Most shoplifters (商店扒手)agree that the January sales offer wonderful opportunities for the hard-working thief. With the shops so crowded and the staff so busy, it does not require any extraordinary talent to help you to take one or two little things and escape unnoticed. It is known, in the business, as "hoisting".
But the hoisting game is not what it used to be. Even at the height of the sales, shoplifters today never know if they are being watched by one of those evil little balls（摄像头）that hang from the ceilings of so many department stores above the most desirable goods.
As if that was not trouble enough for them, they can now be filmed at work and forced to attend a showing of their performance in court.
Selfridges was the first big London store to install videotape equipment to watch its sales floors. In October last year the store won its first court case for shoplifting using an evidence a videotape clearly showing a couple stealing dresses. It was an important test case which encouraged other stores to install similar equipment.
When the balls first make an appearance in shops, it was widely believed that their only function was to frighten shoplifters. Their somewhat ridiculous appearances, the curious holes and red lights going on and off, certainly make the theory believable.
It did not take long, however, for serious shoplifters to start showing suitable respect. Soon after the equipment was in operation at Selfridges, store detective Brian Chadwick was sitting in the control room watching a woman secretly putting bottles of perfume（香水）into her bag.
"As she turned to go," Chadwick recalled, "she suddenly looked up at the 'balls' and stopped. She could not possibly have seen that the camera was trained on her because it is completely hidden, but she must have had a feeling that I was looking at her."
"For a moment she paused, but then she returned to counter and started putting everything back. When she had finished, she opened her bag towards the camera to show it was empty and hurried out of the store."
1. January is a good month for shoplifters because ________.
A they don't need to wait for staff to serve them
B they don't need any previous experience as thieves
C there are so many people in the store
D January sales offer wonderful opportunities for them
2.The case last October was important because ________ .
A. the store got the dresses back
B .the equipment was able to frighten shoplifters
C. other shops found out about the equipment
D. the kind of evidence supplied was accepted by court
3.The woman stealing perfume ________.
A. guessed that the detective had seen her
B. was frightened by its shape
C. could see the camera filming
D. knew that the balls were for her
4. The woman's action before leaving the store shows that she ________.
A. was sorry for what she had done
B. was afraid she would be arrested
C. decided she didn't want what she had picked up
D. wanted to prove she had not intended to steal anything
Right in the heart of America — in Smith Center, Kansas, to be exact — high school football coach Roger Barta glanced at his notes as he stood among the sea of players gathered before him.
It was 6:30 a.m. on August 18, 2008, the first day of practice for this edition of the Redmen and the 31st opening day of the season for Barta, longtime coach and former math teacher at Smith Center High School. Barta wore a red T-shirt covering a ball-shaped belly(腹部).
Barta began with basic instructions: Drink lots of water. Fine advice. But what Coach Barta laid out next was the essential game plan — life lessons that many people consider his greatest strength. “Someone here is the best, and someone is the worst,” he said. “It’s time to forget about that. Let’s respect each other. Thus, we’ll like each other and then love each other. That’s when, together, we’ll become champions.”
He paused for a moment. When he continued, he spoke with even more fervor (热诚) to the 56 young men sitting before him. “One more thing, guys. We don’t talk about winning and losing. We talk about getting a little better every day, about being the best we can be, about being a team. And when we do that, winning and losing take care of themselves.”
Over the next four months, the Redman went on to beat each competitor, winning another perfect season. As their coach, Barta has created a 289-58 record, eight Kansas state championships, and 67 victories. In high school football, it’s the longest win in the nation. Through it all, Coach Barta kept his word: Not once did he ever say that a game was do-or-die.
“None of this is really about football,” he had explained to me back in 2007, convincingly (令人信服地)enough to force me to move to Smith Center from New York City with my wife, Mary, and three-year-old son, Jack, so I could write about him for a year. “What I hope we’re doing is sending kids into life who know that every day means something.”
1. According to the passage, we learn that Barta______.
A. was once a teacher
B. is a basketball coach
C. works in the university
D. has been a coach for 40 years
2.In the third paragraph, Barta stressed the importance of______.
A. health B. competition
C. combination D. success
3.In Barta’s opinion, which is important for a player?
A. Winning the game.
B. Learning from failure.
C. Trying his or her best.
D. Caring about the result.
4.The fifth paragraph mainly talks about______.
A. Barta’s motto
B. Barta’s training methods
C. Barta’s attitude towards life
D. Barta and the Redmen’s achievements
完形填空
Throughout history man has had to accept the fact that all living things must die. But people now live longer than they_________. Yet, all living things still show the__________of aging, which will eventually___________death.
Aging is not a disease, but as a person passes maturity (成熟期), the cells of the body and the__________they form do not function as well as they____________in childhood and teenage years. The body provides less__________against disease and is more_________to have an accident.
A number of related causes may___________to aging. Some cells of the body have a fairly long life, but they are not____________when they die. As a person ages, ________ of brain cells and muscle cells decreases. ________ body cells die and are replaced by new cells. In an aging person the________ cells may not be as workable or as capable ________ growth as those of a young person.
Another ________ in aging may be changes within the cells________ . Some of the protein(蛋白质) chemicals in cells are known ________ with age and become less elastic (有弹性). This is why the skin of old people wrinkles（起皱纹）and ________ . This is also the reason why old people ________ in height. There may be other more important chemical changes in the cells. Some complex cell chemicals, such as DNA and RNA, store and ________ information that the cells need. Aging may affect this ________ and change the information carrying molecules(分子) so that they do not transmit the information as well.
1.A. would B. be used to C. used to D. used
2.A. function B. effect C. affect D. sign
3.A. lead in B. give in C. run into D. result in
4.A. hands B. feet C. heart D. organs
5.A. do B. has done C. did D. had done
6.A. energy B. protection C. prevention D. power
7.A. likely B. probable C. possible D. alike
8.A. attend B. lead C. add D. devote
9.A. replaced B. rebuilt C. recovered D. rearranged
10.A. a number B. the amount C. the number D. a great deal
11.A. The others B. Others C. Another D. Other
12.A. old B. left C. new D. other
13.A. to B. for C. of D. in
14.A. factor B. effect C. reason D. element
15.A. for themselves B. of themselves C. themselves D. on their own
16.A. change B. to have changed C. to change D. to be changed
17.A. becomes loose B. is become loosely C. became loosely D. is becoming loose
18.A. increase B. shrink C. lengthen D. decrease
19.A. pass away B. pass by C. pass off D. pass on
20.A. improvement B. possess C. approach D. process
---Students should devote most of their time to studying rather than playing computer games.
---________. No pains, no gains.
A. Extremely B. Actually C. Obviously D. Exactly
It ___________last night, for the ground is wet outside.
A.would be raining B. would have rained
C. must rain D. must have rained
The poster was revised _________the suggestions of other group members.
A. based on B. to base on
C. basing on D. which based on
