Mobile phones (手机) have become a problem for middle schools. Some middle
schools in Australia have banned (禁止) students from carrying mobile phones during
school hours.
      Mobile phones' use among children has become a problem for the school this year.
Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts, and more students will
want them.
      Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phones' use is a distraction (分心的事) to students
during school hours, and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms.
Teachers said that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
      She said some schools had tried to ban mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy
because they couldn't get in touch with their children.
      Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was
a good reason, they could leave their phones at the school office. They also said there were
many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to
lose and were a distraction from studies.
      Many people say that they understand why parents would want their children to have
mobile phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use
their mobile phones.

1. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones _____.

A. because they are students
B. when they are free
C. when they are at school
D. because they are children

2. We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from _____.

A. the makers and sellers
B. the passers-by and strangers
C. their parents and friends
D. some mobile phone users

3. What does the underlined word "cheat" mean in Paragraph 3?

A. 聊天
B. 核对
C. 查询
D. 作弊

4. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn't _____ during school hours.

A. use their mobile phones
B. leave their mobile phones at the school office
C. help the teachers with their work
D. get in touch with their children

5. The passage tells us that _____.

A. students shouldn't have mobile phones at school except for some special reasons
B. it is impossible to ban students from using mobile phones at school
C. some parents felt unhappy because their children couldn't use mobile phones at school
D. parents should teach their children how to use mobile phones during school hours

       For several years, Americans have enjoyed teleshopping-watching TV and buying thing by
phone. Now, teleshopping is starting in Europe. In a number of European countries, people can
turn on their TVs and shop for clothes, jewelry, food, toys and many other thing.
      Teleshopping is becoming popular in Sweden. For example, the biggest Swedish teleshopping
company sells different kinds of things on TV in 15 European countries, and in one year it made $
100 million. In France, there are two teleshopping channels (频道), and the French spend $ 20
million a year buying things through those channels.
      In Germany, until last year, teleshopping was on one channel for one hour every day. Then
the government allowed more teleshopping.  Other channels can now open for telebusiness,
including teleshoping, because it allows people to do their shopping without leaving their homes.
With all the problems of traffic in the cities, this is an important reason to allow more teleshopping.
But at the same time, other Europeans do not like this new way of shopping. They call teleshopping
" junk on the air". Many Europeans worry about the quality of the things for sale on TV. Good quality
is important to them, and they believe they can't be sure about the quality of the things they see on TV.
       The need for high quality means that European teleshopping companies will have to be different
from American companies. They will have to be more careful about the quality of the things they sell.
They will also have to work harder to sell things that the buyers can't touch or see in person.

1. In which countries can people teleshop?
    _________________________________
2. What is teleshopping?
    _________________________________
3. In which countries does the biggest Swedish company sell things? 
    _________________________________
4. What do some European worry about? 
    _________________________________
5. What must Europeans teleshopping companies do to make people buy things? 
    _________________________________

      My grandmother complains about how things   1   (change), and she says that life   2  (be) better.
Families aren't families the way they  3  (be). And mothers  4  (stay) home and take care of their
children, but now everyone   5   (work). No one has time for children. Everyone's divorced. (离婚) If
a husband and wife   6   (have) problems with their marriage, they don't stay together anymore.
      And the cars! No one   7  (walk) anymore; everybody drives. We   8   (walk) five miles to school
everyday, even in winter. And people   9  (not, talk) to each other anymore. They are too busy to talk,
too busy to eat, too busy to think…
       Life   10  (be) simple, but it isn't now.

      Most people have jobs. They go to work nearly every day. Some people are lucky. Either they have
very interesting jobs or they make a lot of money. Most people are not so lucky. Either their jobs are not
very interesting or they don't make much money.
      The most interesting jobs are often the most difficult. People take a long time to learn how to do them.
Doctors study for at least six years after finishing school. Some young people have interesting and high-pay
jobs. Many young players do their work successfully. Football and tennis stars are usually under 35 years
old. Older people usually can not play these sports very well. They cannot move fast enough. Golf, however,
is a good sport for older people. Many golf players are quite old, but they can play it successfully. Most
people work until they are 60 or 65 years old. Then they retire (退休) and have a lot of free time.
      Some people never retire though. These people usually have very interesting jobs. Writers, artists,
scientists and actors usually work until they die. Their work is their life.

1. Some ______ people have interesting or high-pay jobs, ______
    most people don't have such good luck.
2. Some jobs ______ a long time to learn because they are ______. 
3. Young players can ______ very fast, so many of them play these ______
    like football and tennis very ______. 
4. Golf is a good sport for ______ people. 
5. Most people keep ______ until the age of 60 or 65. But writers, artists,
    scientists and actors can work all their ______. 

       Mobile phone has become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia
have banned (禁止) students from carrying mobile phones during school hours.
       Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the schools this year. Several
children have got mobile phones as Christmas presents, and more students want them.
       Mary Bluett, an official (官员) said mobile phone use is a distraction (分心) to students during
school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also
saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat (作弊) during exams.
       The official said some schools had tried to ban mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy
because they couldn't get in touch with their children.
       Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good
reason, they could leave their phones at school office. They also said there were many reasons why
the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction
from studies.
       Many people say that they understand why parents would like their children to have phones, but
they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.

1. Have some middle schools in Australia banned students from carrying mobile phones at school?
    ______________________________________
2. Probably from whom did some children get mobile phones?
    ______________________________________ 
3. What did some students use phone messages to do? 
    ______________________________________
4. Why did some parents feel unhappy about banning mobile phones at school? 
    ______________________________________
5. Can students use mobile phones for some special reasons?
     ______________________________________

     Many pupils tell us that they are busy with their study every day and don't have enough time to do
what they like to do. Brian, 13, said, "I don't have much time for friends. I wish I could talk to them more."
     Mary feels that she never has enough time to practice her violin and play with her friends. She spends
most of her time studying and doing her homework. 
     Alice, 14, wants more time for skating and Rick, 15, wishes he had more time to watch TV. Morgan,
12. said, "I never have time just to be myself, talk with my friends and write in my diary!"
     Well, time is the same to every one of us. We can't get more time or make time slow down. What we
CAN do is try our best to manage (明智的使用) it. This means that we should know about everything we
HAVE TO do and WANT to do. For example, we have to study, sleep, eat and make our house clean. We
want to do things that make us feel relaxed (放松的) and happy. Then we should try to understand how
much time each activity will take in a day. After we know that, we can make a plan to help us get through
the day without too much hurry.
      I think that if all of us use our time properly, we'll feel happier.

1. What does Mary spend most of her time doing?

A. Studying and doing her homework.
B. Practicing the violin.
C. Playing on the computer.
D. Playing with her friends.

2. What would Alice do if she had more time?

A. Talk with her friends.
B. Write in her diary.
C. Watch TV.
D. Go Skating.

3. How many steps does the writer tell us about how to manage time?

A. Five.
B. Four.
C. Three.
D. Two.

4. According to the pupils' words, we know that ______.

A. they don't have much time to do what they like to do
B. they don't like their school work
C. they feel tired of life
D. they want their homework to be more interesting

5. What's the main idea of the passage?

A. We should try our best to do what we have to do.
B. We should learn to manage our time.
C. Time is the same to every one of us.
D. Children shouldn't have too much homework.

     Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people
will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper when the TV news can bring you the
information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read a novel when a play on television can tell you the
same story with color, pictures and action? Why read the biographies of famous men and women when a
one-hour-long television program can tell you all that you want to know?
     Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers and magazines sell in very large numbers.
And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and
entertainment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are published today as
paperbacks, which are reasonably cheap. A paperback novel, for example, is always cheaper than an evening
at the movies or the theater, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times.
     Books in the home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be
in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. Every home should have an atlas (地图集) of the
world, with large clear maps. It might be expensive, but a good encyclopedia is useful, too, because you can
find information on any subject. In addition, it is useful to have on your bookshelves other non-fiction books
such as history books, science textbooks, cook books, books about medicine and health, etc. it is equally
important to have some fiction (小说) on your shelves, too. Then you can relax with a good story, or from
time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read thoughts and feelings of your favorite
poets.

1. Which is usually quicker?

A. To read a biography of a famous person.
B. To watch a television program about a famous person.
C. To read a newspaper or a magazine.
D. To buy a good dictionary at home.

2. What's the Chinese meaning of the underlined word "encyclopedia"?

A. 百科全书
B. 小说
C. 医药卫生
D. 世界地图

3. Which is usually cheaper?

A. A paperback.
B. A hard-cover book.
C. An evening at the movies.
D. All above.

4. Which is the most important to have in your home?

A. Non-fiction books, such as a dictionary and an encyclopedia.
B. Fiction, such as novels, short stories and books of poems.
C. A' mixture of both good non-fiction and your favorite fiction.
D. Some newspapers and magazines of every kind.

5. Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Books in the home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure.
B. We should buy a dictionary and use it for reading.
C. It is useful to have a good encyclopedia on the shelf.
D. Every home should have an atlas of the world.

    What's a blog? A blog is a personal online diary (日记). It's cool, it's hot, and everyone is doing it. People
talk about it often. Sound like a fashion? In fact, It's another trend (流行趋势). And the word "blogger" means
a person who writes diaries online. Are you a blogger?　　
     Many bloggers are teenagers who log (进入) onto websites to discuss anything in their lives. Many of
today's teenagers are not afraid to openly discuss everything in their lives. Teenagers complain about their
parents and homework. They share diaries, post (发布) songs from the latest bands and show pictures of
theirs. They write their own poems, say something about their girlfriends or boyfriends and complain to each
other or offer support. But mostly they just write down what they do every day.　　
     However, many parents are worried about these young bloggers. Parents see the kids talking about how
they got drunk last weekend and how they don't like studying. They are using the language that is surprising
to their parents. Besides hearing from their friends, teen bloggers also get messages from strangers. Most of
the time, it's older men asking to meet teenage girls. "These strange men are dangerous for my kids. They
sometimes teach my kids bad words." said Cara Cabral, a mother of two children.　　
     Many teenagers and young adults know it's not safe to use blogs on the Internet. They know they are
putting information about themselves in a place where it can be seen by anyone. But teenagers are unwilling
to give up these new communication tools that have become a way of life for many of them. 　　

1. The underlined word "it" in the first paragraph means _____.　　

A. the fashion
B. the Internet
C. the blog

2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?　　

A. Teenagers don't tell about their personal life in their blogs.　　
B. Teenagers mostly write down what they do every day in their blogs.　　
C. Teenagers complain about their parents and homework in their blogs.　　

3. What's the main idea of the third paragraph?　　

A. Many parents don't understand kids' language in their blogs.　　
B. Many parents are worried about these young bloggers. 　　
C. Many parents can understand why their kids don't like studying.　

4. Many parents think it's _____ for their children to get messages from strangers.　　

A. dangerous
B. interesting
C. surprising 　　

5. We can learn from the last paragraph that _____.　　

A. It's easy for many teenagers to give up blogging on the Internet 　　
B. It's safe for many teenagers to put their personal information on the Internet　　
C. It's popular for many teenagers to use blogs on the Internet