“Just take a deep breath.” “Don’t think about it.” “You’re more likely to die in a car wreck on the way to the airport than you are in a plane crash.” These are just some words given to people with a fear of flying. But as Tom Cruise, playing Lt. Daniel Kaffee in the movie A Few Good Men, said, “I get sick when I fly because I’m afraid of crashing into a large mountain. I don’t think Daniel will help.”
But there’s a new application that just may. Today, the VALK Foundation, a Dutch group that’s a partnership between KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and the University of Leiden, launches the app in the US. The VALK Foundation was one of the first centers for research and fear-of-flying treatment in the world and is the organizer of three world conferences on fear of flying.The foundation said the app, called Flight App VALK, is the first scientifically-developed, web-based treatment for people who suffer from mild to moderate fear of flying.
“The fear of flying application we have created aims to transfer all of the knowledge we have developed through our program into a mobile application that will help ease travelers’ fears,” said Dr. Lucas van Gerwen, director of the VALK Foundation. Dr. van Gerwen is also a psychologist and professional pilot with more than 30 years experience.
The foundation said up to 30% of adults are fearful fliers. The Flight App is designed to help relax passengers before and during flights by educating users about flight safety and turbulence. It explains the sounds and sensations they can expect during departure, flight and landing. And, if a passenger’s flight stress reaches a panic level, they press a special panic button which provides audio and written information to help decrease stress levels. Most importantly, the Flight App can be used during the flight in the airplane mode. Once downloaded, the program does not require Internet connection in the air.
1.By saying the words at the beginning of the passage, people are expected to ______.
A．decrease their fear of flying
B．get rid of their doubt about plane
C．have a good time on their flight journey
D．use some medicine to cure their fear of flying
2.Flight App VALK is aimed to ______.
A．help passengers experience the fear of flying
B．help relax passengers before and during flights
C．treat people who suffer from mild fear of flying
D．teach people the basic knowledge of taking flight
3.According to the passage, the VALK Foundation ______.
A．is a group focusing on psychology on the flight
B．was the first center to do research into fear of flying
C．organize the world conferences on fear of flying annually
D．focuses on researching and offering treatment on fear of flying
4.What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A．Many adults are suffering from fear of flying
B．It’s convenient for people to use the Flight App
C．Many planes will be installed with the Flight App.
D．The Flight App can decrease stress levels effectively
5.In which column of a newspaper can we read this passage?
A．Culture B．Entertainment C．Technology D．Education
I’m not so sure I like my friends any more. I used to like them — to be honest. We’d have lunch, talk on the phone or exchange e-mails, and they all seemed normal enough. But then came Facebook and I was introduced to a sad fact: many of my friends have dark sides that they had kept from me.
Today my friends show off the more unpleasant aspects of their personalities via Facebook. No longer hidden, they’re thrown in my face like TV commercials — unavoidable and endless advertisements for the worst of their personalities.
Take Fred. If you were to have lunch with him, you’d find him warm, and down-to-earth. Read his Facebook and you realize he’s an unbearable, food-obsessed bore. He’d pause to have a cup of coffee on his way to save a drowning man — and then write about it.
Take Andy. You won’t find a smarter CEO anywhere, but now he’s a CEO without a company to lull. So he plays Mafia Wars on Facebook. He’s doing well — level 731. Thanks to Facebook, I know he’s playing about 18 hours a day. Andy, you’ve run four companies — and this is how you spend your downtime? What happened to golf? What happened to getting another job?
Take Liz. She is positive that the H1N1 vaccine will kill us all and that we should avoid it. And then comes Chris who likes to post at least 20 times a day on every website he can find, so I get to read his thoughts twice, once on Facebook and once on Twitter.
In real life, I don’t see these sides of people. Face to face, my friends show me their best. They’re nice, smart people. But face to Facebook, my friends are like a blind date which goes horribly wrong.
I’m left with a dilemma. Who is my real friend? Is it the Liz I have lunch with or the anti-vaccine lunatic(狂人)on Facebook? Is it the Fred I can grab a sandwich with or the Fred who weeps if he’s at a party and the wine isn’t up to his standards?
1.Who is opposed to the H1N1 vaccine in the text?
A．Fred. B．Andy. C．Liz. D．Chris.
2.What’s Andy probably busy in doing now?
A．He’s running his company.
B．He’s playing golf all day.
C．He’s looking for another job.
D．He’s playing computer games.
3.According to the text, Facebook tends to ______.
A．present another side of people
B．offer some food for free
C．show endless advertisements
D．get you to more parties
4.The text is developed mainly by ______.
A．giving examples B．following the time order
C．listing figures D．raising questions
5.The author focuses on the question of ______.
A．what is Facebook B．what happened to golf
C．who is my real friend D．who can help me
There are many great movie directors of all time and the following are five of those who have largely impressed audience with their body of work.
As a member of the New Hollywood gang, Francis Coppola is best remembered for The God father series. His decision to cast Marlon Brando in the lead also met with fierce opposition from the studio bosses. Good sense became popular, and The God father went on to become one of the most memorable movies ever. Critics may point out that he has become less creative after his seventies, but try as one might, no one can possibly take the place of this great director’s work.
Stanley Kubrick’s movies focus on the themes like sci-fi, horror, dark humor and war. He used symbolism in most of his movies, giving us some wonderful screen visuals, as shown in 2001: A Space Odyssey. His actors in Hollywood complained about the endless number of retakes, but they appreciated the performance he milked out of them. People argue about films like Lolita, A Clockwork Orange and Paths of Glory, but these are now seen as classics.
Steven Spielberg is a great success at the box office, and he is one of the world’s most popular filmmakers today. As the creator of classics like Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, ET, Indiana Jones series, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, no one can win his hold over the audience. His critics accuse him of being emotional and over the top, but the fact remains that his movies attract the audience, and set the cash registers ringing.
Woody Allen is a director who directs movies full of crime and hate. This comic genius has given us Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and Midnight in Paris, which have also become classical. His movies constantly include characters who arouse the audience’s sympathy and laughter at the same time, as they set out on a journey of self-discovery. Hollywood star power has never fazed Allen. Thankfully, awards and honors do not interest him, which results in creativity that is original.
1.What do the directors mentioned in the passage have in common?
A．They are interested in awards for their works.
B．They are members of the New Hollywood gang.
C．They have created a lot of movies taken as classics.
D．They focus their themes on negative side of the society
2.The movie Indiana Jones series is directed by ______.
A．Francis Coppola B．Woody Allen
C．Stanley Kubrick D．Steven Spielberg
3.Stanley Kubrick’s works include the following except ______.
A．Midnight in Paris B．2001: A Space Odyssey
C．A Clockwork Orange D．Paths of Glory
4.It is implied in the underlined sentence Steven Spielberg ______.
A．was successful in amusing the audience
B．succeeded in making a great box office
C．became much better at creating classics
D．had set a cash register working for himself
5.What will be discussed in the paragraph that follows this passage?
A．Their contribution to the society
B．The difference between the directors
C．Another famous movie directors
D．More great movies from the directors
BEIJING, March, 17th --The Japanese automaker Toyota will recall some 4,400 units of FJ Cruiser cars in China over seat belt flaws, China's consumer quality watchdog said Saturday.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said on its website that Toyota China will recall these imported cars produced between December 2007 and March 2013.
Toyota is busy working on the solution to the flaw and will release improvement methods before April 15, according to the administration.
This marks Toyota's second recalling this year after the auto giant announced in January that it would recall 22,869 units of Lexus IS cars in China due to wiper arm problem.
China's private auto ownership reached 93.09 million units by the end of 2012, up 18.3 percent compared with the year before. Along with the fast expanding auto market, Chinese drivers grow more concerned about the quality of their cars.
Also on Saturday, the AQSIQ said in a statement on its website that its research has basically confirmed the German automaker Volkswagen's direct shift gearbox (DSG) transmission has defects which may cause engine power failures and urged Volkswagen to recall defective cars after China Central Television (CCTV) exposed Volkswagen's gearbox defect on Friday.
To better protect the interests of Chinese consumers, the AQSIQ announced late last year that it would formulate a guideline to regulate a recall system for faulty cars.
1.What does underlined the word “recall” in the first paragraph probably mean?
A．To ask people to return a product.
B．To bring something into one’s mind.
C．To remember something from the past.
D．To ask someone to go back.
2.According to the passage, Lexus IS cars were found to have .
A．seat belt flaws B．wiper arm problem
C．gearbox defect D．engine power failure
3.What is the purpose of regulating a recall system for faulty cars?
A．To limit the sales of imported cars in China.
B．For a better development of national automobile industry of China.
C．In order to show the authority and power of AQSIQ.
D．For a better protection of rights and interests of Chinese consumers.
4.What was China’s private auto ownership by the end of 2011?
A．About 93 million units. B．About 110 million units.
C．About 79 million units. D．About 90 million units.
5.Which of the following statements is probably NOT true according to the news?
A．Toyota will release its improvements on faulty cars in less than a month.
B．Chinese put more and more focus on the quality of their cars.
C．You may get the information about faulty cars on the website of AQSIQ.
D．It was AQSIQ that first exposed Volkswagen’s DSG defects.
Sometimes, people are required to fill in personal information when they register online, which may lead to some unexpected trouble. Recently, the BBC is reporting that a 17-year-old girl in Australia posted a(n) 36 of her grandmother at home counting a large sum of cash that she 37 hidden in the house. Just eight hours later, two armed men 38 the girl’s house. They demanded to speak to her to find out where the grandmother’s house was, 39 they could get the money they had seen. 40 , the girl was not home at the time, so the robbers 41 a small amount of cash from the mother and left.
Because the 42 is still under investigation, local police aren’t saying 43 else about it. It’s not known yet whether the girl had used privacy setting on the Facebook profile page, and even whether the robbers 44 the girl in the past.
Two other 45 were at home then, a 58-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy, the girl’s father and brother. Luckily, no one was 46 . The robbers left peacefully after 47 that the girl was not home and that no one else there knew anything about the 48 that had appeared in the photo.
Police in both Britain and Australia are using the case to 49 citizens of the dangers of posting personal information on social networks and to suggest users of websites 50 doing so. The police say it is 51 that the girl posted a comment in the past that gave clues to the address, 52 that the robbers knew the girl in another way. 53 , they suggest, a posting by a friend on their site could have 54 such information. To find it, the robbers would only have had to search for those posting on other pages that 55 the girl’s name.
1. A．picture B．story C．blog D．video
2. A．kept B．made C．let D．got
3. A．knocked at B．looked at C．broke into D．ran into
4. A．even if B．so that C．as soon as D．in case
5. A．Usually B．Suddenly C．Fortunately D．Finally
6. A．spent B．left C．asked D．took
7. A．robber B．family C．case D．girl
8. A．few B．many C．little D．much
9. A．ignored B．knew C．remembered D．followed
10. A．members B．adults C．characters D．neighbors
11. A．escaped B．harmed C．killed D．buried
12. A．showing B．realizing C．discovering D．recognizing
13. A．cash B．grandmother C．house D．website
14. A．inform B．accuse C．rob D．warn
15. A．enjoy B．stop C．keep D．consider
16. A．possible B．important C．necessary D．strange
17. A．so B．or C．and D．but
18. A．Besides B．However C．Therefore D．Instead
19. A．taken up B．set up C．put away D．given away
20. A．included B．drew C．contained D．attracted
—About income, I think most people deserve more than what they get.
— ______.
A．You have a point B．It serves you right
C．Not likely D．Don’t mention it
