| 237 West Palmdale Boulevard Fresno, Califormia93706 AmToy Corporation Suite 15 TransAm Building November 20, 2008 Dear Sirs, As a concerned parent, I am writing to protest your recent advertisement for Electro-Rain seen in local media is California. Specially, I am referring to newspaper and magazine ads (attached this letter) and had the week of November 15. Children respond to your type of advertising in an immature way; that is, they are able to understand how expensive some toys are for middle-class parent. Further, your product is violent in nature. Youth advertisement gives children the impression that it"s fine to have "two guns and laser eyes." You also suggest that children need your toy protect them "when you go outside." This is not a healthy attitude for children to have. I hope you will stop advertising your product in such a way that may our children. Sincerely yours, (Mrs.) Alma Hernandez Enc | ||||||||||||||||
| It"s here! Ready for You, Now! It"s Electro-Robo! Every lay dreams of being in control of a robot, and AmToy can make your dream come true Electro- R0ho is the world"s first fully autocratic robot with radio control. Standing 80 centimeters tall, Electro-Robo is like a friend at home. He can walk, talk, and even shake your had! He has two guns and laser eyes to help you defend yourself when you go outside with him. Every boy needs Electro-Robo! Ask your Mom and Dad to buy Electro-Robo for your birthday or for Christmas, which is coming up soon. Imagine that you are in control of your friend for life, Electro-Robo! Available at all toy stores and department stores NOW! | ||||||||||||||||
| 1-3: CAB | ||||||||||||||||
| 阅读理解。 | ||||||||||||||||
| In our life, we have rarely expressed our gratitude to the one who"d lived those years with us. In fact, we don"t have to wait for anniversaries to thank the ones close to us-the ones so easily overlooked. If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is this: give it now！While your feeling of appreciation is alive and sincere, act on it. Saying thanks is such an easy way to add to the world"s happiness. Saying thanks not only brightens someone else"s world, but it also brightens yours. If you"re feeling left out, unloved or unappreciated, try reaching out to others. It may be just the medicine you need. Of course, there are times when you can"t express gratitude immediately. In that case don"t let embarrassment sink you into silence-speak up the first time you have the chance. Once a young minister, Mark Brian, was sent to a remote parish of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. He had been told that the Indians did not have a word for thank you. But Brian soon found that these people had exceptional generosity. Instead of saying thanks, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own, and every kindness with an equal or superior kindness. They do their thanks. I wonder if we had no words in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? Would we be more responsive, more sensitive and more caring? Thankfulness sets in motion a chain of reaction that transforms people all around us-including ourselves, for no one ever misunderstands the melody of a grateful heart. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. In the first paragraph the writer mainly encourages us _____. | ||||||||||||||||
| A.to express our sincere thanks timely to those around us B. never to overlook our close friends in daily life C. to wait for a proper occasion to show our gratitude D. to increase the world"s happiness by saying thanks | ||||||||||||||||
| 2. When we say something for what others do for us, it ______. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. is good for both us and people who help us B. benefits the people who do something for us C. wastes our and our friends" time at the same time D. does harm to both us and people who help us | ||||||||||||||||
| 3. According to the writer, _____ could be the best way to prevent ourselves from being left out. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. seeing a doctor to find the right medicine we need B. expressing our gratitude in an easy way C. speaking up the moment we have the chance D. showing others actively we are willing to help them | ||||||||||||||||
| 4. Mark Brain"s story is mentioned in the passage in order to show the fact that _____. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. the Indians didn"t have any words for appreciation B. the Indians were particularly generous to others C. some people may express their gratitude through different approaches D. Mark Brain set the Indians an example to show saying thanks is very important | ||||||||||||||||
| 阅读理解。 | ||||||||||||||||
| Few of us haven"t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone"s heart-we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity (默默无闻). Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school. Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears. Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not-kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey"s paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked (邪恶的) stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn"t get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her. The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies. "The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson. "The focus is firmly on following your dream." | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. The first paragraph is mainly to ______. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. build interest and lead us to Mary"s secret dream B. remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years C. inform us of the main topic of the whole passage D. tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is | ||||||||||||||||
| 2. In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who _______. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. is brave in expressing her love B. is attended badly by the stepmother C. has a dream of meeting a prince D. is embarrassed by the pop singer | ||||||||||||||||
| 3. What can we infer from the passage? | ||||||||||||||||
| A. Joey is just like other boys in Mary"s class. B. Mary"s mother influences her a lot in singing. C. Not many people have a dream to be realized. D. The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary. | ||||||||||||||||
| 4. The passage is mainly about _______. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. an introduction to a film B. a review about a film C. an essay about dreams D. an advertisement of Cinderella | ||||||||||||||||
| 阅读理解。 | ||||||||||||||||
| Engineering students are supposed to be examples of practicality and rationality (理性), but when it comes to my college education I am an idealist and a fool. In high school I wanted to be an electrical engineer and, of course, any reasonable student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, many famous professors and lots of good labs and research equipment. But that"s not what I did. I chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts (文科) university that doesn"t even offer a major in electrical engineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education that would provide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me in my job. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by communicating with people who weren"t studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a wise choice. They told me I was wise and grown-up beyond my 18 years, and I believed them. I headed off to the college and sure I was going to have an advantage over those students who went to big engineering "factories" where they didn"t care if you had values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical expert and excellent humanist all in one. Now I"m not so sure. Somewhere along the way my noble ideas crashed into reality, as all noble ideas finally do. After three years of struggling to balance math, physics and engineering courses with liberal-arts courses, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students try to reconcile engineering with liberal-arts courses in college. The reality that has blocked my path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don"t mix as easily as I supposed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of study is difficult. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. Why did the author choose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts university? | ||||||||||||||||
| A. He intended to become an engineer and humanist. B. He intended to be a reasonable student with noble ideals. C. He wanted to be an example of practicality and rationality. D. He wanted to communicate with liberal-arts students. | ||||||||||||||||
| 2. According to the author, by communicating with people who study liberal arts, engineering students can _______. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. become noble idealists B. broaden their knowledge C. find a better job in the future D. balance engineering and liberal arts | ||||||||||||||||
| 3. Which word below can replace the underlined word "reconcile"? | ||||||||||||||||
| A. confuse B. compare C. combine D. compete | ||||||||||||||||
| 4. The author suggests in this passage that _______. | ||||||||||||||||
| A. liberal-arts students are supported to take engineering courses B. technical experts with a wide vision are expected in the society C. successful engineering students are more welcomed in the society D. engineering universities with liberal-arts courses are needed | ||||||||||||||||
| 完形填空。 | ||||||||||||||||
| We live in a world where there is so much competition. Every single person has a(n) 1 to succeed and be the best at what they can. There are college basketball players 2 reaching the professional level and students trying their best to get an "A" on their math test. We meet businessmen that have 3 a lot of money. We all have a role 4 we look up to, or have looked up to at some point in life, whether it is a respected elder in our family, a trusted friend around us, or a(n) 5 person often appearing on TV screens or magazine covers. It is 6 having role models and looking up to people that 7 us. However, how often do you ask yourself, "why is he smarter than me?" or" How did this person achieve such a great 8 at such a young age?" I went to a great high school that was very 9 and demanding; I saw many very 10 student graduate and get into Ivy League a famous school. I also 11 when I got my math test papers back, I sometimes 12 why I never got consistent "A"s like the student sitting two seats away from me. However, what I 13 after entering college was that one should never 14 their skills or levels of success with other people"s. Every single person is 15 and we all have some sort of unique talent. If you are not good at 16 or want to improve a specific skill, you have to learn how to be patient and understand your 17 and try to overcome them. The 18 is you can all become an honor student if you want to or even improve your running skills. But you have to keep in 19 that understanding your weaknesses and strength is a very 20 step in the process. You have to learn how to look at yourself and set goals step by step so that you can track your improvement. | ||||||||||||||||
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