Many people think a telephone is essential. But I think it is a pest and a time waster. Very often you find it impossible to escape from some idle or curious chatter-box, or from somebody who wants something for nothing. If you have a telephone in your own house, you will admit that it tends to ring when you are asleep, or in the middle of a meal or a conversation, or when you are just going out, or when you are taking your bath. Are you strong minded enough to ignore it, to say to yourself,“Ah, well, it will all be the same in a hundred years’ time” You are not. You think there may be some important news or messages for you. I can assure you that if a message is really important it will reach you sooner or later. Have you never rushed dripping from the bath, or chewing from the table, or dazed from the bed, only to be told that you are a wrong number?
But you will say, you need not have your name printed in the telephone directory, and you can have a telephone which is only usable for outgoing calls. Besides, you will say, isn’t it important to have a telephone in case of emergency—illness, an accident, or fire? Of course, you are right, but here in a thickly populated country like England one is seldom far from a telephone in case of dreadful necessity.
I think perhaps I had better try to justify myself by trying to prove that what I like is good. I admit that in different circumstances—if I were a tycoon(business VIP),for instance, or bed ridden I might find a telephone essential. But then if I were a taxi-driver I should find a car essential.
Let me put it another way: there are two things for which the English seem to show particular talent; one is mechanical invention, the other is literature. My own business happens to be with the use of words but I see I must now stop using them. For I have just been handed a slip of paper to say that somebody is waiting to speak to me on the telephone. I think I had better answer it. After all, one never knows, it may be something important.
【小題1】The passage is mainly discussing _______.

A．that we should be strong enough to ignore a phone call

B．that important message will reach you sooner or later

C．whether it’s necessary to answer all phone calls

D．whether it is necessary to have a telephone

【小題2】Judging from the passage, who is strong-minded enough to ignore a phone call?

A．The author.	B．A tycoon.
C．A taxi-driver.	D．Hardly anyone.

【小題3】According to the passage, the author________.

A．thinks the telephone should go out of our life

B．likes to be different from other people

C．thinks the telephone is annoying

D．speaks favourably of a telephone

【小題4】In the author’s opinion, which of the following is NOT true?

A．Nearly everyone has been told a wrong number.

B．It’s necessary for everyone to have a telephone.

C．He himself can not decide whether to answer a call.

D．A telephone directory may bring in unexpected calls.

For many centuries，countless scholars have asked the question：What is beauty? As designers update the latest fashions and artists create their masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes at an alarming pace.
Fifty years ago，the full-figured Marilyn Monroe was a symbol of the American aesthetic(美學(xué)的)value；today，many Hollywood actresses different in appearance from Marilyn’s have taken her place. However，aesthetic values not only differ from generation to generation，but do so along cultural lines as well. Often, what is considered disgusting to one civilization is just the aesthetic appeal in another. Thus it is difficult to give an absolute definition(定義)of beauty.
As fundamental(基礎(chǔ)的)physicists，my colleagues and I like to believe that we are involved in a search for a beauty that affects definition. The beauty that we search for is not what is set up through the work of people and subject to the tastes, but rather what has been laid down by nature Physics allows its students to look past outer appearances，into a deeper beauty. As a human being，I am attracted by the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach. As a physicist, however I am able to see the deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon.
In truth，since Albert Einstein put forward the idea that there might be one main physical theory that governs the universe，aesthetics have become a driving force in modern physics. Einstein and other later physicists have discovered that：Nature, as its most fundamental level，is beautifully constructed. The extraordinary simplicity of the laws that govern the universe is really breathtaking . As Einstein said, it would seem more likely that we should find ourselves living in a“chaotic(無(wú)秩序曲)world，in no way graspable through thinking”. Yet we are now closer than ever to a full understanding of the universe’s beautiful clockwork. As new discoveries and technologies allow us to examine the physical world on deeper and deeper levels，we find that the beauty itself becomes much deeper.
【小題1】The reference to“Marilyn Monroe”in Paragraph 2 mainly serves to___________.

A．provide an example of today’s beauty standards

B．show there is no fixed definition of aesthetics

C．compare traditions of the East to the West

D．discuss her abilities as an actress

【小題2】When appreciating a wave crashing on the beach，a physicist sees the beauty of___________.

A．the visual attraction	B．the powerful sounds
C．the physical laws behind	D．the lovely creatures

【小題3】Why are Albert Einstein’s words mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．To detail the functions of physical laws.

B．To highlight the range of Einstein’s influence.

C．To show that Einstein doubted the beauty of physics.

D．To stress the very simplicity of the laws of the universe.

【小題4】The passage is mainly to___________.

A．present a special way of seeing beauty

B．emphasize the influence of physics

C．discuss the awareness of cross-culture

D．a(chǎn)rgue the traditional ideas on value

Forget Twitter and Facebook, Google and the Kindle. Television is still the most influential medium around. Indeed, for many of the poorest regions(地區(qū))of the world, it remains the next big thing—finally becomes globally available. And that is a good thing, because the TV revolution is changing lives for the better.
Across the developing world, around 45% of families had a TV in 1995; by 2005 the number had climbed above 60% . That is some way behind the U.S. ,where there are more TVs than people, and where people now easily get access to the Internet. Five million more families in sub-Saharan Africa will get a TV over the next five years. In 2005 , after the fall of the Taliban（塔利班）,which had banned TV, I in 5 Afghans had one. The global total is another 150 million by 2013—pushing the numbers to well beyond two thirds of families.
Television’s most powerful effect will be on the lives of women. In India, researchers Robert Jensen and Emily Oster found that when TVs reached villages, women were more likely to go to the market without their husbands approval and less likely to want a boy rather than a girl. They were more likely to make decisions over child health care. TV is also a powerful medium for adult education. In the Indian state of Gujarat, Chitrageet is a popular show that plays Bollywood songs with words in Gujarati on the screen. Within six months, viewers had made a small but significant improvement in their reading skills.
Too much TV has been associated with violence, overweight and loneliness. However, TV is having a positive influence on the lives of billions worldwide.
【小題1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Americans used to get access to the Internet easily.

B．The world’s TV sets will total 150 million by 2013.

C．45% of families in the developing countries had a TV in 2005.

D．Over two thirds of families in the world will have a TV by 2013.

【小題2】The author intends to ____________.

A．stress the advantages of TV to people’s lives

B．persuade women to become more independent

C．encourage people to improve their reading skills

D．introduce the readers some websites such as Google

【小題3】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．TV Will Rule the World	B．TV Will Disturb the World
C．TV Will Better the World	D．TV Will Remain in World

While income worry is a rather common problem of the aged, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face. Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one. This phenomenon is commonly known as “Empty Nest syndrome”.
In order to find better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return home. Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them. The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries. Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what they actually do. This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries. Our society has not yet been well prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”.
【小題1】According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by ________.

A．their earlier experience of living alone

B．the poor living conditions in their native countries

C．the common worry that they have not saved much money

D．the distance between where parents live and where their children live

【小題2】Many young people have gone abroad, leaving their aged parents behind, to ________.

A．realize their dreams in foreign countries

B．seek a better place for their aged parents

C．live in the countries with more money

D．continue their studies abroad

【小題3】If young people go abroad, ________.

A．they do not hold to the value of duty at all

B．they can give some help to their parents back home

C．they cannot do what they should for their parents

D．they believe what they actually do is right

【小題4】From the last paragraph, we can infer that ________.

A．the situations in the developed and developing countries are different

B．“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society

C．children will become independent as soon as they go abroad

D．the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”

【小題5】The society discussed in the passage is most probably ________.

A．France

B．America

C．China

D．Britain

I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks (地標(biāo)) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, ‘Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite, They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
【小題1】When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________

A．describe the place carefully

B．show him a map of the place

C．tell him the names of the streets

D．refer to recognizable buildings and places

【小題2】What is the place where people measure distance in time?

A．New York.

B．Los Angeles.

C．Kansas.

D．Iowa.

【小題3】People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________

A．in order to save time

B．a(chǎn)s a test

C．so as to be polite

D．for fun

【小題4】What can we infer from the text?

A．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

B．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

C．People have similar understandings of politeness.

D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

People in cities all over the world shop in supermarkets. Who decides what you buy in the supermarket? Do you decide? Does the supermarket decide?
When you enter the supermarket, you see shelves full of food. You walk in the aisles (走道) between the shelves. You push a shopping cart and put your food in it.
You probably hear soft, slow music as you walk along the aisles. This may be an attempt to please you, so you will enjoy shopping. Some supermarkets want to increase their profits by playing soft and slow music, because the slow music makes you walk slowly and you have more time to buy things.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually put near the entrance. When you arrive at the supermarket, you think about the kinds of fruit and vegetables you need first. Once you’ve got that out of the way, you can relax and do the rest of the shopping without any hurry. Besides, if you see fresh goods first, it gives you a “feel good” impression of freshness, so you can not help spending your money.
Maybe you go to the meat department then. There is some meat on sale, and you want to find it. The manager of the supermarket knows where customers enter the meat department. The cheaper meat is at the other end of the meat department, away from where the customers enter. You have to walk past all the expensive meat before you find the cheaper meat. Maybe you will buy some of the expensive meat instead of the meat on sale.
Most of the food in supermarkets is very attractive. It all says “Buy me quickly!” to the customers. The fresh fruit and vegetables say “Buy me quickly!” as you walk by. The expensive meat says “Buy me quickly!” The supermarket tells you what to buy.
【小題1】Some supermarkets play soft, slow music because it ______.

A．makes customers walk slowly and buy more

B．can help customers get the things they want

C．can make customers relaxed and happy

D．can tell customers exactly where to go

【小題2】The manager knows ______.

A．where customers come from

B．which customers like slow music

C．where fresh meat should be put

D．which customers like cheap meat

【小題3】When walking past the expensive meat, the customers will ______.

A．pay no attention to it	B．possibly buy some
C．look for some cheap meat	D．feel uncomfortable

【小題4】If you see fresh goods first in the supermarket, ______.

A．you know where to get things

B．it brings you good luck

C．it makes you spend less money

D．you’ll get a fresh impression

【小題5】Supermarket managers make the food attractive so that ______.

A．the customers will buy more	B．it looks very expensive
C．the customers come often	D．it seems cheap and fine

Love is a telephone which always keeps silent when you are longing for a call, but rings when you are not ready for it. As a result, we often miss the sweetness from the other end.
Love is a telephone which is seldom program-controlled or directly dialed. You cannot get an immediate answer by a mere "hello", let alone go deep into your lover's heart by one call. Usually it had to be relayed by an operator, and you have to be patient in waiting. Destiny(命運(yùn)) is the operator of this phone, who is always irresponsible and fond of playing practical jokes to which she may make you a lifelong victim intentionally or unintentionally.
Love is a telephone which is always busy, When you are ready to die for love, you only find, to your disappointment, the line is already occupied by someone else, and you are greeted only by a busy line. This is an eternal regret handed down from generation to generation and you are only one of those who languish for（因…受煎熬） followers.
Love is telephone, but it is difficult to seize the center time for dialing, and you will let the opportunity slip if your call is either too early or too late.
Love is a telephone which is not always associated with happiness. Honeyed words are transmitted by sound waves, but when the lovers are brought together, the phone serves no purpose that many lovers observe that marriage is the doom of love.
Love is a telephone which, when you use it for the first time, makes you so nervous and excited that you either hold the receiver upside down or dial the wrong number. By the time you've calmed down, you will beat a loss to whom you should make the call.
Love is a telephone which often has crossed lines. And this usually happens to you unexpectedly. Your time will either cross or be crossed. Both cases are referred to as "triangle". Fortunately, all such occurrences are transient(轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝的).
【小題1】What is the best title of the passage?

A．Love is transient

B．Love is permanent

C．Love is a telephone

D．What’s love in life

【小題2】Which statement has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?  

A．"all shall be well，Jack shall have Jill�！埃ㄓ星槿私K成眷屬）

B．A lifelong love is not only romantic but also practical

C．Love is all we have in life

D．Beauty is in the eyes of beholder

【小題3】Which is the synonym with the underlined word ”doom”?

A．monument

B．final end

C．key point

D．substitute

【小題4】In which part can this passage probably be found ?

A．a(chǎn)dvertisement

B．financial

C．emotion

D．lottery

Well, parents, surprise! Lots of us are using Twitter and Facebook to thumb rides, and not just to school. It’s awkward to be refused when you call a friend and ask for a ride. But with Twitter, you just look for other people heading the same way.
It may sound risky, so many teens stay within their own social circles to find rides, and don’t branch out beyond friends when asking on Twitter just like me, but to some young people, especially those taking longer trips, stranger danger is less of a concern.
“I think the digital connection of young people is really key, because younger generations grew up sharing things on line, sharing files, photos, music, etc, so they’ve been very used to sharing,” said Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College.
The sharing economy got big during the recession (經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退), allowing people to access more goods, services using technology and even to share costs. And that technology, for me, is what the car was for my mom, a gateway to more freedom, like what my friend Earl says, “The symbol of freedom isn’t the car any more because there’s technology out there connecting you to a car.”
According to the researchers at the University of Michigan, 30 years ago, eight in ten American 18-year-olds had a driver’s license compared to six in ten today. So it’s not that surprising that on my 16th birthday I wasn’t rushing to get a license but an iPhone.
“Driving, for young people, does mean they have to disconnect from their technology, and that’s a negative. So if they could sit in the passage side and still be connected, that’s going to be a plus.” Schor continued.
To me, another plus is that ridesharing represents something, something much bigger than trying to save money. I see it as evidence that people still depend on each other. My generation shares their cars and apartments the way neighbors used to share cups of sugar. For the system to work, some of us still need our own cars. But until I get my own version of the silver Super Beetle, you can find me on Twitter.
【小題1】The American teens like me, prefer to possess an iPhone as a birthday gift because _______.

A．it is most fashionable and cool

B．they are bored with driving cars

C．they are fond of being connected

D．it is much cheaper than a car

【小題2】We can learn from the text that _______.

A．Twitter is a website for teens to make friends and achieve goals

B．ridesharing can be seen as a sign that people still count on each other

C．driving cars for teens means a plus and connecting with technology

D．having a car and cost-sharing symbolize more freedom for the author’s mother

【小題3】Professor Juliet would agree that _______.

A．young people will sit waiting to be contacted by reading a passage

B．sharing economy is bound to be responsible for the recession

C．young people tend to share a car with strangers by means of Twitter

D．being connected via technology comes first for young people

【小題4】The best title for the passage is probably _______.

A．Twitter, an Awesome Website	B．Cars or iPhone
C．Teens Use Twitter to Thumb Rides	D．Cool Teens on the Go

I recently ran into a friend I hadn't seen for a long while.  Our conversation was lively andfull of news from both sides.  Before we parted she said  "You'll have to drop in sometime. "immediately  sensed that if I  simply  " dropped in"  I would take my friend by  surprise, and  I would be discouraged by the image of her standing in her doorway, staring at me, and asking, " Oh ,err …what brings you here?"
Whatever happened to the unannounced drop-in visit? When I was growing up in the 1960s, it seemed that people-mostly relatives,  but also friends-were always dropping in .  My parents would put coffee on, and my mom would find something in the kitchen to serve along with it. Then the conversation would begin…The neighbor lady, a worrier, was unloading her sadness while my mom quietly listened. The Irish man next door had such an atcent that I remember asking what language he spoke. My Polish relatives arrived in packs…But I never heard my parents say any- thing like  " We  weren't expecting you"  or  " This  isn't a good  time.  " Drop-in  visitors  had  a certain right of way and became No. 1.
What happened to such visits? Actually I know the answer. Times have changed. Everybody gets busy with work. There is no longer a stay-at-home mom keeping a pot of hot coffee or tea ready throughout the day for a surprise guest. Exploding malls and stores are now replacing homes as a central form of entertainment.
Just the other day a former student of mine showed up.  "I'm sorry for the surprise visit. " my student began.  "I just wanted to see if you still lived here.  I'll only stay a minute. "
My response was immediate.  "No, you won't," I said.  " Just come in, sit, have coffee, and we'11 talk. "I had nothing in the kitchen but we ordered pizza.  And we had a lovely time.  I have tried to keep the drop-in tradition alive though it takes some effort.
【小題1】The author thought of his friend's invitation- " You'll have to drop in sometime"-as______

A． a nice way of refusal	B． an excuse of leaving
C．a(chǎn) kind of politeness	D．a(chǎn)n expression of surprise

【小題2】The underlined phrase "dropping in" in the second paragraph means_________.

A．pay a sudden visit	B．make many friends
C．make a special date	D．have a good time

【小題3】The woman from the neighborhood used to visit the author' s home to _______.

A．seek comfort from my parents	B．make nevr friends
C．listen to my parents' story	D．taste nice dishes

【小題4】From the third paragraph of the passage, we can infer that_______.

A．unexpected visitors are still welcome now

B．modern people prefer outdoor activities

C．there are more jobs for the housewives now

D．the author misses the lost good days

【小題5】The author writes the passage intending to ________.

A．encourage people to be drop-in visitors

B．explain how to deal with unexpected visitors

C．share his feelings about the drop-in tradition

D．show the importance of making friends

Human beings are the most intelligent  of all animals because we are gifted with the ability to think and reason logcally.  Scientists and even common people with special intelligence have made a lotol inventions and contributions to modern lifestyle in the past.  "Houses" have been the most popular area for discoveries and inventions in the past and even now.
Many household items have been the result of people who desired better functioning  of the existent products.Every indivicdual has intelligence and if it is used properly for the right purpose it leads to invenaion of a new tool or device.Many new household inveritions are  made almost every day and there are specific companies,  which particularly keep a record of all these inventions.
A lot of inventions have been made recently in the household field. These products are pa- tented(專利的) and have trade mark licenses(許可) .  The patented sliding cinch is a very simple but effedtive method to prevent shoulder stress and injury for those who work before computers all day long.  Vanity PC is a type of computer fumiture that speciflcally hides all the computer wires and keeps; a clean and good look. All the outdoor dust, mud and snow can be kept out of the house by installing(安裝) the dirt drain(排水管) at the entrance of the door.  Another important invention is the automatic toilet night-light, in which a small light starts when the lid of the toilet seat is opened and closes as soon as the lid is closed.
These are some of the new household inventions invented mostly by common people. Thus, a variety of new household items are invented every day, which helps in a better functioning of household chores and in a more useful manner.
【小題1】The first paragraph tells us the importance of

A．the particular changes in houses

B．the advantages of modern lifestyle

C．the difference between human beings and animals

D． human being role in making inventions

【小題2】What plays the most impoltant role in causing people to invent new things?

A．To improve the present living conditions.

B．To earn more money and gain awards.

C．To be recorded by some special companies.

D．To meet the new demands of new science.

【小題3】It can be inferred that the sliding cinch is used to

A．prevent your shoulder from being over-pressured

B．keep your shoulder safe and sound when you are in an accident or an operation

C．help you practice your shoulder more often and reduce shoulder pains

D．cover your shoulder and make it stronger to resist the outside strike

【小題4】Common people can also make good inventions because

A．some inventions are easy to be made and can be mastered by common people

B．common people have a strong desire to do something for science research

C．wisdom and in spiration sometimes come from everyday life

D．success is often connected with hardship and bitter experience of common people

【小題5】The passage is mainly talking about _______.

A．the correct use of household facilities

B．household inventions and their influence

C．different ideas about household inventions

D．the history of household inventions