A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe（预订） to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.

The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted（转变） from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.

"The industry continues to chip （击破）away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.

What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?

A. some American families      

B. those who hold out one’s opinions

C. those who have been surveyed    

D. those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently

Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.

A. they show too much concern about the cost

B. they can find little value of it

C. they do most YouTube-watching at work

D. the Internet doesn’t reach their homes

From the passage we can infer that _____________.

A. It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users

B. people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more

C. many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home

D. more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005

According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?

A. making the Internet look more similar to TV set

B. applying the Internet more to entertainment

C. providing more pay-TV programs

D. chipping away at the core of non-subscribers

Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Web develops with technology

B. The present situation of web

C. Many Americans see little point to web

D. It is urgent to promote web service

A thief entered the bedroom of the 30th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment．

The event happened in the early morning hours in one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August, 1923．He and his family were living in the same third-floor suite (套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that they had occupied several years before．The former President’s wife was still living in the White House．

Coolidge awoke to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain．

Coolidge spoke, “I wish you wouldn’t take that．”

The thief, gaining his voice,  said, “Why?”

“I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm (表坠)．Take it near the window and read what is impressed on its back, “ the President said．

The thief read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidge．”

“Are you President Coolidge ? “ he asked．

The President answered, “Yes, and the House of Representatives (众议院) gave me that watch charm．I’m fond of it．It would do you no good．You want money．Let’s talk this over．”

Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “I’ll take this and leave everything else．”

Coolidge, knowing there was ＄80 in it, persuaded the young man to sit down and talk．He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill．

Coolidge added up the roommate and two rail tickets back to the college．Then he counted out ＄32 said it was a loan (借款)．

He then told the young man, “There is a guard in the corridor．” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered．

What caused the thief to meet the President?

A．He knew the President had lots of money．

B．He knew the President lived in the suite．

C．He wanted to be a rich businessman．

D．He wanted to steal some money．

Why did Calvin Coolidge live at the Willard Hotel in those days?

A．Because the former President was still living in the White House．

B．Because the former First Lady hadn’t left the White House．

C．Because the First Lady liked to live there．

D．Because he liked there．

Coolidge counted out ＄32 ______．

A．in order not to be killed by the thief

B．in order to be out of danger

C．so as to help the young student overcome his difficulty

D．because he had no more money

The young man’s roommate went back to the college ______．

A．by air B．by water C．by bus D．by train

Which of the following might happen afterwards?

A．The young student repaid the＄32．

B．The thief was put into prison．

C．The President told many reporters the thief’s name．

D．The President ordered the young man to repay the money．

A university graduate described as a “respectable and intelligent” woman is seeking professional help after being convicted of （证明有……罪）shoplifting for the second time in six months．

       Ana Luz, recently studying for her PhD, has been told she could end up behind bars unless she can control the desire to steal from shops．

       Luz ,who lives with her partner in Fitzwilliam Road ,Cambridge ,admitted stealing clothes worth ￡9．95 from John Lewis in Oxford Street ,London ,on March 9．

       Phillip Lemoyne ,prosecuting（起诉）,said Luz selected some clothes from a display and took them to the ladies’ toilet in the store．When she came out again she was wearing one of the skirts she had selected ,having taken off the anti-theft security alarms（防盗警报装置）．

       She was stopped and caught after leaving the store without paying ,Mr Lemoyne said．

       He added that she was upset on her arrest and apologized for her actions．

       Luz,28, was said to have been convicted of shoplifting by Cambridge judges last October ,but Morag Duff, defending ,said she had never been in trouble with the police before that．

       “She is ashamed and embarrassed but doesn’t really have any explanation why she did this ,” Miss Duff said．“She didn’t intend to steal when she went into the store．She is at a loss to explain it．She is otherwise a very respectable and intelligent young lady．She went to her doctor and asked for advice because she wants to know if there is anything in particular that caused her to do this．”

       Judge David Azan fined Luz ￡ 50,  and warned : “You’ve got a criminal record．If you carry on like this ,you will end up in prison ,which will ruin your bright future you may have．”

       Luz achieved a degree in design at university in her native Spain ,went on to a famous university in Berlin , Germany for her master’s degree and is now studying for a PhD at Cambridge University ,UK．

What is Ana Luz’s nationality?

       A．American．     B．British．  C．Spanish． D．German．

What does the underlined sentence “She is at a loss to explain it” mean?

       A．In her opinion it was a loss to the clothes shops where she stole things．

       B．She doesn’t have any idea why she has the desire to steal from shops．

       C．She thinks it is a loss for her to explain why she stole things from shops．

       D．Personally she feels ashamed and embarrassed for her shoplifting actions．

Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “shoplifting” used in the passage?

       A．Carrying goods in a lift for a shop．    

       B．Taking goods to the ladies’ toilet．

       C．Selecting some goods from a display． 

       D．Taking goods from a shop without paying．

From the passage we can learn that          ．

       A．Ana Luz is already got her PhD at Cambridge University ,UK

       B．Ana Luz is ashamed and embarrassed and knows why she often did so

       C．the university graduate will be put in prison if she steals in shops once more

       D．Phillip Lemoyne is the “respectable and intelligent” woman’s defense lawyer

A businessman had two sons. While he gave the younger son a lot of love and gifts, he neglected (忽视) the elder son. It was completely puzzling (令人费解) and no one knew why.

When the boys grew up, they were asked to manage the father’s business. The elder son was absorbed in the business. From morning till late in the evening, he was busy working. Within a few years, he ran the business very well and even expanded (扩大) it.

What about the younger son? He didn't have much to do except have a good time. But the father believed that his favorite son would be a success. If the elder son could be a successful businessman, surely the younger one, with a higher education, would do much better.

A few years later, the results of his decision became clear. Uninterested in business, the younger son continued spending his time enjoying himself. And he went out of business. But the elder son’s far smaller share (份) of business had expanded and he had proved himself to be a good decision maker.

Ashamed at the turn of events, the father met the elder son and was angry with the younger one. The elder son, who was listening to all this quietly, suddenly said he wanted to set up an independent business and live on his own.

“Why?” asked the father.

“I blame (责备) one person for the way my brother has turned out, and it’s not him. You can’t blame children for the faults (过失) of their parents, can you?” asked the elder son.

Before the younger son went into the father’s business, he______.

A. was interested in business          B. had achieved great success

C. often looked down upon his brother  D. was well-educated at school

Why did the father treat the two sons differently?

A. the elder son didn’t work hard      B. no one knew why he did it

C. the younger son was hardworking   D. he wanted to do an experiment

Which is NOT the reason for the younger son’s going out of business?

A. he himself didn’t work hard

B. his father didn’t educate him properly

C. he was not interested in business at all

D. he was busy working every day

What does the text really want to teach us?

A. Parents are responsible for children’s development.

B. Once something is done, you should do it well.

C. Interest is the most important for success.

D. One has responsibility for what he himself has done.

A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment? As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in a garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower.

A biodegradable (生物所能分解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage consumers to recycle.

Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and is able to change shape. Over time it can also break down into the soil without giving out any poisonous chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms fertilizers. These feed the seed and help the flower grow.

Engineers have designed a small transparent (透明的) window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away. “We’ve only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time,” said one scientist.

As phone technology is developing so quickly, people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief (缓解) for nature , according to the scientists.

“The seed comes out and the flower grows in the pot so you don’t have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it,” said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain.

What is the purpose of this passage?

A. To tell the popularity of biodegradable cell phones.

B. To persuade the reader to buy the biodegradable cell phone.

C. To discuss the development of phone technology.

D. To introduce an environmentally-friendly cell phone to readers.

People throw away their cell phones most probably because _______.

A．there is something wrong with them

B．no sunflowers can grow out of them

C．they are out of fashion

D．they are becoming cheaper and cheaper

It could be learned from the passage that _________.

A．developing the new type of phone is mainly to protect the environment

B．phone-makers will benefit much more from the new type of phone

C．the new type of phone will certainly be popular with users all over the world

D．the phones that can be recycled are available only in Britain now