A young British sailor was missing at sea yesterday in similar circumstances(情况) to the way his father died five years ago．
The dinghy(救生橡皮船), used to take Richard Smith, 21, to his yacht(快艇), was discovered empty, floating in seas off the Caribbean island. An air and sea search was carried out but he has still not been discovered.
Richard’s mother, Bicknell, said from her home in Hampshire, “It’s so much coincidence(意外). Richard always carried a photograph of his father attached to a poem, which included the date of his disappearance.”
“Now, it’s very strange because all they have found is Richard’s dinghy. We need to know this time what has happened one way or another. If you know at least you can go through the grieving process(悲痛的过程).”
In November 1996, Mr. Smith’s father, Charlie, was sailing in the Tasmen sea between the Australian mainland and the island of Tasmen with his new wife. They lost radio contact with the s
hore and they, together with their yacht were never seen again, and their disappearance remains a mystery.
Richard is described as a talented and experienced sailor. He had sailed to the Caribbean in November to help a yacht race for entertainment. He ended the evening drinking in the Abracbabra bar but left after local police closed it for being too noisy.
About 2 am the following day Richard headed back for his dinghy. He started its motor before giving an elderly woman a lift to her yacht after her dinghy had gone missing. It was the last time he was seen.
Richard Smith was ____ in 2000.
A. ten B. fifteen C
. twenty D. eighteen
People searched for Richard using ____ .
| A．ship only | B．ship and radio | C．ship and plane | D．yacht and car |
. According to the passage，we know Richard died because ____ .
| A．he was a green hand in sailing |
| B．some unknown animal attacked him |
| C．there was a fog in the area he was sailing |
| D．of something we don’t know |
Which statement is NOT true according to this passage?
| A．Old Mr. Smith had lost radio contact with the shore before he died. |
| B．Richard’s father had married two women at least. |
| C．Richard didn’t drink on the evening before he was lost because the policeman closed the bar. |
| D．Richard was seen at about 2 am the day he disappeared. |
Endless playing of songs like All I want for Christmas in shops during the festive season doesn’t just drive us mad —the songs also make us more careless with our money, research has warned.
While repeated performance of Jingle Bells may seem like an innocent attempt to raise customers’ spirits during the nightmare of Christmas shopping, the songs also have a more delicate impact.
“Background music, or “Muzak”, can be used by marketers to impose cultures ---such as the commercialization of Christmas--- onto consumers and influence their behaviour,” experts said.
Dr. Alan Bradshaw of Royal Holloway, University of London, said, “Festive jingles are force-fed to Christmas shoppers in a bid to change their mood, influence their sense of time and what sort of products they buy. In other words, this is an attempt to control your shopping habits in a way that you might hardly be aware of.”
“Often we are told that we have the freedom to choose where we want to shop, but during Christmas the use of music in this way is so common that our freedom to choose disappears.”
Dr. Bradshaw and Prof Morris Holbrook of Columbia University examined the phenomenon and found that retailers often “dumb down” the music played in shops to relax customers, meaning it is easier to control their behaviour.
It is thought that slowing down the rhythm of music in shops can trick customers into thinking less time has passed, and therefore spend more time examining the shelves, for example.
Some providers of background music have been known to promote their services by claiming they can boost profits by controlling the behaviour of customers.
“A common trick is to take a popular current song and record an instrumental version which can be slowed down or sped up at different time of the day to influence behaviour in different ways,” Dr. Bradshaw said.
Background music is often classed as “Muzak” in honor of the Seattle-based company which began producing its soft-sounding melodies in the 1930s.According to Dr. Bradshaw, in what ways does Christmas music influence customers?
①their mood②their income ③their sense of time ④ the sort of products they buy
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
Shopkeepers slow down the rhythm of music in shops to ___________.
| A．let customers spend more time shopping |
| B．make customers and sales assistants relaxed |
| C．let customers enjoy the beautiful music |
| D．help customers find what they really want |
What kind of music is now often adapted to influence customers in shops?
| A．Classical music | B．Popular modern songs. | C．Folk songs. | D．Jazz music. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Music makes happy Christmas |
| B．Christmas “Muzak” |
| C．How to make Christmas music? |
| D．Christmas music makes us spend more |
When I asked my daughter which item she would keep: the phone, the car, the cooker, the computer, the TV, or her boyfriend, she said "the phone". Personally, I could do without the phone entirely, which makes me unusual. Because the telephone is changing our lives more than any other piece of technology.
Point 1 The telephone creates the need to communicate, in the same way that more roads create more traffic. My daughter comes home from school at 4:00 pm and then spends an hour on the phone talking to the very people she has been at school with all day. If the phone did not exist, would she have anything to talk about?
Point 2 The mobile phone means that we are never alone. !' The mobile saved my life, "says Crystal Johnstone. She had
an accident in her Volvo on the A45 between Otley and Skipton. Trapped inside, she managed to make the call that brought the ambulance(救护车) to her rescue.
Point 3 The mobile removes our secret. It allows marketing manager of Haba Deutsch, Carl Nicolaisen, to ring his sales staff all round the world at any time of day to ask where they are, where they are going, and how their last meeting went.
Point 4 The telephone separates us. Antonella Bramante in Rome says, "We worked in separate offices but I could see him through the window. It was easy to get his number. We were so near--but we didn't meet for the first two weeks!"
Point 5 The telephone allows us to reach out beyond our own lives. Today we can talk to several complete strangers simultaneously (同时地) on chat lines (at least my daughter does. I wouldn't know what to talk about). We can talk across the world. We can even talk to astronauts (if you know any) while they're space-walking. And, with the phone line hooked up to the computer, we can access(进入) the Internet, the biggest library on Earth.How do you understand" Point 1—The telephone creates the need to communicate,... "？
| A．People don't communicate without telephone. |
| B．People communicate because of the creating of the telephone. |
| C．People communicate more since telephone has been created. |
| D．People communicate more because of more traffic. |
Which of the following best shows people's attitude towards mobile phones?
| A．Mobile phones help people deal with the emergency. |
| B．Mobile phones bring convenience as well little secret to people. |
| C．Mobile phones are so important and should be encouraged. |
| D．Mobile phones are part of people's life. |
Which points do you think support the idea that phones improve people's life?
a. Point 1. b. Point 2. c. Point 3. d. Point 4. e. Point 5.
| A．c, d | B．a, e | C．a, c | D．b, e |
It is possible to talk to several complete strangers simultaneously through.
| A．the TV screen | B．a fax machine |
| C．the phone line hooked up to the computer | D．a microphone |
The best heading for the passage is.
| A．The power of Phones | B．Kinds of Phones |
| C．How to Use Phones | D．Advantage of Phones |
I have forgotten the name of an old lady who was a customer on my paper route when I was a twelve-year-old boy back in 1954. Yet it seems like just yesterday that she taught me a lesson in forgiveness that I can only hope to pass on to someone else someday.
On a Saturday afternoon, a friend and I were throwing rocks onto the roof of the old lady's house. I found a smooth rock and sent it. The stone headed straight for a small window on the old lady's back door. At the sound of broken glass, we took off from the old lady's yard.
I was too scared about getting caught that first night. However, a few days later when I was sure that I hadn't been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune.
I decided to save my paper delivery money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I thought would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that I was sorry for breaking her window. Then I put the envelope through the letter slot in her door. My soul felt redeemed (救赎) and I couldn't wait for the freedom of, once again, looking straight into the old lady's eyes.
The next day, I. handed the old lady her paper. She thanked me for the paper and said, "Here, I have something for you. " It was a bag of cookies. I thanked her and ate the cookies as I continued my route.
After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was shocked. Inside was the seven dollars and a short note that said, “I'm proud of you. ”What work did the author do at the age of 12?
| A．Repairing roofs. | B．Collecting old papers. |
| C．Picking rocks. | D．Delivering newspapers. |
Why did the author and his friend escape from the old lady's yard?
| A．They broke the old lady's back door. |
| B．They broke the old lady's window. |
| C．They heard the old lady shouting. |
| D．They were seen by the old lady. |
What did the author do to make up for his mistake?
| A．He gave the old lady papers for free. |
| B．He saved some money to cover the cost. |
| C．He apologized in the old lady's presence. |
| D．He bought cookies for the old lady. |
According to the passage, the old lady was a person who was.
| A．strict | B．patient | C．generous | D．helpful |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Seven dollars | B．Being honest | C．A silly mistake | D．True forgiveness |
Starting a new school term is always exciting. It is a chance to see all of your friends again. But most exciting of all, the new term is an opportunity to take up new hobbies. As you know, it is common in Britain for students to take up new hobbies after the Christmas holidays. Promising to begin something new is a common New Year resolution for many school teenagers.
Most schools offer different kinds of hobby classes. Students take them in their free periods or after school. Some classes you have to pay for and others are free of charge. For example, I once took a free Wednesday evening gymnastics class that my school offered. But when I learnt how to play the drum my parents had to pay for the lesson, and they did so, like most parents, without any complaint.
The most popular extra classes at my school were piano lessons and drama club: Both classes offered exams students could take. Because the extra classes may take up much time of the students, students with many hobbies sometimes felt more stressed than those without any. But they could enjoy their life better than those who didn't foster (培养) any hobbies at school. For example, they could build up good friendship with the persons who shared the common interest with them. Most important of all, the students with hobbies left school with many extra skills.
Frankly speaking, I haven't continued any of the hobbies I began at school. But I have never regretted taking them. After all, my best friend today is someone whom I met in my gymnastics class. The reason why we are still keeping in close touch with each other is that we have much in common.The first paragraph suggests that it's children's nature.
| A．to value friendship |
| B．to make a promise easily |
| C．to copy others' behavior |
| D．to be curious about the new |
The author's parents' attitude to hobby classes might be that of.
| A．approval | B．doubt | C．unconcern | D．disapproval |
What is the biggest benefit children can get from taking up a new hobby?
| A．They can enjoy a good time. |
| B．They can learn extra skills. |
| C．They can make more friends. |
| D．They will have things to share. |
From the author's experience, we can learn that.
| A．free hobby classes are very popular |
| B．hobbies are a way of making friends |
| C．we must be careful when choosing a hobby |
| D．hobby classes may not last a long time |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To introduce some hobby classes at school. |
| B．To tell readers how to choose hobby classes. |
| C．To encourage readers to take up new hobbies. |
| D．To report a trend among British school children. |
Traditional Japanese food is surely one of the healthiest and most delicious in the world, and fortunately for most of us, foods like tofu, sushi and even green tea are now familiar and can be found easily out of Japan. As a national cuisine(烹饪), thanks to many social as well as political changes, Japanese food has greatly developed over the past few centuries. In ancient times, when much of the traditional cuisine was influenced by Korean and Chinese cultures, Japanese cuisine slowly changed with the start of the medieval(中世纪的)period, which brought along with it new tastes.
With the coming of the modern age, a great many changes took place and the Japanese cuisine was influenced greatly by Western culture. However, the traditional Japanese food of today is still very like what existed toward the end of the 19th century. This would mean that a large part of the Japanese cuisine includes those foods whose cooking methods and ingredients(原料)have been introduced from other cultures, but which have since then been experimented with and developed by the Japanese themselves.
The thing about Japanese food is that you either will love it or will completely look down upon it. With traditional Japanese food, there is no such thing as an in-between. However, chances are that if you hate Japanese food, then you probably haven’t even tasted real Japanese food or you simply haven’t given yourself the chance to like it. Unlike other cuisines, Japanese food is not something that you will appreciate after having only a bite. Like wines and cigars, Japanese food needs time to be liked. After reading the whole passage, we learn that this passage mainly.
| A．advises us to eat healthy food is so healthy |
| B．explains why Japanese food is so healthy |
| C．introduces some famous traditional Japanese food |
| D．tells us something about traditional Japanese food |
What does the writer mean by saying “fortunately for most of us”?
| A．That most people know how to prepare tofu and sushi themselves. |
| B．That most traditional Japanese food can be enjoyed everywhere. |
| C．That we can enjoy some traditional Japanese food out of Japan. |
| D．That Japanese food like tofu, sushi and even green tea is not strange to us. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Japanese food changed most during the medieval period. |
| B．Japanese food has been greatly influenced by other cultures. |
| C．The traditional Japanese food of today tastes totally different from that in the past. |
| D．Korean food is also one of the healthiest foods in the world. |
The last paragraph suggests that.
| A．healthy food usually doesn’t taste good |
| B．not everyone likes Japanese food |
| C．some people are crazy about Japanese food |
| D．it’s very easy to tell whether the food is real Japanese food or not |
In the writer’s opinion, Japanese food.
| A．is not as good as people think |
| B．sometimes tastes really terrible |
| C．is worth tasting a second time |
| D．tastes as good as Chinese food |