In the mid 1990’s, people started doing business on the Internet. At that time, there were two kinds of companies. First, there were traditional companies. They sold things in stores. Then there were Internet companies. They didn’t have a store, and they only sold things on the Net.

     Traditional companies didn’t want to lose any business. Quickly they made their own websites and began selling things on the Net. These are the so-called “brick and click” companies. Many stores are made of brick. And you click on your mouse to buy things with your computer. That’s where the name “brick and click” comes from.

     By the late 1990’s, e-business like amazon com , buy com. and etoys com. were in trouble. Their profits（利润） were not very high. Competition was great. Many of these businesses were losing lots of money. In 2000, many e-business went out of business.

    Why are “brick and click” companies, like Barnes and Noble, Toys RVs and Walmart so successful? First, many customers know and trust their names. Their websites like walmart.com. are easy to remember. These companies also have lots of experience. They know how to run a successful business.

     In the world of e-commerce, companies are fighting for every dollar and every customer. Will “brick and click” companies win the war? Only time will tell.

1.What did many traditional companies do in the mid 1990’s?                .

A. They went out of business.                    

B. They made their websites.

C. They bought Internet companies.             

D. They sold their companies.

2.What gave Internet companies lots of trouble in the late 1990’s?

A. Heavy competition

B. They were short of money.

C. They didn’t know what to do.

D. people didn’t believe in them.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. All the “brick and click” companies run a successful business.

B. “Brick and click” companies are certain to win the business competition.

C. It is uncertain whether “brick and click” companies will win the competition.

D. Both “brick and click” companies and Internet companies will be successful in the future.

 

In November of 2007, NBC Universal launched（发起） its first official Green Week. Throughout the week, NBC Universal presented over 150 hours of environmentally themed content across multiple platforms.

Now, NBC Universal is proud to present Green Week 2009. With a new theme and message of "Green Your Routine," Here at NBC and NBC.com we celebrate our talent in the "The More You Know" PSA campaign, presenting green-themed tips in several of our daytime life, among several other features here on the "Green Your Routine" site.

Fashion & Beauty

Throw a clothes swap party! Dying for that sweater your friend wore the other day? Well, maybe she'll trade for that old T-shirt you have. Here's a website that helps you organize a swap party (www.swapstyle.com), or just plan your own!

Go natural with organic make-up. Applying unnatural products directly on your skin wasn't exactly what nature intended. Try switching to a line of organic make-up and cosmetics for a different way to bring out your natural beauty.

Home

Drop a brick in your toilet tank! Literally! According to the EPA, flushing（冲洗）makes up 30 percent of a household's water use (about three to six gallons per flush). By placing a brick in your toilet tank, you can help to conserve the amount of water used during each flush.

Work

Print smarter. Printing and copying can be one of the most costly operations in any office. To save on ink and paper costs, print double-sided and try to fit more than one page on a sheet. More printing tips can be found here: lifehacker.com

Turn off your computer. Do you leave your computer on overnight? If so, you're using up a good amount of electricity. When you can, try turning off your computer and the power strip it's connected to. If you can't, at least shut off your monitor.

Transportation

Organize a carpool. There are many benefits to carpooling. You save on gas, reduce wear and tear on your car, and you get to ride in the HOV lanes. Get connected with your neighbours and co-workers to start sharing rides and check out this website for more tips: www.erideshare.com.

Lose the car, get a bike. If you live close to where you work, try taking a bike instead of driving. You'll keep in shape and save on gas!

Every small step and effort makes a difference! Be sure to GREEN YOUR ROUTINE!

1.NBC Universal holds Green Week activities ___________.

       A. in a university          B. in a park           C. in an office          D. on the internet

2.This year, Green Week welcomes ____________.

A. advice on how to improve the website                  

B. suggestions about how to make their activities more interesting

C. tips on what to do to make our life greener

D. opinions on whether we should have campaigns

3.If you want to carpool with somebody, you can find more advice and information at______.

       A. www.swapstyle.com                                            B. www.erideshare.com

       C. www. lifehacker.com                                           D. www. NBC.com

4.Which is NOT recommended by Green Week this year?

       A. Using things like cucumbers to beautify your skin.

       B. Reducing the room of your toilet tank to save water when flushing.

       C. Giving away your old clothes to those in need of them.

       D. Printing and using computers in an economical way.

 

About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.

He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and — WHUMP! — it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. " That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"

"Please, mister, please....I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!" begged the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. "It’s my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled of the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. "Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman," Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.

Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the black, shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE — a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.

The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ________.

A. the businessman drove at a high speed

B. he envied the brand-new car very much

C. he wanted to ask for some money

D. he wanted to get help from the driver

Which of the following is the right order of the story?

A. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.

B. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.

C. The younger brother begged Josh for help.

D. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.

e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.

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

What can we learn from the passage?

A. Josh would accept the money from the kids.

B. The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.

C. Josh was a kind-hearted man.

D. Josh’s new car broke down easily.

according to the passage, the last sentence means ________.

A. trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life

B. driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous

C. trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble

D. protecting oneself from being hurt

1During the First World War, some Americans indirectly benefited because of the war. With two million white men fighting in Europe and no new immigrants entering the country, many jobs in the United States became available to blacks and women for the first time.

2Both groups proved their ability to do any kind of job. Women became railway conductors, brick layers, and factory workers. Their presence in traditionally male workplace produced many problems. Men were annoyed by women’s higher productivity and willingness to work for lower pay. Working mothers were often criticized for leaving their families. But many women welcomed the responsibilities. “It was not until our men were called overseas,” said one woman bank executive, “that we make any real onslaught on the realm of finance, and became tellers, managers of departments, and junior and senior officers.”

3Women who did not take jobs helped in the war effort in other ways. They made uniforms, rolled bandages, and campaigned for the sale of Liberty Bonds to help finance the war.

4American manufacturers offered jobs to large numbers of black Americans for the first time as a result of the war. Most factories were located in the North. To take advantage of these new job opportunities, many black families moved from their homes in the South to the Northern cities such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Chicago, and Detroit.

5White Americans were of two minds about the role of black Americans in the war effort. On the one hand, black workers’ ability to learn new jobs quickly and do them well strengthened the home front, and the black men’s fighting ability helped the Allies win the war. However, many whites did not want to acknowledge that blacks were capable, effective workers. White soldiers returning from the war had no desire to compete for jobs with blacks on equal terms. At the same time, many blacks were not willing to a lesser role once the war had ended.

1.Why could American women and backs find jobs during World War I?

A. They were taken to serve the war.                B. They had their equal right at that time.

C. Workforce was in great need.               D. They had better productivities.

2.Which of the following is Untrue according to the above passage?

A. Blacks women were not allowed to fight in World War I.

B. All American women went to work during World War I.

C. Northern cities applied more blacks during World War I.

D. Women and blacks earned a lot during World War I.

3.Which of the following is the main idea of the whole passage?

A. Americans benefited a lot from World Ward I.

B. World War I had strong effect on America.

C. Some Americans benefited from World War I indirectly.

D. U.S.A. women and blacks contributed much in World War I.

4.Which of the following shows the right structures of the above passage?

A. 1→23→45             B. 1→2→3→4→5

C. 1→23→4→5                     D. 123→4→5

 

Tayka Hotel De Sal

Where: Tahua, Bolivia

How much: About $95 a night

Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses(床垫) and blankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.

Green Magic Nature Resort

Where: Vythiri, India

How much: About $240 a night

Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.

Dog Bark Park Inn B&B

Where: Cottonwood, Idaho

How much: $92 a night

Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet．Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft(阁楼）in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant (消防栓）outside.

Gamirasu Cave Hotel

Where: Ayvali, Turkey

How much: Between $130 and $475 a night

Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉ in summer. (Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)

1.What do we know about Tayka Hotel de Sal?

A. It is located on a prehistoric lake.

B. It should be protected against the rain.

C. Everything in the hotel is made of salt.

D. You have to cross a rope bridge to the hotel.

2.What is the similarity of the four hotels?

A. Being expensive.                                                 B. Being comfortable.

C. Being natural.                                                    D. Being unique.

3.What does the underlined part “Sweet Willy” refer to?

A. The name of the hotel.

B. The name of the hotel owner.

C. The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.

D. The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.

4.Which of the hotels makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?

A. Tayka Hotel De Sal                                                        B. Green Magic Nature Resort

C. Dog Bark Park Inn B&B                                       D. Gamirasu Cave Hotel

5.What may be the purpose of the writer writing the passage?

A. To show his wide knowledge

B. To introduce some interesting hotels

C. To develop business in tourism

D. To attract attention from the readers