The Friday after the American holiday of Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It’s said that it’s the day that store ledgers(分类账)move into the black and companies become profitable. On that day, retailers slash(砍) prices to get consumers to buy. It is also a time when many Americans start their Christmas shopping. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee tells us how the economy may affect consumers on that bargain day.
This day should be a shopper’s dream. “It’s just the deals, the sales and everything you can get for a lesser price,” said Sandy Thomas, a shopper. But it’s a nightmare for others. “I think it’s crazy. I’ve done all of my shopping throughout the week so I don’t have to go out on Friday,” she said. It’s called Black Friday, the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. Every year it’s the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Stores open before sunrise and there are deep discounts everywhere you look.
Last year a crowd of bargain-hunters killed a Wal-mart worker in a New York suburb. This year, many stores are increasing security while they slash prices. “This is a huge time for the retail stores,” said Fred Joutz from George Washington University. “This is when they begin making their profits for the year.”
Economics professor Fred Joutz says how Americans spend the weekend after Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future.
With the unemployment rate above 10 percent, Joutz says Americans are saving more and spending less. Some retailers are attracting consumers by opening on Thanksgiving Day, when shops are traditionally closed. Other stores open their doors anywhere from midnight to four in the morning.
And shoppers will be lining up in front of the doors in order to be one of the first ones to walk through and get a big discount. Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually the first items to go. Sandy Thomas says it’s an annual family tradition and well worth it. “I just save maybe half of what I would have spent on a regular, you know, shopping trip,” she said.
Economists say U.S. consumers will spend money this Black Friday, but they will spend it more carefully. By saying “This day should be a shopper’s dream”, the writer means ________ .
| A．shoppers have longed for this day for a long time |
| B．the shops will be very crowded on that day |
| C．the shops will keep open until the daybreak of next day |
| D．shoppers can buy many items at low prices on that day |
Why are many stores increasing security according to the passage?
| A．Because there are too many people saving more and spending less. |
| B．Because it’s a time when they begin making their profits for the year. |
| C．Because last year a crowd of bargain-hunters caused an accident. |
| D．Because many stores open their doors from midnight to four a.m. |
From the passage we know that_________.
| A．Christmas shopping is traditional time and this year it is no exception. |
| B．Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually least discounted. |
| C．The economy only affects consumers on that bargain day. |
| D．Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future. |
We can find this passage in_________.
| A．a science fiction | B．a travel brochure |
| C．an economic research report | D．a book on psychology |
Why American people call it a black day?
| A．Because they organize activities in honor of some great person. |
| B．Because there are too many people going out shopping for Christmas. |
| C．Too many people are celebrating Thanks giving. |
| D．The sky is black that day. |
C
Hotel Reservations
Welcome to the Kampala Beach Hotel Reservations（预定）System. You can reserve a room or package one of three ways: (a) online, (b) by phone, and(c)by email.
Did you know? You can take advantage of special savings by booking direct with us online.
A．Online Reservations
Enter your travel dates and the number of guests below to book your room online now.
Click here to check on an existing online reservation.
If you are searching for a specific package, please make sure your check-in and check-out dates allowing for the minimum number of nights in the package.
You may make reservations for a maximum of 4 guests per room. For requests of 10 rooms or more, please refer to Group Accommodations.
B．Reservations By Phone
If you prefer to reserve by phone, please call:
Toll Free from the USA, Canada, and Hawaii: +1-800-262-8450
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C． Reservations By E-mail
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Submitting an e-mail request does not guarantee a reservation. For immediate confirmation and booking, please use online reservations engine above.
49．What is the purpose of writing the passage?
A．To attract more tourists to the hotel.
B．To introduce a new hotel.
C．To show the importance of science.
D．To make the trip for tourists easier.
50． If you want an immediate booking, you’d better use“ ”.
A．Online Reservations B．Reservations By Phone
C．Reservations By E-mail D．Did you know?
51． From the passage we may infer the hotel is in __________ .
A．Canada B．mainland America
C．French D．Hawaii
52．If you want to book a package you have to __________ . .
A．submit an e-mail reservations request
B．make sure of your check-in and check-out dates
C．refer to Group Accommodations
D．wait for further notice
B
People all over the world today are beginning to hear and learn more and more about the problem of pollution. Pollution is caused either by man's release of completely new and often artificial substances into the environment, or by releasing greatly increased amounts of a natural substance , such as oil tankers into the sea．
The whole industrial process which makes many of the goods and machines we need and use in our daily lives, is bound to create a number of waste products which upset the environmental balance, or the ecological balance as it is also known. Many of these waste products can be prevented or disposed of sensibly, but clearly while more and more new and complex goods are produce there will be new, dangerous wastes to be disposed of, for example, the waste products from nuclear power stations. Many people, therefore, see pollution as only part of a larger and more complex problem, that is, the whole process of industrial production and consumption of goods. Others again see the problem mainly in connection with agriculture, where new methods are helping farmers grow more and more on their land to feed our ever-increasing populations. However, the land itself is gradually becoming worn out as it is being used in some cases, too heavily, and artificial fertilizer cannot restore the balance.
Whatever its underlying reasons, there is no doubt that much of the pollution caused could be controlled if only companies, individuals and governments would make more efforts. In the home there is an obvious need to control litter and waste. Food comes wrapped up three or four times in packages that all have to be disposed of; drinks are increasingly sold in bottles or tins which cannot be reused． This not only causes a litter problem, but also is a great waste of resources, in term of glass, metals and paper. Advertising has helped this process by persuading many of us not only to buy things we neither want nor need, but also to throw away much of what we do buy. Pollution and waste combine to be a problem everyone can help to solve by cutting out unnecessary buying ,excess consumption and careless disposal of the products we use in our daily lives.
45．The underlined phrase “disposed of ”in the second paragraph means_______.
A． dealt with B． exposed
C． disapproved of D． collected
46． In the writer’s view ,the more new goods, _______.
A． the less pollution
B． the harder pollution can be prevented
C． the more pollution there will be
D． the more easily pollution can be controlled
47．What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A． We can do much to reduce pollution.
B． The government is trying hard to stop pollution.
C． Individuals know how to get rid of the habit of littering everywhere.
D． We can’t stop buying unnecessary things.
48． People can help solve the problem of pollution by _______.
A． urging their governments to control litter and waste
B． making anti-pollution advertisements
C． cutting down the use of oil and other oil products
D． reducing unnecessary buying, over-consumption and careless disposal of wastes
第二部分：阅读理解（共25小题；第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分，满分45分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每小题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中，选出最
佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A．
Each Indian tribe had a different language. Many Indians never learned any language except their own. Do you know how Indians from different tribes talked to each other? They had two ways to talk without sound． One way was by sign language; the other way by signals.
Sign language is a way of talking by using signs. Indians used sign language when they met strangers. In this way, they could find out whether the stranger was a friend or an enemy. In the Indian sign language, signs were made with the hands. One sign meant “man”. Another meant “horse”. To tell the time of day when something happened, an Indian pointed to the sky. He showed where the sun had been at the time.
Indians usually used signals when they wanted to send messages to someone far away. To make signals, an Indian might use a pony. He might use a blanket. Or he might use smoke, a mirror or fire arrows.
To signal that he had seen many animals, an Indian rode his pony in a large circle. Sometimes the Indian gave a signal like this and then went away to hide. This meant that there was danger.
The blanket signal was visible from far away. An Indian held the corners of a blanket in his hands. Then he began to swing the blanket from side to side in front of him. An Indian could send many different signals with his blanket.
He could also send many signals with a mirror. He usually used the mirror to warn someone of danger. Or he attempted to get the attention of a person far away. But he also used it to send messages in code. Of course, mirrors could be used only when the sun was shining. At night, Indians used fire arrows for signaling.
An Indian also sent signals with smoke. He made a small fire of dry wood． Then he put grass or green branches on it. He held a blanket over the fire for a minute. When he removed the blanket from the fire, there was a cloud of smoke. The number of clouds of smoke told his message in code.
Now you can see that Indians didn’t need to learn each other’s language. They could talk to one another by using signals or sign language.
41． The whole text is mainly about _______.
A． different tribes have different languages
B． the Indians had many kinds of languages
C． how Indians communicated between different tribes
D． why the Indians used many languages
42． An Indian used a mirror to do all the followings EXCEPT _______.
A． send messages in code
B． get the attention of someone in the distance
C． warn someone of danger
D． to tell a friend from an enemy
43． Sign language is _______.
|
A． to write one’s signature
B． a secret way of talking to some Indian tribesE
“The world's oceans are slowly getting more acidic.” say scientists. The researchers from California report that the change is taking place in response to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The lowering of the waters' PH value is not great at the moment but could cause a serious threat to current ocean life if it continues, they warn. Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett, from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, report their concerns in the journal Nature. Increasing use of oil fuels means more carbon dioxide is going into the air, and most of it will eventually be absorbed by seawater. Once in the water, it reacts to form carbonic acid. Scientists believe that the oceans have already become slightly more acidic over the last century.
These researchers have tried to predict what will happen in the future by combining what we know about the history of the oceans with computer models of climate change. “This level of acidity will get much more extreme in the future if we continue releasing CO2 into the atmosphere,” said Dr Caldeira. And we predict the amount of future acidity will exceed(超过) anything we have seen over the last several hundred million years, let alone perhaps after rare disastrous events such as asteroid(小行星) impacts.
However, it is not absolutely clear what that means for ocean life. Most organisms live near the surface, where the greatest PH change would be expected to occur, but deep－ocean life forms may be more sensitive to PH changes. Coral reefs(珊瑚礁) and other organisms whose shells contain calcium carbonate(碳酸钙) may be particularly affected if the water's acidity levels keep going up, the team predict. They could find it much more difficult to build these structures in water with a lower PH.
In recent years some people have suggested storing carbon dioxide from power station in the deep ocean as a way of dealing with global warming. But Dr Caldeira said that such a strategy should now be re—considered. “Previously, most experts had looked at ocean absorption of carbon dioxide as a good thing——because in releasing CO2 into the atmosphere we warm the planet, and when CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, it reduces the amount of greenhouse warming.”
57．The ocean is becoming more acidic due to_______.
A．the lower water PH value B．the warming atmosphere
C．the higher level of CO2 in the air D．the increasing use of oil fuels
58．According to Dr Caldeira,________.
A．ocean absorption of carbon dioxide is a good thing
B．more oil fuels will be used in the near future
C．scientists may predict climate changes with computer models
D．the future situation of the amount of acidity is extremely serious
59．If the water's acidity level keeps rising,____________.
A．ocean life whose structures contain calcium carbonate may be affected
B．the water's PH value will become higher and higher
C．organisms living near the surface are more sensitive to PH changes
D．some disastrous events will occur more often than before
60．Most experts once believed storing carbon dioxide in the ocean would reduce_________
A．the CO2 absorbed by the ocean B. the amount of greenhouse warming
C．the acidity of the ocean D．the gradual release of CO2
D
The most detailed breakdown(分析) of ethnic and gender performance in national curriculum tests for 7, 11 and 14－year－olds shows that Chinese pupils do best in every subject at every age. Chinese and Indian pupils outperformed white British children in English tests for 11－year－olds. In all, 83% of Chinese students reached the required standard compared with 78% of Indian pupils and 75% of white UK pupils and only 65% of Bangladeshi children reaching level four, the standard that an 11－year－old should achieve.
While the overall results show the performance of every ethnic group at GCSE(中等教育普通证书) is improving, they do highlight a worrying trend for white British pupils. David Miliband, the minister for School Standards, said the results showed that while standards in secondary schools were rising, there was “a shocking gender gap between boys and girls”. He added: “58.2% of girls achieved five A to C grade passes at GCSE in 2003 compared with just 49.9% of boys, and white working－class boys are one of the lowest performing groups at 14.” According to researchers,” In the weeks leading up to GCSE unsupervised study leave at home in many areas has become the norm(惯例). They are left to their own devices.” Mr. Miliband is supporting a plan to persuade schools to drop study leave before GCSEs and replace it with structured revision in school.
53．What's the best title for this text?
A．Chinese－British Pupils' Education in Britain
B．British Primary Education
C．British Ethnic Minority Education
D．The GCSE In Britain
54．All UK 11－year－olds' required standard in English tests is that they should reach .
A．grade A B．grade B C．grade C D．level 4
55．What worries David Miliband according to the text?
A．Chinese－British and Indian－British pupils surpass British pupils in every subject.
B．White working class boys perform worst in schools.
C．Girls perform much better than boys.
D．Before GCSE all students are asked to do revision at school by themselves.
56．According to David Miliband, the study leave before GCSE is .
A．unacceptable B．practical C．admirable D．Understandable