In our world today, the media and entertainment industries are constantly focusing on beauty over brains. Movies, television shows, commercials, and magazines all make use of models and actors whose physical attributes(特性) will sell their product.
As our country is trying to reduce the obesity numbers, eating disorder statistics continue to increase due to the push for thinner people. While obesity is a serious medical condition that can lead to many health problems, many of us try to lose weight for appearance purposes. Children as young as elementary school age have begun to worry about the numbers that appear on the scale. In my opinion, it seems that “fat” has become the new“ugly”.
Two weeks ago, 37-year-old Wisconsin television reporter Livingston, who is 235 pounds, received an email from a man named Krause. In the email Krause attacked her, writing,“Your physical condition hasn’t improved for many years. Surely you don’t consider yourself a suitable example for this community’s young people, girls in particular.”
Today, it seems that a vast majority of people care more about how they look and appear to their peers rather than what is inside. The truth is that every person is built differently; we all come in different shapes and sizes. Just because someone is heavier, that doesn’t mean they eat large amounts of junk food around the day. Likewise, even though a person is thin, that doesn’t mean they are necessarily healthy and fit.
If you are reading this and you struggle with your weight or your appearance, please recognize that you are beautiful and special in your own way. You are worth so much more than you realize, and even if I don’t know you, understand that I respect and support you. Beauty is not defined by size; it is defined by how we treat others and respect ourselves. In the words of the talented film actress Kirstie Alley, “There’s a lot more to life than how fat or thin you are.”
1.With so many people losing weight, it will end in .
A. models’ and actors’ appearance in ads
B. the fall of media and entertainment industries
C. more and more people becoming obesity
D. more people’s suffering from eating disorder
2.The underlined phrase “the numbers that appear on the scale” in the second paragraph may mean .
A. intelligenceB. weightC. patienceD. strength
3.The writer used the example of Jennifer Livingston to show .
A. people think “fat” looks ugly
B. fat people are becoming cleverer
C. physical condition is good
D. young people never follow example
4.What Kirstie Alley said means .
A. people should pay attention to the appearance
B. there is no need for any people to go on diet
C. people are beautiful when they concern others
D. there’s always someone who understands and supports you
What is a six-letter word that immediately comes to mind when you need some information on the Internet? You probably thought of Google. But Google wasn’t always the name of the famous search engine. In fact, the original name was BackRub!
BackRub was the name two graduate students gave to the new search engine they developed in 1996. They called it BackRub because the engine used backlinks to measure the popularity of Web sites. Later, they wanted a better name — a name that suggests huge quantities of data. They thought of the word googol. (A googol is a number followed by 100 zeros.) When they checked the Internet registry of names to see if googol was already taken, one of the students misspelled the word by mistake, and that’s how Google was born.
Google is just one example of a name change in the business world. Many other companies have decided to change their names or the names of their products. Here are some more examples:
Jerry Yang and David Filo, two young computer specialists, developed a guide to Internet content in 1994. They called it “Jerry and David’s Guide to World Wide Web.” But they soon realized that this wasn’t a very catchy name, so they searched through a dictionary and found a better one: “Yahoo.”
Sometimes companies change their names because of the popularity of one of their products. In 1962, a young runner named Phil Knight started a company called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, Knight decided to design and manufacture his own brand of shoes. He named the shoes after the Greek goddess of victory — Nike. Nike shoes became so well known that Knight changed the name of the whole company to Nike.
1.According to the text, Google .
A. has been famous since 1996
B. is a result of a spelling mistake
C. means a number followed by 100 zeros
D. is the original name of the search engine
2.Jerry and David changed the guide’s name to Yahoo because the original name .
A. had been registeredB. had been forgotten
C. was not attractiveD. was too short
3.The company Nike got its name from .
A. its foundersB. its customers
C. its popular productsD. its advanced techniques
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. The name changesB. The history of Google
C. How to choose a name?D. Why are names important?
假设你是李华，你在读美国中学生Jack的博客时了解到他即将作为一名交换生来北京学习，希望能够寄宿在一名擅长英语的中学生家里，以便更好地了解中国文化。请根据以下要点给Jack写一封电子邮件：
1．欢迎他来中国学习；
2．介绍你个人情况；
3．邀请他住在你家并愿意为他提供帮助。
注意：l．词数120—150；2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题。（请注意问题后的词数要求）
The Japanese love to give gifts．This habit is not practiced only on special occasions，but it’s widely accepted as social responsibility．Because gift-giving is an important social aspect of Japanese life．It’s important to be aware of some key factors．
Devalue the gifts you give．The important thing is to act and seem modest．You don’t want the receiver to think that you are arrogant or proud．Denigrate（贬低）your gift as much as possible．It doesn’t matter if the label on the box bears the symbol for a famous brand，The Japanese value the appearance of a modest gift-giver who tries to stay from praise．
Praise the gift you receive．Although praising may seem obvious，overpraising the gift is the key．It’s also important to praise the fine taste of the gift-giver in making that particular choice for you．And don’t forget to give a thousand and one thanks．
__________________, unless you are urged to do so．And when you do，you must take the utmost care in unwrapping it．Don’t look eager，and be careful that you don’t tear the paper or cut the ribbon．After observing，praising，and thanking，be sure to rewrap the gift as if it had never been opened．Try to appear as if you take great pride in the value of it the gift．
Choose gifts with practical value．In general，don’t buy things such as ornaments，vases，and kitchenware，it’s already assumed that everyone has these things．To do so may suggest that you don’t approve of the other person’s taste．Also，most Japanese houses are very small and don’t have extra space for useless junk．
1.What is the best title for the passage?（no more than l0 words）．
2.Fill in the blank in the fourth paragraph with proper words．（no 
more than 6 words）
3.List three kinds of things you’d better not buy for a Japanese friend．
① _____ ② _____ ③
4.Translate the underlined sentence in the first paragraph into Chinese．
5.What do the Japanese usually do when they receive a gift? （no more than l0 words）
Phil White has just returned from an 18,000-mile, around-the-world bicycle trip．White had two reasons for mak
ing this epic journey．First of all, he wanted to use the trip to raise money for charity, which he did．He raised ￡70,000 for the British charity, Oxfam．White's second reason for making the trip was to break the world record and become the fastest person to cycle around the world．He is still waiting to find out if he has broken the record or not.
White set off from Trafalgar Square, in London, on 19th June 2004 and was back 299 days later．He spent more than l,300 hours in the saddle（车座） and destroyed four sets of tyres and three bike chains．He had the adventure of his life crossing Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas．Amazingly, he did all of this with absolutely no support team．No jeep carrying food, water and medicine．No doctor．Nothing! Just a bike and a very, very long road.
The journey was lonely and desperate at times．He also had to fight his way across deserts, through jungles and over mountains．He cycled through heavy rains and temperatures of up to 45 degrees, all to help people in need．There were other dangers along the road．In Iran, he was chased by armed robbers and was lucky to escape with his life and the little money he had．The worst thing that happened to him was having to cycle into a headwind on a road that crosses the south of Australia．For l,000 kilometres he battled against the wind that was constantly pushing him．This part of the trip was slow, hard work and depressing, but he made it in the end．Now Mr．White is back and intends to write a book about his adventures.
1.When Phil White returned from his trip, he __________.
A．broke the world recordB．collected money for Oxfam
C．destroyed several bikes D．travelled about l,300 hours
2.What does the underlined word "epic" in Paragraph l most probably mean?
A．Very slow but exciting．B．Very long and difficult.
C．Very smooth but tiring．D．Very lonely and depressing.
3.During his journey around the world, Phil White __________.
A．fought heroically against robbers in Iran
B．experienced the extremes of heat and cold
C．managed to ride against the wind in Australia
D．had a team of people who travelled with him
4.Which of the following words can best describe Phil White?
A．Imaginative． B．Patriotic．
C．Modest． D．Determined.
5.What actually inspired Phil White to overcome all the difficulties?
A．To help people in need.B．To test his new bicycle.
C．To prove his potential.D．To show off his ability.
The world is filled with 
smart，talented and gifted people．We meet them every day．A few days ago，my car was not running well．I pulled it into a garage，and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes．He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine．I was amazed．The sad truth is，great talent is not enough．
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn．I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100，000 a year．A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially．It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase，“They are one skill away from great wealth．”
There is an old saying that goes，“Job means ‘just over broke（破产）’”．And unfortunately，I would say that the saying applies to millions of people．Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence，most workers“ live within their means”．They work and they pay the bills．Instead I recommend young people to seek work for what they will learn，more than what they will earn．
When I ask the classes I teach，“How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands．I then ask，“So if most of you can cook a better hamburger，how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems．The reason why so many talented people are poor is that they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems．The world is filled with talented poor people ．They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger．
1.The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph that ．
A．he is just one of the talented people
B．he is ready to help others
C．he has a sharp sense of hearing
D．he knows little about car repairing
2.The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by ．
A．spend more than they can afford
B．do in their own way
C．live in their own circle
D．live within what they earn
3.Why do talented people earn so 1ittle according to the author?
A．They don’t work hard enough
B．They lack financial intelligence
C．They don’t make full use of their talents
D．They have no specialized skills．
4.The success of McDonald's lies in its ．
A．skills at making hamburgersB．good business systems
C．talented workers D．excellent service
5.The main purpose of the author is to tell us ．
A．how young people can find a satisfactory job
B．what schools should teach students
C．why so many talented people are poor
D．how McDonald’s makes much money
