Facebook is now used by 30 million people in the UK, about half the population.                                   
Joanna Shields, vice president of Facebook Europe, made the announcement this morning at a media conference in London.                                    
She said: "We can announce today that we have reached 30 million in the UK, which we are really excited about."                                
Globally, Facebook has more than 500 million registered users, a milestone it hit last summer. Last July, it also revealed that it had 26 million registered UK users. In the last eight months, it has attracted four million extra UK users, bringing the UK total to 30 million, while in January 2009, Facebook had only 150 million registered users.                                        
Last year, Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, said it was "almost a guarantee" that the site would hit one billion users. He explained: "If we succeed in innovating, there is a good chance of bringing this to a billion people...it will be interesting to see how it comes true."                  
One third of women aged 18 to 34 check Facebook when they first wake up, before even going to the toilet, according to research. Twenty-one per cent of women aged between 18 to 34 check Facebook in the middle of the night, while 42 per cent of the same group think it is fine to post drunken photos of themselves onto the social network, a study by Oxygen Media found.    
Shields was speaking this morning at the Financial Times Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference about the power Facebook's referrals can bring to media sites, such as newspapers and TV services.  
She explained that the average Facebook user has 130 friends who they share links to media sites with on a regular basis. "Media companies which take advantage of that are really seeing the benefits", Shields said.            
Shields refused to say whether Facebook would develop its own mobile phone operating system and also said it was "silly" that Google had recently disabled the feature (特點) which allowed Google users to sync their contacts with Facebook friends.
【小題1】What is Joanna Shields content with?   

A．the announcement	B．media conference
C．fast growing registered users	D．the benefits of Facebook

【小題2】How many registered users all over the world now? 

A．26 million	B．30 million
C．150 million	D．more than 500 million

【小題3】Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, take a more          view about the future of Facebook.

A．negative

B．optimistic

C．cold

D．pessimistic

【小題4】What kind of people are more interested in Facebook according to the passage?  

A．teenagers	B．middle-aged people
C．old people	D．young people

【小題5】From the passage we know that         . 

A．Facebook would develop its own mobile phone operating system

B．Google didn't allow its users to sync their contacts with Facebook friends

C．Shields refused to admit the power Facebook's referrals could bring

D．Google was always silly

Statistically, air travel is by far the safest way to travel, and you can make flying even safer, just by following these simple rules. As your chances of being involved in an air accident are practically nil（不存在）, many of these tips concern what you should and shouldn't do to make your journey safer when you are airborne（升空的）.
Fly on non-stop routes
Most accidents occur during the takeoff, climb, descent and landing phases of a flight, so flying non-stop reduces your exposure to these complex procedures.
Choose larger aircraft
Although small aircraft have very good safety records, those with more than 30 passenger seats are designed to comply（遵守）with much stricter regulations and are tested more regularly to make sure they still comply. Also, in t he unlikely event of a serious accident, larger aircraft provide a better opportunity for passenger survival.
Pay attention to the pre-flight safety briefing
The information may seem repetitious（重復的）, but it's worth listening to the flight attendants. And even if you’ve flown before, it doesn’t mean you know everything about the aircraft you're on, such as the location of the closest emergency exit.
Store things safely
Never put very heavy articles in the overhead storage bins. They may fall out when someone opens the bin and cause injury. Also, the bin may not be able to hold heavier objects during turbulence（氣流）.
Keep our seat belt fastened while you are seated
Cabin crew always tell you this, but it’s important. You would be seriously injured if the plane hits unexpected turbulence. Always fasten your seat belt if you are told to. The general rule of flying is this: If you are told to do something, do it first and ask questions later.
Let the flight attendant pour your hot drinks
Flight attendants are trained to handle hot drinks like coffee or tea in a crowded aisle on a moving aircraft, so allow them to pour the drink and hand it to you. Never ask to take a coffee pot from one of them.
【小題1】Whom is the passage meant for?

A．Pilots.

B．Flight attendants.

C．Passengers.

D．Airlines.

【小題2】The underlined word “those” in the second tip refers to”______” .

A．smaller planes

B．passengers

C．larger aircrafts

D．safety records

【小題3】What does the author really mean by saying “Cabin crew always tells you this, but it’s important.” In the 5^th tip?

A．Many people don’t pay enough attention to fastening their seat belt.

B．All passengers are glad to accept the crew’s advice.

C．The crew are very responsible.

D．There is no need to remind people to fasten their seat belt.

【小題4】Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

A．Larger planes have more safety checks and are safer.

B．Take-offs are safer on non-stop flights than landings.

C．Every aircraft is different, so the safety procedures may be different.

D．Seat belts should be worn to protect against turbulence.

【小題5】The best title of the passage should be”_____”.

A．The safest way to travel	B．Air safety tips
C．Non-stop routes	D．How to fly a plane

Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.
【小題1】What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?

A．Using too much packaging.

B．Recycling too many wastes.

C．Making more products than necessary.

D．Having more material than is needed.

【小題2】The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.

A．the tendency of cutting household waste

B．the increase of packaging recycling

C．the rapid growth of super markets

D．the fact of packaging overuse

【小題3】 According to the text, recycling ______.

A．helps control the greenhouse effect

B．means burning packaging for energy

C．is the solution to gas shortage

D．leads to a waste of land

【小題4】What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?

A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality.

B．Supermarkets care more about packaging.

C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging.

D．Other products are better packaged than food.

【小題5】 What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult.

B．Needless material is mostly recycled.

C．People like collecting recyclable waste.

D．The author is proud of their consumer culture.

Do you know that many clowns go to school to learn how to be funny? How would you like to go to that school? You could learn how to walk and talk like a clown. Then you could make people laugh.
Clowns may go to school for a year. There they learn to move in funny ways. They learn to run and jump like different animals. They also learn how to fall down in a special way. They make sure they don’t get injured. They make every move look easy. But really it’s hard work.
In a school clowns decide how they will look. They make funny pants and tops. Then clowns have their funny long shoes made. They also learn to make up their faces. Clowns carefully put special paint on, so they look silly.
They start by making every part of their feces white. Then they use red paint around their mouths to make them look big. Clowns may paint re spots on each side of their faces, too. Big red noses are added. They put on funny hair or funny hats.
Now they look silly. They are ready to go to work! You can see clowns at the circus or parade. They do funny things to surprise people. Ten big clowns may get out of a very small car. Or they may walk on a high rope. Then they almost fall. The faces they make when they try to stand up again make people laugh.
【小題1】The word “clown” in this passage refers to ____.

A．a person who tries to make people laugh by this funny looks, clothes and tricks and actions

B．a person who copies others in speaking, actions and way of walking

C．a person who gives performances only to make people laugh.

D．a person whose job is very easy to do.

【小題2】Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Clowns learn to be funny at school to make people laugh

B．Clowns wear strange pants and tops and funny long shoes.

C．Clowns don’t feel frightened when they walk on a high rope.

D．Clowns put on funny hair and hats and make faces

【小題3】 From the passage, we can learn that clowns play at ____.

A．a parade

B．the circus

C．school

D．both A and B

【小題4】From the passage, we can infer that _______.

A．there are quite a number of clown schools in the world

B．people laugh when they watch clowns play at the circus

C．clowns like animals very much so they jump like different animals

D．clowns make people laugh but they seldom laugh

A report by the Consumer Electronics Association says electronics are among the most popular gifts being bought this holiday season. 
Jim Barry is a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the CEA study found that electronics represent three of the top five things on its "holiday gift wish list" this year.
JIM BARRY: "Notebook computers are at the top, followed by iPads and then e-readers. IPad is a touch-screen tablet computer and that's really the big player in that category."
The computer company Apple began selling its small, touch-screen computers in April.   People use the touch-screen computers to surf the Web, write e-mails, watch movies and read books. Since the iPad's release earlier this year, several other companies have come out with their own tablet computers just in time for Christmas.
A report from the e-Marketer research group predicts that worldwide, tablet sales will reach more than eighty-one million in two thousand twelve. Still, Jim Barry says these devices are facing tough competition this year from another Christmas favorite.
JIM BARRY: "Another hot category right behind that are the e-readers. So you can read on an iPad or a touch-screen tablet, but the e-book readers are less expensive. The Kindle is the market leader there, from Amazon. But you also have the Nook from Barnes and Noble and the e-reader from Sony. And you have more and more of those e-readers coming into the market as well."
The Consumer Electronics Association report found that iPod music players are also in high demand this holiday season.  
But not all of the things on the holiday gift wish list involved electronics. Clothes, cars and motorcycles also made the list. So did family togetherness and good health. And the one thing that people wanted most?
JIM BARRY: "At the top of the list was peace and happiness."
That is also our wish for you this holiday season.
【小題1】The best title of the passage is         .  

A．How to choose a suitable gift for Christmas

B．iPads, E-Readers, Notebook Computers top wish lists

C．What we should buy for our kids this holiday season

D．How modern technology is changing the way people relate

【小題2】People use the touch-screen computers to do all the following things except         .  

A．surf the Web and write e-mails

B．watch movies and read books

C．surf the Web and contact others on phone

D．surf the internet and use it as an e-reader

【小題3】Which of the following sentences is TURE?  

A．iPads are the most popular gift among all the electronics.

B．Only the computer company Apple releases a touch-screen tablet computer.

C．All of the things on the holiday gift wish list are electronics.

D．There are more and more kinds of e-readers in the market.

【小題4】You don't have enough money for an iPad, but you can buy          for a friend who enjoys reading.  

A．notebook computers	B．iPod music players
C．touch-screen tablet computer	D．e-book readers

【小題5】We can infer from the last paragraph that         .  

A．people value peace and happiness more than anything else

B．clothes, cars and motorcycles are also popular gifts for Christmas

C．family togetherness and good health don't make the list

D．JIM BARRY also sends their wish for us this holiday season

Before going outside in the morning, many of us check a window thermometer(溫度計)for the temperature. This helps us decide what to wear.__【小題1】__. We want our food to be a certain coldness in the refrigerator. We want it a certain hotness in the oven. If we don’t feel well, we use a thermometer to see if we have a fever. We keep our rooms a certain warmth in the winter and a certain coolness in the summer.
Not all the thermometers use the same system to measure temperature. We use a system called the Fahrenheit scale. But most other countries use the Centigrade scale.
Both systems use the freezing and boiling points of water as their guide.__【小題2】__.
The most common kind of thermometer is made with mercury(水銀)inside a clear glass tube. As mercury (or any other liquid ) becomes hot, it expands. As it gets colder, it contracts(收縮). That is why on hot days the mercury line is high in the glass tube.__【小題3】__.
First. Take a clear glass juice bottle that has a cap ; fill the bottle with coloured water. Tap a hole in the center of the cap using a hammer and thick nail. Put the cap on the jar. Then stick a plastic straw(吸管) through the nail hole.____【小題4】____.
Finally. Place a white card on the outside of the bottle and behind the straw. Now you can see the water lever easily. ____【小題5】____.
As the temperature goes down, the water will contract, and the lever in the straw will come down. Perhaps you will want to keep a record of the water lever in the straw each morning for a week.

A．People use thermometers which are made by themselves when travelling around the world.

B．We use and depend on thermometers to measure the temperature of many other things in our daily lives.

C．Thermometers measure temperature, by using materials that change in the same way when they are heated or cooled.

D．Now that you know this rule you can make a thermometer of your own that will work.

E．The water will rise in the straw. As the temperature of the air goes up, the water will expand and rise even higher.
F．They label these in different ways. On the Fahrenheit scale water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. On the Celsius scale water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100degrees.
G．Take wax (you may use an old candle if you have one) and melt some of it right where the straw is struck into the cap to seal(把..粘住) them together.

With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills（泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太陽能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效的）— and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
【小題1】What is the passage mainly talking about?

A．Oil tanker accidents．	B．Oil spills pollution．
C．What oil pollution is．	D．How to reduce oil pollution．

【小題2】How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?

A．By giving a description．	B．By making an argument．
C．By giving an example．	D．By drawing a diagram．

【小題3】What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Transportation depending more on oil．

B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally．

C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea．

D．More environmental damage being caused．

【小題4】Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?

A．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use

B．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines．

C．We should build safer oil tankers in the near future．

D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea．

When I asked my daughter which item she would keep; the phone, the car, the cooker, the computer, the TV, or her boyfriend, she said” the phone”. Personally, I could do without the phone entirely, which makes me unusual. Because the telephone is changing our lives more than any other piece of technology.
Point 1 The telephone creates the need to communicate, in the same way that more roads create more traffic. My daughter comes home from school at 4:00 pm and then spends an hour on the phone talking to the very people she has been at school with all day. If the phone did not exist, would she have anything to talk about?
Point 2 The mobile phone means that we are never alone. “The mobile saved my life,” says Crystal Johnstone. She had an accident in her Volvo on the A45 between Otley and Skipton. Trapped inside, she managed to make the call that brought the ambulance(救護車) to her rescue.
Point 3 The mobile removes our secret. It allows marketing manager of Haba Deutsch, Carl Nicolaisen, to ring his sales staff all round the world at and time of day to ask where they are , where they are going, and how their last meeting went.
Point 4 The telephone separates us. Antonella Bramante in Rome says, “We worked in separate offices but I could see him through the window. It was easy to get his number. We were so near——but we didn’t meet for the first two weeks!”
Point 5 The telephone allows us to reach out beyond our own lives. Today we can talk to several complete strangers simultaneously ( 同時地) on chat lines (at least my daughter does. I wouldn’t know what to talk about). We can talk across the world. We can even talk to astronauts (if you know any) while they’re space-walking. And, with the phone line hooked up to the computer, we can access(存取) the Internet, the biggest library on Earth.
【小題1】How do you understand ‘Point 1 —The telephone creates the need to communicate,…’？

A．People don’t communicate without telephone.

B．People communicate because of the creating of the telephone.

C．People communicate more since telephone has been created.

D．People communicate more because of more traffic.

【小題2】Which of the following best shows people’s attitude towards mobile phones?

A．Mobile phones help people deal with the emergency.

B．Mobile phones bring convenience as well little secret to people.

C．Mobile phones are so important and should be encouraged.

D．Mobile phones are part of people’s life.

【小題3】Which points do you think support the idea that phones improve people’s life?
a. Point 1.  b. Point2.  c. Point3.  d. Point 4.  e. Point 5.

A．c, d

B．a, e

C．a, c

D．b, e

【小題4】It is possible to talk to several complete strangers simultaneously through      .

A．the TV screen	B．a fax machine
C．the phone line hooked up to the computer	D．a microphone

【小題5】The best heading for the passage is      .

A．Phone Power	B．Kinds of Phone
C．How to Use Phones	D．Advantage of Phones

An early invention by Albert Einstein has been rebuilt by scientists at Oxford University. They are trying to develop an environmentally friendly refrigerator that runs without electricity.
We all know that modern fridges cause damage to the environment. They work by using a kind of man-made greenhouse gas called Freon (氟里昂), which is far more damaging than carbon dioxide.
Now Malcolm McCulloch, an electrical engineer at Oxford, is leading a three-year project to develop appliances that can be used in places without electricity.
His team has completed a prototype (樣機) of a fridge patented in 1930 by Einstein. It used only pressurized gases to keep things cold. The design was partly used in the first refrigerators, but the technology was dropped when more efficient compressors (壓縮機) became popular in the 1950s. That meant a switch to using Freon.
Einstein's idea uses butane (丁烷) and water and takes advantage of the fact that liquids boil at lower temperatures, when the air pressure around them is lower.
"If you go to the top of Mount Qomolangma, water boils at a much lower temperature than it does when you're at sea level and that's because the pressure is much lower up there," said McCulloch.At one side is the evaporator (蒸發(fā)器), a bottle that contains liquid butane. "If you introduce a new vapor above the butane, the liquid boiling temperature decreases and, as it boils off, it takes energy from the surroundings to do so," says McCulloch. "That's what makes it cold."
The gas fridges based on Einstein's design were replaced by Freon-compressor fridges partly because Einstein's design was not very efficient. But McCulloch thinks that by changing the design and replacing the types of gases used it will be possible to quadruple (翻兩番) the efficiency.
However, McCulloch's fridge is still in its early stages. "It's very much a prototype," he said. "Give us another month and we'll have it working."
【小題1】 According to the passage, an early invention by Albert Einstein _______.

A．has been rediscovered because it costs much less and works more efficiently

B．is being redesigned because it could be used in places without electricity

C．has just been found to be energy-saving and environmentally friendly

D．will be fully made use of and become the fridge of the future

【小題2】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Freon was used in fridges long before the 1950s.

B．Freon is what makes current fridges big polluters.

C．McCulloch thinks he could improve Einstein's design by using other types of vapors.

D．The fridge Malcolm McCulloch and his team designed will be put into production soon.

【小題3】We can learn from the text that the prototype completed _______.

A．changed the air pressure around it

B．was tested on the top of Mount Everest

C．increased the liquid boiling temperature

D．used only pressurized gases to keep things cold

【小題4】McCulloch's words in Paragraph 6 _____.

A．serve as an explanation for the principle behind Einstein's fridge

B．give you the reason why Einstein's fridge was not efficient

C．tell you how to take advantage of low air pressure

D．show you how Einstein's fridge works

Television has changed our lives in many ways. Many people now spend more time watching TV than doing anything else. Researchers in the USA has estimated(估計)that when most students leave school they have spent 11,000 hours in the classroom and 22,000 hours watching television. But what effect does this have?
Benefits(好處) of television:
1. Television helps us to learn more about the world and to know and see many mew things. Television can offer present information to us in a more effective way than books. It can also make things more memorable.
2. It entertains (使歡樂) us. It is an enjoyable way to relax. For millions of people around the world, television is a source of companionship and helps them to cope with everyday life.
3. It has increased the popularity of sports and arts.
4. It has made us aware of our global responsibilities. In 2000, for example, 1.5billion people in 147 countries watched a TV pop concert and helped to collect more than $100million for people in Africa.
Dangers:
1. Television can make us passive (消極的). We don't have to think and our brains become lazy.
2. It encourages us to buy things that we don’t need, and can make us unhappy with our own life.
3. It takes time away from activities such as reading, conversation, and games.
4. It gives a false picture of society. A study in 2003 showed that people who watch a lot of TV are more afraid of crime. They also think that there is a lot more crime than there really is .
5. Some critics(批評家) say that television make people violent. A ten-year study in the United States showed that children who watch violent television programmes are more likely to be violent themselves.
【小題1】 What’s the proper description of the time American students spend on TV and study?

A．They spend twice as much time on TV as in the classroom.

B．They spend twice as much time in the classroom as on TV.

C．They spend as much time on TV as in the classroom.

D．They spend less time on TV than in the classroom/

【小題2】 The underlined word “memorable” is closed in meaning to    .

A．easy to be remembered	B．remembered forever
C．interesting	D．knowledgeable

【小題3】Which of the following number is NOT true of the pop concert mentioned in the passage?

A．People in more than 140 countries watched it on TV

B．It helped to collect more than $100 million

C．It was held in 2000.

D．1.5million people watched it on TV.

【小題4】 According to the passage, the dangers of watching TV too much included all the following except that    .

A．television can make us active

B．television encourages us to buy things that we don’t need

C．television gives us a worse picture of society

D．television takes time away from a lot of activities