The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (一度时髦的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” — and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer — which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet — adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear — popular in the US and the UK — that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of The Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.
Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of The Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, former head of the Language Center at King’s College London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBCMagazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便).” Adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western world is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBCMagazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend unavoidably disappeared.People use iPlayer to _________.
| A．listen to music | B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online | D．read newspapers |
We can infer that The Independent’s “i” is aimed at _________.
| A．young readers | B．old readers |
| C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are _________.
| A．portable | B．environmentally friendly |
| C．advanced | D．recyclable |
The writer suggests that _________.
| A．“i” products are often of high quality |
| B．iTeddy is a living bear |
| C．the letter “b” replaces the letter “i” to name the products |
| D．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown. Some sociologists suggest that one little – noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner.
Before the appearance of television seats, the American dinner was a big event for the family. In many homes dinner time may be the only time when everyone got together. A typical dinner was usually in three stages. In the preparation stage, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put the last touches on the roast. In the eating stage, family members shared the day’s experiences and more than food was consumed. In this stage families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family solidarity（团结） was strengthened. In the cleaning – up stage, children or Father again gave their hands, so that their significance to the home community was clear. Unfortunately, all of these have been erased by a product—the television set.
By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty minutes long. The speed – up of this once – leisurely experiences is clearly connected to the overall pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners—meals designed to be consumed between the opening and closing credits of a half – hour program. The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife.According to the passage, the American family is now threatened by .
| A．poverty | B．having few children | C．poor living conditions | D．separation |
In the past, Americans tended to .
| A．spend more time eating their food at dinner table |
| B．eat more food than they have today |
| C．spend more time talking about their day’s experience at dinner table |
| D．talk so much that they forgot to eat |
The shortening of the dinner time in America is related to .
| A．the TV programs | B．the pace of modern life |
| C．the wide use of household appliances | D．the popularity of fast food |
The best title for this passage might be .
| A．Talk At Dinner Table | B．TV Dinner |
| C．Pace Of Modern Life | D．Problems Caused By TV |
My wife and I spent two weeks in London last year. We went there in the autumn. We think it is the best season to visit England. The weather is usually good and there aren’t too many tourists in October.
We stayed in a small hotel in the West End. It was convenient as we did most of our sightseeing on foot. Taxis were too expensive, we couldn’t understand the bus routes, and my wife didn’t like traveling under the ground. She said it made her feel sick.
We went to look at the places which all tourists visit. We saw Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery. We went shopping in Oxford Street and spent too much money. What we liked most, though, was going to the theatre. We didn’t have the chance to see such wonderful plays at home. A lot of people say English food is bad. We didn’t think so. It is true that most of the restaurants are French or Italian or Chinese, but we had some very good meals.
In fact, we enjoyed our holiday so much that we have already booked again for this year. We are going to take our umbrellas, though. I’m sure we’ll need them sometimes.The couple chose a small hotel in the West End to stay in because _________.
| A．taxis were too expensive | B．they could go sightseeing on foot |
| C．the underground made the wife feel sick | D．all the above |
The couple had some difficulty in ________.
| A．booking in the hotel | B．finding the bus routes |
| C．going sightseeing on foot | D．having meals |
Generally speaking, the couple _________the trip to London.
| A．were satisfied with | B．disliked |
| C．were a bit unhappy about | D．regretted |
Which of the following is NOT true about the couple?
| A．They thought English food was bad. |
| B．They will visit London again. |
| C．They visited London last October. |
| D．They didn’t take their umbrella last year. |
One silly question I simply can’t understand is "How do you feel?" Usually the question I asked of a man’s action－a man on the go, walking along the street or busily working at his desk. So what do you expect him to say? He’ll probably say," Fine, I’m all right," but you’ve put a bug in his ear. ——Maybe now he’s not sure. If you are a good friend, you may have seen something in his face, or his walk, that he overlooked(忽略)that morning. It starts him worrying a little. First thing you know, he looks in a mirror to see if everything is all right, while you go merrily on your way asking someone else. "How do you feel?"
Every question has its time and place. It’s perfectly acceptable, for example, to ask "How do you feel?" if you’re visiting a close friend in hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying take a train, or sitting at his desk working, it’s no time to ask him that silly question.
When George Bernard Shaw, the famous writer of plays, was in his eighties, someone asked him, "How do you feel?" Shaw put him in his place. "When you reach my age," he said, "either you feel all right or you’re dead."According to the writer, greetings such as "how do you feel"_______.
| A．show one’s consideration for others. | B．are a good way to make friends |
| C．are proper to ask a man in action | D．generally make one feel uneasy. |
The question "How do you feel" seems to be correct and suitable when asked of________.
| A．a man working at his desk. | B．a person having lost a close friend. |
| C．a stranger who looks worried. | D．a friend who is ill. |
The writer seems to feel that a busy man should _______.
| A．be praised for his efforts. | B．never be asked any question. |
| C．not be bothered(烦扰). | D．be discouraged from working so hard. |
You’ve put a bug in his ear means that you’ve ________.
| A．made him laugh. | B．shown concern for him |
| C．made fun of him | D． given him some kind of warning. |
根据短文内容，在选项中选出填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。（此题答案写在答题纸上）
If you can speak English, you know a lot of English words. You can read, speak and understand. ___.
All over the world, people “talk” with their hands, with their heads and with their eyes.___ . When Indians meet, they put their hands together. What do Americans and British people do?
Americans are more informal than the British. They like to be friendly. __When they sit down, they like to relax in their chairs and make themselves comfortable.
British people are more reserved. They take more time to make friends. They like to know you before they ask you something of your home.
When British and American people meet someone for the first time, they shake hands. _. Women sometimes kiss their women friends, and men kiss women friends. When a man meets a man friend, he just smiles, and say “Hello”. _
.Even fathers and sons do not often kiss each other.
| A．They are not as friendly as the Americans |
| B．Men do not kiss each other or shake hands. |
| C．They do not usually shake hands with people they know well. |
| D．Only a few people use body language |
E. But there is another kind of language you need to know—body language.
F. They ask questions and they talk easily about themselves.
G. When Japanese people meet, they bow.
Body and Food
Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment (营养).The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away ”is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form, believing that these will make them healthy.
But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?
In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening,“Your body has close relations with the food you eat.” It really means that ______.
| A．all kinds of food you eat can be made into your body |
| B．your body is made up of the food you eat |
| C．what you eat has great effect on your health |
| D．the more you eat, the fitter you will feel |
The old saying referred to in the passage tells us that ______.
| A．eating apples regularly does lots of good to our health |
| B．the apple is the best among all kinds of fruits |
| C．apples can take the place of doctors |
| D．an apple is a sure cure for illness |
From the passage we can draw a conclusion that if we want to keep healthy, we should ______.
| A．only eat an apple a day |
| B．eat properly |
| C．take as many vitamin pills as possible |
| D．throw something into our stomachs slowly and carefully |