When I first got an e-mail account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisements and other correspondence that do not interest me at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need specific laws that make spamming (发送垃圾邮件) a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual (个人的) e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam e-mails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passes on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate (立法) against spam. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.
1.What does the underlined word “correspondence” in the Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A. messages B. ideas
C. connections D. programs
2.According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?
A. Companies rely on e-mail for communications.
B. More people in the world communicate by e-mail.
C. Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail.
D. More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam.
3.What is the purpose of the text?
A. To inform B. To educate
C. To persuade D. To instruct
Tom was one of the brightest boys in the year, with supportive parents. But when he was 15 he suddenly stopped trying. He left school at 16 with only two scores for secondary school subjects. One of the reasons that made it cool for him not to care was the power of his peer (同龄人) group.
The lack of right male (男性) role models in many of their lives — at home and particularly in the school environment (环境) — means that their peers are the only people they have to judge themselves against.
They don’t see men succeeding in society so it doesn’t occur to them that they could make something of themselves. Without male teachers as a role model, the effect of peer actions and street culture (文化) is all-powerful. Boys want to be part of a club. However, schools can provide the environment for change, and provide the right role models for them. Teachers need to be trained to stop that but not in front of a child’s peers. You have to do it one to one, because that is when you see the real child.
It’s pointless sending a child home if he or she has done wrong. They see it as a welcome day off to watch television or play computer games. Instead, schools should have a special unit where a child who has done wrong goes for the day and gets advice about his problems — somewhere he can work away from his peers and go home after the other children.
1.Why did Tom give up studying?
A. He disliked his teachers.
B. His parents no longer supported him.
C. It’s cool for boys of his age not to care about studies.
D. There were too many subjects in his secondary school.
2.What seems to have a bad effect on students like Tom?
A. Peer groups. B. A special unit.
C. The student judges. D. The home environment.
3.What should schools do to help the problem schoolboys?
A. Wait for their change patiently.
B. Train leaders of their peer groups.
C. Stop the development of street culture.
D. Give them lessons in a separate area.
4.A teacher’s work is most effective with a schoolboy when he __ .
A. is with the boy alone
B. teaches the boy a lesson
C. sends the boy home as punishment
D. works together with another teacher
A good heart
Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa among great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship（奖学金） to study medicine — but Coach (教练) John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth, or the duty to share his fortune with others. He built a new hospital in his old hometown in the Congo. A friend has said of this good-hearted man: “Mutombo believes that God has given him this chance to do great things.”
Success and kindness
After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children’s videos (录象) in her own house. The Baby Einstein Company was born, and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. And she is using her success to help others — producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new program: “I believe it’s the most important thing that I have ever done. I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe.”
Bravery and courage
A few weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls when he saw a man fall into the path of a train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the man into the space between the rails (铁轨), and held him as the train passed right above their heads. He insists he’s not a hero. He says: “We have got to show each other some love.”
1.What was Mutombo praised for?
A. Being a star in the NBA.
B. Being a student of medicine.
C. His work in the church.
D. His willingness to help the needy.
2.Mulombo believes that building the new hospital is___________________.
A. helpful to his personal development
B. something he should do for his homeland
C. a chance for his friends to share his money
D. a way of showing his respect to the NBA
3.What did the Baby Einstein Company do at its beginning?
A. Produce safety equipment for children.
B. Make videos to help protect children.
C. Sell children’s music and artwork.
D. Look for missing and exploited children.
4.Why was Wesley Autrey praised as a hero?
A. He helped a man get across the rails.
B. He stopped a man from destroying the rails.
C. He protected two little girls from getting hurt.
D. He saved a person without considering his own safety.
I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks (地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, ‘Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite, They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
1.When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________.
A. describe the place carefully
B. show him a map of the place
C. tell him the names of the streets
D. refer to recognizable buildings and places
2.What is the place where people measure distance in time?
A. New York. B. Los Angeles. C. Kansas. D. Iowa.
3.People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________.
A. in order to save time B. as a test
C. so as to be polite D. for fun
4.What can we infer from the text?
A. It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.
B. It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.
C. People have similar understandings of politeness.
D. New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.
书面表达
最近，我校的校园网将开辟一个英语学习交流博客（blog）。请你根据下面的内容提示，为校园广播站写一篇广播稿，介绍这个博客，并欢迎同学们积极参与。
1. 时间：2015年12月1日开通；
2. 目的：促进交流，提高英语水平；
3. 内容：交流经验，提出问题，参与每周讨论等。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当加入细节，以使内容充实、行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear fellow students,
Good news for you!
That’s all. Thank you.
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有5处错误，每句中最多有两处，错误仅涉及一个单词的增加，删除或修改。
增加： 在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧）,并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改： 在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均限一词。
2．只允许修改5处，多者（从第6处起）不计分。
As we all know, everyone has a dream. Since I enter the primary school I have dreamed of being a doctor. Nowadays with our modern life go rapidly, many people suffer from different kinds of diseases, both mentally and physically. As a result, doctors are in great need at home and abroad. My dream is to become successful doctor, helping to save people’s lives. Although to be a good doctor is very difficult, but I will do whatever I can to keep everyone healthy. To make my dream come true, I have told me over and over again that I’ll pay more attention to studies. After all, only by working hard can one succeed.
