Ever since the invention of the printing press over 500 years ago, mass communication has been growing and affecting the way communities and people behave. Where once the written word was used by those with power to keep control of populations, now everyone believes that they have power over governments because of the huge amount of knowledge available to them thanks to electronic communication. At every stage of the development of communication, from the telegraph through to the Internet, societies have had to adapt to its effects. But have the effects been more positive or negative?
The saying “knowledge is power” has been an excellent motivator for people to improve their lives, but today the massive amount of information available through the Internet doesn’t always seem to be helping people in the way we’d hoped. Rather than improving people’s lives and bringing us closer together, the information age is making us more divided and irresponsible.
Nevertheless, many people find comfort in their virtual (虚拟的) worlds and are happy to connect with real-life friends and online friends from the familiar surroundings of their living rooms. However, being able to reinvent themselves online and be whoever they want to be leads to the question of whether they are losing their identities by living in a virtual world.
It’s not all bad news, however. Mass communication has helped change some attitudes for the better. Take our views on the environment for example. Internet campaigns by governments and other organizations have helped popularize the ideas of recycling, protecting wildlife and reducing pollution.
Modern electronic communication now influences every aspect of our lives — it is a powerful tool that has raised some concerns for society. However, it has also brought countless benefits to society. At the end of the day, it can be used both for good or evil and ultimately relies on the morals and sense of responsibility of the individual or community involved. In short, it needs to be used with care.
1.What does the writer imply about life before the printing press?
A. Population levels were lower.
B. The general public had little power.
C. People wanted to have more control over their lives.
D. Countries were governed by poorly educated people.
2.The writer states that the saying “knowledge is power” has ________.
A. encouraged people to get an education
B. sometimes failed to have the expected results
C. motivated people to access as much information as possible
D. been the driving force behind the development of mass media
3.What does the writer think about socialising online?
A. It can be comforting for some people.
B. Virtual lives can stop people enjoying a real life.
C. People have too many friends online to be of any value.
D. Crime is a problem for people on social networking sites.
4.Which statement best summarises the writer’s overall view of electronic communication?
A. It should be used wisely.
B. It changes attitudes much too quickly.
C. It is more powerful than many people believe.
D. It should be better controlled by the government.
Grandma Pugh sized up the baby like a pig at the farmers’ market. There was a pause and then she pronounced. “He’s got nice long legs.” She clapped her hands once in approval. But then she frowned and leaned forward. Everyone waited anxiously. The baby had opened his eyes and was staring up. “But those cross eyes won’t do,” she declared firmly, shaking her head in disappointment.
That had been Freddie Pilcher’s first meeting with Grandma Pugh. Since then, ten years had passed. Much to his grandmother’s satisfaction, she’d been proven right about the boy’s legs. He was a regular beanpole. Grandma Pugh had also been correct about his eyes. Freddie had been wearing glasses to correct his vision since he was two years old. His current pair was thick, and cheap-looking, but at least he could see.
Freddie not only had poor eyesight, but he was also clumsy. He wasn’t good at schoolwork either. But there was one thing that the boy was good at and it was all on account of the length of his legs. He could jump.
Freddie was the best jumper in school. Not only could he leap the furthest but also the highest. At breaktimes, he entertained the little ones by leaping over the school wall into Mrs Hobson’s garden and then rapidly jumping back. She had been up to see the head teacher several times because somebody had been crushing her vegetables.
It was badgers (獾), Freddie suggested, when quizzed by Miss Harpy — definitely badgers; no doubt about it. His dad had terrible problems with badgers. Only last week he had lost two rows of carrots. Freddie had woken one night and heard them tearing through the garden, a whole herd of them. They rooted up the lawn and dug up the vegetables. Terrible things, badgers. All the other children nodded their heads wisely. There was a moment’s pause in Class Three as everyone thought about the dreadful damage that badgers could do.
1.What do we know about Grandma Pugh?
A. She was present at the birth of baby Freddie.
B. She was unwilling to listen to the ideas of others.
C. She was a figure of great importance in the family.
D. She valued physical appearance over all other things.
2.Why did Freddie jump over the school wall?
A. To annoy his teacher.
B. To escape from school.
C. To amuse his schoolmates.
D. To damage Mrs Hobson’s vegetables.
3.Which of the following best describes Freddie’s physical appearance?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
4.Why does Freddie talk about badgers in the final paragraph?
A. To explain the cause of the damage.
B. To warn the class about their danger.
C. To describe what happened to his father’s garden.
D. To make up an excuse for the cause of the damage.
The House at Pooh Corner
by A. A. Milne
I bought a box set of four Winnie the Pooh books while on holiday when I was eight years old. I adored Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. They became very real to me and I credit them with starting a lifelong love of reading.
I still have the box set, and loved reading the stories to my children when they were small. Part of me secretly believes A. A. Milne’s wonderful characters are all alive and well and still having their adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood.
—Roberta Smith
Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights
by Charlotte and Emily Brontë
I can never separate Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights when I think about books that have stayed with me. Both had a deep impact on me when I read them as a teenager.
They were the first classic books I read purely for pleasure, rather than because I had to for school.
I grew up in Yorkshire, not far from where the Brontës lived, so part of me really understood that depressing landscape. That close geographical connection led to a lifelong interest in the authors as much as in the books themselves.
I wrote a high-school essay on the contrasts and similarities between Charlotte and Emily and their heroines. I’d be fascinated to read that essay now to see what conclusions I reached as a 17-year-old.
— Jane Lee
1.What can we infer about the Winnie the Pooh books?
A. They are very realistic.
B. They describe holiday stories.
C. They are intended for children.
D. They encourage people to have adventures.
2.What is one reason the writer likes Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights?
A. They were easy-to-find classic novels.
B. The stories helped the writer with her essay writing.
C. They were recommended by the teachers in her school.
D. The stories are set in an area that the writer knows well.
3.What’s the purpose of the text?
A. To introduce the books’ authors.
B. To promote some classical literature.
C. To comment on the books’ main characters.
D. To explain the effect of these books on the readers.
As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, and no cages either. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the rope of the same size to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away.”
The man was amazed. These animals can break free from their bonds at any time, but because they believe they can’t, they are stuck right where they are.
【写作内容】
1.以约30词概括上文的主要内容。
2.以约120词谈谈你的看法，内容包括：
1.这个故事有什么寓意?
2.你如何解决这样的问题？
【写作要求】
1.写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3.不必写标题。
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
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From an early stage in your life, you are taught to respect others, and do kind things for them. However, in some cases, people begin to take advantage of your kind nature, expecting more from you.1. If you feel as if there are people in your life who take you for granted, it’s time to protect yourself.
Know that you have the right to feel respected. Social and cultural pressures may encourage you to believe that it’s rude to say “no” to others when they ask you for things. You may also have been taught to feel that your work is less valuable than others’ and does not deserve recognition 2.. Everyone has the right to be respected and appreciated, and it isn’t wrong to want to be treated that way.
Identify what has changed in the relationship. If you feel taken for granted, it may be because you once felt valued by the person who is now taking you for granted. It might also be because the knowledge that you should feel appreciated but do not 3.. It can also help you find a solution for the relationship.4.You know that you don’t want to feel taken for granted. But what do you want It will be hard to see any change in your situation if you feel vague dissatisfaction but have no clear ideas on what would improve it.
5.Once you know the change about the relationship clearly, you’ll be able to take better action to get you there.
A. Think about what you want.
B. Practice what you want to say.
C. These things can lead to you feeling taken for granted.
D. Try making a list of things that you would like to see the change about the relationship.
E. If you feel taken for granted by others, you need to communicate that to the other person.
F. Such people may repeatedly ask you for favors without returning any favors or showing you any respect.
G. Whatever the cause is, identifying what has changed your interactions with the other person can help you feel better.
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10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（Ë），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仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
The time we have is usual limited. However, even an hour is of much valuable. We should make full use of your time to do useful things. As students, we mustn’t study hard so as to serve for our society and our nation in the future. But it is pity that there are a lot of people who didn’t know the importance of time. They spend their valuable time smoke and drinking. They don’t realize that wasting time is the same as wasting a part of their life. Remember, don’t put off which you can do today until tomorrow.
