Celebrity (名人) has become one of the most important representatives of popular culture. Fans used to be crazy about a specific film, but now the public tends to base its consumption on the interest of celebrity attached to any given product. Besides, fashion magazines have almost abandoned the practice of putting models on the cover because they don’t sell nearly as well as famous faces. As a result, celebrities have realized their unbelievably powerful market potential, moving from advertising for others’ products to developing their own.
Celebrity clothing lines aren’t a completely new phenomenon, but in the past they were typically aimed at the ordinary consumers, and limited to a few TV actresses. Today they’re started by first-class stars whose products enjoy equal fame with some world top brands. The most successful start-ups have been those by celebrities with specific personal style. As celebrities become more and more experienced at the market, they expand their production scale rapidly, covering almost all the products of daily life.
However, for every success story, there’s a related warning tale of a celebrity who overvalued his consumer appeal. No matter how famous the product’s origins is, if it fails to impress consumers with its own qualities it begins to resemble an exercise in self-promotional marketing. And once the initial (最初的）attention dies down, consumer interest might fade, loyalty returning to tried-and-true labels.
Today, celebrities face ever more severe embarrassment. The pop-cultural circle might be bigger than ever, but its rate of turnover has speeded up as well. Each misstep threatens to reduce a celebrity’s shelf life, and the same newspaper or magazine that once brought him fame has no problem picking him to pieces when the opportunity appears. Still, the ego’s (自我的）potential for expansion is limitless. Having already achieved great wealth and public recognition, many celebrities see fashion as the next frontier to be conquered. As the saying goes, success and failure always go hand in hand. Their success as designers might last only a short time, but fashion — like celebrity — has always been temporary.Fashion magazines today ________.
| A．seldom put models on the cover |
| B．no longer put models on the cover |
| C．need not worry about celebrities’ market potential |
| D．judge the market potential of every celebrity correctly |
A change in the consumer market can be found today that _______.
| A．price rather than brand name is more concerned |
| B．producers prefer models to celebrities for achievements |
| C．producers prefer TV actresses to film stars for advertisements |
| D．quality rather than the outside of products is more concerned |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 indicates that any wrong step will possibly ______.
| A．decrease the popularity of a celebrity and the sales of his products |
| B．damage the image of a celebrity in the eyes of the general public |
| C．cut short the artistic careen of a celebrity in show business |
| D．influence the price of a celebrity’s products |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．celebrity and personal style |
| B．celebrity and market potential |
| C．celebrity and fashion design |
| D．celebrity and clothing industry |
I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t understand. So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk.
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed（解散）. As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized（强调） the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating（欺骗） themselves. She made me promise that I would think seriously（认真地） about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave. I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued（继续） to believe that I had cheated on the test.The story took place（发生） exactly ____ .
| A．in the teacher’s office | B．in an exam room |
| C．in the school | D．in the language lab |
The girl wanted to borrow a pen, because ____ .
| A．she had not brought a pen with her |
| B．she had lost her own on her way to school |
| C．there was something wrong with her own |
| D．her own had been taken away by someone |
The teacher saw all this, so she asked the boy ____ .
| A．to go on writing his paper |
| B．to stop whispering |
| C．to leave the room immediately |
| D．to stay behind after the exam |
The thing(s) emphasized in her talk was(were) ____ .
| A．honesty | B．sense of duty |
| C．seriousness | D．all of the above |
The boy knew everything ____ .
| A．the moment he was asked to stay behind |
| B．when the teacher started talking about honesty |
| C．when he was walking out of the room |
| D．only some time later |
At 18, many American young people go off on their own. They go away to college or find full-time jobs, and they often rent their own apartments. Some get married and start families. This independence(独立性) is learned from childhood.
From an early age, American children learn responsibility（责任感）. Children as young as 2 begin to put away their toys and dress themselves. At 3, many children do simple chores like setting the table.
Using money wisely is also taught early. As soon as a child understands the value of money, he or she receives a weekly allowance. This is used for things the child wants, like toys or treats. The child can spend or save it, usually with little guidance（指导） from parents. If the child wants money besides his or her allowance, it must be made by doing extra chores.
Children are taught early in life to think for themselves. They are allowed to make some decisions—and make mistakes. Failure（失败）often teaches more than success.Many American young people begin to live on themselves __________.
| A．at eighteen years old | B．from childhood |
| C．after they get married | D．from an early age |
An American child learns to __________ at the age of 2.
| A．find a full-time job |
| B．rent an apartment |
| C．put on his or her own clothes |
| D．do lots of chores |
The word “allowance”（in paragraph 3）means __________ in Chinese.
| A．零花钱 | B．奖品 | C．财产 | D．礼物 |
A child can get some more money by __________.
| A．understanding the value of money |
| B．helping the rich |
| C．reading many books |
| D．doing extra chores |
The passage is mainly about __________.
| A．the guidance from parents |
| B．the value of money |
| C．the independence of American children |
| D．failure and success of American children |
Kept inside on a rainy day? Take the kids to your closest children’s museum, where they can learn about their world while having a fantastic time.
| Please Touch Museum It can make your children’s life rich and colorful by offering play and hands-on（亲身实践）programs… Address ² 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia Hours & Admission  ² Tuesday—Sunday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.² CLOSED: Mondays ² Under the age of 2: FREE ² Children and adults: $15 each For more information, visit www.pleasetouchmuseum.org |
Madison Children’s Museum In this green museum, kids can get hands-on learning about nature… Address ² 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI 53703 Hours & Admission  ² Tuesday—Sunday: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.² CLOSED: Mondays ² Under the age of 1: FREE ² Children and adults: $12 each For more information, visit www.madisonchmuseum.org |
| National Museum of Play It is an exciting, hands-on place to play, learn, dream, wonder, and… Address ² Manhattan Square, Rochester, New York Hours & Admission ² Monday—Thursday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ² Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ² Sunday: Noon to 5 p.m. ² Under the age of 2: FREE ² Children and adults: $15 each  For more information, visit www.childrensmuseums.org |
Children’s Museum of Phoenix It is a fantastic place of imagination, creativity and fun with over 300 hands-on activities and many kinds of classes and programs… Address ² 215 N. 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034 Hours & Admission ² Tuesday—Sunday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  ² CLOSED: Mondays² Under the age of 1: FREE ² Children and adults: $18 each For more information, visit www.childmusephx.org |
Which museum opens on Monday afternoon?
| A．Please Touch Museum. |
| B．Madison Children’s Museum. |
| C．National Museum of Play. |
| D．Children’s Museum of Phoenix. |
If Mr. Moor takes his one-year-old son to Please Touch Museum, they will pay .
| A．$12 | B．$15 | C．$18 | D．$30 |
If Adam would like his children to learn more about nature, he can go to for more information.
| A．www.childrensmuseums.org |
| B．www.childmusephx.org |
| C．www.pleasetouchmuseum.org |
| D．www.madisonchmuseum.org |
Which of the following about the four museums is TRUE?
| A．They all offer children hands-on activities. |
| B．They are all open on weekdays. |
| C．They are all closed after 5 in the afternoon. |
| D．They are all in the city of Phoenix. |
Where does the text probably come from?
| A．A science textbook. | B．A news report. |
| C．A museum guide. | D．A tourist map. |
Many centuries ago, birthdays were considered a time when the bad spirits were able to harm you. It was believed that you should have your friends and family around you so that their good wishes and present-giving would keep the bad spirits away. People also believed that, by lighting candles, they were sending a signal or wishes to the gods.
Later on, candles started to be used on birthday cakes. One story about the beginnings of the birthday cake is that it started with the Greeks, who made round cakes standing for the full moon for their moon goddess（女神）. They also placed candles on the cake to make it light, again like the moon.
However, the Germans are said to have first used cakes and candles. They used a sweet cake and they put a large candle in the centre of the cake to mean “the light of life”.
The “Happy Birthday” song is more than a hundred years old. The music was written in 1893 by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, who were schoolteachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The music was first used as a morning greeting to their students with the title, “Good Morning To All”. In 1935, the words legally belonged to the Hill sisters, and the copyright（版权）has been bought and sold for millions of dollars ever since. The present copyright is owned by Warner Communications. They bought it in 1989 for more than $22 million. The text mainly talks about .
| A．the ways of making cakes |
| B．the customs of lighting candles |
| C．the beginnings of birthdays |
| D．the history of the birthday song |
People celebrated birthdays many centuries ago to .
| A．have a great dinner |
| B．get birthday presents |
| C．light birthday candles |
| D．keep the bad spirits away |
Why did the Greeks put candles on the cake?
| A．To light up the dark room. |
| B．To make the cake beautiful. |
| C．To see where the cake was. |
| D．To make it look like the moon. |
When was the music written?
| A．In 1893. | B．In 1913. |
| C．In 1935. | D．In 1989. |
Who is the present owner of the song “Happy Birthday”?
| A．Patty and Mildred Hill. |
| B．Warner Communications. |
| C．A Greek cake company. |
| D．A German schoolteacher. |
Medical scientists are already putting computer chips（芯片）directly into the brain to help people who have Parkinson’s disease, but in what other ways might computer technology be able to help us? Ray Kurzweil is the author of the successful book The Age Of Intelligent Machines. He is also one of the world’s best computer research scientists. He is researching the possibilities.
Kurzweil gets computers to recognize voices. An example of this is Ramona, the virtual hostess of Kurzweil’s website, created by the computer, who is able to understand what you say. Visitors to the website can have their own conversations with her. Ramona also dances and sings.
Kurzweil uses this technology to help people with physical problems. One of his ideas is a “seeing machine”. This will be “like a friend that could describe what is going on around,” he explains. Blind people will use a sensor（传感器）which will probably be built into a pair of sunglasses. This machine will describe to the person everything it sees.
Another idea, which is likely to help deaf people, is the “listening machine”. This invention will recognize millions of words and understand any speaker. The listening machine will also be able to translate what it hears into other languages, so even people without hearing problems are likely to be interested in using it.
But it is not just about helping people with physical problems. Looking further into future, Kurzweil sees a time when we will be able to store what we hear, see and think in a computer. This technology probably won’t be ready for at least 50 years, but when it arrives, it means our minds will be able to live forever.Ray Kurzweil is .
| A．a famous medical scientist |
| B．a computer research scientist |
| C．a patient with Parkinson’s |
| D．an inventor of computer chips |
What can Ramona do?
| A．She can talk with her visitors. |
| B．She can treat brain diseases. |
| C．She can help deaf people listen. |
| D．She can teach people to sing. |
How can the “seeing machine” help blind people?
| A．It can help to treat their eyes. |
| B．It can translate into other languages. |
| C．It can help them to see the future. |
| D．It can describe to them what it sees. |
The word “virtual” in Paragraph 2 probably means .
| A．虚拟的 | B．友好的 | C．漂亮的 | D．忙碌的 |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．The Seeing Machines |
| B．The Listening Machines |
| C．The Intelligent Machines |
| D．The Translating Machines |