When Peng Liyuan stepped off the plane in Moscow,the whole world wanted to know who dressed the elegant first lady.The reporter released the secret—Ma Ke. 
Peng Liyuan has been wearing Ma Ke’s designs for more than a decade,a fact that was only highlighted recently when she was on her first state visit,accompanying her husband President Xi Jinping.The elegant and attractive Peng,formerly a popular singer,has been compared with the US’ first lady Michelle Obama and France’s Carla BruniSarkozy,since stepping off the airplane in Moscow on March 22.Suddenly,everyone was curious to know more about the first lady’s wardrobe.
Even so,Ma prefers a lowkey approach.“If you eat a tasty egg why would you want to see the hen?” she says of all the media attention.
Ma’s relationship with Peng began 10 years ago after a concert in Guangzhou when a reporter told Peng she knew the designer behind the label Exception de Mixmind.Peng asked for an introduction because she was a fan of Ma’s designs and had been wearing them for years.
The two naturally became friends.Ma says:“The painting reflects the painter,and clothes reflect both the designer and the wearer.Someone desires fame and wealth,or love and sympathy;what you have in your heart is reflected in the design.Those who don’t share my philosophy won’t buy my clothes.Peng is a caring person,devoted to charity and environmental protection,which is exactly what I’m doing now.”
However,regardless of the brand,Peng’s support of Chinese labels has surprised millions of Chinese who favor foreign fashion brands.
“Instead she presented a vision of Chinese fashion,desiring to bring Chinese designers to the world stage,” says a western designer.
The first lady’s doublebreasted coat and her black leather handbag aren’t available at any of Exception’s shops,though Exception’s physical stores do have seen a rising number of visitors.The passage mainly discusses________.
| A.the designer of the first lady Peng Liyuan’s dress,Ma Ke |
| B.the friendship between Peng Liyuan and her designer |
| C.Peng Liyuan’s clothes on her first state visit |
| D.the reactions to Peng Liyuan’s first visit to Moscow |
In the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 Ma Ke mentioned “an egg and the hen” to show________.
| A.it is hard to explain “Which came first,the egg or the hen?” |
| B.paying such great attention to her was unnecessary |
| C.the outcome was more important than the process |
| D.her dissatisfaction with the media attention on her dress |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A.First ladies compete with each other whenever they are together. |
| B.Peng’s suits can be bought in Ma Ke’s clothes stores. |
| C.Ma Ke offered to design the first lady’s clothes through her friends. |
| D.Peng had liked Ma’s designs long before she got to know her in the flesh. |
In the passage,Peng Liyuan________.
| A.often reflects on what she has in her heart before choosing clothes |
| B.is sympathetic and has a strong environmental consciousness |
| C.always desires the exceptional charm of the brand |
| D.is knowledgeable in philosophy |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A.Peng wears the dress designed by a Chinese designer probably to support Chinese brands |
| B.Many citizens found Peng Liyuan’s choice quite unexpected. |
| C.Black leather handbags like Peng’s are widely sold in bag stores in big cities. |
| D.After Peng Liyuan’s visit to Moscow Ma Ke’s clothes became more popular. |
In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernadino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue(烤肉) restaurant, then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new idea: quick service, no waiters or waitresses, and no tips.
Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity(一致性), for the brothers had developed a strict routine(程序) for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became surprisingly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundreds during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success until they met Ray Kroc.
Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954, when he was selling milkshake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the special attraction of the brothers’ fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise(特许经营) other copies of their restaurants. The agreement included the right to duplicate(复制) the menu, the equipment, even their red and white buildings with the golden arches(拱门).
Today McDonald’s is really a household name. In 1976, McDonald’s had over $ l billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most surprising success stories in modern American business history.This passage mainly talks about _______.
| A.the development of fast food services |
| B.how McDonald’s became a billion-dollar business |
| C.the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonald |
| D.Ray Kroc’s business talent |
Mac and Dick managed all of the following businesses except _______.
| A.a drive-in | B.a theater |
| C.a cinema | D.a barbecue restaurant |
We may infer from this passage that _______.
| A.Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy for they sold their idea to Kroc. |
| B.the place the McDonalds chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-in |
| C.forty years ago there were lots of fast-food restaurants |
| D.Ray Kroc was a good businessman |
The passage suggests that _______.
| A.creativity is an important element of business success |
| B.Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothers |
| C.Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray Kroc |
| D.California is the best place to go into business |
Encouragement and praise can come in many forms, and some ways are better for child development than others. Researchers at the University of Chicago who studied mother-child interactions (互相作用) found that the type of praise children receive affects their attitudes towards challenges later in life.
Specifically, praise that focused on their behavior and the choices that kids made helped them deal with difficult experiences better five years later, compared with praise that focused more on the child himself, like “You’re a good boy.” The study, which appears in the journal Child Development, is the first major study of praise and child development done outside of a lab setting.
“It’s exciting to see it play out in the real world,” said Elizabeth Gunderson who led the study. “Praising the efforts, actions and work of kids is going to be more beneficial in their long-term persistence and desire to be challenged and work hard in the future.”
Such “process praise” includes comments such as “You worked really hard”, which emphasize a child’s actions. “Person praise” includes comments like “You’re so smart”, which focus on a child’s personal qualities. These distinctions (差别) aren’t new in the field of psychology, but exactly how they affect children’s development over the years hasn’t always been clear.
As part of the study, the researchers visited the homes of more than 50 kids between the ages of 1 and 3, and filmed their daily interactions with their parents during 90-minute sessions. Five years later, the researchers followed up with the families, measuring the children’s attitudes towards challenges and problem solving. The children who grew up with more process praise were more open to challenges. Though person praise didn’t seem to have any negative effect on the children, the study suggests that process praise teaches children that their talents and abilities can be developed and improved, while person praise sends the message that their abilities are fixed and therefore not easily changed.What can we learn from the first Paragraph?
| A.Researchers encourage more mother-child interactions. |
| B.Different kinds of praise have different effects on children. |
| C.Encouragement and praise have the same effects on children. |
| D.Researchers have different attitudes to children’s development. |
The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refers to _______ .
| A.the journal Child Development |
| B.the study of praise and child development |
| C.the relationship between parents and their children |
| D.the relationship between progress praise and person praise |
Which of the following belongs to "progress praise"?
| A.You did a good job! | B.What an adorable boy! |
| C.You're a real gentleman! | D.We are so proud of you! |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A.Praise is good for children's development. |
| B.Praise is more beneficial than punishment. |
| C.Person praise is better than process praise. |
| D.Process praise is more beneficial in the long run. |
If you hear the sound of a mobile phone beeping in a bag or pocket, you could think that someone has received a text message. Text messaging, or texting, is the art of sending a short, electronic message between two mobile phones. The users should pay a certain amount to send messages via SMS--- short message service. But in the last few years, with the development of smart phones, messaging in this way has been at a low ebb.
The rise of smart phones has seen an increase in the use of instant messaging apps. The apps offer a cheap alternative to traditional texts. Using wireless internet connections, people can send a number of messages to their friends at a very low cost. Unlike traditional mobile texts, the users usually only have to pay to download the app once, after which each message they send is free.
Instant messaging apps have become popular all over the world. Hundreds of millions of people use the apps to chat with their friends. These apps allow people to send pictures messages for free---something which previously was quite costly. Many of these apps also allow users to have access to a huge range of colourful emotions, which can help people express their emotions.
The research company Informa said that almost 19 billion messages were sent per day using chat apps last year, compared with 17.6 billion SMS texts. And it expects the chat app market to grow to 50 billion per day by 2015. So does this really mean the end of communicating by texting?
Pamela Clark-Dickson from Informa doesn’t think so. She says that there are a large number of people who use normal mobile phones, particularly in developing countries and prefer the SMS messaging tool. For the moment, these users still find that SMS is the best messaging experience for them.The underlined phrase “at a low ebb” can be replaced by “______”
| A.on the increase | B.on the decrease |
| C.in the end | D.at the moment |
What can we learn about instant messaging apps?
| A.Normal mobile phones can be used to download the apps. |
| B.The apps enjoy high popularity in developing countries. |
| C.Only part of the messages sent by the apps are free of charge. |
| D.It will cost the users some money for downloading the apps. |
Instant messaging apps won’t take the place of the SMS messaging tool soon in that_____________________________________
| A.there are a large number of people who enjoy using normal mobile phones. |
| B.many people in developing countries can’t afford to buy smart phones. |
| C.many people in developing countries don’t like instant messaging apps |
| D.instant messaging apps are only known to people in developed countries. |
In which section of an English newspaper will this text probably be found?
| A.Science & Technology | B.Culture |
| C.Entertainment | D.Health & care |
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| A.they lack confidence |
| B.they do exercise alone |
| C.they are under great pressure |
| D.they don't get enough exercise |
From the text, we can learn that if you join the gym, _______ .
| A.you'll lose weight safely but slowly |
| B.you'll struggle with workout routines |
| C.you'll be advised to pay attention to nutrition |
| D.you'll be advised to do nothing in between workouts |
How much do a couple have to pay if they join the gym today?
| A.$500. | B.$800. | C.$900. | D.$1,000. |
This text is most probably taken from a ________ .
| A.newspaper | B.magazine |
| C.website | D.textbook |
One day, our teacher talked about the stereotypes (固定看法) of different people. I learned the stereotypes of Mexicans: they are poor and lazy. I was ashamed of who I was because I am a Mexican and thought that it would be hard for me to be successful.
One day in the eleventh grade, we had a discussion in history class. The kid next to me said, "You look like one of those Mexicans who sell food in the street." I told him that he was also a Mexican. He said, "I don't look as Mexican as you. I have light skin." That was the first time that I'd heard someone say, "I don't look as Mexican as you." Could it be that the people who succeed in this country are those who look like an American?
Towards the end of the eleventh grade, I was asked to write a restaurant review. When I went to a restaurant, I saw the waiter talking to the chefs (厨师) and thought they were judging me. I felt nervous but I couldn't leave because I had to write the review. Minutes later, the waiter stopped talking and took my order. He was happy to serve me. I started asking him questions about his restaurant and I guessed that he liked that because he gave me a free dish. After I left the restaurant, I thought, "That's wasn't bad at all." Not all people think of me as a failure.
Now, I am running for the school president in my senior year. I am not sure if I can win, but I tell myself that if I want to be successful, I have to stop despising (鄙视) myself. I want to prove that Latinos can be successful. I do belong to the United States. An American is a person who overcomes struggles to become successful and that is what I'm doing.In Paragraph 2, what the kid said to the author made him doubt whether ______.
| A.he should laugh at the kid |
| B.the kid was a real Mexican |
| C.he should sell food in the street |
| D.the color of one's skin really mattered |
The author's experience of finishing his restaurant review helped him realize that .
| A.he could succeed easily if he tried his best |
| B.the waiters in America were all very friendly |
| C.not everyone in American looked down on Mexicans |
| D.he was actually popular with people around him |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A.Where one was born matters a lot. |
| B.Being a Mexican is hard in America. |
| C.Other people's opinions are very important. |
| D.It is what he does that makes him an American. |