When you get in your car, you reach for it. When you're at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it.
Cigarette? Cup of coffee? No, it's the third most addictive thing in modem life, the cell phone. And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their longing to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships.
The costs are becoming more and more evident, and I don't mean just the monthly bill. Dr.Chris Knippers, a counselor at the Betty ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on -one personal contact, and an escape from reality. Sounds extreme, but we' ve all witnessed the evidence: The person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him. Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell - phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation. He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with. Despite the growing use of phones, e - mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don't have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says.
If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it's because it has become very widespread. Consider that in 1987, there were only l million cell phones in use. Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them. They far outnumber wired phones in the United States.From the first two paragraphs, we can know ．
| A．cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes |
| B．cell phone addiction is good for building personal relationships |
| C．people are longing to have their own cell phones |
| D．cell phones are the same as cigarettes |
Cell phone addiction has caused the following effects EXCEPT .
| A．a barrier to personal contact | B．fewer friends |
| C．an escape from reality | D．a serious illness |
The underlined word "curb" in Paragraph 2 means “ ．”
| A．ignore | B．control | C．develop | D．rescue |
The example of a woman talking on the phone in the car supports the idea that .
| A．women Use cell phones more often than men |
| B．talking on the phone while driving is dangerous |
| C．cell phones do not necessarily bring people together |
| D．cell phones make one - on - one personal contact easy |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Cell phones Are the New Cigarettes |
| B．Cell phones Are Harmful to the Society |
| C．The New Report about the Cell phone |
| D．The Disadvantages of the Cell phone |
I remember the day during our first week of class when we were informed about our semester（学期） project of volunteering at a non-profit organization．When the teacher introduced us to the different organizations that needed our help，my last choice was Operation Iraqi Children （OIC）．My first impression of the organization was that it was not going to make enough of a difference with the plans I had in mind．
Then，an OIC representative gave us some details，which somewhat interested me．After doing some research， I believed that we could really do something for those kids．When I went online to the OIC website，I saw pictures of the Iraqi children．Their faces were so powerful in sending a message of their despair（绝望） and need that I joined this project without hesitation．We decided to collect as many school supplies as possible，and make them into kits--one kit，one child．
The most rewarding day for our group was project day，when all the efforts we put into collecting the items finally came together．When I saw the various supplies we had collected，it hit me that every kit we were to build that day would eventually be in the hands of an Iraqi child．Over the past four months，I had never imagined how I would feel once our project was completed．While making the kits，I realized that I had lost sight of the true meaning behind it．I had only focused on the fact that it was another school project and one I wanted to get a good grade on．When the kits were completed，and ready to be sent overseas，the warm feeling I had was one I would never forget．
In the beginning，I dared myself to make a difference in the life of another person．Now that our project is over，I realize that I have affected not only one life，but ten．With our efforts，ten young boys and girls will now be able to further their education．
24.How did the author feel about joining the OIC project in the beginning？
| A． |
It would affect his/her initial plans． |
| B． |
It would involve traveling overseas． |
| C． |
It would not bring him/her a good grade． |
| D． |
It would not live up to his/her expectations． |
25. What mainly helped the author change his/her attitude toward the project？
| A． |
Images of Iraqi children． |
B． |
Research by his/her classmates． |
| C． |
A teacher's introduction． |
D． |
A representative's comments． |
26. The author's OIC project group would help ten Iraqi children to__________．.
| A． |
become OIC volunteers |
B． |
further their education |
| C． |
study in foreign countries |
D． |
influence other children |
27. What can we conclude from this passage？
| A． |
One's potential cannot always be underrated． |
| B． |
First impression cannot always be trusted． |
| C． |
Actions speak louder than words． |
| D． |
He who hesitates is lost． |
If you are planning to start a career in the field of education，science，or culture，then an internship（实习） at UNESCO will be ideal for you．
Who can apply ？
You have completed your full-time university studies；or
You are studying in a graduate program for a master's degree．
Applicants in technical assignments must have reached the last year of their studies in a technical institution．
What are the requirements ？
You must be at least 20 years old．
You should have a good command （掌握） of either English or French．
You must have an excellent knowledge of office-related software．
You should be able to work well in a team and adapt to an international working environment．
You should possess strong interpersonal and communication skills．
What do you need to prepare ？
Visa：You should obtain the necessary visas．
Travel：You must arrange and finance your travel to and from the location where you will do your internship．
Medical insurance：You must show proof of a comprehensive health insurance valid（有效的）in the target country for the entire period of the internship．UNESCO will provide limited insurance coverage up to USD30,000 for the internship period．
Medical certificate：You must provide a medical certificate indicating you are fit to work．
Motivation letter：You should have your motivation letter ready before filling out the application form．
Your application will be accessed by UNESCO managers and will stay in our database for six months．We do not respond to every candidate．If selected，you will be contacted by a manager．If you do not receive any update within six months，it means that your application has not been successful．
21. According to this passage，applicants are required to_________．
| A． |
hold a master's degree in science |
| B． |
have international work experience |
| C． |
be fluent in either English or French |
| D． |
present a letter from a technical institution |
22. What will UNESCO provide for the internship period？
| A． |
Limited medical insurance coverage． |
| B． |
Training in communication skills． |
| C． |
A medical certificate for work． |
| D． |
Financial support for travel． |
23. What should applicants do before filling out the application form？
| A． |
Contact UNESCO managers． |
B． |
Get access to the database． |
| C． |
Keep a motivation letter at hand． |
D． |
Work in a team for six months． |
Understand the Economic Concept of a Budget Line
The term "budget line" has several related meanings， including a couple that are self﹣evident and a third that is not．
The Budget Line as an Informal Consumer Understanding
The budget line is an elementary concept that most consumers understand intuitively without a need for graphs and equations it's the household budget， for example．
Taken informally， the budget line describes the boundary of affordability for a given budget and specific goods．
Given a limited amount of money， a consumer can only spend that same amount buying goods． If the consumer has X amount of money and wants to buy two goods A and B， she can only purchase goods totaling X． If the consumer needs an amount of A costing 0.75 X， she can then spend only 0.25 X， the amount remaining， on her purchase of B．
This seems almost too obvious to bother writing or reading about． As it turns out， however， this same concept one that most consumers make many times each day with reflecting on it is the basis of the more formal budget line concept in economics， which is explained below．
Lines in a Budget
Before turning to the economics definition of "budget line"， consider another concept： the line﹣item budget． This is effectively a map of future expenditures， with all the constituent expenditures individually noted and quantified． There's nothing very complicated about this： in this usage， a budget line is one of the lines in the budget， with the service or good to be purchased named and the cost quantified．
The Budget Line as an Economics Concept
One of the interesting ways the study of economics relates to human behavior generally is that a lot of economic theory is the formalization of the kind of simple concept outlined above a consumer's informal understanding of the amount she has to spend and what that amount will buy．
In the process of formalization， the concept can be expressed as a mathematical equation that can be applied generally．
A Simple Budget Line Graph
To understand this， think of a graph where the vertical lines quantify how many movie tickets you can buy and where the horizontal lines do the same for crime novels． You like going to the movies and reading crime novels and you have ＄150 to spend． In the example below， assume that each movie costs ＄10 and each crime novel costs ＄15． The more formal economics term for these two items is budget set．
If movies cost ＄10 each， then the maximum number of movies you can see with the money available is 15． To note this you make a dot at the number 15 （for total movie tickets） at the extreme left﹣hand side of the chart． This same dot appears at the extreme left above "0" on the horizontal axis because you have no money left for books the number of books available in this example is 0．
You can also graph the other extreme all crime novels and no movies． Since crime novels in the example cost ＄15 and you have ＄150 available， if you spend all the available money crime novels， you can buy 10． So you put a dot on the horizontal axis at the number 10．
You'll place the dot at the bottom of the vertical axis because in this instance you have ＄0 available for movie tickets．
If you now draw a line from the highest， leftmost dot to the lowest， rightmost dot you'll have created a budget line． Any combination of movies and crime novels that falls below the budget line is affordable． Any combination above it is not．
（1）Which sentence about the budget line is NOT TRUE？
| A． |
It is a limitation of affordability for a given budget and specific goods． |
| B． |
Most costumers will be confused with this concept because of its complex． |
| C． |
It is the effectively a map of future expenditures． |
| D． |
It can be expressed as a mathematical equation． |
（2）What is the purpose of the passage？
| A． |
To tell us any concept can be expressed as a mathematical equation． |
| B． |
To help us figure out the meaning Budget Line． |
| C． |
To tell us we should budget before we buy goods． |
| D． |
To give an instruction of drawing a budget Line． |
（3）Assume that each movie costs ＄10 and each crime novel costs ＄15， you have ＄150． Which is RIGHT according to this passage？
| A． |
The maximum number of movies you can see is 10． |
| B． |
The maximum number of crime novels you can buy is 15． |
| C． |
You can buy 7 crime novels and see 5 movies． |
| D． |
You can buy 7 crime novels and see 4 movies． |
（4）What is the best title of this passage？
| A． |
Do we really know the economic concept of a budget line？ |
| B． |
The Budget Line as an Economics Concept |
| C． |
The Budget Line as an Informal Consumer Understanding |
| D． |
The Complex Concept Budget Line |
Moving a Giant
The logistics of excavating （挖掘） and relocating a town's century﹣old， living sequoia （红杉） tree． Inhabitants of Boise， Idaho， watched with trepidation earlier this year as the city's oldest， tallest resident moved two blocks． The 105﹣year﹣old sequoia tree serves as a local landmark， not only for its longevity but also because renowned naturalist and Sierra Club cofounder John Muir provided the original seedling． So， when Saint Luke's Health System found that the 10﹣story﹣tall conifer （针叶树） stood in the way ofits planned hospital expansion， officials called tree﹣moving firm Environmental Design．
The Texas﹣based company has developed and patented scooping and lifting technology to move missive trees． Weighing in at more than 800，000 pounds， the Boise sequoia is its largest undertaking yet． "I（had） lost enough sleep over this，" says David Cox， the company's Western region vice president and that was before the hospital mentioned the tree's distinguished origin． Before the heavy lifting began， the team assessed the root system and dug a five﹣foot﹣deep cylinder， measuring 40 feet in diameter， around the trunk to protect all essential roots． After encapsulating the root ball in wire mesh， the movers allowed the tree to adapt to its new situation for seven months before relocating it． The illustration details what followed．﹣﹣Leslie Nemo
1． Mark A． Merit and his team at Environmental Design installed underneath the root ball a platform of seven﹣inch﹣diameter， 44﹣foot﹣long steelbars and， just below the rods， a first set of uninflated airbags （shown in gray）． The team also dug a shallow ramp．
2． In roughly 15 minutes， the movers inflated the airbags to about three feet in diameter to raise the root ball to the surface of the hole．
3． By underinflating the front bags， the team allowed the platform carrying the tree to roll up the ramp and out of the hole while staying level． A trailer hauled the tree along as team members removed the airbags from the back of the platform and replaced them in the front． They repeated the process until the tree arrived at the edge of its new home．
4． There a second set of partially inflated bags （shown in white） waited inside the hole． Soil surrounding the sequoia in its original location was relocated as well， because trees are more likely to survive a transplant when they move with their original soil．
5． Using the first set of airbags， the movers rolled the platform into the new hole．
6． The bags waiting there were then inflated further to take the weight of the sequoia while the transportation bags were deflated and removed from under the tree．
7． The white bags were then deflated in about half an hour to lower the sequoia's root ball to the bottom of its hole． The bags were removed， but the metal bars were left with the tree because they rust and degrade over a number of years．
8． For the next five years the local park service will monitor and maintain the tree in its new home．
（1）Which of the following words can be used to replace the words underlined "stood in the way of"？
| A． |
Resisted． |
| B． |
Balanced． |
| C． |
Blocked． |
| D． |
Promoted． |
（2）What is the reason for the relocation of Sequoia trees？
| A． |
Because the Scooping and lifting technology should be put into use． |
| B． |
Because it blocks local hospital expansion plans． |
| C． |
Because it corresponds to government's plan of Environmental Design． |
| D． |
Because sequoia trees are over a hundred years old． |
（3）How will the migrated sequoia trees be dealt with？
| A． |
They will be given new soil in the new living environment． |
| B． |
Metal rods used to move sequoia trees will not be left on the trees． |
| C． |
They will be kept in transport bags all the time． |
| D． |
They will be managed by specialists in the next five years． |
Bitcoin and other so﹣called cryptocurrenciest （加密货币） have been all over the news lately． Apparently， the idea of money that's not tied to a specific bank or a specific country is appealing to many． But it's worth remembering that the banking system that we now all live with is just that： A modern invention． Not so long ago， money was almost always created and used locally， and bartering was common． （In fact， it still is common among many online local networks， like the Buy Nothing Project．）．
In the past， money's makeup varied from place to place， depending on what was considered valuable there． So while some of the world's first coins were made from a naturally occurring hybrid of gold and silver called electrum （金银矿）， objects other than coins have served as currency， including beads， ivory， livestock， and cowrie shells． In West Africa， bracelets of bronze or copper were used as cash， especially if the transaction was associated with the slave trade there． Throughout the colonial period， tobacco was used to replace coins or paper bills in Virginia， Maryland and North Carolina， even though it was used elsewhere in the colonies and extensively throughout Europe and the U． K．
Today， on an island in the Pacific， a specific type of shell still serves as currency and some people there are even hoarding （储存） it， just like Bitcoin moguls， convinced that one day， it will make them wealthy beyond imagination． On Malaita， the most﹣populated island that's part of the Solomon Islands， shells are accepted at most places in exchange for goods．
"How much tuna （金枪鱼） you can get for your shells depends on their color and shape，" Mary Bruno， a shop owner from the small town of Auki， on Malaita， told Vice． "One strip of darker shells might get you about two cans of smaller tuna， but the red ones are worth more． For the red ones， one strip might get enough tuna to feed a big family for a long time．"
Just like a mintthat creates coins， there's only one place on the island where the shells， which are polished and strung together to form 3﹣foot﹣long ropes， are made． The strips of red， white， and black shells all come from Langa Langa Lagoon， where artificial islands were long﹣ago built by locals to escape from the island﹣dwelling cannibals． Once marooned （困住） out on their islands， locals needed a currency to use among themselves， and so the shell currency was born．
Using shells for money was common throughout the Pacific islands as late as the early 1900s， but Malaita is unique in that they are still used today． And just like cryptocurencies， there are those who think the islanders are smart to invest in this type of money， which is reported to have risen in value over the last three decades． It might seem strange to hoard a bunch of processed， strung﹣together shells， but what is a pile of dollars？ Just a specially printed piece of paper and hemp that we've assigned value to and probably less durable over time than those shells．
（1）According to the passage， which of the following is TRUE？
| A． |
Money was created and was widely used in the world． |
| B． |
Tobacco was used as coins or paper bills in American in the past． |
| C． |
The ingredients of world's first coins may be the combination of gold and silver． |
| D． |
Using shells for money has been out of date in the world． |
（2）The word "mint" in paragraph 5 is closest in the meaning to " "．
| A． |
a kind of money that can exchange |
| B． |
the leaves of a mint plant used fresh or candied |
| C． |
a place to produce and polish shells |
| D． |
a factory that produces currency |
（3）What's opinion of the author towards shells for money？
| A． |
Reasonable． |
| B． |
Imaginary． |
| C． |
Convenient． |
| D． |
Inventive |
（4）Which of the following might be the best title of the passage？
| A． |
The History of Biteoin |
| B． |
Shells Still Money |
| C． |
The Currency Is of Great Use |
| D． |
Some Shells |
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