If you hear the sound of a handset beeping(手机响) in a bag or pocket, you could be forgiven for thinking that someone has received a text message. But nowadays there are so many different ways of messaging someone that it could spell the death of the traditional text as we know it.
Text messaging, or texting, is the art of sending a short, electronic message between two mobile phones or tablets(平板电脑). Users pay a certain amount to send messages via(通过) SMS—short message service. But in the last few years, messaging in this way has been on the decline(下降).
The rise of smartphones and tablets has seen an increase in the use of instant messaging apps(即时通信应用程序) , which take the place of traditional texts. Using wireless Internet connections, people can send limitless numbers of IMs to their friends for very little cost. Unlike traditional mobile texts, the user usually only has to pay to download the app once, after which each message they send is free.
Web developers soon got the message. Instant messaging apps have become popular all over the world. WhatsApp in America and Europe, WeChat in China and Kakao Talk in South Korea are but a few which have attracted hundreds of millions of people, who use the apps to chat to their friends in real time. These apps allow people to send picture messages for free—something which previously was quite costly.
Research company Informa said that almost 19 billion messages were sent per day using chat apps in 2012, compared with 17. 6 billion SMS texts. And it expects the chat app market to grow t0 50 billion per day by 2014. So does this really mean the end for communication by text?
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, who prefer the SMS messaging tool. There is an awfully big base of mobile phone users who are still going to find that SMS is the best messaging experience for them for a while.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案，并将其标号填人题前括号内。 According to Paragraph 3 , which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Instant messaging apps are becoming more and more popular nowadays. |
| B．Compared with instant messaging, traditional texts are more popular now. |
| C．Instant messaging and SMS messaging are both ways we can chat with others. |
| D．More and more people choose to use smartphones and tablets. |
The underlined phrase "got the message" in Paragraph 4 means ______
| A．received an SMS message | B．got an instant message |
| C．understood what was wanted | D．got a piece of information |
Which of the following is true?
| A．people sent 19 billion SMS texts every day in 2012 |
| B．All the messages sent on mobile phones and computers are free |
| C．Picture messages can be sent at a high price if you use Wechat |
| D．To send instant messages , people usually have to download the app first |
What can we learn from the last paragragh?
| A．p amela Clark-Dickson doesn’t support the SMS messaging |
| B．Few people like sending messages via SMS at phones |
| C．Many people are still senging messages on mobile phones |
| D．SMS messaging has disappeared in developed courtries. |
What is the best title for text?
| A．the death of text messaging |
| B．How to send messages via SMS |
| C．SMS costs less than IMs |
| D．WeChat in China is popular. |
短文填空。（每空2分，共16分）
根据下面短文内容，在短文的空格处填上一个恰当的词，使短文完整、通顺。
Life is filled with regrets(遗憾). Anyone around you will have no difficulty telling his regrets. As we get older, we look back and wish that we had made better choices. What can we do to avoid future regrets?
Make better plans
If you start to do something, you need to make a plan before doing it. The earlier, the . You will know what comes first and what comes last. You’ll also know what you should do and what you shouldn’t do.
changes happen, you can have more time to deal with them.
Live a more active life
You can go around more often. More outdoor activities can keeprelaxed and active. You also need to be kind. “Thank you” can bring a smile to someone’s face. Learn to say “sorry” and don’t be angry with others.
Find the right friend
A friend may make your life and he or she can break your life as well. So you to think twice when you choose a friend. Good friends will always better your ideas.
When you get into trouble, ask others for . That little help may get you good results.
Never fear failure
Everybody fails. Even the greatest person failed. We should not fear failure, because failure is not theof the road. We must take failure as a chance to learn and improve ourselves.
Life is good. We don’t have to live in our past, but we do hope that we can plan better, better, and work better when we have the chance to do so.
任务型阅读。（每小题2分，共8分）
阅读下文并回答问题。
Hot pot(火锅) is many Chinese people’s favorite and Liu Yang is one of them.
Three days ago, Liu Yang arrived in England. There he had three days of hamburgers, sandwiches and potatoes. Yesterday he was very excited when he heard that there was going to be a meal of hotpot to welcome the new students.
He went into the room and sat next to an American girl. To his surprise, he saw potatoes and bread in front of him. Where was the hot pot?
When she saw Liu Yang was very surprised, the American girl told him that hotpot is NOT hot pot. China has hot pot in two words but English hotpot is written in one word.
Hotpot is made from meat, potatoes and onions. People put it in the oven(烤箱) all day in a heavy pot and on a low heat. It is easy to cook.
Hotpot tastes fine. But Liu Yang still misses hot pot, two words!Is hot pot many Chinese people’s favorite?
__________________________________________________________When did Liu Yang arrive in England?
__________________________________________________________Who told Liu Yang that hotpot is not hot pot?
__________________________________________________________Which country has hot pot in two words?
__________________________________________________________
When a computer works on a group of programs, it can get very hot. Cooling the computer can cost a lot. So some scientists wonder what would happen if the heat from the computer could be used.
Large Internet companies (公司) such as Google and Microsoft have thousands of computers. As these computers deal with information, they produce lots of heat, so they need huge cooling systems (系统). These systems send the heat into the air.
A company in Holland (荷兰) thinks paying to make the computers work and then paying again to cool them are a waste of energy. So the company developed a special device—the e-Radiator.
Boaz Leupe, head of the company, says that e-Radiator works as a heating system and saves money. He explains that the energy is used twice—once to heat the home and once to cool the computer and that the users don’t have to pay to cool their computers.
Five homeowners in Holland are testing the heating system in their homes.
“We pay for the computer using, so, in that way, homeowners get heating for free,” Boaz says.
Jan Visser is one of the homeowners. “If you use the computer more, the e-Radiator producers more heat, ”he says, “It cannot provide enough heat if you don’t use your computer often.” But he is ready to try it. It’s a great help for his family.
The company says e-Radiators produce heat temperatures of up to 55℃. It says the system could save its users about $440 a year.Before the e-Radiator appears, usually the heat of a computer ______.
| A．is sent into the air | B．helps the five homeowners |
| C．is used twice | D．makes the computer work better |
The e-radiator is mainly used _____.
| A．to drive the computer | B．to help Microsoft |
| C．to heat the computer | D．to provide heat |
The Chinese meaning of the word “device” in this passage is probably “____”.
| A．节能 | B．实验 | C．仪器 | D．开关 |
The best title of the passage may be “_____”.
| A．An Environment Problem |
| B．A New Way to Heat Homes |
| C．The Future Computers |
| D．The Energy to Be Wasted |
In April this year, lots of bags full of small change(零钱) were seen at bus stops in Tianjin. They were made for passengers to turn their notes into small change. And such an idea came from four students from Zhongbei Middle School, Tianjin.
“People will surely feel worried when they take a bus without coins. We just want to do something to help them,” said Wang Yongcun, 15, one of the four students.
The four boys spent their whole weekend making the change bags. After that they went to see the number of the passengers at each bus stop near their school, and then chose the top six stops to put the bags.
Many people think that the four boys have really done a good job. But, things didn’t go as the boys thought. Two days later, they found that the money was gone, and that even the bags were taken. It really made them sad but they would not give up. Their classmates and teachers came to help them in time. They put their pocket money in bags again. And the teachers also taught them to make better change bags. They tried their best to do it.
The four boys feel very happy because they have done something good for the passengers. Their warm hearts are moving. More and more people are beginning to join in the activity.The change bags were put _____.
| A．on the buses | B．at the bus stops |
| C．under the desks | D．near the parks |
It took _____ the whole weekend to make the change bags.
| A．the parents | B．the teachers |
| C．the passengers | D．the four boys |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The idea of small change bags came from four boys. |
| B．The passengers refused to put money in the bags. |
| C．The teachers gave up when the bags were taken. |
| D．The small change didn’t help the passengers much. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Making change bags is difficult |
| B．Pocket money can be helpful |
| C．Giving help brings us happiness |
| D．Every coin has two sides |
News Review
APEC Blue People in Beijing got the saying after the APEC meeting in Beijing. It refers to(指) the clear blue sky during the meeting. To get such a blue sky, many factories in Beijing and nearby cities stopped work, and the number of cars on the road was cut.
A Warning Ticket A 24-year-old woman in Nanjing was given a warning ticket for eating food on the subway. Eating is not allowed on Nanjing subway. Up to now, 2,698 people have been punished(惩罚) because of their eating, smoking or selling goods on the subway.
A Teacher-free Exam Recently, students at Ningbo Huamao Foreign Language School in Zhejiang took their mid-term exam –a teacher-free exam. After handing out the exam papers, the teachers left the classroom, leaving the students to take the exam without being watched. They only came back to collect the papers at the end.
A Tomato Fight Do you want a tomato shower? Come to the “tomato fight” in Spain! Once every year, people in the town of Bunol throw tomatoes at each other. Don’t worry. It’s not a real fight. People do this only for fun.APEC Blue refers to _____ in Beijing during the APEC meeting.
| A．the factories | B．the clear blue sky |
| C．the people | D．the cars on the road |
A 24-year-old woman in Nanjing was given a warning ticket for _____ on the subway.
| A．drinking | B．smoking |
| C．eating food | D．selling goods |
In a teacher-free exam, students take their exam _____.
| A．at the end of the term | B．outside the classroom |
| C．without giving answers | D．without being watched |
In the town of Bunol, Spain, people throw tomatoes at each other _____.
| A．to have fun | B．to enjoy dinner |
| C．to take a shower | D．to start a fight |