GARDENRESTAURANTTelephone:2706-优题课

The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (一度时髦的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” — and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer — which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet — adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear — popular in the US and the UK — that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of The Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.
Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of The Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, former head of the Language Center at King’s College London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBCMagazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便).” Adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western world is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBCMagazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend unavoidably disappeared.
People use iPlayer to _________.

A．listen to music	B．make a call
C．watch TV programs online	D．read newspapers

We can infer that The Independent’s “i” is aimed at _________.

A．young readers	B．old readers
C．fashionable women	D．engineers

Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are _________.

A．portable	B．environmentally friendly
C．advanced	D．recyclable

The writer suggests that _________.

A．“i” products are often of high quality

B．iTeddy is a living bear

C．the letter “b” replaces the letter “i” to name the products

D．the popularity of “i” products may not last long

In Canada and the United States, there is a new group of children called “satellite kids”, who live in one place but whose parents live in another place.
Asians are immigrating (移民) to Canada and the United States in larger numbers than ever before. Most Asians immigrate because they believe that they can give their children a better education in the West. In Asia, especially in China, Japan, and Korea, it is difficult to go to university. Students must first pass the strict national examination. However, in Canada and the United States, it is easy to go to university, and anyone who wants to go can go. As a result, Asian parents decide to leave their countries so that their children can go to university.
The problem is that when Asians arrive, they discover that finding a job and making money are more difficult in the West than in the East. Also, they find that they are very lonely, and that they miss their homes. For these two reasons, most Asian parents decide to go back to work while their children study in the West. Therefore, these children become “satellite kids”, and most of their parents do not know how sad it is to be a “satellite kid”.
Only until now are Canadians and Americans discovering the “satellite kid” problem. Because these children do not speak English and because their parents are not there to take care of them, they are often absent from school. To be a “satellite kid” means to grow up in a country where you know you are different and where you cannot make friends because you do not speak English well. Also, it means to grow up lonely, because your parents are elsewhere. What these “satellite kids” will probably say to their parents is that it’s better to have parents around than to have a university education.
Some Asian parents send their kids abroad because ________.

A．they hope their children may easily find a job there

B．the kids may not be accepted by universities in their own countries

C．all foreign universities are better than the ones in their own countries

D．the kids want to improve their English and make foreign friends

“Satellite kids” refer to Asian kids ________.

A．without parents	B．living abroad alone
C．with university education	D．speaking no English

Some Asian immigrant children become “satellite kids” because their parents ________.

A．want to leave their own country	B．want them to go to university
C．return to their countries to work	D．want them to be independent

What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Parents want better education for their kids.

B．Parents feel lonely and miss their families.

C．Canadians and Americans begin to notice the “satellite kids” problem.

D．Kids in foreign countries alone are badly in need of care from family.

Animal training refers to teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli (刺激). Training may be for the purpose of companionship, detection, protection, entertainment or all of the above.

An animal trainer may use various forms of reinforcement (强化) or punishment to condition an animal’s responses. Some animal trainers may have a knowledge of the principles of behavior analysis and operant conditioning (操作性条件反射), but there are many ways to train animals and as a general rule no legal requirements or certifications are required.

Training chickens has become a way for trainers of other animals (primarily dogs) to perfect their training technique. Bob Bailey, former director of Animal Behavior Enterprises and the IQ Zoo, teaches chicken training courses where trainers teach chickens to tell different shapes, to successfully pass through a way with obstacles (障碍) and to chain behaviors together. Chicken training is done using operant conditioning, using a clicker and chicken feed for reinforcement.

Fish can also be trained. For example, a goldfish may swim toward its owner and follow him as he walks through the room, but will not follow anyone else. The fish may swim up and down signaling the owner to turn on its aquarium light when it is off, and it will skim the surface until its owner feeds it. Pet goldfish have also been taught to perform more difficult tasks, such as doing the limbo (a kind of dance) and pushing a very small soccer ball into a net.

Among all animals, they are the third cleverest after monkeys and dolphins. Scientists think the training of pigs is easier than the training of dogs and cats. Pigs have a very good sense of smell. They can find things nearby or faraway. They can also help the police to find out drugs at an airport or at a train station.

The aim of training animals is to _________.

A．detect objects for people	B．keep people company
C．protect or entertain people	D．all of the above

Which is True according to the passage?

A．Most people teach animals general responses to general conditions.

B．Training animals requires some certifications.

C．Training chickens is a way to improve the trainers’ skills.

D．Chickens can be trained to help the police to find out drugs.

According to the passage, a fish can _________.

A．be trained to follow anyone

B．turn on its aquarium light when it is off

C．signal its owner to feed it

D．take part in a football game in the field

Scientists think the training of pigs is easier because _________.

A．pigs do not bite like dogs

B．pigs are smart animals

C．pigs have a good sense of hearing

D．pigs can help find out drugs at an airport

New York, the city that never sleeps, fell silent last week—schools were closed; bus and subway services were stopped; flights were canceled, and even the stock market closed for the first time since 1985. All the disorder was caused by one thing, the arrival of hurricane Sandy.
This big storm landed on Oct 29 on the US east coast and brought damaging winds, flooding, blackouts (停电) and heavy snow.
Sandy is one of the largest storms that have ever hit the US, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By the afternoon of Nov1 (Beijing time), about 140 deaths were caused by the storm as it traveled across the Caribbean islands and into the US.
Unlike most hurricanes that happen during summer, Sandy was strengthened not only by warm ocean water, but also by the cold air coming from the northwest. Sandy’s power grew because of the difference in masses between the warm and wet air and cool and dry air. It became a kind of “super-storm”, the Guardian reported.
The flooding was particularly severe. Scientists said it was because Sandy’s arrival happened together with a full moon, which normally means higher-than-usual tides (潮水).
“The most worrying aspect of Sandy is the high tides,” Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told Reuters before the storm arrived. “With the full moon on Monday, with Sandy coming up the bay, we’re very concerned about flooding in our low-lying coastal areas.”
Apart from the power of Sandy itself, another reason why her arrival has caused so much damage is that its target area is crowded with big cities such as New York and Philadelphia. These urban areas are home to tens of millions of people. The flood, the snow and the blackout have brought the country’s financial and political centers to a stop.
“The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is history making.” Said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist.
The author mentioned the disorder in New York city at the beginning of the article to _______.

A．remind us of the problems people might face when disaster strikes

B．introduce the disastrous influence of hurricane Sandy

C．criticize the poor management of the city by the New York government

D．prove New York suffered most from hurricane Sandy

According to the text, hurricane Sandy _______.

A．only got its power from the warm ocean water

B．grew stronger than other hurricanes because of the full moon

C．led to flooding in many cities around the US

D．brought with it strong winds, high tides, blackouts and heavy snowfall

From the article, we learn that areas hurricane Sandy targeted _______.

A．were mostly high land

B．were mostly near the sea

C．were far away from important cities

D．were empty as people were evacuated (疏散)

What is the main point of the article?

A．To show how a super-storm comes into being.

B．To explain why hurricane Sandy was so destructive.

C．To show that big cities in the US are easily affected by huge hurricanes.

D．To explore the best ways to avoid loss when a hurricane hits.

A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said.“Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date whenyou may start. ”
The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an email.”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an email, that means you do not exist.And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10Kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he managed to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home with $60.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future, and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an email.”
The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an email, and yet have managed to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
Why can’t the man have the job at Microsoft?

A．Because he was lazy.	B．Because he didn't pass the test.
C．Because he didn’t have an e-mail.	D．Because he didn’t have the application.

The underlined word “tripled” can be replaced by “_________”.

A．became 3 times	B．became large
C．increased quickly	D．decreased quickly

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world.

B．Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft.

C．He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket.

D．The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview.

Which proverb can be the title of the story?

A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing (幸事).

B．Actions speak louder than words.

C．Accidents will happen.

D．No pains, no gains.