Sina Weibo, one of the country’s most popular micro blogging sites,has launched a paid service.For a 10 yuan ($ l.57) monthly fee, users get a membership on their Sina Weibo accounts.
According to Xu Yuanyuan, a member of the marketing team at Sina, themove is to guarantee a more convenient and safer environment for users.But despite the company’s efforts to increase income, it seems that most of its 300 million users still prefer the free version.
The premium membership (高级会员) plans ,announced by the company on Monday, brought about negative comments from its users .
“The current service is good enough for me”, said a Beijing based micro blogger.“I don’t really need those value added services and it might be a waste of money.I might consider paying for it if some more features are added.”
Dong Xu, an analyst with consulting firm Analysys International, said that Sina shouldn’t expect a great increase in income brought by the new services.The free services are enough for most users, Dong said.“The company has been making attempts at different profit models since last year.A potential source of income could be gaming.Games and advertisements are so far the two biggest sources of income.” she said.
Other micro blogging service providers have not yet followed suit.Fang Gang, vice president of rival Sohu, said via e mail on Tuesday that Sohu’s micro blogging service will never charge users.“It’s good news for us.Users can come to our website if they have to pay for services (at Sina).” Fang said.
Most of Sina Weibo’s users______.
A.aren’t satisfied with its free version |
B.show no interest in its paid services |
C.are looking forward to new services |
D.think highly of its new paid version |
What’s Dong Xu’s attitude towards Sina Weibo’s new services increasing income?
A.Negative. | B.Confident. |
C.Indifferent. | D.Positive . |
Why did Fang Gang consider Sina Weibo’s charging its users good news?
A.Because Sina will make more money. |
B.Because Sina will lose the whole Weibo market. |
C.Because Sohu will attract more users. |
D.Because Sohu will offer free services. |
What can be inferred from the text?
A.Most of Weibo websites will charge their users. |
B.Sina Weibo’s new move will be a great success. |
C.Sina Weibo’s users will enjoy more services. |
D.A large number of Weibo users like playing games. |
What can be the best title for the text?
A.Sina Weibo Faces Great Challenges |
B.Sina Weibo Launches Paid Services |
C.Sina Weibo Expects Income Increase |
D.Sina Weibo Becomes More Convenient |
.
US President Barack Obama made his first visit to China early this week, during which he sent out signals to China that the US sees China as its partner, not a rival.
During his Asian tour, Obama emphasized that the US isn't looking to contain the rise of a strong, prosperous China.
“China-US relations are very important. Maintaining such ties is the responsibility of both sides,” President Hu jintao told reporters after his meeting with Obama. Hu described the meeting as candid(坦诚的), constructive and fruitful, a “very good” talk.
The two leaders agreed that the key to China-US relations was to respect each other's interests and major concerns, but that national differences were normal.
A joint statement released after the meeting said it covered major issues, from nuclear proliferation to global warming to financial crisis and trade protectionism. “China-US relations go beyond any single issue,” said Obama.
China holds a large amount of US government debt – over $800 billion (5.5 trillion yuan) in Treasury bonds. Just before Obama's China visit, The New York Times described it as a trip to “pay his respects to his banker”.
The US is the China's biggest export market, accounting for more than 70 percent of China's exports. Total trade between the two was worth $400 billion (2.7 trillion yuan), in 2008.
In addition to the financial interdependence, there are educational exchanges to be considered. More than 11,000 Americans studied in China last year, for a 25 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Institute of International Education in the US. Meanwhile, Chinese students are the second largest group of foreign students in the US, and their numbers are on the rise. Last year, 81,000 mainland students went to the US, a 20 percent increase from 2008. According to the joint statement issued on Tuesday, for the next four years, over 100,000 American students will be sent to the China for study.
Still, people in the two countries may have a long way to go in improving their opinions.
49.What’s the text mainly about?
A The significance of Obama’s visit to China
B The effects of Obama on China –US relations.
C How the two leaders solve the political and financial problems between each other.
D The educational exchanges between the two countries.
50. What does the underlined sentence in the second paragraph mean?
A The US is looking forward to becoming as prosperous as China.
B Obama believes China is the most prosperous country in Asia.
C Obama’s government sees China as its partner,not a rival.
D Obama emphasized China would be more prosperous than the US in the future.
51.How many major issues did the meeting cover according to a joint statement?
A Three B Four C Five D Six
52. We can infer from the text_____________
A China is the largest debtor of US government in terms of treasury bonds
B Obama expressed his strong wish to visit China again
C Chinese students are the largest group of foreign students in America since 2008
D Although the two countries have made progress in cooperation ,national differences still exist.
.
CISHAN,Aug 12-Hundreds of people were still missing today in remote villages in southern Taiwan and disaster officials said they were uncertain how many people might have been killed by mudslides triggered by Typhoon Morakot.
Morakot, which did terrible damage to Taiwan over the weekend, has killed about 70 people across the island and caused farm-related loss of more than NT $9 billion (RMB 964 million). More than 100 people have been killed in Asia due to Morakot and tropical storm Etau.
But several hundred villagers listed as missing were found alive in areas where roads were washed out and access was limited to helicopters. The government sent special forces with satellite phones to the hardest hit areas."We are anxious to do our best to get the trapped people out," said Hu Jul-chou, an army official involved in the rescue effort. "Hopes are getting slimmer as the days go by."Hu said it was unclear how many people were buried and feared dead in villages in southern Taiwan.
"I have to say I feel pretty good to be alive," said Lin Dong-wen, 45, from the village of Namahsia, sitting in front of a pile of medicine after being hoisted away by a rescue helicopter."If I had been left there any longer, I wouldn't have made it. I saw the mudslide coming," said Lin after arriving in Cishan, hub of rescue efforts."It was really huge, and I passed out. When I awoke, there was mud all over and I climbed out of it."
Helicopters dropped food and supplies to survivors .Other rescue teams piloted rubber dinghies through raging muddy rivers.
Groups of anxious relatives awaited the arrival of helicopter flights at the makeshift rescue base.Some survivors tried to call relatives on mobile phones."Right after the mudslide, we managed to get in touch with our family members through mobile phones and text messages," said 41-year-old teacher awaiting news at the rescue hub. "But later they switched off their phones to save power."
45. From the text we know that _________________
A Morakot has made more than 100 people dead in Taiwan
B Morakot has caused as much loss to Taiwan as other parts
C Morakot stayed over Taiwan over the week
D Morakot has brought worries to the officials
46. The villagers who were thought to be missing_________.
A were trapped in some areas
B wouldn’t get in touch with others
C only liked to be taken out by helicopter
D wanted to keep the buried company
47.According to Lin Dong-wen,________
A the disaster lasted for a long time
B the village was destroyed in a flash
C he wanted to hold the mudslide
D the mudslide frightened him into unconsciousness
48.Which of the following is true according to the text ?
A All the survivors trapped have been rescued by helicopters.
B All the relatives can ring the survivors
C The government has adopted other rescue forms.
D The mudslide will become more serious.
.
第二部分:阅读理解(共两节,满分50分)
第一节(共20小题,每小题2分,满分40分)阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中选出最佳选项。
Judging from recent surveys, most experts in sleep behaviour agree that there is virtually an epidemic (流行病)of sleepiness in the nation. “I can’t think of a single study that hasn’t found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,” says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit crises can be traced back to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries and our personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9. 5 hours a night. “The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark.” By the 1950s and 1960s, the sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7. 5 and 8 hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. “People cheat in their sleep, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it,” says Dr. David. “They think they’re okey because they can get by on 6. 5 hours, when they really need 7. 5, 8 or even more to feel ideally energetic. ”
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researches say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community increase, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on their programme. “In our society, you’re considered dynamic if you say you need only 5. 5 hours’ sleep. If you’ve got to get 8. 5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition. ”
To determine the consequences of sleep-deficit, researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performance tests requiting them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier. “We’ve found that if you’re in sleep deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr. David. “Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate. ”
41. What is the main topic of the passage?
A. Research on the causes and consequences of sleep-deficit.
B. The epidemic of sleepiness in the modern times.
C. The history of people’s sleeping patterns.
D. The minimum of our sleeping hours.
42. Which of the following is Dr. David’s opinion?
A. People who think they are sleeping enough are better off than those who don't.
B. Some people can remain energetic with only 6. 5 hours’ sleep a night.
C. If they get 8. 5 hours’ sleep, people will be full of drive and ambition.
D. People’s metal power suffers if they are lacking in sleep.
43. People in the 18th and 19th centuries slept about 9. 5 hours a night because _______.
A. they were forced by their parents to do so
B. they knew what was best for their health
C. they had no electricity
D. they were not so dynamic and ambitious as modern people are
44. What does the word “subjects” in paragraph 4 mean?
A. Persons or things being discussed or described.
B. Branches of knowledge studied in a school.
C. Persons or things being treated in a certain way or being experimented on.
D. Any member of a state apart from the the supreme ruler.
.
There is a boy in my gym class (I’ll call him Bill) who has unbearably yellow teeth that almost make everyone feel unpleasant. Recently another boy told Bill that he should “go Ajax” his teeth. Bill was crushed. Had the other boy been thinking, he would have realized that there is a better way to handle such a situation. He could have dealt with it with tact. He could have showed this hurtful truth in a more careful, sensitive way—that’s “tact”.
If a person isn’t sensitive to another’s feelings, there is no way he or she can be tactful. Yesterday, my 5-year-old brother proudly announced that he had cleaned the screen on our television set. Unfortunately, he used furniture polish(亮光油), which produced an oily film on the television screen. My mother smiled and thanked him for his efforts—and then showed how to clean the screen properly. Her sensitivity enables my brother to keep his self-respect. Yet, sensitivity alone does not make tact.
“Tactfulness” also requires “truthfulness”. Doctors, for example must be truthful. If a patient has just been disabled in an accident, a tactful doctor will tell the truth—but express it with sensitivity. The doctor may try to give the patient hope by telling them curing techniques under study or about advanced equipment now available. Doctors must use tact with patients relatives as well. Instead of bluntly saying, “Your husband is disabled,” a doctor might say, “I’m sorry, but your husband has lost feeling in his legs and…”
Tact should not be confused with trickery. Trickery occurs when a nurse is about to give a patient an injection and says, “This won’t hurt a bit.” Instead of trickery, the nurse might guarantee the patient that the discomfort of the injection is a small thing compared to the benefits of it. It would also be thoughtful for the nurse to tell the patients about some of these benefits.
Tact is a wonderful skill to have, and tactful people are usually admired and respected. Without tact our society would become an intolerable place to live in.
72.When told he should “go Ajax” his teeth, Bill probably felt ________________.
A.surprised B.cheated
C.regretful D.painful
73.According to the author, his mother’s praise for the brother is _______________.
A.both sensitive and tactful B.sensitive but not tactful enough
C.truthful but not tactful D.sensitive but trickish
74.The fourth paragraph mainly talks about __________________.
A.how to comfort the patients
B.how to use trickery carefully
C.differences between trickery and promises
D.another feature of tact
75.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage? (The numbers stand for the paragraphs)
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A. B. C. D.
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A gadget which makes water out of air could become the greatest household invention since the microwave.
Using the same technology as a dehumidifier(除湿器),the Water Mill is able to create a ready supply of drinking water because it can always get it from an unlimited source—the air.
The company behind the machine says not only does it offer an alternative to bottled water in
developed countries, but it is a solution for the millions who face a daily water shortage.
The machine works by drawing in wet air through a filter(过滤器)and over a cooling instrument which changes it into water droplets.It can produce up to 12 liters a day.The Water Mill will also produce more water when storms pass over, as the amount of water which is contained in the air increases. In keeping with its eco-development, the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three lights. Inventor Jonathan Ritchey said, “The demand for water is off the chart. So people are looking for freedom from water distribution systems that are shaky and unreliable.”
The machine, which is about 3 feet wide, is likely to cost £800 when it goes on sale here in the spring. Its maker, Canadian Firm Element Four, roughly calculates that a liter of water costs around 20 pence to produce.
Environmentalists state that half the world’s population will face water shortage because of climate change by 2080. One in five is said to lack access to safe drinking.
The Water Mill is not effective in areas where the amount of water contained in the air is below about 30 percent, but in Britain that won’t be much of a problem.
68.What does the underlined word “it” refer to?
A.Drinking water. B.Invention. C.Microwave. D.Water Mill.
69.What do we learn about the machine?
A.It works in the same way as microwaves.
B.It is very expensive for families to afford.
C.It absorbs wet air and turns it into water.
D.It helps to make the water clean to drink.
70.What does the passage lead us to believe?
A.The cost of water will go up. B.Bottled water will disappear soon.
C.The machine is energy saving. D.The machine will be popular worldwide.
71.What’s the best title for the passage?
A.A New Way to Solve Water Problem. B.A Machine to Make Water out of Air.
C.A Dehumidifier to Produce Water. D.An Absolutely New Invention