A newspaper, published usually on a daily or weekly basis, has the main function of reporting news. Many
newspapers also furnish their readers with other pieces of useful information, such as weather reports, TV
program broadcast, and other kinds of information. They provide commentary on politics, economics, arts
and culture. In nearly all cases and in different degrees, newspapers depend on commercial advertising for
their income.
     A survey said that nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day,
and seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. By the time they see a newspaper, most people have already
heard about breaking news stories on TV or on the radio. Readers depend on newspapers to provide detailed
information and analysis (分析) which TV and radio almost don't offer. Newspapers not only tell readers that
an event has happened but also help readers understand what led to the event and how it will affect the world.
     The members of a large newspaper work under the nonstop pressure of deadlines to bring news to readers
as quickly as their minds, bodies and the technology they use permit. Reporters, photographers, artists, and
editors find the materials and form articles and graphics (圖片) -sometimes in just a few hours. Page designers
combine articles, photos, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines into page layouts (版面), then quickly
print the paper out. Printing system may work through the night to print out more than 60,000 copies per hour.

1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A. How many people read newspapers.
B. Why many people read newspapers.
C. How a newspaper comes into being.
D. How newspapers affect us.

2. The underlined word in Paragraph 1 means "_____".

A. offer
B. review
C. found
D. produce

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A. All the income of a newspaper comes from ads.
B. Canadians depend on newspapers more than Americans.
C. The staff of a newspaper must meet deadlines from time to time.
D. Only by reading the newspaper can readers get the latest news.

4. According to the passage, what affects the pace of a newspaper's publication?

A. The editors.
B. The printers.
C. Its human resources and technology.
D. The reporters.

     What is red but green, open but closed and old but new? Answer: London's new double-decker
buses. The traditional red double-deckers are    1   symbol of London. Their symbolic status was settled
in 2008 when one bus made the longer-than-usual trip to Beijing    2   (collect) a very special passenger:
the Olympic Flame.
     Now a new bus design    3   (uncover) and it has been exciting Londoners.
     The new bus uses more efficient green technology and has two staircases and an open platform,    4  
(enable) people to hop on and hop off. It also has a unique design for the front end, which gives it an
innovative (新穎的)look.
     Despite    5   innovations, the design is not all new. Its outward appearance takes after London's
faithful old double-decker, the Route master.
     In July 2008 a    6   (compete) was launched by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to design a new
Route master bus for the capital. There were over 700 entries, ___7___ several designers jointly winning
the ?25,000 (244,000 Yuan) prize.
     The new double-deckers, ___8___ have three doors to speed up boarding, are expected to be in
service in 2012.
     Mr. Johnson said: "This iconic new part of our transport system is not only beautiful, but also has a
green heart beating beneath its ___9___ (attract) appearance."
     He expects cities around the globe to be "beside themselves with envy" for ___10__ he described as
a "stunning red symbol" of 21st-century London.

     Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect.But in the nine days
since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled-to $1.01 per packsmokers have jammed telephone"quit
lines" across the country seeking to kick the habit.
     This is not a surprise to public health advocates.They've studied the effect of state tax increases for
years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive.Nor is it a shock to the industry, which
fiercely fights every tax increase.
     The only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears to the message.Tobacco taxes
improve public health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit
as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted.Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.
     In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings
cost $10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday.In Charleston, S.C., where the 7centapack tax is the lowest in
the nation, the price was $4.78.
     The influence is obvious.
     In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys-13.8%, far below the national
average.By comparison,26% of high school students smoke in Kentucky.Other lowtax states have
similarly depressing teensmoking records.
     Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that
the burden of the tax falls on lowincome Americans "who choose to smoke".
      That's true.But there is more reason in keeping future generations of lowincome workers from getting
hooked in the first place.As for today's adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to
spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.

1.The text is mainly about  ____ .
A. the price of cigarettes
B. the rate of teen smoking
C. the effect of tobacco tax increase
D. the differences in tobacco tax rate

2.What does the author think is a surprise?
A. Teen smokers are price sensitive.
B.  Some states still keep the tobacco tax low.
C. Tobacco taxes improve public health.
D. Tobacco industry fiercely fights the tax rise.

3.The underlined word "deter"in Paragraph 3 most probably means ___  .
A. discourage  
B. remove
C. benefit  
D. free

4. Rogers' attitude towards the lowincome smokers might be that of ___  .
A. tolerance  
B. unconcern
C. doubt
D. sympathy

5.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.The new tax will be beneficial in the long run.
B. Lowincome Americans are more likely to fall ill.
C. Future generations will be hooked on smoking.
D. Adults will depend more on their families.

    No fight can end, and no friendship can move on, until everyone says these little words:I'm sorry.
Sometimes, though, they can be difficult to say.__1__
    It's not about winning.
    Friendships aren't like the Super Bowl, and there should never be a winner and a loser. When you
start fighting with a friend, it may feel important that you "win" the fight by proving you're right and he is
wrong, or by making him be the first to apologize.__2__
    You may have heard the expression "His pride stood in the way." It is usually used to describe a
person who is so determined to be "right" that he lets an opportunity for happiness pass him by forever.
__3__Remember:as time goes on, we usually forget who was right and who was wrong in a disagreement, and only remember the sadness of losing a friend.
    Take the first step.
    Are you sick of fighting?Do you think this fight is just not important enough to ruin your friendship?
__4__You don't have to take full responsibility for starting the fight, or even say that your feelings were
wrong. But you should find something you did or said that's worth apologizing for. Maybe you're sorry
that you let the fight go for so long, of that you overreacted(反應(yīng)過(guò)度的) to something your friend did.
If you say you are sorry, it's like an invitation for your friend to do the same.__5__
A. Then try to be the first to apologize.
B. Stop thinking about your pride.
C. It's about taking some responsibility for the argument.
D. Don't let this happen to a friendship you care about.
E. Here are some things to keep in mind.
F. There are some special cases when you shouldn't be the one to apologize first.
G. Once you've both said it, you'll both feel a million times better.

     Everyone knows that earthquakes can damage their property.But actually, in some situations, more
damage is done after an earthquake than when it _1_(happen). However, you can do a great many things   2    an earthquake that may help to protect your home.
      Firstly, make sure there is no gas leak.The professional   3   (suggest) is to turn off the gas line if you
can.If there is a gas leak and you can't turn it off,   4   is recommended that you get everyone out of the
house  5    go to a neighbor's to call the fire department.
     Secondly, make sure none of the water pipes are broken.Even if you don't see any water leaking, you
should call the water company to see   6   the water is safe to drink.You don't want any one of your family members to get sick because he or she has drunk   7   (safe) water, right?
     The last thing you should do is   8  (make) sure the foundation of the house is not cracked or sinking.
A cracked or sinking foundation can be a sign   9   the house may collapse.In that case, leave the house
and do not enter it until  10  expert looks at the problem.

     Few of us make money by losing sleep.But three graduate students at Brown University in
Providence built a company around sleep deprivation.
     Jason Donahue, Ben Rubin and Eric Shashoua were working late nights in Brown's business
and engineering schools-and began thinking about ways to sleep better.
     They discovered they weren't alone in burning the midnight oil.Around 20% of Americans get
less than six hours of rest a night.
     The friends imagined a smart alarm clock that could track how much time we spend in the most
restorative(促使康復(fù)的) stages of the sleep cycle:REM(快速眼動(dòng)) and deep sleep.What would it
cost to design such a thing?Five years of research,20 employees, $ 14 million in funding and a whole
lot of doubting from investors and scientists.
     The company, Zeo, based in Newton, Mass., launched its product in June.The Zeo device uses
a headband with tiny sensors(傳感器) that scan your brain for signs of four sleep states:REM, light,
deep and waking sleep.The smart alarm clock displays a graph of your sleep pattern and wakes you
as you're transitioning out of REM sleep (which is when you're least sleepy). In the morning you can
upload the data to the company's website, and so track your sleep over time.The cost, $ 399, includes
six months' access to one of Zeo's online sleep coaches.Most of the feedback comes in the form of
Zeo's ZQ score showing how well you've slept.
     "Zeo allows people to unlock this black box of sleep, "says Dave Dickinson, a healthcare CEO.
Whether any of this actually improves sleep is up to the consumer, who will also need to make lifestyle
changes like cutting out alcohol before bedtime or caffeine after 3 p. m..
      For now the company is selling Zeo online only.Dickinson also plans to expand to countries such as
Australia, where sleep deprivation approaches US levels.

1. Why did the three students imagine a smart alarm clock?
A. To earn enough money for a scholarship.
B. To wake them up on time in the morning.
C. To record the length of their sleep time.
D. To improve the quality of their sleep.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. It took 14 employees five years to develop the product.
B. Their research received a lot of support from investors.
C. About one in five Americans suffers from poor sleep.
D. Alcohol or caffeine before bedtime affects sleep.

3. Which is the correct order of how the Zeo device works?
a. wake you when you're least sleepy
b. scan your brain for sleep signs
c. get the Zeo's ZQ score
d. show a graph of your sleep pattern
e. upload the data to the company's website
A. d, b, a, e, c       
B. b, a, d, c, e
C. d, b, a, c, e  
D. b, d, a, e, c

4. The Zeo's ZQ score is connected with________.
A. the quality of sleep  
B. the length of sleep
C. the time of waking up 
D. the time of going to bed

5. From the passage we can learn that________.
A. Zeo will have a direct effect on users' lifestyles
B. Zeo will have better results if users make proper changes
C. Zeo is reported to be well received in Australia
D. Zeo can now be bought either in stores or online