One day newly wedded Nancy lost her ring while helping to plant potatoes. Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain(徒劳). Later, when the potatoes were harvested, Everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost. Another year came round and all the farmers working in the field kept their eyes open. The following year was the same. And year after year, whoever had business in the field always had Nancy’s ring in his mind.
Then the farm changed hands but it went no farther than to cousins. So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed. Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing the field behind a pair of horses. Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, a
nd knew just which part of
the field Nancy had lost it in. At this time, when he came there, he found it .He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horse, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy’s hand. How did Nancy come to lose her ring?
| A．She lost it while helping to harvest tomatoes in the field |
| B．She lost it while watering the plants in the field. |
| C．She lost it while working in the field. |
| D．She lost it while helping to plant potatoes in the field. |
Why did people keep looking for the ring even after the farm changed hands?
| A．It was a very expensive ring | B．They all wanted to solve the mystery. |
| C．They all loved Nancy. | D．Everybody wanted to have this ring. |
What did the ploughman do after finding the ring?
| A．He picked it up and put it in his pocket. |
| B．He ran back to tell everybody in the village. |
| C．He placed it in a secret spot. |
| D．He returned it to the owner. |
. What can you infer from the story?
| A．The ring was invaluable. |
| B．People on the farm were honest and helpful. |
| C．The ring’s disappearance was the work of supernatural power. |
| D．Nancy no longer expected that her ring would be found again. |
Why buy a new car when you can improve the one you have with the latest technology? Here are two new methods that will not only make life behind wheel more comfortable but may also end up saving you money.
| WI-FI on Wheels It’s not enough that children complain about having nothing to watch on television. These days, they even complain about having nothing to watch in the car. Fortunately, for every unsatisfied youth, there is a new technological solution: Wi-Fi Internet access for the back seat of your vehicle. In the United States, Chrysler is the first to offer such a system, which turns any Chrysler or Dodge into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Called UConnect, the $499 dealer-installed option is a high-speed cell-like Internet connection with a wireless router that sits in your car’s trunk. Monthly service costs $29 for Internet access, which is available to any device that has Wi-Fi and is within 100 feet of your car. With UConnect, passengers can check emails messages on a laptop, send instant messages to friends or watch YouTube videos online. It allows passengers to search for movie listings on a smart phone or connect a Sony PSP video game player to the Web. It also offers the ability to freely upload photos from a Wi-Fi-equipped digital camera to an online sharing service like Flickr. For critics who claim that putting Wi-Fi Internet access in a car feeds the danger of driver distraction, parents may well disagree: What’s more distracting, the temptation to check email or a lot of children talking to you from the back seat? |
Watch Your Back Blind spots behind cars and SUV’s make backing up dangerous as well as potentially deadly for children. Nationally, the group Kids and Cars estimates that two children a week are killed by cars backing up. The Transportation Department is establishing visibility standards for future vehicles, but there’s no need to wait. A back-view back system can be an expensive option in a new car. In the 2008 Subaru Tribeca, for example, the back-view camera option is available only in connection with the inner navigation system, at a price of $2,400. And professionally equipped systems can cost $400 or more. However, there are now inexpensive back-view packages you can help yourself, such as the $130 Audiovox ACA250 Wireless Vehicle Rear Observation System. It includes a camera that increases on a back license-plate holder and grasps onto a vehicle’s backup light. It can send a back-view image to a small L.C.D. Monitor that can be carried into electronic equipment and increased on the dashboard(仪表板). Audiovox claims the camera housing is not afraid of dust. In some areas where radio waves are plentiful, the image can be affected by occasional interference, but the picture, with its wide 110-degree camera point, is good enough to see things or children behind you. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．DIY methods for your car. |
| B．How to save money in your life? |
| C．The way of putting a back-view system. |
| D．The importance of putting internet access in your car. |
What’s the parents’ attitude to the safety concern of car Internet access?
| A．They agree with the critics’ opinion. |
| B．They consider it a great danger for driving. |
| C．They think that talking with children is more dangerous. |
| D．They believe it unnecessary to have car Internet access. |
What’s the potential danger for children?
| A．Electronic equipment. | B．Backing-up car. |
| C．Earphones behind the wheel. | D．Highway engine failure. |
How can the back-view package see the back of the car?
| A．With a cell phone. |
| B．With an inner navigation system. |
| C．With a dashboard. |
| D．With a camera onto the side of backup light. |
Why Doesn’t Anybody Copy Apple?
Apple’s products are the envy of the world. They have been spectacularly successful and are widely imitated, if not copied. The minute Apple crystallizes a product, everyone knows how to compete. This idea that the basis of competition is set by Apple and then the race is on to climb the path of improvement is unquestionable. When Apple releases a product that defines a category or dramatically changes the structure of an industry, it becomes obvious what needs to be built. But what I wonder is why everyone wants to copy Apple’s products but nobody wants to copy being Apple?
I can think of two reasons. Firstly, Apple is not worth copying because it’s not successful; secondly, Apple’s success cannot be copied because it is a magical process.
There is a great deal of evidence for the first hypothesis. The idea of Apple being successful is not something reflected in its stock price. Being valued lower than the average company in the S&P（标准普尔）500 indicates that to whatever degree Apple was successful in the past, it’s not seen by the vast majority of observers as successful in the future. Why should one bother copying Apple if it results in being punished with a low valuation? If one works really hard at innovation and then that innovation becomes commoditized（商品化）very quickly, why should one bother?
When innovation practitioners are asked what makes Apple successful,the answers regarding the cause of this success border on the mythical.The climax of this hypothesis is the “chief-sorcerer”theory of success which places one magician,like Steve Jobs,in charge of casting all the right spells（符咒）
What about Apple’s own opinion of what makes it tick? Tim Cook refers to a great team and integration of hardware, software and services as unique Apple advantages. It’s a better explanation. Integration is something that can take a long time, but it is possible with great effort. A few companies are starting to make moves in that direction, but efforts are half-hearted. There is no “move the Earth” panic to become an integrated company from Samsung, Google or Microsoft.
My own suspicion is that Apple is more aware of what makes it special than it lets out. However, as Tim points out, it’s not a formula. It’s complex, it’s subtle, but it’s not magic. It’s a process that requires a degree of faith and courage. When a new product of Apple comes out, often it ______.
| A．starts a revolution of an industry |
| B．ruins an industry dramatically |
| C．puts itself in an unbeatable position |
| D．is soon overtaken by imitated products |
According to the passage, other companies don’t “copy being Apple” because ______.
| A．Apple is not a successful company |
| B．they have no access to relevant resources |
| C．it’s hard to find a magician like Steve Jobs |
| D．being Apple takes more than time and efforts |
We can infer from Para.5 that ______.
| A．other companies are dedicated to integration |
| B．Apple itself is fully aware of its unique advantages |
| C．Apple will hold the leading position in this industry |
| D．other companies don’t have a great team as Apple does |
What does the author think of Tim Cook’s statement?
| A．Doubtful | B．Acceptable |
| C．Unbelievable | D．Disappointing |
Chinese writer Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize for Literature might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.
“Hopefully, the award means more people will read Chinese literature and more works will get translated,” says Michel Hocks, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from University of London. “Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years.”
Jonathan Ruppin,web editor of bookseller Foyles,says Mo’s win coincides with growing interest in Chinese literature and recognizes the talents of a distinctive and visionary（富于幻想的）writer.We are very excited by the fact that English translations of more of his books should now become available,”Ruppin says.He made the comment after Mo became the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in it’s century-long history.
As East-West cultural exchange has been booming, Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention in recent years. Hocks explains, “It’s mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their works outside China and to interact with readers abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in the Chinese language and culture.”
University of Oxford lecturer in modern Chinese literature Margaret Hillenbrand says, “The obvious reason for the growing global presence of Chinese literature is the growing global presence of China itself. People have come to realize that there is a serious knowledge deficit between China and its international counterparts — in particular, China knows incomparably more about Europe and America than the other way round — and reading Chinese literature is an effective, simple means of solving that gap.”The underlined word “ignite” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.
| A．start out | B．set off | C．burn up | D．appeal to |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．In the past, no Chinese writers were accepted outside China. |
| B．Chinese literature has spread with the development of China. |
| C．The Nobel Prize for Literature has a history of hundreds of years. |
| D．Foreigners know about China mainly by reading Mo Yan’s works. |
Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention mainly because __________.
| A．the Chinese government attaches great importance to literature |
| B．Chinese writers have been writing more and more books in English |
| C．the Chinese language has become the most widely used language in the world |
| D．the cultural communication between China and western countries has developed |
How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
| A．China knows more about Europe and America than before. |
| B．Compared with America, China knows more about Europe. |
| C．China, Europe and America know one another more than before. |
| D．China knows more about Europe and America than they know about China. |
Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance.
After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar , and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.
Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone."
Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.
These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity（慈善机构）, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.
Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now."Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?
| A． He needs to go to the doctor every day. |
| B． He studies the leading cause of diabetes |
| C． He has a positive attitude to this disease. |
| D． He encourages diabetics by writing articles. |
Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.
| A．diabetics to communicate |
| B．volunteers to find jobs |
| C．children to amuse themselves |
| D．rock stars to share resources |
The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.
| A．works full-time in a diabetes charity |
| B．employs 22 people for his website |
| C．helps diabetics in his own way |
| D．ties to find a cure for diabetes |
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers （生产商）follow certain uniform standards for various features（特征）of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s from the left. Considering most of the world’s population-men and women-are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women’s clothes button from the left?
History really seems to matter here. Button first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men’s shirts button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.
Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacture to offer women’s shirts that buttoned the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?
| A．It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years. |
| B．It is different for men’s clothing and women’s. |
| C．It woks better with men than with women. |
| D．It fails to consider right-handed people. |
What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?
| A．They tended to wear clothes without buttons. |
| B．They were interested in the historical matters. |
| C．They were mostly dressed by servants. |
| D．They drew their swords from the left. |
Women’s clothes still button from the left today because.
| A．adopting men’s style is improper for women |
| B．manufacturers should follow standards |
| C．modern women dress themselves |
| D．customs are hard to change |
The passage is mainly developed by .
| A．analyzing cause |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．examining differences |
| D．following the time order |