A good modern newspaper is an extraordinary piece of reading. It is remarkable first for what it contains: the range of news from local crime to international politics, from sports to business to fashion to science, and the range of comment and special features as well, from editorial page to feature articles and interviews to criticism of books, art, theatre, and music. A newspaper is even more remarkable for the way one reads it: never completely, never straight through, but always by jumping from here to there, in and out, glancing at one piece, reading another article all the way through, reading just a few paragraphs of the next. A good modern newspaper offers a variety to attract many different readers, but far more than any one reader is interested in. What brings this variety together in one place is its topicality(时事性) , its immediate relation to what is happening in your world and your locality now. But immediacy and the speed of production that goes with it mean also that much of what appears in a newspaper has no more than transient value. For all these reasons, no two people really read the same paper: what each person does is to put together, out of the pages of that day’s paper, his own selection and sequence, his own newspaper. For all these reasons, reading newspapers efficiently, which means getting what you want from them without missing things you need but without wasting time, demands skill and self-awareness as you modify and apply the techniques of reading.
A modern newspaper is remarkable for all the following except its ________.
| A．popularity | B．uniform style |
| C．wide coverage | D．speed in reporting news |
According to the passage, the reason why no two people really read the “same” newspaper is that __________.
| A．people have different views about what a good newspaper is |
| B．people are rarely interested in the same kind of news |
| C．people scan for the news they are interested in |
| D．different people prefer different newspapers |
It can be concluded from the passage that newspaper readers _________.
| A．apply reading techniques skillfully |
| B．jump from one newspaper to another |
| C．appreciate the variety of a newspaper |
| D．read a newspaper selectively usually |
A good newspaper offers “a variety” to readers because __________.
| A．it has to cover things that happen in a certain locality |
| B．readers like to read different newspapers |
| C．it tries to serve different readers |
| D．readers are difficult to please |
The best title for this passage would be “__________”.
| A．The Characteristics of a Good Newspaper |
| B．The Variety of a Good Newspaper |
| C．The Importance of Newspaper Topicality |
| D．Some Suggestions on How to Read a Newspaper |
Today's word, pan, takes us back to the days of the gold rush in California.
On January 24th, 1848, a man named James Wilson Marshall discovered gold in California. The news spread quickly. Thousands rushed west. They traveled on foot, on horseback and by boat to reach the gold fields. By 1849, the great gold rush was on. Towns and cities grew overnight. Throughout California --- in the mountains, along the streams and rivers --- thousands of people searched for gold.
Some found areas of mountain rock thick with gold. These men got rich. But such areas were few and quickly claimed by the first men to find them. Others searched for gold in the rivers coming down the mountains. They were after pieces of gold that the rains had washed down from above .
The only way to find this gold was by panning. First a gold miner put dirt in a metal pan and added water. Then he shook the pan so that the water would wash the dirt. Slowly, he poured the water out of the pan. If he was a lucky miner, pieces of gold would remain.
Across the nation, newspapers carried stories of the gold being found. Each one hoped that the place he claimed panned out well --- had some gold.
For many, gold mining did not pan out. For a few, it panned out well. But in time, huge machines were built that could wash many tons of dirt at a time. Panning died out.
The word, however, remained in the language. Today, Americans still say, “ It panned out well ,” when something they have done pleases them. A business, a discovery, a simple event pans out well if it is successful. Unhappily, sometimes things do not pan out.
In recent years, the word pan has taken on another meaning. Today, it also means to criticize. How it got this meaning is hard to discover. But the job of a critic is to sometimes pan the work of a writer, artist or singer.Why did so many people flood to California in 1848?
| A．Because towns and cities there developed quickly. |
| B．Because the mountains in California were a great place for travel. |
| C．Because they wanted to get rich by looking for gold. |
| D．Because the land of California was fertile at that time. |
The underlined part “It panned out well" in Paragraph 7 has the same meaning as “______”
| A．Everything turned out well | B．Nothing could be worse |
| C．It's not the case | D．It's a pity |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To tell us some stories about the gold rush. |
| B．To introduce the word "pan" in American English. |
| C．To teach us how to look for gold in rivers. |
| D．To introduce the history of the gold rush in California |
Dining in a completely dark room, unaware what’s on your plate while sitting next to a complete stranger may not sound like an ideal restaurant experience but it’s certainly an intriguing way to spend a rainy night in London.
Dans le Noir, close to London’s financial district, is a restaurant full of blind waiters and waitresses who become your eyes around the restaurant, whose original Paris branch opened in 2004.
In the bar with the light, you choose whether you want the fish, meat or vegetable, but the dishes themselves remain a secret, as do the ingredients of the “surprise” cocktails. Bags, coats and devices(设备)that light up, including watches and mobile phones, are kept in the bar. Placing your hand on the shoulder of your guide, you are led to a table in a black dining room that sets up to 60 people. And it is dark.
The waiters tell you when the food is being placed down in front of you, then the fun begins, trying to get food into your mouth, then identifying just what it is that’s on your plate, and finally whether you have missed any of it.
It’s also a great chance to break social convention and eat using your fingers. Those same fingers are also the only way you can tell how much wine you’re pouring into your glass.
The happy atmosphere in the dining room also made the night memorable. You can’t really avoid talking to the person next to you at the long tables and guessing what the dishes are certainly provides adequate fuel for the conversations.
All will be revealed at the end of the meal when you are led back out into the lit bar. Not only do you finally get to see what you’ve just been eating but also who you’ ve been talking to for the last 90 minutes.What does the underlined word “intriguing.” in the first paragraph mean?
A terrible B. interesting C. expensive D. newAccording to the text, “ Dans le Noir”__________.
A is far from London’s financial district
B has its first branch opened in Britain
C is very popular among blind customers
D has a dining room which can seat up to 60 peopleWe know from the text that the customers in “Dans le Noir”_________.
| A．are forbidden to eat with their fingers |
| B．can talk to the strangers at table |
| C．will book the menu in a dark bar |
| D．can take their mobile phones into the dining room |
What’s the main purpose of the text?
| A．To help blind people find a job in restaurants. |
| B．To show how to open a restaurant with a new idea. |
| C．To show how to enjoy the time in a dark restaurant. |
| D．To introduce and attract customers to “Dans le Noir ”. |
Endless playing of songs like All I want for Christmas in shops during the festive season doesn’t just drive us mad —the songs also make us more careless with our money, research has warned.
While repeated performance of Jingle Bells may seem like an innocent attempt to raise customers’ spirits during the nightmare of Christmas shopping, the songs also have a more delicate impact.
“Background music, or “Muzak”,can be used by marketers to impose cultures ---such as the commercialization of Christmas--- onto consumers and influence their behaviour,” experts said.
Dr. Alan Bradshaw of Royal Holloway, University of London, said, “Festive jingles are force-fed to Christmas shoppers in a bid to change their mood, influence their sense of time and what sort of products they buy. In other words, this is an attempt to control your shopping habits in a way that you might hardly be aware of.”
“Often we are told that we have the freedom to choose where we want to shop, but during Christmas the use of music in this way is so common that our freedom to choose disappears.”
Dr. Bradshaw and Prof Morris Holbrook of Columbia University examined the phenomenon and found that retailers often “dumb down” the music played in shops to relax customers, meaning it is easier to control their behaviour.
It is thought that slowing down the rhythm of music in shops can trick customers into thinking less time has passed, and therefore spend more time examining the shelves, for example.
Some providers of background music have been known to promote their services by claiming they can boost profits by controlling the behaviour of customers.
“A common trick is to take a popular current song and record an instrumental version which can be slowed down or sped up at different time of the day to influence behaviour in different ways,” Dr. Bradshaw said.
Background music is often classed as “Muzak” in honor of the Seattle-based company which began producing its soft-sounding melodies in the 1930s.According to Dr. Bradshaw, in what ways does Christmas music influence customers?
①their mood②their income
③their sense of time④ the sort of products they buy
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
Shopkeepers slow down the rhythm of music in shops to ___________.
| A．let customers spend more time shopping |
| B．make customers and sales assistants relaxed |
| C．let customers enjoy the beautiful music |
| D．help customers find what they really want |
What kind of music is now often adapted to influence customers in shops?
| A．Classical music | B．Popular modern songs. |
| C．Folk songs. | D．Jazz music. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Music makes happy Christmas |
| B．Christmas “Muzak” |
| C．How to make Christmas music? |
| D．Christmas music makes us spend more |
According to the US Geological Survey, about seven million earthquakes strike worldwide every year—but fortunately, only about 1500 of these are of a magnitude(震级) of 5 or greater on the Richter scale. Certain areas, such as California and Japan, are more prone to earthquakes than others. Although the chance of being caught in “The Big one” is remote, it’s wise to be prepared if you live in a region where earthquakes are common.
Educate your family about earthquakes before a big one strikes. For example, they need to know to take shelter in a doorway or under a strong object if indoors, and never to run outdoors if they are inside. If outside, they need to know to stay away from power lines and buildings where objects could fall.
Teach family members how to turn off gas or water lines or electrical power that may need to be shut off after a quake if severe damage occurs.
Develop a plan. Where will your family meet in the event of a disaster? What if some people are at work or school? How will you know if they are safe? Where will you all meet up?
Pack a preparedness kit(衣物装备) and keep it in a safe location. In a major earthquake, it’s possible that you won’t be able to get into your house. Keep supplies in your car trunk or an outside storage shed if possible. Pack whatever your family is likely to need, enough for three days to a week, including food, water, medication, first aid and personal hygiene supplies, flashlights, a portable radio, blankets, clothes and shoes, cash, or camp stove, candles, matches or lighters, and a whistle.
Consider earthquake insurance for your home if you live in an earthquake-prone area. Regular homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover earthquake damage.The underlined words “prone to ” in paragraph 1 can be replaced by___________.
| A．likely to suffer | B．frequent to explore |
| C．regular to measure | D．impossible to experience |
According to the passage, if you are outside in an earthquake, you should_________.
| A．stay where you are | B．hide under a big tree |
| C．avoid power lines | D．sit on the ground |
We can learn from the passage that_________.
| A．about 1,500 earthquakes happen every year |
| B．people should store some clothes in their houses in advance |
| C．family members should meet in their home after an earthquake |
| D．people suffering earthquakes often should buy earthquake insurance |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Keep Safe in an Earthquake |
| B．How to Prepare for an Earthquake |
| C．Who Can Help Us After an Earthquake? |
| D．Where Is an Earthquake-prone Area? |
Micro bloggers：have you ever compared the number of fans on your Sina Weibo or Tencent micro blog with those of your friends ?Don’t imagine you have more fans just because your number is bigger——some of them might be “zombie fans”，or fake(假的)followers．
That’s what Chen Chuanliang ，creator of Leijian Network，found when he bet against his friend several months ago．Chen，who used to do data mining for Microsoft Asia Research Institute，discovered that there were far more invalid(无效的)micro blog accounts than he had imagined．
Later Chen picked 1 0 users on Sina Weibo and analyzed their statistics．Kai-Fu Lee，the former CEO of Google China，who’s on Chen’s list of research，posted a message on his micro blog after he found out that he had more than 1 million fake fans(out of about 5 million)，joking“I have 1 million zombie fans ?If united，we can finally defeat those plants．”
According to a report by S Weekly in March，zombie fans on micro blogs are defined as invalid accounts signed up by network companies for the purpose of increasing the number of fans for certain users and getting them more attention．
And this kind of fake followers are also very much alive on Western social networks such as Twitter and Facebook ．
The Financial Times reported in August，that Newt Gingrich，a Republican candidate in the US presidential election，bought about 80 percent of his 1．3 million Twitter followers and tried to use them as help in his campaign．
Now there are also business deals through which users can get hundreds of thousands of fans for their micro blog accounts，by paying a small amount of money．
“We have been working to find ways to block or delete those invalid accounts，”Mao Taotao，a spokesperson for Sina Weibo told S Weekly.
“But as the fake accounts grow so fast，they’re going to be here for a while．Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Micro Bloggers | B．Blog Accounts |
| C．Zombie Fans | D．Micro Blog Fans |
Users get zombie fans for their micro blog accounts by________.
| A．making friends with people |
| B．paying a little money |
| C．helping their weibo followers |
| D．doing search on the Internet |
It can be learnt from the passage that________.
| A．there are more fake fans in America than in China |
| B．invalid accounts for micro blogs will be deleted in no time |
| C．there exist many fake fans on western social networks as well |
| D．Newt Gingrich had 1．3 millions followers in his presidential election |
The underlined word“their” in the passage refers to
| A．deals’ | B．fans’ | C．campaigns’ | D．users’ |