Nuclearpowered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia.
The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclearpowered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel(柴油)powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military (军事的) cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in alliance (联盟)military moves.
It will be the first time that a nuclearpowered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War Ⅱ at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclearpowered weapons are based.
“A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage，” said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier.
The 44yearold Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned(废弃核武器) in 2008. The new carrier will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology.
Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the USJapan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region.
“There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense，” said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed.With such a powerful weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens ________.
| A．are aware of its benefits to the country |
| B．are anxious about its potential danger |
| C．are curious about the advanced technology |
| D．are against where the carrier will be based |
The replacement of the aircraft carrier is intended to________.
| A．set up a kind of base in Japan |
| B．strengthen the USJapan military alliance |
| C．show Japan's greater military capability |
| D．get rid of the dated marine weapon |
From the story, we learn that________.
| A．no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers |
| B．Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons |
| C．Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier |
| D．Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier |
By his remark in the last paragraph, the professor means that________.
| A．he is quite confident of their military defense |
| B．he is completely opposed to a new nuclear carrier |
| C．what is needed is far more than a nuclear carrier |
| D．it is unnecessary to guard against the two countries |
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week ago, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers (抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment (公寓房间), I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “ Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? the door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.How did the write feel when she was walking home after work?
| A．Cold and sick | B．Fortunate and helpful |
| C．Satisfied and cheerful | D．Disappointed and helpless |
From the first paragraph, we learn that the write was busy ______.
| A．solving her problem at the bank |
| B．taking part in various city activities |
| C．learning acting in a n evening school |
| D．preparing for the first night show |
On her way home the writer _______.
| A．lost her wallet unknowingly （不知不觉） |
| B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
| C．was robbed of her wallet by an armed man |
| D．found some homeless people following her |
In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
| A．Someone offered to take her back home. |
| B．A red-haired man came to see her. |
| C．She heard someone call her name |
| D．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck. |
From the text, we can infer that the writer _________.
| A．would stop working at night |
| B．would stay on in San Francisco |
| C．would make friends with cleaners |
| D．would give up her job at the bank. |
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Basic Photography
This is an eight-hour course for beginners who want to learn how to use a 35mm camera. The teacher will cover such areas as kinds of film, light, and lenses(镜头). Bring your own 35mm camera to the class.
Course Charge: $150
Jan. 10, 12, 17, 19, Tues. & Thurs. 6-8p.m.
Marianne Adams is a professional photographer whose photographs appear in many magazines.
Understanding Computers
This twelve-hour course is for people who don’t know very much about computers, but who need to learn about them. You will learn what computers are, what they can and can’t do, and how to use them.
Course Charge: $75
Equipment Charge: $10
Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28, Sat. 9-12 a.m.
Joseph Saimders is a professor of computer science at New Urban University. He has over twelve years of experience in the computer field.
Stop Smoking
Do you want to stop smoking? Have you already tried to stop and failed? Now it is the time to stop smoking using the latest methods. You can stop smoking, and this twelve-hour course will help you do it.
Course Charge: $30
Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25 Mon. 4-7 p.m.
Dr.John Goode is a practicing psychologist(心理学家)who has helped hundreds of people stop smoking.
Typing
This course on weekdays is for those who want to type as well as those who want to improve their typing. You are tested in the first class and practice at one of eight different skill levels. This allows you to learn at your own speed. Each program lasts 20 hours. Bring your own paper.
Course Charge: $125
Materials Charge: $25
Two hours each evening for two weeks.
This course is taught by a number of business education teachers who have successfully taught typing courses before.The word “professional” in this advertisement most probably means “_____”
| A．spiritual | B．journalist | C．experienced | D．professor |
The shortest course is _____.
| A．Typing | B．Understanding Computers |
| C．Stop Smoking | D．Basic Photography |
A course which can do something good for your health will cost____.
| A．$30 | B．$50 | C．$10 | D．$125 |
There are typing courses_____.
| A．on Saturdays and Sundays |
| B．from Monday to Friday |
| C．from Monday to Saturday |
| D．on each day in the week |
If you can have free time only on weekends, you should take the course _________.
| A．Basic Photography | B．Understanding Computers |
| C．Stop Smoking | D．Typing |
More and more people think it necessary to study in an English-speaking country and it didn’t take long at all for me to decide to come and study in UK.
Having been in the school for 2 months, I’m getting used to school life, and I am starting to make the most of my time in here. School starts at 9 o’clock every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have long days, in which we have 9 lessons and school finishes at 4 o’clock. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have short days, in which we have only 6 lessons and finish at 1 o’clock. After lessons, we have 2 hours of activity time, when you can choose from a wide range of activities, including all the major sports, such as rugby and football, and also the minor sports such as basketball and tennis.
As a boarder（寄宿者）, the quality of food is something I consider very important, and Merchiston has not let me down. The school kitchens are run by a professional(专业的） catering（饮食） company, and the quality of food is excellent, and also they take issue(问题) of a healthy diet really seriously: I remember once I was asked to take more salad for my meal by a member of the kitchen staff(工作人员) for I didn’t have enough vegetables. This brings another point of being a boarder: you need to learn how to look after yourself and be responsible(负责) for yourself. One of the huge advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school, which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of bed as early as the day pupils!The passage mainly tells us about________.
| A．the author’s school life in the UK as a boarder |
| B．the author’s opinion of the school life in the UK |
| C．the differences in school life between China and the UK |
| D．the boarder life in a British middle school |
According to the second paragraph, we can learn that the author ______.
| A．has not enough time to study |
| B．likes to play tennis and basketball |
| C．went to the school two months ago |
| D．finishes school at 4 o’clock |
How many lessons do the students have every week in this school?
| A．15 | B．45 | C．27 | D．18 |
The underlined words “ let me down” in the last paragraph means _______.
| A．made me disappointed | B．made me pleased |
| C．encouraged me | D．amazed me |
As a boarder in the school, the author ______.
| A．is not used to the food there |
| B．has learned to have healthy diets |
| C．is specially taken good care of |
| D．sleeps as much as day pupils |
Minimalism (简约主义) is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.
As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life.
When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn’t take everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now.
I’ve learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or they get rid of it.
You might think nostalgically（怀旧的） about the toys you cared about when you were a child, but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it. 1’ve heard it a hundred times, “you don’t need things to make you happy.” It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is.
Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move. It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don’t need they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was a good time to let go of a lot of stuff. And when I visit for the holidays, I’ll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden.
Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much is left that we don’t really need?
Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bring happiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it’s because what really makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things.
Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalism helps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, be debt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential.
I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards, I can’t do it with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalism with open arms.In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to.
| A．introduce a topic | B．present his own idea |
| C．describe a scene | D．offer an argument |
Many people don’t want to let go of some of their belongings because .
| A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiences |
| B．they fear their memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuff |
| C．they hope to live life to their full potential by storing things away |
| D．they may have to change their lifestyle because of the loss of them |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why the writer favors “minimalism” in life?
| A．It takes the burden off her while she is moving. |
| B．It reduces her attachment to her personal things. |
| C．It enables her to gain the freedom that she desires. |
| D．It helps her to realize how true life is. |
By saying “there are exceptions”, the writer means
| A．little is left if we keep what we cherish most in our life |
| B．minimalism should be practised accordingly in different situations |
| C．minimalism is a method difficult to employ in reality |
| D．life is full of exceptions so it’s difficult to preserve what we value |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Minimalism brings happiness. |
| B．Minimalism is applied in many fields. |
| C．Minimalism makes people think nostalgically. |
| D．Minimalism is about able to move. |
It’s really a tough job for automakers doing marketing and sales in China, where competition is acute and customers have little loyalty. They have tried a range of tricks in recent years.
But there should be a moral bottom line. Unfortunately, a Buick dealership used the tragedy of a two-month-old infant to advertise its cars last week on Weibo – Micro blog. And Hyundai Motor followed suit.
On March 4, an SUV was stolen with the infant left inside alone in the northeastern city of Changchun. The news spread widely on Weibo after the baby’s father called the local police and radio station for help. The next day it was revealed that the infant was choked to death and buried in snow by the thief. The online community expressed its deeply felt sympathy and condolences.
The Buick dealership posted a photo of the baby and two of its cars on its official Weibo account to advertise its GPS system that can locate the stolen car. “A few thoughts on the Changchun stolen car and baby incident: when buying a car it’s entirely OK to choose a brand with advanced technology,” said the post. Though the post was made before tragic fate of the infant was known, the action generated a storm of outrage on Weibo. Some online commentators said it is “marketing at the cost of lives” and “extremely despicable.”
Worse was the post on Hyundai’s official Weibo account that advertised the anti – theft system on its new SUV Santa Fe, an entry made after the child was known to have died. The action also enraged micro bloggers.
Both posts were soon deleted. The Buick dealership made an apology on Weibo to the family of the victim and the public. But screenshots saved by users continued to be posted and the negative impact on both brands persists.
The two brands probably didn’t expect such a firestorm of fury from the Internet community, but they really made a big mistake sinking below the moral bottom line. They certainly ruined their own brand images.
The Chinese have the same proverb as the English language – a little leak will sink a great ship. It takes decades to build the great ship of a respectable brand but it can take just a moment of negligence to make it fail completely.
For those in corporate marketing, two lessons should be learned: first, be careful in the era of social media when one wrong can be easily magnified and have disastrous impacts in just a few clicks.
Second and more importantly, think with your brain and heart. Never break the moral bonds of respect for human life and sympathy for our fellow man.Who is to blame for the tragedy of Changchun infant according to the passage?
| A．The baby’s father | B．Buick and Hyundai dealership | C．Weibo | D．Not clear |
Which of the following statements is correct?
| A．The missing infant was found alive in the stolen car. |
| B．Micro blog marketing of tragic infant death fuels firestorm of criticism. |
| C．People can’t see the two posts any more because they were deleted. |
| D．The two car brands mentioned in the passage spoiled their own reputation by selling the stolen car. |
What does the underlined word – “despicable” in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Immoral | B．Important | C．Distinguished | D．Considerable |
The reason why Hyundai’s post was worse than Buick’s is that _________.
| A．Hyundai dealership didn’t make an apology on Weibo |
| B．Buick dealership expressed its deeply sympathy and condolences |
| C．Hyundai’s post was made after people knew the infant had died |
| D．Buick’s car was more advanced on its GPS system |
In the last paragraph, the author encourages people _____________.
| A．not to sink below the moral bottom line |
| B．not to sympathize our fellow man |
| C．to think twice before making decision |
| D．to magnify the mistakes people make |