Miscioscio, 60, a marketing consultant in Pearl River, N.Y., says she's addicted to her Sony e-reader. She buys or borrows a print book only when it's not available digitally. Miscioscio says most of her friends and relatives have also switched to e-books for the convenience and lower prices. Last winter, she notes, she vacationed in Costa Rica and says “at least 75% of those reading were reading electronically. I was shocked to see people taking their e-readers onto the loungers (躺椅) in the pool.”
Meier, 43, a marketing director in Beaver Falls, prefers her books on paper, not screens. After working on a computer all day, she says, “I want a book in my hand. Turning over its pages is my way of knowing it's time to relax and slow down.” Meier, who's sticking with physical books, doesn't consider herself any kind of digital “resister.” “I'm comfortable with all forms of technology,” she says. “However, when it comes to books, I suppose I'm a traditionalist. My preference will always be the real thing.”
To her, part of the joy of reading is the book itself: “pulling it from the shelf, inspecting the cover, letting it fall open to a random page.”
Both have lots of company. Statistics show that e-book sales grew 43% last year, but that's a slowdown compared with the triple-digit increases in recent years. E-books remain the fastest-growing part of the book market but account for only about 20% of all sales, reported by publishers.
Miscioscio and Meier are at opposite ends of a book business in transition. Even though e-book sales have grown more than 4,000% since 2008, it's unlikely that physical books will disappear the way records did in the music industry.Miscioscio will ______ when a book is not available digitally.
| A．give up reading such kind of books |
| B．switch to the book of lower price |
| C．buy the book on paper |
| D．take an e-reader onto the loungers |
According to Meier, her “preference” refers to ______.
| A．paper book | B．part of joy |
| C．a random page | D．an e-book |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Records are unlikely to disappear in the music industry. |
| B．Miscioscio and Meier are two opponents in book business. |
| C．The market share of e-books is bigger than that of paper books. |
| D．Physical books will remain to be accepted to some people. |
What is the passage mainly concerned with?
| A．E-books will dominate the book industry eventually. |
| B．Readers go their own way in choosing books. |
| C．New technology brings more benefits for readers. |
| D．Physical books will disappear gradually in the future. |
No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire .But reports suggest that it is more than one hundred .
A wall of flames fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria . Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes . People are rushing excitedly into the streets . The police have warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so .
The cause of the fire is unknown . No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months , and the hot , north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour .
The firefighters are travelling to the fire by road , rail and air . But it is not easy to get there . Flames and fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines . The thick smoke often prevents them from finding the air strips (飞机跑道).
It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War .By the time the article was written , the fire .
| A．had just broken out | B．had been put out |
| C．was spreading violently | D．was coming to an end |
The writer wrote this article mainly to tell people .
| A．the fire was terrible and dangerous |
| B．it was impossible to put out the fire |
| C．more than one hundred people died of the fire |
| D．to join in the fight against the fire |
In the 4th paragraph , the writer suggested that .
| A．the fire would soon be controlled by the firefighters |
| B．it would be very difficult to put out the fire |
| C．the government was paying great attention to the fire |
| D．the fire had caused great losses and the airport was in ganger |
The underlined word “ accurate” in the first sentence has the same meaning as .
| A．recent | B．whole | C．rough | D．exact |
A car drew up outside the Swan Hotel and a young man got out．Pausing only for a moment to see that he had come to the right place，he went into the hotel and rang the bell on the counter of the bar．
Mrs．Crump，the landlady，who was busy in the kitchen at the time，hurried out，wiping her hands．The young man raised his hat．
“Excuse me，”he said．“I’m looking for my uncle，Mr．White．I believe he is staying here．”
“He was staying here．”Mrs．Crump corrected him．“But I’m afraid that he went back to London yesterday．”
“Oh，dear，”said the young man，looking disappointed．“I understood that he was going to stay here until the end of the month．At least that is what his servant told me when I rang up his house．”
“Quite right，”said Mrs，Cramp．“He planned to stay here the whole of July，as he always does． But yesterday he got a telegram to say that his relative was ill．So he caught the train back to London immediately．”
“I wish he had let me know, ”The young man said．“I wrote him a letter saying that I was coming．I’ve had all this trouble for nothing．Well，since he isn’t here，there’s no point in waiting．”
He thanked Mrs．Grump and went out．Mrs．Grump went to the window and watched him drive off．When his car was out of sight，she called out：“You can come out now, Mr．White. He’s gone．”
Mr．White came out of the kitchen，where he had been waiting．
“Many thanks，Mrs．Grump，”he said，laughing，“you did that very well．These nephews of mine never gave me any peace．That young man is the worst of them all．As you see，when he needs money, he even follows me into the country．Well，perhaps next time he won’t warn me by writing a letter!”This story is about a man．
| A．who was very much loved by his nephews |
| B．whose nephew went to visit him at the hotel |
| C．who was not willing to meet his nephew |
| D．whose nephew is always asking him for help |
When his nephew came to the hotel，Mr．White．
| A．took the train back to London |
| B．left to visit a sick relative |
| C．went to pick up a telegram |
| D．hid himself in the kitchen |
Mr. White didn’t like his nephews because．
| A．they always follow him around |
| B．they frequently disturb their relatives |
| C．they won’t write to him often |
| D．they usually visit him in hotels |
China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered.What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8000 yuan | B．10000 yuan |
| C．7000 yuan | D．It’s not mentioned here |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China
is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
| D．There are more people who need houses in China. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
A The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to
prevent it.
B. There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market
C. The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States
D. Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public.How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing
prices?
| A．Four | B．Three | C．Five | D．Two |
Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, U.S.A.,is in the central part of the state, on the Santa Fe River, which flows into the Rio Grande 35 kilometres west of the city. More than two thousand metres above sea level, it lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the Ortiz Mountains to the southeast.
Santa Fe was founded in 1609 by the Spanish (西班牙人)on an old Indian village.In 1680 the Indians seized the place but only held it for twelve years before the Spanish retook it. The city remained under Spanish rule until Mexico won its independence (独立) in 1821. From then on it was a Mexican city until 1846 when it was taken over by American troops.
With a population of 48,953, Santa Fe is now the second largest city in the state. Because of its sunny weather, rich history and surrounding mountains, it is a good place for holiday makers. Besides hunting and skating in the mountains people enjoy shopping in the Indian and Spanish shops, which brings a large income to the city every year. In summer there is an international opera (歌剧) season when operas are shown in a partly-roofed ,open-air theatre daily for people from all over the world.At present Santa Fe belongs to.
| A．India | B．Mexico | C．Spain(西班牙) | D．the United States |
Which of the drawings below gives an idea of what Santa Fe is like?
RG="the" Rio Grande SFR="the" Santa Fe River OM="the" Ortiz Mountains
Santa Fe was under the rule of the Mexicans in.
| A．1675 | B．1695 | C．1816 | D．1833 |
One of the reasons for visitors to come to Santa Fe is that it.
| A．has fine weather |
| B．is the state capital |
| C．has historical monuments |
| D．is on the Santa Fe River |
John once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict (罪犯) returning home from a prison far away. What he did had brought shame (羞耻) on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.
When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal (信号) for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had forgiven (原谅) him, they were to put up a white ribbon (丝带) in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.
As the train neared his hometown his suspense became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict’s shoulder, "There it is," His eyes was filled with sudden tears. "It’s all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons."According to the passage, the white ribbon in the big apple tree means ________.
| A．pleasure | B．forgiveness(原谅） | C．happiness | D．education |
The word "suspense" underlined in the last paragraph can best be replaced by ________.
| A．anger | B．interest | C．worry | D．happiness |
Why was Michael asked to watch for the apple tree?
| A．The young man was afraid that he was refused by his family. |
| B．The young man’s seat was far from the window. |
| C．The young man was afraid of seeing the white ribbons in the tree. |
| D．The young man was sure that his family would accept him. |
Why did Michael cry at the end of the story?
| A．The young man couldn’t live with his family. |
| B．There were many white ribbons on the apple tree. |
| C．He was afraid. |
| D．The young man was very sad. |