B
IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world’s most successful businessmen. Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural businessman. As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades. He used it to start up a business—IKEA. IKEA's name comes from Kamprad's initials (I.K.) and the place where he grew up ('E' and 'A').
IKEA first began to sell furniture through a mail-order book in 1947. The furniture was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad’s home. Initial sales were very encouraging, so Kamprad expanded the product line．Furniture was such a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became a pure furniture company in 1951.
In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling a table to make it easier to transport. Kamprad was inspired. The man had given him a great idea: flat packaging. Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower prices for customers. IKEA tried it and sales boosted. The problem was that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into an advantage for IKEA. Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having meanings of self-sufficiency. This image has done wonders for the company, leading to better sales and continued expansion．
Today there are over 200 stores in 32 countries. Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held company. In 2004 he was named the world’s richest man. He currently lives in Switzerland and is retired from the day-to-day operations of IKEA. IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing.
The author states in Paragraph 4 that flat packaging___________.
| A．needs large space to store furniture |
| B．is a business concept inspired by Kamprad |
| C．helps reduce transportation costs |
| D．makes the company self-sufficient |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA and succeeded. |
| B．IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer. |
| C．The advantages of IKEA’s furniture. |
| D．Ingvar Kamprad was a natural businessman. |
What can you learn about IKEA form the passage?
| A．The starter kept IKEA a company operated by a few people |
| B．The furniture was made by manufacturers in Kamprad’s home |
| C．The starter made a big fortune when he was a child |
| D．The goods sold in IKEA are limited and not welcomed |
The passage is written mainly in terms of ___________.
| A．examples that illustrate a problem |
| B．order of events |
| C．analysis of a process |
| D．comparison and contrast |
Dogs and millionaires have a lot in common. They are absolute opportunists (especially when it comes to rewards). They defend their territory(地盘). And in general, they don’t like cats. Perhaps that explains a new survey showing that millionaires are far more dog-friendly than the rest of Americans.
According to a study by Spectrem Group, 58% of millionaire pet owners have a dog. Only 37% own a cat. Only 3% keep fish, 2% birds and 2% have a horse. Similarly, 39% of U. S. households own a dog, compared to 33% of households owning a cat, released by the Humane Society.
Jennifer Cona, a trust and estates attorney(信托和资产律师) and partner with Genser Subow Genser & Cona in New York, does a lot of work on pet trusts. She said of all the pet trusts she’s worked on, 90% are for dogs and only 10% are for cats.
She said dogs provide one thing especially important for the wealthy: unconditional love.
“You don’t get that from a cat,” she said, “Dogs are like children for some families, except that they don’t mess up in college or run off with money. Sometimes it’s easy to see why dogs are the favorite children.”
Millionaires show their love for their dogs in part by their spending. One quarter of millionaire pet owners spend more than $1, 000 a year on their pets, the Spectrem study said, while more than half spend more than $500 a year.
Many would say those numbers are understated, given all the diamond-dog collars, dog foods and booming dog spas in evidence these days, not to mention the medical bills.
The survey showed 34% of pet owners spend money on decorating, while 6% spend on “sweaters, outfits and costumes.”
More than half of millionaire pet owners spend money on teeth cleaning for their pets. More than 16%, meanwhile, said they would spend money on reconstructive surgeries and “anti-anxiety, anti-depression” medication for their pets. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Millionaires like dogs more than other Americans. |
| B．Keeping dogs as pets is quite popular among Americans. |
| C．Pet dogs help relieve their owners’ anxiety and depression. |
| D．Millionaires spend much money on teeth cleaning for their pets. |
From the survey by Spectrem Group, we can learn ___________.
| A．about one third of American households own a cat |
| B．more than half of millionaire pet owners have a dog |
| C．millionaire pet owners spend $1, 000 on their pets daily |
| D．34% of pet owners spend money on dog clothing |
What’s the main reason why millionaires show great love for their dogs?
| A．They can afford the high expense to raise pet dogs. |
| B．Pet dogs have never made a mess of things around. |
| C．Millionaires feel more secure in company of dogs. |
| D．Pet dogs show unconditional love for their owners. |
What does Jennifer Cona probably think of millionaires owning pet dogs ?
| A．Ridiculous. | B．Acceptable. | C．Negative. | D．Indifferent. |
When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority（优先）. This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception（感知）that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive（情感的）meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.According to Paragraph 1, students _________.
| A．regard music as a way of entertainment |
| B．disagree with their parents on education |
| C．view music as an overlooked subject |
| D．prefer the arts to science |
In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz as an example to_________.
| A．compare it with rock music |
| B．show music identifies a society |
| C．introduce American musical traditions |
| D．prove music influences people’s lifestyles |
According to the passage, the arts and science_________.
A. approach the world from different angles
B. explore different phenomena of the world
C express people’s feelings in different ways
D. explain what it means to be human differentlyWhat is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Music education deserves more attention. |
| B．Music should be of top education priority. |
| C．Music is an effective communication tool. |
| D．Music education makes students more imaginative. |
When Debbie Parkhurst choked on a piece of apple at her Maryland home, her dog jumped in, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece of apple to pop out of her throat. Debbie Parkhurst’s husband, Kevin, was at his job at a Wilmington, Del., chemical firm when she took a midday break from jewelry and bit into an apple. When the Keesling family of Indiana were about to be overcome by carbon monoxide(CO), their cat clawed(抓) at wife Cathy’s hair until she woke up and called for help.
For their timely acts, Toby, a golden 2 1/2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a gray-eyed American shorthair, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Neither Parkhurst nor Keesling could explain their pets’ timely heroics,though Parkhurst suggested it might have been guided by God intervention(干预). “That’s what our veterinarian(兽医) said,”she said. “He wasn’t making a joke; he’s very spiritual, and now I have to agree with him.”
But both pets were themselves rescued in baby, Toby as a 4-week-old baby thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Keesling’s husband, Eric, had to feed her milk.
As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump spread carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie moved into rescue spot, the couple’s 14-year-old son, Michael, was already unconscious. “Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry noise,” Cathy Keesling said. “When I woke up I felt like a T-bar had hit me across the head.”
State police and officers responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house.We can know Debbie Parkhurst _________.
| A．works in a Wilmington, Del.,chemical firm |
| B．was making jewelry when she had the accident |
| C．might have died but for her pet’s help |
| D．was unconscious when her pet found her |
Both pet’s heroic acts most probably connected with _________.
| A．God arrangements | B．their being once helped |
| C．their sense of danger | D．their veterinarians’ training |
Why did Winnie try to wake Cathy Keesling up?
| A．Because a T-bar was going to hit him. |
| B．Because he was hungry and wanted milk. |
| C．Because Debbie choked something in her throat. |
| D．Because there was danger in her house. |
From the passage we can infer that _________.
| A．if you love me love my animals |
| B．all pets are useful to people |
| C．we can’t never be too careful in our daily life |
| D．to help others sometimes can get reward |
The earliest newspapers started in ancient Rome. They were handwritten news sheets. The first printed newspapers appeared in China during the Tang dynasty, which were printed from carved(雕刻的) wooden blocks. Modern papers first appeared in Venice, Italy in the middle of the 14th century. The newspapers of today, with advertising and a mixture of political, economic, and social news and comments, were started in Britain in the mid-18th century.
The main function of newspapers is to report news. Many newspapers also provide special information to readers, such as weather reports and television timetables. They also provide comments on politics, economics, arts and culture. Almost all newspapers depend on advertising to make money.
Nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day. Seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. Readers search newspapers for de-tailed background information(背景资料)and analysis(分析). This is what television and radio news reports seldom offer. Newspapers tell readers what happened, and they also help readers understand what caused an event and how it will affect the world around them.
The workers at large newspaper companies work under a lot of pressure to bring news to readers as soon as possible. Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors collect articles in just a few hours. Page designers select articles, photos, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines to make the pages, and then rush their work to the printer. Printing workers may work overnight around printing presses to churn out more than 60,000 copies per hour.Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Production of Newspapers | B．Functions of Newspapers |
| C．Publication of Newspapers | D．An Introduction to Newspapers |
Modern newspapers were first made in ______.
| A．China | B．Ancient Rome | C．Italy | D．Britain |
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
| A．Most adults in America and Canada read newspapers every day. |
| B．The importance of newspapers in people’s lives. |
| C．Newspapers offer readers detailed information. |
| D．The effects of newspapers on readers. |
We can infer everything from the passage EXCEPT that ______.
| A．newspapers will become less popular because of the development of TV |
| B．few newspapers have no advertising |
| C．many adults in America read newspapers every day |
| D．people can read about many different issues in newspapers |
The phrase "churn out" in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．press | B．produce | C．publish | D．sell |
On the first day of school I brought my camera to school. I gave the students a piece of 8 ×11 cardboard(纸板), and asked them to write their names on both sides. As they finished, I asked them to get into groups of three to four students and took photographs of them holding their name cards.
After school, I developed the film and printed two sets of photos. That evening, I started to match the names with the faces. I kept one set of pictures at home for about a week so that I could review their names each night. On the second day of school, I put up the other set of photos as a bulletin board (公布栏), with a title such as "Presenting Room 108, ..."
The kids loved it! After I had learned all of their names I brought the second set back to school and stuck them onto an 8 ×11 sheet of paper. I placed it in the classroom for other teachers.
The cardboard name cards that were made on the first day were collected and put on a shelf. From time to time, they were given back to the students and placed on their desks so that guests or supply teachers (代课老师) could identify all of the students.
I’ve been doing this with my grade 7 students for the last nine years and they liked it. It’s fun to bring the photos out again at the end of the school year to see how much they have all changed in ten months.The cardboards were used to ______.
| A．play some kind of game | B．decorate the classroom |
| C．identify the students | D．print the photos on |
The writer of the passage might be a ______.
| A．head teacher | B．monitor | C．photographer | D．supply teacher |
Why did the writer leave the second set of the photos at home?
| A．To memorize the students’ names at home. | B．To make cardboard name cards for supply teachers. |
| C．To make a bulletin board in the classroom. | D．To match the students’ names with their faces |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The students didn’t have to use the cardboard name cards to identify each other. |
| B．Other teachers couldn’t identify the students without the cardboard name cards. |
| C．The writer kept the cardboard name cards as a souvenir for nine years. |
| D．The guests will know the students’ names by reading the cardboard name cards. |
The passage mainly tells us ______.
| A．a method of identifying students | B．a method of decorating classrooms |
| C．the development of photography | D．the importance of cardboard name cards |