I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone,“ Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room — if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room.
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly. Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was mad at the telephone. | B．He was angry with his agent. |
| C．He was anxious about his wife. | D．He was impatient with the secretary. |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She threw the phone away. | B．She shouted at him. |
| C．She called the agent. | D．She said nothing. |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His changeable feelings. | B．His wife’s suggestion. |
| C．His own behavior. | D．His wife’s sweet kiss. |
What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?
| A．Smart words. | B．Anxious feelings. |
| C．Surprising looks. | D．Unusual actions. |
A glass a day keeps obesity at bay．Alcohol has always been thought to cause weight gain because of its high sugar content，but new research suggests a glass a day could form part of a diet．Looking at past studies they found that，while heavy drinkers do put on weight；those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight．
A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says，“Light to moderate alcohol intake，especially of wine，may be more likely to protect against，rather than promote，weight gain”．The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions，particularly that current data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight．
Boston University’s Dr．Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms(生物学机制)relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood．His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes(糖尿病)，which relate to increasing obesity．Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers．
The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat，and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods．They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks，taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight．
For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese．What’s more，a study three years ago suggested that resveratrol，a compound present in grapes and red wine，destroys fat cells.The passage is mainly for those__________．
| A．who produce wine |
| B．who have a drinking habit |
| C．who go on a diet |
| D．who are eager to lose weight |
The underlined phrase“in moderation”in the first paragraph means_________．
| A．excitedly | B．carefully | C．properly | D．frequently |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Current data clearly show that moderate drinking increases weight． |
| B．Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat． |
| C．The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear． |
| D．The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect． |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．How to do some easy experiments． |
| B．How to reduce the calories contained in wine． |
| C．How to make wine in a healthy way． |
| D．How to prove the finding mentioned above． |
Bangkok Transportation Public buses
The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority(BMTA)is charged with providing bus service to people living and working in Bangkok and the nearby provinces．As of February,2005，the BMTA operated a total of 113 routes，served by 3,526 buses，of which 1,665 were regular buses and 1,861 air-conditioned buses．There were also privately-owned buses operated under the BMTA with a total of 3,535 regular and air-conditioned buses and1,067 minibuses including 2,325 small buses which provide services in lanes．An average of 3．4 million people use these services daily．
Fare Exemptions
The following passengers are eligible for bus fare exemptions：
1．BMTA bus inspectors
2．Mailmen in uniform while on duty
3．Holders of BMTA employee ID cards
Half-Price Concessions
The following passengers are eligible for half-price fares when using the service of regular buses．
1．The blind with a certificate from the Association of the Blind
2．Soldiers and policemen in uniform
3．Holders of official certificates or medals as specified by the Regulation on Bus Fare
Fare Concessions for Air-conditioned BUSes
Holders of the following official certificates and medals are eligible for air-conditioned bus fare reductions．
1．Victory Medal(Off-spring of this medal are also entitled)
2．Border Service Medal
3．Free-Mall Protection Medal
4．European Royal War Medal
5．Non-active War Veterans Classes 1 2 3 and 4
6．BTMA Employee ID cards
Search for bus route here
@Bangkok Tourism DivisionWhich of the following is true of the Bangkok Transportation?
| A．Buses in Bangkok are of the same size． |
| B．At least 3.4 million people take a bus every day． |
| C．Buses operated under the BMTA are owned by individuals． |
| D．BMTA provides city buses and inter-provincial bus service． |
Jonny sees a cream-blue bus coming．It must be_________．
| A．a regular bus |
| B．a night-service bus |
| C．an air-conditioned bus |
| D．all expressway bus |
Who needn’t pay fares on a regular bus?
| A．A grandson of a Victory Medal holder． |
| B．A postman，together with his family． |
| C．A blind person with a medical certificate． |
| D．A BMTA inspector with his employee card． |
How much should a soldier in uniform pay when he takes a white-blue bus?
| A．5．50 baht． | B．4 baht． | C．7 baht． | D．8 baht． |
It is now February 7, 2035. The search engine TalkTalk will be open to the public next week and this service will soon be something beyond your imagination. For the first time you can not only talk to the search engine, but you can discuss with it what you are looking for.
For example, if you want to know more about the oil price, TalkTalk asks if you want to know the current oil price, the development of the oil price, or news related to the oil price. You say that you want to read news about it and TalkTalk then directs you to your source, or lets you have the latest news related to the oil price in order from the most respectable sources.
Compared with other search services that use a certain algorithm (程序) to provide data from a search, the artificial intelligence (人工智能) behind TalkTalk is said to easily spot if a certain source is aiming to cheat the searcher. TalkTalk also judges and stores every given reply and discussion, to learn how to give correct answers. TalkTalk is also set to answer questions directly where there is a definite answer. How well this will work in the long run is yet to be seen, but thousands of people have tested TalkTalk and the quality is really good.
The first talking search engine saw the light of day more than 30 years ago and was called Speegle. It could read the results from a written search on the Internet, and was mostly for blind people.
So far, TalkTalk cannot read the information from a certain source to you by phone, if it is not freely available. There are currently talks to find an arrangement for this, but it would most likely be difficult because of copyright(版权).
TalkTalk is available over the Internet and also by phone, even though it only speaks English. There are no plans to add other languages in the near future, most likely because it will cost a lot of money. When you are tired of asking TalkTalk all your questions, just ask, “Where is TalkTalk?” and you will get an answer that will make you leave it with a smile on your lips.The example in Paragraph 2 is given to show .
| A．how to use the search engine TalkTalk |
| B．how to search for news on the Internet |
| C．the oil price is a very hot issue currently |
| D．TalkTalk has a very high intelligence |
The advantage of TalkTalk is that it can .
| A．be available wherever you go |
| B．tell if a certain source is reliable |
| C．read the search results for you |
| D．offer different kinds of search results |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．TalkTalk can read all the information online. |
| B．TalkTalk will speak other languages soon. |
| C．TalkTalk may have a bright future. |
| D．TalkTalk is very expensive. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Hello, TalkTalk |
| B．Where is TalkTalk |
| C．TalkTalk is improving |
| D．Development of search engines |
In which part of a future newspaper can you read the text?
| A．Opinion. | B．Culture. |
| C．Lifestyle. | D．Technology. |
When you walk into a room on the 17th floor of Copenhagen’s Bella Sky Hotel, you’ll be greeted by soft roses and other fresh flowers, fruits, fashion magazines, and a bathroom with beauty products. This is Europe’s first hotel floor dedicated（专用的）entirely to women—and according to the hotel’s CEO Arne Bang Mikkelsen, it is designed by women, for women.
“Women’s hotel preferences（偏爱）are very different from men’s with key priorities（优先考虑的事）being to feel safe and comfortable. When men come into a hotel room, the first thing they do is check the view, turn on the TV, plug in their computer, and check out the fridge. Women, on the other hand, go straight to the bathroom. Does it smell nice? Is it clean? Does it have a nice bathtub and shower?”
Unlike other hotels, it seemed like someone actually thought about what women wanted. To get it right, the hotel asked a number of women what they wanted, and added to their list of things like cleanliness, a nice bathroom, high-powered hairdryers, steam irons, cosmetic mirrors, healthy choices on the room service menus, and full-body mirrors.
It seems that they are helped by the boom（繁荣）in female business travelers. Global numbers are hard to get, but a research report shows women account for about half of all business travelers in the US in 2010, up from approximately 25% in 1991.
Places like the Naumi Hotel in Singapore, the Premier Hotel in New York, the London Dukes Hotel and the Georgian Court Hotel in Vancouver seem to be realizing the possibility in catering（迎合）for women.
At the London Dukes Hotel, the manager says bookings（预订）for their “Duchess Rooms”，which are standard rooms with fresh flowers, fruit, and styling things, have increased 25% over the past year.We can learn from the text that Bella Sky Hotel _______.
A. is the first hotel designed for women
B. offers special service to women guests
C. has a big garden with all kinds of flowers
D. can arrange rooms according to guests’ wishes
57. Paragraph 2 mainly wants to tell us _______.
A. men are wiser in choosing hotels
B. guests usually care about fort most
C. women differ from men in judging a hotel
D. hotels have difficulty satisfying each guestWhat can we learn from the text?
| A．Men guests usually don’t care about hotels’ cleanliness. |
| B．Living in a hotel, women guests may consider their safety. |
| C．Women business travelers spend more than men in hotels. |
| D．In the US the number of women travelers is higher than men. |
The example of the London Dukes Hotel is used to show ________.
| A．London is known for hotel management |
| B．guests like to experience different hotels |
| C．the new hotel service is very popular |
| D．hotel industry is developing rapidly |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．How to run hotels. |
| B．A new practice in hotel service. |
| C．Different hotels’ service in the world. |
| D．Differences between men and women hotel guests. |
PART THREE READING PREHENSION（共15小题；每小题 2分，满分30分）
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
With school out and hot weather in, it’s not unusual for youngsters to gather around the refrigerator or the television rather than take part in active play. Such habits may be relaxing but can wreck a healthy lifestyle, say specialists at Texas Children’s Hospital.
“For some kids, the state of feeling bored triggers（引发）eating,” says Jennifer Thomas, a doctor at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas. “A child can pick up 5 to 10 pounds over the course of a summer, so it’s important to recognize the difference between boredom（无聊）and hunger.”
Because children may be adjusting（适应）to lack of routine, adding some structure to their daily schedules can help. “For example, instead of letting kids eat while they watch television, permit eating only in the kitchen with the television turned off,” says Thomas. “This way can help determine if they are really hungry or just bored.”
If hunger causes a snack attack, nutritious snacks should be available（可得到的）and easy to reach, says Thomas. She suggests two or more servings of fruit and three or more servings of vegetables as a reasonable（合情理的）daily goal. Thomas says, “Fresh or frozen fruit is better than fruit juice. Fresh or frozen vegetables are better because canned vegetables usually contain salt.”
In general, kids should avoid snacks with high sugar content, says Thomas. “More importantly, if a sugary snack takes the place of healthier food, the child is not getting the nutrition he or she needs. High-fat food tends to make a child feel worried, while eating foods that are naturally lower in fat will make it easier for kids to feel more energetic and stay on the go.”What can help to stop children from eating because of boredom?
| A．Giving them a daily schedule. |
| B．Giving them a lot of snacks. |
| C．Preventing them from watching TV. |
| D．Making them eat a lot of fruits. |
What kind of snacks should we give children?
| A．Fruit juice. |
| B．Frozen fruit. |
| C．Canned vegetables. |
| D．Snacks rich in sugar. |
Foods that are naturally lower in fat are necessary for children because _______.
| A．they help children lose weight |
| B．they help children get necessary nutrition |
| C．they stop children from getting bored |
| D．they make children active and energetic |
We can infer from the text that _______.
| A．it’s hard to tell the difference between boredom and hunger |
| B．children may get bored for lack of routine in summer |
| C．we should limit children’s eating while they’re watching TV |
| D．nutritious snacks should be available at any time |
The underlined word “wreck” in Paragraph 1 probably means“_______”.
| A．improve | B．change | C．ruin | D．include |