Some people think as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short television program can tell you all that you want to know?
Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbacks (平装本), which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times.
Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia (百科全书), though expensive, is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history books, science textbooks, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems. Then from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.
63. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
A. TV programs are a chief provider of knowledge
B. cinemas are the best choice in getting information
reading is a cheap way of learning and having fun
D. newspapers are an expensive way to enjoy oneself
64. What does the sentence “Television has not killed reading, however” underlined in the second paragraph suggest?
A. People only need reading, though. B. Reading is still necessary today. Reading is more fun than television. D. Watching television doesn’t help reading.
65. Which of the following is mainly discussed in the last paragraph?
A. Types of books B. Kinds of dictionaries Lists of history books. D. Collections of stories and poems.
66. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Fewer and fewer people will buy books.
B. A good dictionary should be kept in every home. Books with hard covers sell better than paperbacks.
D. More people like TV programs about famous men.
Oprah Winfrey, the queen of American daytime talk TV, is considered one of the most powerful women in the world．Now, after 25 years’ hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show, the star has announced she is calling it quits．
According to the Los Angeles Times, the move “signals the beginning of the decline for the daytime talk show．” More women are working full-time jobs, and people are turning to cable (有线电视) and pre-recorded shows for their entertainment．
It may be that Oprah isn’t quitting so much as moving on．She has created the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and will most likely move her show to the network．If audiences around the world need Oprah, they well know where to look．
Oprah Winfrey was born to a single teenage mother in a small town in rural Mississippi, US．As a child, she lived with poverty and abuse．But she got a job at a local radio station, where her honesty, emotional style won her many fans．She quickly rose through the ranks of radio and television before launching her own production company and starting her own show．
Oprah’s talk show was not the first of its kind, but it quickly became the best and most popular．It made talk shows popular, and others jumped in to start similar shows．But while other talk shows turned ugly, featuring guests who argued and attacked each other with chairs, Oprah rose above the mess．
“Part of her power lies in the fact that her life story resonates (产生共鸣) with her audience, as a kind of version of the American dream,” writes Kevin Connolly, a reporter with the BBC．
She became a star because of the way she opened up about her problems to her audience．She shared her own struggles with relationships and weight．She focused on self-help．Connolly believes “something in her honesty and her sometimes painfully emotional directness struck home with a certain type of American”．Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The stop of Oprah’s show reflects the decrease of audience． |
| B．Oprah hosted her show for about 25 years． |
| C．American talk show was pioneered by Oprah． |
| D．Oprah used to be a radio presenter． |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．Oprah could deal with the guests fighting very well． |
| B．Oprah’s show stood out with her unique style． |
| C．Oprah turned a deaf ear to other people’s quarrel． |
| D．Oprah’s fame rose because lots of people watch her show． |
From Kevin Connolly, we know people like Oprah’s show for all the reasons EXCEPT ________．
| A．Oprah always shares people’s life stories in her show |
| B．the audiences are touched by Oprah’s honesty and frankness |
| C．Oprah’s life story reflects the truth of American dream |
| D．some audiences are inspired by Oprah’s show |
According to the text, Oprah ________．
| A．always volunteers to help those who need help |
| B．has practiced presentational skills since she was young |
| C．believes that one should rely on himself to solve problems |
| D．calls on women to work full-time jobs |
Recently, one of my best friends, whom I’ve shared just about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the weekend with me．Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we’ve both always looked forward to the few times a year when we can see each other．
Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, staying up late into the night, talking about the people she was hanging around with．She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he experimented with drugs and was into other self-destructive behavior．I was blown away! She told me how she had been lying to her parents about where she was going and even stealing out to see this guy because they didn’t want her around him．No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she deserved better, she didn’t believe me．Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared．
I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble．I felt like I was getting nowhere．I just couldn’t believe that she really thought it was acceptable to hang with a bunch of losers, especially her boyfriend．
By the time she left, I was really worried about her and exhausted by the experience．It had been so frustrating, I had come close to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to continue our friendship，but I didn’t．I put the power of friendship to the final test．We’d been friends for far too long．I had to hope that she valued me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself．I wanted to believe that our friendship could conquer anything．
A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our conversation, and then she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend．I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face．It was one of the truly rewarding moments in my life．Never had I been so proud of a friend．In the writer’s opinion, her friend ________．
| A．was a girl with no self-respect |
| B．could find a better boyfriend |
| C．was brave enough to stick to her own choice |
| D．didn’t value the writer’s suggestion |
What did the writer worry about?
| A．She would lose the friendship with her． |
| B．Her friend’s parents would be worried about their daughter． |
| C．Her friend would get into great trouble with the boy． |
| D．Her friend’s boyfriend would be in great trouble． |
We may leam from Paragraph 3 that the writer ________．
| A．didn’t want to go anywhere else |
| B．hated her friend’s hanging with her boyfriend |
| C．couldn’t believe that her friend’s choice was acceptable |
| D．doubted that she could in any way help her friend |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Friendship starting from childhood is not reliable． |
| B．Friendship is a cure for any injury in life． |
| C．Friendship should be everlasting once begun． |
| D．Friendship can have magical power in life． |
Federal regulators (管理者) Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergence alert (警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.
Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry's trade association, CTIA, estimates（估计） more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.
The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2009 federal law that requires improvements to the nation's emergency alert system. The act tasked(派给…工作) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.
"The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an importan
t next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.
Participation in the alert system by carriers –telecommunications companies is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.
The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.
There would be three different types of message
s, according to the rules.
The first would be a national alert from the president, likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The second would involve "approaching threats," which could include natural disasters like hurrica
nes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction (绑架) emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.
The service could be in place by 2012.What is the purpose of the approved plan?
| A．To warn people of emergencies through messages. |
| B．To popularize the use of cell phones. |
| C．To estimate the monthly number of messages. |
| D．To promote the wireless industry. |
The improvement to the present system is in the charge of ____.
| A．CTIA | B．the Warning Alert and Response Network | C．FCC | D．federal regulators |
The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by _____.
| A．the US federal government | B．mobile phone users |
| C．the carriers themselves | D．the law of the United States |
Which of the following is true of cell phone users?
| A．They must accept the alert service. | B．They may enjoy the alert service for free. |
| C．They must send the alerts to others | D．They may choose the types of messages |
An alert message will NOT be sent if _____
| A．a child loses his way. | B．a university shooting happens |
| C．a natural disaster happens | D．a terrorist attack occurs |
For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words whic
h were hard to understand in one of those romantic languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, operagoers also had a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with the common people. That means no form
al suits, old-styled theatre or bank-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions o
f large prod
uctions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young
Artists’ Training Program.Which is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Opera is famous for its long history. |
| B．Opera is only performed for rich people. |
| C．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive. |
| D．Young people are not interested in opera. |
The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means _________.
| A．breaking up the old rules | B．changing the dresses |
| C．making the audience at ease | D．advertising themselves |
Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because _________.
| A．they can be performed in public libraries |
| B．short versions are easy to perform |
| C．it is hard to find long versions |
| D．they can make people interested |
The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to _________.
A．celebra te its 75th anniversary |
| B．reduce the cost |
| C．attract young people |
| D．make Cinderella popular |
From the passage we can infer that _________.
| A．the tickets for opera are very expensive |
B．opera is performed in a di fficult language |
| C．opera is not so popular an art form today |
| D．students enjoy performing opera very much |
It was the summer of 1965. DeLuca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked DeLuca about his plans for the future. “I’m going to col
lege, but I need a way to pay for it,” DeLuca recalls saying. “Buck said, ‘You should open a sandwich shop.’”
That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $1000. DeLuca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn’t cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1000.
But business didn’t go smoothly as they expected. DeLuca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn’t know how badly, because we didn’t have any financial controls.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.
DeLuca was managing the store and going to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They’d meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘We are so successful, we are opening a second store.’” And they did—in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.
But the partners’ learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest s
trength. Every Friday, DeLuca would drive a
round and hand-deliver the checks to pay their suppliers. “It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn’
t necessary, but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out,” DeLuca says.
And having a goal was also important. “There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” DeLuca adds.
DeLuca ended up founding Subway Sandwich, the multimillion-dollar restaurant chain.DeLuca opened the first sandwich shop in order to ____.
| A．support his family | B．pay for his college education |
| C．help his partner expand business | D．do some research |
Which of the following is true of Buck?
| A．He put money into the sandwich business. |
| B．He was a professor of business administration. |
| C．He was studying at the University of Bridgeport. |
| D．He rented a storefront for DeLuca. |
What can we learn about their first shop?
| A．It stood at an unfavorable place. |
| B．It lowered the prices to promote sales. |
| C．It made no profits due to poor management |
| D．It lacked control over the quality of sandwiches |
They decided to open a second store because they ___.
| A．had enough money to do it. |
| B．had succeeded in their business |
| C．wished to meet the increasing demand of customers |
| D．wanted to make people believe that they were successful |
What contribute most to their success according to the author?
| A．Learning by trial and error. | B．Making friends with suppliers. |
| C．Finding a good partner. | D．Opening chain stores. |
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