Interview with a president

While many teenagers may dream of meeting with pop star Jay Chou or NBA hero Yao Ming, Li Jing had a far more powerful person on her mind. The Senior 2 from Beijing No.35 High School dreamt of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After more than a year of hard work and with a little good luck,Li fulfilled her dream.On October 11,2004,the 16-year-old girl joined a team of Chinese journalists who went to Kremlin,in Moscow,to interview Putin.

Li felt nervous before talking to Putin. “But his greeting and warm smile put me at ease,” she said.

Li admired Putin very much,because of his strong will and style of leadership. “He looks very cool,” Li said.During her interview,Li asked Putin whether he plans     to educate his two daughters to be officials in the future.Putin smiled and answered       he hopes they can do whatever job suits their interests and personalities.

Although li would only have several minutes,she started working on her interview questions last August after applying for the opportunity. “Journalists” work is by no means easy.You need to do lots of homework on your “interviewee,”she said.She read many books about Putin and Russia in her spare time.

Li’s parents encouraged her to be a student journalist. “We fully supported her,as long as it does not affects her studies,” said her father.Previously in her job for a student magazine, Chinese Young Journalists, she wrote a letter to President Hu Jintao during the SARS epidemic.

Li has learnt a lot from her experience.She said learning to manage her time and develop the confidence to speak with important people were not things she could learn in class.

1.The underlined word “interviewee”in the fifth paragragh probably means_____.

2.Which of the following best descibes Li Jing’s parents’attitude towards her being a student journalist?

3.Li Jing is different from those students of her age in that______.

单词拼写：（每小题1分，共10小题）
【小题1】In less than two days 100,000 pieces were put inside twenty-seven_____(木制的) boxes.                                               
【小题2】Li Yan, a___ ( 志愿者 ) for the 2008 Olympic Games, is interviewed by Pausanias.                                              
【小题3】Tom is ___(有信心的) to succeed.                                           
【小题4】Seeing this, many a ___(路人) came to help the old woman.                       
【小题5】What do you think of the play ___(表演) by the little children?                   
【小题6】__(如今), many young people spend at least 3 hours on the Internet.
【小题7】He explained __(简要地) what we were to do next.                             
【小题8】Theses ___(昆虫) can fly .                                                                             
【小题9】They were so popular that their fans formed clubs in order to get more ___(熟悉的) with them.                                            
【小题10】Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be ___(接纳) as competitors.

Why are we addicted to upgrades? According to Donald Norman, American author of the book The Design of Everyday Things, “planned obsolescence”（计划性报废） is the trick behind the upgrading culture of today’s consumer electronics industry.

The New York Times cited Norman last month, saying that electronics manufactures strategically release new upgrades periodically, both for hardware and software, so that customers on every level feel the need to buy the newest version.

“This is an old-time trick– they’re not inventing anything new,” he said.

Thomas Wensma, a Dutch designer, despises the “planned obsolescence” of companies, as recently reported by UK-based The Guardian.

Wensma said this is a wasteful system through which companies – many of them producing personal electronics – release shoddy products simply because “they know that, in six months or a year, they’ll put out a new one”.

But the new psychology of consumers is part of this system, as Wensma said to the newspaper: “We now want something new, something pretty, the next shiny thing.”

____________________

“It’s to the damage of the consumer and the environment,” as the New York Times quoted Norman. “But perhaps to the betterment of the stockholder.”

In its most recent fiscal(财务的) year, Apple’s profit margin was more than 21 percent, reported the Los Angeles Times. At Hewlett-Packard, the world’s biggest PC manufacturer, it was only 7 percent.

“Steven Jobs pushed the principle of ‘planned obsolescence’ to new heights,” the newspaper commented on the company’s profits and marketing strategy. “Apple’s annual upgrades of its products generate sales of millions of units as owners of one year’s MacBook or iPhone line up to buy the newest version, even when the changes are incremental.”

Peer pressure

As to Li Jijia, the need for upgrading his smart phone comes mainly from friends and classmates. When the majority of friends are switching to the latest devices, he worries about feeling left out.

“Some apps and games require better hardware to run,” said Li. “If you don’t join in, you lose part of the connection to your friends.”

1.Donald Norman believes that electronics makers strategically release new upgrades periodically because __________.

A．customers need the latest version          B．technology is developing so fast

C．they want to invent something new          D．they can make a lot of money

2.Thomas Wensma’s attitude to the “planned obsolescence” is __________.

A．positive           B．negative          C．indifferent         D．neutral

3.What subtitle can best fit into the blank in the text?

A．Huge profits                           B．Apple’s principle

C．Environmental damage                   D．Marketing strategy

4.The writer takes the example of Li Jijia to show that __________.

A．the new psychology of consumers is also to blame for the wasteful system

B．young people are always fond of something new, pretty and shiny

C．if you don’t upgrade your smart phone, you will lose contact with your friends

D．needs of consumers help to promote the development of electronics industry

You must have a favorite line or pet phrase you repeat often in your conversations. Studies say that pet phrases can reflect our changing society and reveal information about a person’s personality. Here are some of the most popular pet phrases among young people.

脑残---nuts

I love the word and use it whenever I think a person is stupid, or a behavior is crazy. I learned the term from one of my classmates. Once, we saw two high school girls wearing miniskirts on a very cold winter day and my classmate called the two girls “nuts”. I don’t think the word reflects my personality. I use it because it sounds cool.

Diao Yujie, 22, computer science major at Nanjing University.

汗---stunning

I use this word very often. Once, my classmates and I were discussing how amusing QQ is. One guy suddenly burst out, “I have MSN too”. This comment had no relation with the topic we were discussing. I used this word and everybody laughed. I think it is a fantastic word that can change awkwardness to amusement.

Mu Li, 20, journalism major at Beijing Normal University.

晕死---I’m giddy!

I use this word a lot---more often than my classmates. It has became a symbol of me, as my friends sometimes refer to me as the guy who often says the word. I am a person who wants to be different and this word gives me that feeling.

Chen Zhou, 21, Nanjing University.

雷---stunning

I only use this word with my friends. My parents don’t understand it. The word, which is only used among people of my age, is intimate. I think it stands for being young and energetic. And I want to be young forever, so I like the word.

Chen Jianjun, 23, senior at Nanjing University.

1.If a man wearing suit and a tie is climbing a mountain, what can we say to him according to the passage?

A. nuts                    B. I’m giddy.           C. 汗---stunning   D. 雷---stunning

2.What’s the meaning of “pet phrase” in the first paragraph?

A. 习惯用语        B. 宠物语言        C. 口头禅        D. 座右铭

3. What’s young people’s attitude to pet phrase?

A. indifferent         B. crazy                  C. reasonable          D. against

4.Pet phrase can ________ according to studies.

A. reflect our changing society  

B. reveal information about a person’s personality

C. make young people popular  

D. both A and B

[写作内容] 假如你是个中学生， 你发现大街上随地吐痰的情况很严重。请你就此事用英文给某报社编辑写一封信，信的开头及结尾署名已给出。信的内容要点如下：
1. 随地吐痰传播疾病，有害健康，污染环境；
2. 政府应该采取措施，对在公共场所随地吐痰者处以从重罚款并加强教育；
3. 希望人人都关心爱护环境，使城市更加美丽。
[写作要求]
只能使用五个句子表达全部的内容，但不得把五句分开写；
[评分标准]   
句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章结构连贯。
Dear editor,
I am a middle school student. I often see some people spitting in the street. ______________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua