Social networking isn't only for the under 40s. More than 25 percent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research.
"The latest data tells us that more and more social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50 plus," said Kevin Donnellan, the chief communications officer at AARP, which released the report.
Nearly a quarter of older Americans are on Facebook and 73 percent said they use it to stay in
touch with relatives, but not just their children and grandchildren. "They are using the Internet to keep up with the world and the people who are important to them," said Jean Koppen, the author of the report. She added that older adults are also on Facebook to stay connected, not only with their family, but with their friends and peers. Almost 50 percent of older adults were introdu
ced to the social networking sites by a family member, mainly a child or grandchild. "Just under one-fifth of adults aged 50 and older say they do not use the Internet," according to the report.
The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,863 adults. In addition to keeping up on Facebook and Twitter older adults are also aware of the latest technology. Eighty-three percent had heard about the Apple iPad and 11 percent intended to buy one.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Social networking isn’t for the under 40s in the U.S.A.
B. American old people’s way of life is quite fashionable.
C. The Internet is also popular among the American over 50s.
D. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are hot websites in America.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Nearly 2000 adults took part in the survey on line. |
| B．The over 50s were introduced to the Internet by the young. |
| C．About 20% of adults aged 50 and older don’t like the Internet. |
| D．Many Americans 50 plus stay connected using the Internet. |
What’s the underlined s
entence used for?
E. It’s used as a reason for the popularity of the Apple iPad in America.
F. It’s used as an example of the older adults’ awareness of the latest technology.
G. It’s 
used as a suggestion to the readers who are interested in the IT products.
H. It’s used as a choice for the Americans intending to use Social networking.Where can we most probably read this passage?
I. In an experiment introduction.
J. In a computer magazine.
K. In a product advertisement.
In a news report
More than seven hundred years ago, the Prince of Wales had a very big and brave dog called Gelert. One day the Prince wanted to go hunt-ing with his men. He told his dog to stay at home and look after his baby son. The baby was in a wooden cradle, which was like a small bed. When the Prince came back from hunt-ing, Gelert ran out to meet his master. He wagged his tail and jumped up to put his paws on the Prince's chest. Then the Prince saw the blood on Gelert's jaws and head.
"What have you done?" the Prince said. He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son. The cradle was lying on its side on the floor. The clothes were torn and there was blood on them.
"So you have killed my son?" the Prince said angrily. "You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword and killed the dog. Just as Gelert was dying, he managed to bark. Then the Prince heard a baby call to the dog.
The Prince ran out of the house and saw his son lying on the ground unhurt. Near him was a dead wolf. Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended the baby and killed the wolf.
The Prince ran back into the house but he was too late. Gelert was dead. The Prince was very sad indeed. Tears ran down his face when he realized 'he had killed his faith-ful friend. The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried him there. After this, the Prince never smiled again. Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and stood by the dog's grave for a few minutes.
If you go to Mount Snowdon in Wales, people will show you where Gelert is buried. There is a sign by his grave. It reminds peo-ple of a brave and faithful dog.
Gelert was the dog of the Prince of ___.
| A．Scotland | B．England | C．Ireland | D．Wales |
The Prince told the dog to _____ when he was leaving.
| A．watch the door | B．take care of his baby at home |
| C．welcome his friends | D．stop the strangers |
The dog was very ____ when his master came back from hunting.
| A．glad | B．fearful | C．afraid | D．tired |
The Prince never smiled again because __
| A．the wolf was killed by Gelert | B．he had buried the dog on the top of mountain |
| C．he had killed his faithful friend Gelert | D．Gelert had killed his baby son |
He's an old cobbler (修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” -- without knowing much about m
ending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron ( 围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on 
one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work. ”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
Which of the following is true about the old cobbler.'?
| A．He was equipped with the best repairing tools. | B．He was the only cobbler in the Marais. |
| C．He was proud of his skills. | D．He was a native Parisian. |
The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” ( paragraph 7 ) implies that
| A．nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him |
| B．it was difficult to communicate with this man |
| C．the man was very strange |
| D．the man was too old |
According to the author, many people work just to .
| A．realize their abilities | B．gain happiness | C．make money | D．gain respect |
This story wants to tell us that ________ .
| A．craftsmen make a lot of money | B．whateve r you do, do it well |
| C．craftsmen need self-respect | D．people are born equal |
Seattle International Film Festival ：Future Wave Shorts Program
Seattle Washington
May/June annually
Deadline：March
A presentation of original short films created by youth aged 18 and under. Entries must be no longer than 10 minutes（including end titles）.The juried Future Wave winner receives a $500 each prize！
http://www.siff.net
Contact：Dustin Kasper 【dustin.Kasper @siff.Net 】
Entry fee：$20
University if Toronto Film and Video Festival
Toronto
February
Deadline：January
Annual Festival accepting all lengths and genres（流派），with an emphasis on student work.Submission （提交）form on festival website.
http://www.uoftfilmandvideofestival.ca
Contact: Steven Hoffner 【uoftfilmfest@harthousetheatre.ca】
Entry fee：$15 (early) $20（final）
Young Cuts Film Festival
Toronto Ontario
August 23th-27th
Deadline：April 30th
The Young Cuts Film Festival is one of the world’s most important film festivals for film makers under the age of 25 and is for student film makers and non-student film makers alike. It’s important because we not only evaluate young film m
akers’ short films for our own Festival competition，but we can also evaluate your film with an eye to establishing its market potential. For more information please go to our website at www.youngcuts.com or emai
l us at info@youngcut.Com
Contact：Peter Bailey 【info@youngcut.Com】
Entry fee：$60.00—$90.00
Scene First Student Film Festival
Wilmington North California
June 14th-16th
Deadline：May
The 3-day national film competition provides student film makers with an opportunity to show their short films， network with industry professionals， and learn from academic and industry leadership ——all in a relaxed social environment.
http://www.scenefirstfestival.com
Contact： Sam Connelly 【sam
c@campusentertainment.net】
Entry fee：$12
If you want to enter Seattle Int
ernational Film Festival，you have to ______.
| A．be above 18 years of age |
| B．apply before May |
| C．make a film no more than 10 minutes in length |
D．make a film with end titles |
Those who enter Young Cuts Film Festival can _______.
| A．win some prize money |
| B．have their films sold at the film market |
| C．meet very professional film makers |
| D．know whether it is possible for their films to go into market |
If a student film maker want to ask famous film makers for advice，he should go to ________.
| A．Seattle International Film Festival |
| B．University if Toronto Film and Video Festival |
| C．Young Cuts Film Festival |
| D．Scene First Student Film Festival |
How many people have I met who have told me about the book they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time ? Far too many.
This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演) and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments.
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life.
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English：“Have a nice day” they speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us, in effect, to enjoy the moment: to value this very day.
How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding (or golf, or sailing) as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position.
When I first became a reporter I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal (反常的) mental state. How could anyone turn his back
on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area？I wanted to know.
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure. He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains.
The first paragraph of the passage tells us that .
| A．we always try to find some time to write a book |
| B．we always make plans but seldom fulfill them |
| C．we always enjoy many of life's best moments |
| D．we always do what we really want to do |
The underlined phrase "turn his back on" (paragraph 6) most probably means .
| A．leave for | B．return to | C．give up | D．rely on |
The man ( paragraph 6) left his first job partly because he was .
| A．in an abnormal mental state | B．under too much pressure |
| C．not well paid | D．not respected |
What is probably the best title for the passage?
| A．Provide Homes For Our Family | B．Take Up Horse-riding |
| C．Value This Very Day | D．Stay Alive |
The iPhone, the iPad, the iPod, each of apple's products sounds cool and has become a pad (一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i”，-- and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer —which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the internet—adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear—popular in the US and UK—that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”.A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper，was launched last week under the name “i”.
In general，single-letter prefix have been popular since the 1990s，when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.
Most “i”products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of the Independent’s “i”，it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”.Why not use “a”，“b”or “c”instead？According to Tony Thorne，head of Language Center at King’s College，London，“i”works because its meaning has become ambiguous .When Apple uses “i”，no one knows whether it means internet，information，individual or interactive，Thorne told BBC magazines “even when Apple created the iPod，it seems it didn’t have one clear definition，”he says.
“However，thanks to Apple，the term is now associated with portability （轻便）， ”adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i”also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs，and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google”and “blog”，readers of BBC magazines voted “i”as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows，people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to the 1990s，products with “2000”in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However，as we entered the new century，the trend inevitably disappeared.
We can infer that the Independent’s “i”is aimed at _______.
| A．young readers | B．old readers | C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
