Having finished her homework, Ma Li wants some music for relaxation①. As usual, she starts her computer and goes to Baidu.com to download music files. But this time she is surprised when an announcement about protecting songs’ copyright bursts onto the screen. The age of free music and movie downloads may have come to an end as Web companies like Baidu are accused of pirating copyright. Lawsuits② have been filed against four websites offering free downloads. In September 2005, a Beijing court ordered Baidu to pay recording company Shanghai Push compensation for their losses. Baidu was also told to block the links to the pirated music on the website. This caused a heated discussion on Interact file sharing.
“Baidu’s defeat in the lawsuit shows it is not right to get copyrighted songs without paying. Downloaders may face lawsuits or fines,” said an official.
Like many teens, Huang Ruoru, an 18-year-old girl from Puning in Guangdong Province, doesn’t think that getting music from websites is wrong. She always shares her favourite songs downloaded from Baidu with her friends. When told about the lawsuit, she began to feel a little guilty about obtaining others’ work without paying.
However, other teenagers have different ideas. Wang Yafei, a Senior 2 girl from Jinan, Shandong Province pointed out that file sharing is a good way to promote pop singers. “If I download a song and really like it, I will buy the CD,” she said. “So what the recording companies really should concentrate on is improving their music, rather than pursuing③ file-sharers.”
Notes:
① relaxation n. 娱乐
② lawsuit n. 诉讼
③ pursue vt. 追赶，追击
Choose the best answers according to the above:Which of the following best describes the passage?
| A．Music on the Internet is of better quality. | B．Downloading material can be illegal. |
| C．It’s good to get free music on the Internet. | D．Baidu is a popular web company. |
The four web companies were put to court because _________.
| A．they got copyrighted songs without paying |
| B．they downloaded copyrighted music for people |
| C．they make copyrighted files for free downloads |
| D．they offer free music on line |
How do some of the teenagers feel while downloading free music after the lawsuit?
| A．A bit guilty. | B．A little sad. | C．Extremely angry. | D．Awfully sorry. |
What’s the advantage of tile sharing for recording companies?
| A．Getting more money from web companies. |
| B．Enabling people to download favorite songs. |
| C．Helping to improve the music. |
| D．Making pop singers more popular. |
It can be inferred from the text that _________.
| A．Web companies are still ignoring the copyright laws. |
| B．Teenagers haven’t got money to buy CDs. |
| C．Teenagers are probably still downloading free music. |
| D．Teenagers prefer CDs with copyright to pirated music. |
One year, my school report made my parents angry. On Christmas Eve, all the presents were stolen, along with our TV. My parents told me that there were no presents because Santa was very angry with my behavior over the past year. The next year on Christmas Eve I slept downstairs with a plastic sword waiting for Santa to make sure that he didn't steal the new TV. The next morning, when I woke up, I saw Santa standing there. As soon as I saw that there were no presents, I grabbed my plastic sword and ran at him, shouting angrily: "THIEF! THIEF!"
Jack
When I was young, we always had a specific room for the Christmas tree. My mom never really liked the location, so one year she moved the tree into another room. I was convinced that Santa would not know where the tree was and would get lost in our house. I was worried that he would be mad and put me on the "bad" list and would not give me any gifts because he couldn't find the tree. I came up with the idea to make signs leading from the fireplace to the tree. They said things like: "Tree this way" or "Santa, put the gifts over here." When my big brother saw them he began to laugh his head off.
Lucy
Does everyone remember going to the mall and sitting on Santa’s lap to have his picture taken at Christmas time?
Well, I used to think that if I did that, Santa would get mad bcause he would have to go all around the world and give every kid the chance to have his picture taken with him. Of course his lap would hurt and he would be very fired. I thought he might keep a copy of the picture and that would be how he decided who would be on his naughty list.
My mom couldn't get me onto Santa's lap until she made him promise I wouldn't end up on his naughty list.
LydiaThe real reason why Jack's TV was taken away is that ______________.
| A．his parents were too careless |
| B．his parents thought he had watched too much TV |
| C．Santa Claus was not satisfied with Jack’s behavior |
| D．Santa gave the TV to another child as a present |
Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons why Lucy didn't want the tree to be moved?
| A．Santa would not know where the tree was. |
| B．Santa would be angry and would not give her any gifts. |
| C．Her big brother might laugh at her. |
| D．Santa might think she was a "bad" child. |
We can learn from the third story that _______________.
| A．Lydia’s mother was very Strict with her |
| B．Lydia believed in Santa when she was young |
| C．Lydia was naughty when she was young |
| D．Lydia liked taking pictures with Santa |
Why didn't Lydia want to take pictures with Santa?
| A．She was afraid that Santa would get mad with her. |
| B．She was afraid that Santa would get too tired and hurt himself. |
| C．She disliked the idea that Santa would keep a copy of her picture. |
| D．She feared that she would appear in the Santa's naughty list. |
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch while I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace(丢脸) because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning. So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years, our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, however, would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background, I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.From the passage we can learn that the writer’s mother was .
| A．not generous at all |
| B．very strict with her children |
| C．very mean with money matters |
| D．very cruel to her children |
Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?
| A．Eating differently from other kids. |
| B．Wearing clean clothes made by mother |
| C．Going to bed early and getting up early |
| D．Letting mother know where they were |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies |
| B．mother was punished for breaking Child Labor Law |
| C．all the other kids studied better than the writer |
| D．the writer’s family lived a miserable life |
The passage was written in a tone.
| A．humorous | B．hateful | C．unfriendly | D．angry |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Mother tried to save every penny to run her home |
| B．The writer is very grateful to her mother |
| C．The writer is severe with her children when bringing them up |
| D．The wrier hates her mother very much |
One morning, Charley, a little green frog, was sitting in a pond(池塘) by the side of the road.
Wanda, the neighborhood witch(女巫), was walking along the road. She was a good witch and dreamt to become a fairy godmother who can save people from trouble with magic powers. Wanda had been learning fairy godmother magic for 103 years. That morning, she decided to try the magic she had learned and bring happiness to others.
Seeing Wanda, Charley cried, “Hi, Wanda.”
“Hi, Charley,” replied Wanda, “I have a surprise for you.”
Then, Wanda waved her wand(魔杖), said a magic word, and Charley turned into a prince!
When Charley-turned-prince looked at himself in the water, he cried, “Hey! You turned me into a prince! It’s a surprise all right, but I don’t want to be a prince! Change me back right now!”
“Oh, dear,” Wanda said. “you shouted so loud that I forgot the way to change you back. But who wouldn’t rather be a prince?”
“I wouldn’t!” cried Charley. “I want to be a frog!” He stuck out his tongue, missing a bug (虫子) flying by the end of his nose. “Look at that, Wanda! I was a good fly catcher. But now, this tongue is too short! Please change me back!”
“I can’t, Charley. But you’ll learn to be happy as a prince.” She waved her wand, and suddenly a castle appeared. Out of the castle dozens of musicians were playing various instruments. “Charley! You’ll have servants, eat delicious foods, and you can sing and dance and snap fingers(弹响指).”
“No!” Charley interrupted.(打断) “I don’t want all these! I want bugs!” Charley cried. “I don’t want to sing and dance! And why would I do something as silly as snapping my fingers?”
“Snapping fingers!” cried out Wanda. “That’s what I forgot!” She snapped her fingers, cried “Upsi-doodle!” and the castle and musicians disappeared and the prince became a little green frog.”
Charley looked at himself in the water. “ You did it, Wanda. Oh, happy day! I’m a frog.”
“I must apologize, Charley,” Wanda said, “you are a happy frog. I should know this a moment ago.”Wanda turned Charley from a frog into a prince
| A．of her own will |
| B．to play a joke on him |
| C．at the request of charley |
| D．to teach Charley a lesson |
After the little green frog became a prince, he .
| A．was grateful to Wanda | B．Wanted a great palace |
| C．couldn’t recognize Wanda | D．became angry with Wanda |
The underlined part “You did it” in the passage means “ “.
| A．You gave me a surprise |
| B．You turned me back into a frog |
| C．You turned me into a prince |
| D．You understood what I meant |
At the end of the story, Wanda probably felt .
| A．satisfied | B．ashamed | C．worried | D．excited |
According to the passage, which of the following conclusions can we get?
| A．Just be yourself |
| B．Do nothing by halves |
| C．Helping others is a virtue |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way |
Every time you go shopping, the vegetables and fruit look so tempting that you wish you could buy all of them. Some people are lucky and can grow the fruit and vegetables in the gardens that they have. While getting fresh vegetables, they can also achieve great cost cutting.
Mushrooms are expensive and can also go bad very quickly. Mushrooms can also be grown easily in a dark environment. In fact it’s better than growing other vegetables since you really don’t need an outdoor space. A special type of soil that is good for growing mushrooms is easily available.
Actually mushrooms aren’t even vegetables; they are fungi(菌类) and for this reason, you don’t even require sunlight to grow them. Well how does one go about growing mushrooms? You could always Google “growing mushrooms” and you will find a number of mushroom growing kits(工具) available online that area effective and not very expensive either.
Mushrooms can be added to any dish that you cook. Simply use them in pizzas, salads and anything that you pretty much fancy. Grow mushrooms in your own house and use them whenever you want. Fresh mushrooms are tastier than the ones that are stored in your refrigerator.
If you have had a really good crop of mushrooms, then you can even store them. Ideally you should use the white variety of the mushrooms. Simply pick them, slice them and put them on a cookie sheet in a freezer. When they area frozen, just put them in a zip lock and you can use them when you want to. They give a really great taste to the dish that you are making. Thaw them before you use them.
You should try growing mushrooms, since it’s cost-effective. Furthermore, you can eat the fresh mushrooms any time that you want. What is an advantage of growing vegetables according to the passage?
| A．You can eat all kinds of vegetables |
| B．You are lucky to eat what you like |
| C．You can save lots of money |
| D．You can satisfy your desire |
Mushrooms are different from other vegetables in that .
| A．they can be grown where there is no light |
| B．they can grow well in an outdoor space |
| C．it is easy for them to go bad in a few days |
| D．they can grow without soil |
The third paragraph is mainly to tell us that .
| A．mushrooms are not vegetables |
| B．Internet helps us a lot |
| C．mushrooms are available online |
| D．it is easy to grow mushrooms |
Which of the following is the right order of storing mushrooms?
a. put them on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator
b. place frozen mushrooms in a zip lock
c. cut them into slices
d. choose the white mushrooms
| A．a-b-c-d | B．d-c-a-b | C．a-d-c-b | D．d-a-c-b |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．It is easy and fun to grow mushrooms |
| B．We should eat more fruit and vegetables |
| C．Mushrooms online are very expensive |
| D．Mushrooms—tasty and healthy vegetables |
There are many international organizations which work to save and protect endangered species(物种) and natural environment. If you would like more information about any of the organizations listed below, you can write to the addresses given.
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth (FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rainforests, the countryside, water and air pollution and energy.
Friends of the Earth International Secretariat P.O. Box 19199
1000 G. D.
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Greenpeace
Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to defend the environment. It campaigns to protect rainforests and sea animals, stop global warming and end pollution of air, land and seas. It also opposes nuclear(核) power.
Greenpeace International
Keizergracht 176
1016 DW Amsterdam
The Netherlands
BirdLife
INTERNATIONAL
BirdLife International is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world.
BirdLife International
Wellbrook Court
Girton Road
Cambridge CB3 ONA
England
WWF
WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature is the world’s largest private international organization for the protection of nature and endangered species.
Information Officer
WWF International
Avenue du Mont-Blanc
1196 Gland
SwitzerlandIf you want to learn more about the organizations, you can .
| A．call them | B．write them a letter | C．visit them | D．send them an e-mail |
Which problem will be paid close attention to by FOE?
| A．Overhunting ocean animals | B．Killing endangered birds |
| C．Heavy air pollution | D．Global warming |
If you are against nuclear power, you can join .
| A．Friends of the Earth | B．World Wide Fund For Nature |
| C．Greenpeace | D．BirdLife International |
What can we learn about WWF?
| A．It helps to protect nature and save endangered animals |
| B．It is the world’s largest international organization |
| C．It works for private companies and rich people |
| D．It is a private organization in the United States |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Environmental protection organizations | B．Global traffic problems |
| C．Endangered animals | D．Natural beauty |
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