ForseveraldaysIsawlittleofMr.R-优题课

Celebrity endorsements
Despite the fact that companies believe celebrities had a lot of pull with regard to the buying trends of consumers, researchers have discovered that this does not seem to be the case. British and Swiss researchers carried out a study showing that advertisements made by celebrities like David Beckham and Scarlett Johansson are not as effective as those by ordinary people.
In a sample of 298 students, researchers presented a magazine advertisement for a digital camera that was endorsed (为…做广告宣传) by a fictional student claiming the camera was “hot” and his “preferred choice”. The same advertisement was shown to other students, but with a difference: The camera was endorsed by a famous person in Germany.
While the students said that both advertisements were beneficial, the one made by the student topped the celebrity one if students aimed to impress others with their purchases (购买). More than half of the students, who admitted purchasing products that would impress others, said they were influenced by the student’s advertisement. Only 20％ said the celebrity one would affect their buying decision.
Professor Brett Martin of the University of Bath’s School of Management, explained that the findings could be used not only in Germany, but in other countries as well. “ Our research questions whether celebrities are the best ways to sell products,” said Prof Martin.“Celebrities can be effective but we found that many people were more convinced by an endorsement from a fictional fellow student. This is because many people feel a need to keep up with the Jones when they buy.”
Some companies think the celebrities endorsement ．

A．is popular with the consumers

B．can pull all the consumers into the shops

C．can affect the consumers’ purchasing

D．is as effective as an endorsement from common people

Which of the following ads would be more effective to common consumers, according to
the experiment?
An ad featuring lovely pandas.
An ad made by David Beckham.
An ad made by fictional common people.
An ad with beautiful natural scenery.
The underlined words “the Jones” in the last paragragh refer to“”．

A．someone called Jones	B．common people
C．the Jones family	D．celebrities

We can infer from the passage that．

A．celebrities cheat consumers in advertisement

B．the researchers here are against celebrity endorsement

C．the student’s ads are more reliable than those made by celebrities

D．companies needn’t spend so much money on celebrity endorsement

We can probably read the article in．

A．a local newspaper	B．a science report
C．an academic journal	D．a textbook

In the United States, friendships can be close, constant, intense, generous, and real, yet fade away in a short time if circumstances (环境) change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greeting for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while --- then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship where it left off and are delighted.
In the States, you can feel free to visit people’s homes, share their holidays, enjoy their children and their lives without fear that you are taking on a lasting obligation. Do not hesitate to accept hospitality because you cannot give it in return. No one will expect you to do so for they know you are far from home. Americans will enjoy welcoming you and be pleased if you accept their hospitality easily.
Once you arrive there, the welcome will be full and warm and real. Most visitors find themselves readily invited into many homes there. In some countries it is considered inhospitable to entertain at home, offering what is felt as “merely” home cooked food, not “doing something” for your guest. It is felt that restaurant entertaining shows more respect and welcome. Or for various other reasons, such as crowded space, language difficulties, or family custom, outsiders are not invited into homes.
In the United States, both methods are used, but it is often considered more friendly to invite a person to one’s home than to go to a public place, except in purely business relationships. So, if your host or hostess brings you home, do not feel that you are being shown inferior (差的) treatment.
Don’t feel neglected (被忽视) if you do not find flowers awaiting you in your hotel room either. Flowers are very expensive there, hotel delivery (递送，投递) is uncertain, arrival times are delayed, changed, or canceled – so flowers are not customarily (通常) sent as a welcoming touch. Please do not feel unwanted! Outward signs vary in different lands; the inward welcome is what matters, and this will be real.
In the United States, you will find friendships __________ if circumstances change.

A．die suddenly	B．pass away
C．disappear gradually	D．last forever

Americans _________ their foreign friends to make a return for their hospitality.

A．ask

B．wish

C．never allow

D．don’t expect

In some other countries, giving a dinner party at home is considered _______ than in a restaurant.

A．less formal	B．less hospitable
C．more natural	D．more popular

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A．Flowers are available at all time.

B．Flowers are expensive.

C．Flowers are signs of outward welcome.

D．Flowers are not necessarily sent to guests.

Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A．American Hospitality	B．American Friendships
C．American Invitation	D．American Welcome

Remember how great exercise was when you were a little kid? Back then，racing around the playground or skipping rope for hours，you weren't thinking fitness，you were thinking entertainment．But in this age of high-tech home equipment and underused(未充分利用的)gym memberships，the simple joy of jumping rope has been forgotten．Rediscovering it will give you a total-body exercise you can find．
Although considered an excellent form of exercise，jumping rope has never gained widespread acceptance because of two fundamental reasons．First，most people recognize jumping rope as an excellent form of cardiovascular (心血管的) exercise，but they also believe that it is simply too difficult．In other words，they don't think they'll be able to continue jumping for the near 20 minutes that it takes to achieve a beneficial physical result．Second, many view it as somewhat boring and too repetitive-not as something fun or enjoyable．
As a matter of fact，jumping rope can be great fun if you find a proper way to practise it．Instead of doing the usual two-foot bounce over and over again，people good at rope-jumping often change their pattern every 10 or 20 jumps．A single bounce，a double bounce，a skip，a knee-up，side swings，as well as a variety of other easy-to-learn free-style rope-jumping．
Now researchers are learning that jumping rope also prepares the brain for learning．It is an exercise allowing both brain hemispheres(半球)to perform in parallel(并行地)to each other．In short，jumping rope can be a life-long activity requiring little equipment，time and space，yet leading to a much healthier life．
From the first paragraph we learn that_______ ．

A．all people now have more advanced equipment

B．jumping rope has disappeared from people's memories

C．racing around the playground was preferred

D．people now like to have exercise in a gym

Rope jumping has not spread widely because_______ ．

A．it benefits the cardiovascular system

B．it requires little equipment，time and space

C．it is neither easy nor enjoyable

D．it is considered boring

The first sentence in the 3rd paragraph implies_____ ．

A．there are many ways to follow

B．the usual way should not be used

C．the easiest way is always the best

D．there is only one proper way to follow

According to the researchers, jumping rope _____.

A．only prepares the brain for learning.

B．is suitable for students only

C．helps both brain hemispheres work together

D．can be dangerous for old people

What is the author's attitude towards rope jumping?

A．He is arguing against it.	B．He is sitting on the fence of it.
C．He is in favor of it.	D．He is not clear about it.

He came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in bed and I saw he looked ill. He was shivering, his face was white, and he walked slowly as though it ached to move.
“What's the matter, Schatz?”
“I've got a headache.”
“You better go back to bed.”
“No. I'm all right.”
“You go to bed. I'll see you when I'm dressed.”
But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a very sick and miserable boy of nine years. When I put my hand on his forehead I knew he had a fever.
“You go up to bed,” I said, “You're sick.”
“I'm all right,” he said.
When the doctor came he took the boy's temperature.
“What's is it?” I asked him.
“One hundred and two.”
Downstairs, the doctor left three different medicines in different colored capsules with instructions for giving them. One was to bring down the fever, another a purgative(泻药), the third to overcome an acid condition. The germs of influenza（流感）can only exist in an acid condition, he explained. He seemed to know all about influenza and said there was nothing to worry about if the fever did not go above one hundred and four degrees. This was a light epidemic(传染病；传染性的) of flu and there was no danger if you avoided pneumonia（肺炎）.
Back in the room I wrote the boy's temperature down and made a note of the time to give the various capsules.
“Do you want me to read to you?”
“All right. If you want to, “ said the boy. His face was very white and there were dark areas under his eyes. He lay still in the bed and seemed very detached（超然的；冷漠的）from what was going on.
I read aloud from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates（海盗）;but I could see he was not following what I was reading.
“How do you feel, Schatz?” I asked him.
“Just the same, so far,” he said.
I sat at the foot of the bed and read to myself while I waited for it to be time to give another capsule. It would have been natural for him to go to sleep, but when I looked up he was looking at the foot of the bed, looking very strangely.
“Why don't you try to sleep? I'll wake you up for the medicine.”
“I'd rather stay awake.”
After a while he said to me, “You don't have to stay in here with me, Papa, if it bothers you.”
“It doesn't bother me.”
“No, I mean you don't have to stay if it's going to bother you.”
I thought perhaps he was a little lightheaded and after giving him the prescribed capsules at eleven o'clock I went out with my gun and the young hunting dog….I killed two quail(鹌鹑), and missed five, and started back pleased to have found a covey of quail close to the house and happy there were so many left to find on another day.
At the house they said the boy had refused to let anyone come into the room.
“You can't come in,” he said. “You mustn't get what I have.”
I went up to him and found him in exactly the position I had left him, white-faced, but with the tops of his cheeks flushed（发红）by the fever, staring still, as he had stared, at the foot of the bed.
I took his temperature.
“What is it?”
“Something like a hundred,” I said. It was one hundred and two and four tenths.
“It was a hundred and two,” he said.
“Who said so?”
“The doctor.”
“Your temperature is all right,” I said. “It's nothing to worry about.”
“I don't worry,” he said, “but I can't keep from thinking.”
“Don't think,” I said. “Just take it easy.”
“I'm taking it easy,” he said and looked straight ahead, He was evidently holding tight onto himself about something.
“Take this with water.”
“Do you think it will do any good?”
“Of course it will.”
I sat down and opened the Pirate book and began to read, but I could see he was not following, so I stopped.
“About what time do you think I'm going to die?” he asked.
“What?”
“About how long will it be before I die?”
“You aren't going to die. What's the matter with you? “
“Oh, yes, I am, I heard him say a hundred and two.”
“People don't die with a fever of one hundred and two. That's a silly way to talk.”
“I know they do. At school in France the boys told me you can't live with forty-four degrees. I've got a hundred and two.”
He had been waiting to die all day, ever since nine o'clock in the morning.
“You poor Schatz,” I said. “Poor old Schatz. It's like miles and kilometers. You aren't going to die. That's different thermometer. On that thermometer thirty-seven is normal. On this kind it's ninety-eight.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” I said, “It's like miles and kilometers. You know, like how many kilometers we make when we do seventy miles in the car?”
“Oh,” he said.
But his gaze at the foot of the bed relaxed slowly. The hold over himself relaxed too, finally, and the next day it was very slack(松驰的) and he cried very easily at little things that were of no importance.
The author writes about the doctor’s visit in order to _____.

A．show the doctor’s knowledge about influenza and its treatment

B．show the boy’s illness was quite serious

C．create a situation of misunderstanding around which to build a story

D．show the father was very much concerned about the boy’s illness

The pronoun “it” in “Papa, if it bothers you” (line 41) refers to _____.

A．the boy’s high temperature

B．the father giving the medicine to the boy

C．the father staying with the boy

D．the boy’s death

It can be inferred from the story that it is _____ by the time the father gets home from hunting.

A．early in the afternoon

B．close to evening

C．at noon

D．late in the morning

From the story we know that the boy kept tight control over himself because _____.

A．he did not want to be a bother to others

B．he wanted to recover quickly so that he could go hunting with his father

C．he was afraid that he would die if he lost control over himself

D．he thought he was going to die and he must show courage in the face of death

That the boy cried very easily at little things of no importance the next day suggests that _____.

A．he couldn’t control his emotions when he finally relaxed

B．his father would go out hunting without him if he didn’t cry

C．something went wrong with his brain after the fever

D．he often complained about unimportant things as a spoiled boy

The theme of the story is _____.

A．death is something beyond a child’s comprehension

B．to be calm and controlled in the face of death is a mark of courage

C．misunderstanding can occur even between father and son

D．misunderstanding can sometimes lead to an unexpected effect

WASHINGTON---Think you’re savvy about food safety? That you wash your hands well, scrub away germs, cook your meat properly?
Guess again.
Scientists put cameras in the kitchens of 100 families in Logan, Utah. What was caught on tape in this middle-class, well-educated college town suggests why food poisoning hits so many Americans.
People skipped soap when hand-washing. Used the same towel to wipe up raw meat juice as to dry their hands. Made a salad without washing the lettuce. Undercooked the meat loaf. One even tasted the marinade in which bacteria-ridden raw fish had soaked.
Not to mention the mom who handled raw chicken and then fixed her infant a bottle without washing her hands.
Or another mom who merely rinsed(冲洗) her baby’s juice bottle after it fell into raw eggs---no soap against the salmonella(沙门氏菌) that can lurk(潜伏) in eggs.
“Shocking,” was Utah State University nutritionist Janet Anderson’s reaction.
Specialists call this typical of the average U.S. household: Everybody commits at least some safety sins(罪恶) when they are hurried, distracted by fussy children or ringing phones, simply not thinking about germs. Even Anderson made changes in her kitchen after watching the tapes.
The Food and Drug Administration funded Anderson’s $50,000 study to detect how cooks slip up. The goal is to improve consumers’ knowledge of how to protect themselves from the food poisoning that strikes 76 million Americans each year.
“One of the great barriers in getting people to change is they think they’re doing such a good job already,” said FDA consumer research chief Alan Levy.
Surveys show most Americans blame restaurants for food-borne illnesses. Asked if they follow basic bacteria-fighting tips---listed on the Internet at www.fightbac.org---most insist they’re careful in their kitchens.
Levy says most food poisonings probably occur at home. The videotapes suggest why. People have no idea that they’re messing up, Anderson said. “You just go in the kitchen, and it’s something you don’t think about.”
She described preliminary(初步的) study results at a food meeting last week. Having promised the families anonymity, she didn’t show the tapes.
For $50 and free groceries, families agreed to be filmed. Their kitchens looked clean and presumably(perhaps) they were on their best behavior, but they didn’t know it was a safety study. Hoping to see real-life hygiene, scientists called the experiment “market research” on how people cooked a special recipe.
Scientists bought ingredients for a salad plus either Mexican meat loaf, marinaded halibut or herb-breaded chicken breasts with mustard sauce---recipes designed to catch safety slip-ups.
Cameras started rolling as the cooks put away the groceries.
There was mistake No. 1: Only a quarter stored raw meat and seafood on the refrigerator’s bottom shelf so other foods don’t get contaminated(污染) by dripping juices.
Mistake No. 2: Before starting to cook, only 45 percent washed their hands. Of those, 16 percent didn’t use soap. You’re supposed to wash hands often while cooking, especially after handling raw meat. But on average, each cook skipped seven times that Anderson said they should have washed. Only a third consistently used soap---many just rinsed and wiped their hands on a dish towel. That dish towel became Anderson’s nightmare. Using paper towels to clean up raw meat juice is safest. But dozens wiped the countertop(台面板) with that cloth dish towel---further spreading germs the next time they dried their hands.
Thirty percent didn’t wash the lettuce; others placed salad ingredients on meat-contaminated counters.
Scientists checked the finished meal with thermometers, and Anderson found “alarming” results: 35 percent who made the meat loaf undercooked it, 42 percent undercooked the chicken and 17 percent undercooked the fish.
Must you use a thermometer? Anderson says just because the meat isn’t pink doesn’t always mean it got hot enough to kill bacteria.
Anderson’s study found gaps in food-safety campaigns. FDA’s “Fight Bac” antibacterial program doesn’t stress washing vegetables. Levy calls those dirty dish towels troubling; expect more advice stressing paper towels.
Anderson’s main message: “If people would simply wash their hands and clean food surfaces after handling raw meat, so many of the errors would be taken care of.”
Where did this article most likely come from?

A．The Internet.

B．A newspaper.

C．A Textbook.

D．A brochure.

What is the purpose of Paragraphs 4 through 6?

A．To present the author’s opinion about the study.

B．To explain how the study was conducted.

C．To state the reason for the food safety study.

D．To describe things observed in the study.

What prevents many Americans practicing better food safety in their kitchen?

A．They don’t trust the Food and Drug Administration.

B．They’ve followed basic bacteria-fighting tips on the Internet.

C．They think they are being careful enough already.

D．They believe they are well-informed and well-educated enough.

Which of the following would prevent most cases of food poisoning in the home?

A．Washing hands and cleaning surfaces after handling raw meat.

B．Strictly following recipes and cooking meat long enough.

C．Storing raw meat on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator.

D．Using paper towels t clean up raw meat juice.

What is the main purpose of this article?

A．To discourage people from cooking so much meat at home.

B．To criticize the families who participated in the study.

C．To introduce the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety campaigns.

D．To report the results of a study about the causes of food poisoning.