BUNOL, Spain (AFP) — Tens of thousands of people from around the world threw tons of ripe tomatoes at each other in an annual food fight that painted the eastern Spanish town of Bunol red.
More than 40,000 people, including many visitors from Australia, Britain and the United States, took part in the food fight known as the “Tomatina”, now in its 64th year, a spokeswoman for Bunol’s town hall said.
They were provided with over 100 tons of tomatoes by the town council for the battle which lasted about one hour and left participants covered in red.
Many men were shirtless while others wore old clothes, hardhats, goggles or protective plastic sheets.
Shopkeepers put up huge plastic covers on their store fronts or boarded them up to protect their properties from the sea of red mush (糊状物).
After the battle, governmental workers and local residents used “giant hoses” to clear the walls and streets of the tomato pulp in just half an hour while the participants headed to a nearby river where temporary showers were set up.
The event cost the town of some l0, 000 residents 40,000 dollars, and Spanish media reported.
The “Tomatina” is held each year in Bunol, located in a fertile (富饶的) region about 40 kilometers north of the coastal city of Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city, on the last Wednesday in August.
The origins of the event are unclear although it is thought to have its roots in a food fight between childhood friends in the mid-1940s in the city.
It has grown in size as international press coverage brought more and more people to the festival.To keep their stores safe, the shopkeepers _____.
| A．kept their store fronts covered | B．hung plastic sheets on the walls |
| C．closed all the doors and windows | D．stopped people throwing at them |
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “pulp” (in Paragraph 6)?
| A．skin. | B．color. | C．mush. | D．value. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
| A．the “Tomatina” brings in huge profits |
| B．the festival attracted more tourists this year |
| C．no one knows the history of the festival |
| D．tourism plays an important role in Bunol |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．It is fun to throw tomatoes | B．An exciting story about tomatoes |
| C．Fighting and sightseeing in Bunol | D．Spanish town painted red in tomato fight |
In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life—style of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Joneses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.
A. want to be as rich as their neighbors
B. want others to know or to think that they are rich
C don’t want others to know they are rich
D. want to be happyIt can be inferred (推断) from the story that rich people like to ________.
| A．live outside New York City |
| B．live in New York city |
| C．live in apartments |
| D．have many neighbors |
Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ________.
| A．an important name |
| B．a popular name in the United States |
| C．his neighbor’s name |
| D．not a good name |
If a person who keeps up with the Joneses, he would _________.
| A．do as the poor persons around him do |
| B．do everything he likes to do |
| C．do as his neighbors do |
| D．do as the rich people around him do |
According to the writer, it is ___________ to keep up with the Jonese.
| A．Good | B．correct | C．interesting | D．impossible |
Most musicians agree that the best violins were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago. They even sound better than violins made today. Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins. But they aren’t the same. Why are these old Italian violins so special? Many people think they have an answer.
Some people think it is the age of the violins. But there is a problem here. Not all old violins sound wonderful. Only those from Cremona are special. So age cannot be the answer.
Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood. The wood of the violin is very important. It must be from certain kinds of trees. It must not be too young or too old. Perhaps the violin makers of Cremona knew something special about wood for violins.
But the kind of wood may not be so important. It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way. Wood for a violin must be cut very carefully. It has to be the right size and shape. The smallest difference will change the sound of the violin. Musicians sometimes think that this is the secret of the Italians.
Size and shape may not be the answer either. Scientists make new violins that are exactly the same size and shape. But the new violins still do not sound as good as the old one. Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish（清漆）, which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny. It also helps the sound of the instrument. Since no one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish, no one can make the same varnish today.
There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona. And there are not many of the old violins left. So these old violins are becoming more and more precious.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Secrets of Cremona Violins |
| B．The History of Italian Violins |
| C．Special Musical Instruments |
| D．How to Make the Best Violins |
The main purpose of the first paragraph is to_______________
| A．list some facts | B．raise a question |
| C．give an opinion | D．offer an answer |
What is still unclear about Cremona violins according to the writer?
| A．The shape． | B．The size． | C．The wood． | D．The varnish． |
Which of the following words can best describe Cremona violins?
| A．Light． | B．Shining． | C．Valuable． | D．Modern |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．Modem things are always better than ancient ones |
| B．Ancient things are always better than modem ones |
| C．Once a cultural relic is lost．it Can never be recovered |
| D．Varnish for violins will become more and more precious |
On March 28th, the New York Times will begin charging all but the most infrequent users to read articles online.
In a letter to readers, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the publisher of the paper, laid out the details of the paywall, which he said will go into effect immediately in Canada and on March 28th for the rest of the world. He called the move “an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in the Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform.”
Sulzberger said that readers will be able to read 20 articles per month at no charge. Once they click on the 21st piece, however, they’ll be presented with three payment options: $ 15 for four weeks of online and mobile application access, $ 20 for access to the site and the iPad application, or $ 35 for access to everything. People who already receive the printed paper through home delivery will enjoy free and unlimited access to the Times on all platforms.
These details largely agree with earlier reports on how the paywall would work. The Times had made it clear that it did not want to imitate the total paywalls put into effect by papers such as The Times of London and Newsday, which block access to all contents unless the reader pays.
The paper also signaled that it wants to stay relevant in the social media world. According to Sulzberger's announcement, people who come to the Times site from Facebook, Twitter or from blogs will be able to read those articles even if they have gone over their monthly limit.
However, Sulzberger said that a limit will be placed on “some search engines”, meaning that after readers have accessed a certain number of articles from search engines, any further articles they access from there will be added to their monthly count. It was reported that the only search engine that will be affected this way is Google, where there will be a five-article limit. This marks a clear attempt by the Times to close what could be a giant loophole （漏洞）, since so much online traffic is directed through Google. But it also presents a risk for the Times for the same reason.
Sulzberger seems well aware of the risk. “The challenge now is to put a price on our work without walling ourselves off from the global network,” he said, adding that the Times must “continue to engage with the widest possible audience.”The author’s main purpose in the text is to _______.
| A．describe research findings | B．report a piece of news |
| C．make advertisements | D．suggest a solution |
Why will the Times charge their online readers?
| A．It wants to stay relevant in the social media world. |
| B．It has too many readers coming from the other sites. |
| C．It is seeking new financial sources for its development. |
| D．It is trying a way to offer better service to its readers. |
Who will be limited to the New York Times articles?
| A．Those subscribing to the printed newspapers |
| B．Readers clicking through from Facebook. |
| C．Those using Google research engine |
| D．Readers paying $ 35 a month. |
What challenge may the paywall bring to the New York Times?
| A．It may bring the Times more competition with the other media |
| B．It may stop the Times connecting to the global network |
| C．It may block the readers from the other websites |
| D．It may result in huge drops in papers' online readership |
Pretending to be happy can actually make you more miserable — especially if you’re a woman, according to a new study.
The research found that women suffered more than men when pretending to be happy. Psychologist Dr. Brent Scott, who led the study, said employers should take note because forcing workers to smile when dealing with the public can backfire. He said, “Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion, and that’s bad for the organization.”
Dr. Scott said the research showed customer-service workers who “fake smile” throughout the day worsen their mood and then withdraw from work, so their productivity drops. He added, “Bosses may think that getting their staff to smile is good for the organization, but that’s not necessarily the case.” Dr. Scott, assistant professor of management at Michigan State University, analyzed a group of bus drivers during a two- week period.
The study is one of the first of its kind to examine emotional displays over a period of time and compare the different effect that has on men and women. His team examined the effects of surface acting — or fake smiling — compared to what was termed “deep acting”, or cultivating(培养) positive emotions by recalling pleasant memories.
Dr. Scott said, “Women are harmed more by surface acting, meaning their mood worsens even more than the men and they withdraw more from work. However, they are helped more by deep acting, which means their mood improves more.”
Although “deep acting” seems to improve mood in the short-term, Dr. Scott said it’s not a long-term solution to feeling unhappy.
He said, “You’re trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore.”What does the underlined word “backfire” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Have the opposite effect. | B．Lead to conflict. |
| C．Drive people mad. | D．Help a lot. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Surface acting is good for organizations. |
| B．Men benefit more from deep acting than women. |
| C．Fake smiling causes more harm to women than men. |
| D．Recalling good memories is a long-term solution to feeling down. |
The findings of the research might serve as a warning to _______.
| A．employees | B．employers | C．researchers | D．customers. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Solution to feeling unhappy |
| B．How to cultivate positive emotions |
| C．How to improve workers’ productivity |
| D．Fake smiling makes you miserable |
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 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（成套工具）available online that are 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 taster 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 are 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 save a lot of money |
| B．You can eat all kinds of vegetables. |
| C．You are lucky to eat what you like |
| D．You can satisfy your desire. |
Mushrooms are different from other vegetables in that _______.
| A．they can grow well in an outdoor space |
| B．it is easy for them to go bad in a few days |
| C．they can grow without soil |
| D．they can be grown where there is no light |
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．We should eat more fruit and vegetables |
| B．Mushrooms online are very expensive |
| C．It is easy and cost-effective to grow mushrooms |
| D．Mushrooms — tasty and healthy vegetables |
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