A

I have been using the Internet since I was five years old, when my dad first sat me down in front of our computer and connected me to the World Wide Web.

I've always felt like a master of the Internet world. AOL Instant Messaging, MSN, Gmail, Facebook, Myspace – I've got it all under control. I thought there was nothing more to the Internet besides checking my e-mail and wasting my time until I found out about electronic commerce (e-commerce): business on the Internet. Do Amazon.com, Yahoo.com, or monster.com mean anything to you?

My friends often said they got cheap textbooks off Amazon.com, or had a good deal on Steve Madden boots (靴子) that were on sale at SteveMadden.com. Unfortunately for me, I went on with my “e-commerce-less” Web-surfing, unaware of all the deals I was missing out on.

That is, of course, until my sister finally sold the idea to me.

“Why are all these packages (包裹) arriving in the mail for you, Katy?” I asked her one day. Strange envelopes had been put on our doorstep for weeks now, each one always addressed to my sister; and we all know little sisters should never be getting more mail than their older siblings (兄弟姐妹)!

“Oh, it's the stuff I ordered online!” she answered. I watched as she opened item after item. There was no way our parents were letting her spend that much money – online or off!

“How much did all of this cost?”

“Oh, only about $15 in all!” She said excitedly. “Everything on eBay is on sale! It's better than going to the mall.”

I felt as if my whole life, there had been a giant store in my backyard that I had never known about. That week, I ordered a used Spanish textbook for 10 percent of the publisher's price. A few days later, I bought an iPod protector (保护装置) and a book or two from the wonderful eBay.com. By Jennifer Sun

1. From the first three paragraphs we can conclude that the author _____.

A. had no experience using computer

B. thought surfing the Internet was a waste of time

C. only used the Internet to check e-mail

D. had no idea of what e-commerce i

2. The writer didn't find out about e-commerce until _____.

A. she stopped Web-surfing

B. her friends told her about the online deals they made

C. she visited a giant store in her backyard

D. her sister explained the packages she got by mail

3. We can infer from the last paragraph that _____.

A. the author has begun to enjoy online shopping

B. the author loves the big store in her backyard

C. she feels she is a true master of the Internet

D. she never enjoyed shopping that much

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the article?

A. My favorite activity – the Internet

B. Ordering goods on the Internet

C. A whole new world on the Internet

D. Don't waste time on the Internet

B

Walk through a mall on a weekend and you get the impression teenagers save money to buy clothes, iPods, or video game systems, but a new survey shows their priority (优先考虑) is quite different – saving for college.

The survey by online brokerage (经纪公司) TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. suggests putting money away for higher education is the top savings goal for today's teens. The results showed 62 percent of teens aged 14 through 19 save their money for college, a much higher rate than the 40 percent of adults who said they saved when they were teens.

Educators didn't expect the results. They are pushing for financial (理财的) literacy (素养) education in schools.

“It's a pleasant surprise that we're seeing young people paying that much attention to the importance of this issue,” said Joseph Peri, CEO of the nonprofit Council for Economic Education. “Part of teaching the importance of investing is showing that the best investment a young person can make is an investment in themselves.”

The survey suggests teens save more of their money than their elders did when they were young. About 87 percent of teens say they save.

The results also suggest 78 percent of teens said they want a plan that involves splitting the cost of education with their parents.

The willingness of teens to share the price of their education suggests that they are aware of rising college costs, Young said.

More than 80 percent of teens reported that they consider education to be important to future success, compared with 56 percent of adults surveyed who say they felt that way as teens.

“We've become more conscious (知晓的) of the opportunities that are out there for us and the competition that's out there,” said Megan Partridge, 17, a student at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey. AP

5. According to the new survey, American teens are saving money primarily for _____.

A. clothesB. iPodsC. video game systems D. higher education

6. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Unhappy with the results, educators are pushing for financial literacy education in schools.

B. American teens invest more money in their careers than in other things.

C. The American adults surveyed don't seem to care about their futures when they were teens.

D. More American teens save money for college education today than before.

7. According to the survey, ______.

A. 78 percent of American teens save for college

B. 87 percent of American teens are aware of the importance of investing in their future

C. less than half of the adults surveyed thought that education was essential when they were teen

D. over three fourths of American teens are willing to share their educational expenses with their parent

8. Megan serves as an example of teens who ______.

A. are doubtful about their future B. attach importance to education

C. are afraid of the competitiveness of modern America

D. realize the effect the financial crisis may have on their education

C

Everybody talks about the taste of great food. But hardly anyone talks about the tongue and the nose that make the tasting possible. Without them, the wonderful world of cooking and eating would be boring.

Luckily, food can be a memorable experience. Thanks, of course, to your tongue and your nose. But that brings up a small mountain of questions about taste. We turned to two experts, Leslie Stein and Danielle Reed at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, in the US for answers.

Q: How is it possible that we can taste things?

Reed: There are receptors (感觉器官) on taste cells, and the chemicals in your food bind (结合) to the receptors like a key in a lock. Once the key is in the lock, then the inside of the cell responds and sends a message from the taste cell to the brain. Once the taste signal gets to the brain, the brain interprets (理解) it with either a yummy (美味的) or yucky response.

Q: Is flavor the same as taste?

Stein: No. The flavors of most foods and drinks come more from smell than from taste. Sugar has a taste (sweet), but strawberry actually is a smell. An airway between the nose and mouth lets people combine smell with the five basic tastes to enjoy thousands of flavors.

Q: What are the tastes humans can sense?

Stein: Humans detect (觉察) five basic taste qualities: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory (美味的).

Q: Everybody seems to have a “sweet tooth”. Why?

Stein: Almost all humans like sweetness. This is probably because the brain associates (联系) a sweet taste with energy for the body. Taste can also signal danger, as many poisons taste bitter.

Q: Do our tastes change?

Stein: Taste sensitivity and food preferences may change across a lifetime… in ways we don't yet completely understand. Children appear to be more sensitive to some tastes than their parents, suggesting that kids and parents may live in different sensory (感觉的) worlds.

Reed: Just like our eyesight changes as we get older, our taste changes, too. 2009MCT

9. Put the following statements in the right order on the basis of the article.

a. Messages from the taste cells are sent to the brain.

b. The inside of the taste cells responds to the chemicals in the food.

c. The brain interprets the message.

d. The receptors contact the food.

A. abcd B. acbd C. dbac D. dcba

10. Everybody seems to have a “sweet tooth” because _______.

A. sweet things are good for our health

B. sweet food are sold everywhere

C. sweet things are not as poisonous as bitter thing

D. our brain often connects sweet taste with energy

11. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. We can tell the taste of a strawberry ice cream with our tongues.

B. Scientists are still not sure the way taste changes.

C. Children are more sensitive to sweet tastes than adults.

D. People change their food preferences when their taste sensitivity changes.

12. Which is the best title for the article?

A. A matter of taste B. The taste of food

C. Five basic taste

D. What makes tasting possible

D

People have long debated the essence (本质) of human nature. Some people think humans are born good. In San Zi Jing (Three Character Classic), a Chinese children's educational book from the 13th century, we read: “Men at birth are naturally good. Their natures are similar, their habits become different.”

Yet some philosophers disagree with this. They think men are born selfish and vicious (恶的). For example, Thomas Hobbes, the 17th century English philosopher argued that men are born self-interested and with a liking for war.

Over the centuries, different philosophers have argued their cases. Now the results of a new study, which contrasts the behavior of very young children and young chimpanzees (黑猩猩) suggests that human beings are innately (天生的) sociable and helpful to others, according to a New York Times report.

“Of course every animal must to some extent (在某种程度上) be selfish to survive. But the biologists also see in humans a natural willingness to help,” the New York Times science reporter Nicholas Wade writes.

Wade quotes (引用) a book published in October by American psychologist Michael Tomasello. Tomasello writes: “When infants (婴儿) 18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and who needs help opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help.The helping behavior seems to be innate because it appears so early and before many parents start teaching children the rules of polite behavior.”

Tomasello finds that this behavior is not the result of an incentive (动机) of a reward, suggesting training does not influence it. And it seems to happen across cultures, with their different timetables for teaching social rules. For these reasons, Tomasello concluded that helping is natural, not something taught by parents or culture.

And it seems that infants cannot only help in practical ways, it can also help with information, Tomasello writes. From the age of 12 months they will point at objects that an adult pretends to have lost. Chimpanzees, by contrast (相比之下), never point at things for each other, and when they point for people, it seems to be as a command to go fetch something rather than to share information. 21ST

13. What is the article mainly about?

A. The behavior of young children.

B. Different philosophies about human nature.

C. The difference between babies and baby chimpanzees.

D. A new study of human nature.

14. According to Michael Tomasello, human beings are born ______.

A. similar to chimpanzees in nature

B. selfish and viciou

C. sociable and helpful

D. with a liking for war

15. Of all the following, ______ has a negative attitude towards human nature.

A. Three Character Classic

B. Thomas Hobbe

C. Nicholas Wade D. Michael Tomasello

16. According to the study, it's safe to say that ______.

A. human beings are not selfish

B. children like to help others when they get a reward

C. different countries teach social rules at different time

D. children tend to be helpful if they are taught early

E

Anthony Horowitz was miserable (痛苦的) as a child. He was, as he puts it, “not very bright” and couldn't win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive (虐待的) boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded (恳求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, ‘It'll be good for him' ,” Horowitz recalls (回忆).

It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺负) for five years. “My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn't even smart enough to rebel (反抗). The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”

Now, at 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.

The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency MI6.

Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.

That style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story.

Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.” The Washington Post

17. The text is mainly about ______.

A. Horowitz's popular book – Alex Rider

B. Horowitz's miserable childhood

C. Horowitz, a successful children's writer

D. Horowitz's special writing style

18. In the boarding school, Horowitz's teachers ______.

A. showed great concern for him

B. often abused and bullied him

C. taught him how to write storie

D. thought little of his ability

19. Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?

A. He was the beloved child of his family.

B. He benefited a lot from boarding school.

C. He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories.

D. Although he is successful, he isn't very happy.

20. What advice does Horowitz have for readers?

A. Confidence is the key to success.

B. Hardship teaches valuable lessons.

C. Interest is the best teacher.

D. Industry is the parent of success.

Key:

1-4 DDAC 5-8 DDDB 9-12 CDBA

13-16 DCBC 17-20 CDCA