Christmas Eve was tomorrow. I hoped one of the packages that held a camera had already been placed under the Christmas tree. It was the only thing I wanted. I had been dropping hints to my parents. I love taking photos. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to capture (捕捉) those perfect moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.
I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor — a big pink cat. I felt so disappointed.
Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Stacy, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said.
The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.
“Mom, may I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.
And so it came — how upset I was that I was getting a cat.
“Stacy, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.
“Then what am I getting?” I asked.
She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find ...
My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.
Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera — my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile — and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.The underlined phrase “dropping hints” in Para-graph 1 means _____.
| A．talking often | B．suggesting indirectly |
| C．sending presents | D．taking pictures |
Why did Stacy feel disappointed at first?
| A．Her mother couldn’t understand her at all. |
| B．Her mother didn’t buy her any Christmas gift. |
| C．She mistook her sister’s Christmas gift for hers. |
| D．She didn’t find her present in her mom’s room. |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．her mother bought Stacy a camera after discovering her disappointment |
| B．her mother knew what gift Stacy wanted for Christmas |
| C．Stacy thought it’s OK to have an old camera |
| D．Stacy finally got her gift on Christmas Eve |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．The family happiness captured by the camera. |
| B．The nice Christmas that Stacy spent. |
| C．The beautiful pictures that Stacy took. |
| D．The true love that Stacy got from her parents. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Christmas gift as wished |
| B．Love is more important than gifts |
| C．A wonderful Christmas |
| D．Love can not be bought |
Michael, a normal American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn’t talk to any other human beings, and he doesn’t see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from communicating with our fellow human beings.
The world of business is one area in which technology is separating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their job at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they’re dealing with. Also, the way employees are paid will change. Workers’ salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.
Another area in which technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means _______.
| A．Michael is a person full of imagination and his dreams can come true |
| B．Michael is not a real person but the life style does exist |
| C．Michael has ambitions but he can’t make his dreams come true |
| D．Michael is full of imagination and his life style is common nowadays |
What does the author discuss in the last paragraph ?
| A．Technology is changing ways of entertainment. |
| B．People will never go to the concert in future. |
| C．How to borrow videotapes at home. |
| D．How to see a movie at home. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．We may no longer need to communicate with other people. |
| B．Modern technology seems to be separating people. |
| C．We may no longer need to work in the office. |
| D．Modern technology makes it possible for us to work at home. |
As is known to all, colors appear in every language to express people’s feeling and thoughts. Then, what is the situation in American English?
Red is a hot color. Americans may say they are red hot about something unfair. They are red hot when they are very angry about something. The small hot-tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hot for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland Jazz.
Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It comes from the fact that many babies are born with nice pink skin that shows that they are in good health.
The color black is often used in expressions. People describe a day on which everything goes wrong as a black day. People or things on a blacklist are connected with things illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.
The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling in his stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.
Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because green is the color of the back side of the paper money.Americans use “red hot” to describe the following EXCEPT _______.
| A．something unfair | B．small hot-tasting peppers |
| C．the person who is very angry | D．popular music like Dixieland Jazz |
When we say someone feels a little green, it means he/she _______.
| A．enjoys himself in boating | B．is hit by a high wave |
| C．has a stomachache | D．likes trees and grass |
In the writer’s eyes, what is related to a black day?
| A．Being sent a beautiful gift. | B．Passing a very difficult test. |
| C．Failing in an important interview. | D．Being invited to an exciting party. |
Can you imagine a stranger will read your e-mails without your permission or scan the website you’ve visited or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phones bills? All of the things may happen to you one day.
In fact, it’s likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen or even do something that may bring a disaster to you.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, and that it’s important to reveal to friends, family and lovers at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain nowadays. The digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to know who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can leak the deepest thought in your mind. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter? For many Americans, the answer apparently is “No”.
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most of them say they are really concerned about losing it. And 60 percent of the respondents say they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me”.
But people say one thing and do another. Only a small of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths(收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that track automobile movements. Privacy economist Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will give up personal information such as telephone number, address, or social security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cent-off coupon(优惠券). But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health; when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it. Without privacy, one will be naked in front of others.What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
| A．Friends should open their hearts to each other. |
| B．Friends should always be faithful to each other. |
| C．There should be a distance even between friends. |
| D．There should be fewer quarrels between friends. |
Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret”?
| A．Modern society has finally developed into an open society. |
| B．People leave traces around when using modern technology. |
| C．There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs. |
| D．Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities. |
What should be the best title for the text?
| A．No Privacy, No Health |
| B．Treasure Your Privacy |
| C．Boundaries are Important between Friends |
| D．The information Age Has Its Own Shortcomings |
It is common for older people to forget things. Now an American study has found that memory starts to fail when we are young adults. People younger than thirty years of age usually do not know that they are starting to forget information. But scientists from the University of Michigan say the loss of memory has usually already started.
Researchers say people do not observe this slow reduction in mental ability until the loss affects their everyday activities.
Denise Park led the new study. She directs the Centre for Aging and Cognition at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Her team studied more than 350 men and women between the ages of twenty and ninety years. The study identified people in their middle twenties with memory problems.
She says young adults do not know they are forgetting things because their brains have more information than they need.
But she says that people in their twenties and thirties are losing memory at the same rate as people in their sixties and seventies.
Ms. Park says people between the ages of sixty and seventy may note the decrease in their mental abilities. They begin to observe that they are having more trouble remembering and learning new information.
The study found that older adults are more likely to remember false information as being true. For example, they remembered false medical claims as being true. Younger people remembered hearing the information. But they were more likely to remember that it was false.
Ms. Park is now using modern imaging equipment to study what happens in the brains of people of different ages. She is studying what parts of the brain older adults use for different activities compared to younger adults. Ms. Park says mental performance is a direct result of brain activity and brain structure. She says keeping the brain active is important. She hopes future studies will identify ways to improve the operation of our aging minds.The passage is meant to _____________.
| A．emphasize the importance of exercising the brain |
| B．analyze the difference between different age groups on the loss of memory |
| C．reveal the decrease in mental ability of young adults as well as older adults |
| D．introduce effective ways to improve memory |
According to the passage, young adults differ from older adults in that ________.
| A．they lose their memory at a slower rate |
| B．they rarely realize they have memory problems |
| C．their brains can store much more information |
| D．all of the above |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
| A．Not until the loss of memory affects their daily activities, do people notice the decrease in their mental abilities. |
| B．People begin to lose memory in their twenties. |
| C．Older people tend to remember false information as being true. |
| D．Younger people find it easier to remember the information that is proven false. |
It can be inferred from what Denis Park says that ______.
| A．mental performance can be improved |
| B．mental ability is determined entirely by brain structure |
| C．people of different ages use different parts of the brain for memorizing |
| D．different parts of the brain are responsible for different mental activities |
Which of the following is a suitable title for the passage?
| A．The Mysterious Brain | B．The Ability to Forget |
| C．Memory Reduction | D．Mental Performance |
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