As Apple tries to maintain its growth and success in China, the world's largest smart-phone market is becoming even more critical. Apple's shares(股份) fell sharply as the company's earnings for the holiday quarter through December disappointed investors.

The sales of the iPhone, which include both the iPhone 5 and older models, came in at the low end of analysts' expectations, while the company's income plan for the second quarter was below analysts' forecasts, though Apple is known to give conservative (保守的) forecasts.

Some analysts have said that for Apple to regain its growth, the company needs a more aggressive strategy(进攻型策略) for markets, or more specifically for China, where the market for smart phones has been expanding more rapidly than anywhere else. In China, demand is particularly great for inexpensive phones that run on Android(安卓) operating system, sold by many Chinese phone makers as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.

But Apple says it's already enjoying strong growth in China. "We saw big growth in iPhones," Chief Executive Tim Cook said. He said that the company has been quickly expanding its sales channels in China, including the number of Apple stores. "This isn't nearly what we need, we're not even close to that, but we're making great progress.” he said.

In China, a big missing piece for Apple is China Mobile Ltd. , the biggest local telecom carrier that doesn't yet sell the iPhone. Earlier this month, Mr. Cook met China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing and discussed cooperation, stirring hopes that the world's largest mobile carrier may soon start offering the iPhone.

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone that could launch as early as this year. But one possible challenge for Apple in China is that low-priced Android-based phones are getting better in terms of quality. A report from CLSA in late November showed that many smart-phones sold at about1,000 yuan ($160) came with higher- resolution screens, better cameras and more powerful processors than phones at that price did a year earlier.

1.Apple's shares dropped sharply because in December______________.

A．the iPhone wasn't popular in China

B．its product quality was widely criticized

C．the earnings for the holiday quarter was disappointing

D．the investors were not satisfied with Apple's management

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Apple tends to offer a lower sales forecast.

B．China Mobile Ltd began to team up with Apple.

C．Cook is pessimistic about what Apple did in China.

D．Apple didn't take measures to develop Chinese market.

3.The author uses the report from CLSA to prove         _____.

A．their prices are actually lower than a year earlier

B．Apple in China has ability to deal with any problem

C．low-ended Android-based phones are progressing fast

D．the promotion of lower-end iPhone will face a challenge

4.The main purpose of the passage is to show the readers ______________.

A．Apple's high popularity in China

B．the challenge Apple faces in China

C．the approaching failure Apple will suffer in China

D．Apple's aggressive strategy in its market expansion

 

At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents (文件) because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.

    It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. "I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down," says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.

    Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a one-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.

   Does all this mean environmental concerns (环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. " I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling (回收利用) " said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.

1. The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to ________.

A. the rapid development of small businesses

B. the opening up of new markets

C. the printing of high quality copies  

D. the increased use of the Internet

2.Environmentalists believe one possible way of dealing with the paper situation is ________.

A. to encourage printing more quality documents

B. to develop new printers using recycled paper

C. to find new materials for making paper 

D. to plant more fast-growing trees

3.Hewlett-Packard Co. has decided to develop new technologies because _______.

A. people are concerned about the environment

B. printers in many offices are working overtime

C. small companies need more hard copies

D. they see a growing market for printers

 

One reason Americans eat so many calories is that we tend to eat large portions(分量). Studies find that hamburgers and fries are generally offered in serving sizes two to five times larger than the appropriate meal size. Researchers find we usually clean our plates no matter how high they're piled, even if we already feel satisfied. See the suggestions below to further master the fine art of sizing up（估量） your snacks and suppers.

Extremely large portions are one possible reason Americans continue getting fatter even as the percentage of our total calories from fat has gone down in recent years. Fortunately, portions are relatively simple to control because it's easier to count cookies than calories or grams of fat.

Pre-picture portions. Use familiar objects to picture how much you should eat of a food before you pick up your fork or spoon. For example, a half cup of low-fat granola is about the size of your fist. A half cup of low-fat ice cream equals half an orange.

Use a smaller dish. This tip might sound ridiculous, but it works. First and most obvious is that you can't put as much food on, say, a salad plate. But psychologically, you're just not as prone to eat as heartily and quickly if your plate will be empty in 45 seconds.

Have raw vegetables at every meal. Raw cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers have few calories and lots of nutrients. A plate of them in the middle of the table almost always gets eaten up, cutting down appetite for the more calorie-dense meat.

Start your meal with soup. Studies show that a bowl of soup at the start of the meal reduces overall meal consumption, since they are lowest in calories and highest in nutrients.

Manage your fork. After every bite of food, put your fork down. Don't pick it up until you have thoroughly chewed and swallowed the previous bite. The goal is both to slow down your eating and to eat less. Remember: Your body needs 20 minutes of digestion before it sends signals to your brain that you are no longer hungry.

Helpful hints on how to get a handle on the how-much factor
Facts	Hamburgers and fries served in restaurants are generally two to five times the 1.______of the proper ones. Americans usually clean their plates 2._____high they're piled, even if they are already satisfied
Effects	Americans continue getting fatter even as they have eaten 3._calories from fat in recent years.
4.____	a. Use5._objects to imagine how much you should eat of a food before a meal. b. Use a smaller dish and thus eat 6.__. c. Have raw vegetables at every meal to cut down 7.____    for the more calorie-dense meat. d. Start your meal with 8.____to reduce meal consumption. e. Put down your fork at9.___to make sure your brain receives 10.____that you’re full.

 

Modern society cannot well do without the contribution that women can make in the professions and other kinds of work. There is a serious shortage of nurses and teachers, to mention only two of the occupations followed by women. It is a waste to give years of training at public expense only to have the qualified teacher or nurse marry after a year or two and be lost forever to her profession. The training, it is true, will help her in her duties as a mother, but if she continued to work, her service would be more widely useful. Many factories and shops, too, are largely staffed by women, many of them married. While here the question of training is not so important, industry and trade would be seriously short of staff if married women did not work.

We can see then that there are good reasons for regarding it as desirable that married women should have some occupation outside the home. However, there are serious objections. Schools do not keep children occupied the whole day and school holidays are long. The mother’s working day will almost certainly end well after the school day and her holiday will not begin at the same time as her children’s. There will be therefore a period when children are not taken care of unless a substitute for the mother can be found, or unless it becomes more generally possible for women to work part-time. There seem to be some grounds for believing that there is more bad behavior among the children of working mothers than among those of mothers who stay at home, but more evidence is required before we can be certain of this. What we can be certain of, however, is that many more will continue to do so.

1.According to the writer, women nurses and teachers ought to carry on their occupation after marriage because______.

  A. they are not allowed to give up their jobs          

B. their training should not be wasted

  C. they want to make a living by themselves        

D. they must still improve themselves as mothers

2.According to the writer, one possible way for the children of working mothers to be attended to is that________.

   A. schools keep children occupied the whole day   

B. their mothers change their occupation

   C. their mothers do not work full time            

D. their mothers should stay at home

3.The clause “unless a substitute for the mother can be found” means_______.

   A. if someone takes over the mother’s occupation 

B. if no mother works all day

   C. if no one takes care of the children for the mother

   D. if someone takes care of the children for the mother

4.The writer believes that bad behavior among the children of mothers who do not work is _________ among the children of working mothers.

   A. possibly less than   B. about the same as      

C. a little greater than   D. certainly more than

 

One reason Americans eat so many calories is that we tend to eat large portions(分量). Studies find that hamburgers and fries are generally offered in serving sizes two to five times larger than the appropriate meal size. Researchers find we usually clean our plates no matter how high they're piled, even if we already feel satisfied. See the suggestions below to further master the fine art of sizing up（估量） your snacks and suppers.

Extremely large portions are one possible reason Americans continue getting fatter even as the percentage of our total calories from fat has gone down in recent years. Fortunately, portions are relatively simple to control because it's easier to count cookies than calories or grams of fat.

Pre-picture portions. Use familiar objects to picture how much you should eat of a food before you pick up your fork or spoon. For example, a half cup of low-fat granola is about the size of your fist. A half cup of low-fat ice cream equals half an orange.

Use a smaller dish. This tip might sound ridiculous, but it works. First and most obvious is that you can't put as much food on, say, a salad plate. But psychologically, you're just not as prone to eat as heartily and quickly if your plate will be empty in 45 seconds.

Have raw vegetables at every meal. Raw cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers have few calories and lots of nutrients. A plate of them in the middle of the table almost always gets eaten up, cutting down appetite for the more calorie-dense meat.

Start your meal with soup. Studies show that a bowl of soup at the start of the meal reduces overall meal consumption, since they are lowest in calories and highest in nutrients.

Manage your fork. After every bite of food, put your fork down. Don't pick it up until you have thoroughly chewed and swallowed the previous bite. The goal is both to slow down your eating and to eat less. Remember: Your body needs 20 minutes of digestion before it sends signals to your brain that you are no longer hungry.

Helpful hints on how to get a handle on the how-much factor
Facts	Hamburgers and fries served in restaurants are generally two to five times the1.______of the proper ones. Americans usually clean their plates 2.______high they're piled, even if they are already satisfied
Effects	Americans continue getting fatter even as they have eaten3.______calories from fat in recent years.
4.______	a. Use5.______objects to imagine how much you should eat of a food before a meal. b. Use a smaller dish and thus eat 6._____. c. Have raw vegetables at every meal to cut down 7.______    for the more calorie-dense meat. d. Start your meal with 8.______to reduce meal consumption. e. Put down your fork at9.______to make sure your brain receives10.______that you’re full.