People are talking about the “new economy.” It’s very different from the “old economy”.

In the old economy, people travel to walk. They buy things in stores. They use the post office, the fax and the telephone to send information. They see people face-to-face at their jobs or in stores. People get information from newspapers, radio, television, books and libraries.

In the new economy, people do business through the “net,” which is a connection of millions of computers everywhere in the world. In the new economy, workers often work at home. They can get information online. They can communicate with employers and co-workers by e-mail. Businesses have “virtual stores”. They are websites on which customers can see the products. Businesses can sell to customers anywhere in the world.

In the new economy, people live a fast paced, convenient and colorful life. The whole world develops more quickly than before. But the new economy is a double-edge sword. Its disadvantage is also obvious. For example, the Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card cheating. Some illegal websites offer some cheap or banned goods or services. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they want to buy and their card information could even be for sale in an illegal website. So people in the new economy should be smarter and knowledgeable.

The cause of the differences between the new economy and the old economy is ____.

A. the change of people’s idea    B. the business people do

C. the use of the Internet        D. the change of people’s life

In the old economy, people can do the following things EXCEPT____.

A. getting information from books   

B. communicating with friends by telephone

C. meeting people face to face

D. shopping online

“But the new economy is a double-edge sword ” in the last passage means_____.

A. The new economy is as sharp as a sword

B. The new economy has advantages and disadvantages

C. The new economy is better than the old economy

D. Both the new economy and the old economy have disadvantages

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. People can get all kinds of information on the Internet.

B. Telephone, radio, television, newspapers and so on will disappear in the new economy.

C. People in the new economy should have high quality.

D. Life in the new economy is more comfortable than the one in the old economy.

短文填词

When I was a kid, I got interested in astronomy.

I used to wonder how big the u______ might be and   __________

what are “behind” the stars. But as I grew up, I h______ __________

had any time to  ______ (发展) my hobby because of too __________

much work. Many times I would like to observe an object

in the night ______, but I was either too tired or busy working__________

or I had to look after my kids. So I ______(鼓励) them to  __________

observe the stars together ______me and I even read kids’__________

astronomy books to them. By having a ______(共同的) hobby we__________

spent time together and we all found it interesting.

   While reading astronomy books, I u______ how many  __________

interesting things there are outside of this ______(行星). __________I realized that the information opens a door to a h______ __________

world of interesting things.

–Did you remember to give Mary the money you owed to her?

–Yes, I gave it to her _____ I saw her.

A. while                B. immediately        C. suddenly    D. once

Boris is no longer a child , let him learn to ________ the problem himself .

 A. discuss      B. settle      C. deal    D. decide

He stopped and turned around _____.

A. every few meters  B. every other meters  C. every a few meters  D. every meters

完形填空 (共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)

A beggar, carrying a shabby(破旧的) old wallet, was begging alone from house to house. As he complained about his 36 , he kept wondering that people who lived in 37 houses should always be unsatisfied, 38 rich they might be, and they should go so far as to 39 all they have.

       “Here, for example,” he said, the former master of this house succeeded in trading, and made himself very rich. By then, instead of stopping, and handing over his 40 to another, and spending the rest of his years 41 peace, he took to(从事) equipping ships. He expected to get mountains of gold; but the ships were 42 , and his treasures were lost. Now they all lie at the bottom of the sea, and he has found his 43 disappeared like those in dreams. In short, examples of this are 44.

       At this moment Fortune suddenly appeared to the beggar and said, “Listen! I have long wished to 45 you. Here are a lot of gold coins I have found. Hold out your wallet, and I will fill it with them; but only on this condition: All shall be gold that falls into the wallet, but if 46 of them falls out of the wallet to the ground, it 47 become dust. Consider this well. I have warned you I shall 48 keep my word. Your wallet is old, don’t fill it 49 its power.” The beggar was almost too overjoyed to breathe. He 50 felt the ground below his feet. A stream of coins were poured 51 it. The wallet soon became rather heavy.

       “Is that 52 ?” “Not yet,” “Isn’t it 53 ?” “Never fear.” “Consider, you are a millionaire.” “Just a little more, just 54 a handful,” But at that moment the wallet broke, the gold coins 55 dust and Fortune disappeared. The beggar had nothing but his empty wallet and remained as poor as before.

A. plan                   B. fate                          C. idea                         D. dream

A. dark                 B. poor                        C. clean                        D. rich

A. how                    B. so                   C. however                   D. whatever

A. win               B. lose                C. throw                       D. forget

A. business              B. debt                 C. money                            D. chance

A. to                           B. on                       C. with                   D. in

A. bought                      B. sold                 C. missed                      D. robbed

A. luck                    B. riches                       C. trade                        D. future

A. countless             B. wonderful                C. helpless                    D. funny

A. admire                   B. help                  C. encourage                 D. excite

A. little                   B. much                       C. any              D. lots

A. must                  B. may                C. shall                        D. can

A. mostly                B. simply              C. possibly             D. strictly

A. beyond                B. within                      C. during             D. by

A. really                B. actually                    C. hardly                      D. nearly

A. for                        B. into                     C. on                     D. from

A. so             B. enough                     C. true                D. right

A. trembling           B. shaking                  C. breaking                   D. rolling

A. try                    B. put                 C. leave                        D. add

A. cleared up                 B. brought up          C. fell into                  D. turned into

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

D

The first MP4 player was born years ago. Soon many music fans were wondering how fantastic it is! If you have been into technology enough, perhaps you may have a knowledge of the MP4. If not, you do need to know something before buying one, even if you are familiar with MP3. MP3 is the CD-like disc with greater capacity. How about MP4? This small digital product will really enrich the joy from listening to music. You can even feel the “touch” of music to your soul!

Now, some similar digital products advertised as “MP4 player” are simply MP3 players, which do not play video and MPEG format and also lack other particular functions. These products confuse some buyers, as they may think the “MP4” players simply mean they can do more than MP3.

What is MP4?

It is a multimedia container. It is not only used to store digital audio and digital video streams, especially those of MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and pictures. As a most modern container format, it allows streaming over the Internet.

With the help of a piece of MP4 video equipment, you can change various programs such as MPEG to MP4, ASX to MP4, AVI to MP4 and so on, which can be done very quickly and easily without any effect on the sound quality. By installing DVD-MP4 software, you can transfer particular music from a DVD to an MP4 video file. It really excites your listening music experience.

Then, there is MP4 advanced and you can set your own collection of all the programs—TV shows, games, and music. You can even see movies which are still running in cinema. What else digital product could you possibly ask for?

It is suggested here that you should ______ before buying an MP4 player.

   A. first be a music fan                   B. have a knowledge of MP4

   C. get familiar with MP3               D. buy a CD-like disc

From the passage, we can see that MP4 is ______ MP3.

   A. much bigger than                      B. just as advanced as

   C. not so particular as                    D. more functional than

Which function of MP4 is NOT directly mentioned in this passage?

Ａ．Storing digital audio and video streams.

Ｂ．Recording some movies in cinema.

Ｃ．Playing TV shows, games and movies.

Ｄ．Transferring particular music from a DVD.

From the last sentence, it’s clear that the writer tries to tell us it is ______.

Ａ．reasonable to buy other digital products

Ｂ．impossible to buy something else

Ｃ．a very wise choice to buy an MP4

Ｄ．an exciting experience to buy an MP3

I would appreciate ____ if you could give me a lift.

A. you                  B. that                          C. one                          D. it

When asked whether he could come over and have dinner with us,          .

       A．she said nothing             B．nothing was said by him

       C．Tom nodded his head      D．they shook their heads

The boys usually play football on Friday afternoon,       it rains.

       A. except       B. except for C. except when      D. except that