Bestsellers for last week
A Special Relationship
This novel is about a woman whose entire life is turned upside down in a very foreign place despite the fact that people there speak her language. Sally Good child is a 37-year-old American who, after nearly two decades as a highly independent journalist, finds herself pregnant and in London. She married an English foreign correspondent, Tony Thompson, whom she met while they were both on assignment in Cairo. From the beginning, Sally’s relationship with both Tony and London is an uneasy one: She finds her husband and his city to be far more foreign than imagined. But her adjustment problems soon turn into a nightmare(噩梦). She discovers that everything can be taken down and used against you, especially by a spouse (配偶) who now considers you an unfit mother and wants to prevent you from ever seeing your child again.
Born in 1955, Douglas Kennedy is the bestselling author of romances such as “The Big Picture”. He is also the author of several praised travel books.
White Hot
Sayre Lynch decided never to return to her hometown Destiny, after she changed her last name and finally escaped from the influence of her controlling father, Huff Hoyle, who owns the iron foundry that the town is built around.
But when Danny, her younger brother, is found dead with a shotgun in his mouth, Sayre unwillingly goes back for his funeral and is annoyed when her father’s handsome lawyer, Beck Merchant, tries to please her.
When the young officer investigating(调查) the case notes that some of the evidence points to murder rather than suicide(自杀), Sayre finds herself unable to leave Destiny. She’s annoyed by Beck’s constant presence, and she is not sure if 
he’s trying to help or throw her off the trail. Nor does she trust her father or her older brother, Chris, who is as prime suspect in Danny’s murder.
As she tries to figure out how the handsome, charming Beck fits into the picture, she finds herself deeply attracted to him.]
Sandra Brown is the author of 51 New York Times top-five bestsellers. She began her writing career in 1981 and has since published 65 novels.From the brief introduction of “A Special Relationship” we can imagine _____.
| A．Sally and Tony’s marriage is pleasant. | B．Sally and Tony may break up. |
| C．Sally and Tony often quarrel about their jobs. | D．Sally is hard to get on with. |
The story of Sally and Tony mainly happens in _____.
| A．America | B．London | C．Cairo | D．Cairo & London |
It can be learned from the passage that______.
| A．Chris killed Danny. | B．Lynch is Sayre’s real family name. |
| C．Huff Hoyle knows who killed Danny. | D．Sayre fell in love with Beck. |
In the introduction of White Hot, the underlined phrase suggests_____.
| A．Sayre thinks Beck has something to do with Danny’s death. |
| B．Sayre thinks Beck is the right person she wants to marry. |
| C．Sayre likes the handsome Beck in the picture. |
| D．Sayre doesn’t know whether Beck likes her. |
Most people will praise many technological gadgets（小装置） that they use in their everyday lives. Technology is developing at a very fast rate, and what most people did not even think could be real a few years ago is now becoming a reality. Although many will use and advertise modern technology for many of its achievements and advancements, what many don’t realize is that it has affected and continues to affect society and people in general in a negative way.
Newspaper companies, as we all know, have been hit very hard by the advancements in technology. Big newspapers have been forced to either lay off a percentage of their work force or shut down altogether because news is readily available for free on the Internet. Music does not have to be purchased at a music store any more because MP3 files are readily available on the Internet as well, thus causing big music store chains to shut their doors for good. The movie industry has also been hit hard because DVD sales have decreased since people can pay for and download their favorite movies online.
Technology has its benefits, but when you take a look at how people communicate with one another, you will quickly see that it has a negative impact. Modern technology has allowed people to communicate with just about anyone they want to at any given time. The fact remains that people do not interact personally with one another as often as they used to. This has created a barrier for face-to-face communication among people because they no longer have to hold a meeting in an office or they no longer have to call friends or family members together to wish them a happy birthday or congratulate them on their recent success.
As a result, people don’t feel the urgent need to step outside of their home to find entertainment, such as participating in a dynamic game of basketball with friends, meeting a friend at a coffee shop, etc.The first paragraph is mainly to tell us that _____.
| A．technology is developing rapidly |
| B．many dreams have come true. |
| C．technology benefits us a lot |
| D．technology has its disadvantages |
The author shows us the negative effects of the technology by _____.
| A．telling some stories | B．giving some examples |
| C．listing some figures | D．doing some experiments |
What does he underlined word “interact” in the third paragraph probably mean?
| A．argue | B．consult | C．communicate | D．work |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．The negative effects of advancing technology |
| B．The benefits of the modern technology |
| C．The development of the modern technology |
| D．The social problems caused by the technology |
Some say the Internet will kill off papers. Others say not so fast.
Are newspapers dying?
That’s the heated debate these days. Many say the disappearance of the daily paper is just a matter of time. The future of journalism is in news websites, not newsprint.
However, others say, newspapers have been with us for hundreds of years, and while all news may be online some day, papers can exist for some time.
So who’s right? I’ll outline the arguments on both sides, and then you can decide.
Newspapers Are Dead
Newspapers are in trouble. Circulation is dropping, display and classified ad income is drying up, and the industry has experienced a hard time. Big metro papers like the Rocky Mountain News have stopped operating, and even bigger newspaper companies like the Tribune Co. go bankrupt（破产）.
And where are newspaper readers going? To the Web. A recent study has found that Internet users read online newspapers for an average of 53 minutes per week in 2008. That’s highest level recorded in the eight years when the study has been done.
The study found that 22 percent of users said they stopped their subscription（订阅）to a printed paper or magazine because they could access the same content online.
Some people say the Internet is just a better place to get the news. “On the Web, newspapers are live, and they can supplement（增补）their coverage with audio, video, and the valuable resources of their vast contents,” says Geffrey I. Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future.How does the author present the topic to be discussed?
| A．By presenting others’ prediction |
| B．By asking a question |
| C．By providing opposite opinions |
| D．By talking about the background |
The purpose of writing the text is to _____.
| A．try to draw a general conclusion |
| B．encourage readers to use their judgment |
| C．compare the advantages of two media |
| D．invite readers to express their opinions freely |
Some readers no longer buy printed newspapers because they _____.
| A．want to save money |
| B．hope to protect the environment |
| C．don’t care about news |
| D．can read online newspapers |
What’s the advantage of the news website compared with printed newspapers?
| A．it provides news vividly | B．the news is more reliable |
| C．it can reach more readers | D．it is much cheaper in price |
New research suggests that cutting daily sitting time to less than three hours might extend your life by two years.
“Humans were designed to move. But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely encourage us to walk around,” says Peter Katzmarzyk, an expert at the University of Louisiana.
“Sitting is common in our lives today. We sit while we’re driving, eating and watching TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work.” Katzmarzyk said.
“We can’t throw away physical activity. It’s extremely important. We have 60 years of researchers showing us that.” Katzmarzyk said.
Katzmarzyk and other researchers are trying to discover how sitting all day affext our lifespans（寿命）.
“This is a relatively new area of study…Studies that have assessed the relationship between sitting and death or television viewing and death have been very rare in the last four or five years,” said Katzmarzyk.
Katzmarzyk and his colleagues analyzed data from these studies, which involved almost 167,000 adults. Then they turned to a government-run survey of Americans to find out exactly how much time people spend sitting and watching.
Not only did the team find that U.S. citizens could live longer by sitting less, they found that cutting TV time to less than two hours a day could add an extra 1.4 years to their lives.
People who’ve spent half their waking lives sitting down might well ask, “Is it ever too late to make a change?”
“We would say ‘No. It’s never too late.’ Physical activity is good for you at every age.” Katzmarzyk said.
Katzmarzyk says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives. They recommend a few simple changes: frequently getting up from your desk, taking walks at lunch time, and instead of e-mailing colleagues, walking over to their offices and talking face-to-face——all activities that can be enjoyable as well as life-extending.Peter Katzmarzyk seems to believe that _____.
| A．we should not sit for a long time |
| B．most people like to sit most of the time |
| C．office jobs encourage us to walk a lot |
| D．modern lifestyles are good for our health |
The underlined word “that” in paragraph 4 probably refers to _____.
| A．taking physical exercise is important |
| B．many researches should be carried out |
| C．we should exercise during working hours |
| D．people should focus on their health at work |
Why did Katzmarzyk and his colleagues turn to a government-run survey?
| A．To collect information for the government |
| B．To know how long people sit and watch TV |
| C．To find what citizens do in their spare time’ |
| D．To discover how sitting for long affects their lives |
The best title of the text would be _____.
| A．What Is the Healthiest Lifestyle？ |
| B．Sitting for a Long Time Is Bad for Us |
| C．Study Suggests Sitting Less Can Extend Life |
| D．It Is Never Too Late to Change Our Way of Life |
The Mysterious Universe
By Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop
How did the universe begin? How big is it? What is dark matter? Cosmologist（宇宙哲学家）and expert supernova（超新星）hunter Alex Filippenko hopes that supernovas can help us answer some of these questions. But first we’ve got to find them! Join Alex and his team as they go on the hunt with huge telescopes and banks of computers.
The Time and Space of Uncle Albert
By Russell Stannard
What would you say if your uncle asked you whether you would like to go into space? You’d say, “When do I leave?”, just like the girl in this story. Gedanken is speeding across the universe trying to help her uncle answer some questions, such as “How big is space?” and “Where does gravity come from?” Along the way she also discovers how to get heavier without getting fat, how to live forever without knowing it, and the strange things that can happen when you go really fast.
George’s Secret Key to the Universe
By Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking
When George chases his pet pig through a hole in the fence, little does he expect that he will soon be riding a comet（彗星）around Saturn（土星）. But just as he discovers the joys of space exploration with the computer Cosmos, which can open doors anywhere in the universe, everything starts to go wrong. When George’s lest-favorite teacher steals Cosmos and traps his friend’s dad in a black hole, can George set things right in time?
A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky
By Michael Driscoll
With a telescope or without one, this book can get you started exploring planets, stars and even strange stuff like time, space, and black holes. The universe is a big place, but this book comes with a handy star finder that you can take out with you at night to help you find your way around the stars. Look up and discover the universe!According to the text, Alex Filippenko ______.
| A．invented huge telescopes |
| B．is looking for supernovas |
| C．doesn’t need many computers |
| D．knows a lot about dark matter |
What do we know about George’s Secret Key to the Universe？
| A．It is a sad story |
| B．It is about a pet pig |
| C．It is a co-authored book |
| D．It is based on a real life story. |
Which book would you read if you want to know about gravity?
| A．The Mysterious Universe |
| B．The Time and Space of Uncle Albert |
| C．George’s Secret Key to the Universe |
| D．A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky. |
What do the four books have in common?
| A．They have the same topics? |
| B．They are intended for adults. |
| C．They have the same number of characters |
| D．They leave many questions to the readers |
I find some of the ways in which Chinese parents show love for their children rather surprising. Obviously there are some pretty big differences between our behaviors and theirs in this respect. Most Chinese children seem to get whatever they want, from ice creams, sweets and toys to endless attention from the adults around them. Is this a sort of spoiling or love? I wonder.
Most westerners would think it is a sort of spoiling rather than love. We think love means educating your children and bringing them up to lead an independent life. That includes learning to accept the fact that he can't get everything he wants. As an adult, he will not always get the quite expensive car he hunts for; she will not always manage to acquire the beautiful dress she longs for. So we try to teach our children early to cope with the disappointment of not getting what they want.
I find too much such kind of love for the children can actually spoil them. To my surprise, it seems that the life of a Chinese child is rather hard. Without doubt, the child is the very center of a whole circle of adults, but on the other hand he or she is also expected to start studying according to adults' wishes. Many children of my son's age take piano lessons, painting classes and even English lessons. It looks as if Chinese adults think that just playing without learning anything is a waste of time. So in this respect our children appear spoiled, just because they are allowed to play. But without this sort of play how can western children develop such free and rich imaginations? In fact the connection between this imagination and the creativity is so important in the children’s future life.In which way do most Chinese children seem to be spoiled?
| A．They can be supported by their parents. |
| B．They can play whenever they want. |
| C．They need not behave themselves. |
| D．Their demands can always be satisfied. |
In the author's opinion, the life of a Chinese child is .
| A．rather hard | B．rather easy | C．independent | D．colorful |
The author thinks Western children appear spoiled because .
| A．they can manage time by themselves |
| B．they can have the freedom to play |
| C．they can take piano lessons |
| D．they may have expensive toys |
The best title of the passage could be .
| A．Chinese children's early education |
| B．How to develop kids' imagination |
| C．What is the real love for children |
| D．The imagination and creativity |
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