Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, made his first public appearance since going on medical leave six weeks ago, taking the stage at a San Francisco media event to introduce the iPad 2, the second generation of the company’s tablet computer.
Thin but energetic, Mr. Jobs showed off a thinner iPad. “ We’ve been working on this product for a while and I just didn’t want to miss this day,” he said.
His absence has concerned investors, especially since the group has given no details of his condition. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and had a liver transplant during almost six moths of medical leave in 2009. People close to him said last month his health had been changing.
Apple’s stock rose more than 2 percent in the minutes after Mr. Jobs began speaking, then gave up some of its gain as he detailed the iPad 2.
The iPad 2 will go on sale in black and white versions in the US on March 11 and in 26 other countries, including the UK and Germany, on March 25. The table is Apple’s biggest product launch since the iPhone three years ago, and is comparable to the iPhone as the most expected in Apple’s history.
Most of the improvements in the latest version had been expected, including front and rear-facing video, which allows video conferencing between iPads, Mac computers and the most recent iPhones and iPods, a larger speaker, a faster processor and other upgrades. The iPad 2 is one-third thinner than the original tablet and slightly lighter, with a 9.7-inch touchscreen. It can run movies, books, games and a complete range of applications. In the US it will work with AT&T and Verizon, the top two mobile carriers. The pricing will be the same to the 2010 iPad at its introduction, ranging from $499 to $829 in six models. But Apple dropped prices on the older iPad on Wednesday by $100 across the board.
Apple has made the most of its year-long head start in tablets, selling 15,000,000 units of the older iPad last year and taking about 85 percent of the market. Forrester predicted that the iPad 2 would clain 80 percent of the US market this year, or 20,000,000 out of 24,000,000 total shipped. This prediction was based on both the technical improvements to the iPad 2, and the distribution difficulties and higher prices for Apple’s rivals.
Motorola, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, Samsung and others have brought out competing tablets, many based on Google’s Android software.
Mr. Jobs said the rest of the field was still catching up with the first iPad and their markets for applications designed for tablets had, at best, 100 small programs. This compares with 65,000 on Apple’s applications store.Why are the investors of Apple worried according to the text?
| A．Apple’s stock price changes a lot |
| B．Steve Jobs’ health condition is not stable |
| C．The iPad 2 has some technical drawbacks |
| D．Apple faces strong competition from other companies. |
In what respect are the iPad 2 and the 2010 iPad exactly alike?
| A．the weight | B．the speaker |
| C．the thickness | D．the pricing at the introduction |
How many tablet computers were sold in the market last year?
| A．about 15,000,000 | B．about 17,000,000 |
| C．about 20,000,000 | D．about 24,000,000 |
What makes Apple’s tablets superior to the competing tablets of other companies?
| A．the low price |
| B．the Android software |
| C．the full kinds of models |
| D．the tens of thousands of applications |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Jobs on Stage to Introduce iPad 2 |
| B．iPad 2 Better than the Original |
| C．Best Applications for iPad 2 |
| D．iPad 2 vs. Competitors |
There is much discussion today about whether economic growth is desirable. At an earlier period, our desire for material wealth may have been justified. Now, however, this desire for more than we need is causing serous problems. Even though we have good intentions, we may be producing too much, too fast.
Those who criticize economic growth argue that we must slow down. They believe that society is approaching certain limits on growth. These include the fixed supply of natural resources, the possible negative effects of industry on the natural environment, and the continuing increase in the world’s population. As society reaches these limits, economic growth can no longer continue, and the quality of life will decrease.
People who want more economic growth, on the other hand, argue that even at the present growth rate there are still many poor people in the world. They believe that only more growth can create the capital needed to improve the quality of life in the world. Furthermore, they argue that only continued growth can provide the financial resources required to protect our natural surroundings from industrialization.
This debate over the desirability of continued economic growth is of vital importance to business and industry. If those who argue against economic growth are correct, the problems they mention cannot be ignored. To find a solution, economists and the business community must pay attention to these problems and continue discussing them with one another.
1. According to those who argue against economic growth we must slow down for the following reasons EXCEPT that_________.
A. our natural surroundings are in danger of being destroyed by industry
B. the fixed supply of natural resources marks a point beyond which economic growth cannot continue
C. the world population is ever increasing
D. more efforts should be made to improve the quality of our material life
2. Those who want more economic growth believe that continued economic growth_________
A. is essential to the well-being of society as a whole
B. can provide the solution to many of our social problems today
C. can protect our environment from being polluted by industry
D. can provide us with more natural resources for industrialization
3. The passage is mainly about _________
A. the contradiction between economists and the business community
B. the present debate on economic growth
C. the advantages and disadvantages of economic growth
D. the importance of the debate on economic growth
4. We may infer from the passage that _________.
A. the author describes the case as it is
B. the author is for economic growth
C. the author is against continued economic growth
D. the author is very much worried about the problems caused by continued economic growth
四、阅读理解
There’s a box of chocolates in the fridge. It’s been there for more than a week since I was given it as a present. I do love chocolates, but they make me fat if I eat too many! Can I control myself? If I eat one, will I have to eat all of them?
My son Harry is obsessed with playing Wii(/wi:/, 任天堂的一款游戏机) games. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get him to concentrate on his homework because he wants to play some more.
Last week I had to wake up a student in my class. I asked him why he was so tried and he said he had stayed up late to play his favourite Internet game, Farmville. He said he just couldn’t stop playing it! Now his academic work is suffering because he can’t control his urge to play games.
What my son, my student, and I myself need is simply self-control.
In the late 1960’s, American psychologist Walter Mischel launched an experiment about self-control. He left a group of four-year-olds in a room and told them that if they could wait 20 minutes, they could have two marshmallows, a kind of sweet. If they couldn’t wait, he would only give them one.
In videos of the experiment, you can see children squirming, kicking, hiding their eyes—desperately trying to control themselves. Some did wait patiently, while others couldn’t wait a single minute.
Years later, the self-controlled children turned out to get higher SAT scores and got into better colleges. The children who couldn’t wait were more likely to become bullies.
So, the chocolates are still in the fridge. My son Harry is doing his homework with a promise that he can play on the Wii later, and my student says he will try harder to control himself. We all have our own temptations. But if we can control them, we will achieve more.
1. Which of the following is different from the other three?
A. The writer. B. Harry. C. The writer’s student. D. Walter Mischel.
2. We can know from paragraph 5 to paragraph 7 that _________
A. all the children got two marshmallows
B. all the children waited patiently
C. self-control can help children succeed later
D. the children who lack self-control get higher SAT scores
3. Which of the following statement is true?
A. The writer is addicted to Wii.
B. The writer’s son is addicted to Farmville.
C. The writer’s student is addicted to chocolates.
D. The writer’s student is addicted to Farmville.
4. What does the underlined word mean in paragraph 5?
A. Something we can eat. B. A kind of toy.
C. A kind of mushroom. D. A kind of prize.
Farmers use different kinds of soil conservation methods to protect their land from damage by farming and the forces of nature . One important form of soil conservation is the use of windbreaks . Windbreaks are barriers formed by trees and other plants with many leaves . Farmers plant them in lines around their fields .
Windbreaks stop the wind from blowing soil away . They also keep the wind from destroying or damaging crops . They are very important for growing grains , such as wheat . There have been studies done on windbreaks in parts of West Africa , for example . These found that grain harvests can be twenty percent higher in fields protected by windbreaks compared to fields without such protection .
However , windbreaks seem to work best when they allow a little wind to pass through . If the wall of trees and plants stops wind completely , then violent air motions will take place close to the ground . These motions will lift soil into the air where it will be blown away .
For this reason , a windbreaks is best if it has only sixty to eighty percent of the trees and plants needed to make a solid line . An easy role to remember is that windbreaks can protect areas up to ten times the height of the tallest trees in the windbreaks .
These should be at least two lines in each windbreak . One line should be large trees . The second line , right next to it , can be shorter trees and other plants with leaves . Locally grown trees and plants are best for windbreaks .
1.What is the best title for the passage?
| A.Building a windbreak to protect soil |
B.Building a windbreak to protect crops |
| C.Using a windbreak to improve grains |
D.Using a windbreak to improve plants |
2.In the fifth paragraph the author tells us windbreaks______.
| A.do not work at all |
B.do not stop wind fully |
| C.will not take place |
D.will not allow wind to pass through |
3.According to the passage , which of the following statement is wrong ?
A.Windbreaks are barriers .
B.Windbreaks can be used to make fences .
C.In general , there are two lines in all in every windbreak .
D.Windbreaks can protect areas .
You wake up in the morning , the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time . Then the telephone rings , you say hello , and the drama starts . The person on the other end has a depressing (令人沮丧的)tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to . Are you still in a wonderful mood ?Impossible !
Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness . It may not change what you think , but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time .
Life brings ups and downs , but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer . They only feel glad when they make others feel bad . No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect .
When you communicate with positive people , your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted . When the dagger of a negative person is put in you , you have the heavy feeling that all in all , brings you down .
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people . This could be a co-worker , or a relative . In this case , say what needs to be said as little as possible , Some times it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person , but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that .
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized . The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to you throughout the rest of your day ,which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness . Life is too short to feel negative . Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible .
1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to ______.
| A.make a comparison |
B.offer an evidence |
| C.introduce a topic |
D.describe a daily scence |
2.How can negative people have effect on us ?
| A.By influencing our emotion . |
B.By telling us the nature of life . |
| C.By changing our way of thinking . |
D.By comparing their attitude to life with ours . |
3. Some negative people base their happiness on .
| A.other people’s pity for them |
B.making other people unhappy |
| C.building up a positive attitude |
D.other people’s respect for them |
4.According to the passage , to reduce negative people’s influence on us , we are advised .
A.to change negative people’s attitude to life
B.to show our dissatisfaction to negative people
C.to make negative people feel ashamed of themselves
D.to communicate with negative people as little as possible
How Much to Tip
You’re out to dinner . The food is delicious and the service is fine . You decide to leave a big fat tip . Why ? The answer may not be as simple as you think .Tipping , psychologists have found , is not just about service . Instead , studies have shown that tipping can be affected by psychological reactions to a series of different factors from the waiter’s choice of words , to how they carry themselves while taking orders , to the bill’s total . Even how much waiters remind customers of themselves can determine how much change they pocket by the end of the night .“Studies before have shown that mimicry brings into positive feelings for the mimicker ,”wrote Rick van Baaren , a social psychology professor . “ There studies show that people who are being mimicked become more generous toward the person who mimics thorn .”
So Rick van Baaren divided 59 waiters into two groups . He requested that half serve with a phrase such as “ Coming up ! ” Those in the other half were instructed to repeat to orders and preferences back to the customers . Rick van Baaren then compared their take home . The results were clear－it plays to mimic your customers . The copycat waiters earned almost double the amount of tips to the other group .
Leonard Green and Joe Myerson , psychologists at Washington University in St . Louis found the generosity of a tipper may be limited by his bill . After research on the 1,000 tips left for waiters , cab drivers , hair stylists , they found tip percentages in these three areas dropped as customers’bills went up . In fact , tip percentages appear to plateau when bills topped ＄100 and a bill for ＄200 made the worker gain no bigger percentage tip than a hill for ＄100 .
“That’s also a point of tipping ,” Green says . “ You have to give a little extra to the cab driver for being there to pack you up and something to the waiter for being there to serve you . If they weren’t there you’d never get any service . So part of the idea of a tip is for just being there .”
1.How many factors affecting the customers’ tipping are mentioned in the passage ?
A.1 B.2 C.3 D.4
2.These studies show that ______.
A.tipping can be affected by physical reactions to many different waiter’s factors
B.people who are being mimicked usually tip less to the person who mimics them
C.the mimic waiters can get almost twice as much money as the other group
D.mimicry makes the mimicker feel bad
3.According to the passage , which of the following will be likely to show the right change of the tip percentages ?
4.We know from the passage that the writer seems to ______.
A.object to Mr Green’s idea about tipping
B.think part of Mr Green’s explanation is reasonable
C.give his generous tip to waiters very often
D.support the opinions of Mr Green and Rick van Baaren about tipping