STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.
Speed dating
It’s exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US $35 for three minutes with more than two dozen future dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again―25 times in all.
Lock and key party
Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock has several matches. One can hunt for his/her later-to-be sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot（票数） for top prizes!
Dinner in the dark
Waiters wearing night vision glasses guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will appear.
Message party
Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait… You’ve got a message… Go and collect it! You can make new friends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.What do you think the similarities of these parties are?
| A．All the parties have very strict rules for their members. |
| B．If you want to go to any of the parties, you have to buy a ticket. |
| C．All the parties are aimed at strangers who want to be lovers. |
| D．All the parties are suitable not only for the young but for the old. |
In which party does a participant have to be careful with the time?
| A．Speed dating. | B．Lock and key party. |
| C．Dinner in the dark. | D．Message party. |
If you go to the Dinner in the dark, ____________.
| A．you have to wear night vision glasses |
| B．you have to eat with your hands |
| C．guests eat all the courses in the darkness |
| D．your dining partners will help you choose the food |
How many of the parties offer gifts or prizes?
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
Coolest Hotels in the World
Artau Aragon Towers
The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel lets you sleep in a tree house. Eight towers make up this
hotel that offers over 300 rooms. If you really want to get into the spirit, book the Tarzan Suite which is large enough for a big family. You'll be thirty feet up in the air and can travel between the towers through their wooden walkways.
Prices: starting at $300 one night for each person for a regular room and going all the way
up to $3000 for the Tarzan Suite.
For more information, visit the website: http://Hwww.ariautowers.com
The Ice Hotel
Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, a special kind of hotel called the lee Hotel is built. Each year, world-famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms. You'll have your choice between hot or cold rooms but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience.
Prices: starting at $318 one night for each person for either a cold room or a warm one. For more information, visit the website: http:Hwww.icehotel.com
Propeller Island
Propeller Island City Lodge is a very special hotel that was designed by a German artist Each room provides you with the possibility of living in a work of art. Every single piece of furniture in the thirty rooms of the hotel has been hand-made and each room is completely different. You'll be able to choose a room based on your own personal tastes.
Prices: starting at just $91 a night, and an additional (另外) person for only 20 extra dollars. For more information, visit the website: http://www.propeller-island.com
For information about other cool hotels In the world, visit the website: http://www.bahamabeachclub.comWhat it special about the Ariau Amazon Towers hotel?
| A．You can sleep in the tree house. |
| B．You can choose any of the towers. |
| C．It is designed for big families. |
| D．Every room has a walkway. |
For more persons spending a night in one of these hotels, they have to pay at least
A $111B. $182 C. $600 D. $636Which website should you visit if you want to find out whether there exists a hotel under the sea?
| A．http://www.icehotel.com |
| B．http：//www.ariantowers.com |
| C．http://www.propeller-island.com |
| D．htlp://www.bahamabeachclub.com |
Which hotel would invite artists to come to work every year?
| A．Propeller Bland City Lodge. |
| B．Arian Amazon Towers. |
| C．The Ice Hotel. |
| D．Bahama Beach Club. |
Somali pirates(海盗) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l, 200 Miles off the Somali coast, the farthest-off-shore attack to date, an officer said Tuesday.
Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡逻)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force, said a spokesman.
The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area”.
“Once they start attacking that far out, you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,” said an officer, Roger Middleton. “Once you’re that far out, it's just the Indian Ocean, and it means you’re looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia, from Asia to South Africa. ”
“This is the farthest robbing to date. They are now operating near the Maldives and India,” said another officer.
The three ships--the MV Prantalay 11, 12, and l 4—had 77 members on board in total. All of them are Thai, the spokesman said. Before the Sunday robbing, pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors.
Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes. of catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships, the success rate(率)has gone down, though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year.The pirate attack reported in the text happened __________.
| A．far out in the Indian Ocean |
| B．in the normal patrol area |
| C．near the Somali, coast |
| D．in the south of Africa |
According to the text, which can best describe the situation of the pirate problems?
| A．More goods on board are lost. |
| B．Pirate attacks happen in a larger area now. |
| C．The number of attacks has stayed the same these years. |
| D．Pirate attacks are as serious as before along the Somali coast. |
Which is true about the warship patrols according to the text?
| A．The patrols are of little effect. |
| B．The patrols are more difficult. |
| C．More patrols are quite necessary even in Asia. |
| D．The patrols only drive the pirates to other areas. |
How many sailors were held by the pirates up to the time of the report?
| A．228. | B．77. | C．383. | D．305. |
When I first got an email account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisement and other correspondence that do not interest the at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need special laws that make spamming(发送垃圾邮件) a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to spend hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam emails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail on for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passed on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate (立法) against spam. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.What does the underlined word “correspondence” in the Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．messages | B．ideas | C．connections | D．programs |
According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?
| A．Companies rely on e-mail for communications. |
| B．More people in the world communicate by e-mail. |
| C．Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail. |
| D．More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam. |
According to Paragraph 3,who is the final victim of spam?
| A．The business | B．The advertiser |
| C．The employee | D．The consumer |
What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To inform | B．To educate | C．To persuade | D．To instruct |
Facebook means never having to say goodbye． The social media website has earned a reputation for reconnecting old friends． Last week, a guy whom I hadn't seen since my bachelor party five years ago sent me a friend request． I accepted and waited for "Easy E" to send me a greeting of some kind． He had sought me out, after all．
I learned from his profile that he was in a relationship and had a son． However, I'm pretty sure we won't ever write wall-to-wall, let alone e-mail each other． But he'll remain a friend of' online until one of us makes a point of' removing the other from his official list．
My pool of friends consists of family members, college buddies, co-workers from past and present, and friends of' friends． There are 35 in all． If I spent some time uploading old e-mail addresses, I'm confident that I could increase my friend count actually．
A person could make a mission out of' reconnecting with childhood friends, former classmates, distant cousins, and those one would like to get to know better． And some people can even handle hundreds of no-screen relationships, keeping up with the daily happenings of' their small army of' companions． After all, there are worse fates than having too many friends．
Thanks to e-mail, the inability to schedule face-to-face meetings no longer means a friendship must come to a close． But even with e-mail, people will lose touch if' one or both parties stop writing back． That's normal． People move from school to school, job to job, city to city．You never have to feel guilty for breaking away．
Every day,the masterminds of' Web 2．0 find new ways of' making human communication easier． However, convenience can be a crutch （拐杖）． Some things shouldn't be simplified．When it comes to friendship, there can be no shortcuts．According to Paragraph l, the website is famous because．
| A．it has an interesting name of'“ Facebook” |
| B．it helps people get in touch with old friends |
| C．it can send people a greeting of' some kind |
| D．it reminds people of 'events in the past |
From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer．
| A．would write to the friend quite often |
| B．asked the friend to e-mail him |
| C．did get some information about the friend |
| D．would keep in touch with the friend forever |
Which of 'the following statements is NOT true?
| A．There are 35 people in the author's list of' friends right now． |
| B．The author communicates with all the 35 friends by e-mails． |
| C．The list of'35 friends doesn't include the old e-mail addresses． |
| D．It is not difficult for the author to increase his friend count． |
What does the write mean by saying “However, convenience can be a crutch（拐杖）”?
| A．The masterminds of Web 2．0 also sell crutch online． |
| B．Taking a crutch is a new way of' making friends online． |
| C．Convenience is dangerous for human communication． |
| D．Convenience is not really good for human communication． |
What does the author think of' the convenience of' communicating online'?
| A．The technology could not keep true friendship forever． |
| B．The social website of Facebook means nothing at all． |
| C．There will be no ways of making real friends online． |
| D．People will not lose friends with the help of' the Facebook． |
San Francisco has its cable cars． Seattle has its Space Needle． And, Longview has its squirrel bridge． The bridge, which has attracted international attention, is now a local landmark．
The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy road without getting flattened by passing cars．
The original bridge was built over Olympia Way on the west edge of' the library grounds．Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to avoid traffic to and from the Park Plaza office building where office staff' put out a nutty feast for the squirrels． Many times, Peters and others who worked in and near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over．
One day Peters found a dead squirrels with a nut still in its mouth, and that day’s coffee break discussion turned into squirrel safety． The group of businessmen cooked up the squirrel bridge idea and formed a committee to ask the blessing of' the City Council（市政会）．The Council approved, and Councilwoman Bess LaRiviere named the bridge “Nutty Narrows．”
After architects designed the bridge, Amos Peters and Bill Hutch started construction． They built the 60-foot bridge from aluminum （铝） and lengths of fire hose （消防水带）． It cost $1,000．
It didn't take long before reports of' squirrels using the bridge started． Squirrels were even seen guiding their young and teaching them the ropes． The story was picked up by the media, and Nutty Narrows became known in newspapers all over the world．
In 1983, after 20 years of' use, Peters took down the worn-out bridge．Repairs were made and crosspieces were replaced． The faded sign was repainted and in July 1983, hundreds of' animal lovers attended the completion ceremony of 'the new bridge．
Peters died in 1984, and a ten-foot wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in memory of its builder and his devotion to the project．The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in order to ．
| A．offer squirrels a place to eat nuts |
| B．set up a local landmark |
| C．help improve traffic |
| D．protect squirrels |
What happened over the coffee break discussion?
| A．The committee got the Council's blessing． |
| B．The squirrel bridge idea was born． |
| C．A councilwoman named the bridge |
| D．A squirrel was found dead． |
What does the underlined phrase“teaching them the ropes”probably means in the text?
| A．Passing them a rope |
| B．Directing them to store food for winter |
| C．Teaching them a lesson |
| D．Showing them how to use the bridge． |
Which of the following is true of 'the squirrel bridge?
| A．It was replaced by a longer one． |
| B．It was built from wood and metal |
| C．it was rebuilt after years of use |
| D．It was designed by Bill Hutch． |
What can we learn about Amos Peters?
| A．He is remembered for his love of' animals． |
| B．He donated $l,000 to build the bridge |
| C．He was a member of' the City Council |
| D．He was awarded a medal for building the bridge． |