The National Geographic Channel has unearthed a time capsule (时光宝盒) buried by late Apple chairman and co-founder Steve Jobs thirty years ago.
The time capsule was buried in Aspen .Colorado .in 1983, shortly after Jobs attended the International Design Conference being held in that city. Organizers called the device the Aspen Time Tube and contributed items like Rubik's cubes(魔方) and some iconic music. Jobs added his own items to the capsule ,including the " Lisa" ( also known as an "Apple" )"mouse he used for his presentation at the conference. '
Younger readers may not recognize the name but the Lisa Apple mouse was one of the first commercial mice released to consumers. The mouse was specially designed for the Apple Lisa computer. It's also the first personal computer to offer users a graphical user interface(图形用户界面)
Initially ,the plan was to dig up the time capsule in the year2000,but organizers forgot its exact location. Recently .they brought in researchers working with the National Geographic Channel show Diggers to find the device. Eventually they came across the 13-foot-long.1. 5-foot-diameter tube. inside they found a lot of 1980s artifacts(人工制品）that are still being catalogued.
“When the end came off .literally things just poured out .”noted Diggers host Tim Saylor "There must be literally thousands of things in there.”
“They had the foresight to put a bunch of stuff in plastic bags." Saylor said .“I could see at least a dozen plastic bags and other items. But I know for sure there got to be photographs in there. People had hand-written things on the back of the photographs ,so there will be some really interesting things inside.”
Among the artifacts researchers expect to discover inside :a Steve Jobs speech in which the Apple visionary outlines his predictions for future technologies. We should know more about the researchers ,discoveries once the Diggers program airs this fall.Which of the following is true about the Lisa mouse?
| A．The mouse was the first commercial one for consumers |
| B．The mouse was created only for the Apple Lisa computer |
| C．The mouse was buried in Aspen ,Colotado for two decades. |
| D．The mouse was invented after the International Design Conference |
Why wasn't the time capsule dug up in 2000?
| A．Because it was not the time set by Steve Jobs. |
| B．Because it could not be accurately located. |
| C．Because organizers forgot its precise shape . |
| D．Because the local government didn't approve. |
From the passage we can infer that_______.
| A．there were some special photographs found-inside the time capsule |
| B．a Steve Jobs speech with future predictions was found inside the cap |
| C．Steve Jobs predictions for future technologies have come true |
| D．more about the capsule will be discovered in the Diggers program |
The best title for the passage might be _______.
| A．The "Lost" Steve Jobs Time Capsule |
| B．The Mystery of Steve Jobs Speech Solved |
| C．Steve Jobs' 1983 Time Capsule Recovered |
| D．Co-founder & Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs |
Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young .They build their homes about 4.6m above the river ,an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appearance，the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside .The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip .Using these four claws ,together with the beak(喙),they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons. |
| B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins. |
| C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon. |
| D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins. |
Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that ．
| A．they look like young cuckoos |
| B．they have claws on the wings |
| C．they eat a lot like a cow |
| D．they live on river banks |
What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
| A．They had claws to help them climb. |
| B．They could fly long distances. |
| C．They had four wings like hoatzins. |
| D．They had a head with long feathers on the top. |
Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
| A．To find more food. |
| B．To protect themselves better. |
| C．To keep themselves warm. |
| D．To produce their young. |
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism. Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around. ‘It’s iniquitous,’ they say, ‘that this entirely unproductive industry (if we can call it that) should absorb millions of pounds each year. It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making. Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays…’
The poor old consumer! He’d have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn’t create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods derives largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway byelaws while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a newspaper full of the daily ration of calamities.
We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not subsist without this source of revenue. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!
Another thing we mustn’t forget is the ‘small ads.’ which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine. What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the ‘hatch, match and dispatch’ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or ‘agony’ column. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is!What is main idea of this passage?
| A．Advertisement. |
| B．The benefits of advertisement. |
| C．Advertisers perform a useful service to communities. |
| D．The costs of advertisement. |
The attitude of the author toward advertisers is
| A．appreciative. |
| B．trustworthy. |
| C．critical. |
| D．dissatisfactory. |
Why do the critics criticize advertisers?
| A．Because advertisers often brag. |
| B．Because critics think advertisement is a “waste of money”. |
| C．Because customers are encouraged to buy more than necessary. |
| D．Because customers pay more. |
Which of the following is Not True?
| A．Advertisement makes contribution to our pockets and we may know everything. |
| B．We can buy what we want. |
| C．Good quality products don’t need to be advertised. |
| D．Advertisement makes our life colorful. |
The passage is
| A．Narration. |
| B．Description. |
| C．Criticism. |
| D．Argumentation. |
Vocabulary
come in for ( sth. ) 是某事物的对象，吸引（某事物），获得
flair 天资，天分
iniquitous 极邪恶的，极不公正的
drab 单调的，乏味的
subsist 活下去，生存下去，维持下去
hatch 孵化（指生孩子）
match 匹配，婚姻
dispatch 派遣，发送
agony 极大痛苦，煎熬
agony column （报刊中关于个人疑难问题征询意见的）读者来信专栏
难句译注
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism.
【参考译文】广告商总是雄心勃勃（想得很大），也许这就是为什么他们老挨批评。
Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair for self-promotion.
【参考译文】他们的批评者似乎对他们很气愤，因为他们在自我抬高/标榜上很有天分。
No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offer such deep insight into human nature.
【参考译文】报纸任何其他栏目都难以提供如此有趣的文章，或提供对人性的内涵如此深刻的洞察。
It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is.
【参考译文】这是广告中最佳的广告。
写作方法与文章大意
文章以因果、对比的手法写出有没有广告的后果及广告的真正作用。文章首先指出广告商遭批评的原因：广告商夸大和人们认为广告浪费钱财、商品价格就搞；然后作者以有无广告的后果突出其功能，没有广告，商品价更高，生活单调、乏味。有了广告，商品价低，生活丰富多彩，人们获取各种信息。
Businesses are witnessing a difficult time, which has in turn produced influence on consumers’ desire to go green. However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.
Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.
This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves. And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not good enough.
Harry Morrison, chief executive（主管）of the Carbon Trust, sympathizes：“I understand this situation where survival is very important now. But from environmental considerations, the clock is ticking—we don’t have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand.”
Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint, as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions（排放）. Those that have taken early action will have a head start. More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible. This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.
The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing. “When companies are granted（授予）the standard, they can use a logo（标识）in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions,” Mr. Morrison said. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Businesses are finding ways to send their message to the shoppers. |
| B．Companies will soon get information about cutting carbon emissions. |
| C．Firms are making efforts to encourage customers to keep goods at home. |
| D．Firms are urged to cut carbon emissions by shoppers’ environmental awareness. |
The underlined word “inform” in Paragraph 2 probably means“ ”.
| A．affect | B．change | C．disturb | D．reject |
According to Harry Morrison, businesses .
| A．will benefit from cutting carbon emissions |
| B．should buy carbon allowances for shoppers |
| C．are required to make up for their carbon emissions |
| D．have encouraged shoppers to take their custom elsewhere |
We can learn from the passage that businesses will .
| A．have a strong desire to reduce costs |
| B．use the same logo in their marketing |
| C．gain advantages by taking early action |
| D．attract more shoppers by storing goods |
A job is more than a job，especially to the old. “It’s not the money that matters，but the sense of self-worth．”56-year-old Cbeng Wonlan said. So，every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels，letters and documents and does her rounds in North Point. She’s a courier(快递员)
Five years ago．Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic. She had worked there for 30 years but was Jobless when the doctor migrated. It was difficult for her to find another job as a nurse. “People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am，”she said. After two years of searching, she eventually found another nursing job. But then after two years，she quit Why?
‘My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age. They often asked me ‘You are so old what are you working for? I was very unhappy” She said. So while the rest of her family left for work，she was left to lonely boredom at home .Then her neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board(ERB)offering retraining courses for older people. These courses are specifically designed to encourage the older people back to work.
“I was interested in courier work. I didn’t think my age was a barrier because I was fit.” She said .Upon graduating，Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company. But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict：she was caught between honour and employment“I felt embarrassed about carrying and delivering letters and parcels.” she said. It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind：there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job. So she went off to work as a courier．
Ms Cheng’s employer is delighted with her responsible attitude and said．“I hired older people because they were able and reliable .Age is not an important factor but attitude is Many old people will not run from difficulties but the young ones will”Why was it difficult for Ms Cheng to find another nursing Job?
| A．Nursing clinics were hard to find |
| B．She found it difficult to trust others |
| C．People thought she was too old to work |
| D．People didn’t think she had enough work experience |
Ms Cheng left her second nursing job because___________.
| A．she was bored with change less jobs |
| B．it was too difficult |
| C．she was too old to do the job |
| D．the other staff made her feel uncomfortable |
Employee Retraining Board is a plan for___________.
| A．finding jobs for older people |
| B．teaching new skills to older people |
| C．training older people to be healthier |
| D．providing older people with chances to earn money |
According to Anthony Chong，young people___________.
| A．are more likely to give up than the older ones |
| B．are less experienced than the older ores |
| C．are filler and stronger than the older ones |
| D．are able and reliable |
From the text, we call infer that__________.
| A．the life of the old is miserable |
| B．there is a generation gap between young and old |
| C．job—hunting is hard for old people |
| D．the old are looked down upon in society |
How to deal successfully with a child showing outstanding musical ability? It’s not always clear how best to develop and encourage his gift. Many parents may even fail to recognize and respond to their children′s need until discouragement explodes into uncooperative(不合作的)behavior. And while most schools are equipped to deal with children who are especially able in academic subjects，the musically gifted require special understanding which may not always be available in an ordinary school. Such children may well benefit from the education offered by a specialist music school.
The five music schools in Britain aim to provide all environment where gifted children can develop their skills under the guidance of professional musicians. Children here spend about half of a day on musical activities，for example，individual lessons，orchestras，chamber(室内音乐的)groups，voice training，conducting and theory. They also spend several hours a day practicing in private rooms .The rest of their time is taken up with the subjects：English，maths and basic sciences.
What are the disadvantages? An obvious problem is that the fees are high .However, each school will often scholarships and other forms of financial aid. Secondly, not all parents want to send their children to boarding school, especially at an early age .Almost all the directors of the specialist schools express doubts about the wisdom of admitting children as young as seven into such a tense and disciplined（守纪律的)environment. They stress，however, that their main aim is to turn out “well-rounded and well—balanced individual.”If a child’s musical ability is not recognized___________.
| A．the child may behave badly |
| B．the ability may fade away |
| C．the child may lose interest |
| D．the parents may become anxious |
What probably may musically gifted children face in ordinary schools?
| A．Their academic work may suffer． |
| B．Schools lack musical equipment |
| C．Music is not seen as an important subject |
| D．Parents and teachers don’t work together． |
What makes specialist music schools different from other schools?
| A．Their working day is longer． |
| B．A range of musical training is offered |
| C．More than half the day is spent on music |
| D．The children have mostly one-to-one lessons |
According to school directors，what is a possible disadvantage for pupils?
| A．Poor children may not be included |
| B．They may lose their individuality |
| C．There may be a discipline problem |
| D．They may be too small on arrival |
The passage mainly talks about__________.
| A．education and development about children |
| B．disadvantages of music schools |
| C．music schools for children with music gift |
| D．how to deal with music talented children |
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