Advertisement is the difficult business of bringing information to great numbers of people.The purpose of an advertisement is to make people respond to make them react to an idea，such as helping prevent forest fires，or to make them want to buy a certain product or service.At the beginning of the 20th century，advertisement was described as“salesmanship in print”.If this definition were expanded to include radio and television，it would still stand today.The most effective way to sell something is through person-to-person contact.But the cost of person-to-person selling is high because it takes a great deal of time，and it increases the cost of the product or service.Advertising distributes the selling message to many people at one time.The first printed advertisement in the English language appeared in 1278，more than a century before Shakespeare’s first play was produced.This early advertisement was the work of William Caxton，England’s first printer，who used it to advertise religious books from his own workshop Caxton posted small printed notices along London’s main streets．Besides advertising his product，he identified his shop with a red-striped shield(盾形徽章)so that customers could find it easily．
This same sort of simple informational advertising is still used.Examples are the roadside signs that tell travelers that they can buy fresh corn just down the road or that there is a restaurant in the next town.
The Industrial Revolution，in the 18th and 19th centuries，brought a new kind of advertising.Large factories took the place of small workshops and goods were produced in large quantities.
Manufacturers used the newly built railroads to distribute(遞送)their products over wide areas.They had to find many thousands of customers in order to stay in business.They couldn’t simply tell people where shoes or cloth or tea could be bought---they had to learn how to make people want to buy a specific product. Thus modern advertising was born．
Advertising created new markets and helped to raise standards of living as people came to feel that they had a right to new and better products.
【小題1】The passage mainly talks about       .

A．the development of advertisement

B．the first advertisement in the world

C．the difficulty in advertising

D．the advantages of advertisements

【小題2】Why is advertisement accepted by people?

A．Because it can help to prevent forest fires.

B．Because it cand make people want to buy a certain product or service.

C．Because it can bring information to great numbers of people.

D．Because it can help people live longer.

【小題3】Modern advertisement was born as a result of         .

A．the Industrial Revolution

B．the newly built railroads

C．the appearance of the first printer advertisement

D．people’s need

【小題4】We can conclude from the passage that         .

A．red-striped shield is the best thing to use in advertising

B．main streets and television are used in advertising

C．person-to-person selling is the best way in advertising

D．people show little interest in advertisement

Money is all surrounding us．Every day, we see it, use it, and it is on the tip of our tongue．Did you ever stop to take into consideration where the money that you carry around every day comes from?
Making new money is a very unique job and no easy task．It has up to 65 steps When the money in circulation（流通） gets dirty and worn out, it is replaced with new money The old money is taken from banks and brought to places where it is destroyed Usually, the old money is burned．The burned money is replaced by new paper money
If old money is being replaced, then new money is printed in a place called a mint（造幣廠）．Large sheets 01 paper are printed with many pictures of some currency （流通貨幣）．These large sheets are cut into individual bills．The individual bills are then put together in big stacks and then sent to banks．
Sometimes the mint will make a new bill with a new picture （portraits of statesman and places of interest are favoured） or a new colour. It is not easy for the government to make a new bill. It takes a long time, and there are many steps to go through before a new bill can be sent to banks, first, people m the government decide that a new kind of bill is needed Then, they ask and artist to design the new bill．A different artist cuts the new picture into a soft piece of metal called a die．The dies are made and put onto large printing machines．Then, very special paper is used, which no one but the mint can have．Along with this special paper, the mint also prints currency using special colours．After the dies print the new currency onto the paper, the bills are cut, stacked, and sent off to the banks．
【小題1】From the passage we know that

A．banks make new money

B．it takes 65 procedures to make new money

C．mints decide what kind of bill is needed

D．old money that is not used is forever stored in a special place

【小題2】We can infer from the passage that a die is ____

A．something for dead people

B．a(chǎn) special machine that prints the money

C．a(chǎn) special piece of paper that the money is made from

D．a(chǎn) piece of metal that puts the picture on the money

【小題3】'Which of the following shows the right order of dealing with new money?
①New money is printed in a mint．
②Bills are cut from large sheets of special paper．
③New money is sent in large amounts to banks．
④The government decides to make new money．

A．①②③④

B．④③②①

C．④①③②

D．④①②③

【小題4】Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．The reason for making new money．

B．The processes of making a new bill．

C．The amount of new money needed．

D．Things used．to make new money or a new bill．

Everybody hates it, but everybody does it. A recent report said that 40％of Americans hate tipping. In America alone, tipping is a $16 billion-a-year industry. Consumers acting politely ought not to pay more than they have to for a given service. Tips should not exist. So why do they? The common opinion in the past was that tips both rewarded the efforts of good service and reduced uncomfortable feelings of inequality. And also, tipping makes for closer relations. It went without saying that the better the service, the bigger the tip.
But according to new research from Cornell University, tips no longer serve any useful function. The paper analyzes numbers they got from 2,547 groups dining at 20 different restaurants. The connection between larger tips and better service was very weak. Only a tiny part of the size of the tip had anything to do with the quality of service.
Tipping is better explained, by culture than by the money people spend. In America, the custom came into being a long time ago. It is regarded as part of the accepted cost of a service. In New York restaurants, failing to tip at least l5％ could well mean dissatisfaction from the customers. Hairdressers can expect to get l5％-20％, and the man who delivers your fast food $2. In Europe, tipping is less common. In many restaurants the amount of tip is decided by a standard service charge. In many Asian countries, tipping has never really caught on at all. Only a few have really taken to tipping.
According to Michael Lynn，the Cornell papers’ author, countries in which people are more social or outgoing tend to tip more. Tipping may reduce anxiety about being served by strangers. And Mr. Lynn says, “In America, where people are expressive and eager to mix up with others, tipping is about social approval. If you tip badly, people think less of you. Tipping well is a chance to show off.”
【小題1】This passage is mainly about________.

A．different kinds of tipping in different countries

B．the relationship between tipping and custom

C．the origin and present meaning of tipping

D．most American people hate tipping

【小題2】Which of the following best explains the underlined phrase “caught on” ?

A．Been hated．	B．Become popular．
C．Been stopped．	D．Been permitted

【小題3】Among the following situations, in your opinion, who is likely to tip most?

A．A Frenchman just quarreled with the barber who did his hair badly in New York.

B．A Chinese student enjoyed his meal in a famous fast food restaurant in New York.

C．A Japanese businessman asked for a pizza delivery from a Pizza Hut in New York.

D．An American just had a wonderful dinner in a well known restaurant in New York.

【小題4】We can infer from this passage that________.

A．tipping is no longer a good way to satisfy some customers themselves

B．tipping has something to do with people’s character

C．tipping in America can make service better now

D．tipping is especially popular in New York

Though war is something people hate, Director Feng Xiaoning often exposes his audience to it.
“If we don’t impress the audience, who are without the painful experience of war, with the cruel injury to life and human nature war causes, how can we bring them a love of peace and objection to war?” asked the director with a glance in his eyes.
After Red River Valley and Lover’s Grief over the Yellow River, both of which star Chinese model and actress Ning Jing, Feng drew a satisfactory full stop to his war trilogy (三部曲) last month with Purple Sunset.
The film tells a story which took place in 1945, at the very moment when World War II was drawing to an end. A Chinese peasant and a Soviet woman soldier flee into a forest, where they seize a Japanese girl. They follow the girl in the hope that she will take them out of the forest, but instead they arrive in a Japanese base. Humanity (人道主義) prevents them from killing the young, innocent (無(wú)辜的) victim of Japanese militarism. This humanity, the longing for peace and eagerness to survive, make the three unite.
“If people are touched by justice, tolerance and unselfishness, I think I have achieved my goal,” Feng said. Feng admits that there are violent and bloody scenes in the film, such as tanks fighting and Japanese burning Chinese people alive, to show the cruelty of the war. But that’s never his personal preference, he says.
“Everyone who has watched my films can tell how much I hate war,” he said. “I wrote all the things for my war films by myself. Whenever I finished one, I felt as though I had suffered great pain.”
Feng regards every one of his productions as an opportunity to learn about human nature and humanity. In spite of violent scenes which frighten and sicken the audience, a balance is sought with beautiful scenery. Just like the snowy mountains in Red River Valley and the grand plateau (高原) in Lover’s Grief over the Yellow River, a beautiful vast grassland appears in this film. “I used to study art, and I appreciate beautiful things,” Feng said. “I believe that films should offer the audience a chance to enjoy beauty.”
【小題1】Director Feng Xiaoning shot war film because _____.

A．he was deeply interested in such a topic

B．he wanted to give the audience the painful experience of war

C．he hoped to arouse people’s love of peace and objection to war

D．he dreamed of becoming a world-famous director

【小題2】All of the following belong to Feng’s war trilogy except _____.

A．Red River Valley	B．Lover’s Grief over the Yellow River
C．Purple Sunset	D．In the Mood for Love

【小題3】A Chinese peasant and a Soviet woman solider seized a Japanese girl so that _____.

A．they could find the Japanese base easily

B．she could take them out of the forest

C．they could kill her for revenge

D．it would cause the Japanese militarism to give in

【小題4】Scenes of Japanese burning Chinese people alive in the film are to ______.

A．show that war is cruel

B．a(chǎn)ttract people’s interest

C．show Feng’s personal preference in dealing with details

D．make the film moving and interesting

The Luck of the Irish
Look at a map of Britain, and the island on the left is Ireland. It’s a small but beautiful country with a long tradition of folk music. Up until 10 years ago just about the only thing that Ireland was famous for was its specialty black beer.
Now Ireland is famous around the world for its music with names like "Kenya","U2" ,"Van Morrison"and more recently "the Corers". "Boyzone",one of the world's top boy bands ,is from Ireland too.What's more,Boyzone member shane has twin sisters,Adele and Heavy,who are members of "B Witched"
The "Boyzone"story is interesting because they were created in 1993 by Dublin nightclub owner John Reynolds.They advertised in newspapers to find members for the group and 300wannabe pop stars applied!
Ronan,who was just 17 when he dropped out of school to make his bid for stardom,and shane,who had been working as trained mechanic in his father's garage when he left to join Boyzone,were both lucky enough to be chosen. The other members are shoe-shop attendant stephen lately,former mechanic Mike Graham and one-time clothes store assistant Keith Dully.
Many people expect bands that have been created by the music industry to produce boring music which doesn't become popular. Even the boys themselves knew they the would not easily achieve international pop music success.
Boyzone quickly proved that they were more than just pretty faces and have sold millions of records around the world.At the moment ,they are not big stars in America,but they say that will change,when they begin a tour of the United States.
Ronan will shortly also start recording as a solo artist. That does not mean the band will spilt yet,but we can expect Boyzone to split sometime in the next 18 months or so.Ronan has also recently become involved as one of the managers of new Irish boy band "West Life" whose song "Swear It Again"has recently been Number 1 in the British charts.
【小題1】Ireland is famous for         now.

A．its black beer	B．its long tradition
C．popular music	D．its scenery

【小題2】The words “wannabe pop stars” in the third paragraph mean      .

A．the pops who want to join the band

B．the persons who want to become pop stars

C．the pop stars who want to become more popular

D．the persons who want to be as famous as they are

【小題3】Boy zone was formed by       members in 1993.

A．3

B．4

C．5

D．6

【小題4】Acording to the passage, we know that        .

A．Boy zone will split some day

B．Boy zone was successful because it was created by music industry

C．The boys in Boy zone were certain that they would be famous one day

D．Boy zone are going to perform in the States for Americans love them very much

Prince Charles yesterday promised to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule. The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services.
The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact of their activities.
He said, “Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, ‘How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded, how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities? ’ These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked. ”
He added, “At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone’s books… Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a relatively short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy. ” He said the world was “running up the biggest global credit card debt in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid”.
Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James’ Palace, the prince said his new “accounting for sustainability” project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet.
Duchy Originals, the prince’s food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other green-house gases are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products. The changes to the prince’s travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences. Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate(莊園), as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 105 full-time staff. Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The review will report in June , when Clarence House will announce annual targets to reduce carbon emission.
【小題1】How does Prince Charles feel about business leaders in terms of environmental protection?

A．Dissatisfied.	B．Disappointed.
C．Doubtful.	D．Impatient.

【小題2】In response to Prince Charles’ calls, Duchy Originals will ______.

A．make as much green food as possible

B．cut down its cost

C．figure out its greenhouse gas emission

D．continue its greenhouse gas emission

【小題3】The underlined phrase in paragraph 4 probably refers to ______.

A．the great amount of waste produced by industry

B．the great damage caused to the environment

C．the great amount of debts of the royal family

D．the high cost of industry in their producing process

【小題4】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Prince Charles promised Greener Royal Lifestyle

B．Better Late than Never

C．Prince Charles and His Concern for Environment

D．The Royal Family Has a Role to Play in Environment Protection

Starry Night
Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (產(chǎn)生幻覺(jué)的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.
I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (無(wú)限).
Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (絕望) and collapse in hopelessness.
Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.
And so the sky flows across the canvas (畫布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (發(fā)光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.
What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?
【小題1】Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.

A．The singing angels	B．the giant trees
C．the sleepy village	D．the sparkling stars

【小題2】Van Gogh does NOT describe a feeling of ______ through the Starry Night.

A．happiness

B．vitality

C．power

D．despair

【小題3】The underlined word “prison” in the 3rd paragraph probably means ______.

A．trouble in one’s life	B．mental illness
C．control from the authority	D．a(chǎn) place where criminals are kept

【小題4】What is the main purpose of this passage?

A．To explain how Van Gogh painted the Starry Night.

B．To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night.

C．To prove Van Gogh was in a hallucinating state of mind while painting the picture.

D．To show us the beauty of the sky on a starry night.

Adult Basic Education (ABE) and GED Preparation

Task:
The Adult Ba sic Education Department serves a huge population of learners. Our task is to teach basic skills and help learners to get more knowledge to function effectively as a family member, citizen, worker, and lifelong learner in a changing world.
Description:
ABE is a non-credit program of self-improvement designed to improve basic skills for students who are of different educational level. Development of reading, writing, and math  skills are paid special attention to, as well as life skills, employability, and technology. Students without a high school diploma(文憑)also have the opportunity to prepare for the GED exams in the five subject areas writing, social studies, science, literature, and math.
Prerequisites (條件):
ABE classes are open to anyone 18 or over who desires to improve basic reading, writing, and math skills at the pre-college level. Students who are 16 or 17 must first obtain an official release( 證書(shū)) from high school before attending class.
To be accepted, students must attend an Educational Planning Session. During the Educational Planning Session students will be given an overview of the ABE programs as well as PCC policies, fees, etc. Students will also have their reading, writing, and math abilities assessed (評(píng)估) during the Educational Planning Session The results of their assessment will help the teachers develop individual programs of study for students to guide them toward their personal goals. Students needing special help must get in touch with the Office for Students with Disabilities (503-977-4341) at least two weeks before the session is held.
Courses:
【小題1】 The ABE Department serves an aim to___________.

A．provide learners with basic knowledge and skills to fit in with society

B．help learners successfully get a job in a changing world

C．offer diplomas to those who fail to finish secondary education

D．provide students with opportunities to prepare for the GED exams

【小題2】A 17-year-old is not accepted to ABE classes only because he_________.

A．is below 18

B．can't offer a high school diploma

C．has left school without official permission

D．is assessed as poor in learning performances

【小題3】What is the Educational Planning Session intended for?

A．Providing special help to disabled students.

B．Helping students be better at the four basic skills.

C．Finding out whether they can be accepted to ABE classes.

D．An assessment of students' basic skill levels.

【小題4】Different courses are offered to different students according to _____.

A．their own choices

B．the assessments during the Educational Planning Session

C．their performances in school

D．how much they pay for the courses

A study involving 8,500 teenagers from all social backgrounds found that most of them are ignorant when it comes to money. The findings, the first in a series of reports from NatWest that has started a five-year research project into teenagers and money, are particularly worrying as this generation of young people is likely to be burdened with greater debts than any before.
University tuition feesare currently capped at £3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.
In the research, the teenagers were presented with the terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average £31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just £17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than £10.000. Average debts for graduates are £12,363.
Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they are to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively."
Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweather, aged 15, from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.
【小題1】Which of the following can be found from the five-year research project?

A．Students understand personal finances differently.

B．University tuition fees in England have been rising.

C．Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings.

D．The students' payback ability has become a major issue.

【小題2】The phrase "to raise the ceiling" in paragraph 2 probably means "______".

A．to raise the student loans	B．to improve the school facilities
C．to increase the upper limit of the tuition	D．to lift the school building roofs

【小題3】According to Stephen Moir, students _______.

A．a(chǎn)re too young to be exposed to financial issues

B．should learn to manage their finances well

C．should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans

D．benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance

【小題4】What can we learn from the passage?

A．Many British teenagers do not know money matters well

B．Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts.

C．Financial planning is a required course at college.

D．Young people should become responsible adults.

Celebrity (名人) has become one of the most important representatives of popular culture. Fans used to be crazy about a specific film, but now the public tends to base its consumption on the interest of celebrity attached to any given product. Besides, fashion magazines have almost abandoned the practice of putting models on the cover because they don’t sell nearly as well as famous faces. As a result, celebrities have realized their unbelievably powerful market potential, moving from advertising for others’ products to developing their own.
Celebrity clothing lines aren’t a completely new phenomenon, but in the past they were typically aimed at the ordinary consumers, and limited to a few TV actresses. Today they’re started by first-class stars whose products enjoy equal fame with some world top brands. The most successful start-ups have been those by celebrities with specific personal style. As celebrities become more and more experienced at the market, they expand their production scale rapidly, covering almost all the products of daily life.
However, for every success story, there’s a related warning tale of a celebrity who overvalued his consumer appeal. No matter how famous the product’s origins is, if it fails to impress consumers with its own qualities it begins to resemble an exercise in self-promotional marketing. And once the initial (最初的）attention dies down, consumer interest might fade, loyalty returning to tried-and-true labels.
Today, celebrities face ever more severe embarrassment. The pop-cultural circle might be bigger than ever, but its rate of turnover has speeded up as well. Each misstep threatens to reduce a celebrity’s shelf life, and the same newspaper or magazine that once brought him fame has no problem picking him to pieces when the opportunity appears. Still, the ego’s (自我的）potential for expansion is limitless. Having already achieved great wealth and public recognition, many celebrities see fashion as the next frontier to be conquered. As the saying goes, success and failure always go hand in hand. Their success as designers might last only a short time, but fashion — like celebrity — has always been temporary.
【小題1】Fashion magazines today ________.

A．seldom put models on the cover

B．no longer put models on the cover

C．need not worry about celebrities’ market potential

D．judge the market potential of every celebrity correctly

【小題2】A change in the consumer market can be found today that _______.

A．price rather than brand name is more concerned

B．producers prefer models to celebrities for achievements

C．producers prefer TV actresses to film stars for advertisements

D．quality rather than the outside of products is more concerned

【小題3】The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 indicates that any wrong step will possibly ______.

A．decrease the popularity of a celebrity and the sales of his products

B．damage the image of a celebrity in the eyes of the general public

C．cut short the artistic careen of a celebrity in show business

D．influence the price of a celebrity’s products

【小題4】The passage is mainly about _______.

A．celebrity and personal style

B．celebrity and market potential

C．celebrity and fashion design

D．celebrity and clothing industry