D
In today’s world of cellphones, mini laptops and MP3 players, most people have at least one timetelling tool with them. Since these devices are so common, is time running out for the 500yearold watch? According to some consumers, yes. New Jersey teenager Charlie Wollman says a watch is “an extra piece of equipment with no necessary function”. Many young adults agree — and use their cellphones to tell time. Louis Galie, a senior vice president at Timex, said that fewer young people wear watches today than five years ago. As a result, some people claim that the watch industry is at a crossroads.
However, watchmakers optimistically say that watches regain popularity when consumers reach their 20s and 30s. By then, they are willing to spend money on a quality timepiece that doesn't just keep good time. Fifty years ago, watchmakers boasted about their products' accuracy. But in recent years, the watch industry has transformed itself into an accessory business. And for many today, the image a watch communicates has become more important than the time it tells.
“Complications” — features that go beyond simple timekeeping — are an important part of a watch's image. Today's watches offer a lot of features that suit almost any personality. These features include altitude trackers, compasses, lunar calendars, USB drives, and even devices that measure the effectiveness of golf swings!
Creativity is also a key element in today's watches. For example, Japanese watchmaker Tokyoflash makes watches that don't even look like watches. The company's popular Shinshoku model uses different color lights to tell time. It looks more like a futuristic (未来主义的) bracelet than a watch. Another Japanese watchmaker, EleeNo, makes a “handless” watch. Using a ring of circles to keep time, this watch makes an excellent conversation piece.
Whether a watch communicates fashion sense, creative flair or a love of sports, consumers want their timepieces to stand out. Nowadays, everyone has the same kind of gadget (小玩意儿) in their bags, so people want to make a statement with what's on their wrists. Will this interest in wrist fashion last? Only time will tell!
Why aren't watches popular with young people as before?
| A．Because watches cannot keep good time as cellphones, mini laptops and MP3 players. |
| B．Because watches are featured by the disadvantages of simple function. |
| C．Because watches are too expensive to afford. |
| D．Because watches don't have beautiful appearance as other modern timetelling tools. |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．Watchmaking becomes the sunrise industry. |
| B．Watchmaking is faced with the developing opportunity. |
| C．Watchmaking is facing a survival crisis challenge. |
| D．Watchmaking has a specific development target. |
It can be implied that ________.
| A．people will gradually lose interest in watches as they grow older |
| B．watchmakers scarcely change the development strategy for watches |
| C．today's watches are better than those in the past in quality |
| D．customers used to be more concerned with the quality of a watch than with its image |
The following qualities can make a watch popular EXCEPT ________.
| A．multifunction | B．accuracy |
| C．nice design | D．low price |
A German taxi-driver, Franz Bussman, recently found his brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before.
While on a walking tour with his wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs Bussman said that the workman was closely like her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother. Franz laughed at the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs Bussman knew this story quite well, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right.
A few days later, she sent a boy to the wokman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man’s name was Hans Bussman. And he really was Franz’s long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive.
After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family house, but the house had been bombed. Guessing that his family had been killed during an air-raid. Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.
69．Which of the following can be used as the best title of the passage?
A．Living Not Far. B．A Chance in a Million
C．Coming Back to Life D．Back after the War.
70．Walking along the street, _______.
A．Mr. Bussman recognized his brother at the first sight.
B．Mrs. Bussman thought of her long-lost brother.
C．Mr. and Mrs. Bussman talked to a workman because he looked like his brother.
D．Mr. Bussman happened to meet a work-man and talked to him.
71. Which of the following order is RIGHT?
A．He walked back to Western German
B．He was wounded when the war was coming to the end.
C．The hospital was destroyed by bombs.
D．He came back to his family house.
e. He was sent to hospital.
f. His unit of German didn’t exist any longer.
A．b, a, e, d, f, c B．b, e, c, a, f, d
C．b, e, a, c, d, f D．b, c, f, d, a, e
It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that something will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.
We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.
You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.
For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.
The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.
Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.
A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.
And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?
| A．It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong. |
| B．It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize. |
| C．Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point. |
| D．Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything. |
What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?
| A．A service that is not as good as it should be. |
| B．Genuine mistakes. |
| C．Car accidents. |
| D．Causing offence or hurt. |
The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.
| A．should not waste time worrying about what happened. |
| B．should consider the problem |
| C．should forget about what happened. |
| D．should analyse who was at fault. |
How can timing compound problems?
| A．If you write immediately, they will be suspicious. |
| B．If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write. |
| C．Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity. |
| D．Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it. |
In some urban centers, workaholism is so common that people do not consider it unusual:
They accept the lifestyle as normal. Government workers in Washington D.C, for example, frequently work sixty to seventy hours a week. They don’t do this because they have to; they do it because they want to.
Workaholism can be a serious problem. Because true workaholics would rather work than do anything else, they probably don’t know how to relax.
Is workaholism always dangerous? Perhaps not. There are, certainly, people who work well under stress. Some studies show that many workaholies have great energy and interest in life. Their work is so pleasurable that they are actually very happy. For most workaholics, work and entertainment keep them busy and creative.
Why do workaholics enjoy their jobs so much? There are several advantages to work. Of course, it provides people with paychecks, and this is important. But it offers more than financial security. It provides people with self confidence; they have a feeling of satisfaction when they’re produced a challenging piece of work and are able to say, “I made that.” Psychologists claim that work gives people an identity through participation in work, they get a sense of self and individualism. In addition, most jobs provide people with a socially acceptable way to meet others. Perhaps some people are compulsive about their work, but their addiction seems to be a safe-even an advantageous-one.The passage indicates that workaholics .
| A．just know work but nothing else |
| B．are willing to work hard for long hours without pay |
| C．find their work provide them more satisfaction and self confidence than how much they are paid |
| D．has the work with more responsibility than others |
One of the reasons that some people are not willing to quit their jobs even in their eighties and nineties is that
| A．they are in the need of financial security |
| B．they would rather work than be disturbed by domestic affairs |
| C．they long for a sense of identity and being accomplished |
| D．they may have health problems from sheer boredom |
This passage is mainly about .
| A．workaholics are usually successful people, but their lives are in a mess |
| B．workaholism can lead to serious problems but it can also create a joyful life |
| C．people who are absorbed in their work may enjoy movies, sports and other kinds of entertainment |
| D．those who work even under difficult conditions may be very happy |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．in the eyes of all the common people workaholics are peculiar |
| B．to workaholics, work is the sole source of happiness |
| C．a piece of challenging work may provide the workaholics a sense of satisfaction |
| D．workaholics are as addicted to their job as other people are to drugs or alcohol |
Across the globe, single parent homes are on the rise. In the US, the 2000 census (人口普查) showed 24.8 million, or nearly 24 percent of the nation’s 105.5 million households, were traditional two-parent homes. By comparison, 9.8 million households, or 9 percent of all US households were headed by an adult raising a child alone. The 1990 census showed 26 percent of homes were led by a married mother and father, and 8 percent of homes were led by a single parent.
Similar increases occurred in other countries. In the UK, lone-parent homes increased from 3.3 percent in 1990 to 5.5 percent in 1999. Single parent households in Australia rose from 5.8 percent in 1990 to 7.6 percent in 1999. Belgium saw the increase from 1.8 percent to 2.7 percent during the same period of time. These countries tend to have greater acceptance of the single parent because there are fewer nearby family members to disapprove, Riche, a Census Bureau director, said.
Just as in the US, those changes raised new questions about how involved govenment should be in helping single parent families. Some research suggests children raised in two-parent families are better off than those who depend on one.
“The position of one-parent families in any country is very much a gender (性别) issue-women’s opportunities, especially working-class women on low income,” said Sue Cohen, coordinator (协调员) of the Single Action Parents Network in England.Not considering the exact number of the single-parent families, which country saw the fastest rise rate in 1999, compared with 1990?
| A．UK. | B．Australia. | C．America. | D．Belgium. |
What is the cause of the rise of single parent families across the globe?
| A．The nearby family members have a favourable opinion. |
| B．A lone parent is well off enough to support his /her children. |
| C．A lot of problems have arisen in two-parent families. |
| D．We cannot get enough proving information from the text. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the increase of single parent families according to the passage?
| A．It will somewhat limit the growing population of younger generation. |
| B．Governments should take actions about the social problems brought about by it. |
| C．Single parent families are not looked down upon in any country mentioned here. |
| D．Generally speaking, the single parents needn’t worry since they are highly paid. |
Which of the following diagrams correctly shows the rise of single parent families in the US from 1990 to 2000?
Does a drink a day keep heart attacks away? Over the past 20 years, numerous studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption, say, one or two beers, glasses of wine or cocktails daily helps to prevent coronary heart disease. Last week a report in the New England Journal of Medicine added strong new evidence in support of that theory. More important, the work provided the first solid induction (归纳) of how alcohol works to protect the heart.
In the study, researchers from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School compared the drinking habits of 340 men and women who had suffered recent heart attack with those of healthy people of the same age and sex. The scientists found that people who sip one to three drinks a day are about half as likely to suffer heart attacks as nondrinkers are. The apparent source of the protection: those who drank alcohol had higher blood levels of high density lipoproteins, the so-called good cholesterol, which is known to prevent heart disease.
As evidence has mounted, some doctors have begun recommending a daily drink for patients of heart diseases. But most physicians are not ready to recommend a regular happy hour for everyone. The risks of teetotalling (绝对戒酒) are nothing compared with the dangers of too much alcohol, including high blood pressure, strokes and liver troubles—not to mention violent behaviour and traffic accidents. Moreover, some studies suggest that even moderate drinking may increase the incidence of breast and colon cancer. Until there is evidence that the benefits of a daily dose of alcohol outweigh the risks, most people won’t be able to take a doctor’s prescription to the neighbourhood bar or liquor store.The medical article quoted in the first paragraph indicates .
A. the way in which alcohol can help the heart
B. how a couple of cocktails daily can stop heart problems
C. why alcoholic drinks are dangerous to one’s health
that reports on the advantages of alcohol were misledExperiments showed that nondrinkers had __________.
| A．larger amounts of good cholesterol | B．smaller amounts of good cholesterol |
| C．higher blood pressure | D．lower blood pressure |
According to the passage, moderate drinking .
| A．is recommended by most doctors for heart patients |
| B．should be allowed on prescription |
| C．is still not medically advisable |
| D．is not related to liver problems |
The main theme of this passage is .
| A．the change in recent drinking habits |
| B．the connection between cancer and alcohol |
| C．whether moderate drinkers outlive nondrinkers |
| D．whether alcohol may be good for one’s health |