The New York Times announced Wednesday that it intended to charge frequent readers for access to its website, a step being debated across the industry that nearly every major newspaper has so far feared to take.

Starting in early 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a standard and fixed fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the newspaper’s print edition will receive full access to the site.

But executives of The New York Times Company said they could not yet answer fundamental questions about the plan, like how much it would cost or what the limit would be on free reading. They stressed that the amount of free access could change with time, in response to economic conditions and reader demand. Still, publishers fear that money from digital subscriptions would not make up for the resulting loss of audience and advertising income.

NYTimes.com is by far the most popular newspaper site in the country, with more than 17 million readers a month in the United States, according to Nielsen Online, and analysts say it is the leader in advertising income, as well. That may make it better positioned than other general-interest papers to charge—and also gives The Times more to lose if the move produces an opposed result.

The Times Company has been studying the matter for almost a year, searching for common ground between pro-and-anti pay campaigns—a debate mirrored in dozens of media-watching blogs-- and the system will not go into effect until January 2011. Executives said they were not bothered by the possibility of absorbing barbs(挖苦) for moving cautiously.

 “There’s no prize for getting it quick,” said Janet L. Robinson, the company’s president and chief executive. “There’s more of a prize for getting it right.”

What’s the function of the first paragraph?

       A. It servers as a comment.

       B. It serves as a background

       C. It serves as a lead-in

       D. It serves as a conclusion.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

       A. Non-paying subscribers will get no access to NYTimes.com.

       B. Readers will be charged more to read articles on NYTimes.com.

       C. Readers will get more free online articles to log on NYTimes. com more often.

       D. Subscribers to the paper’s print edition will also enjoy full access to the site.

Which of the words can best describe The Time Company’s attitude towards its announcement?

A. Unwilling.       

B. Serious.                  

C. Hasty               

D. Doubtful

What is the main idea about the passage?

       A. The Times to offer free access to its web site.

       B. The Times to increase audience to its web site.

       C. The Times to attract advertisement to its web site

       D. The Times to charge for frequent access to its web site.

The New York Times announced Wednesday that it intended to charge frequent readers for access to its website, a step being debated across the industry that nearly every major newspaper has so far feared to take.

Starting in early 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a standard and fixed fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the newspaper’s print edition will receive full access to the site.

But executives of The New York Times Company said they could not yet answer fundamental questions about the plan, like how much it would cost or what the limit would be on free reading. They stressed that the amount of free access could change with time, in response to economic conditions and reader demand. Still, publishers fear that money from digital subscriptions would not make up for the resulting loss of audience and advertising income.

NYTimes.com is by far the most popular newspaper site in the country, with more than 17 million readers a month in the United States, according to Nielsen Online, and analysts say it is the leader in advertising income, as well. That may make it better positioned than other general-interest papers to charge—and also gives The Times more to lose if the move produces an opposed result.

The Times Company has been studying the matter for almost a year, searching for common ground between pro-and-anti pay campaigns—a debate mirrored in dozens of media-watching blogs-- and the system will not go into effect until January 2011. Executives said they were not bothered by the possibility of absorbing barbs(挖苦) for moving cautiously.

 “There’s no prize for getting it quick,” said Janet L. Robinson, the company’s president and chief executive. “There’s more of a prize for getting it right.”

1. What’s the function of the first paragraph?

       A. It servers as a comment.

       B. It serves as a background

       C. It serves as a lead-in

       D. It serves as a conclusion.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

       A. Non-paying subscribers will get no access to NYTimes.com.

       B. Readers will be charged more to read articles on NYTimes.com.

       C. Readers will get more free online articles to log on NYTimes. com more often.

       D. Subscribers to the paper’s print edition will also enjoy full access to the site.

3.Which of the words can best describe The Time Company’s attitude towards its announcement?

A. Unwilling.       

B. Serious.                  

C. Hasty               

D. Doubtful

4. What is the main idea about the passage?

       A. The Times to offer free access to its web site.

       B. The Times to increase audience to its web site.

       C. The Times to attract advertisement to its web site

       D. The Times to charge for frequent access to its web site.

There is no doubt that Apple is well aware of the increased competition in the market and could be in a hurry to put another device out there, said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC Mobile Devices Technology and Trends. Given its history with product launches and business policy, though, Apple probably isn’t going to rush an iPhone release simply to put it on shelves, he said.

“If you’re Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), you’re thinking if you want to pay more attention to how to keep growing that bottom line and keep investors happy, or continue with the same approach from Apple, which is do what we can do and manage products and releases in the best way they can work for us. Apple usually does things in their own time ，and I’m having a hard time buying this May or June timeline.” Llamas told Mac News World.

While it，s probable that Apple is definitely in a testing stage for its next smartphone , consumers likely have a standard wait for the finished product, said Colin Gibbs, analyst at GigaOm Pro.

“It typically takes a year or longer to create a state-of-the-art smartphone, so no one should be surprised Apple is in the testing stages with the next iPhone. And while it’s possible that Apple could launch the next iPhone this spring or summer, I’m not expecting to see it until a little later in the year,” he told Mac News World.

When it does launch, though, it could be in a variety of colors, said Gibbs. “Apple has already tested the waters with releasing colored devices when it revamped(更新，翻新）its iPod line last fall, so it’s not too much of a stretch to believe it would want the new twist with its smartphone, as well”.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the new iPhone becomes available in some new colors，’’ he said. “That could be done pretty cheaply ，and it would give Apple a new marketing angle.”

1.According to Ramon Llamas, Apple always______.

A.tries to pleases its investors

B. does things as planned

C.ignores the fierce market competition

D. rushes to put new products to market

2.As for the next iPhone, Colin Gibbs didn’t mention______    

A.the stage of its being tested

B.the rough time of its being released

C.the wide variety of its color

D.the function to be improved

3.What’s Colin Gibbs ，attitude towards the next iPhone?

A. Disapproving. B. Casual

C. Objective.     D. Doubtful.

4.This passage is presented in the form of______.

A.stories   B.comments      C.advertisements D.debates

D
BEIJING  March l （ Reuters）  - China hailed its best ever Winter Olympics on Mon- day, crediting technology, foreign coaches and even improved language skills for the winning five gold,  two silver and four bronze medals in 'Vancouver．
Only eight years after skater Yang Yang （A） won the  country's first Winter gold at Salt Lake City, a sweep of the women' s short track speed skating and a first figure skating  title helped China to joint seventh place in the medals table．
"Cold Standard" read the banner headline on the front  page China Daily, while the People' s Daily led its sports page with "Vancouver historical breakthrough " ．
"We have made an important breakthrough at these Games" Xiao Tian, deputy chef de mission of China' s largest ever Winter Games delegation, told the Xinhua news agency．
" Actually the five - gold finish was within my expectation before we set off for the Games,but I couldn't say that at that time because I would not want to put any pressure on the ath- letes．Now I can speak out．"
Xiao was quick to retun to the earlier subject of conversation to pessirrustic（悲观）  type,  however, when discussing the future, emphasizing the huge task the Winter Sports adnunistra-   tion faced to close the gap on their Summer counterparts, who topped the table at the 2008 Bei- jing Olympics．
"Despite the good results at these Games, we still have a long way to go in the develop-ment of China's winter sports," he said．
"It' s impossible for us to reach the same -level as we have done in Summer sports,  but we will try to minimize the gap as much as we can．"
Xiao said that progress would come not through a vast expansion of the Winter sports pro- gramme but by using the best coaches, wherever they came from, and technology．
71．China regarded the Vancouver Winter Olympics as a breakthrough because___________
A．China gained-seventh place in the medals table
B． many people were crazy about the Vancouver．Games
C．'Yang Yang （A） won the country's first Winter gold
D．People's Daily thought it a historical breakthrough
72．Which contribution to China's success is not mentioned in the passage?
A．Technology．B．Foreign coaches．C．Language skills．D．Hardworking．
73．The reason why Xiao Tian didn't speak out the five - gold finish before setting off for the Games is that___________
A．he wanted to give us a big surprise at Vancouver
B．he didn't want to put any stress on the athletes
C．he didn't have an optimistic attitude to the athletes
D． he  thought the five - gold finish was a huge task
74．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The headline of China Daily is "Vancouver historical breakthrough"
B．The results in Winter Olympic8 are as good as those in Summer Olympics:
C．We will try to narrow the gap between the Winter and Summer Sports．
D．It's easy for us to reach the same level as we have done in Summer sports．
75．What' s the main idea of this passage?
A．China hails Winter Games 'breakthrough  at Vancouver．
B．A first figure skating title helped China succeed．
C．Cluna swept the women's short track speed skating．
D．Using the best coaches is important for China Winter Games．

There is no doubt that Apple is well aware of the increased competition in the market and could be in a hurry to put another product out there, said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC Mobile Devices Technology and Trends. Given its history with product launches and business policy, though, Apple probably isn’t going to rush an iPhone release simply to put it on shelves, he said.

“If you’re Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), you’re thinking if you want to pay more attention to how to keep growing that bottom line and keep investors(投资人) happy, or continue with the same approach from Apple, which is do what we can do and manage products and releases in the best way they can work for us. Apple usually does things in their own time, and I’m having a hard time buying this May or June timeline.” Llamas told Mac News World.

While it’s probable that Apple is surely in a testing stage for its next smartphone, consumers likely have a standard wait for the finished product, said Colin Gibbs, analyst at GigaOm Pro.

“It typically takes a year or longer to create a state-of-the-art smartphone, so no one should be surprised Apple is in the testing stages with the next iPhone. And while it’s possible that Apple could launch the next iPhone this spring or summer, I’m not expecting to see it until a little later in the year,” he told Mac News World.

When it does launch, though, it could be in a variety of colors, said Gibbs. “Apple has already tested the waters with releasing colored products when it revamped (更新，翻新）its iPod line last fall, so it is understood that it would want the new change with its smartphone, as well”.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the new iPhone becomes available in some new colors,’’ he said. “That could be done pretty cheaply, and it would give Apple a new marketing angle.”

1.According to Ramon Llamas, Apple always ______.

A. tries to please its investors

B. rushes to put new products to market

C. ignores the fierce market competition

D. does things as planned

2.As for the next iPhone, Colin Gibbs didn’t mention ______.

A. the stage of its being tested

B. the rough time of its being released

C. the function to be improved

D. the wide variety of its color

3.What’s Colin Gibbs’ attitude towards the next iPhone?

A. Disapproving.    B. Indifferent (漠不关心的).      C. Doubtful.     D. Objective.

4.This passage is presented in the form of ______.

A. stories            B. comments           C. advertisements         D. debates