Not too long ago, a Chicago brewery (酿造厂) introduced a new beer that was supposed to be the least fattening（making people fat） on the market. It was lighter, so they called it LITE. Only two months after the new beer had been on sale, however, strange new ads appeared in the Chicago newspapers. They read ’LITE Tastes Soapy’. The public, of course, was confused. Who wanted a beer that tasted like soap（肥皂）, even if it was non-fattening?
The new ads weren’t talking about LITE beer, however. They were for a product of the LITE Soap Company. The president of the LITE Soap Company, Mrs Ruth Ascott, was very upset with the brewery for taking the name of her high-powered detergent (洗涤剂) and using it as the name of a new beer. LITE Soap had had the same name for 53 years. She wrote to the brewery, insisting that they should not use the word LITE in their beer ads. The brewery replied that they could—and would—because beer and soap were so different. They planned to ignore the ’LITE Tastes Soapy’ ads, since the public knew which LITE was which.
Mrs Ascott then wanted to plan a new campaign. The ads would read ’LITE Is Wonderful for Washing Clothes’.It is clear that _____.
A. the Chicago brewery was sure the soap company would add to its fame
В. the LITE Soap Company is happy to know the name of the beer
С. the ad ’LITE Tastes Soapy’ did harm to LITE the beer
D. the brewery was not surprised at all to see the ad ’LITE Tastes Soapy’It seems that_____.
A. the new beer may lose weight В. the brewery was right
С. making ads is not difficult D. most beer makes us fatWhen the ad ’LITE Tastes Soapy’ comes out, _____.
A. the beer sold well on the market
В. it confused some consumers of the beer
С. people thought the beer was the least fattening
D. people began to like the product from LITE Soap CompanyWe may conclude that_____.
A. neither of the two products sells well
В. both the two companies get on very well
С. the brewery did wrong to the LITE Soap Company
D. it was wrong of the soap company to have LITE as her own nameWhen the public read the ad in the last paragraph, they _____.
A. might wash their clothes with the beer В. are likely to stop to buy the beer
С. might be more confused than ever before D. may find out which LITE was which
Rumour（谣言）is the most primitive way of spreading stories--- by passing them on from mouth to mouth. but civilized countries in normal times have better sources of news than rumour. They have radio, television, and newspapers. In times of confusion（混乱）, however, rumour appears and becomes widespread. At such times the different kinds of news are in competition: the press, television, and radio against the grapevine.
Especially do rumours spread when war requires control on many important matters. The normal news sources no longer give out enough information. Since the people can not learn through legal channels all that they are anxious to learn, they pick up "news" wherever they can and when this happens, rumour grows.
Rumours are often repeated even by those who do not believe the tales. There is an interest about them. The reason is that the cleverly designed rumour gives expression to something deep in the hearts of the victims --- the fears, doubts, forbidden hopes, or daydreams which they hesitate to voice directly. Pessimistic（悲观的）rumours about defeat and disasters show that the people who repeat them are worried and anxious .Optimistic rumours about record production or peace soon coming point to self- satisfaction or confidence---and often to over- confidence.The author suggests that, in times of confusion, man often __________.
| A．stops regular news services |
| B．turns to primitive ways for support |
| C．distrusts his fellow man |
| D．loses complete control of himself |
The underlined word "grapevine" in Paragraph 1 probably means "__________”.
| A．rumour | B．newspaper | C．information | D．time |
The author states that during wartime the regular sources of news provide only __________ .
| A．false information | B．optimistic reports |
| C．limited information | D．pessimistic reports |
Which of the following statements is mentioned as a reason for people to repeat a rumour?
| A．They are too willing to believe. |
| B．They take an interest in rumour. |
| C．They have a strong desire to make a fool of other people. |
| D．They find some rumours reflect their own unexpressed beliefs. |
With the start of the new semester students around the country exchange their fun and fashionable clothes for boring school uniforms.
"The uniform makes us look like a bunch of clones, especially when we are doing morning exercises in the playground, "said Qing, a Senior 2 from a high school in Shanghai. "But we are not exactly the same from the top to the bottom. The boys wear different sport shoes and girls have different decorations ( 装饰品 )in their hair. These are the areas where you can express yourself" said Qing.
Although it might be strange for boys to talk about fashion, they do care about what they wear in school, especially shoes, according to Qing.
"Nike and Adidas basketball shoes, although they are still the must for many of my friends ,are becoming out-of-date,” added. He explained, "Since Liu Xiang ran so fast in Athens, running shoes are becoming popular in this autumn."
"Still in fashion are the various baseball caps and American-style T-shirts with random English words printed on them, "said Qing. "The accuracy ( 准确性 )of the written message isn't important. Often, the words are misspelt . Sometimes they do not even make sense “ Qing said with a smile.
Besides sports shoes and T-shirts, styles and colours of school bags are another opportunity for students to express their taste in fashion. Some bags are made more eye-catching by decorating them with small hanging dolls. Other fashionable items are the colourful drink contains which are now popular among girls this semester.
As in China, the new semester in the US also brings new fashion trends: shirts printed with Chinese words, necklaces with Hebrew ( 希伯莱 )or Hindi ( 印度的 )characters, and Brazilian jewelry, are all common in schools in Florida, according to Carmen Domingues, a high school student.What does "a bunch of clones”( Paragraph 2)mean?
| A．All of the clothes are the same. | B．All of the exercises are the same. |
| C．All of the clothes are different. | D．All of the exercises are different. |
How do the students express themselves in school?
| A．The girls wear different sport shoes. |
| B．All the students wear school uniforms. |
| C．The girls have different decorations in their hair. |
| D．The boys drink water from colourful drinks containers. |
Why are Nike and Adidas basketball shoes becoming out-of-date?
| A．Because the shoes are not eye-catching. |
| B．Because running shoes become more popular. |
| C．Because the shoes have been popular for a long time. |
| D．Because they have changed their opinions for Liu Xiang. |
Which of the following is NOT the new fashion trends in the US?
| A．Necklace with Hebrew or Hindi characters. |
| B．Baseball caps and American-style T-shirts. |
| C．Shirts printed with Chinese words. |
| D．Brazilian jewelry. |
A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers. “Last week,” said he, “my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, I spent twice its worth in advertising ,but didn’t get it back ”
“How did you write your advertisement ?”asked one of the listeners ,a merchant .
“Here it is,” said the man ,taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper. The other man took it and read, “Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening a black silk umbrella .The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No 10 Broad Street .”
“Now ,”said the merchant, “I often advertise ,and find that it pays me well .But by the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance .let us try your umbrella again ,and if it fails ,I will buy you a new one. ”
The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote :“If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn’t wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street .He is well known .”
This appeared in the paper ,and on the following morning ,the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors that had been thrown in and his own was among the number. Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter This is a story about ________.
| A．how a man lost and found his umbrella. |
| B．how to make an effective advertisement. |
| C．how to find lost things. |
| D．how to put an advertisement in the newspaper. |
“If it fails, I will buy you a new one ” suggested that _______.
| A．he was rich enough to afford an umbrella |
| B．he was not sure he would get the umbrella back |
| C．he was quite sure of his success . |
| D．he was ready to help others . |
The result of the first advertisement was that ________.
| A．the man got his umbrella back . |
| B．the man wasted some money advertising . |
| C．the man found his umbrella |
| D．someone found his umbrella . |
According to the first advertisement ,anyone who ___would receive ten shillings.
| A．left the umbrella in the City Church |
| B．found the umbrella at No. 10 Broad Street |
| C．gave the message to the man |
| D．left the umbrella at No. 10 Broad Street |
Everywhere man is altering the balance of nature．He is facilitating the spread of plants and animals into new regions, sometimes deliberately, sometimes unconsciously．He is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants, or with houses, factories, slag-heaps and other products of his civilization．He exterminates some species on a large scale, but favours the multiplication of others．In brief, he has done more in five thousand years to alter the biological aspect of the planet than has nature in five million．
Many of these changes which he has brought about have had unforeseen consequences．Who would have thought that the throwing away of a piece of Canadian waterweed would have caused half the waterways of Britain to be blocked for a decade, or that the provision of pot cacti for lonely settlers’ wives would have led to Eastern Australian being overrun with forests of Prickly Pear? Who would have prophesied that the cutting down of forests on the Adriatic coasts, or in parts of Central Africa, could have reduced the land to a semidesert, with the very soil washed away from the bare rock? Who would have thought that improved communications would have changed history by the spreading of disease-sleeping sickness into East Africa, measles into Oceania, very possibly malaria into ancient Greece?
These are spectacular examples; but examples on a smaller scale are everywhere to be found．We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds, prescribing absolute security for all species; and we may find that some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies beyond measure and ousts the rare kinds in which we were particularly interested．We see, owing to some little change brought about by civilization, the starling spread over the English country-side in hordes．We improve the yielding capacities of our cattle; and find that now they exhaust the pastures which sufficed for less exigent stock．The following examples except ________ reflect man altering the balance of nature．
| A．man is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants |
| B．man is facilitating the spread of animals into new regions． |
| C．man is killing some species on a large scale |
| D．man is getting to know the importance of keeping the balance of nature． |
What had a piece of Canadian waterweed cause?
| A．Eastern Australian was overrun with forests． |
| B．Half the waterways of Britain blocked for a decade． |
| C．In parts of central Africa, the land reduced to a semidesert． |
| D．Disease-sleeping has been caused． |
What have spread diseases?
| A．Disease-sleeping sickness． | B．Measles． |
| C．Improved communications． | D．Malaria． |
We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds but __________
| A．some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies |
| B．rare kinds multiply |
| C．all bird multiply |
| D．no bird multiply |
The main idea of the passage is _________．
| A．that man is deliberately destroying the balance of nature |
| B．that man has foreseen the consequences of altering the balance old nature |
| C．that improved communications have changed history |
| D．that man is altering the balance of nature |
An annoying problem for humans, who like to boast (夸耀) about all the distant planets and moons we have explored, is that we've never taken a good look right under our noses. The inside of the earth is relatively close, but how can we get there?
The deepest oil well enters a mere six miles into the crust (地壳) (the center of the earth is about 4,000 miles deeper). Russian scientists dug the deepest hole in Siberia, but bottomed out at about 7.5 miles below the surface. The Mohole project, a U.S. plan in the 1950s, called for drilling a hole 25 miles down to the boundary between the hard rocks of the crust and the soft mantle (地幔). Sadly the project involved government supporting.
It gets harder and harder to drill deep into the earth because rocks get softer and softer. Hard but easily broken at the surface, rocks become plastic at depth, and the pressure caused by the weight of the overlaying crust --- about 52,800 pounds per square inch at a depth of ten miles, makes further drilling impossible.
What little we know about the inside of the earth (like the fact that there's a crust, a mantle, and a core) comes from indirect evidence, such as the analysis of earthquakes.
So maybe it's time for a thorough new method to explore the earth's inside. Scientist David Stevenson says we should forget about drilling holes. Instead, we should open a crack (裂缝).
Stevenson suggests digging a crack about a half mile long, a yard wide, and a half mile deep (not with a shovel) but with an explosion on the scale of a nuclear bomb. Next, he'd pour a few hundred thousand tons of molten (熔化的) iron into the crack, along with a robot. The iron, thicker than the surrounding crust, would move downward at about 16 feet per second, carrying the robot with it and opening the crack deeper and deeper. The iron mass would drop for about a week and 2,000 miles to the outer edge of the earth core, the robot sending out data to the surface.
Stevenson compares his idea to space exploration. "We're going somewhere we haven't been before,"he says. "In all possibility, there will be surprises.”
This idea can probably be put in the drawer marked with Isn't Going To Happen. The robot would have to survive temperatures that would melt pretty much anything. But Stevenson's idea may inspire a new look at an old problem. Great things can come from what seems like impossible ideas.Going inside the earth is _____ than going into space.
| A．more interesting | B．more possible | C．easier | D．more challenging |
How deep have we gone into the earth until now?
| A．6 miles. | B．4,000 miles. | C．7.5 miles. | D．25 miles. |
Which of the following is TRUE about David Stevenson's idea?
| A．It is an inspiring but not practical idea now. |
| B．It is a practical proposal that has come into use now. |
| C．It is a good proposal that will soon be put into practice. |
| D．It is a false theory that cannot be carried out at all. |
What might be the most suitable title for the text?
| A．An Annoying Problem for Humans |
| B．To the Center of the Earth |
| C．The Mohole Project |
| D．David Stevenson's Proposal |