When I was 9, we packed up our home in Los Angeles and arrived at Heathrow, London on a gray January morning. Everyone in the family settled quickly into the city except me. Without my beloved beaches and endless blue-sky days, I felt at a loss and out of place. Until I made a discovery.
Southbank, at an eastern bend in the Thames, is the center of British skateboarding, where the continuous crashing of skateboards left your head ringing .I loved it. I soon made friends with the local skaters. We spoke our own language. And my favorite: Safe. Safe meant cool. It meant hello. It meant don't worry about it. Once, when trying a certain trick on the beam（横杆）, I fell onto the stones, damaging a nerve in my hand, and Toby came over, helping me up: Safe, man. Safe. A few minutes later, when I landed the trick, my friends beat their boards loud, shouting: " Safe! Safe! Safe!" And that's what mattered-landing tricks, being a good skater.
When I was 15, my family moved to Washington. I tried skateboarding there, but the locals were far less welcoming. Within a couple of years, I'd given it up.
When I returned to London in 2004, I found myself wandering down to Southbank, spending hours there. I've traveled back several times since, most recently this past spring. The day was cold but clear: tourists and Londoners stopped to watch the skaters. Weaving（穿梭）among the kids who rushed by on their boards, I found my way to the beam. Then a rail-thin teenager, in a baggy white T-shirt, skidded（滑）up to the beam. He sat next to me. He seemed not to notice the man next to him. But soon I caught a few of his glances. "I was a local here 20 years ago," I told him. Then, slowly, he began to nod his head. "Safe, man. Safe."
"Yeah," I said. "Safe."
8. What can we learn about the author soon after he moved to London?
| A． |
He felt disappointed. |
B． |
He gave up his hobby. |
| C． |
He liked the weather there. |
D． |
He had disagreements with his family. |
9. What do the underlined words "Safe! Safe! Safe!" probably mean?
| A． |
Be careful! |
B． |
Well done! |
C． |
No way! |
D． |
Don't worry! |
10. Why did the author like to spend time in Southbank when he returned to London?
| A． |
To join the skateboarding. |
B． |
To make new friends. |
| C． |
To learn more tricks. |
D． |
To relive his childhood days |
11. What message does the author seem to convey in the text?
| A． |
Children should learn a second language. |
| B． |
Sport is necessary for children's health. |
| C． |
Children need a sense of belonging |
| D． |
Seeing the world is a must for children. |
In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work. Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately owned. The government does not give them money. So where does the money come from? From advertisements. Without advertisements, there would not be these private businesses.
Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is? Through the years, people have given different answers to the question. For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of “Keeping your name before the public”. And some people thought that advertising was “truth well told”. Now more and more people consider it in this way: Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive presentation of goods, services and ideas by some certain sponsors (发起人) through various media.
First, advertising is usually paid for. Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and hear over the various media. Second, advertising is non-personal. It is not face-to-face communication. Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in reality, it is directed at large groups of people. Third, advertising is usually persuasive. Directly or indirectly it asks people to do something. All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service advertised can benefit them. Fourth, the sponsors of the advertisement must show their names. From the advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or a single person. Fifth, advertising reaches us through old and modern mass media. Included in the old media are newspapers. magazines, radio, television, and films. Modern media include emails, matchbox covers, and boards on top of buildings.The existence of the privately owned mass media depends on the support of_________.
| A．the government | B．advertisements |
| C．their owners’ families | D．the TV stations |
The passage seems to say that different ideas of advertising are given due to __________.
| A．the subject of the advertisements | B．the change of time |
| C．people's age difference | D．peoples’ different opinions |
Which of the following is considered modern mass media?
| A．Emails. | B． Newspapers | C．Magazines. | D．Films. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements about advertisements is NOT true?
| A．The sponsors are always mentioned. |
| B．Advertising is meant for large groups of people. |
| C．There is the description of things advertised |
| D．Advertising must be honest and humorous |
Are you looking for something different this summer? We’ve lined up a list of some unusual camps.
Learn to fly a jet(喷气式飞机)
This is the real training that all fighter and test pilots have. Learn the cockpit(驾驶室) and how to put your plane through its paces . Finally, you fight a mock battle with your teammates.
It’s held at the US Space &Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alaska. There are both weekend and summer camps for anyone 9 and up. Kids 7 to 12 also can pair with a parent. The cost is $749 for kids-only camps and $349 each for parent /child camp.
Be Steven Spielberg
At Film Camp, you will get to write, direct, shoot and edit your own movie.
Run by the New York Film Academy, you can choose from a variety of camp locations: New York, Disney-MGM Studios in Florida, Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Harvard University, Paris or Florence, Italy.
Everyone helps one another by working behind the camera. Tuition for a one-week camp is $1,500, while a four or six week training run $5,900 to $6,900.
Join the circus
At Circus Smirkus you can learn how to ride a unicycle, and throw a pie in someone’s face . Kids 8 to 16 can choose between one—or two-week sessions, with the two-week camp ending in a circus show for the families.
The camp is located in Craftsbury Common, Vermont. The cost is $825 for one week ($300 extra with a parent ) and $1,500 for two weeks ( $ 500 extra with a parent).
Live the ultimate (终极的)summer fantasy
Learn to ride the waves this summer and tour one of the world’s only sea turtle hospitals at Surf Camp. The week long camp also includes trips to local islands.
Surf Camp is located at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.The cost is $475 per week for kids 8 to 12, $595 per week for teens 12 to 18. Check it out at wbsurfcamp. Com.
Strike a chord(弦)
At Power Chord Academy, teens 12 to 18 will be placed in a band that best meets their age, experience and style. You will lead the life of a band member: recording in a studio, playing a concert and making a video. Which camps can you join if you want your father to be able to take part?
| A．Circus Smirkus and Surf Camp |
| B．The Power Chord Academy and Film Camp |
| C．The camp at the US Space & Rocked Center and Film Camp |
| D．The camp at the US Space &Rocket Center and Circus Smirkus |
How much do you have to pay if you want to attend a 2- week circus camp with your mom?
| A．$ 2000 | B．$ 1500 | C．$ 3000 | D．$ 2250 |
Surf Camp can provide the following for campers EXCEPT______.
| A．care for sea turtles | B．surfing |
| C．meeting with lovers of surfing | D．travel to local islands |
What does the underlined word “mock” mean ?
| A．real | B．fierce | C．pretended | D．shooting |
As we know, on Saturday, millions of people around the world will celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, which honors Patron Saint (or main religious figure) of Ireland. Communities across the United States will host parades, parties, and other festivities to mark the occasion.
This year, cities like Boston, New York, and Chicago have organized massive events celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. In New York City, hundreds of thousands of people will gather to watch the Saint Patrick’s Day parade—the nation’s largest. It is one of the most watched parades in the world. Last year, almost 2 million spectators and more than 150,000 participants filled the streets. The parade, first held in 1776, is also one of the oldest.
Chicago also throws a big celebration. Every year, the Chicago River, which crosses the city, glows green as event organizers dump about 40 pounds of fluorescence, a powerful dye, into the water.
Boston keeps its parade rolling for three hours or more. It is the nation’s second-largest parade. The city will also salute one of its most famous former residents, President John F. Kennedy, by opening the exhibit "A Journey Home: John F. Kennedy and Ireland," at his official library.
Patron Saint lived in Britain in the early fifth century, when it was still part of the Roman Empire. He was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland when he was only 16．He eventually escaped slavery and turned to a life of religious devotion. He trained to become a minister and set out to spread Christianity throughout Ireland. After 30 years as a religious leader, Patrick died on March 17, 1461．Saint Patrick’s Day is always celebrated on March 17．In Ireland, it is an official holiday. What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Celebrations across the Country | B．An Official Holiday in US |
| C．The Largest Parade in the World | D．History of Saint Patrick’s Day |
The last paragraph is mainly about _____.
| A．the cruel slave trade. | B．Saint Patrick’s contribution. |
| C．Ireland’s Patron Saint | D．activities during Saint Patrick’s Day |
Which of the following is not correct according to the passage?
| A．Parade is a most important event to observe Saint Patrick’s Day. |
| B．Saluting the former president has become a main event on the occasion. |
| C．Saint Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday. |
| D．The Saint Patrick’s Day parade has a history of over 230 years. |
Should doctors ever lie to benefit their patient---to speed recovery or to cover the coming of death? In medicine as in law, government, and other lines of work, the requirements of honesty often seem dwarfed (变矮小) by greater needs: the need to protect from brutal news or to uphold a promise of secrecy; to advance the public interest.
What should doctors say, for example, to a 46-year-old man coming in for a routine physical check up just before going on vacation with his family who, though he feels in perfect health, is found to have a form of cancer that will cause him to die within six months. Is it best to tell him the truth? If he asks, should the doctor reject that he is ill, or minimize the gravity of the illness? Should they at least hide the truth until after the family vacation?
Doctors face such choices often. At times, they see important reasons to lie for the patient’s own sake; in their eyes, such lies differ sharply from self-serving ones.
Studies show that most doctors sincerely believe that the seriously ill patients do not want to know the truth about their condition, and that informing them risks destroying their hope, so that they may recover more slowly, or deteriorate (恶化) faster, perhaps even commit suicide.
But other studies show that, contrary to the belief of many physicians; a great majority of patients do want to be told the truth, even about serious illness, and feel cheated when they learn that they have been misled. We are also learning that truthful information, humanly conveyed, helps patients cope this illness: help them tolerate pain better, need less medicine, and even recover faster after operation.
There is urgent need to debate this issue openly. Not only in medicine, but in other professions as well, practitioners may find themselves repeatedly in difficulty where serious consequences seem avoidable only through deception (欺骗). Yet the public has every reason to know professional deception, for such practices are peculiarly likely to become deeply rooted, to spread, and to trust. Neither in medicine, nor in law, government, or the social sciences can there be comfort in the old saying, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Whether patients should be told the truth of their illness. |
| B．Whether patients really want to know the truth of their condition. |
| C．Whether different studies should be carried on. |
| D．Whether doctors are honest with their patients. |
For the case mentioned in paragraph 2, most doctors will _______.
| A．tell the patient the truth as soon as possible |
| B．choose to lie to him about his condition at that moment |
| C．tell him to shorten the family vacation |
| D．advise him to cancel the family vacation |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Sometimes government tells lies because they need to meet the public interest. |
| B．Doctors believe if they lie, those seriously-ill patients will recover more quickly. |
| C．Many patients don’t want to know the truth, especially about serious illness. |
| D．Truthful information helps patients deal with their illness in some cases. |
From the passage, we can learn that the author’s attitude to professional deception is _______.
| A．supportive | B．indifferent | C．oppositive | D．neutral |
Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs (金砖四国)？If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker—BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach’s famous marketing device (策略), the BRICs, should really be the BICs.
“Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?” asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreign Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of “The Russian Balance Sheet”, thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes:
“The country’s economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas.”
Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing far better than Russia.
But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors (投资者) to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three.
At very least, despite Russia’s economic underperformance, its stock market outperformance does suggest it is indeed one of the group.According to the passage, which country will enjoy the biggest increase in 2009?
| A．China | B．Russia | C．Brazil | D．India |
According to Aslund, Russia shouldn’t be a BRIC partly because _______.
| A．its economic performance is worse than that of the others |
| B．its leaders are not good at managing economy |
| C．it has taken effective measures to improve its economy |
| D．it will no longer attract investors from other countries |
From the passage we know that _______.
| A．Anders Aslund is working for the Russian government |
| B．Russia outperformed the other three countries in stock market |
| C．most people disagree Russia is included in the BRICs |
| D．the BRICs would end up being the BICs sooner or later |
The author seems to _______.
| A．suggest it’s time to kick Russia out of the BRICs |
| B．feel worried about the economy of the BRICs |
| C．think Russia is worth being one of the group |
| D．show disappointment to Russia’s economy |
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