The United States is already one year into a depression That was the news this week from the Na-tional Bureau of Economic Research. The downturn is the longest since a depression that began in 1981and lasted sixteen months.
Economists generally wait for production to shrink for six months in a row before they declare a re-cession. But the bureau, a private group, uses a wider set of information to measure the economy. Thenews only confirmed what many people already knew: that the world's largest economy is weak and maynot recover soon.
Worsening conclitions have led to a big drop in spending, especially on costly products like new cars. Even Japanese automaker Toyota saw its sales fall thirty - four percent in the United States in November from a year ago.
The heads of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors retumed to Congress this week to again ask for federal aid. Congressional leaders denounced(指责) them two weeks ago after they came in private jets with no clear plans for saving their industry. This time, the chiefs drove to Washington in fuel- saving hybrid vehicles. And their companies presented detailed restructuring plans. The reguest for aid has risen from twenty-five billion dollars two weeks ago to thirty-four billion in loans and credit lines.
G.M. wants almost half of that, and says it needs four billion dollars this month. It warned that without support it cannot continue to operate.
Ford is in a better position, But the sharing of suppliers means it could be affected if G.M. or
Chrysler fails. Ford is asking for a nine billion dollar credit line in case it needs it.
Chrysler is the smallest and most trouble of America's Big Three. It says it needs a seven billion dollar loan by the end of the month.
Two days of congressional hearings began Thursday in the Senate Banking Committee. The chairman, Democrat Chris Dodd, said he would support helping the automakers for the good of the economy.
But the committee's top Republican, Richard Shelby, continued to express opposition to a bailout(贿政援助）．
A main root of the world financial crisis is the weak housing market in the United States. The Trea-sury Department has been under pressure to help troubled homeowners. Now comes news that the depart-ment is developing a plan aimed at reducing interest rates on mortgage loans(汽车贷款) for some buyers of homes. That could be good for homeowners trying to sell.From the first two paragraphs, we know .
| A．the United States is expected to recover soon |
| B．the depression has lasted more than 16 months |
| C．the depression is much more severe than expected |
| D．the depression will last no more than 6 months |
Why were the automakers refused for federal aid two weeks ago?
| A．Because the government had no extra money to help. |
| B．Because they didn't have a ciear plan to save their industry. |
| C．Because they had wasted too much on costly new cars. |
| D．Because they had enough money to save their industry. |
Which of the following is asking for the largest federal aide
| A．G.M. | B．Toyota. | C．Chrysler. | D．Ford. |
From the passage we may know Richard Shelby tile automakers' request for federal aid?
| A．was for | B．was against | C．didn't care about | D．took no notice of |
Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The hearings on Thursday agreed on a federal aid to the automakers. |
| B．The main cause of the crisis is weak housing market in the U.S.. |
| C．The government is taking measures to save t he housing market. |
| D．The Treasury Department had to help the troubled homeowners. |
Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.
The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.
Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in the oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales (鲸).
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals.
The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected (被感染的).
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists don’t think that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.According to the passage, Which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?
| A．The sound of cars. | B．The sound of voices. |
| C．Man-made noise pollution. | D．The sound of steps. |
According to the passage, natural sounds include all of the following except ________.
| A．sounds made by animals themselves |
| B．ocean drilling |
| C．underwater earthquakes |
| D．the breaking of ice fields |
Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?
| A．The same noise level produces a different effect on land and in the ocean. |
| B．Different places may have different types of noises. |
| C．The decibel is not a right unit (单位) for measuring underwater noise. |
| D．Different ocean animals may have different reactions to noises. |
What can we learn about the whales from the passage?
| A．They won’t be confused by noises. |
| B．They are deaf to noises. |
| C．Their ability to reproduce will be lowered by high-level noises. |
| D．Their hearing will be damaged by high-level noises. |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality（好客）easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they treat us warmly, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires much time. But in China ,we are usually generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full ,warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese |
| C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality |
| D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
Walt Disney
As one of the most famous film production companies in the history of the business，Walt Disney now holds 15.3 percent of the US and Canadian market share. With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean，National Treasure，Meet the Robinsons and Enchanted，there’s no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come.
Paramount Pictures
With 15.5 percent of the US and Canadian market share，Paramount Pictures continues to be one of the most successful film production companies in the world. Star Trek，War of the Worlds，Mission：Impossible，Transformers and Tropic Thunder are just a few of the popular films produced by Paramount Pictures.
20th Century Fox
Also known as “Twentieth Century Fox”，this highly successful movie production company makes up 11.9 percent of the US and Canadian market share. Some of the biggest and most successful movies from this empire include the X-Men series，Mr and Mrs Smith and Fantastic Four.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Including about 19.7 percent of the US and Canadian market share，Warner Bros. Pictures is the biggest player in the film industry. Owning the rights to major films like Harry Potter，Superman，Batman，The Matrix and Star Wars has made Warner Bros. Pictures the No.1 name in the business.
Universal Studios
12.2 percent of the US and Canadian market share belongs to Universal Studios，which continues to make millions for the film industry. With major hits like the Bourne series，the American Pie series，Knocked Up，American Gangster and The Incredible Hulk，it’s very clear that Universal Studios knows what it takes to make money in this industry.
Columbia Pictures
Making up 12.9 percent of the US and Canadian market share，Columbia Pictures remains a big player in the business. Some of this company’s recent successes include Casino Royale，The Da Vinci Code，the Spider Man series and Step Brothers.This passage mainly tells us______.
| A．some beautiful pictures of the US |
| B．some American popular movies |
| C．some famous Canadian companies |
| D．some film production companies |
Which of the following movie production companies is the most successful in the US and Canadian markets?
| A．Universal Studios. | B．Paramount Pictures. |
| C．Columbia Pictures. | D．Walt Disney. |
Warner Bros. Pictures is very famous for its film named ______.
| A．Harry Potter | B．Pirates of the Caribbean |
| C．The Incredible Hulk | D．Tropic Thunder |
The underlined word “hits” (in Paragraph 5) refers to ______.
| A．articles | B．Novels |
| C．movies | D．Struggles |
“Mom, I can’t do this.” My teenage son Bret stood in front of me with his hands full of papers.
“Can’t do what?” I asked while preparing supper.
“All these!” he waved his hands up and down. “There’s no way I can do everything my teachers are asking me to do.”
I stopped what I was doing and turned to face him. I had never seen him so upset. He was my jovial son. He made good grades in school and nothing ever seemed to bother him. As I studied his face, I could see his eyes filled with tears.
Walking over to the kitchen table, I sat down and asked him to join me.
“Show me what you have to do .”
Bret sat down in a chair and dropped the papers in front of him.
“Mr. Jones, my chemistry teacher, wants me to make a project for the Science Fair.”
“Okay , And what else?”
“I have an algebra test next week, and that will be one-third of our grade this school term!”
“And I have to write an English essay. And midterms are the next week! I need to study for them and I have to get help with Spanish. There’s no way I can do everything!”
His hands shook as he picked up each assignment. It broke my heart to see him so stressed out. I wanted to help him, yet I couldn’t do the work for him. I looked at Bret and said. “You don’t have to do everything at once. You can do one at a time. Let’s make a list of what you need to do.”
So, one by one, we listed each item. Then we put the due date next to the item. Next we separated the items into parts. For instance, the chemistry project needed supplies. So we put a deadline on getting the supplies. He had a friend who could help him with Spanish, so we had to put that time in. During the process, I saw my son visibly relax. When we finished with the list, I asked, “Do you think you can do this now?”
He smiled and I saw his confidence return . “Sure! Thanks, Mom!”
There is a saying that asks, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is, “One bite at a time.”Why was Bret so upset?
| A．He had quarreled with his chemistry teacher. |
| B．He was poor in many of his school subjects. |
| C．The algebra test would be too difficult for him. |
| D．He felt helpless with the huge amount of school work. |
How did the writer feel at the sight of Bret’s shaking hands?
| A．Annoyed | B．Puzzled |
| C．Frightened | D．Heartbroken. |
What did the writer help Bret do?
| A．She bought some articles for Bret’s chemistry project.. |
| B．She arranged the tasks according to levels of urgency. |
| C．She found a friend to teach Bret Spanish at once. |
| D．She prepared the material for Bret’s English composition. |
It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World War. She’ll talk about my lack of a bright future because I don’t plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don’t want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major(主修) in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.“Why can’t you be like my co-worker’s son?” she bemoans all the time. Her co-worker’s son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don’t know what to answer except that I simply can’t be like Mr. Perfect as I’ve called the unnamed co-worker’s son. I can’t be like him. I’m the type of person who loves to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of fame (名声) or salary.
I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I’ve seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6 pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be successful. I’d rather follow my dreams and create my own future.Which of the following topics do the writer and his mother often talk about?
| A．The writer’s studies. |
| B．The writer’s future job |
| C．Dinner plans |
| D．Wars around the world |
We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the writer’s mother ____________.
| A．doesn’t want the writer to major in English |
| B．doesn’t think the writer should be a doctor |
| C．gets along very well with the writer |
| D．doesn’t think working in the science field is a good idea |
The underlined word “bemoans” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _____________.
| A．agrees | B．shouts |
| C．complains | D．smiles |
Which of following statements is probable TRUE about the writer?
| A．He wants to be like his mother’s co-worker’s son. |
| B．He wants to find a job in his community in the future. |
| C．He doesn’t think his mother’s co-worker’s son is perfect. |
| D．He wants to do something he really likes in the future. |