An American research company shows that $248.7 billion online sales are expected by 2014. It seems as if we can’t get enough of spending money through countless online clicks today. Following are some of the incredible things that you can buy online!
1) Parents
51-year-old Michael Amatrudo from Connecticut put a posting on Craig list in 2009 to sell his elderly parents, asking for $155 in return.
2) Chewing Gum
Bidding for Britney Spears’ chewing gum reached $14,000 in 2004. The pop star’s half-eaten sandwich also went for over $500.
3) Kidney Stone
Star Trek actor William Shatner sold his kidney stone for $20,000 when he put it up for sale online to see how much a piece of him was worth. He ended up giving the money to charity.
4) An Imaginary Friend
This imaginary guy went (or might still be going) by the name of Jon Malipieman and was sold on eBay for $3,000 by a man who claimed:
“My imaginary friend Jon Malipieman is getting too old for me now. I am now 27 and I feel I am growing out of him. He is very friendly. Along with him, I will send you what he likes and dislikes, his favorite things to do and his personal self portrait.”
5) Souls
The website demonical.com is probably the creepiest site I have ever visited. You can sell your own soul or buy the souls of people such as Fidel Castro and Woody Allen (both selling for $950). Bill Gate, whoever that is, has his soul for sale at $1,300 while Michael Jacobsen’s soul is being sold for $3000.
6) A Rock That Looks Like Meat
The screen shot from eBay tells us that people are bidding over $1 million for this “naturally formed bbq pork rock”. Absolute madness.What is the author’s purpose for writing the passage?
| A．To introduce some unbelievable things online. |
| B．To call on customers to resist the products. |
| C．To attract readers to visit the related websites. |
| D．To encourage readers to buy the things online. |
Which is probably sold at the highest price according to the passage?
| A．Chewing Gum. | B．Kidney Stone. |
| C．An Imaginary Friend. | D．A Rock That Looks Like Meat. |
According to the text, _____ is most likely to have starred in a film.
| A．Britney Spears | B．William Shatner |
| C．Jon Malipieman | D．Fidel Castro |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Michael Amatrudo charged a high price for selling his elderly parents. |
| B．William Shatner sold the kidney stone so as to donate the money to charity. |
| C．Jon Malipieman was sold because he was not wanted any longer. |
| D．The soul of Michael Jacobsen is worth more than that of Woody Allen. |
Good health is the most valuable thing a person can have, but one cannot take good health for granted. It is important to remember that the body needs proper care in order to be healthy. There are three things that a person can do to help stay in good shape: eat right food ,get enough sleep, and exercise regularly.
Proper nutrition (营养) is important for good health. Your body cannot work well unless it receives the proper kind of “fuel”(燃料).Don't eat too much food with lots of sugar and fat. Eat plenty of foods high in protein (蛋白质) ,like meat, fish, eggs and nuts. Vegetables and fruits are very important because they provide necessary vitamins (维他命) and minerals. However, don't overeat. It is not helpful to be overweight.
Getting the proper amount of sleep is also important. If you don't get enough sleep, you feel tired and easily get angry. You have no energy. Over a long period of time a little a amount of sleep may even result in a change of personality (人的个性).Be sure to allow yourself from seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you do, your body will feel strong and refreshed, and your mind will be sharp.
Finally, get plenty of exercise. Exercise firms the body, strengthens the muscles, and prevents you from gaining weight. It also improves your heart and lungs. If you follow a regular exercise program, you will probably increase your life-span (寿命).Any kind of exercise is good. Most sports are excellent for keeping the body in good shapes: basketball, swimming, bicycling, running and so on are good examples. Sports are not only good for your body, but they are enjoyable and interesting, too.
If everybody, were to eat the right foods, get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly, the world would be a happier and healthier place. We would all live to be much older and wiser.In order to keep good health, ___________ .
| A．we should eat a lot of sweets |
| B．one needs a large amount of fat |
| C．people should eat according to the foods nutrition |
| D．we must try to sleep now and then |
. Eating more and sleeping less________.
| A．can keep healthy | B．is no good for you |
| C．gets you more energy | D．will keep your personality |
.The title of the article should be___________ .
| A．Eating and Exercising | B．How Vitamins Work in Man's Body |
| C．Staying Healthy | D．Sleeping Well |
One day a student went to see his teacher. He had been given an important position and now was coming to say goodbye to his teacher. The old man asked him how he would live among high officials. The student answered, “ I will be all right. I have prepared a hundred high hats, one for each official I will meet. I am sure I will succeed.” The teacher got angry on hearing this. “What?” he cried. “Is this what ten years of my teaching has made of you? Nothing but flatterer(拍马屁的人)?” “Excuse me, honored(尊敬的) master,” the student rose to his feet and apologized hurriedly. “But you have always been absorbed in your studies and don’t know how vulgar(庸俗的) the world has come to be. There are few men in the world who are above flatterers like you.” “There is something true in what you said,” the teacher nodded, smiling with one of the student’s “high hats” on.. The student came to say goodbye to his teacher because_____________.
| A．he had got hundred hats to sell |
| B．he had got a fairly high position in society |
| C．he wanted to see his parents in his home town |
| D．he moved away to another city |
. The student would live among high officials by___________.
| A．selling hats to them | B．making a hundred hats for them |
| C．flattering them | D．serving them |
. The phrase “rose to his feet” means________.
| A．stood up | B．kicked with his feet |
| C．became quite excited | D．raised his feet |
. The teacher____________.
| A．liked to be flattered as well |
| B．really knew nothing about the vulgar world |
| C．was in need of a high hat |
| D．was satisfied with the new hat |
I’m a real book lover. Every time my friends visit me, my nose is buried in a book. Wherever I go, I always have a book with me. Novels, history books, stories about people, journals and news—I read them all and I’ve learnt a lot, too. For example, many things in life happen for the best even if we don’t like or understand them.
Why is reading such an enjoyable pastime for me? I probably first learned about it from my parents. My mother read to me at night in my childhood and bought me picture books. The greatest gift she has given me is a love for reading. And it will be a life-long habit.
No one ever asked me why I liked to read. They just saw me and asked, “Oh? Is that for school work?” And I just shook my head, “No. It’s just for fun.” While reading a good book, I can totally forget myself and fly to another world. It’s like exploring through someone’s eyes, which is just as exciting as watching a movie.
Reading is also necessary in order to learn about writing, to improve my use of words and phrases and broaden my knowledge. What a pity to see our imagination disappear, for we don’t exercise it often. Reading can even be good for one’s health, I think. Everyone should read sad stories that make us cry and also books with humor that make us laugh out loud!. Among the gifts my parents have given me, which is the most valuable one?
| A．A love for reading. | B．Picture books. |
| C．Good health. | D．A lovable pastime. |
. In the fourth paragraph, the author thinks reading can ____.
| A．make his parents happy |
| B．finish his school work |
| C．improve writing and broaden knowledge |
| D．help him understand some movies |
. If we don’t use our imagination often, ____.
| A．it is bad for our health | B．we will soon learn how to write |
| C．it will help us to have a good rest | D．it will soon disappear |
. What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Why do I have few friends? | B．What are my life habits? |
| C．Why do I love reading? | D．Why do things happen for the best? |
Cities need to put efforts to deal with pollution and clear the air.
Chinese cities will need to put efforts to clear up the sky when a new department to improve regional air quality is set up by 2015, according to the latest plan released by the State Council.
Besides the existing pollution control program for SO2, regional emission caps (区域排放上限) for other certain chemicals will be established in the three key air polluting areas— the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Coal-consumption caps will also be tried out in some areas, according to the plan.
“The plan is aimed at dealing with regional air pollution—such as acid rain and smog—which have become increasingly obvious in China in recent years and caused a severe threat to people’s health,” Zhang Lijun, vice-minister of environmental protection, said in an interview on Monday.
“The air quality in a city affects the regions nearby because pollutants (污染物) Can travel through the atmosphere,” said Chai Fahe, vice-director of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
“So efforts to reduce air pollution in a single city, targeting a certain pollutant will not be enough,” Chai said.
Zhang said, “The country’s major industrial districts—the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—have recorded more than 100 misty days annually in recent years.”
These three regions, home to at least 200 million people, occupy only 6. 3 percent of the country’s area but consume 40 percent of the country’s coal and produce half of its steel, according to official figures.
Studies also show that the visibility (能见度) in eastern regions of China has dropped by 7 to 15 km compared to that in the early 1960s, as a result of air pollution.
Liaoning province, the Shandong Peninsula, Wuhan in Hubei province and its surrounding area, the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region in Hunan province, the Chengdu-Chongqing region, and the western coast of the Taiwan Straits are also listed as areas to carry out such regional air pollution control programs, according to the plan.
The new plan also requires an improved air quality system, which will measure the pollution levels. “The current system, which only measures some major pollutants, cannot reflect the true picture.” said Chai. It will not be enough to reduce air pollution in a single city because .
| A．air pollution has been becoming more and more serious in recent years |
| B．air pollution like acid rain and smog is threatening people’s health |
| C．air pollutants in a city can travel in the sky and affect nearby areas |
| D．air pollutants stay in fixed places over the cities |
. Suppose the visibility in eastern regions of China was 130 km in the early 1960s, the visibility there nowadays is .
| A．123 to 115 km | B．137 to 145 km |
| C．123 to 145 km | D．115 to 137 km |
. The main purpose of the passage is .
| A．to inform readers of the damage caused by air pollution |
| B．to introduce the new plan to control air pollution |
| C．to provide official figures of air pollution levels |
| D．to point out the regions affected by air pollution |
. What does the underlined phrase“the true picture”in the last paragraph mean?
| A．The major pollutants. |
| B．The key polluted areas. |
| C．The major polluted cities. |
| D．The pollution levels. |
The Amazing Kids! PenPals Program is a literacy-based (基于读写能力的), traditional letter-writing pen pal program, available to all children aged 5-17 worldwide.
At $10 per child, our program is a low-cost and fun way to help your children practice their literacy skills while they are making new friends. Groups of 15 or more receive a 50% discount.
Children love our program because:
●It helps them develop new (and possibly life-long)friendships.
●It allows them to practice the traditional form of letter writing and correspondence.
●They love getting letters in the mail from their pen pals!
Parents love our program because:
●It offers one of the few remaining choices for finding an established, safe and trusted traditional pen pal program to their children.
●It helps strengthen communication and literacy skills taught in their children’s classroom.
●It helps open their children’s eyes to a larger world, and other cultures and traditions outside their own.
●Many parents remember having a pen pal when they were children and want to give their children the same positive, fun learning experience.
●Parents love helping their children find new friends of their own age and gender.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there a fee?
We are a small, all-volunteer non-profit organization, and the fees help cover our cost of running the program.
How did the Amazing Kids! PenPals Program begin?
The program began as a way of reaching out to the children affected by the devastating (毁灭性的) hurricanes of 2005. Our hope was that by matching young hurricane survivors with a new pen pal, we could help them in their recovery from the trauma (创伤) they experienced.
The program is now available to all children worldwide. We continue to welcome teachers, youth groups or agencies who like to work with hurricane survivors.
How does it work?
Amazing Kids! will match students of the same gender and age with other students who may share similar interests and hobbies, based on the information provided on the registration form.
I’ve completed all forms and made my payment. What happens next?
Someone from Amazing Kids! will contact you once a match has been found. You will be asked to call the other parent, teacher or group leader of the pen pal Amazing Kids! has selected. If both adults agree that the pen pal match is a good one, then the students may begin writing to each other. If the match is determined not to be a good one, Amazing Kids! will try and find an alternative match..If a group of twenty children want to join the program, they should pay _____altogether.
| A．$50 | B．$100 | C．$150 | D．$200 |
.Parents may agree the program helps children_________.
| A．travel around the world | B．communicate well with others |
| C．Meet many famous people | D．get good marks in exams |
In the beginning the Amazing Kids! PenPals Program was set up for the kids who ______.
| A．suffered from the hurricanes |
| B．were willing to make pen pals |
| C．were good at writing letters |
| D．wanted to help hurricane survivors |
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