“Time is a problem for children,” states a news report for a new Swiss watch. Children in some countries “learn time slowly” because “they don’t wear watches” and “parents don’t really know how to teach them time.” The children grow up with this handicap and become adults-and then can’t get to work on time. Is there an answer to this problem? Of course-it’s the Flick Flak, made by a famous Swiss watch company.

The Flick Flak is being marketed as something teaching watch for children aged 4 to 10. The watch itself does not teach children how to tell time, of course; it merely “takes their imagination” by presenting the “hour” hand as a beautiful red girl named Flak and the “minute” hand as a tall blue boy named Flick. Flick points to related “blue” minutes on the dial, while Flak points to “red” hour numbers. The characters and colors combined with parental help, are supposed to teach young children how to tell time.

The watch comes equipped with a standard battery and a nylon band (尼龙表带). Peter Lipkin, the United States sales manager for the Flick Flak, calls it “childproof: if it gets dirty you can throw the whole watch in the washing machine.” The product is being sold in select department stores in Europe, Asia and the United States for a suggested price of $25. Parents who buy the watch may discover that it is one thing to tell time; it’s quite another for them to be on time.

1.From the news report we know that ______.

A．parents are patient when teaching children time

B．parents have little idea of how to teach children time

C．children are likely to learn time quickly

D．children enjoy wearing the Flick Flak watch

2.The author doesn’t seem to believe ______.

A．children will be on time if they have not learnt how to tell time

B．a Flick Flak can help parents teach their children how to tell time

C．the Flick Flak can take children’s imagination

D．children usually have trouble telling time if they don’t wear watches

3.The underlined word handicap (Para. 1) means ______.

A．displeasure        B．discouragement     C．disappointment     D．disadvantage

4.The United State sales manager calls the new watch “childproof” because ______.

A．it is designed to teach children to be on time

B．it proves to be effective in teaching children time

C．it is made so as not to be easily damaged by children

D．it is the children’s favorite watch

How the iron of tomorrow

(the first Self Clean Iron)

can change your lifestyle today?

General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.

How?  With a push of a magic blue button.

The magic blue button

The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.

Less chance of brown spots

Sure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.

Steams much longer

Common sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.

What does it mean to you

Today you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids.

You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better house maker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.

Lifestyle.

We’re with yours.

GENERAL ELECTRIC

1.This passage is ______.

A．an introduction to General Electric

B．an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron

C．an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron

D．a description of the change of lifestyle

2.This iron can clean itself by ______.

A．empting itself                          B．washing out mineral deposits

C．locking up mineral deposits                D．giving off more steam

3.According to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?

A．It is made by General Electric.

B．The iron will not produce mineral deposits.

C．There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.

D．Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.

4.Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because ______.

A．you can run your house better             B．you don’t have to run after the kids

C．you can use it while you are working         D．we want you to be a better house maker

In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (摇摆) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.

But, it was this very bad act that sold well.

Marc Juries, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.

So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”

Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

1.What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.

B．Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

C．How an unsuccessful person became famous.

D．Success sometimes does not require hard work.

2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A．William Hung.      B．Hung’s bad act.    C．Hung’s website.   D．The public’s opinion.

3.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

a. The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

b. The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

c. Hung became popular among Americans.

d. Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

e. Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

A．d, b, e, c, a         B．a, c, d, b, e         C．a, d, b, c, e         D．d, b, a, e, c

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Ancient Rome was one of the world’s most powerful empires more than 2,000 years ago. The Romans’ ideas about roads, laws, government and buildings still influence us today.

Italy is shaped like a boot.

The Colosseum in Rome was built during the time of the Roman Empire, in the first century A.D.__1___It is a popular tourist attraction today.

Italy is well-known for its designers, who create cars, handbags, clothes, shoes and other items that are in demand for their style and fine workmanship.

Today, the economy of Italy is stronger than in the past.    2   Today, manufacturing and tourism are the main sources of income. There are some big companies, but Italy has many smaller companies, too.

   3  The southern part does not offer as many manufacturing jobs, so it is not as prosperous.

Italy is a member of the European Union, a group of countries that join together for better trade. The currency, or money, they use is called the “euro”.

Food and eating good meals are important to Italians. ___4____

Popular foods include pasta, risotto, minestrone and pizza．McDonald’s is also popular there. Many families still eat their main meal in the middle of the day.    5   Families spend a lot of time together.

A. The family is very important to the Italian way of life.

B. The country used to depend on agriculture.

C. Mountains cover about three-fourths of the country.

D. It could seat about 50,000 people, who went to see fights between animals and people.

E. While there are some supermarkets, many people shop at small, neighborhood markets.

F. Italy has several islands off the coast.

G. The northern part of the country is the main manufacturing center. 

 —Do you think you will be able to finish your writing by five o’clock today?

— ______. I’ll be busy with experiments all day.

A．Not a chance       B．Not a little         C．Not to mention it    D．Not a big deal

We don’t think the experiment is ______ failure. At least we have gained ______ experience for future success.

A．the; a            B．a; /               C．a; an             D．the; the

If you want to ______ your goals and dreams, you have to be willing to pay the price.

A．accomplish        B．attach            C．advocate          D．attempt

Due to the widespread ________ of this medical technology, more diseases can be discovered and treated at an early stage.

A．approval          B．application         C．appointment       D．appreciation

________， the car stopped all at once.

A．Seeing a boy lying on the ground

B．On seeing a boy sitting on the road

C．The driver saw a boy standing on the road

D．The minute the driver saw a boy seated on the road

____ you ask many different questions will you acquire all the information you need to know．

A．If only            B．As far as           C．So long as         D．Only if