A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.
Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe（预订） to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.
Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.
The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted（转变） from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.
"The industry continues to chip （击破）away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?
| A．some American families |
| B．those who hold out one’s opinions |
| C．those who have been surveyed |
| D．those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently |
Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.
| A．they show too much concern about the cost |
| B．they can find little value of it |
| C．they do most YouTube-watching at work |
| D．the Internet doesn’t reach their homes |
From the passage we can infer that _____________.
| A．It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users |
| B．people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more |
| C．many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home |
| D．more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005 |
According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?
| A．making the Internet look more similar to TV set |
| B．applying the Internet more to entertainment |
| C．providing more pay-TV programs |
| D．chipping away at the core of non-subscribers |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Web develops with technology |
| B．The present situation of web |
| C．Many Americans see little point to web |
| D．It is urgent to promote web service |
Owls(猫头鹰) are some of the world’s greatest hunters. From head to feet, owls’ bodies are built to hunt. Scientists are studying all the things that make owls such great hunters.
Most owls hunt at night. The birds have excellent hearing, which helps them find their next meal in the dark.
Owls have one ear that is larger and set higher than the other. When an owl hears a sound, it listens closely. Is the sound lounder in its right ear or left ear? Does the upper or lower ear detect the sound first? The information helps the owl find the location of its prey without ever seeing it.
Owls don’t depend just on their hearing to hunt. After a sound draws an owl’s attention, it zeroes in with sight.
Many birds have eyes on either side of their heads. But an owl’s eyes face forward, like a person’s. Images from each eye combine to form a 3-D picture, similar to how we see. That helps owls better judge a prey’s size, distance, and speed.
An owl’s eyes are so large that they can gather lots of light. That helps the owl see better when hunting at night. An owl’s eyes are also fixed in their sockets(眼窝). It can’t roll them like we can. Instead, an owl keeps prey in its sight by turning its head.
Owls can move their beads nearly upside down and turn them 270 degrees around. Their necks have 14 vertebrae(椎骨). That’s twice as many neck bones as a person has.
The blood vessels(血管) thread through holes in an owl’s vertebrae. The researchers found that these holes are very large so that the extra space provides an air cushion that protects the vessels.
Detecting prey is only the first step for owls. Next they must catch their meals. An owl can fly inches over your head and you can’t hear anything. The secret to owls’ silent flight is their feathers. Fine “hairs” cover the surface of an owl’s wing feathers. And the feathers’ edges have soft barbs(羽支). Together, they make the sound of air rushing over the owl’s wings quieter and less clear. While hunting at night, owls first get a prey’s information by .
| A．seeing the shape | B．hearing the sound |
| C．detecting the smell | D．feeling the air move |
According to text, an owl’s eyes .
| A．are small but sharp |
| B．can function like a person’s |
| C．are on either side of its head |
| D．can tell how fast a prey is moving |
The shortcoming of an owl’s fixed eyes can be made up by its .
| A．large head | B．strong legs |
| C．body size | D．flexible neck |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．How owls find their prey. |
| B．Why owls can fly noiselessly. |
| C．The advantages of owls’ hearing |
| D．The secret of owls’ high-speed flight. |
The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.
Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station’s competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered for a peculiar “experiment” organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England. Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio. They took a lie detector test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges included an astrologer (占星家) who declared that they were suited.
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine’s mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr. Cordell’s parents are reported to be less than delighted.
Organizations, including the marriage guidance service relate, have criticized the marriage. As one person put it, “we have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love.”
The couples are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?What can we know about the couple from the passage?
| A．The couple know each other before the wedding. |
| B．The bridegroom is a model and the bride is a TV salesman. |
| C．The bride is 4 years older than the bridegroom. |
| D．The couple can use an apartment free for some time as one of the prizes. |
Some experts believe that ______ .
| A．marriage without the couple’s meeting each other first ends up in divorce. |
| B．young people nowadays are too careless about marriage |
| C．taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems |
| D．most young people take marriage seriously except this couple |
The goal of the competition was_______.
| A．to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other |
| B．to win a free honeymoon |
| C．to win a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment |
| D．to make the radio station famous |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Two Strangers and a Wedding | B．A Wedding Based on Love |
| C．A Short-lived Marriage | D．A Well-Matched Couple |
Theplenary（全体）sessionsoftheNationalPeople's Congress(NPC)andtheNationalCommitteeofthe ChinesePeople'sPoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC)(政协) popularlyknownasthe"twosessions"， arekickingoffthisweek.Whatwillbethebigtalking points?Wehavecompiledsomeofhottopics.
Jobs
The number of jobs forecast to be created this year will be revealed at the annual session. In the past two years, despite an economic slowdown, the number of newly created jobs has increased steadily. China is promoting employment through encouraging business start-ups, cutting red tape and delegating power to lower-level governments.
Military
China's military expenditure (军费) will definitely become one of the most discussed topics during the two sessions in Western and domestic media. The question China faces is how to build and manage a stronger army in new conditions.
Pollution
"We will resolutely declare war against pollution as we declared war against poverty," said Premier Li Keqiang at the parliamentary sessions last year. A poll has showed that pollution-control and environmental protection remains one of the biggest areas of public concern ahead of the two sessions.
United States
Xi Jinping is scheduled to pay a State visit to the United States in September. Last year, China and the United States reached consensus in aspects including visa arrangements, trade and military trust. The two sides also released the landmark China U.S. Joint Announcement on Climate Change. Reporters will try to get some hints on how China and the United States will rise above their differences.How many hot topics will be discussed at the “two sessions”?.
| A．4 | B．5 | C．More than 4 | D．Less than five |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．In the past two years, the number of newly-created jobs has decreased because of economic slowdown. |
| B．As for military, China focuses on how to build and manage a stronger army in new conditions. |
| C．Xi Jinping paid a State visit to the United States in September last year. |
| D．According to Premier Li Keqiang, declaring war against pollution is more important than declaring war against poverty. |
What does the underlined word “compile” mean? It means “”.
| A．choose | B．discuss | C．raise | D．collect |
第一节 阅读下列短文 ，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C和 D ）中 ，选出最佳选项,并在题卡上将该项涂黑。(共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分)
A.
A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain,plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best foryourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position insociety are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."
God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.What did a group of graduates talk about when they visited their old professor?
| A．How to make the most delicious coffee. |
| B．How to choose the coffee cup. |
| C．The complaints about stress in work and life. |
| D．How to free themselves from stress of work and life. |
What is the function of the more expensive cup from the passage?
| A．It makes the coffee taste better. |
| B．In some cases it hides what we drink. |
| C．It shows people’s wealth. |
| D．It shows people’s status. |
The purpose of this writing is ____________.
| A．about how to complain about stress in work and life |
| B．to enjoy the present life and get happiness from it |
| C．to enjoy the coffee with expensive cups |
| D．to prove the power of the God |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．God’s Coffee. | B．Drink Coffee. |
| C．Coffee and Work | D．Coffee Cups |
We regularly hear how important consumer spending is for the economy. The story goes like this: the more consumers spend, the more money circulates in the economy, which contributes to healthy job growth and profits. Keynes, a British economist, went as far as to say that individuals saving their money may actually be hurting the economy. Sounds troubling, doesn’t it?
Fear not. You aren’t actually hurting anyone else by saving money. Strong economic growth only comes from the place: savings. Not consumption. In fact, economic activity should not be mistaken for economic growth. For example, somebody takes their money, walks into a store, and purchases goods. The store increases its revenue.
But what happens to all of those goods and services that people have chosen not to consume by saving their money? Simple: other people are allowed to consume them. Think of it this way: when you lend out your savings, you are actually saying, “Here, I am not going to consume right now, so why don’t you?” Banks simply play the middleman: they collect lots of people's savings and then lend out lots of funds.
It takes an unbelievable amount of goods and services to construct a building. It takes food, shelter, and entertainment for all of the workers, as well. Without savings, it is quite impossible to finance such a construction. The coordination between savings and consumption is a necessary basis for sound economic growth. This coordination is also why consumer lending (say, to borrow a big sum of money to buy a car) is not productive, in a strict sense. It doesn't increase the net (净的) amount of wealth of an economy. Those savings could have been used to construct, say, factory equipment.
None of this means consumption and spending are “bad” things. They simply do not make us wealthier. After all, the final goal of production and savings is to consume. But to say that consumption is the engine of economic growth is to put the cart before the horse. Or, to rephrase: the consumption of wealth can never make you wealthier. Happier, perhaps. Wealthier, no.What is the author’s attitude towards Keynes’ theory?
| A．Approving. | B．Reserved. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Critical. |
The underlined word “revenue” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_______”.
| A．cost | B．reputation |
| C．income | D．interest |
According to the author, which chart could show the effect of savings on economy?
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The Saving Behavior of the Economy |
| B．Consumption: a Key Concept in Economy |
| C．Consumer Spending and Economic Growth |
| D．The Truth about Savings and Consumption |