Do you love Beats headphones, True Religion jeans, and UGG shoes? These are some of the most popular brands (牌子) around. They are also expensive. But some experts say they are not much better than cheaper brands.
For example, Jim Wilcox works for Consumer Reports. He tested all kinds of headphones. He says that $80 Koss Pro headphones provide basically the same quality and comfort as Beats. So why do people pay twice or even 10 times as much for the hottest brands?
Experts say it's because fashionable, expensive brands send a message. Brands say “I belong” or “I can afford it.”
Some people think that expensive brand names are worth the price. They say that some designer clothes really are top quality and that they last longer than cheaper brands. Some teenagers choose to wear popular brands because these brands make them feel good about themselves.
Alexandra Allam, 17, likes to buy brand-name products. “I'd rather spend the extra money to get something I know I'll be satisfied with,” she says. Her friend Emmy Swan agrees, saying “As long as you can afford it, it seems reasonable to buy what you want.” But not all teenagers agree. “Spending hundreds of dollars for designer sunglasses is stupid and unreasonable,” says Daniel Steinbrecher, 16. “It's fake (假的) happiness.”
People who are against wearing expensive brand names say that many designer brands aren't any better. “It's wasteful to buy things just because they are popular,” says Edmund Williams, 15. “You'll feel better if you buy things because you like them. If you have extra money to spend, it would be better to give it to people in need.”
The example of Jim's report wants to tell us _____.
| A．popular brands make people comfortable |
| B．Koss Pro headphones are better than Beats |
| C．the hottest brands are of the highest quality |
| D．lesser-known brands may offer the same quality as name brands |
According to experts, people choose the hottest brands probably _____.
| A．to show off |
| B．for their better quality |
| C．for their better designs |
| D．to belong to a special group |
What does Edmund think of expensive brands?
| A．They are not worth the price. |
| B．They make him feel confident. |
| C．They need to improve their quality. |
| D．They pay too much attention to personal likes. |
The text is mainly about _____.
| A．how to buy things reasonably |
| B．the competition between brands |
| C．the different values of teenagers |
| D．whether expensive brands are worth high prices |
Funloving Paul Johnson has scooped the title of the Scarborough Evening News Teacher of the Year 2008.Mr.Johnson，of Hinderwell School，was presented with the award after four of his pupils nominated him for the prestigious title.
Evening News editor Ed Asquith presented Mr.Johnson with his certificate and a cheque for ￡100 yesterday.His class is also set to enjoy a free trip to the Sea Life Centre which includes being picked up by a complimentary Shoreline Suncruisers opentop bus.
The 30yearold，who lives in Hunmanby，said，“I am just so shocked.I have been nominated for this award for a few years and I never thought I would win it.It is fantastic.It is completely out_of_the_blue.”
Mr.Johnson has worked as a Year 5 teacher at the school for seven years.He also works as an advanced skills teacher which involves visiting other schools in the country once a week to offer crosscurricular teaching.
He was chosen as the winner because of his dynamic but educationally engaging approach to teaching，and based on the real way he has demonstrated that every child matters.Each term he picks a theme for his class and the curriculum is based around it.This term，they are studying medieval times—and his classroom has a castle in one corner.He also treated his class to a threeday trip to London earlier this year.
His nominators were Lucy and Emily Desborough，Rachel Laverick and Rebecca Miller.Classmate Callum Macdonald,10，said，“He is the best teacher in the world and he deserves this.He is brilliant with us and he is just so funny.He tells lots of jokes which always make us laugh.”Beth Lawty,9，added，“Our classroom is the best ever.We have really enjoyed being in his class and I will miss him next year.”Paul Johnson's class will ________because of his winning the award.
| A．receive a cheque for ￡100 |
| B．be offered a free trip to the Sea Life Centre |
| C．have a threeday trip to London |
| D．take an opentop bus to London for free |
Why is there a castle in one corner of Paul Johnson's classroom?
| A．It is used to train the students' imagination. |
| B．It is a prize from the Scarborough Evening News. |
| C．The students can play in it after calss. |
| D．It is probably a symbol of medieval times. |
What do we know about Paul Johnson's approach to teaching from the passage?
| A．He has no fixed theme for teaching. |
| B．He teaches in a funny and flexible way. |
| C．He changes his teaching theme frequently. |
| D．He bases his curriculum on jokes. |
The underlined part“out of the blue”probably means “________”．
| A．of surprise | B．frustrating |
| C．of great fame | D．within easy reach |
What is the most popular food in western countries? If you are not sure, statistics might give you the answer.
Every year，some 20 million people walk into restaurants and buy 2 billion sandwiches. Americans alone eat more than 1 billion sandwiches annually. If you lined up all the sandwiches Westerners eat in a year, they would go around the world 13 times!
When John Montagu made the very first sandwich in England in 1762, he couldn't have imagined that it would still be very popular almost 250 years later. There is a campaign starting this month in the US to find the healthiest and best tasting sandwich in the country.
Sandwiches are commonly carried to school or work in lunch boxes or brown paper bags to be eaten for lunch. They are also taken on picnics and hiking trips. Their longlasting popularity lies in their convenience and fast preparation time.
You can put everything you want inside a sandwich. They are easy to clean up after, nutritious and come in hundreds of different kinds.
Wellknown American chef Dave Lieberman adds another reason.“I think people like to touch their food, kids especially. It's just a natural instinct. You don't have to use a knife and fork to eat a sandwich，” he said.
Sandwiches can be hot or cold with almost any kind of filling. One of the most popular kinds is the BLT—bacon，lettuce and tomato. Although it is a simple food, it can still be creative. Sandwiches can be served openfaced, with sushi inside or grilled with delicious fillings.The author intends to________.
| A．tell us the history of sandwichmaking |
| B．introduce a popular food in the West |
| C．show how sandwiches are made |
| D．explain why westerners like sandwiches |
What is the main reason for the popularity of sandwiches?
| A．They are healthy and delicious. |
| B．They have a history of about 250 years. |
| C．They are fast and convenient. |
| D．They can be served either hot and cold. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Sandwiches are usually eaten with a knife and fork. |
| B．Children don't like sandwiches so much as the adults. |
| C．Americans started a campaign against sandwiches. |
| D．People are trying to make sandwiches more nutritious. |
What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．There are many kinds of sandwiches. |
| B．The sandwich is a simple food. |
| C．The BLT is the most popular. |
| D．Sandwiches are mostly openfaced. |
“The U．S.Food and Drug Administration(FDA)is considering to put stricter limits over tanning salons(晒黑廊)and wants to ban anyone younger than 18 years of age from using a tanning bed，”an advisory panel(专家团)announced last week.
The panel is calling for tighter controls on the industry such as requiring teenagers to get the approval from their parents before using tanning beds or limiting the use of artificial tanning to a certain age.“Given the absence of any demonstrated benefits，I think it is an obligation for us to ban artificial tanning for those under 18，”said panelist Dr.Michael Olding.
Along with a possible ban for teenagers，the panel also recommended that visible warning labels should be placed either on the tanning machines or in the salons in order to caution tanners of the possible dangers.In addition，the committee decided that stricter regulations and classifications were critical to make the machines safer.At this time the machines are categorized as FDA Class 1 devices，the ones that are least likely to cause harm.In case the FDA decided to change their classification from Class 1 to Class 2，as advised by the panel，the FDA could limit the levels of radiation the machines emit.Class 2 devices include Xray machines and powered wheelchairs.
Getting a tan，whether from a tanning bed or the sun，increases the risk of developing skin cancer.Last year，the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)declared tanning beds as “carcinogenic(致癌的)to humans”．It was discovered that young individuals in their teens and 20s who use tanning beds on a regular basis have a 75 per cent higher risk of suffering from melanoma(黑素瘤)，the deadliest form of skin cancer.According to the American Cancer Society，melanoma accounted for nearly 69,000 cases of skin cancer in 2009 and will account for most (about 8,650)of the 11,590 mortality cases due to skin cancer each year.According to the passage，what measures will U．S.FDA most probably take?
| A．Banning tanning salons. |
| B．Posing heavier tax over tanning salons. |
| C．Having tighter controls over tanning salons. |
| D．Limiting the number of tanning salons in every state. |
Which of the following suggestions for making tanning salons safer is NOT mentioned?
| A．Visible caution. |
| B．Setting age limit. |
| C．Professional personnel. |
| D．Parental approval for teenagers. |
What does the writer want to express in the last paragraph?
| A．Tanning in one's youth may mean death. |
| B．Tanning in the sun is safer than on the tanning bed. |
| C．People should get tanned without getting melanoma. |
| D．Getting tanned is only a good idea for those above thirty years old. |
What will most probably happen，if the advisory panel's suggestions are adopted and put into practice?
| A．Fewer people will suffer from skin cancer. |
| B．Tanning salons will have more customers. |
| C．Getting a tan in a tanning salon will cost less. |
| D．Parents will be more anxious about their tanning children. |
The hottest“green”toy in Germany isn't made of organic or recycled materials.This one has a solar panel and only runs if kids remember to insert bright red “energy stones”that power the space station.Germany，a pioneer in many renewable energy initiatives，is also at the forefront of creating environmentfriendly toys aimed at making kids think about where energy comes from and how much of it they can use，raising awareness through play.A number of hightech green toys are on display at this year's Nuremberg toy fair，which runs through Sunday.
Among them，there are hydroelectricpowered(水电动力的)toy cars，and doll houses with wind turbines and rainwater catchers.The bright green “Future Planet”space station features an inner atrium(中庭)with a fan that is powered by a functioning solar cell.Its aim is to get kids to use their imagination about how energy will be created in the future.
Makers and retailers believe such toys will play an increasingly important role in their future—and that of our kids.“Energy is the question of the future and we are definitely thinking about this as we move ahead，”said Judith Schweinitz，a spokeswoman for Playmobil，maker of the solar panelfitted space station.“It is increasingly being brought into our play concept.”Green toys—which range from those made of sustainable materials to ones like the space station that just raise environmental awareness—make up only a sliver of the $ 84 billion international toy market，but their share is growing，studies indicate.Environmental research firm Earthsense，based in Syracuse，New York，predicts that green toys will account for about $ 1 billion，or 5 percent of U．S.toy sales in the next five years.Parents are smart and they want information about what's in the product.That's what's really driving the market.The hottest “green”toy in Germany is ________.
| A．made of rubbish |
| B．made of organic or recycled materials |
| C．equipped with a solar panel |
| D．driven by an advanced motor |
The purpose of making the green toys is to ________.
| A．raise kids' awareness about energy and environment |
| B．improve kids' imagination |
| C．give kids the knowledge of technology |
| D．improve the safety of toys |
We can infer from the last paragraph that the green toys ________.
| A．can help save little energy |
| B．are not accepted by parents |
| C．will sell well in the future |
| D．have not been produced |
Which of the following BEST describes the opinion of Earthsense about green
toys?
| A．Doubtful. |
| B．Optimistic. |
| C．Disappointed. |
| D．Proud. |
Americans gave nearly $300 billion away last year. Do you know the reason? Beyond the noble goals of helping others, it is that giving will make them happier.
It is a fact that givers are happier people than non-givers. According to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, a survey of 30,000 American households, people who give money to charity are 43% more likely than non-givers to say they are “very happy” about their lives. Similarly, volunteers are 42% more likely to be very happy then non-volunteers.
The happiness difference between givers and non-givers is not due to differences in their personal characteristics, such as income or religion. Imagine two people who are identical in terms of income and faith, as well as age, education, politics, sex, and family circumstances, but one donates money and volunteers, while the other does not. The giver will be, on average, over 40 percentage points more likely to be very happy than the non-givers.
A number of studies have researched exactly why charity leads to happiness. The surprising conclusion is that giving affects our brain chemistry. For example, people who give often report feelings of euphoria, which psychologists have referred to as the “Helper’s High”. They believe that charitable activity produces a very mild version of the sensations people get from drugs like morphine and heroin.
Of course, not only does giving increase our happiness, but also our happiness increases the possibility that we will give. Everyone prefers to give more when they are happy. Researchers have investigated this by conducting experiments in which people are asked about their happiness before and after they participate in a charitable activity, such as volunteering to help children or serving meals to the poor. The result is clear that giving has a strong, positive causal impact on our happiness, so does happiness on givingAccording to Paragraph 2. We can learn that .
| A．only those people who gave money to charity will be happy |
| B．more givers say they feel having happy lives than non-givers |
| C．those who donate money are happier than those who volunteer |
| D．42% of the volunteers say they are as happy as the non-volunteers |
What causes the happiness difference?
| A．Income. | B．Faith. |
| C．Education. | D．Donation. |
The underlined word “euphoria” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .
| A．relaxation | B．uncertainty |
| C．nervousness | D．pleasure |
If a person feels happy, he may .
| A．ask for more donations |
| B．stop charitable activity |
| C．be likely to give more |
| D．cook food for the poor |
Which of the following is the main theme of this passage?
| A．Giving brings happiness. |
| B．Americans love donating. |
| C．The happiness difference. |
| D．Feelings of volunteers. |