Promised yourself to quit smoking in the new year, but just can't stop lighting up? You're not alone, with an Australian survey showing that only 3 percent of smokers who made such resolutions stuck with them．
An online poll of just over 1,000 people, conducted ahead of the launch of a video game designed to help smokers quit, showed one in four Australians made New Year's resolutions to quit —— but more than half went back on their word within a week．Some 15 percent lit up within hours of making the pledge, the survey showed,
The research revealed that seven out of ten smokers have tried to kick the habit at some point．
"Our research shows that the majority of smokers in Australia want to quit but are struggling to stick to their resolution．For most people, the desire to stop smoking is not enough, "Edward Fong, general manager of Ubisoft, the videogame manufacturer selling the anti— smoking software, said in a statement．
According to the survey, Australian smokers light up an average of 13．8 cigarettes every day or 5,037 cigarettes a year．There are currently 2．63 million smokers in Australia, which equates to 16 percent of the population over the age of 18, with women on average making more attempts to quit than men．The World Health Organization says smoking kills about 4 million people each year, causing a quarter of deaths related to heart disease．The organization estimates that by 2030, more than 8 million people will die from tobacco - related causes each year, mainly in developing countries．According to the passage, _______ succeeded in giving up smoking．
| A．most of the smokers | B．None of the smokers |
| C．a few of the smokers | D．a quarter of the smokers |
The research shows that ______．
| A．some 70% of smokers have quitted smoking |
| B．about 15% of smokers give up smoking only a few hours |
| C．the number of men smokers are more than that of women ones |
| D．all the smokers want to quit smoking |
What is the population over the age of 18 in Australia?
| A．2．63million． | B．4 million． |
| C．16．44 million． | D．8 million． |
The number of smokers dying from tobacco — related causes each year by 2030 is ．
| A．about one million | B．about two million |
| C．more than 4 million | D．more than 8 million |
Where do you suppose this passage is probably taken from?
| A．Health magazine． | B．Evening paper． |
| C．Office Report． | D．Science-Journal． |
News One
Much of Pakistan faces more storms in the coming days. Heavy rains have already caused more than two weeks of record flooding. Health officials worry about disease spreading because of a lack of clean drinking water. The United Nations wants four hundred and sixty million dollars to provide immediate help for fourteen million people affected by the flooding. About l,600 people have died because of the floods.
The Pakistani ambassador(大使) to the UN says the floods could limit his country's economic growth this year. The cotton industry has been hit especially hard. Pakistan has cancelled official Independence Day celebrations that were set for Saturday.
News Two
Russian officials are reporting progress against wildfires that have blackened parts of the country and polluted the air. Russia has requested technical assistance. President Obama called President Dmitri Medvedev on Thursday to tell him that American firefighting equipment is on the way.
A girl in Moscow wears a mask to protect herself from thick smoke caused by wildfires last week. The fires are not the only problem. President Medvedev says Russia has lost about one-fourth of its grain crops this year because of heat and dry weather. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has banned grain exports until the end of the year. Russia is a major wheat exporter. But crops have been hit hard by the record heat this summer. During the past week, bread prices in Russia have jumped by twenty percent.
But skies cleared over Moscow after days of heavy pollution, and there were cooling rains. The city set a new record for itself when temperatures reached thirty-nine degrees Celsius on July 30.
News Three
American scientists reported on Friday that this July was the second warmest worldwide in records dating back to 1880. The government report said the average temperature for January through July was the warmest on record. Global warming keeps the temperature growing year by year.What does News One talk about?
| A．The record floods happened in Pakistan. |
| B．The celebrations of Independence Day. |
| C．The reason of the floods. |
| D．The trouble of Pakistan caused by wildfires. |
It is implied in News One that _____
| A．Pakistan is often hit by heavy storms |
| B．the floods have caused a loss to Pakistan's economy |
| C．many countries are willing to help Pakistan |
| D．most people in Pakistan are threatened by diseases |
What does the underlined word "assistance" in News Two mean?
| A．Help. |
| B．Information. |
| C．Skill. |
| D．Guide. |
From the passage we know that the wildfires in Russia ______.
| A．were started by human activities |
| B．have been put off by cooling rains |
| C．have affected the prices of bread in the country |
| D．caused the country to import wheat from other countries |
A Bite of China, a food documentary series that hastriggered online shopping crazes for the various dishes shown in the program, has also bitten into the lives of the people it covered. One of those, Huang Guosheng, 59,is a farmer who makes and sells yellow steamed buns with his wife in Suide County, Shaanxi Province.
Following the airing of the documentary, he was approached by JiaGuolong, the owner of Xi Bei Northwest Dishes in Beijing.
Jia was hoping to convince the farmer to join his team and make his special buns for customers in his popular restaurant chain, which is characterized by cuisine from the northwestern Chinese countryside.
"I told Huang my idea. The farmer, simple andhonest as he seemed in the documentary, said he didn't really understand what I was doing, "Jia said.
"So I invited him to Beijing to visit the restaurant's outlets."
But an Internet buzz was raised soon. While some netizens said Jia made a smart move to promote his brand and help Huang lead a better life, others argued it was a clear publicity stunt and a commercial "abduction".
"I won't deny the publicity issue. Thedocumentary has been enormously popular and Huang has become more celebrated, "Jia said.
"But as a businessman, there is nothing wrong with grabbing a chance to boost my business," he said. Despite the publicity, Jia said that what really mattered was that his intentions were lOO-percent good.
"From the documentary, you can tell Huang's life is far from rich. He works hard and walks miles to the town to sell his steamed yellow buns, but his earnings are very limited," Jia said.
"I want him to have a better life. If there is a chance that could enable him to enhance his life by doing the same thing he used to do, why not take it,"Jia said.
Jia disagreed with the term" abduction" and said Huang would make a decision for himself.
"To those who mentioned the word ‘abduction’, how do you know Huang doesn't want to change his life," Jia said. The underlined word in the first paragraph probably means _________.
| A．force | B．arouse |
| C．rise | D．forbid |
JiaGuolong invited Huang Guosheng to Beijing mainly to __________.
| A．let Huang understand what Jia is doing with his restaurant |
| B．show Huang around the places of interest in Beijing |
| C．convince Huang to join him in dealing with his restaurant |
| D．help him lead a happier and richer life than ever |
From the passage, we can infer that_________.
| A．not all the netizens think highly of Jia's move |
| B．Jia denied his publicity issue of his move |
| C．Huang makes a lot of money from selling his buns |
| D．Jia agreed with the term "abduction" |
Jia's words ill the last paragraph probably mean that____，
| A．Huang will not agree to join him in his team |
| B．Huang has shown his willingness to join him |
| C．Jia believes it is likely that Huang will want to join him |
| D．Huang's life has already changed in a positive way |
Chinese students get annual stress test
More than nine million people sit the exams.known as the gaokao and it seems that the wholecountry keeps a respectful distance-even the carhorns are banned near the exam halls.
About 280, 000 police officers are put on securitytraffic detail during the exams. There are 106roadblocks around the exam halls in Beijing alone.
People need a bit of help around exam time andthere are large crowds around the Buddhist temples.At Yaoshan in Henan Province, authorities areallowing candidates to "hug the feet" of their 200-metre tall Buddha there for free during theexaminations to bring good luck.
The candidates' chances of getting into college are better than ever — the 9.15 million students are competing for 6.85 million places, and the numbers are falling: they are down l.4 million since 2008.
The education ministry said this was because the graduation-age population has fallen and becausemore students want to study abroad. There is also a feeling that the safe job in the public sector-the"iron rice bow"— which many students are hoping to achieve after graduation,is not the draw it used to be as the private sector becomes more alluring.
Every year at this time, teachers are on thelookout for increasingly inventive cheats. Earlier this week, police in Jiangxi Province discovered a group of people making exam-cheatingequipments, and arrested 63 people.
One 83-year-old man took the exams for the12th time this year, saying everyone needs theirdream. "He needs a better dream," one personquipped on the net. "Don't take a place away from a young person." From the passage we can infer that ____________.
| A．the car whistles are completely cancelledduring the college entrance exam |
| B．the college entrance exam is considered awesome by all the country |
| C．about 280, 000 police officers are put on security traffic detail in Beijing during gaokao |
| D．"hugging the feet"of the Buddha must bring good luck to the candidates |
The number of the students sitting the college entrance exam in 2008 is ________.
| A．more than 10. 5 million |
| B．less than l. 4 million |
| C．9.15 million |
| D．6. 85 million |
Which of the following statements is not the reason for the falling candidate number?
| A．The graduation-age population has fallen. |
| B．More students want to study abroad. |
| C．The "iron rice bowl" is not the draw. |
| D．The cost of attending the college is high. |
The underlined word in the last paragraphprobably means in Chinese.
| A．嘲讽 |
| B．关心 |
| C．担忧 |
| D．装备 |
For those who are tired of doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer: a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app (application).
Strange though it may seem-"my wife already does that" was a common response among attendeesviewing the device when it was introduced at theConsumer Electronics Show (CES ) this weekSamsung is just one of many appliance makers racingto install(安装) a large number of Internet-connectedfeatures in machines in an effort to make them "smart" .
Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted. Thisyear,it's Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridgesthat can tell you when your groceries are going bad.
The washers and dryers, available starting in thespring, connect to any smartphone through adownloadable application. The phone can then beused as a remote control, so the machines can beturned on and off white their owner is at work or onthe bus.
Samsung says it's not just something new — theapp connection actually has some practical uses.
"If you started to dry clothes in the morning andforgot to take them out, you can go to your phoneand restart your dryer for the time when you comehome, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go,"said spokesperson Amy Schmidt.
The company also says that with electricity rates(电价) varying depending on the time of day, morecontrol over when the machines are used can helpsave money.
Perhaps, but what they will probably reallyaccomplish is what all good technologies do-enablelaziness. Rather than getting up to check on whetherthe laundry is done, users will instead monitor it ontheir phones while watching TV. What can be inferred from the common responseof the attendees at the CES?
| A．The machine will be a big success. |
| B．Their wives like doing the laundry. |
| C．The machine is unrelated to their life. |
| D．This kind of technology is familiar to them. |
What can we learn about the new laundrymachines?
| A．They can tell you when your clothes need washing. |
| B．They can be controlled with a smartphone. |
| C．They are difficult to operate. |
| D．They are sold at a low price. |
We can conclude from Samsung's statementsthat ______.
| A．the app connection makes life easier |
| B．it is better to dry clothes in the morning |
| C．smartphones can shorten the drying time |
| D．we should refresh clothes back at home |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．The laundry should be frequently checked. |
| B．Lazy people like using such machines. |
| C．Good technologies also cause problems. |
| D．Televisions may help do the laundry. |
Three Boys and a Dad
Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home tovisit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, hewas thinking whether to read the newspaper or watchhis favorite TV talk show on his first day off inmonths. "This will be like a walk in the park," he'dtold his wife. "I'll look after the kids, and you can go to visit your mom."
Things started well, but just after eight o'clock,his three little "good kids"-Mike, Randy, and Alex — came down the stairs in their night clothes andshouted "breakfast, Daddy." When food had notappeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using hisspoon on Alex's head as if it were a drum. Alexstarted to shout loudly in time to the beat (节拍).Mike chanted "Where's my toast, where's my toast"in the background. Brad realised his newspaper wouldhave to wait for a few seconds.
Life became worse after breakfast. Mike woreRandy's underwear on his head. Randy locked himselfin the bathroom,while Alex shouted again because hewas going to wet his pants. Nobody could find cleansocks, although they were before their very eyes.Someone named "Not Me" had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Bradknew the talk show had already started.
By ten o'clock, things were out of control. Alexwas wondering why the fish in the jar refused hisbread and butter. Mike was trying to show off histalent by decorating the kitchen wall with his colourpencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be readingquietly in the family room, but closer examinationshowed that he was eating apple jam straight fromthe bottle with his hands. Brad realised that the talkshow was over and reading would be impossible.
At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare centre(日托所). "I suddenly have to go into work and mywife's away. Can I bring the boys over in a fewminutes?" The answer was obviously "yes" becauseBrad was smiling.When his wife left home, Brad expected to _________.
| A．go out for a walk in the park |
| B．watch his favorite TV talk show with his children |
| C．enjoy his first day off work |
| D．read the newspaper to his children |
Which of the following did Randy do?
| A．Drawing on the wall. |
| B．Eating apple jam. |
| C．Feeding the fish. |
| D．Reading in a room. |
Why did Brad ask the daycare centre for help?
| A．Because he wanted to clean up his house. |
| B．Because he suddenly had to go to his office. |
| C．Because he found it hard to manage his boys. |
| D．Because he had to take his wife back home. |
This text is developed ________
| A．by space |
| B．by comparison |
| C．by process |
| D．by time |