We are fortunate to be living in a time when all people have the ability to access any knowledge they desire. This digital society that we live in affords us opportunities that our ancestor only dreamed of having. We should not take this privilege for granted.
In the not so distant past of the 1950s, people who wanted to research an idea, a product, or anything else, had to go to a library where they could look up information in books. Not all people had the same access to the books, and the information they contained. In America, if your skin was black, you could not use the same library that a person with white skin used. If a black skinned person was allowed access to a library, it most likely was stocked with outdated books that white skinned people had discarded.
In the digital society we live in today, the color of your skin does not determine the access you have to information. Technology has brought to us the powerful tools like the Internet where we can find information on almost every subject.
Access to the Internet has allowed us to research the things we are planning to purchase. We are capable of comparing prices on things like insurance, appliances, entertainment, clothing, and all other things. We also now have the ability to purchase items online without ever leaving our homes. We have been freed from the restrictions of store hours, and regional sales. A person in America can purchase a product from a person in Germany, without leaving home.
Because of the digital society we live in our children can learn about anything they are interested in. When they ask you what the dinosaurs ate, you can look it up, and tell them the answer. Because of this people will be smarter in the future, and technology will only improve.By “We should not take this privilege for granted”, the writer means that ______.
| A．we have special right to do anything |
| B．it is wrong to make use of the privilege |
| C．knowledge is important in the digital society |
| D．we should seize the chances the modern society offers |
The main idea of the fourth paragraph is that ______.
| A．the Internet brings us a lot of convenience |
| B．people in modern society are mostly wealthy |
| C．we would like to stay at home every day |
| D．we can find anything we like in the world |
The dinosaurs are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to tell us that _____.
| A．people will be much clever than ever |
| B．what the dinosaurs ate seems strange to us |
| C．finding out what the dinosaurs looked like is easy |
| D．we can learn knowledge with the help of technology |
The writer’s attitude toward the digital society is ______.
| A．critical | B．positive | C．neutral | D．negative |
Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, was born in Kingfish, Oklahoma on March 29, 1918. He was raised in Missouri where he worked in his father’s store while attending school. This was his first retailing (零售业) experience and he really enjoyed it. After graduation, he began his own career as a retail merchant.
He soon opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart specialized in name brands at low prices and Sam Walton was surprised at the success. Soon a chain of Wal-Mart stores sprang up across rural America.
Walton's management style was popular with employees and he founded some of the basic concepts of management that are still in use today.
After taking the company public in 1970, Walton introduced his “profit sharing plan”. The profit sharing plan was a plan for Wal-Mart employees to improve their income dependent on the profits of the store. Sam Walton believed that “individuals don't win, teams do”. Employees at Wal-Mart stores were offered stock options (认股权) and store discounts. These benefits are commonplace today, but Walton was among the first to implement (实现) them. Walton believed that a happy employee meant happy customers and more sales. He also believed that by giving employees a part of the company and making their success dependent on the company’s success, they would care about the company.
By the 1980s, Wal-Mart had sales of over one billion dollars and over three hundred stores across North America. Wal-Mart’s unique decentralized (分散的) distribution system, also Walton’s idea, created the edge needed to further encourage growth in the 1980s during growing complaints that the “superstore” was stopping smaller and traditional stores from developing. By 1991, Wal-Mart was the largest US retailer with 1,700 stores. Walton remained active in managing the company, as president and CEO until 1988 and chairman until his death. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom shortly before his death.Sam Walton first made a hit in retailing when __________.
| A．he worked in his father’s store |
| B．he created Walton's management style |
| C．a chain of Wal-Mart stores sprang up across rural America |
| D．he specialized in name brands at low prices |
What is the purpose of Walton’s carrying out “profit sharing plan”?
| A．To make sure all the employees had their own shares. |
| B．To encourage the employees to work hard and make joint efforts. |
| C．To select excellent employees for his stores. |
| D．To make more profit for himself. |
Which of the statements is TRUE?
| A．With Walton’s management style, employees treated the stores as their own. |
| B．Walton wasn’t one of the merchants who first implemented stock options. |
| C．The smaller and traditional stores were well affected by Walton’s stores. |
| D．In his old age, Walton gave all the management to his men. |
What does the underlined word “edge” in the last paragraph mean here?
| A．Danger. | B．Disadvantage. |
| C．Advantage. | D．System. |
We live in a sweet world. The average American kid consumes more than 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, and adults eat 50% more sugar today than they did in the 1970s. We all know that too much sugar isn’t good for you. But did we know it could be dangerous? A team of researchers at the University of Utah used mice to conduct a study on the negative effects of sugar. They found it could have serious effects on people’s health.
Sugar is found not only in sweets and candies, but also in many household items like pasta and crackers.
During the 58-week-long study, mice were fed a diet containing 25% more sugar. This percentage equals a healthy human diet along with three cans of soda daily. The team found that these mice were twice as likely to die as mice fed a similar diet without the sugar. Though the mice did not show signs of obesity or high blood pressure, male mice were 26% less territorial and produced 25% fewer offspring than the other mice.
Scientists often use mice for research because they have a similar genetic（基因） structure to humans. “Since most substances that are dangerous in mice are also dangerous in people, it’s likely that those physical problems that cause those mice to have increased deaths also work in people,” says study author James Ruff of the University of Utah. Findings from this study reveal negative effects that are not as noticeable as weight gain or heart problems. Sugar can contribute to long-term changes in the body that can change development and even shorten lives.
Cutting sugar out of the American diet altogether may be difficult. But making the effort to control our nation’s sugar desire will provide for a truly sweeter future.The study conducted by researchers aimed at learning about________
| A．the advantages and disadvantages of sugar |
| B．the negative effects of sugar on people’s health |
| C．the genetic structure of mice |
| D．American’s diet |
According to the study, which of the following statements is wrong?
| A．Sugar can even shorten lives. |
| B．Sugar’s negative effects are not noticeable. |
| C．Mice are more likely to diet when fed a diet containing 25% more sugar. |
| D．Eating much more sugar can make mice put on weight and get high blood pressure. |
From the passage we can infer_______
| A．sugar plays a very important role in Americans’ diet |
| B．kids consume more sugar than adults in America |
| C．the study on human beings lasted 58 weeks |
| D．the genetic structure of mice is totally different from that of people |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Living a sweet life |
| B．Kids consume much more sugar |
| C．Genetic structure of humans |
| D．Danger of sugar |
BEIJING—Family planning officers will handle the illegal birth case of film director Zhang Yimou by following legal procedures, a government spokesman said on Tuesday, December 10, 2013.
When asked to comment on Zhang’s case at a press conference, Yao Hongwen, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission(NHFPC), said “Every citizen is equal before the law and nobody is allowed to have privileges（特权）to give birth to more children than allowed.”
Yao’s comment came after media stories claimed that Zhang had remarried and fathered a total of seven children: one with his former wife, three with his present wife, Chen Ting, and another three from two lovers.
“The NHFPC’s attitude towards citizens’ birth violations（违法）is consistent and clear. Every Chinese citizen should obey and safeguard the seriousness of laws and regulations.” NHFPC spokesman Yao Hongwen said.
China’s family planning policy, introduced in the late 1970s to slow down the country’s growing population, limits most urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two. The policy was recently relaxed, allowing couples to have two children if one of them is an only child.
Those who break the policy face severe fines. The amount of the fine is generally several times the yearly annual income of the two spouses（配偶）. Some media calculations put the fine that Zhang may face at as much as 160 million yuan(over $26 million).
Zhang’s birth case has caused criticism online about famous people who have more children than the policy allows.
In an open letter on December 1, Zhang admitted that the couple has two sons and daughter and they are willing to accept investigation and punishment according to China’s laws and regulations. He apologized to the public.
However, the letter denied that Zhang had lovers and was father to as many as seven children from various mothers.
Zhang, one of the “fifth generation” of Chinese filmmakers, made his first directorial work in 1987 with “Red Sorghum” and has won a number of award worldwide. He was chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.The purpose of the news report is to ______________
| A．inform us that Zhang’s illegal birth case will be dealt with by the government |
| B．claim that Zhang Yimou remarried and fathered a total of seven children |
| C．convince us that Zhang is a famous director and his case will be pardoned |
| D．confirm that Zhang’s illegal birth case has resulted in lots of criticism online |
According to Yao Hongwen, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Zhang will be fined as much as 160 million yuan for his violations. |
| B．Few people have the privileges to give birth to more children than allowed. |
| C．China’s family planning policy has never been relaxed since introduced. |
| D．Every Chinese citizen should obey and safeguard laws and regulations. |
Judging from the recent relaxed policy, a couple_______________
| A．can give birth to two children if one of them is an only child |
| B．will definitely be fined if they have two children nowadays |
| C．can have as many as three children if they live in a rural area |
| D．can only give birth to two children if they live in an urban area |
Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.
I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.
I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.
Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.
She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.
I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.
I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love, DadWho was most probably the writer?
A. A headmaster managing a primary school.
B. A candidate to run for President of U.S.A.
C. A manager running international business.
D. A commander experiencing a war in a foreign country.What does the underlined word “journey” (Paragraph 1) really mean?
| A．a trip to a place of interest |
| B．a process to bring up their children |
| C．a campaign to run for the president |
| D．a visit to their hometown to meet their grandmother |
What do we know about Malia and Sasha’s grandmother?
| A．She had a perfect way to educate children. |
| B．She encouraged the writer to join the army. |
| C．She bought a lovely puppy for her grandchildren. |
| D．She often read the Declaration of Independence to her grandchildren. |
From the letter we can learn that the writer was ________.
| A．kind and hesitant |
| B．ambitious and considerate |
| C．selfish but merciful |
| D．successful but stubborn |
According to the letter, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The writer and his two daughters had been apart for a long time. |
| B．The writer hoped that his daughters would live up to his great expectations. |
| C．The only way to settle the differences in the world is through violence. |
| D．There still exist some divides of race and region, gender and religion somewhere in the world. |
What is the writer’s purpose of writing the letter?
| A．Encouraging his daughters to run for President in the future. |
| B．Explaining the whole international situation to his daughters. |
| C．Educating his daughters how to defend their country. |
| D．Apologizing to his daughters for his not being able to stay together with them for such a long time. |
Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year's surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.
On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake. This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. “It's very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one,” said an expert from Britain's National Portrait Gallery.
The discovery comes after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image —commonly known as the “Flower portrait”— was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare's death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814. Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.
“We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays,” Tarnya Cooper, the gallery's curator (馆长), told the Associated President.
The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“There have always been questions about the painting,” said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. “Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.”
Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation and the results will come out later this month.________.What makes the birthday of Shakespeare dramatic this year?
| A．It was found that he painted a portrait in 1814 instead of in 1609. |
| B．The Flower portrait has been found to be a fake. |
| C．Three portraits of Shakespeare are being tested to identify a real one. |
| D．It was found that there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays around 1818 to 1840. |
Which statement is True according to the passage?
| A．Portraits of Shakespeare are all unreliable. |
| B．“Flower portrait” was a portrait of Shakespeare given to Desmond Flower. |
| C．1814 might be when the portrait was drawn. |
| D．The Flower portrait is not often used as a cover for Shakespeare's play. |
How many methods were used to test the portrait?
| A．Not mentioned. | B．Two |
| C．Three | D．At least four. |
The best title for this passage is ________.
| A．Birthdays often involve surprises |
| B．The surprise on the 441st birthday of Shakespeare |
| C．One portrait of Shakespeare is a fake |
| D．How can we know Shakespeare's appearance? |
Which is the best sentence to fill in the blank in the last paragraph?
| A．Soon we'll know which portrait is reliable. |
| B．Maybe we cannot find a real portrait of Shakespeare. |
| C．If the two portraits are found to be false, they will test more. |
| D．For now what Shakespeare really looked like will remain a mystery. |