We"re all connected. You can send an e-mail message to a friend, and your friend

题型：不详难度：来源：

We"re all connected. You can send an e-mail message to a friend, and your friend can pass it on to one of his or her friends, and that friend can do the same, continuing the chain. Eventually, your message could reach just about anyone in the world, and it might take only five to seven e-mails for the message to get there.
Scientists recently tested that idea in a study involving 24,000 people. Participants had to try to get a message forwarded to one of 18 randomly chosen people. Each participant started by sending one e-mail to someone they knew. Recipients could then forward the e-mail once to someone they knew, and so on.
Targets, who were randomly assigned by researchers from Columbia University in New York, lived in 13 countries. They included an Australian police officer, a Norwegian veterinarian, and a college professor.
Out of 24,000 chains, only 384 reached their goal. The rest petered out, usually because one of the recipients was either too busy to forward the message or thought it was junk mail.
The links that reached their goal made it in an average of 4.05 e-mails. Based on the lengths of the failed chains, the researchers estimated that two strangers could generally make contact in five to seven e-mails.
The most successful chains relied on casual acquaintances rather than close friends. That"s because your close friends know each other whereas your acquaintances tend to know people you don"t know. The phenomenon, known as the strength of weak ties, explains why people tend to get jobs through people they know casually but aren"t that close to.
So, start networking and instant messaging now. As they say in show business: It"s all about who you know.
小题1: If you want to get into touch with a stranger in the world, how many e-mails might it take for the message to reach him/her?

A. 5 to 7

B. 18

C. 13

D. 384

小题2: Which of the following is Not true about the test?

A. 24,000 people took part in the study and sent e-mails to people they knew.

B. The 18 targets were chosen by chance.

C. About 98.4% of the mails didn’t reach their goal because some people were too busy or they mistook the message for junk mail.

D. The targets come from 13 countries, such as Australia, Norway and New York.

小题3: What does the word “estimate” mean in the passage?

A. make sure

B. suppose

C. think over

D. imagine

小题4: Why do people tend to get jobs more easily through casual acquaintances than close friends?

A. Because close friends don’t talk with each other so much.

B. Because casual acquaintances can help you know more people and make more friends.

C. Because close friends don’t spend so much time gathering together.

D. Because casual acquaintances are kinder and more willing to help others.

小题5: In which part of a newspaper will readers read this passage?

A. Culture

B. Entertainment

C. Information and Technology

D. Health

答案

小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:B
小题4:B
小题5:C

解析

本文主要讲述电子邮件将人们的联系拉近。
小题1: A 细节理解题。由第一段最后一句可知。
小题2: D 细节理解题。由第二段可知，A, B, C都正确；由第三段最后一句可知，D不正确。
小题3: B 词义猜测题。estimate “估计”，与B选项suppose意思最接近。
小题4: B 细节理解题。由第六段可知。
小题5: C 推理判断题。因本文谈的e-mail与电脑有关，所以应与“信息和技术”相关。

举一反三

Police fired tear gas and arrested more than 5,000 passively resisting protestors Friday in an attempt to break up the largest antinuclear demonstration ever staged in the United States. More than 135,000 demonstrators confronted police on the construction site of a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant scheduled to provide power to most of southern New Hampshire. Organizers of the huge demonstration said, the protest was continuing despite the police actions. More demonstrators were arriving to keep up the pressure on state authorities to cancel the project. The demonstrator had charged that the project was unsafe in the densely populated area, would create thermal pollution in the bay, and had no acceptable means for disposing of its radioactive wasters. The demonstrations would go on until the jails and the courts were so overloaded that the state judicial system would collapse.
Governor Stanforth Thumper insisted that there would be no reconsideration of the power project and no delay in its construction set for completion in three years. “This project will begin on time and the people of this state will begin to receive its benefits on schedule. Those who break the law in misguided attempts to sabotage the project will be dealt with according to the law,” he said. And police called in reinforcements from all over the state to handle the disturbances.
The protests began before dawn Friday when several thousand demonstrators broke through police lines around the cordoned-off construction site. They carried placards that read “No Nukes is Good Nukes,” “Sunpower, Not Nuclear Power,” and “Stop Private Profits from Public Peril.” They defied police order to move from the area. Tear gas canisters fired by police failed to dislodge the protestors who had come prepared with their own gas masks or facecloths. Finally gas-masked and helmeted police charged into the crowd to drag off the demonstrators one by one. The protestors did not resist police, but refused to walk away under their own power. Those arrested would be charged with unlawful assembly, trespassing, and disturbing the peace.
小题1:What were the demonstrators protesting about?
[A] Private profits.
[B]Nuclear Power Station.
[C] The project of nuclear power construction.
[D] Public peril.
小题2:Who had gas-masks?
[A] Everybody.
[B]A part of the protestors.
[C] Policemen.
[D] Both B and C.
小题3:.Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a reason for the demonstration?
[A] Public transportation.
[B]Public peril.
[C] Pollution.
[D] Disposal of wastes.
小题4:.With whom were the jails and courts overloaded?
[A] With prisoners.
[B]With arrested demonstrators.
[C] With criminals.
[D] With protestors.
小题5:What is the attitude of Governor Stanforth Thumper toward the power project and the demonstration?
[A] stubborn.
[B]insistent.
[C] insolvable.
[D] remissible.
Vocabulary
1.tear gas          瓦斯
2.passively resisting protestor    不抵抗的抗议者
3.stage          发起，举行，上演
4.break up             驱散，终止
5.cordon          警戒线，警戒
6.nuke          （美俚）核武器，核电站
7.defy          公然蔑视/反抗
8.canister       罐，筒，榴霰弹筒
9.islodge          赶走
10.charge          冲锋，向前冲
11.trespass       非法侵入，扰乱

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

Businesses are witnessing a difficult time, which has in turn produced influence on consumers’ desire to go green. However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.
Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.
This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves. And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not good enough.
Harry Morrison, chief executive（主管）of the Carbon Trust, sympathizes：“I understand this situation where survival is very important now. But from environmental considerations, the clock is ticking—we don’t have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand.”
Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint, as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions（排放）. Those that have taken early action will have a head start. More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible. This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.
The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing. “When companies are granted（授予）the standard, they can use a logo（标识）in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions,” Mr. Morrison said.
小题1: What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Businesses are finding ways to send their message to the shoppers.

B．Companies will soon get information about cutting carbon emissions.

C．Firms are making efforts to encourage customers to keep goods at home.

D．Firms are urged to cut carbon emissions by shoppers’ environmental awareness.

小题2: The underlined word “inform” in Paragraph 2 probably means“ ”.

A．affect

B．change

C．disturb

D．reject

小题3:According to Harry Morrison, businesses .

A．will benefit from cutting carbon emissions

B．should buy carbon allowances for shoppers

C．are required to make up for their carbon emissions

D．have encouraged shoppers to take their custom elsewhere

小题4:We can learn from the passage that businesses will .

A．have a strong desire to reduce costs

B．use the same logo in their marketing

C．gain advantages by taking early action

D．attract more shoppers by storing goods

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
Shakespeare"s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare"s World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and where he grew up. The property(房产)remained in the ownership of
Shakespeare’s family until 1806.The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the word ,for over 250 years.
Enter though the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare’s World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
Stand in the rooms-where Shakespeare grew up.
Discover examples of furniture and needle work from Shakespeare’s period.
Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden, planted with trees and flowers mentioned in the poet’s works.
pThe Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map; nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ walk).
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre, its exhibition, and the garden are accessible(可进入的)to wheelchair user.

The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).

ADMISSION:
Adult ￡4.90
Child ￡2.20
Family ￡12.0
(2 adults +up to 3 children)

OPENING TIMES:
20 Mar to 19 Oct
Mon to Sat: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Sun:9:30am to 5:00pm
20 Oct to 19Mar
Mon to Sat:9:30am to 4:00pm
Sun:10:00am to 4:00pm

小题1:. How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children?

A．＄9.80

B．＄12.00

C．＄14.20

D．＄16.40

小题2: Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace?

A．Behind the exhibition hall.

B．Opposite the Visitors’ Centre.

C．At Windsor street.

D．Near the Coffee House.

小题3: A wheelchair user may need help to enter .
A. the House B the garden C. the Visitor’s Centre D. the exhibition hall

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

Many people think a telephone is essential. But I think it is a pest and a time waster. Very often you find it impossible to escape from some idle or curious chatter-box, or from somebody who wants something for nothing. If you have a telephone in your own house, you will admit that it tends to ring when you are asleep, or in the middle of a meal or a conversation, or when you are just going out, or when you are taking your bath. Are you strong minded enough to ignore it, to say to yourself,“Ah, well, it will all be the same in a hundred years’ time” You are not. You think there may be some important news or messages for you. I can assure you that if a message is really important it will reach you sooner or later. Have you never rushed dripping from the bath, or chewing from the table, or dazed from the bed, only to be told that you are a wrong number?
But you will say, you need not have your name printed in the telephone directory, and you can have a telephone which is only usable for outgoing calls. Besides, you will say, isn’t it important to have a telephone in case of emergency—illness, an accident, or fire? Of course, you are right, but here in a thickly populated country like England one is seldom far from a telephone in case of dreadful necessity.
I think perhaps I had better try to justify myself by trying to prove that what I like is good. I admit that in different circumstances—if I were a tycoon(business VIP),for instance, or bed ridden I might find a telephone essential. But then if I were a taxi-driver I should find a car essential.
Let me put it another way: there are two things for which the English seem to show particular talent; one is mechanical invention, the other is literature. My own business happens to be with the use of words but I see I must now stop using them. For I have just been handed a slip of paper to say that somebody is waiting to speak to me on the telephone. I think I had better answer it. After all, one never knows, it may be something important.
小题1:The passage is mainly discussing _______.

A．that we should be strong enough to ignore a phone call

B．that important message will reach you sooner or later

C．whether it’s necessary to answer all phone calls

D．whether it is necessary to have a telephone

小题2:Judging from the passage, who is strong-minded enough to ignore a phone call?

A．The author.	B．A tycoon.
C．A taxi-driver.	D．Hardly anyone.

小题3:According to the passage, the author________.

A．thinks the telephone should go out of our life

B．likes to be different from other people

C．thinks the telephone is annoying

D．speaks favourably of a telephone

小题4:In the author’s opinion, which of the following is NOT true?

A．Nearly everyone has been told a wrong number.

B．It’s necessary for everyone to have a telephone.

C．He himself can not decide whether to answer a call.

D．A telephone directory may bring in unexpected calls.

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

In the US, people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don’t know. If you are sitting at a table with people you don’t know, it is impolite to light up a cigarette without asking if it will trouble them.
At American restaurant and coffee shops you are usually served cold water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill(再装满).
Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores or restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in large cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day.
Serving in restaurant is often large, too large for many people. If you can’t finish your meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask your waitress or waiter for a “doggie bag”. It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everyone knows you’re taking the food for yourself. Supper and dinner are both words for the evening meal. Some people have “Sunday dinner”. This is an especially big noon meal.
Tips are not usually added to the check. They are not included in the price of the meal, either. A tip of about 15% of the price of a meal is expected and you should leave it on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a check is brought on a plate and you put your money there. Then the waiter or waitress brings you your change.
小题1:If you are walking in New York, you will find that _____.

A．you can go to the bars any time you like

B．stores may be open for the customers a day

C．restaurants have some rules about foreigners

D．closing time is often decided by the managers

小题2:When you are taking a “doggie bag” on the street, we know that _____.

A．you have bought some food for your dogs

B．you are taking the rest of food for your dogs

C．you will take the food home and enjoy it later

D．you have put a dog in the bag and take it home

小题3:What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Tips belong to a part of the price of the meal.

B．Tips have become an essential part of the life.

C．Tips are important in the US for the restaurant.

D．You can provide the tips for the manager directly.

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案