Television will turn 86 years old on September 7, 2013, and it has never looked better. In its youth, television was a piece of furniture with a tiny, round screen showing unclear pictures of  low­budget programs. In spite of its shortcomings, it became well-received. Between 1950 and 1963, the number of American families with a television jumped from 9% to 92% of the population.

As the audience got larger, the technology got better. Television sets became more reliable through the 1960s. Both of the reception and the picture improved. The major networks started broadcasting programs in color.

Even greater improvements were coming according to Sanford Brown, who wrote an article for the Post in 1967. Surprisingly, just about every prediction he made in the article became a reality. For example: All sets in the not­distant future will be color instruments. He also predicted that TV sets would become smaller, simpler, more reliable and less expensive and may forever put the TV repairman out of work. Smaller sets do not, of course, mean smaller screens. TV engineers expect screens to get much bigger. However, today's 3­D TV is even farther away, if it's coming at all.  There is some doubt whether the public would be eager to pay for it, in view of people's cold reception given to 3­D movies.

But the technology with the greatest potential, according to Brown, was cable television (有线电视), which was still in its early stages then. As he predicted, the future of cable television was highly interactive. It wasn't cable television that gave Americans their electronic connection to the world, however. It was the Internet.  He even foresaw the future office: using picture phones, big­screen televisions for conferences, and computers providing information, at the touch of a button.

Brown ever said, “The future of television is no longer a question of what we can invent. It's a question of what we want.”

1.What can we infer about television sets in the 1960s?

A．They were very popular with Americans.

B．Their appearance remained unchangeable.

C．They showed black­and­white pictures.

D．Their pictures were of poor quality.

2.Which of the followings did Sanford Brown fail to predict?

A．Television's good quality.

B．The invention of 3­D TV.

C．The more functions of TV.

D．The potential of cable TV.

3.From the passage we know _________.

A．TV will certainly take the place of computers

B．There won’t be further improvement on TV

C．TV repairmen will be out of work in the future

D．3­D movies don’t appeal to people very much

4.What is the text mainly about?

A．The shortcomings of television.

B．The advantages of television.

C．The development of television.

D．The invention of television.

 

Most recently, it’s very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews． Naturally, it’s easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us． We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I’ll let them fail．
I’ll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure — along with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc．— will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone, is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．
My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate （协商） everything now．It’s a small price to help them learn a skill they’ll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don’t accompany them on job interviews．
【小题1】Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?

A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties．

B．Because they think they can help them on the questions．

C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews．

D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so．

【小题2】According to the author, what is beneficial to kids’ development?

A．Sheltering them．	B．Keeping them safe．
C．Leaving them alone．	D．Blaming them．

【小题3】Why does the author stress failure in kids’ life?

A．To make them stronger than other kids．

B．To help them grow in this tough world．

C．To help them develop all social skills．

D．To make them learn to compromise．

【小题4】Which of the following might be the best title for die text?

A．Never Shelter Your Kids	B．Let Your Kids Fail
C．Be Eager to Grow Up	D．Live Without Parents

Most recently, it's very common in students that they need a parent present for job interviews．     
Naturally, it's easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us．We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live without me．So, I'll let them fail．
I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．Although failure comes along with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc, these will be part of growth for them．And leaving them alone is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．
My children now are becoming little masters of compromise(妥协），but they try to negotiate （协商） everything now．It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't accompany them on job interviews．
【小题1】Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?

A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties．

B．Because they think they can help them on the questions．

C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews．

D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so．

【小题2】According to the author, what is beneficial to kids' development?
A．Sheltering them．                     B．Keeping them safe．
C．Leaving them alone．                  C．Blaming them．
【小题3】Why does the author stress failure in kids' life?

A．To make them stronger than other kids．

B．To help them grow in this tough world．

C．To help them develop all social skills．

D．To make them learn to compromise．

【小题4】Which of the following might be the best title for the text?

A．Never Shelter Your Kids	B．Let Your Kids Fail
C．Be Eager to Grow Up	D．Live Without Parents

Most recently, it's very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews． Naturally, it's easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us． We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I'll let them fail．

I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure — along with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc．— will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone, is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．

My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate （协商） everything now．It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't accompany them on job interviews．

1.Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?

    A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties．

    B．Because they think they can help them on the questions．

    C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews．

    D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so．

2.According to the author, what is beneficial to kids' development?

    A．Sheltering them．              B．Keeping them safe．

    C．Leaving them alone．           D．Blaming them．

3.Why does the author stress failure in kids' life?

    A．To make them stronger than other kids．

    B．To help them grow in this tough world．

    C．To help them develop all social skills．

    D．To make them learn to compromise．

4.Which of the following might be the best title for die text?

    A．Never Shelter Your Kids              B．Let Your Kids Fail

    C．Be Eager to Grow Up                  D．Live Without Parents

 

根据短文内容，从短文后的七个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。

Should Good Sportsmanship Be Taught in School?

Almost everyone feels that it is important for young people to win fairly and show respect toward others．Should good sportsmanship, then, be taught in school? Critics do not think so．     1    Presented here are the most important benefits of teaching sportsmanship．

Teaching good sportsmanship and having a positive attitude in activities like sports, class elections, and science fair competitions are critical to success in school．    2     Acting calmly under pressure helps young adults succeed not only in sports but also in life．

     3    A person cannot play by the rules if he or she does not understand what the rules are．Knowing the rules also applies to other activities．If students enter a science fair competition, for example, they must follow the guidelines． Those who know the rules are much more likely to succeed．When students learn sportsmanship, they discover, how knowing the rules relates to achievement．

Good players become skilled at handling responsibility．When people accept responsibility, they achieve their best．Positive thinkers, moreover, influence others, especially those who are struggling with a problem．A gifted basketball player, for example, might teach skills to a less-talented player．Helping others raises the performance of the entire team．The team, consequently, could reach new heights and set new records．     4    Those who do not practice sportsmanship pass off responsibility．For them, if an opportunity is lost, it is someone else' s fault．When students participate on a team, they benefit by learning to accept responsibility, encourage others and own up to（认错） mistakes．

Sportsmanship is a winning idea．It must be taught in school．Students need direction to become good sports"．Students will be responsible for their own actions and will have a positive influence on others．As students enter the workforce, businesses benefit．The community also benefits because these students will someday become leaders．     5   

A．We need to educate students about how sportsmanship pays off for everyone．

B．However, the stronger argument favors teaching good sportsmanship．

C．Sports help young adults learn how to team up with others．

D．Good sportsmanship also means admitting mistakes．

E．Activities involving winning or losing can be tense．

F．It is natural that players should be eager to win．

G．Good team players know the rules of the game．