No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements. Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us. In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, advertisers have made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses.
Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing. An advertisement which begins with the magic word FREE can rarely go wrong. These days, advertisers not only offer free samples, but free cars, free houses, and free trips round the world as well. They devise hundreds of competitions 
which will enable us to win huge sums of money. Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.
Du
ring a radio programme, a company of biscuit manufacturers once asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory. They offered to pay $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener. The response to this competition was tremendous. Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory. One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow. It weighed nearly 500 pounds. A little later, a man came along with a biscuit which occupied the whole of his car. All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighed. The largest was 713 pounds. It seemed certain that this would win the prize. But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2,400 pounds. It had been baked by a college student who had used over 1,000 pounds of flour, 800 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of fat, and 400 pounds of various other ingredients. It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry. The manufacturers had to pay more money than they had anticipated, for they bought th
e biscuit from the student for $24,000..
. Why have advertisers made a close study of human weakness?
| A．They thought it was very interesting to do so. |
| B．They wanted to persuade the customers to buy their products. |
| C．They thought it was their duty. |
| D．They wanted to research how much people spend buying their products. |
.
. Why do advertisers offer free samples and other things to people?
| A．They use them to attract people’s attention. |
| B．Their advertisements have little effect on customers. |
| C．Different means are being used to cheat people. |
| D．They produce too many products that can’t be sold out. |
.
From the last paragraph, we know that the factory failed to expect _______.
| A．how many people would take an interest in the competition |
| B．how many ingredients are needed to bake a large biscuit |
| C．it was possible to bake a biscuit as large as the student’s |
| D．the payment wouldn’t be as high as $ 24,000 |
The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病) that people receive.
The most widespread fallacy(谬误) of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses(病毒) passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds. In the Second World War prisoners at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp(奥斯维辛集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet（湿透）in drafty（通风的）room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other time, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms. The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．3 |
Arctic explorers may catch colds when _______.
| A．they are working in the isolated arctic regions |
| B．they are writing reports in terribly cold weather |
| C．they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions |
| D．they are coming into touch again with the outside world |
Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit probably _______.
| A．suffered a lot | B．never caught colds |
| C．often caught colds | D．became very strong |
The passage mainly discusses _______.
| A．the experiments on the common cold |
| B．the fallacy about the common cold |
| C．the reason and the way people catch colds |
| D．the continued spread of common colds |
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the City of Melbourne's tourism program.
If you would like to receive an email advising you of the next recruitment(招募) intake, please email tourism@melbourne.vic.gov.au.
Information about volunteering with Tourism Melbourne
Volunteers play a vital role in the City of Melbourne’s tourism services.They provide information on Melbourne to around twomillion visitors each year. Their love and knowledge of the city and regional Victoria adds to Melbourne's reputation as a friendly, welcoming and culturally vibrant (有活力的) city.
The City of Melbourne’s tourism branch generally conducts two volunteer recruitment intakes each year for the following tourism programs:
| A．In classified tourism advertisements. |
| B．In a radio report of a tourism program. |
| C．In a book review about volunteering. |
| D．On a local government website. |
Which of the following is NOT one of the requirements for a volunteer?
| A．Owning a driver’s license. |
| B．Enjoying meeting people. |
| C．Having computer skills. |
| D．A four-hour shift each week. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A．the program’s recruitment takes place every two years |
| B． Go Volunteer offers more information about Melbourne’s volunteer program |
| C．if you know Melbourne well, you are sure to be admitted as a tourism volunteer |
| D．even though you are interested in the program, you can’t be its member right now |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Does Volunteering Pay Back? |
| B．Welcome to the City of Melbourne! |
| C．Tourism Volunteer Program. |
| D．Interest and Tourism Volunteering. |
Attention to detail is something everyone can and should do — especially in tight job market. Bob Crossley, a human-resources expert notices this in the job applications that come across his desk every day. “It’s amazing how many candidates cross out themselves,” he says.
“Resumes (简历)arrive with faults. Some candidates don’t bother to spell the company’s name correctly. Once I see a mistake, I cross out the candidates,” Crossley concludes. “If they cannot take care of these details, why should we trust them with a job?”
Can we pay too much attention to details? Perfectionists struggle over little things at the cost of something larger they work toward. “To keep from losing the forest for the trees,” says Charles Garfield, the professor at the University of California, San Francisco, “We must constantly ask ourselves how the details we’re working on fit into the larger picture. If they don’t, we should drop them and move to something else.”
Garfield compares this process to his work as a computer scientist at NASA. “The Apollo II moon launch was slightly off course 90 percent of the time,” says Garfield. “But a successful landing was still likely because we knew the exact position of our goal. This allowed us to make adjustments as necessary.” Knowing where to go helps us judge the importance of every task we undertake.
Too often we believe what accounts for others’ success is some special secret or a lucky break. But rarely is success so mysterious. Again and again, we see that by doing little things within our grasp well, large rewards follow.According to the passage, some job applicants were rejected because .
| A．they failed to present resumes that are free of mistakes |
| B．they failed to give a detailed description of their background |
| C．they crossed out their names from the applicants list themselves |
| D．their handwriting on the resume was hard to recognize |
The underlined word “cross out” in the first paragraph probably means ______.
| A．neglect | B．recommend | C．wipe | D．introduce |
The third paragraph is intended to state that .
| A．trees are as important as forests |
| B．we should pay much attention to details |
| C．we shouldn’t go too far in details to lose our goals |
| D．perfectionists are capable of achieving perfect results |
The example of Apollo II moon launch is given to show that .
| A．minor mistakes can be ignored |
| B．failure is the mother of success |
| C．adjustments are the key to the successful completion of any work |
| D．keeping one’s goal in mind helps decide which details can be overlooked |
Wishing to encourage her young son to make more progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually found his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.” When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. To her horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
At that moment, the great pianist made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a melody. Together, the old master and the young beginner transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was amazed and, as it finished, they cheered.
That’s the way it is in life. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren’t exactly graceful flowing music. But when we put our trust in the hands of a Greater Power, our life’s work can be truly beautiful. Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit, and keep playing.”The reason why the boy went to the piano was that ________.
| A．he was encouraged to explore |
| B．his mother forced him to have a look |
| C．he was invited by the pianist |
| D．he was exploring the concert hall |
What the famous pianist did at the beginning of the concert showed ________.
| A．what a great pianist he was |
| B．what a skilled pianist he was |
| C．what an upright man he was |
| D．what a strong man he was |
What did the author really want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．Not being interrupted by others is important. |
| B．Life needs one’s own effort combined with guidance and cooperation. |
| C．It is necessary for us to keep doing everything. |
| D．It is important for us to get help from a famous person. |
BEIJING—Apple Inc. is one step closer to beginning sales of iPad2 tablet computers with cellular network compatibility （兼容） for the first time in the Chinese mainland, where the consumer-electronics giant is in the midst of an aggressive expansion．
According to China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, a device by Apple with third-generation high-speed wireless data capabilities was issued the network access license needed for the company to begin official sales in China．The device, listed under model number “A1396”, is compatible with the 3G standard WCDMA, and would work with the cellular network operated by Apple’s local iPhone partner, China Unicom （Hong Kong） Ltd．
China Unicom declined to comment．
Apple already offers the 3G iPad2 in Hong Kong through its partners, but currently only offers Wi-Fi versions of the device in the Chinese mainland．Still, consumers in China, which according to research firm IDC surpassed the US as the world’s largest PC market in the second quarter, have been purchasing 3G tablets through unofficial channels．
Separately, Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said Sept 6 that the company’s first Hong Kong store, set to open this quarter, will be located in the city’s central shopping and business district in the International Finance Center’s upscale （高档的） IFC mall, a commercial center and sightseeing spot along the city’s waterfront．Wu also said that Apple is planning a new store in Shanghai later this quarter, which will be its biggest store in China．She declined to give more details or to comment on the 3G iPad2．
Apple currently has four full-service Apple stores in the mainland, which receive the most traffic of any Apple stores in the world．The company otherwise relies on resellers to get its products into the market．
The new stores reflect Apple’s confidence in rising demand for its products such as smart phones and tablet computers．Sales in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan helped boost （增长） the company’s third-quarter results, newly appointed Chief Executive Tim Cook said in July．China revenue （收益） surged （激增） six-fold to about $3．8 billion during the three months ended June 25．
“This has been a substantial （重大） opportunity for Apple and I firmly believe that we’re just scratching the surface right now,” Cook said at the time, referring to strong sales in China．“I see an incredible opportunity for Apple there．”
From China Daily 2011-09-08According to the news, which of the following statements is true?
| A．WCDMA is not the only 3G standard in the world． |
| B．Apple Inc. sells its products in the market of the Chinese mainland all by its own stores． |
| C．The consumers in China can only get iPad2 of Wi-Fi versions． |
| D．Chinese mainland is the second largest PC market in this year’s second quarter． |
Which one of the following phrases can replace the underlined word in paragraph 1?
| A．in the interests of | B．in the front of |
| C．in the process of | D．in the case of |
How many full-service Apple stores in China?
| A．4 | B．6 | C．8 | D．Unknown |
What’s the probable meaning of “six-fold” in the last but one paragraph?
| A．six times | B．one-six | C．60 percent | D．2 times |
By saying “we’re just scratching the surface right now”, Cook means ________．
| A．they don’t know much about China’s market |
| B．they will sell more products and gain more profit in China |
| C．they need to obtain more permission from China’s government |
| D．they ignored the rural market in China |