Along with global warming and the Ebola virus，this year, something far less life-and society-threatening also spiraled out of control：email．
It was long ago invented as something to make us more productive．But what productivity expert would ever say that it's a good thing that instead of working，we now“answer email? Or that on some days，I am unwilling to leave my desk to head into a meeting because it means taking my finger off the keyboard and knowing 1 will return to a flood of new messages waiting patiently for my total attention?
Some people struggle for“inbox zero”．But like many people，I now get so much junk mail that if I were to adopt such a goal，I would spend every workday doing nothing but deleting emails．To make sure nothing important gets buried，I have developed an embarrassinglv old system of keeping a pen-and-paper list of emails that need responses on a series of Post-It notes．As far back as 2007，Fred Wilson famously declared “email bankruptcy”．I'm close to doing the Same．
But I may not need to．I predict that 2015 will mark the beginning of the end of emails．Already, some tools have emerged(出现)over the years，like software Freedom which disables access to the Internet for chosen periods of time．Corporations have gradually been adopting stricter email policies：A few years ago，Volkswagen said it would stop sending emails from its servers to company-owned BlackBerrys after the end of its workday．
But this great hope is largely the optimist in me speaking，and I give this prediction small chances compared to some of our others．As Tony Hsieh once told me，the problem with email is that it is a“good—enough”solution．Some technologies stay around just because there isn’t anything better．It’s probably right．But my wish is that 2015 is the year when truly effective email management solutions go from good to great-and that email volume goes from crazy to reasonable．We’ll a11 be better for it．
The underlined word “spiraled” in Paragraph l probably means “_____________”.
| A．increased rapidly | B．moved in circle |
| C．changed unexpectedly | D．appeared suddenly |
The writer is unwilling to attend a meeting because____________.
| A．he has to return with quantities of emails |
| B．answering emails calls for great attention |
| C．more emails will flood in waiting for him to check |
| D．he doesn’t want to take his fingers off the keyboard |
From Paragraph 3，we may infer that____________.
| A．the goal “inbox zero” is hard to obtain |
| B．the writer is devoted to deleting emails |
| C．pens and paper are highly favored at work |
| D．Fred Wilson famously declared “email bankruptcy” |
The writer may agree that____________.
| A．emails will come to an end |
| B．emails will still hold a place |
| C．existing email management is perfect |
| D．emails will never be sent to BlackBerrys |
A lot of grown-ups worry that spending too much time playing video games isn’t good for a kid’s health. Now some doctors have noticed that kids who bring their hand-held game players to the hospital seem less worried about being there. These patients also seem to experience less pain when they are concentrating on a superhero adventure or a car race. At the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Maryland, young patients are finding hospital visits easier to deal with, thanks to a test program called the Hospital-based On-line Pediatric Environment (HOPE). Patients in HOPE have a life-threatening condition where their kidneys(肾脏)no longer filter(过滤)wastes from their blood. To get their blood cleaned, these kids must be hooked up to dialysis(透析) machines at the hospital three times a week, for at least three hours each time. HOPE allows kids to play online sports, racing, and adventure games with each other. Eventually they will be able to connect with kids in other hospitals who are suffering from the same problem. "We want to use the power of the Internet to bring together kids who feel that they are separated by their illness, and let them know that they are not alone," said Arun Mathews, the doctor who heads the program. He loves video games himself and got the idea to connect kids all over the country. Many researchers elsewhere are testing video game programs that might help young patients. For example, nine-year-old Ben Duskin of San Francisco, who was struggling with cancer helped to design a video game where players get rid of cancer cells. That’s all great news, because doctors already know that reducing pain and worry helps patients heal faster.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Playing video games too much is bad for kids’health. |
B．Playing video games seems to be beneficial to young patients’ recovery. |
C．Doctors find that reducing pain helps patients recover faster. |
D．Doctors invent a game to help kids in hospitals. |
How long will it take a patient to get his blood cleaned in a week?
| A．About 3 hours. | B．About 6 hours. | C．About 9 hours. | D．About 21 hours. |
According to Arun Mathews, the main purpose of HOPE is to _________.
| A．encourage kids to play online games |
B．teach kids how to design video games |
C．help kids who are suffering from illness connect with each other |
D．make parents worry less about their kids playing video games too much |
Which of the following plays the most important role in the HOPE project?
| A．Music. | B．The Internet. | C．Novels. | D．Films. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Nine-year-old Ben Duskin, who has a cancer, is very brave and clever. |
B．Many parents want their children to play video games because it’s good for their health. |
C．Doctors are not sure whether reducing pain and worry can help the patients recover faster. |
D．HOPE allows kids to play online games only with the kids in the same hospital. |
Just because you are in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the competitiveness(竞争) —the all-around fun —that playing sports offers you. More and more wheelchair users are playing sports every day —some even on a professional level. The following are just a few examples of the different choices you have. Wheelchair basketball is a very common wheelchair sport. It was started over forty years ago as part of a medical recovery(康复) program. Over the years it has grown rapidly. Today wheelchair basketball is a professional sport that has more than 180 teams across the United States. In order to play wheelchair basketball, it is essential to have a lightweight wheelchair. Several different kinds of sports wheelchairs are on the market today just for sports fans. Another wheelchair sport, quad rugby(橄榄球), was specifically designed for people who can’t move their arms or legs and are unable to play wheelchair basketball. It is a mixture of wheelchair basketball and ice hockey. To play the game you must have two teams of four players each. Power soccer is another fun wheelchair sport that can be very fun and exciting. Players in power soccer must have an electric wheelchair. Two teams have two 30-minute halves to push the soccer ball over the other team’s goal line. The first team to reach the other team’s goal line most frequently wins. Based on the sport you choose to take part in, there are several things you can buy for your wheelchair, including belts, gloves, bags for carrying things, drink holders and special back supports.In which part of the newspaper will you read this passage?
| A．Technology. | B．Society. | C．Culture. | D．Health. |
In the beginning, wheelchair basketball was started for the purpose of ______.
| A．holding professional games around the US |
B．spreading the sport all over the US |
C．helping patients return to a normal life |
D．making people want to play sports |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．To introduce some possible sports to wheelchair users. |
B．To introduce some products to the wheelchair users. |
C．To encourage wheelchair users to compete with each other. |
D．To talk about the differences between these sports. |
About 1 million adult New Yorkers are obese(肥胖的), but nearly two-thirds of them don’t think they are, according to a study released on Tuesday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene(卫生).
Among the obese, who account for about one in five New Yorkers, only 39% described themselves as “very overweight”, according to the report. 2% said they were very underweight, 1% said they were slightly underweight, 16% said they were just right and 42% said they were slightly over weight.
Some 2 million more New Yorkers are overweight, the report said, and one in five children in kindergarten is obese.
Only 44% of the city’s adults are at a healthy weight, and nearly 75% say they do not participate in(参加) any regular physical activity.
New York City’s adult obesity rate was 20% in 2003 compared with 23% nationwide in 2004.The national average has nearly doubled from 12% in 1993, the report said.
Overweight and obese are defined by body mass index, or BMI (=" kg/m)" , which is based on a person’s weight , adjusted(调整) for height, the department said.
Being obese means having a BMI of 30 or greater, while being overweight means a BMI of more than 25 but less than 30.
A 5-foot, 10-inch (1.78-meter) man weighing 175 pounds(79kg) would have a BMI of 25.1 and be considered overweight according to the department . If he weighed 210 pounds (95kg), he would have a BMI of 30.1 and be obese.
The report came from results of the department’s 2002 and 2003 yearly telephone surveys of some 10,000 adults.New York City has a population of about _____ according to the passage.
| A．5,000,000 | B．2,000,000 | C．1,000,000 | D．500,000 |
We can infer from the passage that ____.
| A．most adult New Yorkers go in for many regular physical activities |
| B．New Yorkers think that obesity shows economic development |
| C．New York City’s adult obesity rate increased from 1993 to 2004 |
| D．most of the New York City’s adults are at a healthy weight |
If a 1.75-meter-tall man weighs 99 kilograms, he is ____ according to the passage.
| A．overweight | B．underweight | C．slightly underweight | D．obese |
What is the passage mainly about?
A. Population explosion in USA.
B. Weight problems in New York.
C. Weight controlling measures
D. Diet habits in USA
Hire charges
What’s included:
1)Unlimited mileage (英里数).
2)Expenses on oil , maintenance (保养)and repairs, which will be repaired on production of invoices(发票).
3)Full insurance except personal accident (see below) and contents.
What’s not included:
1)Personal accident insurance.
2)Garaging, petrol, parking and traffic fines
Conditions of Hire
lThe shortest rental period at these special low prices is three days. For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative (代理人)at the hotel.
lCar hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee(保证) a car.But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance, please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.
lThe car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range, but a particular car cannot be guaranteed.
lUpon delivery the driver(s) will be asked to sign the car hire company” Conditions of Hire.
lIf you decide to hire a car , just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us . A booking fee of ￡12 as part of the car hire cost is required.
lShould you be forced to cancel (取消)your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before the date of hire), a cancellation charge of ￡12 will be made.from the advertisement we can see a car hirer will pay extra money for_____.
| A．insurance against damage to the car | B．insurance against injury to the driver |
| C．the cost of maintenance of the car | D．the cost of repairs to the car |
Which of the following conditions , you have to accept when hiring a car?
| A．When you hire a car from the company, the driver will go together with you |
| B．It’s unnecessary for you to give invoices if you want to be repaid for repairs |
| C．If you have paid a booking fee , you don’t have to fill in the Booking Form. |
| D．You have to accept the terms of car hire company’s Conditions of Hire |
If you change your mind after paying the whole cost of hiring , the ￡12
Booking fee is_____.
| A．partly returned | B．doubtly paid |
| C．not returned at all | D．returned within six weeks |
The prices for car hire are especially low when _____.
| A．it is booked for at least three days | B．it is booked two weeks in advance |
| C．it is booked for two days | D．the booking is made in London |
When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.
"Where did it come from?" I asked.
"I asked the Gates boy to cut it," my mother said. "I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need... such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon."
The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal（水晶） Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly（难看） at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.
"It's not like the one you used to find," my mother went on. "Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy(挑剔的)."
"Don't worry," I told her. "It's perfect."
It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: All Christmas trees are perfect. What did his mother's Christmas tree look like?
From the passage we can infer (推断) that______.
| A．all the soldiers had the three-day holiday |
| B．the writer could not go home for Christmas |
| C．the writer spent his first Christmas during the war |
| D．not all the soldiers went home for Christmas during the war |
From the passage, we can conclude that ______ .
| A．his mother didn't like Christmas trees |
| B．the writer didn't like the tree cut by someone else |
| C．the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees |
| D．his mother didn't want to have a Christmas tree during wartime |
The best title for this passage would be ______.
| A．The Perfect Christmas Tree |
| B．How to Choose a Christmas Tree |
| C．How Soldiers Spent Their Christmas |
| D．A Christmas with an Ugly Christmas Tree |
What does the writer mean by saying “All Christmas trees are perfect”?
| A．Nothing is as perfect as Christmas. |
| B．Once at home, everything is so nice. |
| C．During the war, trees are hard to find. |
| D．All Christmas trees are the most beautiful. |