One of the founding fathers of the Internet has predicted the end of traditional television.Vint Cerf，who helped to build the Internet while working as a researcher in America，said that the television was approaching its “iPod moment”．
In the same way that people now download their favorite music onto their iPod，he said that viewers would soon be downloading most favorite programs onto their computers.“85% of all videos we watch are prerecorded，so you can set your system to download them all the time，” said Mr Cerf，who is now the vice president of Google，the world’s largest search engine.“You’re still going to need live television for certain things—like news，sporting events and emergencies—but increasingly it is going to be almost like the iPod.”
Although television on demand has not yet become a mainstream activity in the UK，the BBC，ITV and Channel 4 have all spent vast sums of money on technology which enables viewers to watch their favorite shows on their computers.
But some critics (批评人士)，including some Internet service providers，have warned that the Internet will collapse with millions of people downloading programs at the same time.Over the next four years，it is thought that the number of videos watched over the Internet will be four times as big as that.Broadband companies claim that the service will cause “traffic jams”，which will cost millions of pounds to get it to normal.
But Mr Cerf dismissed the warnings as “scare thoughts”，saying that critics had predicted 20 years ago that the Net would collapse when people all around the world started to use it all together.“In the past 30 years it’s increased a million times...We’re far from reaching the capacity，” he said，“It’s an understandable worry when they see huge amounts of information being moved around online.”What would happen to television according to Vint Cerf?
| A．Television would come to an end. |
| B．Television would be replaced by the computer. |
| C．Viewers would prefer watching TV programs downloaded on their computers. |
| D．Most people would prefer the Internet to television. |
“iPod moment” refers to the time when________.
| A．people can enjoy the live broadcast of television |
| B．people can download content to look at later |
| C．all programs are recorded with careful plan |
| D．the computer and television are closely combined |
According to the last paragraph，Mr Cerf held the idea that______.
| A．the Internet will collapse with many people downloading programs at the same time |
| B．the Net will collapse when people all around the world start to use it all together |
| C．the Internet service will break down with many videos watched over the Internet |
| D．people’s downloading TV programs on their computers won’t cause the collapse of the Internet |
Being beautiful means a lot to teenage girls. Once it did to me too. I was the vainest person in the world, but that all changed one December night.
It was a Thursday, and I was getting ready for the wrestling tournament the following day. I was so excited; it was going to be my first tournament as a cheerleader. I walked past the mirror and stopped to check my appearance. I noticed my eyebrows were a little bushy, and that’s when my vanity kicked in. The brows could be easily fixed with the waxing kit I had purchased. I put the jar of wax in the microwave. But instead of heating the wax for 30 seconds, I pressed too many zeros and heated it for three minutes. As I reached for the jar, I dropped it, spilling it all over myself.
My mother came running when she heard my screams. The hot wax was rolling down my face and arm. My mom took a wet washcloth and tried to wash the wax off my face. This proved to be a bad idea, because the wax was honey based, and it pulled my skin off with the wax.
The 15-mile drive to the emergency room seemed to take hours. When we finally arrived, the nurse didn’t waste any time. They took me straight to a doctor and gave me extra-strength painkillers, so my mind was in confusion. The doctor explained how severe my burns really were: my arm was a combination of first-, second- and third-degree burns, and needed to stay bandaged. My face was first- and second-degree burns. If the wax had gotten any closer to my right eye, I would have lost my sight. I was covered in multi-colored “goop(药膏)”, wrapped, and sent home to recover.
I got up the next morning and the first thing I wanted to do was wash off the remaining wax. I unwrapped the bandages and “degooped”, letting warm water gently remove the rest of the wax. The next step was to do a self-evaluation of the damage. I couldn’t believe how horrible I looked. A horror-movie monster stared back at me from the mirror. All I could think was, my life is over. For someone as vain as me, this was very true. I thought I was going to be horribly disfigured(毁容的)for the rest of my life! All I could do was cry.
My mom made it worse by forcing me to go out in public. She dragged me to the grocery store and wherever else she felt like taking me. Everywhere we went, people had a million questions, none of which I wanted to answer. Then my mom declared she was going to put me through even more torture—I had to go to school on Monday. School only led to more questions from more people.
Now, two years later, my wounds have healed, leaving a few scars. I still feel self-conscious if I don’t wear make-up, and I’ve discovered that three-quarter length sleeves are wonderful for covering the scars on my arm.
After spending several months adjusting to this injury, I realized how vain I was. I had made beauty important, but it never was or will ever be that important. It took this event to teach me that no matter how much you change on the outside, you’re still the same person on the inside.After the accident, the writer has come to realize that ________.
| A．teenage girls care too much about their appearance |
| B．loving beauty will necessarily make one disfigured |
| C．we can never judge a person merely by one’s looks |
| D．sometimes being beautiful can cost you something |
Which of the four statements is a fact?
| A．The severe damage to her sight and face weren’t recovered. |
| B．The mother wished the writer to face her misfortune bravely. |
| C．From the lesson we conclude that “once bitten, twice frightened”. |
| D．The severe burns were caused by her mother’s lack of first-aid. |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph is closest to ________.
| A．beauty is not everything | B．a student shall not make up |
| C．beauty is not important | D．loving beauty will spoil you |
The author develops her composition by ________.
| A．offering accurate facts | B．giving contrast and comparison |
| C．using logical arguments | D．representing own experiences |
Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．The Price of Vanity | B．An Unexpected Ending |
| C．A Disfigured Girl | D．Beauty Ruins Everything |
Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. To some degree our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and different surroundings. Thus the limits of persons’ intelligence are fixed at birth, and whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This idea, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some degree something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligent. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If, on the other hand, we take two twins, they are very likely to be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this shows that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in touch with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence.If a child is born with low intelligence, he can ______.
| A．become a genius |
| B．not reach his intelligence in his life |
| C．reach his intelligence limits in rich surroundings |
| D．still become a genius if he should be given special education |
In Paragraph 2, the underlined sentence “if we take two unrelated people at random from population” means “______.”
| A．if we pick any two persons |
| B．if we take out two different persons |
| C．if we choose two persons who have relations |
| D．if we choose two persons with different intelligence |
The example of the twins going to a university and to a factory separately shows ______.
| A．the part that birth plays |
| B．the importance of their relations |
| C．the importance of their intelligence |
| D．the role of environment on intelligence |
The best title of the passage can be “______”.
| A．Surroundings | B．Intelligence |
| C．Dependence on Environment | D．Effect of Education |
Why Rent Textbooks?
Renting textbooks is a relatively new idea for everyone. Back in the old days, the idea of renting one never existed since the books are affordable or readily available in libraries. But the time has changed and with the changes in educational system and various economic challenges happening across the globe, the price of textbooks increased.
Given such fact, textbook renting is now a new fashion among college students. Research was made to find out if renting helps one save money and time rather than buying new textbooks and realized that it really is. Let’s examine carefully further and see why renting books is a cost-effective way to still get to have your textbooks without shelling too much money from your pocket.
Gives value for your money
You don’t have to buy all of your textbooks. Those non-major subjects, are better acquired through renting. It saves one money and helps you give out the money you save on some other personal possessions you need in college.
Renting textbooks allows you to save at least 50% off the standard retail (零售) price for each item. You can tell, with a little research, that renting is a lot cheaper compared to buying used books aside from looking way better than the former.
Saves time
You can save a great deal of time when renting a textbook. Instead of browsing your way for hours trying to look for better deals online, you can simply go to a popular book renting marketplace online and just order away. There is literally no need to skimming for hours and see where you can find a great deal. Often, the rental company gives you prepaid postage slip just to get you going and do the same when you decide to return the book.
This process not only saves you time, it also saves other resources like gas if you decide to go to the nearest bookstore to buy books or spend hours using electricity just to find a good deal.
User Friendly
Aside from being able to save money and time, renting textbooks brings convenience to all users. Imagine trying to scan the virtual bookshelf and checking on comments of previous users and figuring out which ones got bad comments and which had great ones. It could be fun at first but if you are short of time, the process can become annoying.
If you rent books, you will only be needing the book’s ISBN number and find it right away. No more time-wasting site search. Type in the ISBN number, order the book, and wait for it to get shipped to your home.The reason why people haven’t the habit of renting textbooks in the old days is that ______.
| A．the educational system has not changed by now |
| B．people can afford books or get books easily in libraries |
| C．different economic challenges happen across the world |
| D．the price of textbooks is much higher than that of nowadays |
The underlined word “shelling” in paragraph 2 means “______”.
| A．saving | B．spending | C．removing | D．wasting |
The following statements are the reasons why textbook renting is now a new fashion among college students EXCEPT ______.
| A．One can save a great deal of time in browsing for better deals online |
| B．It brings convenience to all the users apart from saving money and time |
| C．The process saves other resources if you don’t go to the nearest bookstore |
| D．It saves one money and helps him spend money on what he need most in college |
The passage mainly tells us that ______.
| A．renting textbooks allows you to save a lot of money |
| B．renting a textbook can also save you a great deal of time |
| C．textbook renting was a relatively new fashion among college students |
| D．textbook renting is a money-saving, fun, and, convenient way for college students |
NBA commissioner David Stern was in Orlando on Thursday night, getting ready for Sunday’s All-Star Game.Of course, all he could talk about was the only player anyone wants to talk about these days: New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin.
Hours before Lin took the court against the Heat, a few hundred miles South down I-95 in Miami, Stern told reporters that Lin’s instant popularity hasn’t ever been matched in sports history, not even by Sunday’s biggest names, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.
The Associated Press had the details.
“I haven’t done a calculation, but it’s fair to say that no player has created the interest and the craze in this short period of time, in any sport, that I’m aware of likeJeremy Linhas,” Stern said Thursday.
Lin, an undrafted(未选秀的)guard from Harvard, has become the NBA’s biggest story since coming off theKnicks’bench earlier this month to lead them to nine wins in 11 games heading into their matchup with Miami on Thursday night.
With Lin’s popularity in Asia as the league’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, and with the religious community because of his strong Christian faith, Stern says he’s “never quite seen anything like” the attention on Lin.
“It’s fascinating,” Stern said after the All-Star Jam Session opening ceremonies.
The top five videos on NBA.com since Feb. 4, when Lin joined the circulation, are all Lin or Knicks related. Lin went from 190,000 followers on Sina, China’s version of Twitter, on Feb. 2 to more than 1 million as of Feb. 16.
Indeed, Lin’s popularity is so out of this world that the NBA made a late list switch to ensure his participation in the Rising Stars Challenge on All-Star Saturday, a game that includes the NBA’s best rookies(新秀球员)and sophomores. Lin is in such high demand that all of the game’s other participants will meet with the media following a team practice on Friday while Lin will have his own, separate press conference later in the night.
This is Jeremy’s world, folks. We’re all just living in it. Even David Stern and the rest of the league’s All-Stars, at least for the moment.The following statements about Jeremy Lin’s instant popularity are true EXCEPT that ______.
| A．Jeremy Lin led New York Knicks to win all the recent games this month |
| B．David Stern said Lin was the only instant popular player in NBA’s history |
| C．Lin has become the NBA’s greatest story though he was an undrafted guard |
| D．no player has created the interest and the enthusiasm in such a short period of time |
Why did Jeremy Lin have so many followers in Asia on Sina, China’s version of Twitter?
A. Because Jeremy Lin was born in Taiwan with strong Christian faith.
B. Maybe because he is the first player born in America but has Chinese descent.
C. Because Sina has a large group of surfing people, maybe more than 10 million.
D. Because the top five videos on NBA. com since Feb. 4 are all Lin or Knicks related.The underlined phrase “out of this world” in Paragraph 9 may probably be replaced by ______.
| A．impossible | B．important | C．exceptional | D．excellent |
What can we learn from the above passage about Jeremy Lin’s instant popularity?
| A．Knowledge starts with practice. | B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．Every dog has its day. | D．No pains, no gains. |
We were driving on the right road when, all of a sudden, a black car pulled out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver stepped on his brake, skidded(打滑), and missed the black car’s back end by just inches! The driver of the black car, who almost caused a major accident, turned his head angrily and started shouting bad words at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. I mean, my taxi driver was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to hospital!” And the following is what my taxi driver told me, which I now call “the law of the Garbage Truck”.
“Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump(倾卸)it. And if you let them, they dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish him well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.”
So this is “The Law of the Garbage Truck”. I started thinking: How often do I let “Garbage Trucks” run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was then that I said, “I’m not going to do it any more.”
I began to see “Garbage Trucks”. I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, and move on.
Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. What about you? The mark of a successful person is how quickly he can get back his focus on what’s important.Who acted like a garbage truck in the accident described in the first two paragraphs?
| A．The author. | B．The taxi driver. |
| C．The driver of the black car. | D．Both drivers. |
The reason why the taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy is that ______.
| A．the black car was full of garbage |
| B．the taxi driver didn’t want his mood ruined |
| C．the driver of the black car didn’t cause any damage to the taxi |
| D．the driver of the black car was angry and the taxi driver felt a little frightened |
The underlined part “the load” in Paragraph 5 refers to _____.
| A．bad mood | B．excitement | C．new products | D．waste materials |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．Always be kind and hardworking. |
| B．Ignore unpleasantness and stick to your tasks. |
| C．Try to be good leaders as well as good parents. |
| D．Do things quickly so as to be ready for the next. |