Young people and older people do not always agree. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special program in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
　　Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and fun in work. Some teenagers work in the forests or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
　　There are several free hours each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo-taking or drawing. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to pass his free time.
　　When people live together, they should have rules. In this program the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
　　One of the teenagers has said something about it, “You have to stop thinking only about yourself. You learn how to think about the group.”
【小题1】In one special program in New York State, young and older people_______.

A．don’t work well together

B．are friendly to each other

C．teach each other new ways of building houses

D．spend eight weeks together, working as farmers

【小题2】All the members work some time every day mainly to________.

A．lead a busy life

B．learn new skills of farming

C．get used to the life on the farms

D．find useful things and pleasure in work

【小题3】Living together, ________.

A．the teenagers don’t have to obey the rules

B．the members have to obey the rules the adults make

C．the members have no free time but on weekends

D．the members should not break the rules they make together

【小题4】The best title for the passage is________.

A．The Rules of Living Together

B．Life in New York State

C．Teenagers and Adults Together

D．Free Hours in the Special Work Group

If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak. When you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this. Yet there are many people who do not seem to know that one’s memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by exercising it regularly. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.
If a friend complains that his arms are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, or that he is just unlucky, and few of us realize that it is really his own fault. Not all of us can become very strong or very clever, but all of us can improve our memory by the same means — practice.
Have you ever noticed that people who cannot read or write usually have a better memory than those who can? Why is this? Of course, because people who can’t read or write have to remember things: they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember dates, prices, names, songs and stories, so their memory is exercised all the time.
So if you want a good memory, learn from those who cannot read or write: practise remembering.
【小题1】 According to the passage, few people know that _____.

A．arms or legs become weak if they are not used for some time

B．when they start using their arms or legs again, they slowly become strong again

C．a person’s memory becomes weak if he does not practise remembering things

D．it is their own fault if their arms or legs are weak

【小题2】 The author thinks that if a person has a poor memory, _________.

A．it is his own fault

B．his parents are to blame

C．he is just unlucky

D．his arms must be weak

【小题3】 From Paragraph 3, we can learn that _________.

A．people who can’t read are cleverer than those who can

B．people who can’t write are cleverer than those who can

C．a little notebook helps people who cannot read or write get a better memory

D．people who practise remembering regularly have a better memory

【小题4】  The passage mainly tells us ____________.

A．how to get our arms and legs stronger

B．how to improve our memory

C．how to read and write

D．how to remember dates and prices

On the River Thames there are a number of boat races every year and these have become very popular with the public. Perhaps the best–known of these races is the University Boat Race. This takes place just before Easter every year and is a competition between teams from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. They row from Putney to Mertlake, a distance of about four and a quarter miles. This race has been taking place almost every year since 1829.
【小题1】 The best – known of these races is __________.

A．the Boat Race of the University of Oxford.

B．the Boat Race of the University of Cambridge

C．the Boat Race of the Olympic Games

D．the University Boat Race

【小题2】 Generally, the Boat Race takes place _________.

A．once a year	B．twice a year
C．every three years	D．every other year

【小题3】 The words “Putney” and “Mertlake” are _________.

A．names of places	B．names of teams
C．names of boat races	D．names of universities

Women love shoes! They will sometimes go to look for the perfect pair of shoes to wear only once with the perfect outfit or the fashion of the day. Once worn, these fashionable designer shoes may spend weeks, months, or years in the closet without being worn again until another special occasion comes up. With that said, are expensive designer shoes really worth their cost?
Historically, shoes were invented to free feet from sharp rocks, hot sands, and blisters. Shoes were made to be simple and functional, with tough leather soles and straps. As society became more sophisticated (复杂的), the role of shoes changed; shoes were made to add status to the wearer.
Shoe designers began to work on the production of fashion shoes for the wealthy; shoes meant more for show than for practical use or simplicity. Good shoemakers became well known and printed symbols on their shoes, so people could recognize the maker of that particular design. Designer shoes were thus born.
Many women develop serious problems with their feet after wearing these designer shoes during the workday and the medical costs for dealing with these problems can get very high. Some popular makers of designer shoes have been working towards combining comfort and practical use into their shoes, but it has been noted that women still go for style, beauty and uniqueness above everything else.
So to answer the question as to whether or not designer shoes are worth the cost, the answer is certainly yes, but be smart and invest in a pair of comfortable, not so stylish shoes for the days when you stay outdoors for hours! They can also be very expensive, but I can surely say that they are worth the cost.
【小题1】When shoes were first made, their main use was to _________.

A．increase the wearer’s image

B．protect the wearer from discomfort

C．make the wearer more noticeable

D．show the simplicity of life

【小题2】From the passage, we can learn that __________.

A．women like to wear designer shoes only during the workday

B．designer shoes are more practical and beautiful than common shoes

C．shoemakers won fame for their shoes’ prices

D．shoemakers printed symbols on their shoes for being recognized

【小题3】Designer shoes will remain on the market because they ________. 

A．make a lot of money for shoemakers

B．meet women’s demand for being special

C．will become increasingly comfortable

D．offer the wearer a chance to show off their wealth

【小题4】In this passage, the author wants to            .

A．explain why expensive designer shoes are worth the money

B．talk about the necessity of owning comfortable shoes

C．warn women of the danger of wearing designer shoes

D．talk about the history and development of shoes

Over three million people will do their Christmas shopping entirely online this year without once visiting an actual shop, a poll (民意调查) has found. Overcrowding and long queues in shops are forcing people away from the high street as the hassle (烦扰) of Christmas shopping becomes too much.
The number of people turning their backs on the high street is almost one million higher than it was last year, according to the poll by YouGov. Last Christmas 2.4 million shoppers did not do any of their shopping in actual shops. The figure this year is predicted to be around 3.4 million, equal to around 7 percent of the adult population.
Over a third of people said that the main turn-off about shopping on the high street is 0ver-crow-ding. Meanwhile almost a quarter said that long queues at the cheek-out are the worst thing about it.
Of the 2.065 people pored, even those who are stir taking to the shops plan to spend less time in them this Christmas. Around 31 percent of shoppers who plan to spend at least some time on the high street will spend less than half of their shopping time in actual shops, using the rest of the time to shop remotely via the internet. This compares to 28 percent of people last year. Meanwhile the proportion of people spending over half of their shopping time in high street shops has dropped from 41 percent last year to 39 percent this year. Just 2 percent of people said that they are looking forward to dealing wi.th store staff this festival season.
Guy Boxall, senior product marketing manager at Casio Business Solutions Division, which commissioned the research from YouGov, said that despite the fall in people visiting the high street,humans are "social creatures" who actually like spending time together.
"Although the high street is facing a big challenge Christmas, retailers (零售商) should see this research as a challenge to improve the in-store shopping experience, rather than the nail in the coffin. We are social creatures, and the desire to spend time with each other, particularly at Christmas, is never going to go away," said Mr. Boxall.
【小题1】According to the poll, in this year's Christmas       

A．about 7 % of the population will do both online and actual shopping

B．about 31% of shoppers will do half of their shopping in actual shops

C．about 39% of shoppers will do more than half of their shopping in actual shops

D．over three million shoppers will quit actual shopping just because of the long queues

【小题2】What's the meaning of "turn-off" in Para.5?

A．Something that makes people lose heart

B．Something that makes people lose face

C．Something that makes people lose interest

D．Something that makes people lose courage

【小题3】It can be inferred from Mr. Boxall's words that                                                                                                   

A．retailers should reduce their in-store goods.

B．retailers wiR be pessimistic about the result of this research.

C．retailers should focus on the advantage of in-store shopping.

D．retailers will make more profits this Christmas than last Christmas

【小题4】Wheat's the writer's attitude towards Christmas online shopping?

A．Concerned.

B．Doubtful.

C．Approving.

D．Objective.

If you want to know how crazy people can be about their pets, you might remember that Helmsley left $12 million to her little Maltese dog when she died last year.
The dog's name is Trouble. And apparendy Trouble is still alive. Of course, I would hang on,too, if someone left me $12 million. Look! Top-shelf dog food, soft pillows everywhere, drivers walking me in nice leafy parks. I would live to be 110 in dog years.
The dog's story is still fresh in my mind the other night when I leave a steak house after a superb meal. Then I notice a woman carrying a small bag out of the door behind me.
Once outside, she walks over to where a man is holding a tiny dog hke it's a baby. The dog looks like a Maltese, too, barking and annoying, with a cute haircut,
And now I am treated to an absolute astonishing sight. Because now the woman reaches into the bag and begins pulling out little pieces of meat, which she puts on a plastic spoon and feeds to the dog.
This is no cheap steak house. It's actually, way out of my league --I'm there only because it's a special occasion. I can tell you this: if I walked out of the place with any leftover steak, it sure wouldn't go to a dog. Not at those prices.
So now the woman is Spoon-feeding the dog and the man is just standing there, holding this dog and looking as if this is the most normal thing in the world. And the dog is calmly chewing these pieces of steak as if he's a little king. And this dog is in no hurry. He's having a great time.
A few minutes go by, and now the dog finishes all of his steak. At this point, I hear the woman say to the man "Think he's still hungry?" And she glances behind her at the restaurant, as if she might go back in there to get more steak for the dog.
Watching all this, I'm afraid I'm going to shout, "Are you out of your mind? Feeding all that pricey steak to that little dog? Did you see what our American life is like today? We're all going to be eating dog food if this keeps up!"        
【小题1】Why would the author live to be 110 in dog years?

A．Because he is always in poor health and falls ill.

B．Because a Maltese dog lives longer than a human being.

C．Because his grandparents left him a large sum of money.

D．Because he thinks the dog is treated extremely well.

【小题2】What is the story mainly about?

A．An American family's happy life.

B．A Maltese dog getting $12 million from its owner.

C．A New Yorker spending $ 8 billion for a few banks.

D．A pet dog being fed with expensive food.

【小题3】The underlined sentence "It's actually way out of my league. " (in Para. 6) means __

A．the restaurant is too expensive for the author

B．the author hates the dog being taken there

C．the superb restaurant is about to be out of service

D．the dog doesn't belong to the author's group

【小题4】Seeing the dog.is being treated to expensive steak, the author becomes extremely ____

A．indifferent

B．annoyed

C．concerned

D．envious

"Regardless of social class, race and age, men say they hate to shop." says Zukin, City University of New York sociology professor. "Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they like to shop. Men generally like to shop for books, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they'll say, "Well, that's not shopping. That's research. "
In other words, what men and women call "buying things" and how they approach that task are different.
Women will wander through several 1,000-aquare-meter stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the perfect digital camcorder. Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a special task or a game to be won.
"Men are frequently shopping to win," says Ann, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. "They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best one, the latest one and if they do that it makes them happy. "When women shop, "They're doing it in a way that they want everybody to be very happy." says Ann. "They're kind of shopping for love."
"Teenage girls learn to shop from their moms and older sisters, but they also learn to shop by examining articles in magazines like Seventeen, "City University Zukin says." And although men's magazines such as GQ and Esquire have long had shopping articles, it's TV that has the eye of young male shoppers, "say Ann and Zukin.
"Television shows are used by young men in the same way Seventeen magazine or Lucky is used by girls," says Zukin, "to help make clothing and toiletry choices."
"Of course, there are men who love to shop and are proud of it." Loyola's Ann says. And that is important no matter whether you buy a car or a frying pan. All men love to buy but don't want to get cheated. Ann adds, "There actually are men who are interested, for example, in cooking or shopping or chinaware or things around the home-----they become kind of girl magnets. Women like it."
【小题1】From the first paragraph we can find that _____.

A．men are all dishonest

B．men are all book-lovers

C．men hate to shop actually

D．men like to shop in fact

【小题2】Compared to women, men usually treat shopping _____.

A．honestly

B．seriously

C．frequently

D．foolishly

【小题3】As is shown in this passage, teenage girls go shopping _____.

A．only with their moms

B．only with their sisters

C．often following magazines

D．often following TV shows

【小题4】The underlined word "magnets" in the last paragraph means _____.

A．magazines that attract young women

B．persons that have a powerful attraction

C．tools that can help housewives much

D．vegetables that make women beautiful

Students and Technology in the Classroom
　　I love my blackberry—it’s my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop computer，as it holds all of my writing and thoughts. Despite this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices(设备) and truly communicate with others.
　　On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule —no laptop, iPads, phones, etc. When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.
　　Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There’s a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There’s no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.
　　The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course material and the class discussion.
　　I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.
　　I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.
【小题1】Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with____

A．the course material	B．the author’s class regulations
C．discussion topics	D．others’ misuse of technology

【小题2】The underlined word “engage ”in para.4 probably means ____

A．explore

B．accept

C．change

D．reject

【小题3】According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may ____

A．keep students from doing independent thinking

B．encourage students to have in-depth conversations

C．help students to better understand complex themes

D．affect students’ concentration on course evaluation

【小题4】It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author ____

A．is quite stubborn

B．will give up teaching history

C．values technology-free dialogues in his class

D．will change his teaching plan soon

There is no doubt that watching television and movies can influence the way that people behave. Moreover, it seems that people are spending more and more time watching some sort of visual entertainment, whether it is television, a video tape or a DVD. Therefore, the effects of the visual media cannot be ignored.
One obvious effect of these media is that watching them induces(诱导)people to buy certain products. Television advertising is widespread and, nowadays, even movie theaters permit advertisements. Another way TV and the movies affect people is that they give people either a broader view of the world or a distorted(扭曲的)one, depending on what type of program they watch. Those who watch news and educational programs can learn many new things while those who watch primarily entertainment shows may come to believe that most people in the world have great wealth and good looks. It may make them become dissatisfied with their own lives. Finally perhaps the most susceptible(易受影响的)viewers are children, who may be unable to tell fact from fiction and may try to copy acts that they see on TV or in the movies.
With the ever-increasing popularity of video entertainment, society must pay attention to these effects. Television and movies, while entertaining and informative, cannot take the place of real experiences.
【小题1】From the passage, we know that watching television and movies can             .

A．make people live better	B．make people feel pleased
C．make people change their way of life	D．make people live worse

【小题2】The writer holds the view that            .

A．people may take no notice of the effects of the visual media

B．people must pay attention to the effects of the visual media

C．the effects of the visual media make the world changed greatly

D．the visual media only affect young people

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Those who watch news and educational programs can earn a lot of money and become very pretty.

B．The reason why most people possess great wealth and good looks is that they often watch television advertising.

C．People buy products only when they are induced by television advertising.

D．People who watch primarily entertainment shows may come to believe that most people in the world are rich and beautiful.

【小题4】What would be the best title for this text?

A．The Influence of Television and Movies

B．The Reason Why People Watch Television and Movies

C．Television and Movies Induce People

D．The Importance of Television and Movies

Many people say pennies are not worth saving. After all, a penny is only worth a cent. But one unusual penny turned out to be worth a lot more when a coin collector paid $1.7 million for it earlier this month.
The coin is one of a kind. It is the only penny that the Denver mint(铸币厂) made out of copper, instead of steel, in 1943. Because it is unique, it is also very valuable. No penny has ever sold for so much money.
The Changing Penny
The Lincoln penny first appeared in 1909. For 34 years, the one-cent coin was made out of copper. Then, in 1943, the penny changed. World War II was going on, and copper was needed for equipment. So for one year, pennies were made out of steel instead. At least most of them were.
Only a few coins were made out of unused copper. There are three main mints, or places where coins are made, in the United States. Of the known copper pennies from 1943, twelve were made in the Philadephia mint, and five were made in the San Francisco mint. Only one was made in the Denver mint.
Nobody knows for sure why a copper penny was made at the Denver mint in 1943, coin dealers Andy Skrabalak told Time for Kids. “There is a rumor that a mint employee made the coin in the middle of the night.”
A Special Set
The coin collector who bought the $1.7 million penny wants to remain unknown. But the reason for the trade is known. He already had two copper pennies from 1943 – one from the San Francisco mint and one from the Philadephia mint. To complete the set, he needed the Denver penny. The three coins will go on display at a coin exhibition in Tampa, Florida.
The collector who sold the penny is also keeping his name a secret. It took four years to convince him to give up the rare coin. Now that he has finally donating all of the money to charity.
【小题1】Why is the Lincoln penny worth over one million dollars?

A．Because it has a history of thirty-four years.

B．Because it was made out of a rare material.

C．Because it was made on one night of 1943 by the Denver mint.

D．Because it was the only coin Denver mint made out of copper in 1943.

【小题2】Before the Lincoln penny was sold, people thought one-cent coins __________.

A．were worth collecting for selling later

B．were surely valuable if not made out of steel

C．wouldn’t be sold for large amounts of money

D．were only useful for some coin museums

【小题3】At least how many copper coins were made in 1943?

A．Five

B．Twelve

C．Seventeen

D．Eighteen

【小题4】What can we learn about the collector who sold the penny?

A．He already had two copper pennies from 1943.

B．He wanted to complete the set of copper pennies.

C．He didn’t want to sell his penny in the beginning.

D．He was a well-known coin dealer in Tampa, Horida.