For years scientists have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth’s natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired, to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems. Some pollutants can cause breathing disorders, diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution.
People have paid more attention to the problem now. It is true that when builders began making houses and offices they did not waste energy. To do this they build buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside. They also began using man-made building materials. These materials are now known to let out harmful gases.
As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control system for building—green plants. Scientists do not really know how plants control air pollution. They believe that a plant’s leaves absorb or take in the pollutants. In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves and tiny organizations on its roots. Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and more healthy place.Generally speaking, indoor air pollution may be more harmful than the air outside because ______.
| A．indoor air pollution can often make people seriously ill |
| B．man-made building materials give off dangerous gases |
| C．there may be more harmful gases outside the buildings |
| D．the air indoors is polluted, which is very harmful |
Some kind of indoor pollution can be found in______．
Ａ．every modern house B．every old house
C．all kinds of houses D．all kinds of officesThe indoor air pollution is caused by ______.
| A．the limit of the flow of air between inside and outside |
| B．the building way that the builders want to save energy |
| C．the building things that are made of man-made materials |
| D．the man-made building materials and the limit of air-flow |
The reason why we should use different kinds of plants to clean the air is that ______.
| A．plants can let out all kinds of pollutants indoors |
| B．plants may take in more oxygen which people need |
| C．plants can absorb all kinds of harmful indoor chemicals |
| D．plants can make our houses prettier and more healthy |
I once thought that outer beauty is the only factor to become a great person．When I was young, I read many kinds of books, most of which described characters who are handsome or beautiful. So I think that being beautiful is the only way to become a success.
As I grew up，the story of my best friend made me realize that outer beauty was not so important to make a person successful. She is so beautiful a girl that every classmate liked to chat with her, but she was very arrogant(傲慢)．In her opinion, she could get all she wanted because of her beauty, but all of her friends left her one by one! Only then did she come to know the importance of the beauty in a person's heart, which changed her attitude and she made friends again．
Turning on TV，we can see many advertisements, most of which seem to give us a feeling that, physical attractiveness is the most important thing．There seems to be a boom in plastic surgery．It is surprising that more and more people，especially girls and women, try it like the first man-made beauty in China, Hao Lulu. It is a common sense that attractive people can easily find work. Most good looking guys, usually get higher scores in the job interviews. But, what is real beauty? I want to say that is inner beauty because those who have beauty in their soul are really beautiful persons．
As is known, the beauty judged with eyes is temporary, so we should concentrate on inner beauty. And if we make the efforts to make our minds beautiful, we’ll live a happier life.Why did the author want to have a good appearance when she was young?
| A．Because she wanted to be one of the characters in the book. |
| B．Because she wanted to get higher scores in the job interviews. |
| C． Because she wanted to follow the example of her friend |
| D．Because the successful characters in the books she read were attractive. |
Why did the writer refer to her friend’s story?
| A．To show how important outer beauty is． |
| B．To show how terrible to be a beautiful girl. |
| C．To show the importance of the beauty in a person’s heart. |
| D．To show how beautiful her friend was． |
What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?
| A．A large number of people pay attention to outer beauty． |
| B．Surgery is becoming more and more popular． |
| C．More people can afford the price of doing plastic surgery. |
| D．The living standard has been improved over the past years. |
Which of the following covers the passage best?
| A．How do attractive persons become successful? |
| B．Inner beauty is the real beauty． |
| C．The key factor to find a good job is being attractive． |
| D．Plastic surgery is the best way to make a person more beautiful. |
What do we know from the passage?
| A．If you are too beautiful，all your friends will leave you out of envy． |
| B．If you have a good appearance, you must get higher scores in the job interviews． |
| C．Without the TV advertisements, there wouldn't have been a boom in plastic surgery． |
| D．Those who have good appearances should also develop the beauty in their hearts. |
Mo Yan, 2012’s winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was born in the small town of Gaomi in Shandong Province. His parents were farmers. And as a young boy Mo took care of the family’s goats. Each day he took the goats outside and watched over them when they ate grasses.
It was a lonely job, but Mo was a smart boy. He enjoyed the green, open land of Shandong. He enjoyed looking up at the blue sky and the white clouds, To pass the time he talked to the goats. He told them his thoughts and some stories. It was the beginning of his life as a storyteller.
During the Cultural Revolution（文化大革命），Mo had to leave school and work for a company. This was difficult for Mo, because he loved books and he loved reading. Luckily, he found a friend who would lend him books. Later, Mo became a soldier and to continue his education. In the end he graduated from Beijing Normal University. This is where he began to write.
Although Mo had left Gaomi, Gaomi never left him. Many of his books talk about rural life and the people of Gaomi, For Mo, all of man nature can be seen in the village life of Gaomi. Mo is famous now, but he remains a true son of soil.Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2012.
As a young boy Mo Yan took care of his family’s goats and he hated the job.
Mo Yan continued studying in a middle school during the Cultural Revolution.
Mo Yan graduated from Beijing Normal University and this is where he began to write.
Gaomi never left Mo Yan because many of his books talk about rural life and the people of Gaomi.
When my brother and I were young, my Mom would take us on Transportation Days.
It goes like this: you can’t take any means of transport more than once. We would start from home walking two blocks to the railway station. We’d take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn’t like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom’s friend was waiting to give us a ride home— our first car ride of the day.
The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal(多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence— the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.
Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening any more. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox— and often an inadequate one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.
On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my Mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where’s the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?
I’m writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn’t try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal Mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.Which was forbidden by Mom on Transportation Days?
| A．Having a car ride. |
| B．Taking the train twice. |
| C．Buying more than one toy. |
| D．Touring the historic district. |
According to the writer, what was the greatest benefit of her Transportation Days?
| A．Building confidence in herself. |
| B．Reducing her use of private cars. |
| C．Developing her sense of direction. |
| D．Giving her knowledge about vehicles. |
The underlined word “paralyzed” (in Para. 5) is closest in meaning to “_______”.
| A．displayed | B．misunderstood |
| C．forgot | D．ruined |
Which means of transportation does the writer probably dislike?
| A．Airplane. | B．Subway. |
| C．Tram. | D．Car. |
Although his 1-year-old smart-phone still works perfectly, Li Jijia already feels the need to replace it.
“There are many better ones available now. It's time to upgrade(更新）my phone.”
Li's impatience is shared by many. Shortly after the season when new products are released, many consumers feel the urge to upgrade their electronic equipment, even though the ones they have still work just fine.
As consumers' minds are occupied by Apple's newly released products and debate whether the Google tablet is better than the new Amazon Kindle, it might be time to take a step back and ask: “Do we really need the latest upgrades?"
According to Donald Norman, an American author, “planned obsolescence (淘汰）” is the trick behind the upgrading culture of today's consumer electronics industry.
Electronics producers strategically release new upgrades periodically, both for hardware and software, so that customers on every level feel the need to buy the newest version.
“This is an old-time trick- they're not inventing anything new,” Norman said. “This is a wasteful system through which companies-many of them producing personal electronics - release poor-quality products simply because they know that, in six months or a year, they'll put out a new one.”
But the new psychology of consumers is part of this system, as Norman admitted，“We now want something new, something pretty, the next shiny thing.” In its most recent year, Apple's profit margin was more than 21 percent. At Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest PC maker, it was only 7 percent.
Apple's annual upgrades of its products create sales of millions of units as owners of one year's MacBook or iPhone line up to buy the newest version, even when the changes are slight.
As to Li Jijia, the need for upgrading his smart-phone comes mainly from friends and classmates. When they are switching to the latest equipment, he worries about feeling left out.
“Some games require better hardware to run, ”said Li. “If you don't join in, you lose part of the connection to your friends.”What's the author's attitude towards people's desire for new products?
| A．Supportive. | B．Happy. |
| C．Critical. | D．Unclear. |
Why is Apple Company interested in producing latest version of its product?
| A．To provide customers with better service. |
| B．To defeat other competitors like Hewlett-Packard. |
| C．To establish a favorable image of itself among its customers. |
| D．To make huge profits out of its business. |
How do the electronics companies successfully promote their latest products?
| A．They make full use of the "planned obsolescence” strategy. |
| B．They make a fool of customers by recycling their old products. |
| C．They control the customers' way of thinking while shopping. |
| D．They invent new products to attract the youth like Li Jijia. |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Li Jijia feels the need to replace his smart-phone as a result of____.
| A．new psychology |
| B．pressure from friends and classmates |
| C．life style |
| D．friends' expectation |
Read the advertisements carefully. Then answer the questions that follow.
| FLORLST WANTED! Are you a creative and trained florist with at least two years of experience? Then this may be just what you are hunting. The city’s leading Florist Artist Studio needs another part-time member on their wedding team. Please phone 6098 7888 now! |
| WE NEED OFFICE CLRANERS! Three people are required for professional cleaning in the CBD area. Working hours from 5:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. Approximately five hours per shift. A good record is necessary. Experience preferred. Phone 6345 7843 now. |
| WANT TO WORK AS A DENTAL NURSE? This is an exciting opportunity for a qualified dental nurse with a confident and cheerful personality to work in the School Dental Health Schema. You must be able to get along well with children because work involves talking to group about dental health practices. For further information, visit our website at schooledntalservices@gov.sg. And fax your resume to 6234 4567. |
| INTERESTED IN CHILDCARE? Qualified person or preschool teacher needed for busy childcare center, south of the river. Full-time work guaranteed. Immediate start necessary. The candidate must be able to work as a co-operative team member. Phone 6345 2345 for an interview and fax resume to 6345 2345. |
You may find the advertisements above.
| A．in a store window |
| B．in a school magazine |
| C．in a newspaper |
| D．on a company notice-board |
The position of a(n)is a part-time job.
| A．florist | B．artist |
| C．preschool teacher | D．dental nurse |
Which of the following is the most important for the childcare job?
| A．Child food cooking skills. |
| B．Childcare experience and outgoing. |
| C．The ability to start work in 2 weeks. |
| D．The ability to work well with other people. |
The office cleaners will be required to work abouthours a week.
| A．5 | B．10 | C．15 | D．20 |