How can you hear your friends’ voices when they are far away and you can’t make a long-distance call? Besides the web camera system with your computer, we have a new high-tech way to solve the problem and ease your pain of missing them.

The Japanese company Combiwith created a system “talking picture”．It makes people in pictures speak! The “talking picture” has a special pen．It is actually a pen-shaped scanner．It can scan information in specially-made pictures．A connected player will then play the information out loud.

First, you need to take a picture and record what you want to say with the company．The company will then make special barcodes onto your picture （you can’t see those codes）．Those codes are your voice and your words．When you hold up the pen to scan your picture with barcodes, a player connected to the pen will start to play．It plays things you’ve recorded．That way the invention makes the “you” in the picture speak!

Do you want your friends and families talking out of pictures? Have them make pictures like that, and you can hear them whenever you want to, only with “talking picture” system．The system can play messages for up to 12 minutes.

“The pictures would be useful for those who hope to hear the voice of someone living far away,” said Mayumi Fuji, a spokeswoman for the company．“Grandparents, for example, longing to know about their grandchildren would be happy to hear their voices when they see the picture,” Fuji said.

But it is troublesome to go to the company for taking a special picture first．And it is much more expensive than using a telephone．The photo with barcodes costs between 17,040 and 17,990 yen （160 and 169 dollars）．The larger picture you want, the more you pay.

Now, just raise a finger, lonely people can have their loved ones speak out of pictures．But, whether the “talking picture” is practical or not, let’s wait and see.

73．What does a “talking picture” mean according to this passage?

       A．The picture can play what’s been recorded as if the person in the picture “talks”.

       B．You can have a talk with the person in the picture whenever you want to.

      C．The picture can tell you wonderful stories to ease your pain.

      D．The picture can tell what’s on your mind when you are looking at it.

 74．The right order when making a talking picture is ______.

       ①record what you want say

       ②scan a picture with a pen-shaped scanner

       ③make special barcodes onto a picture

       ④take a picture

       A．④③②①            B．②④③①            C．④①③②              D．②④①③

 75．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．The “talking picture” system can play messages for 12 minutes at most.

       B．It will cost you more to take a larger talking picture.

       C．It might take a lot of trouble to make a talking picture.

       D．You can make a talking picture by just raising a finger.

69．The purpose of the passage is mainly ___________.

       A．to attract readers to buy the magazines

       B．to introduce four magazines to readers

       C．to compare four kinds of magazines

       D．to provide more practical parenting tips

70．Which magazine comes out every month?

       A．Child Life                                             B．Children’s Digest

       C．Child                                                   D．American Baby

71．If you subscribe（訂閱） the four magazines for one year now, how much can you save?

       A．MYM 121                                           B．MYM 73.67        

      C．MYM 47.33                                         D．MYM 47.7

72．According to the passage, American Baby ______.

       A．includes reviews of the latest and best health and fitness looks

       B．contains children’s stories from award winning literature

       C．prepares new parents for pregnancy and baby care

       D．enables parents to communicate with leading experts

Your friend might be in Australia or maybe just down the road, but those are all just a few clicks away．Life has changed for millions of teenagers across the world who now make friends online．Whether you use chat room, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are part of virtual community.

“I rarely talk with my parents or grandparents, but I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ,” said Fox’s Shadow, the online nickname used by a Senior 2 girl in China．“Eight percent of my classmates use QQ after school.”

QQ is the biggest messaging service in China．A record 4 million people use it one Saturday night in October, according to Tencent, the company which developed QQ.

And Fox’s Shadow might well have been one of them．“I log in on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel bored．I usually spend about 10 hours chatting online every week,” she said．“But I rarely talk with strangers, especially boys or men.”
   Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making friends with strangers online．“You don’t know who you are talking to．You should always be careful about who you trust online.”

Many people would like to meet offline when they feel they have to know someone very well．Fox’s Shadow once met one of her online friend face to face．It was a girl who was a comic fan like herself and they went to a comic show together.

However, not all teenagers have been so fortunate．At the beginning of this year, a 17-year-old girl in Liaoning Province was raped after meeting a friend she had found on QQ.

A 16-year-old Beijing boy, known online as Bart Simon, dislikes QQ users．“I used to chat on QQ．But I found that most people were talking nonsense.” He said．Now he chats online in English, using MSN．“I only chat online because I’ve got friends in Japan, the US and Singapore,” he said., “I want to learn more about foreign cultures.” But he spends little time chatting as he sees it as a waste of time and money.

“If you are really addicted to it sometimes you just can’t concentrate in class,” he said．“And the friends in your real life are always more important than those so-called friends you meet online.”

65．How many messaging services have been mentioned in the passage?

       A．2                 B．3                     C．4                   D．5

66．What’s the meaning of the phrase “l(fā)og in” in the fourth paragraph?

       A．take off            B．get online               C．set out              D．set up

67．You can’t concentrate in class if you______.

       A．a(chǎn)re addicted to chatting on line                   B．chat with strangers

       C．meet offline                                              D．learn more foreign culture

68．According to this passage which friend is more important?

       A．friends you meet on line                       B．foreign friends

       C．friends in your real life                         D．friends we meet offline

Love Is Just a Thread

     Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents．Every day they are very busy trying to earn money to pay the high tuition for us．They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV．“ I love you” is too luxurious for them to say ．Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question．My father is easy to lose his temper, especially when he’s very tired from the hard work.

     One day, my mother was sewing a quilt．I silently sat beside her and asked her if there was love between them．“ What?” she replied, still doing her work．My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise．She didn’t answer immediately．Then she bowed her head and continued sewing the quilt．I was in a great embarrassment and I didn’t know what to do．But at last I heard my mother say the following words: “ Look at this thread．Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt．The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable．If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread．It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there．Love is inside.” I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring.

      My father suddenly got sick seriously．My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month．When they returned from the hospital, they both seemed as if they had a serious illness．Every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road．It seemed they were the most harmonious couple．There were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees, and the sun gently glistened（閃亮） through the leaves．All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world．When we were worrying about him, he said gently: “ I really like walking with your mom．I like this kind of life.” Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

       Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses．But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life．Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

60．Why does the author sometimes doubt that there is real love between her parents?

       A．Because they are very busy earning money for the high tuition.

       B．Because they don’t act in the romantic ways.

       C．Because her father is easy to lose his temper to her mother

       D．Because “ I love you” is too luxurious for them to say

61．Which of the following explanations is similar to the underlined phrase “ out of the question” in Paragraph One?

       A．possible                                          B．impossible     

      C．out of question                                 D．unnecessary

62．What can we learn from her mother’s answer about love?

      A．Love should be seen anywhere.

      B．Love should be seen anytime.

      C．Love should be a thread.

      D．Love is really existing everywhere and anytime even though we can’t feel it.

63．What made her father change so greatly?

      A．The real love.

      B．The thread of the quilt.

      C．The beautiful scenery of the country road.

      D．All the other members of the family.

64．What’s the main idea of the text?

      A．We should understand our parents.

      B．Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

      C．Love is really very important to anyone.

      D．Love should be outside, and can be seen everywhere.

   At a hospital in Illinois, doctors and patients dress up as clowns （小丑） and put on little plays to make each other laugh．A hospital in New York puts funny books in its library for patients.

   Can laughter make sick people feel better?

   Yes, say scientists．Laughter is no laughing matter．Scientists think laughter can help sick people feel less pain and get better more quickly．This new idea is being taught to students in medical school.

   Doctors have known for a long time that stress and loneliness, lack of friends and family can harm sick people．Now they are learning that laughter can help put people on the road to recovery.

       Scientists have discovered that laughter gives the body a healthy form of exercise．Also, laughter sets free a chemical in the body that speeds healing.

       Some doctors are using this new research to make their patients feel like having a million dollars．At a California hospital, people who have cancer tell each other funny stories and perform with a famous actor who has had cancer surgery （手術）．

   Laughter can be good medicine.

56．Some hospitals are trying to make patients laugh because ________.

      A．it makes patients feel better                   B．patients will be satisfied with them

      C．patients will be younger                        D．it can cure all the illnesses

57．What does the underlined sentence mean?

      A．Laughter does not mean laughing.         

      B．Laughter is not a matter at all.

      C．Laughter is more than a simple laughing.                               

      D．Laughter isn’t funny.

58．According to the passage, people who are ill in hospital should ________.

      A．read stories with an unexpected ending

      B．read medical newspaper every day

      C．watch funny TV programs

      D．a(chǎn)sk their friends or relatives to stay with them

59．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

      A．staying quietly at home will be good to your health

      B．some scientists can help patients become very rich

      C．doctors in Illinois hospitals must be good at acting

      D．laughter will make the body produce a helpful chemical

One family agreed with the idea that money really can buy happiness -- send the kids to summer camp! So they sent their son Joey away for the season．He was  36 as happy about the arrangement as his  37 , for after about three weeks, they finally received a  38 ．Both parents huddled together to read it．After a moment Joey’s mother     39  and said to her husband, “Well, it certainly is Joey.”

The card read, “Dear Mum and Dad, they are  40 everyone write home．Love, Joey.”

At times, families may need some  41 ．They also need togetherness lots of it．And those of us who live in families  42  that our family is far from 43  , even on the best of days．But perfection is not  44  for a strong family life.

What is required, according to family expert Nick Stinnett, are three basics．“When you have a strong  45  life,” he said, “you receive the  46  that you are loved, that you are  47  , that you are important．The  48  intake （吸收） of love and affection and respect…, gives you inner resources to deal with life more  49  .

Love, affection and  50  ――a dynamic trio （ 三重奏） in any strong family．Where there is love, there is a place of  51  ．Where there is affection, there is a place of  52 ．And where there is respect, there is a place where the mind and spirit can  53  ．

Not all of us live in family groups．But we probably come from families and there just may be a family in our future.

Dr Joyce Brothers has  54  her life to marriage and family issues．She says, “When you look at your life, the greatest happiness is family happiness.” That can be  55  in any family where you are loved, you are cared for and where you are made to feel important．Make this trio part of your family life and you truly will find happiness.

--- Will you attend Jimmy’s wedding tomorrow?

--- Maybe I will．________ .

      A．It is up to you．                                   B．All right.             

      C．It just depends.                                     D．Glad to hear that.

_______ and we will complete the task sent to us.

       A．Another hour                                   B．An hour later        

       C．After an hour                                        D．In an hour

So far this year we ______ a fall in house prices by between 5 and 10 percent.

       A．saw                   B．see                   C．had seen           D．have seen

In his victory speech, ______ before a huge crowd of his supporters, Obama declared that “ change has come to America.”

      A．having delivered                                  B．to be delivered    

      C．delivering                                           D．delivered