Among various programs, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style(风格). But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “rubbish talk”. The contents on his show are as surprising as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people’s lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top. But Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality(质量) of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show’s main viewers are middleclass Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life’s tough problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show’s exploitation.Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are ______.
| A．more interesting. | B．very popular. |
| C．more detailed. | D．more formal. |
Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant, people who watch the shows ______.
| A．remain interested in them. |
| B．are ready to face up to them. |
| C．remain cold to them. |
| D．are willing to get away from them. |
Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
| A．A new type of robot. | B．Nation hatred(憎恨). |
| C．Family income planning. | D．Street accident. |
We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ______.
| A．have become the only ones of its kind. |
| B．exploit the weaknesses in human nature. |
| C．appear at different times of the day. |
| D．attract different people. |
| LOST AND FOUND |
ROOMMATES |
| FOUND：Cat, 6 months old, black and white marking. Found near Linden and South U.Steve, 800-4661. |
FEMALE ROOMMATE WANGTE Own room near campus. Available December 1 . Rent $80 per month until March 1 st. $129 Thereafter. Call Jill for details. 800-7839 |
| LOST: Gold wire rim glasses in brown case. Campus area. Reward. Call Gregg 800-2896 |
Need person to assume lease for own bedroom in apt. Near campus, $92/mo. Starting Jan.1. Call 800-6157 after 5pm |
| FOR SALE |
HELP WANTED |
| MOVING：Must sell. TV b/w 12,$50; AM/FM transistor radio A/C or battery , $15; cassette tape recorder ,$10;music records, Call John or Pat,800-0739 after 5pm or weekends |
BABYSITTER-MY HOME If you are available a few hours during the day , some evenings and occasional weekends to car for 2 school-age children , please call Gayle Moore days 800-1111, evenings and week ends 800-4964 |
 USED FUR COATS and JACKETS. Good condition. $50-$125. Call 800-0436 after 12 noon |
WAITRESS WANTED:10am-2pm or 10:30 am-5pm. Apply in person, 207S. Main, Curtis Restaurant. |
What was lost in campus area according to the LOST AND FOUND ads?
| A．A cat | B．A radio |
| C．A pair of glasses | D．A cassette tape recorder |
You will callif you want to buy a radio.
| A．800-0436 | B．800-0739 |
| C．800-4661 | D．800-4964 |
If you want a job of taking care of children , which ad will you answer?
| A．Lost AND FOUND | B．ROOMMATES |
| C．FOR SALE | D．HELP WANTED |
It was Monday, Mrs. Smith’s dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way, Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it: “Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently: “Take this to the butcher（卖肉者）, and he’s going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s shop. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady’s handwriting and presently did as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up immediately.
At midday, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at midday. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at the paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had thought of the dog as one of his customers.
However, the dog came again at four o’clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher’s more surprise, it came for the third time at six o’clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!When Mrs. Smith’s dog was hungry, what did she give to the dog?
A. some chicken
B. half a pound of meat
C. a hot dog
D a piece of paper with some words on itMrs. Smith treated her little dog quite __________.
| A．rudely | B．proudly |
| C．friendly | D．angrily |
From its experience, the dog found that __________.
| A．only the paper with Mrs. Smith’s words on it could bring it meat |
| B．a piece of paper could bring him half a pound of meat |
| C．the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it |
| D．Mrs. Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher |
At the end of the story, you’ll find that __________.
| A．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper |
| B．the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog |
| C．the dog dared not go to the butcher’s any more |
| D．the butcher found himself cheated by the smart animal |
Chinese college students have graduated to find the job market vary from when they entered school and those so-called “hot courses” might fail to land them good jobs.
Graduates with different majors have very different experiences in the job market. But degrees in finance, economics and a few other fields often guarantee good jobs.
“I have applied to 15 companies online, and most of them show interest in hiring me,” said WangLi, a postgraduate of labor Economics at Southwest University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. He said that all the students of economics, finance and accounting in his university had received at least two job offers.
Students of mining and materials science that were not popular before, however, have observed more employment opportunities than before. The employment rate of graduates from the courses was 100 percent at Guizhou University.
On the contrary, some so-called “hot courses” including law, journalism and computer science that have received large groups of students, failed them in the job market. Experts said high tuition fee of those courses led to blind enrollment expansion.
Another problem which makes it difficult for graduates to find jobs is the gap between school- learned- knowledge and requirements of real career.
In 2007, merely 60percent of computer science graduates were employed. Meanwhile, job vacancies in IT industry exceeded one million. IT companies complained about the large amount of money they spend on pre-career training of new employees. They hope universities adjust their courses to better prepare students for their future work.
In addition to academic background, employers are looking for college graduates with a good sense of responsibility. This merit is followed by a sense of team work, ambition, flexibility, eloquence, independence, confidence, pressure-bearing ability, communication skills and so on.The graduates with degrees in “hot courses” may have difficulty in finding satisfactory jobs probably because ______________.
| A．the graduates with such degrees are of poor quality |
| B．those fields have developed slowly in recent years |
| C．there are too many graduates with such degrees |
| D．enterprises will not employ the graduates with such degrees |
The words “hot courses” in the first paragraph of this passage refers to “________”.
| A．law, journalism and computer science |
| B．economics, finance and accounting |
| C．mining and materials science |
| D．economics, journalism and materials science |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Economics, finance and accounting are no longer “hot” now. |
| B．Quite a number of college students don’t work hard at their lessons. |
| C．The quality of some of the college graduates can not meet the demands of companies. |
| D．Universities have already adjusted their courses to prepare students for their future work. |
The author seems to agree that __________.
| A．middle school graduates should choose good universities as well as good majors |
| B．besides academic background, sense of responsibility is also very important |
| C．university students shouldn’t work hard at their lessons |
| D．middle school graduates should not choose these “hot courses” |
When I was an education official in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our school board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally disabled and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents acknowledged his academic difficulties, but always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper:
Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed instantly in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known when I talked to him last that it would be the last time. If I had only known I would have said, “Jim, I love you and I’m very proud of you.”
I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he brought to the lives of the many who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, the sound of his laughter, his genuine love of people.
When you put all the good qualities on the scale and try to balance all the irritating phenomena such as the radio which was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., your angry feelings won’t amount to much.
I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, you do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear if you knew it would be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the day he died. He called me to say, “Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. Got to go to work. Bye.” He gave me something to treasure forever.
If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate more of life and to have people, especially family members, take the time to let each other know just how much we care.
You may never have another chance.According to the passage, we know that _______.
| A．Jim was always ashamed of himself |
| B．Jim did very well in his studies |
| C．Jim’s parents were patient with him |
| D．Jim failed to finish his high school |
The underlined word “irritating” in Paragraph 4 most probably means _______.
| A．annoying | B．aggressive |
| C．impatient | D．thrilling |
By writing the letter printed in the Palo Alto Times, the author intends to _______.
| A．mourn her son’s sudden death in a traffic accident |
| B．remind people to be cautious of motorcycles |
| C．tell parents to take better care of their children |
| D．suggest people taking the chance to express their love in time |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Love your Family. | B．Do it Today. |
| C．Walk with Pride. | D．Appreciate Smiles. |
If you are hungry, what will you do? Grab a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet after that? Just like stomach, even your mind will be hungry. But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover, favorite star and many such absurd things. So it silently begins to hide your needs and never lets itself grow. When mind loses its freedom to grow, creativity gets its full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think “What happens next?”, “Why can’t I think?”, “Why am I always given the difficult problems?” Well, this is the after-effect of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things.
Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through extensive reading. But why is it reading but not watching TV? Because reading has been the most educational tool used by us right from the childhood. Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to turn to reading for help. You have a number of books in the world which will answer all your “how-to” questions. Once you read a book, you just don’t run your eyes through the lines, but your mind decodes (译解) it and explains it to you. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed. Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas. The same seed, if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, which you would never thought of in your wildest dreams! This is nothing but creativity. The more books you read, the wider your mind will become. Also this improves your oratorical (speech-making) skills to a large extent and also makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary. When you start speaking English or any other language fluently with your friends or other people, you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time.
Actually, I had a problem in speaking English fluently, but as I read, I could improve significantly. So guys, do join me and give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading. Now what are you waiting for? Go, grab a book and let me know! What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Hunger of the mind |
| B．Stomach and Mind |
| C．Feed your Mind by reading |
| D．Reading or Watching TV |
You don’t know your mind is in hunger because _____.
| A．you are not hungry |
| B．you keep it thinking of silly things |
| C．your creativity gets a full stop |
| D．you always meet with difficult problems |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the advantage of reading?
| A．Reading can make your dream come true. |
| B．Reading can contribute to your vocabulary. |
| C．Reading can improve your spoken ability. |
| D．Reading can make people creative. |
The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to _______.
| A．comment and blame | B．introduce and describe |
| C．explain and persuade | D．advise and inform |