倒數第七周星期

　　Passage A

　　For thousands of years, man has enjoyed the taste of apples. Apples, which are about 85 percent water, grow almost everywhere in the world but the hottest and coldest areas. Among the leading countries in apple production are China, France and the United States.

　　There are various kinds of apples, but a very few make up the majority of those grown for sale. The three most common kinds grown in the United States are Delicious, golden Delicious, and McIntosh.

　　Apples are different in color, size, and taste. The color of the skin may be red, green, or yellow. They have various sizes, with Delicious apples being among the largest. The taste may be sweet or tart. Generally, sweet apples are eaten fresh while tart apples are used to make applesauce.

　　Apple trees may grow as tall as twelve meters. They do best in areas that have very cold winters. Although no fruit is yielded during the winter, this cold period is good for the tree.

　　1. It can be learned from the text that Delicious apples are _______________ 　 A. grown in France. ? ? ? ?

　　B. sold everywhere. 　 C. very huge.??? ? ? ? D. quite sweet. 2. Cold winter weather is good for _______________ 　 A. the growth of apple trees.

　　B. producing large apples. 　 C. improving the taste of apples.

　　D. the increase of water in apples. 3. China, France and the United States are considered to _______________ 　 A. be large producers of apples. 　 B. be large producers of applesauce. 　 C. have the longest history in apple production. 　 D. have the coldest winter among apple producing countries. 4. The word “yielded” in the last sentence means _______________

　　A. improved.　 B. increased.? ? C. produced.　??D. sold.

　　Passage B

　　???The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site.

　　Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.

　　On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number — or sell the information over the Internet. Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25, 000 customers of CD Universe, an on-line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157, 828 to get back the information.

　　Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web — only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.

　　Ask about your credit-card firm’s on-line rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent(欺騙性的) spending.

　　And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.

　　If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Website address may also start https: //—the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone.

　　Keep your password safe: Most on-line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.

　　5. What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?

　　A. Many stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet.??

　　B. Too much fraud on the Internet.? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??

　　C. Many Web sites are destroyed.? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?

　　D. Many illegal Web sites are on the Internet.

　　6. What is the meaning of “fraud” in the passage?

　　A. Cheating.? ? ? ? ? ?

　　? B. Sale. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? C. Payment. ? ? ? ?? ? ? D. Safety.

　　7. How can the thieves get the information of the credit card?

　　A. The customers give them the information.

　　B. The thieves steal the information from Web sites.

　　C. The customers sell the information to them.

　　D. The thieves buy the information from credit-card firms.

　　8. You are shopping on the site: http: // www. Shopping.com and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest to do?

　　A. Order the TV set at once.? ?? ?? ?? ??

　　B. Do not buy the TV set on this site.

　　C. E-mail the site your credit-card information.

　　D. Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.

　　Passage C

　　News (March 6, 2008) that Microsoft was $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo was greeted with heated discussion by many Internet users on Friday. Here are some responses：

　　Mark Galeassi of Kansas City, Missouri: This is the best move for both parties. Yahoo has the ideas and Microsoft has the money to finally market these ideas correctly. Microsoft and Yahoo are a perfect fit and the deal will be good for consumers. Scott G. of New Jersey: I was a Yahoo user for years along with Hotmail from Microsoft. Then Google came along. Google Earth, Google Toolbar and Gmail. Google is so innovative(立異的)with everything they do. Yahoo and Microsof, the same old story. I don't think the merger will do anything for either company except improve the Yahoo shareholders' bank accounts.

　　Michael Glosser of Estero, Florida: Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they'll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo's formerly non-priced features. Microsoft's greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is. Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights California: Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet! Antonio Simmons of Parkville, Maryland: Microsoft purchasing Yahoo would be nothing more than an attempt from Microsoft to further impose upon the users their poor-quality software and obtain more wealth for the company. In my opinion, they will never be able to compete with Google because Yahoo and Microsoft's current search engines are too inferior to compete. Even if combined, they still lack.

　　9. Who is in favor of the merger of Microsoft and Yahoo?

　　A. Antonio Simmons.

　　B. Michael Grosser.

　　C. Scott G.

　　D. Mark Galeassi.

　　10. Michael Grosser is afraid that_____________.

　　A. he merger will cost Yahoo's free features

　　B. merger will lead to Microsoft's monopoly (把持) of the market

　　C. he increased competition will force Google out of the game

　　D. Internet users will have to buy Microsoft's costly software

　　11. What is Antonio Simmons' attitude towards Google?

　　A. Doubtful.

　　B. Approval.

　　C. Positive.

　　D. Negative.

　　Passage D

　　Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation ----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.

　　Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.

　　12. The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________.

　　A. one’s familiarity with the text.

　　B. one’s purpose in reading

　　C. the length of a group of words

　　D. lighting and tiredness

　　13. The author may believe that reading ______.

　　A. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation

　　B. requires a reader to see words more quickly

　　C. demands an deeply-participating mind

　　D. demands more mind than eyes

　　14. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.

　　B. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.

　　C. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.

　　D. The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.

　　15. The tune of the author in writing this article is ________

　　A critical　B neutralC pessimisticD optimistic

　　倒數第七周星期

　　Passage A

　　For thousands of years, man has enjoyed the taste of apples. Apples, which are about 85 percent water, grow almost everywhere in the world but the hottest and coldest areas. Among the leading countries in apple production are China, France and the United States.

　　There are various kinds of apples, but a very few make up the majority of those grown for sale. The three most common kinds grown in the United States are Delicious, golden Delicious, and McIntosh.

　　Apples are different in color, size, and taste. The color of the skin may be red, green, or yellow. They have various sizes, with Delicious apples being among the largest. The taste may be sweet or tart. Generally, sweet apples are eaten fresh while tart apples are used to make applesauce.

　　Apple trees may grow as tall as twelve meters. They do best in areas that have very cold winters. Although no fruit is yielded during the winter, this cold period is good for the tree.

　　1. It can be learned from the text that Delicious apples are _______________ 　 A. grown in France. ? ? ? ?

　　B. sold everywhere. 　 C. very huge.??? ? ? ? D. quite sweet. 2. Cold winter weather is good for _______________ 　 A. the growth of apple trees.

　　B. producing large apples. 　 C. improving the taste of apples.

　　D. the increase of water in apples. 3. China, France and the United States are considered to _______________ 　 A. be large producers of apples. 　 B. be large producers of applesauce. 　 C. have the longest history in apple production. 　 D. have the coldest winter among apple producing countries. 4. The word “yielded” in the last sentence means _______________

　　A. improved.　 B. increased.? ? C. produced.　??D. sold.

　　Passage B

　　???The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site.

　　Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.

　　On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number — or sell the information over the Internet. Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25, 000 customers of CD Universe, an on-line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157, 828 to get back the information.

　　Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web — only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.

　　Ask about your credit-card firm’s on-line rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent(欺騙性的) spending.

　　And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.

　　If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Website address may also start https: //—the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone.

　　Keep your password safe: Most on-line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.

　　5. What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?

　　A. Many stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet.??

　　B. Too much fraud on the Internet.? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??

　　C. Many Web sites are destroyed.? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?

　　D. Many illegal Web sites are on the Internet.

　　6. What is the meaning of “fraud” in the passage?

　　A. Cheating.? ? ? ? ? ?

　　? B. Sale. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? C. Payment. ? ? ? ?? ? ? D. Safety.

　　7. How can the thieves get the information of the credit card?

　　A. The customers give them the information.

　　B. The thieves steal the information from Web sites.

　　C. The customers sell the information to them.

　　D. The thieves buy the information from credit-card firms.

　　8. You are shopping on the site: http: // www. Shopping.com and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest to do?

　　A. Order the TV set at once.? ?? ?? ?? ??

　　B. Do not buy the TV set on this site.

　　C. E-mail the site your credit-card information.

　　D. Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.

　　Passage C

　　News (March 6, 2008) that Microsoft was $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo was greeted with heated discussion by many Internet users on Friday. Here are some responses：

　　Mark Galeassi of Kansas City, Missouri: This is the best move for both parties. Yahoo has the ideas and Microsoft has the money to finally market these ideas correctly. Microsoft and Yahoo are a perfect fit and the deal will be good for consumers. Scott G. of New Jersey: I was a Yahoo user for years along with Hotmail from Microsoft. Then Google came along. Google Earth, Google Toolbar and Gmail. Google is so innovative(立異的)with everything they do. Yahoo and Microsof, the same old story. I don't think the merger will do anything for either company except improve the Yahoo shareholders' bank accounts.

　　Michael Glosser of Estero, Florida: Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they'll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo's formerly non-priced features. Microsoft's greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is. Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights California: Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet! Antonio Simmons of Parkville, Maryland: Microsoft purchasing Yahoo would be nothing more than an attempt from Microsoft to further impose upon the users their poor-quality software and obtain more wealth for the company. In my opinion, they will never be able to compete with Google because Yahoo and Microsoft's current search engines are too inferior to compete. Even if combined, they still lack.

　　9. Who is in favor of the merger of Microsoft and Yahoo?

　　A. Antonio Simmons.

　　B. Michael Grosser.

　　C. Scott G.

　　D. Mark Galeassi.

　　10. Michael Grosser is afraid that_____________.

　　A. he merger will cost Yahoo's free features

　　B. merger will lead to Microsoft's monopoly (把持) of the market

　　C. he increased competition will force Google out of the game

　　D. Internet users will have to buy Microsoft's costly software

　　11. What is Antonio Simmons' attitude towards Google?

　　A. Doubtful.

　　B. Approval.

　　C. Positive.

　　D. Negative.

　　Passage D

　　Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation ----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.

　　Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.

　　12. The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________.

　　A. one’s familiarity with the text.

　　B. one’s purpose in reading

　　C. the length of a group of words

　　D. lighting and tiredness

　　13. The author may believe that reading ______.

　　A. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation

　　B. requires a reader to see words more quickly

　　C. demands an deeply-participating mind

　　D. demands more mind than eyes

　　14. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.

　　B. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.

　　C. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.

　　D. The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.

　　15. The tune of the author in writing this article is ________

　　A critical　B neutralC pessimisticD optimistic