．how Gregory got the idea of“Homeless Homes Project” |
| C．the homeless couple asked Gregory to produce more homes |
| D．housing the homeless in acity was not an easy task |
What can we conclude from Paragraph 4？
| A．Gregory has great trouble hunting for materials for his small houses． |
| B．It takes Gregory a long time to produce a home． |
| C．Gregory’s work requires imagination and creativity |
| D．Everything in the dustbins will be used in Gregory’s work． |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．Gregory’s project will help more homeless people． |
| B．Gregory doesn’t need to make small homes now． |
| C．Gregory’s work will completely solve the homelessness problem． |
| D．A single person can make no difference to social problems． |
Laresce was born with a condition called hypermobility(运动过度)which meant her joints were“bend”．The condition can use severe joint pain and lead to dislocations(脱臼)．
But rather than feel sorry for herself, she used her misfortune to inspire her to become Britain's strongest schoolgirl．
Just two years ago，the condition left Laresce in so much pain that she couldn’t even take part in sports．But now she has six British and World Champion power lifting records．It’s an incredible achievement．
Laresce’s trainer Tania George said her condition is the secret to her success．“She has more flexibility in her back than most people，which gives her the technique of bending her back strongly and safely．Most power lifters would kill to try to bend their backs like Laresce．She has perfected the technique to lift incredibly heavy weights，”Tania said．
“I used to suffer a lot of pain from my hypermobility．I remember coming home from school with pains in my knees，joints and hips．It would stop me doing normal things at schoo1．The pain would be so much that some nights I couldn't sleep at all and I just couldn’t face going to school like that．And after each dislocation，I had to do six months of physiotherapy(理疗)to recover,”said Laresce．
However, since taking up the sport of power lifting 18 months ago she is now effectively cured．“really enjoyed the feeling of power I got and the excitement of people encouraging me to do my very best，”she said．
“I’ve made lots of friends a It’s an incredible feeling when everyone's cheering me on．It’s the support of other people that makes the difference to winning．Becoming a champion was a big surprise—I just started off for fun and wasn’t expecting anything．So to win six titles over just a few months was amazing．”We can learn from the passage that________．
| A．Laresce is suffering a lot from hypermobility |
| B．hypermobility is helpful to increase one’s strength |
| C．Laresce didn't go to school because of her illness |
| D．the flexibility in Laresce's back helps her to lift heavy weight |
Laresce had to do long-time physiotherapy to________．
| A．reduce the pains in knees and joints |
| B．recover from joint dislocations |
| C．fall asleep easily during nights |
| D．do normal things freely at school |
From Laresce's words in the last paragraph we know that________．
A．Laresce was determined to become a champion
B．Laresce trained for a long time to win the titles
C．Laresce didn’t expect to gain such a great success
D：Laresce’s friends contributed a lot to her successWhat could be the best title for this passage ?
| A．A schoolgirl who turns misfortune into an advantage |
| B．Bendy-jointed teen becomes Britain’s strongest schoolgirl |
| C．An inspiring girl who has made great achievements |
| D．A British girl with great spirit and determination |
Sitting at a desk in a classroom all day can be pretty boring.
The teachers at Ward Elementary in Winston –Salem，North Carolina ，picked up on that and traded in their students’ desks for exercise bikes as a part of their Read and Ride program!
The Read and Ride program began five years ago．One classroom has enough bikes for every student in any given class，and throughout the day teachers bring in their students to the room to ride them and read their books．
Even regular classrooms have one bike in the back of each room for students who just can’t sit still to use to help them burn energy in a good way．
Students love being more active! Teachers enjoy seeing students eager to read．Parents appreciate stronger，smarter children．Headmasters value this effective and cost-free program．“Riding exercise bikes makes reading fun for many kids who get frustrated(挫败的)when they read．Thus，they have a way to release that frustration while they ride，”said Scott Ertl，who started the program．“As we can see，everyone wants to promote literacy and lose weight! But many students who are overweight struggle with sports and activities since they don’t want to always be the last or lose with others watching on the playground．On exercise bikes，however，students are able to exert(发挥)themselves at their own level—without anyone noticing when they slow down or take a break．”
As it turns out，not only are the bikes helping the students burn calories，they’re also helping them learn better and stay focused．At the end of the school year the school analyzed testing data and found that students that spent more time reading and riding did more than twice as well on reading tests than their fellow students who spent the least time in the program．Why did the teachers start the Read and Ride program?
| A．To get the students out of the classrooms． |
| B．To make the students more active in sports． |
| C．To read effectively in an active way． |
| D．To help the overweight students keep fit． |
According to Scott Ertl，riding exercise bikes___________．
| A．is the least expensive way for exercise |
| B．call benefit overweight students in both ways |
| C．is the best way to build up students’body |
| D．is a good way to avoid being watched by teachers |
The program helps the students in the following ways except________．
| A．help them learn better |
| B．reduce their reading difficulties |
| C．build up their bodies |
| D．improve their learning concentration |
Passwords are no safeguards
Typing your password or credit card number into a computer is a moment’s work. But if you think your personal details disappear as soon as you hit the Return key, think again: they can sit on the computer’s hard disk for years waiting for a hacker(黑客)to take them.
As people spend more time on the web and hackers become more experienced, the dangers of storing personal information on computers are growing by the day, security experts say. There are some safe-guards, such as never allowing your computer to store your passwords. But even that in no guarantee of security.
When you type in a password, it is stored in random access memory (RAM), where it is held temporarily until other data overwrites it or the computer is switched off.
But every so often , the computer copies the contents of its RAM onto hard disk, where it is easy to prey（捕获） for a hacker, who can read it directly or design a worm to e-mail it back. The longer sensitive data stays in RAM, the more likely it is to be copied onto the disk, where it stays until it is overwritten-which might not happen for years.
Tal Garfinkel and colleagues from Stanford University have created a software tool which simulates (模拟)the workings of a complete computer system. Within the simulation, sensitive data can be tagged and then tracked as it passes through the system. Next, Garfinkel and his team simulated computers running common software that regularly handles passwords or secret personal information, such as Internet Explorer, the Windows login script and Apache server software.
In a paper to be presented, they conclude that the programs took no measures to limit the length of time the information is kept. Some of the tested software even copied the sensitive information, obviously without restraint(阻拦).What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．It’s important to set passwords to your computer. |
| B．Passwords help keep your personal information. |
| C．It’s unsafe to store personal information on computers. |
| D．There are some safeguards for your personal information. |
Hackers usually get others’ information from.
| A．RAM | B．the hard disk |
| C．a worm | D．the e-mail |
Garfinkel and his colleagues created a software tool to .
| A．find out how hackers steal personal information |
| B．protect personal information from being stolen |
| C．see how a complete computer system works |
| D．tag and track sensitive data on the computer |
Talking about computer safety, which of the following the writer would probably suggest?
| A．People should stop using computers. |
| B．Hackers should be heavily punished. |
| C．Better computer programs are needed. |
| D．Program developers are to blame. |
In front of a popular restaurant, a line of customers wait for taxis. And wait. Most of the cabs(taxis) are full. That’s nothing unusual in this city of 4 million people. But it’s 2:30 in the morning.
Visitors to the Olympic Games may leave disappointed if they see Athens only through the eyes of the typical tourist, who makes a beeline of the islands after the visit to the Acropolis(雅典卫城) and the unusual and attractive Plaka district. To fully appreciate and discover Athens’ many charms(魅力), do as the Greeks do: walk out into the neighborhoods, find the packed nightclubs, eat at one of the innumerable(数不清的) restaurants, or see Hollywood stars under real stars in a romantic outdoor cinema.
The Greek capital is named for the ancient goddess Athena, whose favourite animal was the owl(猫头鹰). It’s a fitting symbol for the city’s nocturnal (夜里的) nature, which often reaches its highest point in summer with a rush hour just before dawn.
As native Athenian Panos Demestiha said, Athens by day is unlivable(不宜居住的), but it’s magical at night. Athenians face up to heavy traffic block, decreasing green space, dusty streets… City officials are using the momentum(契机) of the August 13-29 Olympics to fix some of these problems and make city life more bearable.To the surprise of the visitors to Athens , ____.
| A．most of the cabs are often full all day long |
| B．the cabs are often empty |
| C．the cabs are almost full even at 2:30 am |
| D．there is no cab in the street at 2:30 am. |
The name of Athens came from ____.
| A．a goddess | B．a famous athlete |
| C．a kind of animal | D．a kind of plant |
The typical visitors will often visit the following places EXCEP ____.
| A．the neighborhood | B．the Plaka district |
| C．the Acropolis | D．famous islands |
The underlined word “bearable” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “____”.
| A．astonishing | B．forgettable |
| C．exciting | D．comfortable |