Every people(民族) uses its own special words to show its ideas and feelings. Some of these expressions are commonly used for many years. Others are popular for just a short time. One such American expression is “Where’s the beef?” It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be. In the early 1980s “Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in the United States. It seemed as if everyone was using it at the time.
Beef, of course, is the meat from a cow, and food is more popular in America than a hamburger made from beef. In the 1960s a businessman named Ray began building small restaurants that sold hamburgers at a low price. Ray called this “McDonald’s”. Ray became one of the richest businessmen at last in America.
Other business people watched his success. Some of them opened their own hamburger restaurants. One company(公司) called “Wendy’s” said its hamburgers were bigger than those sold by McDonald’s or anyone else. The Wendy’s Company began to use the expression “Where’s the beef?” to make people know that Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. The Wendy’s television advertisement(广告) showed three old women eating hamburgers. The bread that covered the meat was very big, but inside there was only a bit of meat. One of the women said she would not eat a hamburger with such a little piece of beef. “Where’s the beef?” she shouted in a funny way. The advertisement for Wendy’s hamburger restaurants was a success. As we said, it seemed everyone began using the expression “Where’s the beef?”The expression “Where’s the beef?” is used when .
| A．someone can’t find the beef at all |
| B．someone isn’t satisfied with the beef |
| C．something is better than it is said to be |
| D．something is not as good as it is said to be |
“Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in ________ in the early 1980s.
| A．Britain | B．America | C．India | D．Australia |
The Wendy’s Company used the expression “Where’s the beef?” in order to .
| A．show Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. |
| B．make people know where they could find the beef |
| C．let people notice the bread that covered the meat was big |
| D．compare its hamburgers with those sold by McDonald’s |
This passage mainly tells us .
| A．two famous companies | B．a rich businessman |
| C．a popular expression | D．a television advertisement |
Do you know what Oscar is? When did it start? Maybe you can find the background of the awards in the following passage.
The awards started in 1929. Their full title is “The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards”. The Academy is a group of people who have worked in the film industry for many years. They decide who will receive the awards. The awards are often referred to as the “Oscar”. This is a nickname given to the awards by a lady called Margaret Herrick. She was once the director of the Academy and she once said that the little gold statue reminded her of her uncle Oscar!
The Oscar is always an exciting event. Each year, at least one unusual thing happens. When the Italian actor and director Roberto Benigni won an Oscar for best foreign film, he danced on stage! When Gwyneth Paltrow, the star of Shakespeare in Love won the Oscar for best actress, she could not make her acceptance speech because she was crying so much with happiness!
In 1987, Roberto Benigni won the award for best director for a film about the last emperor of China. Since then, Chinese film and actors have started to make an impact at the award. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a huge success and it won the award for best foreign language film in 2001. It also won several technical awards for its amazing “flying” people. We expect to see more awards for Chinese film in the near future.
It’s time for the Oscar again. Once more, the stars will dress up in their finest and go to Kodar Theater. There, they will find out who had won the awards for best actor, best actress and best director. Millions of people watch the awards every year to find out who the winners are. Some people watch it to see the stars crying and laughing as they receive their awards.Who give the awards?
| A．In 1927. |
| B．Oscar. |
| C．The Academy of Nicknames. |
| D．A group of people who have worked in the film industry for many years. |
What did Gwyneth Paltrow win an Oscar for?
| A．Best Director. | B．Best Foreign Film. |
| C．Best Actress. | D．Best Actor. |
Which Chinese film won an award for best foreign film?
| A．Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger. |
| B．Crouching and Hidden Dragon and Tiger. |
| C．Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. |
| D．Crouching, Dragon, Hiding Tiger. |
Where are the Oscars held?
| A．At the Academy. |
| B．in a Los Angeles restaurant. |
| C．At Oscar’s house. |
| D．At Kodar Theater. |
Why do some people watch Oscars?
| A．To see the restaurant. |
| B．To see the fashion. |
| C．To see a film. |
| D．To see the stars crying and laughing. |
Television is good. You’d like to watch it all day and all night. But watching too much TV is a very bad thing. Scientists find that kids who watch too much TV may have more trouble learning to read. They can’t focus on their work.
Kids learn language skills best by reading, talking and playing with others. If they spend too much time watching TV, they’ll have less time for those things. Watching too much TV is bad for people’s health. People don’t move much while watching TV. What’s more, they may eat a lot of food while watching. This can make them fat. We call these people “couch potatoes”.
Fighting on TV is a big problem for kids. Young people are good at following. Scientists have found that those who watch a lot of fighting shows are more likely to fight. Scientists say if kids watch too much TV, they will.
| A．learn language skills more easily |
| B．be healthier |
| C．find it hard to learn to read |
| D．eat less food |
Kids learn language skills best by.
| A．reading | B．talking |
| C．playing with others | D．all of the above |
While watching TV, what DON’T people do?
| A．Eat a lot of food. | B．Have less time for reading. |
| C．Hardly move. | D．Focus on their work. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．An American child will watch 12,000 fighting acts on TV a year. |
| B．It’s good for kids to learn from fighting acts on TV. |
| C．Too much TV is good for people’s health. |
| D．It’s easy for kids who watch a lot of fighting shows to fight. |
“Couch potatoes” are people who watch too much TV and become.
| A．thin | B．fit |
| C．fat | D．strong |
Millions of young people are writing blogs. Millions of others are reading them. The word “blog” is a short way of saying “web log”.
Many popular web sites now offer free, easy ways to create personal web pages and fill them with writings and pictures. Web sites called “Facebook” and “MySpace” are some of the most popular blog sites for young people. Many young adults use their blogs to write about daily activities and events in their lives. They also provide a place for people to write their ideas and opinions and how they think of others’ ideas.
Blogs offer young people a place to show their writings and feelings. They can also be helpful to connect young people with others. But blogs can become dangerous when they are read on the Internet by millions of people all over the world.
Recent studies show that young people often provide their names, ages and where they live on the Internet. That may not be safe for them. This personal information puts them at risk of being searched out by dangerous people who want to hurt them. Many students do not know about privacy(隐私) and are surprised to learn that adults can read their personal daily records easily. Students can also get into trouble when they put information about others on their blogs.
As a result, many schools have banned(禁止) the use of blogging web sites on school computers. Many schools have also begun teaching parents about the web sites. Parents should know what their children are doing online and should read their blogs to make sure they are not giving out private information. One way to keep away from these problems is to use programs so that blogs can be read by “friends only” .People can read the web site only if they know a secret word chosen by the blogger. “Facebook” and “MySpace” are.
| A．school subjects | B．computer programs |
| C．school online BBS | D．blog sites for young people |
Blogs may be dangerous because.
| A．surfing the Internet is bad for eyes |
| B．they are not allowed for school students |
| C．they get in the way of studies |
| D．personal information can be found in blogs easily |
This passage is mainly about.
| A．the safety of children’s blogs |
| B．how to search the Internet |
| C．students’ behavior at school |
| D．communicating with parents at home |
According to the passage, many schools help children avoid(避免) blog problems by doing everything EXCEPT.
| A．teaching parents about the web sites |
| B．asking students to use programs to refuse strangers |
| C．telling school students not to make any net friends |
| D．stopping students from blogging on school computers |
You can enjoy your blog safely if.
| A．you write your blog at school |
| B．you use a secret number for friends to enter your blog |
| C．your parents have little knowledge about web sites |
| D．you show all your writings and feelings in your blog |
What do you do in a situation like this? You’re calling dinner with friends at a nice restaurant. You’re having a great time when a phone rings at the table next to you. A man takes out his phone and starts talking loudly about problems he’s having with his girlfriend. He talks for almost ten minutes! This happens all the time－on buses, in restaurants, everywhere!
Many people find cell phones useful in their daily lives. But we’ve all sat next to someone talking too loudly on a cell phone. You may want to tell the loudmouth to end the conversation, but let the management take care of those noisy customers. You can only control your own behavior. Here are a few rules:
Off means off! Follow the rules of restaurants and other public places. If a sign says “turn off cell phones”, don’t use your phone. If you are allowed, speak softly and for a short time and try to move away form other people.
Lights off, phone off! Never make calls in a theater or at the movies.
Pay attention! Talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous. And watch where you’re going when you’re walking down the streets and talking on the phone.
As more people use cell phones, things are only going to get worse. So, the next time you’re getting ready to make a call, stop and consider the people around you.
The man talking on the cell phone loudly in the restaurant will ________.
| A．talk for half an hour |
| B．pay more for his meal |
| C．make other customers angry |
| D．be driven out by the boss |
Some people use cell phones in a rude way because____________.
| A．they don’t consider the people around them |
| B．some public places allow them to do so |
| C．they are proud of having cell phones |
| D．cell phones are common and available everywhere |
According to the passage, we shouldn’t make calls ___________.
| A．in restaurants | B．on buses |
| C．at the movies | D．on the street |
From the passage we can infer(推断）that __________.
| A．cell phones have become the most useful tool in our life |
| B．public manners play an important role in our life |
| C．cell phones lead to people’s bad relationship |
| D．people ought to turn cell phones off in a public places |
Tomorrow is Garfield’s birthday. He first appeared in a comic strip on June 19, 1978. Garfield is well known all over the world. Lots of Garfield books have been turned into 26 languages. Garfield products are sold in 69 countries.
Jim Davis is Garfield’s creator. Jim was born on July 28, 1945 in Indiana. He grew up on a farm where his dad raised cows. Jim and his brother Dave helped with the farm work. They had 25 cats. Their room always made sure there was plenty of food for the cats.
As a boy, Jim was in poor health. When he had to spend time resting, he drew pictures. He added words to his pictures to make them funny.
After college Jim worked a few years at an advertising company. In 1969, he got a job to help a cartoonist. Jim noticed that there were many comic strips about dogs but few about cats. He thought that was strange since the world is full of cat lovers.
He remembered the 25 farm cats he grew up with. They gave him ideas for a cat comic strip. In the comic strip. Garfield became the central character in daily difficult experiences with Jon, his owner, and other characters. He is lazy, funny and hungry.
Jim Davis has received many awards for his work. Twice he was given the Best Humor Strip Cartoonist of the Year Award. He has won four Emmys(艾美奖）and other honors.
Who does the underlined word “He” refer to in the fifth paragraph?
| A．Jim. | B．Jon. | C．Dave. | D．Garfield. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Jim Davis created Garfield with the help of his brother. |
| B．Garfield products are available in all countries of the world. |
| C．The cats his family raised made no contributions to his creation. |
| D．There were few comic strips about cats until Jim crated Garfield. |
The writer’s main purpose of writing the passage is _________.
| A．to tell us to watch more comic strips |
| B．to show us how to become a cartoonist |
| C．to introduce some information about Jim Davis |
| D．to prove Garfield the most popular cartoon character |