There are many kinds of sales. For example, a “back-to-school sale” is held near the beginning of the school year. Parents like the lower prices of the clothes and school supplies for their children.
A “midnight madness” event starts very late at night. An “early bird special” sale starts very early in the morning. This kind of sale is popular the day after Thanksgiving in November.
A favorite sale among many people is the “buy one, get one free” sale. You buy one thing and get a second one without cost. When people see the word “free” in an advertisement they know they are getting a good deal. As a matter of fact, it is not the case.
Another kind of sale is a “going out of business” sale. This is when a storeowner tries to sell all the goods in the store before closing the business permanently(永久地).
Let us say the store sells floor coverings. The owner lowers the prices and puts up a sign that says: “Going out of business sale. All items MUST be sold by tomorrow.”
People who buy the floor coverings think they are getting a special deal because everything must be sold in a short period of time. Then, days later they see the store did not close permanently. And they see the same sign that claims the store is going out of business. Some business owners really do not end the business. They just want to earn more money.
People also hold their own sales. They hold garage sales and yard sales outside their home. They sell things they no longer want. Groups such as religious centers or schools hold bake sales. They sell cakes, cookies and other baked goods to raise money.
In America, you can always find a good sale, no matter the day or time of year. There is the Independence Day sale, Veteran’s Day sale, clearance sale, sidewalk sale, red tag sale, white sale, blue light special, liquidation sale, half-off sale, warehouse sale, tent sale ...What does the passage mainly deal with?
| A．How to save money in shopping. |
| B．Different kinds of sales. |
| C．Shoppers’ ways to earn money. |
| D．Reasons for the popularity of sales. |
What do we call the sale if it starts before the sun rises?
| A．A “back-to-school sale”. |
| B．A “midnight madness” event. |
| C．An “early bird special” sale. |
| D．A “buy one, get one free” sale. |
Why do parents like a “back-to-school sale”?
| A．Because it has a variety of school supplies. |
| B．Because it is held at the beginning of the school year. |
| C．Because it provides plenty school uniforms. |
| D．Because they can save money. |
What’s the purpose of some owners who do “going out of business” sale repeatedly?
| A．They want to close the business permanently. |
| B．They want to give special offers to customers. |
| C．They want to sell all their goods in a short period of time. |
| D．They want to cheat the customers into buying their goods. |
Kenya wants to organize a major international conference to discuss how to fight piracy(海盗) off the coast of Somalia. The conference may also deal with ways to rescue Somalia from seventeen years of civil war. More than forty percent of its people depend on food aid.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula says the world cannot end piracy and civil war without dealing with Somalia’s political problems.
Somali pirates operate in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean by way of the Suez Canal. The pirates have fast boats, modern weapons and equipment like satellite phones and global positioning systems.
Pirates hijacked the Sirius Star off the coast of Kenya and moved it to waters off Somalia.
The tanker Sirius Star, at three hundred thirty meters long, is the biggest ship ever known to have been captured by pirates. It also happened farther south than most attacks, and farther out at sea ---- more than eight hundred kilometers from land.
The ship was headed for the United States with two million karrels of oil, worth an estimated one hundred million dollars. A Saudi Arabian company owns the tanker. The pirates have reportedly demanded twenty-five million dollars in negotiations to release the ship and its crew of twenty-five.
Somali pirates generally do not steal goods or kill hostages. They are believed to be holding seventeen ships with about three hundred crew members. Among the ships is a Ukrainian vessel hijacked(劫持) in September with a load of military weapons including tanks.
The increase in piracy is raising the cost of insuring ships. Also, oil from the Middle East and exports from East Asia could take longer to arrive.
Some of the world’s heaviest shipping traffic passes the Somali coast. But major shipping companies have begun to consider new routes. One of the world’s biggest shippers, A.P, Moeller Maersk, says it will avoid the Gulf of Aden. A move away from the Suez Canal could hurt Egypt’s economy.
American and other foreign navy ships are now watching for pirates. This week the Indian Navy destroyed a heavily armed “mother ship” in the Gulf of Aden. But the area to protect covers more than one hundred sixty million square kilometers. According to the passage, which of the following is the key to solving the piracy in Somalia?
| A．Providing lots of money. | B．Ending Civil war. |
| C．Supplying enough food. | D．Handling Somalia’s political problems. |
Somali pirates do the following things except that _______.
| A．they demand money | B．they hold the ships with crew |
| C．they kill some of the hostages | D．they hijack ships with military weapons |
What can we infer from the passage?
A．The cost of ship  transport is decreasing. |
| B．The routes of some ships might change. |
| C．Nothing has been done to fight against the piracy. |
| D．The Suez Canal is of no importance to Egypt’s economy. |
During the last twenty years there has been increasing concern with the quality of the environment. Along with air and water pollutions, noises pollution has been recognized as a serious pollutant. As noise levels have risen, the effects of noise have become more apparent.
Noise is defined as "unwanted sound". Causes of noise pollution include traffic, aircraft, rock bands, barking dogs, televisions, garbage trucks, and noise from neighbors, voices, alarms, and watercrafts. Studies show that over forty percent of Americans are disturbed at home or lose sleep because of noise pollution.
Noise has bad effects on people and the environment. Noise causes hearing loss, interferes (妨碍) with human activities at home and work, and is in various ways dangerous to people's health and well being.
When we think, talk, listen to music, or sleep, we need quiet. Even low levels of noise can be
annoying or frustrating. Sudden increases in volume can make sounds annoying. The quieter the background is, the more penetrating a noise can be.
Noise can also make instructions or warning unclear, resulting in accidents. Louder noise bursts can be more disruptive (破坏性).Continued stress can lead to high blood pressure, which is the major cause of some diseases.
Long exposure to noise levels above eight-five decibels (分贝) can damage inner cells and lead to hearing loss. Noise can result in the involuntary fear response and can cause adrenaline (肾上腺素) to be pumped into the bloodstream, the heart rate to quicken, muscles to tense, breathing to increase, and the digestive system to slow down.
Local government has the responsibility to fight noise pollution. For example, it can regulate the speed of trains through their community. On the other hand, a responsible citizen will never make noise pollution wherever he is. How many kinds of environmental pollution are mentioned in the text?
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
According to the text, noise pollution may be caused by .
| A．parties and meetings | B．zoos and theaters |
| C．schools and factories | D．vehicles and animals |
What does the underlined word "penetrating" in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．High and exciting | B．Sharp and shocking |
| C．Loud and unpleasant | D．Clear and comfortable |
In the last paragraph, the writer suggests that .
| A．individuals and government should work together to reduce noise pollution |
| B．the government should offer it's people better education on noise pollution |
| C．the government should be responsible for noise pollution |
| D．people who make noise pollution should be punished |
Which of the following is not related to noise pollution?
| A．hearing loss | B．speeding the digestive system |
| C．high blood pressure | D．accidents |
Facebook is now used
by 30 million people in the UK, about half the population.
Joanna Shields, vice president of Facebook Europe, made the announcement this morning at a media conference in London.
She said: "We can announce today that we have reached 30 million in the UK, which we are really excited about."
Globally, Facebook has more than 500 million registered users, a milestone it hit last summer. Last July, it also revealed that it had 26 million registered UK users. In the last eight months, it has attracted four million extra UK users, bringing the UK total to 30 million, while in January 2009, Facebook had only 150 million registered users.
Last year, Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, said it was "almost a guarantee" that the site would hit one billion users. He explained: "If we succeed in innovating, there is a good chance of bringing this to a billion people...it will be interesting to see how it comes true."
One third of women aged 18 to 34 check Facebook when they first wake up, before even going to the toilet, according to research. Twenty-one per cent of women aged between 18 to 34 check Facebook in the middle of the night, while 42 per cent of the same group think it is fine to post drunken photos of themselves onto the social network, a study by Oxygen Media found.
Shields was speaking this morning at the Financial Times Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference about the power Facebook's referrals can bring to media sites, such as newspapers and TV services.
She explained that the average Facebook user has 130 friends who they share links to media sites with on a regular basis. "Media companies which take advantage of that are really seeing the benefits", Shields said.
Shields refused to say whether Facebook would develop its own mobile phone operating system and also said it was "silly" that Google had recently disabled the feature (特点) which allowed Google users to sync their contacts with Facebook friends.What is Joanna Shields content with?
| A．the announcement | B．media conference |
| C．fast growing registered users | D．the benefits of Facebook |
How many registered users all over the world now?
A．2 6 million |
B．30 million |
| C．150 million | D．more than 500 million |
Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, take a more view about the future of Facebook.
| A．negative | B．optimistic | C．cold | D．pessimistic |
What kind of people are more interested in Facebook according to the passage?
| A．teenagers | B．middle-aged people |
| C．old people | D．young people |
From the passage we know that .
| A．Facebook would develop its own mobile phone operating system |
| B．Google didn't allow its users to sync their contacts with Facebook friends |
| C．Shields refused to admit the power Facebook's referrals could bring |
| D．Google was always silly |
Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook from scratch (从头开始 )? Have you been doing internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can't you be bothered to do?
A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of adults are so idle they'd catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.
Just over 2000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain's largest health charity. The results were surprising.
About one in six people surveyed said if their remote control was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up.
More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus. Worryingly, of the 654 respondents (回答者) with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them.
This led the report to conclude that it's no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classified as obese (肥胖) before they start school.
Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said: "People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends and obviously their pets too.
"If we don't start to take control of this problem, a whole ge
neration will become too unfit to perform even the most basic of tasks."
And Scotland's largest city,
Glasgow, was shamed as the laziest city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.
The results pose (对... 提出) serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year. For the i
nterest of country people should .
| A．continue watching the same channel rather than get up to get the remote control |
| B．carry out even the most basic of tasks |
| C．get enough exercise to get fitter |
| D．admit they do not get enough exercise |
Which of the following statements agrees with British people?
| A．They are fond of climbing the stairs. |
| B．They are willing to accompany their children. |
| C．They like sports and get enough exercise. |
| D．They are suffering from obesity-related illnesses. |
What does the word "idle" in paragraph 2 mostly probably mean?
| A．active | B．lazy | C．optimistic | D．pessimistic |
Which country is the writer most likely to come from?
| A．America | B．China | C．U.K | D．France |
What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．UK is taking measures to get over laziness. |
| B．How lazy British people are. |
| C．British people are suffering from laziness. |
| D．Challenges for the National Health Service. |
Today's parents miss the golden age that their own mothers enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers found.
Mothers have less time to themselves and feel under greater pressure to juggle work and family life than the previous generation. As a result, 88 per cent said they felt guilty about the lack of time they spent with their children.
The survey of 1,000 mothers also found that more than a third said they had less time to themselves than their mothers did — just three hours a week or 26 minutes a day.
And 64 percent said this was because they felt they 'had' to go out to work, while nearly a third (29 per cent) said they were under constant pressure to be the 'perfect mother', the report found.
Other findings showed social network and parenting website were important in proving help and support among female communities
Kate Fox, of the Social Issues Research Centre, which conducted the survey for Procter & Gamble, said: "With increasing pressure on mothers to work a 'double shift' — to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner — support networks are more important than ever."
It comes as a separate report examining childcare in the leading industrialized nations found that working mothers in Britain spend just 81 minutes a day caring for their children as a "primary activity".
Critics say the pressure on women to work long hours, and leave their chil
dren in the hands of nurseries or child minders, is putting the well-being of their children at risk.
The study also reveals that, despite the fact that more and more modern mothers go out to work, the 
burden of childcare still falls on them — even if their husband is not in work.
A father who is not in work tends to spend just 63 minutes a day looking after his child — 18 minutes less than a mother who goes out to work.
Working fathers spare less than three quarters of an hour with their children.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．More and more modern mothers go out to work to support the families. |
| B．Today's parents would rather leave their children in the hands of nurseries. |
| C．Today's parents have less time to take care of their children. |
| D．To keep the balance of work and family is not an easy thing. |
What does the underlined word "juggle" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．keep objects in the air |
| B．do many things at once |
| C．change things |
| D．organize spending |
According to Kate Fox, .
| A．people should learn to relax by using the network |
| B．network plays an important role in society |
| C．mothers should make use of the network to gain support |
| D．it is impossible for woman to become the "double shift" |
Today's mothers lack the time to company their children mainly because .
| A．they have no choice but go to work |
| B．they are under constant pressure |
| C．they want to be "the perfect mother" |
| D．they have less time to themselves |
Which of the following statements is True?
| A．Mothers usually spend three hours looking after their children a day. |
| B．Since more and more modern mothers go out to work, the burden of childcare falls on fathers. |
| C．Child minders are good to the health of the children. |
| D．Mothers spend more time with their children than fathers. |