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Ancient Rome was one of the world’s most powerful empires more than 2,000 years ago. The Romans’ ideas about roads, laws, government and buildings still influence us today.
Italy is shaped like a boot.
The Colosseum in Rome was built during the time of the Roman Empire, in the first century A.D.__1___It is a popular tourist attraction today.
Italy is well-known for its designers, who create cars, handbags, clothes, shoes and other items that are in demand for their style and fine workmanship.
Today, the economy of Italy is stronger than in the past. 2 Today, manufacturing and tourism are the main sources of income. There are some big companies, but Italy has many smaller companies, too.
3 The southern part does not offer as many manufacturing jobs, so it is not as prosperous.
Italy is a member of the European Union, a group of countries that join together for better trade. The currency, or money, they use is called the “euro”.
Food and eating good meals are important to Italians. ___4____
Popular foods include pasta, risotto, minestrone and pizza．McDonald’s is also popular there. Many families still eat their main meal in the middle of the day. 5 Families spend a lot of time together.
A. The family is very important to the Italian way of life.
B. The country used to depend on agriculture.
C. Mountains cover about three-fourths of the country.
D. It could seat about 50,000 people, who went to see fights between animals and people.
E. While there are some supermarkets, many people shop at small, neighborhood markets.
F. Italy has several islands off the coast.
G. The northern part of the country is the main manufacturing center.
In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.
Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.
The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.
Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (摇摆) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.
But, it was this very bad act that sold well.
Marc Juries, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”
Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.
So, what does Hung think of this?
“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”
Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.
1.What is the main idea of this passage?
A．Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.
B．Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.
C．How an unsuccessful person became famous.
D．Success sometimes does not require hard work.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?
A．William Hung. B．Hung’s bad act. C．Hung’s website. D．The public’s opinion.
3.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?
a. The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.
b. The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.
c. Hung became popular among Americans.
d. Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.
e. Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.
A．d, b, e, c, a B．a, c, d, b, e C．a, d, b, c, e D．d, b, a, e, c
How the iron of tomorrow
(the first Self Clean Iron)
can change your lifestyle today?
General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.
How? With a push of a magic blue button.
The magic blue button
The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.
Less chance of brown spots
Sure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.
Steams much longer
Common sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.
What does it mean to you
Today you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids.
You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better house maker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.
Lifestyle.
We’re with yours.
GENERAL ELECTRIC
1.This passage is ______.
A．an introduction to General Electric
B．an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron
C．an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron
D．a description of the change of lifestyle
2.This iron can clean itself by ______.
A．empting itself B．washing out mineral deposits
C．locking up mineral deposits D．giving off more steam
3.According to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?
A．It is made by General Electric.
B．The iron will not produce mineral deposits.
C．There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.
D．Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.
4.Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because ______.
A．you can run your house better B．you don’t have to run after the kids
C．you can use it while you are working D．we want you to be a better house maker
“Time is a problem for children,” states a news report for a new Swiss watch. Children in some countries “learn time slowly” because “they don’t wear watches” and “parents don’t really know how to teach them time.” The children grow up with this handicap and become adults-and then can’t get to work on time. Is there an answer to this problem? Of course-it’s the Flick Flak, made by a famous Swiss watch company.
The Flick Flak is being marketed as something teaching watch for children aged 4 to 10. The watch itself does not teach children how to tell time, of course; it merely “takes their imagination” by presenting the “hour” hand as a beautiful red girl named Flak and the “minute” hand as a tall blue boy named Flick. Flick points to related “blue” minutes on the dial, while Flak points to “red” hour numbers. The characters and colors combined with parental help, are supposed to teach young children how to tell time.
The watch comes equipped with a standard battery and a nylon band (尼龙表带). Peter Lipkin, the United States sales manager for the Flick Flak, calls it “childproof: if it gets dirty you can throw the whole watch in the washing machine.” The product is being sold in select department stores in Europe, Asia and the United States for a suggested price of $25. Parents who buy the watch may discover that it is one thing to tell time; it’s quite another for them to be on time.
1.From the news report we know that ______.
A．parents are patient when teaching children time
B．parents have little idea of how to teach children time
C．children are likely to learn time quickly
D．children enjoy wearing the Flick Flak watch
2.The author doesn’t seem to believe ______.
A．children will be on time if they have not learnt how to tell time
B．a Flick Flak can help parents teach their children how to tell time
C．the Flick Flak can take children’s imagination
D．children usually have trouble telling time if they don’t wear watches
3.The underlined word handicap (Para. 1) means ______.
A．displeasure B．discouragement C．disappointment D．disadvantage
4.The United State sales manager calls the new watch “childproof” because ______.
A．it is designed to teach children to be on time
B．it proves to be effective in teaching children time
C．it is made so as not to be easily damaged by children
D．it is the children’s favorite watch
On September 22, 1986, Jay Brunkella, a police-officer in the Rogers Park district in Chicago, was shot during a drug arrest and died. Shortly afterwards, fellow officer Ken Knapcik, a 20-year veteran (老警官) of the force, returned home after work to find a note from his 15-year-old daughter on the dining table.
Dad---This poem came directly from my heart. I love you so much! It scares and amazes me that you go out every day and risk everything to provide us with all that we have. I wrote this to express how much I love you and how much lost I’d be without you-Laura. P.S.: Hey, let’s be careful out there.
Titled “The Ultimate Cop”, Laura’s poem was dedicated “To all the cops in the world who have daughters who love them with all their hearts. And especially to my dad.” It was about a police-officer’s daughter who sees on the night time news that her father has been shot. Part of poem: “Daddy, my Daddy, can you hear me cry? Oh, God, I need my Daddy, please don’t let him die.”
Ken Knapcik stood alone as he read the poem. “It took me several minutes,” he said. “I’d get through part of it and have to stop before I could go on. I was weeping. She had never told me she was scared.” He took the poem to work the next day and showed it to his fellow officers. “I’ve never seen so many grown men cry. Some couldn’t finish it.”
Knapcik keeps Laura’s poem in the pocket of his police jacket. He takes it with him every time he leaves the house for a new shift. “I don’t want to be out there without it.” he said, “I’ll probably carry it with me forever.”
1.Laura wrote the poem ______.
A．in memory of her father who was shot in the drug arrest
B．to show her great sorrow in losing her father
C．to show her respect to all the cops who lost their lives
D．to tell Officer Ken Knapcik how much she loved him
2.All the officers cried because ______.
A．Jay Brunkella was shot and died
B．they were greatly touched by the poem
C．the poem was so sad that they couldn’t hold back their tears
D．they thought of their dangerous life
3.Knapcik keeps Laura’s poem in his pocket ______.
A．to treasure her daughter’s love and to value his own life
B．to keep it from missing
C．because he can’t go out without it
D．to mourn over the death of officer Jay Brunkella
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A．Poem for a cop B．An officer’s death
C．Daughter’s love D．Love my job, love my daughter
A friend of mine met with an accident driving in darkness. His legs were so hurt that he couldn’t move. What was the 1 was he found himself unable to ask for help-his mobile phone went out of 2 as a result of exhausted battery. Nothing could be done but to
3 in cold wilderness. It was 8 hours later that day broke, and then the 4 of the rescue.
It is almost 5 that he could stand the horror in the darkness for so long. Even more surprising was his 6 : “First of all I checked up my 7 conditions and found myself not in fatal danger. As there was no 8 to call for help, I leaned back in my seat trying my best to keep the wound from 9 . In this way I dozed (打盹) off.”
His story put an end to my regret for the 10 of an exploration adventure that happened last year. A group of young men 11 to explore a mountain cave and got lost.
12 to find a way out in the dark cave they were frightened and ran anxiously without a sense of 13 . Finally they fell dead in fear and exhaustion. According to the 14
people that found them, the place where they got lost was only about 10 meters away from the
15 of the cave. If they stayed on the spot when they lost their way and tried to 16
themselves, they would probably sense a faint light glimmering (闪烁) not far away.
Don’t you think that you can compare it with 17 itself? When you meet with obstacles in life and work, you are lost in darkness. 18 you it’s unclear yet and you needn’t put up struggle 19 . It seems to be a negative attitude, 20 a person who can afford to do so must have foresight as well as a great courage in the first place.
1. A．hopeless B．worst C．more D．best
2. A．service B．way C．order D．work
3. A．cry B．lie C．wait D．sleep
4. A．delay B．success C．team D．arrival
5. A．untrue B．unimaginable C．true D．useless
6. A．plan B．decision C．explanation D．excuse
7. A．physical B．mental C．working D．medical
8. A．method B．way C．alternative D．strength
9. A．rotting B．spreading C．hurting D．bleeding
10. A．loss B．failure C．disappointment D．sadness
11. A．had B．managed C．tried D．planned
12. A．Willing B．Unable C．Determined D．Deciding
13. A．hearing B．sight C．feeling D．direction
14. A．rescue B．village C．local D．brave
15. A．end B．top C．opening D．side
16. A．save B．help C．stop D．calm
17. A．adventure B．work C．life D．mankind
18. A．Mind B．Watch C．Imagine D．Warn
19. A．really B．immediately C．carefully D．hopefully
20. A．and B．so C．but D．while
