题型：阅读理解 题类：期中考试 难易度：中档
年份：2016
You will enjoy a wonderful summer vacation with these easy tips.
1 Fly into Alternate Airports
Most major destinations are served by more than one airport. Flying into a less popular one can result in cheaper tickets. Another added perk of quieter airports? Shorter check-in and security lines, and less waiting around.
2 Use Public Transportation for City Travel to Save Time and Money
When possible, take public transportation from the airport to your hotel. For example, the London-Heathrow express train takes just 15 minutes to get from airport to city and costs under 20 pounds. By contrast, “A taxi costs about 70 pounds and takes 40 minutes,” reports DiScala.
3 Eat Smart, Explore。。。and Save
Look for ways to take your order in pricey restaurants and you can avoid “Are we about to run out of money?” “Don’t order an appetizer. Don’t drink a lot of booze,” says DiScala.
Also, cover more ground by spreading out your snack places. “Have dessert at a café or ice cream stand, instead of at the dinner restaurant,” suggests DiScala. You’ll see more of the city and decisions about where to go for dinner will be less worrying.
4 Hit the Market
Much like reading the local newspaper, visiting a market gives context to a foreign country. Even the smallest villages tend to have a weekly open-air market(often on Saturday mornings), while in larger towns and cities, expect additional market days, as well as big supermarkets.
Markets also sell amazing, wallet-friendly souvenirs. Think about sea salt, local spices or sauces, and regional oils and vinegars. Eatable gifts are almost always appreciated, saving you the stress of finding the “perfect” gift for each person on your list.
| A. take a plane without waiting for long |
| B. spend your holidays abroad economically |
| C. eat in a pricey restaurant at the smallest expense |
| D. save money to buy eatable gifts in a foreign market |
| A. Special benefit. | B. Strict standard. |
| C. Common scene. | D. Extra trouble. |
| A. Choosing a bigger airport. |
| B. Visiting local markets. |
| C. Having dinner at the hotel. |
| D. Taking an express train. |
| A. Having coffee at a cafe will cost more money. |
| B. Souvenirs bought at local markets are expensive. |
| C. You will run out of your money if you eat out. |
| D. Markets help you understand your tourist destination. |
题型：阅读理解 题类：期中考试 难易度：中档
年份：2016
Micro bloggers: don’t be too excited if you have more fans than your friends on your Sina Weibo or Tencent micro blog—some of them might be “zombie fans”, or fake(假的) followers.
That’s what Chen Chuanliang, creator of Leijian Network, found when he bet against his friend several months ago. Chen, who used to do data mining for Microsoft Asia Research Institute, discovered that there were far more invalid(无效的)micro blog accounts than he had imagined.
Later Chen picked 10 users on Sina Weibo and analyzed their statistics. Kai-Fu Lee, the former CEO of Google China, who’s on Chen’s list of research, posted a message on his micro blog after he found out that he had more than 1 million fake fans(out of about 5 million), joking “I have 1 million zombie fans? If united, we can finally defeat those plants.”
According to a report by S Weekly in March, zombie fans on micro blogs are defined as invalid accounts signed up by network companies for the purpose of increasing the number of fans for certain users and getting them more attention.
And this kind of fake followers are also very much alive on Western social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
The Financial Times reported in August，that Newt Gingrich，a Republican candidate in the US presidential election, bought about 80 percent of his 1.3 million Twitter followers and tried to use them as help in his campaign.
Now there are also business deals through which users can get hundreds of thousands of fans for their micro blog accounts, by paying a small amount of money.
“We have been working to find ways to block or delete those invalid accounts,” Mao Taotao, a spokesperson for Sina Weibo told S Weekly.
“But as the fake accounts grow so fast, they’re going to be here for a while.”
| A. Micro Bloggers | B. Blog Accounts |
| C. Zombie Fans | D. Micro Blog Fans |
| A. making friends with people |
| B. paying a little money |
| C. helping their Weibo followers |
| D. doing search on the Internet |
| A. there are more fake fans in America than in China |
| B. invalid accounts for micro blogs will be in no time |
| C. there exist many fake fans on western social networks as well |
| D. Newt Gingrich had 1.3 million followers in his presidential election |
| A. deals | B. fans | C. campaigns | D. users |
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：中档
年份：2016
A
Farms are spreading to unused city lots and old properties across the United States.
Eco City Farms is an educational nonprofit organization. It seeks to empower the community by teaching economic development, job training and a healthier way of living. The group has set up farms near automobile repair businesses and fast food stores in urban neighborhoods.
Social activist Margaret Morgan-Hubbard founded Eco City Farms. She says the lack of fresh produce is a major health problem for children and their families who live in nearby Bladensburg, Maryland. “What’s critical is that 70 percent of the people in these towns are either overweight, obese, have diabetes or other kinds of diet-related ailments because they don’t have access to healthy food.”
Eco City Farms offer several programs, including educational activists on agriculture, food, and finding jobs with environmentally-friendly businesses. People can also learn how to cook healthier foods and teach others how to prepare meals. On a recent day, Philip Sidibe demonstrated his cooking skills. He prepared Aloco, a popular food in Cameroon where he grew up. He and other young people not only cook their food, they also grow it in a large garden.
Tameka Barbour-Gaskins lives in Autumn Woods. She says her whole family is eating healthier meals because of the local produce. “I like junk food. I like quick meals. Not easy to just go from eating a certain way all your life to switching over to being healthier... With the garden here, with my son learning, he can help me switch around my style of eating. I want a healthy family.”
Margaret says the urban garden is an agent for change and the young people are its newest supporters. “Our program is about planting seeds. It’s about planting seeds not just in the ground, but in other human beings so that the movement can grow and it’s really exciting because... these young people will be working with us throughout the year to help plan the actual farm and to ultimately own it.”
| A. provides a lot of job opportunities
|
| B. was founded by an expert in farming
|
| C. helps the community lead a healthy lifestyle
|
| D. has turned most city lots into farms in the USA |
| A. foods |
| B. diseases |
| C. materials |
| D. programs |
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：中档
年份：2016
B
The highest beef prices in almost three decades have arrived just before the start of hot season, causing a great shock to both consumers and restaurant owners—and relief isn’t likely anytime soon. A decreasing number of cattle and growing export demand from countries such as China and Japan have caused the average price of fresh beef to climb to $ 5.28 a pound in February, up almost a quarter from January and the highest price since 1987.
“Everything that’s produced is being consumed,” said Kevin Good, an analyst at CattleFax, a Colorado-based information group. And prices likely will stay high for a couple of years as cattle producers start to rebuild their herds amid big questions about whether the Southwest and parts of the Midwest will see enough rain to water the grass.
“I quit buying steaks a while ago when the price went up,” said 59-year-old Lubbock resident Len Markham, who works at Texas Tech. She says she limits red meat purchases to hamburger, choosing chicken, pork and fish instead.
Restaurant owners, too, must deal with the high prices. Mark Hutchens, owner of the 50 Yard Line Steakhouse in Lubbock, raised his menu prices for beef items by about 5 percent in November. Since then, the owner of the small eating house has tried to make cuts elsewhere to avoid passing it on to customers. “It really squeezes the small guys more,” he said of non-chain restaurants. “I just think you have to stay competitive and keep your costs low.”
“White-tablecloth restaurants have adjusted the size of their steaks, making them thinner,” says Jim Robb, director of the Colorado-based Livestock Marketing Information Center. “And fast-food restaurants are cutting costs by reducing the number of menu items and are offering other meat options, including turkey burgers,” Robb said. “Chain restaurants also try to buy in volume as much as they can, which essentially gives them a discount,” Iowa State University assistant economics professor Lee Schulz said.
The high prices are welcome news for at least one group: ranchers (大农场经营者), especially those in Texas who for years have struggled because of drought and high feed prices. But even as ranchers breathe a sigh of relief, some worry lasting high prices will cause consumers to permanently change their buying habits—switching to chicken or pork. Pete Bonds, a 62-year-old Texas rancher and president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, said that’s a big concern, especially as younger consumers start to establish themselves. “But such fears may be unfounded, Robb said. Three years ago, economists thought consumers would start finding substitutions for beef as the drought spread. “We’re surprised we haven’t seen more of that,” he said.
South Dakota rancher Chuck O’Connor is optimistic that consumers won’t abandon beef for good. “I’m sure some are maybe going to cut back some, but to say that people aren’t going to buy it anymore, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said, adding, “I hope not.”
| A. ranchers have found ways to deal with high feed prices
|
| B. there is a lack of rain and the export of beef is increasing
|
| C. there is a growing demand for fresh beef among Americans
|
| D. cattle producers have succeeded in raising a new type of cattle |
| A. They have made the steaks smaller than before.
|
| B. They have increased the prices of beef-related dishes.
|
| C. They have made hamburgers with many other kinds of meat.
|
| D. They have sought discount by purchasing large amounts of beef. |
| A. tell people that it is a tough job to look for substitutions for beef
|
| B. show his fear that chicken or pork may be an alternative to beef
|
| C. explain that customers won’t change their buying habits completely
|
| D. indicate that ranchers may be least affected by the high beef prices |
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：中档
年份：2016
C
The heat of the moment is a powerful, dangerous thing. My friend Eduardo Andrade and I wondered if emotions could influence how people make decisions even after the heat or anxiety wears off. However, really, we worried about it. If we were right, and recklessly (鲁莽地) poor emotional decisions guide later rational (理性的) moments, well, then, we’re not terribly sophisticated (精明的) decision makers, are we? If emotional decisions guide later rational moments, well, then, we’re not terribly sophisticated decision makers, are we?
To test the idea, we needed to observe some emotional decisions. So we annoyed some people, by showing them a five-minute clip from the movie Life as a House, in which an arrogant (自负的) boss fires an architect who proceeds to smash the firm’s models. We made other subjects happy, by showing them — what else? — a clip from the TV show Friends.
Right after that, we had them play a classic economics game, in which a “sender” (in this case, Eduardo and I) has $20 and offers a “receiver” (the movie watcher) a portion of the money. Some offers are fair (an even split) and some are unfair (you get $5, we get $15). The receiver can either accept or reject the offer. If he rejects it, both sides get nothing.
Traditional economics predicts that people — as rational beings — will accept any offer of money rather than reject an offer and get zero. But behavioral economics shows that people often prefer to lose money in order to punish a person for making an unfair offer.
Our findings followed suit, and, interestingly, the effect was amplified (增强) among our irritated (被惹恼了的) subjects. Life as a House watchers rejected far more offers than Friends watchers, even though the content of the movie had nothing to do with the offer. Just as a fight at home may sour your mood, increasing the chances that you’ll send a terrible e-mail, being subjected to an annoying movie leads people to reject unfair offers more frequently even though the offer wasn’t the cause of their mood.
Next came the important part. We waited. And when the emotions caused by the movie were no longer a factor, we had the participants play the game again. Those who had been annoyed the first time they played the game rejected far more offers this time as well. They were tapping the memory of the decisions they had made earlier, when they were responding under the influence of feeling annoyed. In other words, the tendency to reject offers remained heightened among our Life as a House group — compared with control groups — even when they were no longer irritated.
| A. Whether we are emotional in making decisions. |
| B. Whether our emotions are influenced by actions. |
| C. Whether decision makers have emotional problems. |
| D. Whether short-term emotions have long-term effects. |
| A. are more likely to reject unfair offers |
| B. are annoyed to be receivers of the money |
| C. are willing to accept any offer of money |
| D. are in no mood to offer others any money |
| A. their findings correspond to what traditional economics predicts
|
| B. their findings correspond to what behavioral economics shows
|
| C. they did their study by following the rules of behavioral economics
|
| D. they did their study by following the rules of traditional economics |
| A. confirmed their assumption
|
| B. changed their study objectives
|
| C. disagreed with their assumption
|
| D. adopted a different study method |
题型：阅读理解 题类：月考试卷 难易度：中档
年份：2016
| A. the evening arrived |
| B. they got to the concert hall |
| C. the spotlight came on |
| D. her mother talked to her friend |
| A. The pianist knew the boy’s mother very well. |
| B. The pianist helped the boy to play a beautiful music. |
| C. The pianist told the boy to stop playing the piano. |
| D. The pianist wanted to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star |
| A. we could get help and we should help others |
| B. we should give helping hands to others when they notice |
| C. we never receive helping hands when we need |
| D. we always do things successfully without help |
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：中档
年份：2016
Teamwork is all about working together to achieve a common goal or purpose. Is teamwork out of date? Why is it so hard to effectively conduct teamwork in those things?
One way we employ teamwork in everyday lives is by becoming a parent. It is a parent's job to teach their children and the basic skills and give them the knowledge they need to be successful in life. For example, the mother teaches her children manners and good health skills, while the father teaches them how to catch a ball or drive a car. However, in today's society, we find more and more parents are experiencing that the teamwork is a one-sided thing. According to a report, there are 13.7 million single parents raising their children in the US and this could be due to the fact that parents don't take responsibility for their children, so they leave one parent to do it alone. This is a sad fact, but it reflects that effective teamwork is losing ground in the parenting aspect of our daily lives.
Another place where teamwork affects us greatly is in our jobs. It doesn't matter if you are a small or large company; if you have at least one employee and yourself, then teamwork will be present. I have noticed that with the current economic recession, people are racing to grab jobs but quality of people's work has gone down greatly. It just appears to me that people do not take pride in their work any more. They want to get to work as fast as they can, just to receive the paycheck, but their quality standards fly right out the window. So I think teamwork is losing its ground in the workforce. There are too many people who want to work independently and forget they are a part of a team.
As you can see, we run into the aspects of teamwork in just about everything we do. Do you believe teamwork is really losing ground in today's society? I think it is.
| A. Parents have no time to spare with their children. |
| B. Parents have no chances to teach their children about it. |
| C. Many children are often brought up by a single parent. |
| D. Many children are independent to deal with their matters. |
| A. workers don't like to work together with others |
| B. workers' sense is affected by economic recession |
| C. workers want to prove they are more capable |
| D. fewer workers are employed to save money |
| A. listing some data |
| B. giving some examples |
| C. asking some questions |
| D. analyzing some cases |
| A. disappear | B. improve |
| C. increase | D. matter |
题型：阅读理解 题类：期中考试 难易度：中档
年份：2016
B
Anna Schiferl hadn’t even got out of bed when she reached for her cell phone and typed a text to her mom, one recent Saturday. Mom was right downstairs in the kitchen. The text? Anna wanted an egg for breakfast. Soon after, Joanna Schiferl called, “If you want to talk to me, Anna, come downstairs and see me!” Anna laughs about it now. “I was kind of being lazy, ” she admits.
These days, many people with cell phones prefer texting to a phone call. And that’s creating a communication divide, of sorts—the talkers vs. the texters. Some would argue that it’s no big deal. But many experts say the most successful communicators will, of course, have the competence to do both. And they fear that more of us are unable to have—or at least are avoiding—the traditional face-to-face conversations.
Many professors say it is not common to see students outside of class. “I sit in my office hours lonely now because if my students have a question, they email me, often late at night,” says Renee Houston, a professor at the University of Puget Sound in Washington state. “And they never call.”
As Anna sees it: “There are people you’ll text, but won’t call. It’s just a way to stay in touch with each other.” Some believe that scores of texts each day keep people more connected. “The problem is that the conversation isn’t very deep, ” says Joseph Grenny, co-author of the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High.
“The problem has been there since we’ve had telephones—probably since the time of a telegraph,” Grenny says. Texting is just the latest way to do that. Though they may not always be so good at deep conversations themselves, Grenny suggests that parents model the behavior for their children and put down their own cell phones. He says that they also should set limits, as Anna’s mom did when she made the “no texting to people in the same house” rule.
| A. was very strict with her daughter |
| B. did not know how to use a cell phone |
| C. was angry that her daughter got up late |
| D. did not have any breakfast that morning |
| A. chance | B. ability |
| C. courage | D. patience |
| A. They often work late at night. |
| B. They often ask strange questions. |
| C. Few ask her questions face to face. |
| D. Many email her if she feels lonely. |
| A. cell phones make people lonelier |
| B. telephones help people communicate clearly |
| C. texting helps people have deeper conversations |
| D. talking should be encouraged instead of texting |
题型：阅读理解 题类：期末考试 难易度：中档
年份：2016
Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality (可能). And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.
| A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated. |
| B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working. |
| C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better. |
| D. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone. |
| A. keep her appointment with the eye doctor |
| B. meet her father who was already an old man |
| C. join in the holiday celebration of the company |
| D. finish her work before the deadline approached |
| A. quit | B. refused | C. avoided | D. abused |
| A. The Emotional Well-being | B. The Two Saddest Words |
| C. The Most Useful Rule | D. The Peace of Mind |
题型：阅读理解 题类：期末考试 难易度：中档
年份：2016
If a woman has an extra piece of cake, don’t blame it on greed, blame it on her brain.
Scientists have found that women’s brains react to food very differently—and much more strongly—than men’ s. Academics found that decades of dieting pressure on women and advertising have programmed certain parts of the female brain to react strongly when faced with any kind of food. Men, on the other hand, are not usually as obsessive (着迷的) about what they eat.
Dr. Rudolf Uher and his colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry in King’s College London used brain scanning technology, known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), to look at the brains of eighteen men and women.
The volunteers were given images of food to look at, as well as food to taste. Their brain reactions were observed by the scientists.
They found that the female brains reacted much more strongly than those of males.
The same reaction did not happen when they were shown non-food images. The team believe this means women think more about food than men tend to.
Dr. Uher said, “This could be related to biological differences between men and women. But the more likely explanation is that women have a more complicated reaction to food because of social pressure.”
Professor Carey Cooper, psychology and health professor at Lancaster University, said, “for centuries women have had a providing role—preparing and cooking food for their families. And it’s part of that role to make sure the food is safe. They will therefore be much more sensitive to food than men are, and I would not be surprised if that was now built into their DNA. If the female brain react to food because it historically has developed neural (神经的) pathways to do this, then food will be the way they express their stress. Food actually, is a comfort for women.”
But other experts have said that more research must be done before the results can be proved.American scientist Angelo del Parigi of the John B. Pierce Laboratory in New Haven, Connecticut, said, “Looking at an FMRI alone cannot make sure whether the stronger reaction in women is due to innate (天生的) differences or a learned process.’’
| A. FMRI’s effectiveness on women and men |
| B. women’s and men’s reaction to different images |
| C. volunteers’ reaction to food before and after meals |
| D. volunteers’ reaction to different kinds of food |
| A. told to do so for a long time |
| B. influenced by advertisements |
| C. forced by powerful social influences |
| D. born to do so due to biological reasons |
| A. turn to food when they feel sad |
| B. are stressed because of food safety |
| C. accept their social role from the heart |
| D. are satisfied with preparing food for their families |
| A. Surprised. | B. Uninterested. | C. Doubtful. | D. Curious. |
