Sports account for a growing amount of income made on the sales of commercial time by television companies. Many television companies have used sports to attract viewers from particular sections of the general public, and then they have sold audiences to advertisers.
An attraction of sport programs for the major U.S. media companies is that events are often held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons—the slowest time periods of the week for general television viewing. Sport events are the most popular weekend programs, especially among male viewers who may not watch much television at other times during the week. This means the television networks are able to sell advertising time at relatively high prices during what normally would be dead time for programming.
Media corporations also use sports to attract commercial sponsors that might take their advertising dollars elsewhere if television stations did not report certain sports. The people in the advertising departments of major corporations realize that sports attract male viewers. They also realize that most business travelers are men and that many men make family decisions on the purchases of computers, cars and life insurance.
Golf and tennis are special cases for television programming. These sports attract few viewers, and the ratings are unusually low. However, the audience for these sports is attractive to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, including many lawyers and business managers. This is why television reporting of golf and tennis is sponsored by companies selling high-priced cars, business and personal computer, and holiday trips .This is also why the networks continue to carry these programs regardless of low ratings. Advertisers are willing to pay high fees to reach high-income consumers and those managers who make decisions to buy thousands of “company cars” and computer. With such viewers, these programs don’t need high ratings to stay on the air.Television sport programs on weekend afternoons .
| A．result in more sport events |
| B．get more viewers to play sports |
| C．bring more money to the television networks |
| D．make more people interested in television |
Why would weekend afternoons become dead time without sport programs?
| A．Because there would be few viewers |
| B．Because the advertisers would be off work |
| C．Because television programs would go slowly |
| D．Because viewers would pay less for watching television |
In many families, men make decisions on .
| A．holiday trips | B．sports viewing |
| C．television shopping | D．expensive purchases |
The ratings are not important for golf and tennis programs because .
| A．their advertisers are carmakers |
| B．their viewers are attracted by sports |
| C．their advertisers target at rich people |
| D．their viewers can afford expensive cars |
.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Television ratings are determined by male viewers. |
| B．Sports are gaining importance in advertising on television. |
| C．Rich viewers contribute most to television companies. |
| D．Commercial advertisers are the major sponsors of sport events. |
The amazing image shows the world’s largest ever cruise ship, complete with beach pool, shopping mall, rock-climbing walls, outdoor amphitheater（圆形剧场）and New York-style loft suites（套间）．The “traveling city” is being built on dry-docks in Finland by Royal Caribbean International, and she is named Oasis of the Seas．
Almost 1,200 feet long, 154 feet wide and rising 213 feet above the water line, the Oasis of the Seas will be able to host 3,000 crew to service every passenger’s need．In addition to the size, the Oasis of the Seas will also be the first ship that attracts people by the cruise line’s new neighborhood concept: 7 distinct themed areas, including Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone．Of all these areas, the excellent zone will be “Central Park”．
Protected from the weather by a clear screen to let in the light, the Central Park area will be themed on Caribbean plants and leaves reflecting the area which the ship will eventually cruise in．And the park zone will have different restaurants, bars and boutique shops, bringing the idea of “floating city” to reality．
In addition, Oasis of the Seas will also include a rock wall, over 15 restaurants and bars, a casino(娱乐场), a theatre, two night-clubs and the largest freshwater pool on any cruise liner．
“Royal Caribbean is proud to introduce a number of ‘firsts’ that the world has never seen before,” said Adam Goldstein, “Oasis of the Seas is the ultimate expression of the creativity and imagination found on all of our ships, providing guests with a collection of experiences that will offer an incredible cruise vacation．”In the passage, Oasis of the Seas refers to ______．
| A．a traveling city | B．a cruise ship | C．a deserted island | D．an ocean park |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______．
| A．the Oasis of the Seas hasn’t been built well so far |
| B．7 distinct themed areas are being built on dry-docks |
| C．the “traveling city” can hold 3,000 passengers |
| D．the “traveling city” is a beauty spot |
The main idea of the third paragraph would be _____．
| A．what the Central Park is | B．the location of the Central Park |
| C．the features of the Central Park | D．the theme of the Central Park |
The Oasis of the Seas includes a number of ‘firsts’ EXCEPT _____．
| A．the world’s largest ever cruise ship |
| B．its way of attracting tourists |
| C．the largest freshwater pool on any cruise liner |
| D．its most delicious food in the world |
What kind of life do you want? And what would you do if you were born with an illness like Cystic Fibrosis (囊胞性纤维症)?Charley was such a man．He was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a serious disease of the muscles．Without properly functioning muscles, eventually you’re unable to breathe．However, Charley was fortunate to have many care- givers, including his wife who helped him a lot．He became an engineer and helped plan structures that would allow streets and buildings to give better access to the disabled．Charley couldn’t live without a wheelchair, and could only use one hand to move it．His speech was also difficult to understand．However, Charley had a sharp mind．He could see, hear, use a few fingers and think, and that was enough to allow him to make an important contribution to his city．He made those around him more aware of their physical health．
In the movie JackandJillvs．theWorld, Jill is a 25-year-old girl who has just arrived in New York City．She has Cystic Fibrosis, but she doesn’t let it control her life．She’s happy, in fact! She meets a young man, Jack, and changes his life forever．One day she has to tell him about her illness．He’s angry and disappointed, but later he realizes that it’s their relationship that matters．They decide to be together, and live as happily as possible．
Charley’s story is true．Jack and Jill’s story is made up．How do you want to live your life? Use your imagination, and enjoy your life and all its wonders．Create your picture of a happy life．The writer uses the two questions at the beginning of the passage to _____．
| A．test the readers’ attitude about life |
| B．draw the readers’ attention to the topic |
| C．invite the readers to answer them |
| D．tell readers how to make a living |
About Charley, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．He is a father of two boys． |
| B．He can live well without wheelchair． |
| C．He is a lucky because many people give him care． |
| D．He can speak as others do． |
From the passage, we can infer that _____．
| A．health is the origin of happiness |
| B．the attitude to life decides your happiness |
| C．Cystic Fibrosis a serious disease of the muscles |
| D．Charley’s story is made up |
The film JackandJill vs．theWorld is set in _____．
| A．three young people | B．New York City |
| C．Paris | D．a place that we don’t know |
When I was going home to India last year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from China．
When India had not opened up its markets to the world, I carried suitcase loads of dark glasses and jeans．Thankfully, we can get all these anywhere in India now．
Still, her answer surprised me: “Green tea．”
As long as I can remember she didn’t even drink Indian tea ．
I dutifully bought a big packet of Longjing and headed home to hear the story．My mother and her brother, both regular newspaper readers, believed that Chinese green tea was the wonder drug for all illnesses．
At the turn of the century, China was not really familiar to the average Indian．It was a strange country．
How things change! And how soon!
Now every town of any size seems to have a “China Market”．And everyone is talking about China．
The govemment of Indin has planned to send a team to China to see how things are done．A minister once said that India must open the doors for more foreign investment(投资)and such a step would “work wonders as it did for China”．
But it’s a two-way street．I just heard about a thousand Shenzhen office workers who have gone to Bangalore to train in software．Meanwhile, all the Indian IT majors are setting up a strong presence in China．
No wonder that trade, which was only in the millions just ten years ago, is expected to hit about US $15 billion for last year and US $20 billion by 2008, a goal set by both governments．
No wonder, my colleague wrote some weeks ago about this being the Sino-Indian(中印)century as the two countries started on January 1 the Sino-Indian Friendship Year．
But what is still a wonder to me is my mother drinking Chinese tea．According to the passage, the author left _____ for ______．
| A．India; China | B．China; India |
| C．China; Longjing | D．India; Shenzhen |
The reason why the writer’s mother asked for Chinese green tea is that_____．
| A．she had a son working in China | B．she believed it had a curing effect |
| C．she enjoyed Chinese products | D．she was tired of Indian tea |
The underlined part “it’s a two-way street” in Paragraph 10 probably means ____．
| A．The exchanges between Indian and China benefit both． |
| B．China and India have different traffic rules． |
| C．Tea trade works wonders in both India and China． |
| D．Chinese produces are popular in both China and India． |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______．
| A．the author was concerned for his mother’s health |
| B．the author was in favor of drinking Chinese green tea |
| C．the author was surprised at China’s recent development |
| D．the author was curious about the growth of India’s IT industry |
All too often , a choice that seems sustainable（可持续的）turns out on closer examination to be problematic. Probably the best example is the rush to produce ethanol（乙醇）for fuel from corn . Corn is a renewable resource —you can harvest it and grow more, almost limitlessly. So replacing gas with corn ethanol seems like a great idea.
One might get a bit more energy out of the ethanol than that used to make it, which could still make ethanol more sustainable than gas generally, but that’s not the end of the problem. Using corn to make ethanol means less corn is left to feed animals and people, which drives up the cost of food. That result leads to turning the fallow land — including, in some cases, rain forest in places such as Brazil — into farmland, which in turn gives off lots of carbon dioxide（CO2）into the air. Finally, over many years, the energy benefit from burning ethanol would make up for the forest loss. But by then, climate change would have progressed so far that it might not help.
You cannot really declare any practice “sustainable” until you have done a complete lift-cycle analysis of its environmental（环境的）costs. Even then, technology and public policy keep developing, and that development can lead to unforeseen and undesired results. The admirable goal of living sustainable requires plenty of thought on an ongoing basis.What might directly cause the loss of the forest according to the text?
| A．The growing demand for energy to make ethanol. |
| B．The increasing carbon dioxide in the air. |
| C．The greater need for farmland. |
| D．The big change in weather. |
The underline word “it” in the second paragraph refers to
| A．the energy benefit | B．the forest loss |
| C．climate change | D．burning ethanol |
The author thinks that replacing gas with corn ethanol is
| A．impractical | B．acceptable | C．admirable | D．useless |
What does the author mainly discuss in the text?
| A．Technology. | B．Sustainability. |
| C．Ethanol energy. | D．Environmental protection. |
Cities alarmed by deaths and injuries of pedestrians are taking efforts to make crosswalks safer for people on foot, especially seniors and children who need more time to cross streets.
A pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident in the USA every 110 minutes；one is injured every nine minutes, according to official date. Crosswalk can be especially dangerous for the elderly. Among people 70 and older, 36% of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred in crosswalks, compared with 21% of those younger than 70, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Federal Highway Administration（FHWA）advises that next year states increase by nearly 15% the amount of time traffic lights provide for pedestrians to cross the street after the flashing orange hand appears .
FHWA spokesman Doug Hecox says reasons for the change include an aging population that needs more time to cross, health-conscious Americans walking more, children encouraged to walk to prevent getting overweight and high gas prices pushing people to walk instead of drive.
Pedestrian deaths went down by 12% from 5,449 in 1996 to 4,784 in 2006. But among those in 2006, 471 were killed in crosswalks, down slightly from 488 ten years earlier, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says.Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Among 100 pedestrian deaths there were 21 people younger than 70. |
| B．Old people are more likely to meet with accidents in crosswalks. |
| C．Traffic accidents killed more old people than young people. |
| D．About seven traffic accidents happened per hour. |
What is FHWA’s suggestion to states?
| A．Fixing more traffic lights. |
| B．Providing more crosswalks. |
| C．Giving pedestrians more time to cross streets. |
| D．Increasing the time before the orange lights appear. |
What’s the cause of the crosswalk safety problem according to the test?
| A．There’re many cars and buses on the road. |
| B．Pedestrians are careless. |
| C．Crosswalks are crowded. |
| D．Drivers don’t give way. |
The report from NHTSA suggests that
| A．fewer people were injured in crosswalks |
| B．crosswalk safety has been greatly improved |
| C．much has been done to reduce traffic accidents |
| D．pedestrian deaths in crosswalk remain a serious problem |