I want to talk about the economy．Not "the economy" we hear about endlessly in the news each day and in politicians' speeches．I want to talk about the real economy, the one we live in day by day．
Most people aren't particularly interested in "the economy"．"Share prices are flying high; interest rates are soaring(令人伤心的）; the Dow Jones Index closed sixty-three points down on 8472．35．" We hear this and subconsciously switch off．
Notice that "the economy" is not the same as the economy, "The economy" is what men in suits play with to make vast personal wealth．The economy is where the rest of us live on a daily basis, earning our living, paying our taxes, and purchasing the necessities of life．
We are supposed to be benefiting from all the advantages of a well-off society．So why do we feel tired and stressed? We have no time for anything other than work, which is ridiculous given the number of labor-saving devices in our lives．Our towns become more and more crowded．We poison our air and seas, and our food is full of chemicals．There's something wrong here．If times were truly good, then you may think we'd all feel optimistic about the future．Yet the majority of us are deeply worried．More than 90 percent of us think we are too concerned about ourselves and not concerned enough about future generations．
The term "economic expansion" suggests something desirable, but expansion simply means spending more money．More spending doesn't mean that life is getting better. We all know it often means the opposite - greed, crime, poverty, pollution. More spending merely feeds our whole economic system, which is based on production and consumption. Unless money keeps circulating, the economy breaks down. If we don't keep consuming, the whole system goes into stalemate（僵局）．
How do we break the cycle and make some changes? We need to become far more aware of the results of our actions. We buy clothes that are made in sweat shops by virtual slaves in poor parts of the world. We create mountains of waste. We demand cheap food, mindless of the fact that it totally lacks taste and is produced using chemicals that poison the land．
The consumption（消费） culture makes us unaware of the effect of our own behavior. Our main problem is not that we don't know what to do about it. It is gathering the desire to do it．According to the author, which one belongs to the real economy?
| A．The Dow Jones Index． | B．Increases in interest rates． |
| C．Shopping in a supermarket． | D．Skyrocketing share prices． |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 4 that ．
| A．people are benefiting from a well-off society |
| B．the future generation is a big concern for most people |
| C．the majority of people are optimistic about the future |
| D．people still feel much pressure despite labor-saving devices |
What is true about economic expansion?
| A．It may lead to some social problems． |
| B．It guarantees a better life for us． |
| C．It will stop the circulation of money． |
| D．It has only brought desirable effects． |
The author writes the passage mainly to ．
| A．suggest a solution for over-consumption |
| B．call on us to change our behavior |
| C．make a distinction between two economies |
| D．inform us of the effects of economic expansion |
There is an interesting, but at the same time a sad phenomenon now: there is a rise in the number of singers and bands that have little to do with good music．Many singers or bands know little about what good music means．What is the cause of this rise?
Most of these singers have taken music as a “job” because it is a good source of making money．And if you have a good appearance and also expensive clothes to show off at your concerts or at different appearances in public, then your voice is not as important as it should be．The public will prefer to admire more the most interesting parts of your body, whether you are a girl or a boy．They will even forget about the fact that you are there to show your music skills, not your dancing, which is important too, but not at such a high level．
Therefore, we can see many young girls on TV who look very good but who have nothing to do with music．They choose to wear very provocative（挑逗性的）clothes to catch attention, but when it comes to singing they are a complete mess and one doesn’t need to have an ear for music to notice their lack of talent．But anyway, they have concerts and they enjoy travelling from one place to another．It is the public’s fault because they accept this and are pleased with this commercial music．People who enjoy this kind of music are generally young people while adults prefer listening to old good bands．
However, the young generation should understand while appearance is important, it is less important than talent and a good voice．If somebody has a great voice and wants to become a singer, he should take some special courses in this area, because they will help them improve singing abilities．The passage shows that many singers consider music as _______．
| A．an art serving the public | B．a good way of making money |
| C．a way of living fully | D．a fashionable lifestyle |
From the passage we can learn that _______．
| A．appearance is the most important thing in the world of music |
| B．all people who have received training in singing can become famous |
| C．adults should help young people improve their abilities |
| D．a singer’s talent and voice are the most important factors |
What do you think is the author’s attitude towards the rising number of new singers and bands?
| A．Critical． | B．Supportive． | C．Tolerant． | D．Worried． |
What kind of article does this passage belong to?
| A．entertainment | B．sport | C．comment | D．Story |
Lakes, ponds, and beaches mean summer fun and cool relaxation from hot weather．But water also can be dangerous for kids if you don't take great care．Nearly 1,000 kids die each year by drowning．
Here are some tips to keep your kids safe in the water:
At the Lake or Pond
○Don't let little kids swim alone without adult supervision— lakes or ponds may be shallow near the bank and are suddenly deep sharply further out from shore．
○Ponds and lakes may hide jagged（锯齿状的）rocks, broken glass, or rubbish．
○Make sure kids wear foot protection; even in the water, they should wear socks or water shoes．
○Watch out for weeds and grass in the water that could trap a leg or arm．
○Most boating accidents, particularly among teenagers, are related to alcohol（饮酒）．Be sure teens know about the dangers of alcohol, on and off the water．
At the Beach
○Teach kids to always swim when and where a lifeguard is on duty．Unlike the calm waters of a swimming pool, the beach has special dangers like currents and tides（暗流）．Check with the lifeguard when you arrive to find out about the water conditions．
○Tell kids never to stand with their back to the water because a sudden wave can easily knock a child over．
○Teach kids that if they're caught in a dangerous wave, they should swim parallel（顺行地）to the shore or should tread （踩）water and call for a lifeguard's help．
Whether at the lake or at the beach, teach your child to get out of the water during bad weather, especially lightning．Which is the right behavior when swimming at the beach?
| A．Go off the water without a lifeguard on duty |
| B．Go on swimming in a heavy rain |
| C．Go off the water before checking the water conditions |
| D．Call for help if caught in a dangerous wave |
A child should_________ at a lake．
| A．swim on his/her own |
| B．be careful about weeds and grass |
| C．swim without shoes on |
| D．drink only a little wine |
Swimming at a beach is more dangerous than in a pool because．
| A．there are no lifeguards at a beach |
| B．there are currents and tides at a beach |
| C．the waters of a beach are more calm． |
| D．the waters of a pool are warmer |
The passage is probably written for ．
| A．students at school |
| B．kids who want to learn swimming |
| C．parents with little children |
| D．coaches who teach kids to swim |
In which column（栏目）of a magazine can you find this passage?
| A．Education | B．Science | C．Entertainment | D．Sports |
If you are a human, you can’t help but experience the time when everything seems to be going wrong and you feel as if your life is completely out of control．It is during the low time that words of encouragement from family, friends, coworkers or even strangers can boost your spirits．It is also during the low time that destructive words can be devastating（毁灭性的）and make you sink deeper and deeper into depression．
For example, consider this story about a group of frogs who were traveling through the woods when two of them fell into a deep pit（深坑）．All of the other frogs gathered around the pit．When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two unfortunate frogs they would never get out．
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump out of the pit．The other frogs kept telling them to stop．Finally, one of the two frogs took notice of what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up．He died．The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could．Once again the crowd of frogs shouted at him to stop the pain．The more they shouted, the harder he jumped and finally he made it．
When he got out, the other frogs asked him why he continued to jump when they were all shouting at him to tell him to give up．The frog explained to them that he was a little bit deaf．He thought they were encouraging him the whole time．
Every time you have a chance to say either something positive or negative to another human being, do choose the chance to say something positive! Don’t let those opportunities get away from you．Your words have a large amount of power．Use them wisely．You really never know just how much they can mean to someone else．Why did the frog that succeeded in jumping to safety neglect（忽视）the other frogs’ comments?
| A．Because he would like to jump out of the pit． |
| B．Because he could hardly hear what the other frogs said． |
| C．Because he didn’t want to give up his hope． |
| D．Because he had a positive attitude toward life． |
What can we infer from the first paragraph?
| A．There is no way to go when we go wrong． |
| B．Life depends on encouragement． |
| C．Destructive words will lead to death． |
| D．Words are playing an important role around us． |
The writer mainly wants to tell us ________ in the last paragraph．
| A．the power of words |
| B．positive words |
| C．negative words |
| D．the opportunities to say something |
The Internet is not perfect．There are many problems with it．
The Internet is not organized．There is no one in charge of the Internet．It is sometimes difficult to find what you are looking for．It is also easy to get the wrong information on the “Net”．
Some businessmen cheat people on the Internet．Internet thieves can steal credit card numbers．Some advertisers send spam to e-mail boxes．E-mail boxes are often filled with these unwanted advertisements．
Illegal businesses can operate on the Internet．These businesses sell X-rated materials, cigarettes and alcohol to teenagers．
The Internet has websites with information about making bombs, breaking the law and terrorism．
Criminals can fool people, especially children, in chat rooms．They can spread poisonous information and attack new members．
The Internet is the greatest advance in communication since human emerged．But it can also be like a dark alley in a dangerous part of town．Parents need to set parental controls on their children when they use the Internet．This will keep some of the bad materials away from their children．
The Internet can be dangerous to computers, too．Some people who have evil intentions enjoy causing problems for other people they don’t even know．They create computer viruses．A computer can get viruses by downloading a program that has a virus in it．Some viruses come by e-mail．
A virus can destroy the data a person has saved in computer files．A virus can cause a computer to crash．A virus can also reproduce itself! It can send copies of itself to everyone on a person’s e-mail address list．Then these people’s computers will have the same problems and can’t work normally!The underlined word “spam” in the third paragraph means __________．
| A．letters | B．products |
| C．useless information | D．poisonous information |
Why can illegal businesses operate on the Internet?
| A．Because there is no one in charge of the Internet． |
| B．Because some people like to buy banned products on the Internet． |
| C．Because X-rated materials, cigarettes, alcohol and so on can be sold well on the Internet． |
| D．Because people who operate businesses on the Internet are criminals． |
Parental controls are needed when children use the Internet because __________．
| A．children can’t use the computers well |
| B．children may damage the computers |
| C．the Internet is always unsafe for the children |
| D．poisonous information may have a bad effect on children |
We can infer from the passage that the key to solving the problems with the Internet is __________．
| A．to improve the computers |
| B．to improve people’s moral level |
| C．to order people not to use the Internet |
| D．to find a medicine to kill computer viruses |
Grandpa’s hobby was making birdhouses. He always said, “A man has to keep busy to stay out of trouble.” Leigh wasn’t sure how much trouble Grandpa could get into anyway, since he was such a nice man, but Leigh tried to listen to his advice. Besides, she liked to help on his birdhouses.
Grandpa’s shop was full of well-oiled and carefully-kept tools. Whenever he used something, he put it back in exactly the right place. He had rules about how he treated his tools, because he hated buying something new if the old one still worked. He also made sure to clean up each time he worked on something.
It wasn’t too fun cleaning up, but it was nice to watch him cut boards to exact lengths. It was nice to see the drill put in holes for screws(螺丝) to go in cleanly. It was like being a doctor, but with wood. The best part of building was seeing all the pieces come together in the final form.
The last steps always included lacquer or paint, to help protect Grandpa’s hard work from the weather. His birdhouses lasted for years. If he didn’t coat them properly, the sun and rain would turn the wood gray and weak in a short period of time. No, he always made sure to do things right. Even if he put rocks or other cute decorations on them, it was done right and made to last.
Grandpa was a hard worker, but he was also smart and generous. He let Leigh keep the birdhouses sometimes, but only if he got to help hang it up or set the post for it. It had to be done just right, after all.
The birdhouses were a great way to learn about woodworking, hard work, taking care of what you have, and about birds. The best thing about building birdhouses was that Leigh spent some time with Grandpa.What’s the best title for the text?
| A．Long-lasting Birdhouses |
| B．Birdhouses Making |
| C．Birdhouses, Home for Birds |
| D．Grandpa’s Birdhouses |
What did Leigh value most?
| A．Listening to Grandpa’s advice. |
| B．Helping Grandpa on his birdhouses. |
| C．Spending some time with Grandpa. |
| D．Learning about woodworking and birds. |
We can learn from the text that Grandpa ________.
| A．was a very good carpenter |
| B．lived a very hard life |
| C．didn’t care about cleaning up |
| D．kept thousands of birds |