Would the voice of Amanda Holden saying “your city had talent” encourage you to use a litter bin? Or maybe former Monty Python star Michael Palin telling you no one had expected “the Spanish bin-quisition”？
Organizers of a plan persuading celebrities（名人）to lend their voices to “talking bins”believe it can make a real difference to keeping Britain tidy. They hope that by using humor, they will succeed where fines and warnings have failed in keeping streets and parks clean.
A similar experiment in Sweden found a talking bin received nearly three times as much rubbish as an ordinary one because people were attracted by its quality of being new and unusual value.
Twenty-five specially adapted bins to be installed（安装）in the streets of London and Liverpool next month will use a sound card to play a themed message when litter is placed inside. For example，one near the Royal Opera House will play a “thank-you” message sung by Janis Kelly to the tune of Nessun Dorina. Bins installed in Liverpool will play Beatles-themed messages. For others，Britain’s Got Talent judge Holden is expected to record the message：“This is Amanda, and this city’s got talent.”
The campaign，entitled Bin Thinking, is being organized by art group Sing London. If successful，talking bins could become a familiar feature on Britain’s streets.
Colette Hiller, director of Sing London, said, “ The idea is to reward people in a small way for changing their behavior and raise awareness through a sense of fun.”What is the plan persuading celebrities to lend their voices to “talking bins” aimed at？
| A．Attracting passers’-by attention on celebrities. |
| B．Encouraging people to use the litter bins to keep Britain tidy. |
| C．Making fun of those who won’t keep the streets and parks clean. |
| D．Thanking people for cleaning the litter bins through a sense of fun. |
The following stars’ voices are to be lent to “talking bins” except_________________.
| A．Amanda Holder’ s | B．Michael Palin’s |
| C．Janis Kelly’s | D．Nessun Dorma' s |
We can infer from the text that_________________.
| A．children are most attracted by “talking bins” |
| B．different messages will be played due to different streets |
| C．Britain is the first city where the experiment on “talking bins” was made |
| D．“talking bins” might take the place of ordinary litter bins in Britain |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Lending your voice to “talking bins” |
| B．Sing London art organization |
| C．A campaign named Bin Thinking |
| D．A new experiment on litter bins |
What is homestay? Literally it is a home for you to stay when you are not home. To be specific, homestay provides foreign language students with the opportunity to speak native language outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a local home. Here is what you will experience in our British Homestay Program.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre (Zone 1) as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer smaller accommodation in a more crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
◆Continental Breakfast
◆Breakfast and Dinner
◆Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal(谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host's permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
SelfCatering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a roomonly basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the longstay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.The passage is probably written for_________.
| A．hosts willing to receive foreign students |
| B．English learners applying to live in English homes |
| C．travelers planning to visit families in London |
| D．foreigners hoping to build British culture |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Medical care. | B．Free transport. |
| C．Room cleaning. | D．Physical training. |
According to the passage, what does continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee. | B．Fruit and vegetables. |
| C．Fruit and cold meat. | D．Bread and fruit juice. |
Why do some people choose selfcatering accommodation?
| A．To enjoy much more freedom. |
| B．To enrich their knowledge of English. |
| C．To entertain friends as they like. |
| D．To experience a warmer family atmosphere. |
It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere. When squeezing past someone in a narrow passage, people say "sorry". When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting (交往) with people in UK.
People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customers and retail assistants in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional（例外的）to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.
Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.What is the author's attitude towards English politeness?
| A．He thinks it is artificial. |
| B．He appreciates it very much. |
| C．He thinks little of it. |
| D．He thinks it goes too far. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author think it's unnecessary to say “thank you” to the bus driver. |
| B．In Germany, employers often say “thank you” to employees for their job. |
| C．Germans think it is unnecessary to thank workers because payment is enough. |
| D．German men never treat a woman to dinner. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．English people try to avoid criticizing others in the daily life. |
| B．In Germany, passengers sometimes say “thank you” to bus drivers. |
| C．English drivers often say “thank you” to passengers when they get off the bus. |
| D．Germans are more considerate and polite than Englishmen. |
The author develops the text through the method of .
| A．giving comments |
| B．telling stories |
| C．making comparisons |
| D．giving reasons/examples |
Even with the multimedia excitement of the web. Electronic Mail, email, is the most frequently used application of the Internet. Many people who have a chance to use the Internet at school, home, and work. They use the Internet for no other purposes than to send or receive emails.
It's all very easy. You prepare the message, log onto(登录) the Internet, and send it. The message first goes to your Internet Service Provider's mail server, which in turn sends it to the recipient's(邮件接收者) mail server. On the way your message may go through several servers, each reading the name in order to send it to the right server. The message then remains in the recipient's mail email server until he requests it by “checking his mail”.
The benefits of emails are obvious: mostly it's quick. Also, many people feel that the rules for regular mails don't apply to email, making it less formal, which in turn make email easier to write and send.
It's not just friends and coworkers that are receiving emails. Wherever you look, the Web is providing email addresses. This has made communication between strangers easier than ever. You can read an interesting article online and immediately send the author an email. Anyone who posts his email address on a Web page is saying he wants to receive email.
There are places you can go if you don't know someone's email address. Check out Bigfoot, the Internet Address Finder, or Netscape's Email Directories for more information.
Email is one of the services offered by your Internet Service Provider—a service that you're applying for every month.The passage is about .
| A．the multimedia excitement | B．different websites |
| C．email | D．mail server |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．email is the only application of the internet |
| B．if you want to send and receive emails, all you have to do is to log onto the Internet. |
| C．many people use the Internet only for the purpose of sending and receiving email |
| D．you can send emails to friends and coworkers but you can't make communication between strangers |
If you don't know someone's email address, .
| A．look up in a dictionary |
| B．check on Netscape's Email Directories |
| C．ask your computer teacher |
| D．refer to your textbook |
What can you infer from the fourth paragraph?
| A．Only friends and coworkers send emails. |
| B．It's convenient to communicate between strangers online. |
| C．It's difficult to contact the author on the Internet. |
| D．You can't log onto the Internet except at home. |
If practicing an attitude of gratitude (感激) during the storms of life is too much for you right now, that’s OK. When things are tough, most people have a hard time being thankful. They’re so caught up in what’s wrong in the present moment that they simply can’t see some things are still right.
If that’s true for you, then accept it. You’re going through a particularly difficult or unhappy period of time, and you don’t like it one bit. Very normal, very human. But remember this: there is always something to be grateful for. It may be only a small comfort right now, but it is a start. Make a list of some of the terrible things that didn’t happen. For example:
You’re in debt ... but you’re not homeless.
You lost your job ... but you didn’t lose your health.
You broke your leg … but you didn’t break your neck.
Your mother has Alzheimer’s disease ... but your father doesn’t.
No matter how bad things are, they could always be worse. Start finding gratitude for what might have happened, but didn’t. It does help a lot. Of course, you may not be thankful for everything — but you can always be thankful for something.How many “terrible things that didn’t happen” are listed in this passage?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
The writer thinks it ______ for people to feel unhappy in time of difficulty.
| A．necessary | B．normal |
| C．great | D．helpful |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To discuss ways to make a list of terrible things. |
| B．To explain what is gratitude towards the storms of life. |
| C．To persuade people to be thankful for what didn’t happen. |
| D．To show people different ways to consider their tough situations. |
How is the passage organized?
| A．Explanation—Comparison—Topic |
| B．Argument—Opinion—Discussion |
| C．Comparison—Argument—Explanation |
| D．Introduction—Discussion—Conclusion |
Mark Zukerberg is the founder and CEO of Facebook, an extremely popular social working website that started in the United States.
Now, millions of student users visit Facebook daily and the website is one of the top ten most widely visited sites on the internet worldwide. College and high school students use Facebook to communicate with friends and share both information and pictures for free. The company earns money through advertising.
Many other companies have been rumored (谣传) to be interested in buying Facebook. Just a few years after Mark started the company, he was approached by Terry Semel, who was the CEO of Yahoo. Terry offered Mark one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) to sell Facebook to Yahoo. Mark said no, though. He stands behind his dreams at the very beginning. He knows the value of the company could fall down; however, he is in this to build something unbelievable, not be bought out by another company.
Maybe he was smart. Now Facebook is rumored to be worth billions of dollars and bigger companies, like Microsoft or Google, want a share of the company. Some private firms are also interested. Facebook could sell 15 billion dollars if Mark decides to sell it at all. Perhaps Mark will just keep working from his California office to continue his dream of building something cool.Facebook makes money from ______.
| A．members | B．advertisements |
| C．pictures | D．students |
Terry Semel was the CEO of ______.
| A．Microsoft | B．Facebook | C．Google | D．Yahoo |
The underlined word “this” (Paragraph 3) most probably refers to ______.
| A．buying companies | B．managing Facebook |
| C．sharing information | D．fighting rumors |
Which of the following words best describes Mark Zukerberg according to the passage?
| A．Determined. | B．Humourous. |
| C．Gentle. | D．Selfless. |