Cheaters called “pirates” often use camcorders(便携式摄像机) and cell phones to make illegal copies of blockbusters(大片) in the local theater. These pirates then sell those recordings on the street or over the Internet for very low prices. Some share them for free.
“It’s unfair for people to pirate movies, ” says 15-year-old Hadaia Azad Ezzulddin. Movie piracy “takes money out of the pockets of thousands of people in the movie industry,” she notes. Victims include famous actors and directors as well as local theater owners and their employees.
Hadaia came up with an idea that could help stop movie piracy. Hadaia’s idea uses infrared(红外线的) light. This range of light is invisible to the human eye. It is visible, however, to many types of cameras. Theater owners could place small infrared lights on their movie screens. The lights would not disturb people watching the movie. It would, however, distort the recordings made by many types of cameras.
To test her idea, Hadaia built a box with a movie screen inside. Then, she projected images on that screen through a hole in the box. She took recordings of those images, using nine different types of cameras. These included the types found in cell phones as well as camcorders. During some tests, she also turned on light emitting diodes(发光二极管), or LEDs. The LEDs were embedded（植入的） in a certain place behind the movie screen. They gave out infrared light.
Sure enough, she showed, a pirated movie included odd stripes or spots if it had been recorded while the LEDs were on. It might be possible to use the LEDs to flash the date and time on the movie screen. The information would then appear in the illegal recordings. Theater owners or police might use the information to track down the pirates.
Cutting down on piracy might get more people into theaters to watch the real movie instead of an illegal copy. Six out of every ten films now produced aren’t profitable. They don’t make enough money to recover how much was spent to make and market them. Such a poor payback can discourage filmmakers from producing anything but the types expected to become blockbuster hits. It might also keep smaller theaters from showing a wider variety of movie types.From what Hadaia says in Paragraph 2, we can infer that _______.
| A．she strongly criticizes those who video movies in the theater |
| B．the pirates don’t have to pay for the movie tickets |
| C．theater owners will increase the price of movie tickets |
| D．most people spend less money on pirates moves |
Infrared lights are put on the movie screens to _______.
| A．adjust the brightness of the movie screens |
| B．make sure the images of movies are dark |
| C．make illegal copies of movies unpleasant to see |
| D．protect the eyesight of viewers in the darkness |
What is the correct order of the steps in Hadaia’s test?
a. She projected pictures on the screen.
b. She used cameras to record the pictures.
c. She turned on the LEDs placed behind the screen.
d. She made a special box with a movie screen inside.
| A．bacd | B．bcad | C．dbac | D．dcab |
According to the last paragraph, we can know that _______.
| A．small theaters often choose to show low-cost movies |
| B．forty percent of movies now are profitable |
| C．more and more people go to theaters to fight movie piracy |
| D．filmmakers prefer to produce ordinary movies than blockbusters |
Let’s face it: Teenagers spend hours texting, socializing on Facebook and playing video games.And it’s driving their parents nuts.
Sure, there are real dangers connected with all this screen time—everything from cyberbullying(网络欺凌) to couch-potato obesity.Not to mention driving while texting, and shortened attention spans(持续时间).
Douglas Gentile, who studies the effects of media on children, says texting, Facebook and video games are not naturally bad.Nor are they naturally better or worse than watching TV, although they do lead to different risks, such as cyberbullying.
But research has shown that the more time kids spend in front of screens—whether it’s TV or instant-messaging—the worse their school performances are.“That doesn’t mean it’s true for every kid, but it makes sense, that for every hour a kid is playing video games, it’s an hour that they’re not doing homework or reading or exploring or creating,” he said.If screen time is taking the place of doing their homework, that’s bad.But if their homework is done, well, so what?
The study also found that the more time kids spend with media, the lower their grades and levels of personal satisfaction are.Gentile said the influence of screen time on school work can be reduced by what he calls “protective factors”.Those might include good teachers and a high-performing school, love of reading, coming from a family where education is valued.“If you had all these protective factors, then that one little risk factor, who cares?”
One thing parents should worry about is the way electronic devices encourage multitasking（多任务处理).
“As adults, your response speeds up, you’re quicker to look over your shoulder and notice little noises or lights.However this is not what the kids need when they get to the classroom.Scanning to see when the next message comes may not be good for kids.The more distractions(分心的事物) you have, the worse your performance is.” Getting kids to turn off their phones, iPods in order to let them concentrate（集中) on homework is a fight worth having.What statement may Gentile agree to?
| A．Kids get bad marks when using Facebook. |
| B．TV or texting affects kids equally. |
| C．Kids prefer video games to books. |
| D．Watching TV is better than playing video games. |
By saying “one little risk factor”, Gentile referred to ________
| A．love for reading | B．valuing education |
| C．screen time | D．good teachers |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that________.
| A．kids can give quick answer to questions if texting |
| B．Multitasks aren’t really good for every kid |
| C．electric devices increase the attention of kids |
| D．kids perform well if doing many tasks together |
What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．Are kids suffering cyber bullying on Facebook? |
| B．Are texting and Facebook worse for teens than TV? |
| C．Are kids willing to turn off their electric devices? |
| D．Are texting causing kids to lose interest in reading? |
TOURNAMENT OF ROSES ----5 Days Los Angeles
Day 1 Los Angeles.( Sun.Dec.30)
Welcome to Los Angeles! This evening mixes with your traveling friends at the welcome reception.
Day 2 Los Angeles.( Mon.Dec.31)
Head to Pasadena for the always colorful ROSE BOWL FAMILY FESTIVAL and watch the floats (彩车)decorated with tens of thousands of flowers.This afternoon, you can take the included visit to the GETTY MUSEUM.This evening, join your travelling friends at a special New Year’s Eve DINNER AND DANCE GALA (盛会), complete with hats, party favors and live music.You’ll toast the New Year a little early tonight to consider an early morning departure (离开) to the Rose Parade.
Day 3 Los Angeles.Tournament of Roses Parade ( Tue.Jan.1)
Happy New Year! Get ready for one of the world’s most popular parades, and you’ll see it live! Globus has booked the GRANDSTAND SEATS at the beginning of the parade route for a good view.See the wonderful colorful floats, marching bands from around the world, and the famous people.
Day 4 Los Angeles.( Wed.Jan.2)
This morning view the individual floats in the POST PARADE VIEWING AREA.For many this is the most exciting part of the entire event.Be sure to bring your camera and plenty of film! Another special dinner tonight—a special GLOBUS FAREWELL CELEBRATION DINNER.
Day 5 Los Angeles.( Thu.Jan.3)
The tour ends today, with tour guests departing on individual schedules.What activity can visitors enjoy on Dec.31?
| A．Tournament of Rose Parade. |
| B．A farewell celebration dinner. |
| C．Post parade viewing area. |
| D．A dinner and dance gala. |
The underlined word “Globus” in Paragraph 3 refers to ________.
| A．the travel agency | B．the local government |
| C．Los Angeles | D．Roses Parade |
According to the passage, you should bring your camera on ________.
| A．Day 2. | B．Day 4 | C．Day 3 | D．Day 5 |
You can most probably read the passage in a ________.
| A．textbook | B．news report |
| C．travel guide | D．history magazine |
If you saw another kid ride her bike too fast around a corner and fall down, you might ride your bike more slowly on that turn.Yes, we humans are very sensitive to others’ mistakes.And the same is true for other animals.Animals mess up all the time.They might eat poisonous leaves, fall off a tree or let their prey(猎物) escape.By watching others fail, an animal can avoid making the same mistakes, thus improving its chance of survival.
Scientists believe that one part of the brain helps animals process information about others’ mistakes.Cells(细胞) in that part appear to become more active when a person sees someone else making a mistake.But researchers didn’t know whether individual cells in this part of the brain play different roles in discovering mistakes.
To investigate（调查） the brain’s response(反应) to mistakes in more detail, the researchers taught a game to two macaques, a type of monkey.One monkey could press a yellow or green button while the other watched.If the first monkey pressed the right button, the team gave both animals a treat.Every couple of rounds, the two monkeys switched roles.Meanwhile, the scientists watched individual cells in the animal’s brains.
When the first monkey messed up the game by pressing the wrong button, a group of cells in the second monkey’s brain fired.But if the second monkey also made the wrong choice during its turn, some of the cells in that group didn’t respond.Those unresponsive cells reacted specifically to mistakes made by others, not to the monkey’s own mistakes.
Scientists believe other parts of the brain also might help people process information about another’s mistakes.“You start to think about this other person and see things from his angle.” Ellen de Brujin, told Science News.She studies the brain at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.According to Paragraph 1, animals’ ability to learn from others’ mistakes______.
| A．helps them to survive better |
| B．used to be ignored by humans |
| C．is being lost because of humans |
| D．ensures that they will never fail |
From the game the scientists taught to two macaques, we can see ______.
| A．animals can avoid the same mistakes |
| B．which part of the brain is more active |
| C．how the brain processes information. |
| D．how the brain responds to mistakes |
In the experiment mentioned, those unresponsive cells are only sensitive to _____.
A.the same buttons
B.the monkey’s brain
C others’ mistakes
D.one’s own mistakes
Gordon Brown was born in Scotland in 1951.His childhood was a brilliant success because of his intellectual strength.He was accepted into middle school at 10.At 16 he became the youngest student at Edinburgh University.
“At that time, he was a lucky boy, good at almost everything,” said his old friend Murray Elder.However, setbacks (挫折) fell on the brilliant boy.After a rugby injury, he became blind in his left eye.Before long, similar symptoms (症状) developed in his right eye.“I lay in the hospital bed in total darkness, uncertain about my future,” said Brown.
Looking back into the past, Brown didn’t complain about his bad luck.He even said: “One door closes; you can’t play rugby any more, so you focus on other things.”
Brown was interested in student politics in university, which helped a lot in his political career later in life.
In 1997, Brown was made Chancellor of the Exchequer (财政大臣).He has succeeded in giving the country a high rate of employment and the longest period of economic growth in its history.
Compared with his successful career, Brown’s family life is full of downs.He lost his first daughter ten days after her birth.His one-year-old youngest son has a deadly disease.“These accidents make me appreciate my life more,” he said.Gordon Brown was successful in his childhood because he _____.
| A．was very intelligent |
| B．went to middle school at 10 |
| C．played rugby very well |
| D．became the youngest student at Edinburgh University |
When Gordon Brown looked back on the past, he _____.
| A．still had hope for the future |
| B．wished that he had not played rugby |
| C．believed that his door was closed |
| D．felt very sad about his misfortune |
Which of the following is TRUE about Gordon Brown?
| A．He didn’t like politics in university. |
| B．He became Chancellor of the Exchequer at 48. |
| C．He did a good job to improve the national economy. |
| D．He didn’t do well for the country’s employment. |
From the last paragraph, we learn that Brown’s family life _____.
| A．is as successful as his career. |
| B．is full of accidents |
| C．makes him upset about his life |
| D．is filled with good luck |
Do you know that Street Sense is? It’s a newspaper in Washington D.C. about homeless people and problems that affect them Homeless, or formerly homeless, Washingtonians write many of the articles. The newspaper’s business model is based on homeless sellers who sell the newspaper. You can hear them call out “Street Sense for sale!” near subway entrances, lunch places and other areas around the city.
The Street Sense newspaper is housed in an office in a Christian church in Washington. Every other Wednesday about fourteen thousand copies are printed. The newspaper expresses the thoughts and experiences of people who call the streets home.
Four staff members work at Street Sense, Tow of them are paid. The staff members write the first two pages of the paper. Interns—students working as part of their studies—and volunteers help. Homeless writers provide the rest of the material. This includes poems, stories and essays.
Street Sense provides training for the homeless people who want to become part of the sales team, After the training, each student is given ten free copies of Street Sense. Once those are sold, trainees become real salespeople. They buy papers for thirty-five cents each and sell them for a dollar.
Lisa Gillespie is the managing editor of Street Sense, She says the newspaper plays a part in homeless people’s lives that other media can not. With the help of the newspaper, a lot of homeless people have become confident again, and their lives have also been improved a lot.What does the writer mainly tell us in Paragraph 1?
A. Something about the Street Sense.
B. Homeless people in Washington D.C.
C. How Street Sense solves homeless people’s problems.
D. Street Sense is very interesting. How often is Street Sense printed?
| A．Once a week | B．Twice a week |
| C．Every two weeks | D．once a month |
What do the staff members mainly do at Street Sense?
| A．They sell newspapers along the street. |
| B．They write the first two pages of the material. |
| C．They edit the newspaper after they receive articles. |
| D．They provide the last two pages of the material. |
What can we infer from this passage?
A. If you are one of the trainees of Street sense, you can get ten dollars from selling all of your newspapers.
B. There are too many homeless people in Washington D.C. for the government to help.
C. Most articles of Street Sense are about Washingtonians’ lives.
D. If you become real salespeople of Street Sense, you can get thirty-five cents from a copy of the newspaper.