In today’s world of cellphones，mini laptops and MP3 players, most people have at least one time-telling tool with them. Since these devices are so common，is time running out for the 500yearold watch？According to some consumers，yes. New Jersey teenager Charlie Wollman says a watch is “an extra piece of equipment with no necessary function”．Many young adults agree—and use their cellphones to tell time. Louis Galie, a senior vice president at Timex，said that fewer young people wear watches today than five years ago. As a result, some people claim that the watch industry is at a crossroads.
However, watchmakers optimistically say that watches regain popularity when consumers reach their 20s and 30s.By then，they are willing to spend money on a quality timepiece that doesn’t just keep good time. Fifty years ago，watchmakers boasted about their products’ accuracy. But in recent years, the watch industry has transformed itself into an accessory business. And for many today, the image a watch communicates has become more important than the time it tells.
“Complications”—features that go beyond simple timekeeping—are an important part of a watch’s image. Today’s watches offer a lot of features that suit almost any personality. These features include altitude trackers, compasses，lunar calendars, USB drives, and even devices that measure the effectiveness of golf swings!
Creativity is also a key element in today’s watches. For example，Japanese watchmaker Tokyoflash makes watches that don’t even look like watches. The company’s popular Shinshoku model uses different color lights to tell time. It looks more like a futuristic(未来主义的)bracelet than a watch. Another Japanese watchmaker, EleeNo, makes a “handless” watch. Using a ring of circles to keep time, this watch makes an excellent conversation piece.
Whether a watch communicates fashion sense, creative talent or a love of sports, consumers want their timepieces to stand out. Nowadays，everyone has the same kind of gadget (小玩意儿)in their bags，so people want to make a statement with what’s on their wrists. Will this interesting wrist fashion last？Only time will tell!
Why aren’t watches popular with young people as before?
| A．Because watches cannot keep good time as cellphones, mini laptops and MP3 players. |
| B．Because watches are featured by the disadvantages of simple function. |
| C．Because watches are too expensive to afford. |
| D．Because watches don’t have beautiful appearance as other modern timetelling tools. |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．Watchmaking is facing a survival crisis challenge. |
| B．Watchmaking is faced with the developing opportunity. |
| C．Watchmaking becomes the sunrise industry. |
| D．Watchmaking has a specific development target. |
It can be implied that ________.
| A．people will gradually lose interest in watches as they grow older |
| B．watchmakers scarcely change the development strategy for watches |
| C．today’s watches are better than those in the past in quality |
| D．customers used to be more concerned with the quality of a watch than with its image |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Watches and Teenagers | B．The History of Watches |
| C．The Accuracy of Watches | D．Watches Tell More than Time |
E
As a society we might want to rethink the time and money spent on education，so that these resources can benefit a greater percentage of the population．Ideally，both high schools and colleges can prepare individuals for the ever-changing roles．
High school degrees offer far less in the way of preparation for work than they might，or than many other nations currently offer，creating a growing skills gap in our economy．We encourage students to go on to college whether they are prepared or not，or have a clear sense of purpose or interest，and now have the highest college dropout rate in the world．
We might look to other countries for models of how high schools can offer better training，as well as the development of a work ethic(美德)and the intellectual skills needed for continued learning and development．
Meanwhile，the liberal arts(人文学科)become more important than ever．In a knowledge economy where professional roles change rapidly and many college students are preparing for positions that may not even exist yet，the skillneeded is one that prepares them for change and continued learning．
Learning to express ideas well in both writing and speech，knowing how to find information，and knowing how to do research are all solid background skills for a wide variety of roles，and such training is more important than any particular major in a liberal arts college．We need to continue to value broad preparation in thinking skills that will serve for a lifetime．
Students also need to learn to work independently and to make responsible decisions．The lengthening path to adulthood appears exacerbated(恶化)by parental involvement in the college years．Given the rising investment in college education，parental concern is not surprising，but learning where and when to intervene willhelp students take more ownership of the outcomes of these increasingly costly educations．
What kind of education does the author think is ideal?
| A．It benefits the great majority of the general population． |
| B．It prepares students to meet the future needs of society． |
| C．It encourages students to learn throughout their lives． |
| D．It ensures that students’expectations are successfully fulfilled． |
What is the feature of a knowledge economy?
| A．People have to receive higher education to qualify for a professional position． |
| B．Students majoring in liberal arts usually have difficulty seeking a job． |
| C．New positions are constantly created that require people to keep learning． |
| D．Colleges find it hard to teach students how to cope with the changing economy． |
According to the author，a liberal arts college should focus on ?
| A．solid background knowledge in a particular field |
| B．practical skills urgently needed in current society |
| C．basic skills needed for change and lifelong learning |
| D．useful thinking skills for advanced academic research |
What suggestion does the author offer to parents?
| A．Rethinking the value of higher education． |
| B．Investing wisely in their children’s education． |
| C．Helping their children to bring their talent into full play． |
| D．Avoiding too much intervention in their children’s education． |
D
Why are people interested in eating raw foods or whole foods? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body． Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked and refined foods．
When we cook foods，we destroy the natural enzymes(酶)that are part of the food in its raw form．These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food．When we consume food without these natural enzymes，our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow too many nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream．In both instances，the result is obesity．When too many nutrients are absorbed at once，the body grows fat．
Processed foods contain chemical elements，which might confuse the appetite mechanism that tells us when we’ve had enough to eat；as a result，people often overeat．Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle．The body will either identify these foods as allergens(过敏原)and then store them safely away from the organs as fat，or the remains of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste，which will stick to the blood vessel walls and block the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients heading for the body's cells．The body's metabolism(新陈代谢)becomes inactive，and the result is weight gain and obesity．
To stop thisviciouscircle in its tracks，people need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize the acid already accumulated in body．Eating the right types of raw and whole foods can help．It’s also important to restore your enzyme balance．You need to identify and avoid the foods that cause acid accumulation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production．If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself，you need to take an active approach．
It can be inferred from Para．2 that ．
| A．foods with natural enzymes help people keep fit |
| B．we’d better be cautious about raw and whole foods |
| C．it is essential for people to protect their vital organs |
| D．giving up cooked and refined foods is a new lifestyle |
Processed foods are unhealthy because they ．
| A．destroy body's cells |
| B．may lead to obesity |
| C．are difficult to digest |
| D．stop body's metabolism |
What is the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To warn people of the problem of obesity． |
| B．To advocate eating more raw and whole foods． |
| C．To inform people of the harm of processed foods． |
| D．To tell the differences between raw and processed foods． |
The underlined word “vicious” in the last paragraph probably means ．
| A．violent | B．progressive |
| C．harmful | D．positive |
C
Dear David，
I’m glad you would like to share your feelings with me．It’s hardly surprising that yourfeelings of not being “grown up” have come on strongly at this point in your life，just before you’re about to become a father．You are asking：will I make a good father？How will I cope?
Should I have brought anotherlittle person into the world? Can l provide for it?Help!I thinknearly every sensitive about-to-be-parent must have these occasional feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy(不适)before the birth and it would be most unusual if you didn't share them．It's difficult，honestly，to feel grown-up unless you have something less grown-up to relate to．
The boss with a hen-pecking wife may feel like a seven-year-old when he’s at home．But as he walks through the office door，and knows he’s going to be surrounded by staff looking to him forAdvice，he grows into a fully mature man．And I think it’s a mistake to imagine that we all feel，aswe age，a kind of progression of states，from the baby to the adult．Most people feel，on Tuesday， about three years old，and on a Wednesday，around 80．
There's a common remark that “all men are little boys”，but it's not true．It's more true that men often behave like little boys．But nearly all people，at some moments in their lives，arecapable of groat maturity．
Once your baby arrives，you’ll soon feel less childlike，or rather，less often．When your childtries to put its fingers into the electric plug，the adult in you will rise up to prevent it．You’ll see
you have very little in common with a needy child，particularly if it's looking to you for comfort and support．
Comfort yourself，David，with two truths．One is that your friends laugh when they talk about this subject because they，like you，feel frightened．And remember that people who haven't grown
up don’t go around talking about the fact that they don’t feel grown-up．
Hope my advice will be helpful and good luck to you and your little one．
Yours sincerely，
Miss Advice
According to the passage，Miss Advice thinks David's self-doubt is ．
| A．valuable | B．natural |
| C．unusual | D．bearable |
From Paragraph 2，we can learn that people's sense of maturity ．
| A．will increase with age |
| B．is obviously seen at home |
| C．changes with different situations |
| D．becomes stronger with familiar people |
Miss Advice holds that ．
| A．all men behave like little boys |
| B．people tend to laugh at the subject |
| C．men with a baby feel more grown-up |
| D．people enjoy talking about their immaturity |
Miss Advice wrote the letter to -
| A．offer suggestions to a future father |
| B．teach people how to grow up |
| C．encourage people to be responsible |
| D．solve problems of the less grown-up |
B
Owning a smartphone may not be as smart as you think．They may let you surf the Internet，listen to music and snap photos wherever you are...but they also turn you into a workaholic，it seems．A study suggests that，by giving you access to emails at all times．the all-singing．all-dancing mobile phone adds as much as two hours to your working day．
Researchers found that Britons work an additional 460hours a year on average as they are able to respond to emails on their mobiles．The study by technology retailer Pixmania，reveals the average UK working day is between nine and ten hours，but a further two hours is spent responding to or sending work emails，or making work calls．Almost one in ten admits spending up to three hours outside their normal working day checking work emails．Some workers confess they are on call almost 24 hours a day，with nine out
of ten saying they take work emails and calls outside their normal working hours．Nearly two-thirds say they often check work emails just before they go to bed and as soon as they wake up，while over a third have replied to one in the middle of the night．
Ghadi Hobeika，marketing director of Pixmania，said：“The ability to access literally millions of apps，keep in contact via social networks and take photos and video as well as text and call has
made smartphones valuable for many people．However，there are drawbacks．Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day，seven days a week，and smartphones mean that people literally cannot get away from work．The more constantly in contact we become。The more is expected of us in a work capacity．”
The text is probably taken from ．
| A．a scientific report |
| B．a financial report |
| C．a newspaper |
| D．a literary journal |
The underlined word “drawbacks” in the last paragraph probably means ．
| A．advantages | B．faults |
| C．mistakes | D．features |
Ghadi may agree that ．
| A．employees are supposed to be on call 24 hours a day |
| B．the ability to access many apps made smartphones worthless |
| C．smartphones might turn a person into a workaholic |
| D．people literally cannot get away from work without smartphones |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Smartphones are lengthening working hours． |
| B．Smartphones are becoming valuable for many people． |
| C．Britons work art additional 460 hours a year on average． |
| D．Smartphones are more beneficial to our life than we think． |
A
A month after Hurricane Katrina，I returned home in New Orleans．There lay my house，reduced to waist-high rains，smelly and dirty．Before the trip，I’d had my car fixed．When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill．she noticed my Louisiana license plate．“You from New Orleans?”she asked．I said l was，
“No charge．”She said，and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet．The next day I went for a haircut，and the same thing happened．
As my wife was studying in Florid，we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage(抵押贷款)on our ruined house．We looked at many places，but none was satisfactory．We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while，when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California．He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings forState，an online
magazine and wanted to give us(“noconditions attached”)a new house across the lake from New Orleans．It sounded too good to be true，but I replied，thanking him for his exceptional generosity，that we had no plans to go back．Then a poet of the University of Florida offered to let his house to me while he went to England on his one-year-paid leave．The rent was rather reasonable．Imentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy，and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months．
Throughout this painful experience，the kindness of strangers backs my faith in humanity．It’s almostworthlosing you worldly possessions to be reminded that people really want to be kind when given a channel．
Which one shows the right time order?
①James Kennedy sent us a check．
②A poet offered his house to us．
③Our home was reduced to ruins．
④The garage employee charged us nothing．
⑤We came back to New Orleans．
| A．④③⑤①② | B．③④⑤②① |
| C．④③⑤②① | D．③④⑤①② |
What do you know about James Kennedy?
| A．He was a friend of the writer． |
| B．He offered the writer a house in California． |
| C．He worked for an online magazine． |
| D．He was concerned about the writer’s sufferings． |
It can be inferred from the passage that ．
| A．The mortgage on the ruined house didn’t needto be paid off |
| B．The house rents in New Orleans were reasonable after the hurricane |
| C．The writer rebuilt his faith in humanity by losing his worldly possessions |
| D．The writer made it through the painful period with people's kindness |
How is the passage developed?
| A．By showing contrasting facts． |
| B．By making classification |
| C．By giving examples． |
| D．By analyzing causes and effects． |
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