The iPhone, the iPad, each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (一时的风尚). 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 (前缀) 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. 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 inevitably disappeared.People use iPlayer to __________.
| A．listen to music | B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online | D．read newspapers |
We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is aimed at __________.
| A．young readers | B．old readers |
| C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
The underlined word “ambiguous” means “__________”.
| A．popular | B．uncertain |
| C．definite | D．unique |
Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are __________.
| A．portable | B．environmentally friendly |
| C．advanced | D．recyclable |
The writer suggests that __________.
| A．“i” products are often of high quality |
| B．iTeddy is alive bear |
| C．the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products |
| D．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
B
Everyone needs friends. There is an old saying, “Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.” But how do you find real friendship and keep it?
The American writer Sally Seamans tells young students some smart ways to find friends. Sally says finding friendship is just like planting a tree. You plant the seed and take care of it to make it grow.
First, you should choose a friend. What makes a good friend? It is not because a person has money or good looks. A good friend should be kind and patient. For example, if you have a bad day, a good friend should listen to your complaints and do his or her best to help. To make a friend, you cannot be too shy. You should make each other happy and share your lives.
But things cannot always he happy. Even the best friends have fights. What should you do when you have a fight with your friend? You have to talk to him or her. When there is no one around, have an honest talk. If he or she doesn’t want to talk, you could write a letter.
There are three steps to being friends again:
Tell him or her how you are feeling; say what your friend has done wrong, and explain why you did this or that. Remember that friendship is the most important thing in your life.
51. Sally wants to tell students the ways to ____.
A. find friends B. plant trees C. get happy D. keep fit
52. What makes good friends? A good friend should ______.
A. be lovely and cool B. be kind and patient
C. have lots of money` D. have good looks
53. According to the text, you can _____ your friend after a fight.
A. buy a present forB. never say a word to
C. have dinner withD. write a letter to
54. What is the best title of the text?
A. Teenagers and friendshipB. The good friends around you
C. The trouble of growing upD. The care and keeping of friends
55. Which of the steps to being friends again is NOT mentioned(提及) in this passage?
A. Tell him or her how you are feeling;
B. Say what your friend has done wrong,
C. Explain why you did this or that
D. Give him or her some money
V. 阅读理解(共40分)
第一节,阅读下列材料，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案，并把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。(共20小题,每小题2分, 共40分)
A
Mr．and Mrs．White had two sons and three daughters．One Sunday，Mrs. White said to her husband，“The children don’t have any lessons today，and you’re free too．There’s a new funfair(游乐场)in the park．Let’s all go there to play.
Her husband said，“1 want to finish some work today. “oh, forget it．Go there and make our children happy．That’s the most important work” Mrs. White said.
So Mr. and Mrs. White took their children to the funfair．Mr. White was forty-five years old.
but he enjoyed the funfair more than his children. He hurried from one thing to another，and ate lost of sweets. One of the children said to her mother，“Dad is just like a small child，isn’t he, Mom?” Mrs. White didn’t want to follow her husband around any more at that time and answered， He is even worse than a small child，Mary，because he might spend more money than a small child.
46. There were ________ children in the White family•
A. two B. three C. four D. five
47．One Sunday，Mr．and Mrs. White wanted to go to _______ with their children.
A．school B. work C. a funfair D. a shop
48．Mr．White liked the place so much that he_______.
A．bought lots of sweets B. followed his wife all the time
C．hurried from one thing to another D. asked a lot of questions
49．From the story we know Mrs．White________ when Mary asked her the question.
A．was still excited to play B. was a little angry with Mr. White
C．looked for Mr．White everywhere C. are a lot of sweets
50．Of all he family members,_________ enjoyed playing there most that Sunday.
A．Mr．White B．Mrs．White C. Mary D. the boys
C
A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany.
“Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men’s world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.
Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women’s Liberation”. “I don’t wish that I were a man,” she says. “And I don’t think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you’re a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there…or engineers or scientists?”
61. A lot of women in________wish that they were born men.
A. European countries B. West Germany
C. West Europe D. West Germany
62. “It is still a men’s would.” Means “_____”
A. There’re more men than women in the world.
B. There’re more men scientists or engineers than women in the world.
C. Women cannot live without men.
D. Women have not been given the same chance as men.
63. Anne Harper considers that women should _______ .
A. be really liberated B. live a better life
C. be well paid D. get better jobs than men
64. Anne Harper doesn’t wish that she were a man because she __________ .
A. has got a very good job
B. believes in “Women Liberation”
C. does the work that a man can’t do
D. isn’t looked down upon by anyone
65. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Usually the best jobs are not open to women.
B. Women are less paid than men for the same job.
C. There’re more men pilots, engineers and scientists than women.
D. Women are looked down upon because they’re the second-class citizens（二等公民）.
B
As people slowly learn to cure diseases, control floods, prevent hunger, and stop wars, fewer people die every year. As a result, the population of the world is becoming larger. In 1925 there were about 2 billion people in the world; today there are over 6 billion.
When the number rises, extra mouths must be fed. New lands must be brought under development, or land already farmed must be made to produce more crops. In some areas the land is so over-developed that it will be difficult to make it provide more crops. In some areas the population is so large that the land is divided into too tiny units to make improvement possible with farming methods. If a large part of this farming population went into industrial work, the land might be farmed much more productively (多产地) with modern methods.
There is now a race for science, technology, and industry to keep the output of food rising faster than the number of people to be fed. New types of crops, which will grow well in bad weather, are being developed, so there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle in Siberia and North America. Irrigation (灌溉) and dry-farming methods bring poor lands under the plough. Dams hold back the waters of great rivers, which can provide water for the fields in all seasons and provide electric power for new industries. Industrial chemistry provides fertilizer to suit different soils. Every year, some new methods are made to increase or to protect the food of the world.
56. The author says that the world population is increasing because _____.
A. there are many rich valleys and large fields
B. farmers are producing more crops than before
C. people are living longer due to better living conditions
D. new lands are being made into farmlands
57. The author says that in areas with large populations, land might be more productively farmed if _____.
A. the land was divided into smaller pieces
B. people moved into the countryside
C. industrial methods were used in farming
D. the units of land were much larger
58. We are told that there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle. This has been made possible by _____.
A. growing new types of crops
B. irrigation and dry-farming means
C. providing fertilizers
D. destroying pests and diseases
59. Why is the land divided into tiny units in some areas?
A. There are too many people living there.
B. It saves more natural resources there.
C. It prevents crops from serious diseases there.
D. Farmers can grow various kinds of crops there.
60. Why do some people use dams to hold back waters from great rivers?
A. To develop a new kind of dry-farming methods.
B. To prevent crops from floods.
C. To provide water and electricity in all seasons.
D. To water poor lands in bad weather.
阅读理解(共30分)
第一节,阅读下列材料，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案，并把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。(共15小题,每小题2分, 共30分)
A
Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, having grown by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years. Denmark’s agriculture minister is herself an organic farmer. The UK market for organic food grew by 55 percent in 2000, while the food market as a whole grew by only one percent. Yet only seven percent of British shoppers account for nearly 60 percent of organic sales. However popular the idea of organic farming may be, it is still an interest for only a few people.
So what makes the idea of organic farming popular? Organic farming means farming with natural materials, rather than with man-made fertilizers or pesticides. Organic farmers rely on many methods — such as crop rotation (农作物的轮作) and the use of resistant（有抵抗力的） varieties, because they are necessary for organic farmers to compensate for the shortage of man-made chemicals.
Organic farming is often supposed to be safer than traditional farming for the environment. Yet after a long research on organic farming worldwide for a number of years, science continues to be against this opinion. The House of Commons committee on agriculture publicized that, even with complete research work, it would fail to find any scientific evidence to prove “that any of claims （宣称） made for organic farming is always true”.
However, the talk about the benefits of organic farming is going on. This is partly because many people depend on their individual farm, the soil, the weather, and so on.
51. The first paragraph mainly tells us _____.
A. organic farming has been performed only in Europe over the past 10 years
B. governments of European countries have cared less about organic farming
C. organic farming is far from being as popular as expected
D. European countries need organic food more than the other countries in the world
52. The underlined words “compensate for” in the second paragraph probably mean “________”.
A. argue for B. care for C. struggle for D. pay for
53. What can we know about organic farming?
A. It refers to farming with natural materials, instead of chemical fertilizers.
B. It refers to farming with chemical fertilizers rather than natural fertilizers.
C. It refers to farming with soil rather than any other thing.
D. It refers to growing crops with man-made fertilizers and pesticides.
54. According to the third paragraph, _____.
A. organic farming is safer than traditional farming for the environment
B. the idea that organic farming is safer has not been proven by science
C. organic farming is accepted by the UK’s House of Commons committee
D. organic farming is preferred to traditional farming
55. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
A. The UK’s agriculture minister is an organic farmer.
B. Organic farming is popular with young people.
C. Farmers make use of many different kinds of methods to improve the organic sales system.
D. Ninety-three percent of British shoppers don’t buy organic products.