In the very early 　1800’　s, a young boy about 14 years old named John lived in an orphanage (孤儿院) in Old England along with several other children. Orphan meant unwanted and unloved.

Christmas was the one day of the year when the children didn’t work and received a gift, an orange. Usually they tried to taste and preserve it for so long that it often rotted before they ever peeled(剥开)it to enjoy the sweet juice. Many thought were expressed as Christmas time approached. The children would say, “I will keep mine the longest.” John usually slept with his next to his pillow. This year John was overjoyed by the Christmas season. He was becoming a man and stronger and soon he would be old enough to leave. He would save his orange until his birthday in July.

Christmas day finally came. The children were so excited as they entered the big dining hall. Immediately the master shouted, “John, leave the hall and there will be no orange for you this year.” John’s heart broke violently wide open. He turned and went swiftly back to the cold room. Then he heard the door open and each of the children entered. Little Elizabeth with her hair falling over her shoulders, a smile on her face, and tears in her eyes held out a piece of rag to John. “Here John,” she said, “this is for you.” As he lifted back the edges of the rag he saw a big juicy orange all peeled and quartered and then he realized what they had done.

John never forgot the sharing, love and personal sacrifice his friends had shown him that Christmas day. In memory of that day every year he would send oranges all over the world to children everywhere.

1. The first paragraph is mainly to tell us that ______.

   A. John lived in the early 　1800’　s          B. John’s parents had died

   C. John lived a hard life in an orphanage   D. John lived with several other children　　

2. These children would be happiest when ______.

   A. they got the special gift                 B. they preserved it very long

   C. they finally enjoyed the sweet juice       D. they entered the dining hall

3. What would overjoy John most the next year according to the second paragraph?

   A. He placed his orange next to his pillow.

   B. He would eat his orange on his birthday.

   C. He wouldn’t get his special gift.

   D. He would stay in the orphanage for another year

4. According to the text, where did John’s orange come from this year?

   A. It was made up of what these children donated.

   B. His master gave him a whole one again.

   C. These children bought him one.

   D. Little Elizabeth donated hers to John.

5. What can be inferred from the text?

   A. John had expected he wouldn’t get the gift this year.

   B. John knew why he didn’t get the gift this year.

   C. John felt ashamed for not getting the special gift.

   D. The story teaches us to learn to share with others.

 

In the next few years, battery technology is going to grow rapidly.

No more charging your smart phone every day...

No more “range anxiety” for electric cars, as new lithium batteries （锂电池）allow them to drive hundreds of miles on a single charge, just like a tank of gas.

And a tiny Chinese company is to be the leader of it all.

It already counts Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung as customers for its advanced batteries.

But the real money is going to come when it starts selling electric cars.

Right now, the stock is trading at an extreme discount, offering in-the-know investors a chance to get in and make a killing.

You need to know all the details about this opportunity today — and not a day later.

To do that, and to gain access to all the information you'll need to invest confidently, simply sign up for the free e-Letter from Energy & Capital by entering your email address below...

Once you do, we'll rush you our latest report, China's $2.00 Lithium Linchpin.

After getting your report, you'll begin receiving the Energy & Capital e-Letter, delivered to your inbox daily.

Become a member of Energy & Capital today. It is free and there is absolutely no obligation (责任), ever.

NO-JUNK: By no means will we EVER rent, sell or give away your email address for any reason. Unsubscribing from Energy & Capital is quick, easy, and painless... with just a few clicks. View our Privacy Policy.

1.What does the underlined part “make a killing” in Paragraph 7 mean?

A. Beat all other businesses.

B. Make a lot of money in a short time.

C. Force other batteries to withdraw from market.

D. Be the business leader in battery making.

2.What is the possible problem with online subscribing?

A. The giving-away of privacy.

B. Getting lots of junk emails.

C. Becoming a member of some organization unwillingly.

D. Not being able to unsubscribe.

3.Where is this material probably from?

A. A magazine.    B. A newspaper.        C. A website.        D. A booklet.

4.This passage is mainly to ______.

A. advertise new batteries             B. find potential investors

C. promote Energy & Capital       D. sell new technology

 

The day my fiancé fell to his death, it started to snow, just like the bottom hadn’t fallen out of my world when he fell off the roof. His body, when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it pile up.

    One morning, I shuffled(拖着脚步走) downstairs and was surprised to see a snowplow(扫雪机) clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman shoveling my walk. I dropped to my knees, crawled through the living room, and back upstairs so those good Samaritans would not see me. I was mortified. My first thought was, how would I ever repay them? I didn’t have the strength to brush my hair, let alone shovel someone’s walk.

    Before Jon’s death, I took pride in the fact that I rarely asked for help or favors. I defined myself by my competence and independence. How could I respect myself if all I did was sit on the couch everyday and watch the snow fall?

    Learning how to receive the love and support that came my way wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried because I couldn’t even help them set the table. “I’m not usually this lazy,” I swept. Finally, my friend Kathy sat down with me and said, “Mary, cooking for you is not a burden. It makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

    Over and over, I heard similar words of comfort from the people who supported me during those dark days. One very wise man told me, “You are not doing nothing. Being fully open to your grief may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

In many ways I have changed for the better. I have been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom that comes from facing one’s worst fear and walking away whole.

1.What made the author feel sad?

A. Her fiancé’s sudden death.            B. Constant heavy snow.

C. Her fiancé abandoning her.            D. Her job being refused again.

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “mortified” in Paragraph 1?

  A. Surprised.        B. Angry.         C. Ashamed.        D. Moved.

3.It is _______ that helped the author out of darkness.

  A. herself          B. her friends      C. her fiancé        D. a snowplow

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. The author was a capable and independent woman.

B. The author was so lazy that she wouldn’t shovel the walk.

C. Finally the author got through hardest work bravely.

D. When facing the worst fear, you will get strength.

5.What’s the author’s purpose in the passage?

A. To talk about her hardest work in her life.

B. To talk about her real love between her and her fiancé.

C. To tell us to walk out of hardest work confidently and bravely.

D. To tell us the importance of friendship.

 

The next time you go into a bank, a store, or a supermarket, stop and listen. What do you hear? __71__ It’s similar to the music you listen to, but it’s not exactly the same. That’s because this music was especially designed to relax you, or to give you extra energy. Sometimes you don’t even realize the music is playing, but you react to the music anyway.

　 Quiet background music used to be called “elevator music” because we often heard it in elevators. But lately we hear it in more and more places, and it has a new name “Muzak”. About one-third of the people in America listen to “Muzak” every day. The music plays for 15 minutes at a time, with short pauses in between. It is always more lively between ten and eleven in the morning, and between three and four in the afternoon, when people are more tired. __72__

　 If you listen to Muzak carefully, you will probably recognize the names of many of the songs. Some musicians or songwriters don’t want their songs to be used as Muzak, but others are happy when their songs are chosen. Why? __73__

　 Music is often played in public places because it is designed to make people feel less lonely when they are in an airport or a hotel. It has been proven that Muzak does what it is designed to do. Tired office workers suddenly have more energy when they hear the pleasant sound of Muzak in the background. __74__ Supermarket shoppers buy 38 percent more groceries.

　 __75__ They say it’s boring to hear the same songs all the time. But other people enjoy hearing Muzak in public places. They say it helps them relax and feel calm. One way or another, Muzak affects everyone. Some farmers even say their cows give more milk when they hear Muzak!

A.　　　 Some people don’t like Muzak.

B.　　　 The music gives them extra energy.

C.　　　 Music is playing in the background.

D.　　　 Factory workers produce 13 percent more.

E.　　　 Muzak tends to help people understand music better.

F.　　　 They get as much as $ 4 million a year if their songs are used.

G.　　　 Muzak is played in most of the big supermarkets in the world.

On the day Apple debuted the often-delayed white-colored iPhone 4, the company’s marketing department gave a nod to the product’s troubled history.
“Finally.” read the big headline Thursday above a picture of the white phone on the homepage of Apple. com.
The white model was supposed to ship alongside the black one at the iPhone 4’s launch（推出） last June. But design and manufacturing complications delayed the process by 10 months, catching Apple off guard, executives say.
As CNN reported last month, earlier test models of the white iPhone 4 produced unclear photos, especially when the flash（闪光灯） was used. Its whiteness confused the proximity sensor （距离传感器） , which detects when the phone is held next to someone’s head and turns off the touch screen to save battery life.
These problems weren’t present in older iPhones that came in white because they didn’t have flash photography; the proximity sensor was unaffected because the front side of previous models was black.
“We thought we were there a year ago, or less than that, when we launched the iPhone 4, and we weren’t,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s chief marketing executive, said in an interview. “It’s not as simple as making something white. There’s a lot more that goes into both the material science of it —how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors. “
Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White predicts that the white model could help drive sales of Apple’s phones. He says Apple could sell 1 million to 1. 5 million every three months until the next iPhone model is unveiled, which is expected to be this fall.
Forty-five people were lined up at Apple’s flagship New York store Thursday morning to buy white iPhones, according to a CNN Money report.
【小题1】
The reason why white-colored iPhone 4 was delayed by 10 months is that _______.

A．it’s always sold out due to its popularity

B．it met some problems concerning design and manufacture

C．it lacked white manufacturing materials

D．its proximity sensor can’t save battery life

【小题2】
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．There are multi-colored models of iPhone 4.

B．The same design problems were also found in older white iPhones.

C．IPhone4 will be launched this fall.

D．Originally designers thought they could solve the problems before iPhone 4 was launched.

【小题3】
What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Why the White iPhone 4 Took So Long

B．The History of iPhone 4

C．The Attraction of White iPhone 4

D．The Design and Manufacture of iPhone 4

【小题4】
What does the underlined word “unveil” in the last paragraph mean?

A．to remove one’s mask from his face

B．to remove a cloth from something, especially as part of a ceremony

C．to show to the public for the first time

D．to disappear from the public for the first time