Nowadays，the Internet，with its ability to connect people throughout the world，is changing the way people learn languages．There is still no way to avoid the hard work through vocabulary lists and grammar rules，but the books，tapes and even CDs are being replaced by email, video chat and social networks．
Livemocha, a Seattle company, has created a website devoted to helping people learn more than 38 languages by exchanging messages over the Internet and then correcting each other’s messages. The lessons，whether they are flashcards，quizzes，audio recordings or written and spoken essays，are delivered through the Intemet．
Michael Schutzler, Livemocha's chief executive(主管), says the website’s advantage is the ability to practicel with a real person. “The great irony(讽刺)is that even if you have learned a foreign language in the classroom for years，you don’t have confidefice to go into a restaurant and have a conversation with a foreigner,"he said．The casual connection with real people throughout the world, however brief, are not just fun and surprising but show more about how the language is really used．
Livemocha is now experimenting with a variety of ways that resemble the games on other social websites to motivate people．The flashcard exercises，for instance，are scored, and the totals earned by studying and teaching appear on the users’front page．
Besides，each person can set up a profile(简历)which includes a short description of his age，location and what language he would like to learn．Therefore，if you want to study one language，you will easily find many people who are fluent in it．Andl an email or two is all it takes to find a study partner．
There are more and more companies like Livemocha offeritig online language learning to students throughout the world. And instead of merely helping people practice different languages，they also enable people to share interests and make new friends.
1.For what purpose did Livemocha create the website?
A．To offer new ways of language learning．
B．To make an advertisement for their company．
C．To share interests and make new friends．
D．To tell his inspiring story to more people．
2.What is the advantage of the Internet language learning?
A．Books，tapes and even CDs are completely out of use．
B．Leamers can practice languages with real people．
C．People can learn more than 38 languages in all.
D．There is no need to learn vocabulary and grammar．
3.Why does the writer give us the example of flashcard exercise in Paragraph 4?
A．To show what Livemocha is doing to inspire website users．
B．To introduce how Livemocha scores the website users’ work.
C．To explain why Livemocha experiments with other social websites．
D．To tell what Livemocha prepares for the front page of the website．
4.How can one find a study partner on Livemocha?
A．He needs to set up a profile about his past experience．
B．He should deliver his written essays to the website.
C．He needs to give lessons over the Internet．
D．He can select suitable people and email them．
5.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A．Livemocha will open more branch companies．
B．Online learners can practice languages free of charge.
C．More learners will turn to online language learning．
D．Livemocha will be turned into a dating website．
An ATM that spits out cupcakes instead of cash is now filling a popular demand in the American market：late-night desire for freshly baked sweets．
In six cities across the country, sugar addicts can now purchase a cupcake for $4．25 from an automatic machine 24 hours every day．The freshly baked goods are made by the California-based cupcake shop Sprinkles．
The idea came to the company's co-founders Candace and Charles Nelson when Candace was pregnant with their first child. Candace thought it was ridiculous that she owned cupcake bakeries aad couldn’t get a freshly baked treat at an unusual hour．That desire inspired the company’s first cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills,Calif．in 2012。
Charles said each ATM serves about l，000 cupcakes per day．The machine is so popular that when it appeared in Manhattan, customers were lined up around the block to use it.
Yet，inventing the first cupcake ATM was not as easy as convincing customers to use it．When the Nelsons started defigning the machine，they quickly realized nothing existed that could give a fully unbroken cupcake to a customer．The company had to partner with a European firm to develop the technology that could deliver a cupcake without dropping it several feet like a typical machine．After going through a seeond development cycle with the product, the ATMs can now satisfy tlle demand of growing customers and even make as many as four cupcakes at a time．
In terms of the company, the-machine allows Sprinkles to do the impossible：increase hours of operation without raising costs．Now the company can sell cupcakes around the clock through the ATM without paying employees.
Now the company is partnering with a Middle Eastern company to open 34 new locations abroad．
1.What’s the purpose of the text?
A．To tell us a newtrend of the diet．
B．To advertisefor the cupcake ATM．
C．To introduce a newly-invented cupcake ATM．
D．To advise more customers to buy cupcakes on ATM．
2.How did the Nelsons come up with the idea of’a cupulke ATM?
A．Their first child wagted to eat fresh cupcakes．
B．Candace hoped to eat a fleshly baked cupcake at any time．
C．The cupcakes they sold couldn’t satisfy the customers’ demands．
D．They couldn’t afford to employ enough workers．
3.What problem did the Nelsons face when starting to design the machine?
A．Serving an unbroken cupcake to customers．
B．Convincing the customers to use the machine．
C．Dealing with so many orders every day．
D．Making as many as four cupcakes at a time．
4.What does the underlined word‘‘it’’in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A．The machine． B．The block．
C．The cupcake． D．The customer．
5.What can we infer from the text?
A．The ATM will replace the traditional cake shops．
B．The ATM will appear in more cities in the world．
C．The company will promote different kinds of products．
D．People will get cupcakes through the ATM without paying．
The best family vacations are the ones where everyone is entertained and everyone gets along Not sure how to do that，especially if traveling with kids is involved? A travel agent is your answer．
A travel agent can recommend the best destinations，resorts and cruises for family-friendly vacations．For vacations with kids，simply share the interests of your children as well as what the adults going on the vacation enjoy doing, and your travel egent can put together the ideal trip for your family，with activities and kids' clubs for the children and entertainment for the adults. Travel agents can even arrange trustworthy childeare，so you can have a kids-free evening on your vacation．
Travel agents can also help plan memorable pleasure trips during your vacation．They can advise on the best water parks and get you front-of-the line tickets, or they can give tips on what time to visit certain natural wonders for the best views and fewer crowds. They can also recommend which restaurants are the most family-friendly and take care of the reservations for you.
Vacations for kids can be stressful enough (packing，keeping everyone entertained on the plane ride，finding kid—friendly foods, etc)without having the added worry of “what if something goes wrong?’’A travel agent will take over if any accident occurs on your trip and will spend time calling companies and researching options until your problem is solved-whether that means you need to re-book a flight or find a trustworthy doctor for your child who has suddenly come down with an illness．
Finally, a travel agent will make it easier to bond with your family by recommending the perfect vacation for your family’s interests and needs. By taking the planning stress and trip organization off you and giving it to a travel agent, you'll be able to simply enjoy spending time with your family．
1.What might be the best title of the text?
A．Family Vacations with Travel Agent’s Help
B．How to make a family travel plan
C．Travel agents：your only choice
D．How to arrange a memorable trip
2.What can we learn from the text?
A．It’s easy to meet everyone’s needs when traveling．
B．Kids don’t like to travel with their parents.
C．Travel agents prefer to arrange a vacation with kids.
D．Traveling with kids is a little bit stressful for a family.
3.Which of the follwing services might not be offered by the travel agent?
A．Childcare at night．
B．Hotel booking．
C．Finding trustworthy doctors．
D．Taking care of your house．
4.What will the travel agent do when some accident occurs in a trip?
A．Leave you alone and go on the trip with others．
B．Call your company to come and handle it．
C．Take over and help you out．
D．Re-book a flight and send you home．
5.What is the text trying to persuade you to do?
A．To choose the travel destination from the travel agent
B．To leave your kids behind when travelling
C．To arrange your trip with the help of the travel agent．
D．To stay home and spend more time with your family
Since 2004，Time magazine has six times made a survey to name the l00 most influential people in the world．Only one person has appeared on it for six times, Oprah Winfrey．
Born in l954 in Mississippi，Oprah Winfrey spent her early years living in poverty with her grandmother and later her absent mother, followed by unfair treatment by her unfriendly relatives．Worse still，she was addicted to drugs and at the young age of l4，she gave birth to a baby, who died after a few months．Finally she was sent to live with her strict father in Tennessee. Amazingly though，her father’s rules did make sure she received a good edueation and finally overcame her problems．
Oprah’s media career began at age l7．She became the co-author of local news in Baltimore in her early 20’s．Her first local talk show, People Are Talking,was first performed in l978，when she was 24．
In l986，Oprah moved to Chicago to lost a low-rated half-hour morning talk show, AM Chicago．Oprah talks like a family member in your apd my house．Within months she took over，the show became the highest rated talk show in Chicago．It was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show．
Only two years after hosting the show, she was able to set up her own production company Harpo, and buy the full rights to The Oprah Winfery Show．She is also involved in magazine publishing，books，education and a lifestyle channel for women with the aim of improving people’s lives, inspiring and praising good honest values，making the world a better place for present and future generations．
As her business grew, so did her wealth and power, and she became the first ever black billionaire in 2003 and the most powerful woman in media broadcasting．The amazing influence she has over a large part of the American public means that anything she promotes on her shows is guaranteed to succeed.
1.What do we know about Oprah’s childhood?
A．She lived with her mother for 14 years．
B．She married young and brought up a baby．
C．he was lack of concern and care．
D．She couldn’t stand her father's rules．
2.Why was The Oprah Winfrey Show so popular?
A．Oprah was very famous in the world.
B．Oprah talked in a familly way in the show．
C．Oprah was the co-author of the show．
D．Oprah had the full rights to the show．
3.According to the text, which field didn't Oprah set foot in?
A．Magazine publishing． B．Education
C．A TV channel for females． D．Filming
4.Which of the following is true according to the text?
A．Oprah Winfrey was the most influential woman in America．
B．Oprah Winfrey hosted her first local talk show in her 20’s．
C．AM Chicago became the highest rated immediately afte Oprah hosted it.
D．Oprah Winfrey was the first billionaire in media broadeasting．
5.What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A．Oprah was a quite successful woman．
B：Oprah aimed to be wealthy and powerful．
C．What Oprah promoted was sure to succeed．
D．Oprah became the most influential woman．
One spring during the 1960s, when I was 10，my father was laid off．Money was tight and my mother was ．So I decided to cheer her up by buying a special Mother's Day
There was a boutique(精品店)，the Agins, nearby, which was known for its high-end fashions．Lots of actresses and women shopped at the store．My mother, who couldn't to shop there，occasionally mentioned the store in a voice．
One day after I rode my bike to the Agins．I told the shop I was looking for a Mother's Day gift and I had little money．
She treated me like a customer and asked me what my mother would like．I told her I wasn’t sure．She walked around the store for a few minutes and returned with a ．She opened it and took out an Italian purse made of soft ．
“How much money do you ?” she asked．
“Twelve dollars．”I said．
“You’re in luck．”she told me．“It's only $11．”
‘She wrapped the purse and thanked me for my ．
It wasn’t many years later, when I learned that the purse was worth several hundred dollars，that I just how wonderful the shop owner had been to me．Recently，I met someone at a party who knew her ，Roberta．I called Roberta, who told me her mother 22 years ago．I felt bad that I never had a chance to propdrly her mother．She comforted me, saying that her mother never wanted 38 for the things she did.
My mother，who carried the leather purse for many years until it was repair, is now 90．She can still recall(回忆)every about the purse and the amazement it brought to her．
1.A．frightened B．afraid C．upset D．ashamed
2.A．purse B．book C．flower D．gift
3.A．wealthy B．attractive C．proud D．political
4.A．afford B．refuse C．bother D．continue
5.A．cheering B．longing C．trembling D．worrying
6.A．work B．marriageC．school D．meeting
7.A．assistant B．guide C．guard D．owner
8.A．valued B．1ucky C．polite D ．strange
9.A．box B．wallet C．wrapperD．container
10.A．silk B．1eather C．metal D．plastic
11.A．pay B．give C．have D．want
12.A．business B．kindness C．help D．offer
13.A．before B．while C．until D．after
14.A．remembered B．admitted C． predicted D．appreciated
15.A．waiter B．husband C．daughter D．servant
16.A．retired B．lost C．changed D．died
17.A．pay B．meet C．thank D．respect
18.A．credit B．money C．congratulation D．excuse
19.A．over B．beyond C．under D．above
20.A．use B．show C．story D．detail
At a local bakery I gave the cashier some money．“Please surprise someone by their meal with this today，”I said．
Her dropped open．“Why are you doing this?”she asked．
“To spread a little bit of ，”I said，“It feels like a good day to share love．”
“This is so nice!” she smiled，I smiled too and thinking about how she was going to the rest of the day looking for that “perfect” person.
A little while later I stood，looking , on a subway platform in Times Square．A passer-by his earphones and gently asked，“Where do you need to go?”Then he gave me directions．
Soon afterwards I found myself struggling with a heavy through a downtown subway station．I'd already dragged it up and down a great many staircases. As I in front of a final flight of steps, a young man turned around the corner and without hesitation，said，"Carl I help you with the suitcase?”Before I'd even managed a(n) he lifted my suitcase up．It was a love-filled moment that me how much I love this city-with quiet kindness!
1.A．paying for B．eating up C．taking away D．clearing up
2.A．eyes B．mouth C．hands D．face
3.A．humor B．joke C．kindness D．fun
4.A．spend B．1ive C．wander D．work
5.A．satisfied B．lost C．sad D．tired
6.A．brought up B．got back C．gave away D．pulled out
7.A．1uggage B．handbag C．umbrella D．suitcase
8.A．paused B．exercised C．watched D．failed
9.A．decision B．action C．reply D．support
10.A．taught B．reminded C．warned D．praised
