The iPhone, the iPad, each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fashion. 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 UK — that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of London’s 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 targeted at young people and considering the major readers of 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, 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 BBC Magazines. “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 BBC Magazines 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(一时的狂热). 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 eventually disappeared.People use iPlayer to ______.
| A．listen to music |
| B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online |
| D．play computer games |
We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is aimed at ______.
| A．fashionable women | B．young readers |
| C．old readers | D．engineers |
Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are ______.
| A．environmentally friendly | B．advanced |
| C．recyclable | D．portable |
The writer suggests that ______.
| A．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
| B．“i” products are often of high quality |
| C．iTeddy is a live bear popular in the US and UK |
| D．the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products |
Primary teachers are responsible for guiding children through the formation of many important life skills, and also watching over their students’ social development. Primary teachers come into contact with about 30 students every day, and teach them a variety of subjects. Many hours are spent before and after class on planning, preparation and correction. One should be a very patient, caring, yet firm person to be able to deal with the demands of children in the four to twelve-year-old age group.
Secondary teachers teach specific subjects to various groups of students. Just like primary teachers, they spend an amount of time planning and preparing lessons and correcting homework—their duties are not restricted to face-to-face teaching. Dealing with twelve to eighteen-year-olds requires a wide range of skills.
If you become a primary teacher, you will need to decided whether to be a “generalist (多面手)”, teaching a wide range of subjects, or a "specialist", teaching only one or two. Most primary teachers are specialists. Generalist teachers spend the greatest part of th
eir day with one class, which means that they spend more time with the same children. Specialist teachers have more time away from their students. It is therefore very important for generalist teachers to develop a strong working relationship with their students.
The unique rapport (和谐) you can develop with a particular set of students is one of teaching’s greatest pleasures. However, the disadvantage of primary teaching is that if you have a difficult student, you will be forced to deal with him or her, all day, every day, throughout the school year. Teachers need to work out strategies to get themselves and their students through such difficulties.
Primary teachers today are generally four-year trained. They usually do a three or four-year undergraduate degree, and if this degree does not include teacher training, they will have to undertake postgraduate study in education as well.
1. After class primary teachers usually_____________
A. come into contact with students
B. teach students a variety of subjects
C. deal with the demands of children
D. make planning, preparation and correction
2. What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
A. What a primary teacher needs to do in the classroom.
B. The differences between generalist and specialist teaching.
C. How a primary teacher should try his best in the school.
D. The relationship between the primary teachers and students.
3. We can learn from this passage that___________
A. a primary teacher needs a wide range of skills
B. the disadvantage of primary teaching is having difficult students
C. teacher training is not important for a primary teacher
D. secondary teachers mainly teach children two subjects
4. The author writes the article in order to_________
A. tell teachers how primary teachers guide students
B. tell teachers what you should do as a primary teacher
C. let readers know more about primary teachers
D. let readers know how to be a primary teacher
Cellphone feels like a part of your body? A global survey has found that most people can’t live without 
their mobiles, never leave home without them and, if given a choice, would rather lose their wallet.
Calling mobile phones the “remote control” for life, market research firm Synovate’s poll said cell phones are so ubiquitous that by last year more humans owned one than did not.
Three-quarters of the more than 8,000 respondents polled online in 11 countries said they take their phone with them everywhere, which Russians and Singaporeans the most attached.
More than a third also said they couldn’t live without their phone, topped by Taiwanese and again Singaporeans, while one in four would find it harder to replace the mobile than their purse.
Some two thirds of respondents go to bed with their phones nearby and can’t switch them off, even though they want to, because they’re afraid they’ll miss something.
Mobiles have changed the nature of relationships, with the survey finding a fifth of all respondents set up first dates via text and almost the same number use the same method to end a love affair.
Apart from the obvious calling and SMS-ing, the top three features people use regularly on their mobile phones globally are the alarm clock, the camera and the games.
As for email and Internet access, 17 percent of respondents said they checked their inboxes or surfed the Web on their phones, led by those in the United States and Britain.
One in 10 respondents log onto(注册) social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace regularly via mobile, again led by Britain and the United States.
Not everyone is tech savvy(科技通), however,37 percent of respondents said they don’t know how to use all the functions on their phone.
1. How many people of all respondents end a love affair via text?
A. About 4,800. B. About 3,600.
C. About 2,400. D. About 1,600.
2. According to the survey, like surfing the Internet with a cellphone most.
A. Singaporeans B. RussiansC. Americans D. Chinese
3. Which of the following functions of cellphones is the least used?
A. Calling. B. Playing games.
C. Taking photos. D. Surfing the Internet.
4. Which would be the best title of the passage?
A. People can live better without the cellphone.
B. People would rather lose their wallet than their cellphone.
C. Different uses of the cellphone.
D. New functions of the cellphone.
Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.
The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes “the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don’t seem to learn from history. ”Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.
A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can not even understand who we are and where we are without history, much less try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.
I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. In doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplished. I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.
1. What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?
A. Many people aren’t clever enough to learn well from the past.
B. Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes.
C. Many people feel it hard to understand history.
D. Many people have no interest in studying history.
2. In Paragraph 3, the author shows that history is useful because
A. it makes the current political situation go smoothly
B. it helps us realize the importance of historical events
C. it helps us understand why things are the way they are
D. it helps people accept the present situation where they live
3. Some historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show
A. people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil
B. people may also learn from bad historical figures
C. more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements
D. today’s people can also achieve what they achieved
4. What would be talked about in the following paragraph?
A. How to teach history effectively.
B. Some negative reasons for studying history.
C. How to get more people to study history.
D. Some bad historical figures.
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D中，选出最佳选项。
Tears are nature’s way of making us feel more comfortable. When our eyes are made uncomfortable by some small pieces of pollution, or when we are cutting onions, or when we are exhausted and “red-eyes” from over work and late hours, tears form in our eyes to clean and refresh them.
Tears are also a sign of strong emotion. We cry when we are sad and we cry when we are happy.
And tears seem to be uniquely human. We know that animals also experience emotion--fear, pleasure, loneliness, but they do not shed (流) tears.
Biologically speaking, tears are actually drops of saline fluid, which is a little bit salty, produced by a gland (腺) in the body. Because salt is an important component, tears may actually constitute the most conclusive evidence that the human animal is the end product of a long evolutionary process that began in the sea.
And it is clear that, in addition to the emotional benefits, the shedding of tears has a specific biological function as well. Through tears, we can eliminate from our body certain chemicals which build up in response to stress and create a chemical imbalance in the body. Crying actually makes us feel better by correcting that imbalance and making us feel good again. And thus the emotional and the biological functions of tears merge (合并) into one and make us even more “human” than we would otherwise be.
1. According to the passage, human beings may have originated in
A. the sea B. the salt C. chemicals D. animals
2. Which of the following is NOT a function of tears?
A. Biological. B. Emotional. C. Political. D. Chemical.
3 According to the article, which of the following is unique to humans?
A. The feeling of loneliness. B. The state of feeling good.
C. The ability to shed tears. D. The feeling of fear.
4. The underlined word "eliminate" probably means
A. add B. produceC. replace D. remove
It is easy to understand the way a culture approaches disagreements by looking at the communication styles in that culture. In societies where open discussion is encouraged, conflict is much more common and accepted. On the other hand, cultures that strive to reduce conflicts and maintain harmony do not see such interaction appropriate, particularly in the workplace.
In Australia, Great Britain, and the United States, for example, disagreements are considered a natural part of communication. People in these countries typically have open and honest discussions, even if people’s differences of opinion lead to confrontation(对抗，对立). In business setting, this may mean debating with a colleague or a supervisor over the approach to a task. Or, co-workers might have a discussion about whether an agenda(议程)item during a meeting is suitable or not. Conflict is not necessarily negative ，though. And many people feel that debating an issue is as rewarding as resolving it. Successful conflict resolution(冲突解决) is also seen as a valuable skill, most people at the management level are expected to be very good at handling conflicts that arise in the workplace.
The Asian style of communication is quite different. In almost parts of eastern Asia, individuals present their ideas and then wait for others to do the same. They prefer to seek agreement from a group without rejecting another’s opinions out loud. In business meetings, subordinates (下级) will hardly disagree openly with their supervisor. This shows respect for supervisor, and it reflects the cultural importance placed on politeness and building harmony and trust.
1. The best title for this passage is ______.
A. Approaching Disagreements B. Differences of Opinion
C. Culture and Communication D. Conflict Resolution
2. In Australia, people would consider disagreement______.
A. a negative part of communication B. necessary in their communication
C. normal and beneficial D. Unimportant in communication
3. Which of the following is true according to the author?
A. Subordinates in the USA don’t try to show their respect in the supervisors.
B. Asian people at management level are not good at handling conflicts.
C. People in Asia always try to avoid conflicts.
D. People in some western countries like to have conflicts.
4. What does the underlined word “harmony” probably mean?
A. Difference B. Agreement C. Respects D. Communication