Hundreds of years ago, news was carried from place to place by people on foot or by horse. It took days, weeks and sometimes months for people to receive news. Now it is possible to send words and pictures around the world in seconds. Billions of people learn about news stories of their own country and all over the world every day, either by watching TV or reading newspapers.
Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life since the 18th century. Many countries have hundreds of different newspapers. How do newspaper editors decide which news stories to print? Why do they print some stories and not others? What makes a good newspaper story?
Firstly, it is important to report news stories. TV stations can report news much faster than newspapers. Yet, newspapers give more about the same story. They may also look at the story in another way, or they may print completely different stories to those on TV.
Secondly, a news story has to be interesting and unusual. People don’t want to read stories about everyday life. As a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be “bad” news. For example, newspapers never print stories about planes landing safely; instead they print stories about plane accidents.
Another factor(因素) is also very important in many news stories. Many people are interested in news in foreign countries, but more prefer to read stories about people, places and events in their own country. So the stories on the front page in Chinese newspapers are usually very different from the ones in British, French and American newspapers.According to the passage, how do people learn about news stories in the world now?
| A．They carry news stories and tell others from place to place on foot or by horse. |
| B．They tell each other what they have seen with their eyes. |
| C．They watch TV or read newspapers. |
| D．They listen to the radio every day. |
The difference between newspaper stories and TV news reports is that _______ .
| A．people can learn more about the same news story from a newspaper |
| B．people can read the news story more quickly in a newspaper |
| C．people can read news stories in other countries |
| D．people can read news stories about their own country |
To make a good newspaper story, how many factors does the passage talk about?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
According to the passage, which of the following can you most possibly watch on TV?
| A．You often play football with your friends after school. |
| B．Your teacher has got a cold. |
| C．A tiger in the city zoo has run out and hasn’t been caught. |
| D．The bike in front of your house is lost. |
“I don’t believe in Santa Claus!” Trogmire announced.
Tremor looked shocked. “Why not?” he asked.
“Because he never leaves me any gifts at all,” Trogmire growled.
Tremor thought about the evidence for a few seconds. “Maybe,” he suggested, “it’s because when Santa checked his list, your name wasn’t in the ‘nice’ column.”
“So, he could at least bring me a lump of coal!” Trogmire replied. “And,” he went on, “Troubled doesn’t believe in Santa, either.”
“Right,” Tremor said, “because he saw his parents putting the ‘From Santa’ presents under the tree. But I know the truth about that. My mother found out from Troubled’s mother. When Troubled’s parents got an e-mail from Santa, saying that he would never bring Troubled another gift, they didn’t want to tell him the truth. So now they buy presents and pretend they’re from Santa.”
“What did Troubled do to get Santa so mad?” Trogmire questioned.
“I think it had something to do with the time he put glue paper all over the living room floor on Christmas Eve, and left a sign that said, ‘Trapped like a rat!’ hanging over the fireplace.” said Tremor.
“I guess Santa doesn’t have a sense of humour,” sighed Trogmire. “Well, at least I’m not the only one who Santa scratched off his name list.”Why doesn’t Santa leave presents for Trogmire or Troubled?
| A．Their parents won’t let him leave gifts. | B．He can’t find their homes. |
| C．He often forgets their names. | D．They have behaved badly. |
Trogmire and Troubled don’t believe in Santa because ________.
| A．Santa has no sense of humor | B．Santa doesn’t give them anything |
| C．they are too naughty to believe | D．Tremor convinced them he wasn’t real |
Troubled’s parents never ________.
| A．told him about the message from Santa | B．loved him very much |
| C．cared about how he behaved | D．bought him anything |
Trogmire’s last comment could be an example of the saying _______.
| A．Misery(苦难,不幸) loves company | B．Easy come, easy go |
| C．Beauty is only skin deep | D．Love me, love my dog |
You’re out to dinner. The food is delicious and the service is fine. You decide to leave a big fat tip. Why? The answer may not be as simple as you think.
Tipping, psychologists have found, is not just about service. Instead, studies have shown that tipping can be affected by psychological reactions to a series of different factors from the waiter’s choice of words to how they carry themselves while taking orders to the bill’s total.
“Studies before have shown that mimicry (模仿) brings into positive feelings for the mimicker,” wrote Rick van Baaren, a social psychology professor. “These studies show that people who are being mimicked become more generous toward the person who mimics them.”
So Rick van Baren divided 59 waiters into two groups. He requested that half serve with a phrase such as, “Coming up!” Those in the other half were instructed to repeat the orders and preferences back to the customers. Rick van Baaren then compared their take-home(实得收入). The results were clear---it pays to mimic your customer. The copycat waiters earned almost double the amount of tips to the other group.
Leonard Green and Joel Myerson, psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis, found the generosity of a tipper may be limited by his bill. After research on the 1,000 tips left for waiters, cab drivers, hair stylists, they found tip percentages in these three areas dropped as customers’ bills went up.
“That’s also a point of tipping,” Green says. “You have to give a little extra to the cab driver for being there to pick you up and something to the waiter for being there to serve you. If they weren’t there you’d never get any service. So part of the idea of a tip is for just being there.”According to the passage, a customer gives the cab driver a tip for ____.
| A．driver’s politeness | B．being there | C．driver’s attitudes | D．driver’s mimicry |
According to the passage, which of the following will be likely to show the right change of the tip percentages for the three areas researched?
According to the passage, we know the writer seems to _________.
| A．oppose Mr. Green’s idea about tipping |
| B．support the opinions of Mr. Green and Rick van Baaren about tipping |
| C．give his generous tip to the waiters very often |
| D．think part of Mr. Green’s explanation is reasonable |
As is known to all, colors appear in every language to express people’s feeling and thoughts．Then, what is the situation in American English?
Red is a hot color．Americans may say they are red hot about something unfair．They are red hot when they are very angry about something．The small hot-tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hot for their color and their fiery taste．Fast loud music is popular with many people．They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland Jazz．
Pink is a lighter kind of red．People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health．The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century．It comes from the fact that many babies are born with nice pink skin that shows that they are in good health．
The color black is often used in expressions．People describe a day on which everything goes wrong as a black day．People or things on a blacklist are connected with things illegal now．But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations．
The color green is natural for trees and grass．But it is an unnatural color for humans．A person who has a sick feeling in his stomach may say he feels a little green．A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green．
Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has．That person may say he is green with envy．Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks．Dollars are called greenbacks because green is the color of the back side of the paper money．Americans use “red hot” to describe the following EXCEPT _______．
| A．something unfair |
| B．small hot-tasting peppers |
| C．the person who is very angry |
| D．popular music like Dixieland Jazz |
People use “in the pink” to express they are in good health because _______．
| A．the expression has a very long history |
| B．the color pink makes people feel happy |
| C．people think the color pink is gentler than red |
| D．healthy babies are born with nice pink skin |
When we say someone feels a little green, it means he/she _______．
| A．enjoys himself in boating | B．is hit by a high wave |
| C．has a stomachache | D．likes trees and grass |
In the writer’s eyes, what is related to a black day?
| A．Being sent a beautiful gift． |
| B．Passing a very difficult test． |
| C．Failing in an important interview． |
| D．Being invited to an exciting party． |
Office workers should know that long periods of sitting at your desk may be a killer. Scientists have shown a new threat from this lifestyle that they call “muscular inactivity (肌肉迟钝)”．
Sitting still for long periods of time leads to the buildup of substances (物质) in the blood that are harmful to health. And exercise alone won’t drive them away.
Millions of people spend their days between car，office desk and the sofa in front of the TV. While the bad influences are well rocognized，it has been thought that they can be changed by regular trips to the gym or swimming pool.
Now researchers say that is not enough. In addition to regular exercise，office workers need to keep moving while they work，by making regular trips to the printer，coffee machine or to chat with workmates.
Elin EkblomBak，an expert on health，says research shows long periods of sitting and lack (缺乏) of “whole body muscular movement” are strongly linked to obesity，heart disease and cancer，and a higher risk of death，regardless of (不管) whether they take enough exercise.
“Everyone knows about the health benefits of regular exercise. But what we haven’t realized before is that longperiod sitting down carries an extra risk that cannot be dealt with by taking exercise，” Dr EkblomBak said，adding that sitting still should be recognized as a risk to health.
“It is important to have a fiveminute break from desk work every 45 minutes. Don’t email workmates—walk across the office to give them the message. Take a coffee break or put the printer in the next room. I am a desk worker and I try to do it. It is not difficult but sometimes you get lost in your work and you forget about it.”
However，more studies are needed to confirm the ill effects of sitting for too long and ways of fighting them. But at present they conclude that “keep moving” should be added to the advice to “keep exercising.”Nowadays，many office workers wrongly think that________.
| A．long periods of sitting has bad influences on them |
| B．regular exercise benefits them after long periods of sitting |
| C．they are living a lifestyle called “muscular inactivity” |
| D．it’s unfair for them to sit in the office for too long |
What does the author suggest office workers should do?
| A．Chat with workmates often. |
| B．Send emails instead of chatting. |
| C．Keep moving in the office regularly. |
| D．Take more exercise after work. |
The last paragraph suggests that the result of the study is________.
| A．scientific | B．uncertain | C．unbelievable | D．convincing |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A new threat ：longperiod sitting |
| B．Office workers should keep exercising |
| C．Taking exercise benefits a lot |
| D．Keep moving，it could save your life |
Three quarters of Britain’s parents are too busy to read bedtime stories to their children，according to a study. The study was carried out by CITV to start their new children’s show Bookaboo，which is designed to encourage anyone to pick up a book and read with their children at any time of the day.
Worryingly，the study showed that only three percent of fathers now find the time to read to the kids compared to 89 percent of mothers. Lucy Goodman，creator of Bookaboo，said，“It’s important for young boys to be able to share a book with dads，granddads or male carers and it can be fun and rewarding，too.” Of the dads who said they didn’t read to their kids,87 percent blamed work while more than a third said they were too tired. While 89 percent of mums said they did read to their children，more than half of them said cleaning distracted (使分心) them and 49 percent were distracted by other household things.
Researchers also found parents are now relying heavily on other people to lend a hand with reading to their children with grandparents doing the most，followed by sisters and brothers，aunts and uncles. While 95 percent of parents read to their children at some point，only five percent read to their children during the day. More than one in ten said they read every couple of weeks or less，and five percent could not remember the last time they shared a book.
The study found parents also seem content with allowing their children to immerse (使沉浸) themselves in TV programs or playing computer games rather than reading.
Exgoalkeeper David Seaman，who is a dad of two，has been a guest in Bookaboo.He says，“I think it’s important that fathers do read to their children because it’s a special time. Sometimes my two children will come to listen to the same book—it’s a magical moment and I advise fathers just to try it.”We can know from the passage that Bookaboo________.
| A．is a daily show | B．is an adults’ show |
| C．is a popular show | D．aims to encourage people to read to their children |
According to the study，fathers don’t read to their kids mainly because________.
| A．they are too busy with work |
| B．they don’t think it necessary to do so |
| C．they are distracted by household things |
| D．they like to play computer games in their free time |
Which group of people helped parents read to the kids the most?
| A．Aunts and uncles. | B．Grandparents. |
| C．Children’s carers. | D．Children’s sisters and brothers. |
According to the last paragraph，David Seaman________.
| A．is a goalkeeper now | B．has only one child |
| C．is the creator of Bookaboo | D．thinks it is great to read to children |