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For years I fought with the bird's nest that sat on top of my head-my Medusa（神话中的蛇发女妖） hair．No matter what I did and how hard I tried, in no way could I make my unruly （乱蓬蓬）hair to my satisfaction．
Growing up in a Russian-Jewish home with parents who thought North American styling products were something illegal such as drugs, I was never allowed to put them in :my hair．¨ Why buy hair gel? Your hair is so beautiful naturally," my mother would say．The teens at school did not agree．From boys 'not wanting to kiss me when we played spin the bottle in Grade 7 to being called the mop, I suffered from my hair．
When I got to university, I believed my hair was a wall that stood between me and everything-finding a part-time job, getting a boyfriend, etc．
If only I could find a way to manage the curls and put it behind bars, I told myself, I would feel secure and sexy．I tried everything: rollers, hairspray, gels and, at one point, an iron．Then, in my second year, a miracle happened．I was asked to be a hair model for Japanese hair straightening, a process by which the molecules（分子）of my curls would be broken and reset in a bone-straight position．I was the perfect candidate, the hairdresser told me． Although they said how hair relaxing could damage the :scalp （头皮）,for the next five years I didn't find them to be true． All of the hairdresser's promises were fulfilled: With my hair straight and smooth, I was no longer the¨ mop"．
However, there was extreme damage done to my wallet． To keep up the straightening cost $ 700 every six months, and that was considered cheap．While some people thought I was crazy, I was willing to do anything to never again feel like that anxious, curly-headed girl in Grade 7．But when I moved out． of my parents" house 'at age 26 and rented an apartment, the upkeep of my new image became too costly．
I couldn't hide from my inner Medusa any longer．It was time to hug her and let her fly．Seeking a choice, I turned to the Internet, Google．After hours of searching, I hit upon a“ curly haired" salon, a place designed for girls like me．I doubted these so-called “Curl Ambassadors" could do anything
without using machine of some sort, and though I bought the service called the “Curly-Doo," I suspected I'd have the same unruly mop at the end of the appointment．
I dragged my feet so hard getting there that I arrived 45 minutes late． I secretly hoped they would turn me away．Instead, my stylist simply said :‘‘You are very late． Let me see your hair" At． that moment, my world and beliefs about myself were turned upside down along with my hair． As my head was in a basin full of freezing-cold water, then covered with a jelly-like jam, I wondered what I had got myself into．
¨ Do you really think this will work?" I asked the stylist, Jones．“ My curls are a disaster．"“No curly hair is hopeless," she replied．“They just haven't found a way to work with it, that's all． "
After the hour was over, Jones had completed her work． She had styled my hair using only her hands, water and a mixture of organic jam． I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the mirror: a naturally curly, Medusa-free me．You could argue that hair is just hair． Yet, it is just such physical features that have such a large influence on how we view ourselves．
According to Jones,75 percent of the population have a wave or curl in their hair and don't know what to do with it． Men cut theirs short． Women flat-iron theirs to death． When I read through a beauty magazine or take the subway to work, it makes me sad to see so many people repressing their natural beauty．
Since then, my world has changed． I have always been outgoing, but these days I seem to be more outspoken and confident than ever． On top of that, friends and co-workers tell me I am looking better than ever, but they don't know the source of the change．
I don't need to tell them* My Medusa hair speaks for herself．
What can we learn about the writer's hair in the first place?

A．Her parents considered it was bird's nest．

B．Teens at school laughed at it as Medusa hair．

C．She hated it because it couldn't be straightened．

D．North American styling products harmed her hair．

Japanese hair straightening caused a problem for the writer that．

A．her wish to feel secure and sexy didn't come true

B．her hair was seriously damaged after the straightening

C．the cost to keep her hair straight was too high for her

D．she was called ¨the mop" with her hair straight and smooth

The writer waswhen she went to the “curly haired" salon．

A．hesitated	B．excited
C．disappointed	D．determined

What was the reaction of the stylist in the salon when she saw the writer?

A．She was very angry because the writer was late．

B．She thought totally the writer's hair was a disaster．

C．She was calm and sure of her work．

D．She thought there was no way to fix the writer's hair．

The writer's world has changed because she．

A．has removed her inner Medusa

B．has removed her curls on her head

C．has found a way to straighten her hair in the stylish salon

D．has found the admiration for her from her friends and co-workers

The best title of the passage can be．

A．A Successful Stylist

B．Road to Beauty

C．My Medusa Hair

D．Accept the Way We Are

Most parents of kids under age 8 don't worry about how much time they spend watching TV or using other media, from computers to smart phones to tablets PCs, according to a new survey that found a child's use of media often reflects how much time parents spend in the similar way．
¨We generally found that media use is not a source of conflict in the home" for families with young children, Ellen Wartella, a researcher from Northwestem University, told USA Today． She led a survey of 2,326 parents who have children 8 and younger．It found that in 80 percent of families, children's media use was not a problem, with 55 percent “not too" or“ not at all" concerned about it． It also showed parents have more positive than negative feelings about how media consumption affects a child's learning and the development of creativity．The exception is video games, which are viewed more negatively than TV, computers or mobile devices．“Parents rated video games as more likely to have a negative effect on children's school performance, attention time, creativity, social skills, behavior and sleep than any other medium," the researchers said in a news conference about the survey．
¨The findings exposes a generational shift （转移） in parental attitudes about technology's role in young children's lives," said Wartella．“Today's parents grew up with technology as a central pact of their lives, so they think about it differently than earlier generations of parents, instead of a battle with kids on one side and parents on the other, the use of media and technology has become a family affair． "
The researchers identified three media environments created by parents: media-centric （39 percent of families） , media-moderate （45%）and media-light （16%）． Children in media-centric families spend at least three hours more each day watching TV or using computers, video games and tablet PCs don't make parenting easier．And 88 percent of parents say they are most likely to turn to toys or activities to keep their children occupied．Slightly fewer turn to books （79%） and TV（78%）．
The survey didn't look at how media affects children． That's a topic that the American Academy of Pediatrics has handled a number of times． The AAP says studies have found too much media use can lead to attention- problems, school difficulties, sleep and eating disorders and being fat． In addition, the Internet and cell phones can provide platforms for illegal and risky behaviors．¨By limiting screen time and offering educational media and non-electronic formats （格式）such as books, newspapers and board games, and watching television with their children, parents can help guide their children's media experience． Putting questionable content into context and teaching kids a700ut advertising contributes to their media literacy （素养） ," it says．
The pediatricians' group says parents should have “screen-free zones" and TV should be turned off during dinner． At most, it recommends children and teens engage with entertainment media for no more than two hours a day and that should be high-quality content． It is important for kids to spend time on outdoor play, reading, hobbies and using their imaginations in free play．“ Kids under 2 should not use television and other entertainment media because their brains are developing quickly and they learn best from direct human interaction," the group says．
An article on screen time by t．he Mayo Clinic also notes problems linked t．o over screen time, including being fat, irregular sleep , behavioral problems , weak school performance , violence and less time for active and creative play．
Parents have more negative than positive feelings about media consumption like．

A．computers	B．smart phones
C．video games	D．tablets PCs

Most parents don't worry about kid's media use because．

A．they can limit the screen time

B．they want their children happy

C．they also grew up with technology

D．they can teach their children themselves

From the data of the survey, we learn．

A．children in media-centric families are smarter than others

B．children in media-light families spend one hour watching TV

C．more than half of the parents think children's media use was a problem

D．media-centric children spend more than three hours each day on media use

To make parenting easier, most parents probably．

A．try to persuade their children to read books

B．ask their children questions while watching TV

C．allow their children watching TV or using computers

D．turn to toys or activities to keep their children occupied

Which of the following is a suggestion by the researchers?

A．Media use time for babies under 2 should be limited．

B．Entertainment media use should be high-quality content．

C．Schools should provide more time for active and creative play．

D．Home media use should provide platforms for illegal and risky behaviors．

Below are pages adapted from, http：//sochi2014．com/en/
Sochi Volunteers

Sochi 2014 Volunteer Training Program was launched on．

A．30 May 2013	B．11 March 2013
C．16 December 2013	D．19 September 2013

“ White Stick" Music Festival took place in．

A．Sochi	B．St． Petersburg
C．the United Kingdom	D．Moscow

Which of the following statements is true?

A．The 25 ,000 volunteers were from Russia．

B．Winners of Cultural Program Competition weren't known until 19 September 2013．

C．From August,25 to September,8,you were able to enjoy Winter Games in Sochi．

D．Few of the cultural activities were intended for creating atmosphere of Sochi Winter Games．

From the two boxes, you can learn that the activities were listed according to．

A．importance

B．place

C．date

D．name

Henry Ford grew up on an un-electrified farm, and as a young man he followed Edison's career as the inventor became a national role model．Ford took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company working his way up to chief engineer．
In 1896 Ford was thirty-three and, though still working for Edison Co．,he had created his first experimental automobile the Ford Quadricycle2 during his off-time． At an Edison company party in New York, Ford had his first chance to meet his hero Edison and was able to explain his new automobile to the great inventor． Edison was impressed． Edison is said to have slammed his fist downand shouted ¨Young man, that's the thing! You have it! Your car is self-contained and carries its own power plant．" Edison himself had been working on the idea, but had only been considering electricity as the power source, so the idea of a gas engine was a somewhat new one．
The words comforted Ford greatly, who immediately set out building a second car which was to become the Model-T．6．The two men became f'ast friends and would go on camping trips together．When Edison later became limited to a wheelchair, Ford brought an extra one to his house so they could race．At the 50th anniversary of the invention of light-bulb, Ford honored Edison．When Edison spoke, he ended his speech directed at Ford:“ As to Henry Ford, words fail to express my feelings．I can only say that he is my friend．" Therefore it is no surprise that Ford wanted something to remember Edison by after he passed away in 1931．
Once, Ford asked Thomas Edison's son Charles to sit by the dying inventor's bedside and hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to catch his final breath． Ford was a man with many strange behaviors（ as was Edison）including some interest in reanimation and spiritualism（夏活通灵术）and some say that he was attempting to catch Edison's soul as it escaped his body in hopes of later bringing the inventor back to life．
The test tube itself didn't turn up until 1950 when it was listed in the Ford possessions after Clara Ford's passing away, and then lost again until 1978 when it was discovered in an exhibit Entitled “Henry Ford-A Personal History" in the Henry Ford Museum．It would then be discovered that the tube was labeled “Edison's Last Breath"．
There is a further mystery of this “last breath" test tube． It would seem as if Edison had quite a last breath indeed, as the Edison Estate holds a collection of 42 test tubes all supposedly containing Edison's last breath．
Regardless of the excitement over the last breath, the test tube is quite touching in its meaning．Although both men were known for all sorts of poor behavior towards ．their loved ones and mistreatment of employees, between them at least, there was clearly a deep respect and admiration．
The passage can be sorted as a．

A．science research	B．short story
C．news report	D．self-introduction

From the underlined sentence in Paragraph2 we can learn that．

A．Edison envied what Ford had achieved

B．Edison was annoyed that Ford did better him

C．Edison was angry because Ford stole his idea

D．Edison was extremely amazed at Ford's new idea

In Paragraph 3,the writer mentions Ford bought an extra wheelchair．

A．to remind Edison was Ford's role model

B．to suggest Ford was a man of strange behavior

C．to tell us the importance of a creative idea then

D．to show the close friendship between Henry Ford and Edison

The 61ast breath' test tube" can probably be regarded as．

A．a symbol of a friendship and memory

B．a witness to a scientific breakthrough

C．a failure to bring Edison back to life

D．a sign of the two inventors' poor behavior

It can be learned from the last paragraph that“” ．

A．Great minds think alike

B．Nobody is perfect

C．Two heads are better than one

D．A friend in need is a friend indeed

In New York, Ma witnessed the Alibaba Group opening on the New York stock exchange with the largest initial public offering (IPO，新股发行) in American history. “Alibaba, the world’s largest Internet commerce company makes China equal to the US in the rapidly increasing global competition for technological innovation (创新) and economic transformation ” commented the South China Morning Post.
It has also made Ma China’s richest man with a fortune of around $25 billion (153 billion yuan), reported Reuters.
It’s reported that Ma’s rags-to-riches journey is just as spectacular as his Internet empire. Ma failed the national college entrance exams twice before he was finally in Hangzhou Normal University on his third attempt and failed in finding a suitable job several times. Aslo, Mr Ma is a big believer in perseverance, which was proved in his English study experience.
However, it was his vision and goals that launched his career.
During a short trip to the US as an interpreter in 1995, Ma first experienced the Internet. He believed in the Internet’s business potential when few other Chinese people did. He started Alibaba in his Hangzhou apartment, with 17 friends and $60,000 of funds. At the time, when e-commerce was unheard of in China, “I called myself a blind man riding on the back of blind tigers,” he once said, according to The Guardian. His unusual ideas earned him the nickname “Crazy Jack Ma” .
Indeed, Ma is different. Although he is very thin and about 160cm tall, “Ma is yet animated and forceful, said The Guardian. “He is funny, creative, and a compelling (引人注目的) speaker.
Ma told Time magazine that he was “old for the Internet”. He started to slow down and looked around. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ma “plans to open a tai chi club with the actor Jet Li, build an entrepreneur (企业家) university in Hangzhou and continue to work on several environmental projects.”
What made him into e-commerce industry?

A．His English learning experience.

B．His foresight and ambitions.

C．His belief in perseverance.

D．His 17 friends and $60,000 funds.

What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Ma is a blind man riding on a blind tiger.

B．Ma had no confidence in his business future.

C．Ma knew little about e-commerce.

D．Ma had not enough money at that time.

What’s the personality of Ma Yun according to the passage?

A．Funny and competitive.

B．Determined and creative.

C．Rich and different.

D．Attractive and believable.

What’s the best title of the passage?

A．The Development of Alibaba Group

B．Ma Yun’s Personal Life

C．Ma Yun’s Crazy Success

D．E-commerce in China