An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.

In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (發(fā)起）the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong kong.

In Chicago, the mayor(市長）appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.

The only problem arose in New York ,where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致）can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point ,putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.

Eventually，as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.

1.What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?

A.To invite authors to guide readers.           B.To encourage people to read and share.

C.To involve people in community service.  D.To promote the friendship between cities.

2.Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?

A.They had little interest in reading.         B.They were too busy to read a book.

C.They came from many different backgrounds D.They lacked support from the local government

3.According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?

A.In large communities with little sense of unity   B.In large cities where libraries are far from home

C.In medium-sized cities with a diverse population

D.In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached

4.The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean        .

A.exchanged ideas with each other           B.discussed the meaning of a word

C.gamed life experience                     D.used the same language

5.According to Nancy, the degree of success of the project is judged by        .

A. the careful selection of a proper book          B. the growing popularity of the writers

C. the number of people who benefit from reading    D. the number of books that each person reads

 

.

That little “a” with a circle curling around it that is found in E – mail addresses is most commonly referred to as the “at” symbol.

Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are dozens of strange terms to describe the "@" symbol.

Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the "@" symbol was used to represent the cost of something or how heavy something is. For instance, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples "@" $1.10 each.

With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the "@" symbol. The "@" symbol or the "at sign" separates a person's online user name from his mail server(服務器) address. For instance, joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on keyboards in other countries that have never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no official name for this symbol.

The actual origin of the symbol remains a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the tired hands of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages before the invention of printing machines, every letter of a word had to be copied with great efforts by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks that performed these long, boring coping duties looked for ways to reduce the number of individual strokes (筆畫) per word for common words. Although the word “at” is quite short to begin with, it was a common enough word in text and documents so that those monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten the word “at” even more. As a result, the monks changed the shape of “t” into a circle to surround “a”, thus leaving out two strokes in the spelling “t”. 

58．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．How “at” developed into @.   B．How @ came into being.

C．How monks invented @. D．How people wrote the cost of something.

59．Which is NOT the reason for the monks to spell “at” as @?

A．Though “at” is short, it was used very often.

B．The monks wanted to be quicker and easier with their copying.

C．The monks wanted to invent a new word.

D．Copying work was long and boring for them.

60．According to paragraph 5, which is TRUE about the symbol of @ today?

A．When you are online, you must use the @ symbol.

B．Kittly 163.com@is an email address.

C．In countries where @ is used, governments have given it an official name.

D．It is likely to find the @ symbol on computer keyboards worldwide.

 

The New York Times published an article recently that shows great regret for the "death of conversation"．It suggests that while technology such as cell phones, e-mails, and Internet posting makes us feel more  36  than ever, they’re also driving us  37  from people around us．

Users get final connectivity  38  the price of  39  face-to-face conversation. Sherry Turkle, author of the article in The New York Times says people are  40  to a different way of being “alone together”．

Actually ,  41  text messages or writing micro-blogs allows us to  42  thoughts.

 43  bits and pieces of online cannot  44  a “real conversation．” Lan Guo, 19, a freshman English major from Changsha University , said that she would like to hear people’s tone of voice and see their faces in a (n)  45 . “The give and take of ideas in a conversation sharpens our minds.” she said. She also mentions that  46  ourselves in mobile technology reduces our chance of starting conversations with strangers and  47  people．

Turkle mentioned the popular  48  of “I share, therefore I am ”among this generation. Liu Xuan, a young writer from Taiwan and psychology graduate from Harvard University, thinks it’s a mindset adopted by most young people. They are so busy creating or polishing their online persona (網(wǎng)絡人格)that they forget how to live a (n)  49  life. For example, They may  50  more about blogging about attending a party rather than enjoying being  51 .

 52 , experts remind us that it’s unfair to blame mobile technology . Chen Chen, a sociology expert at China Youth &Children Research Center, points out that it is still owners of gadgets , such as cell phones and tablets , who’re avoiding personal  53 . We take advantage of these devices to hide ourselves  54  others. Texting messages or calling may be a (n)  55  to avoid contact with others, such as having eye contact. “Only by strengthening conversation can we understand each other. Simply throwing away the mobile gadgets is not a solution.” she said．

1.A．received               B．shared               C．connected          D．respected

2.A．off                    B．back                 C．a(chǎn)way               D．down

3.A．beyond                 B．a(chǎn)t                   C．for                D．a(chǎn)bove

4.A．having                 B．risking              C．sacrificing        D．sharing

5.A．related                B．committed            C．devoted            D．a(chǎn)ccustomed

6.A．sending                B．getting              C．reading            D．taking

7.A．change                 B．exchange             C．deliver            D．raise

8.A．So                     B．And                  C．Or                 D．But

9.A．indicate               B．replace              C．cover              D．involve

10.A．conversation          B．computer             C．party              D．Internet

11.A．a(chǎn)bandoning            B．joining              C．burying            D．a(chǎn)ttaching

12.A．interviewing          B．introducing          C．knowing            D．meeting

13.A．feeling               B．concept              C．fact               D．truth

14.A．colorful              B．interesting          C．real               D．meaningful

15.A．worry                 B．care                 C．a(chǎn)sk                D．debate       

16.A．there                 B．out                  C．down               D．in

17.A．Therefore             B．Altogether           C．Instead            D．However

18.A．information           B．space                C．contact            D．management

19.A．from                  B．of                   C．behind             D．under

20.A．a(chǎn)pproach              B．source               C．result             D．excuse

 

  Arthur  Miller(1915-2005)is universally  recognized  as one of the greatest dramatists  of the 20^th  century. Miller`s father  had  moved to the USA from  Austria Hungary．Drawn like so many other by the“Great American  Dream”However, he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the  earlv l930s.

  Milles's most famous play, Death of a SaIesman, is a powerful attack on the American system.with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence on money and social status as indicators of worth. In Willy Loman, the hero of the play, we see a man who has got into double with his worth. Willy is “burnt out” and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sentiment : if he can't do the work, then he is no good to his employer, the Wagner Company, and he must go. Willy is painfully aware of this, and at loss as to what to do with his lack of sucess. He refuses to face the fact that he has failed and kills himself in the end.

    When it was first staged in 1949 ,the  play was greeted with enthusiastic revews,and it won the Tony Award for Best Play,the New York Drama Critics` Circle Award,and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.It was the first play to win all three of these major awards.

   Millerl died  of hear failure at his home in Roxbury,Connecticut,on the evening of February 10,2005,the 56th anniversary  of the first performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway.

1.

Why did Arthur Miller' s father move to the USA?

A. He suffered from severe hunger in his home country.

B. He was attracted by the "Great American Dream.

C. He hoped to make his son a dramatist.

D. His family business failed.

2.

The play Death of a Salesman

A. exposes the cruelty of the American business world

B. discusses the ways to get promoted in a company

C. talks about the business career of Arthur Miller

D. focuses on the skills in doing business

3.

What can we learn about Willy Loman?

A. He treats his employer badly.

B. He runs the Wagner Company.

C. He is a victim of the American system.

D. He is regarded as a hero by his colleagues.

4.

After it was first staged, Death of a Salesman

A. achieved huge success

B.won the first Tony Award

C. was warmly welcomed by salesmen

D. was severely attacked by dramatists

5.

What is the text mainly about?

A. Arthur Miller and his family.

B. The awards Arthur Miller won.

C. The hardship Arthur Miller experienced.

D.Arthur Miller and his best-known play.

 

Beijing has started a battle to get rid of "Chinglish" （Chinese English）．The "Language Mandarins" of Beijing have decided that Chinglish is a disease for China's modernizing claim and must be obliterated before the city hosts the Olympic Games in 2008．

    A road sign on the Avenue of Eternal Peace （Chang'an Street） ,for example, advises: "To Take Notice of Safe; The Slippery Are Very Crafty", a warning that the sidewalk was slippery（滑）．Another sign in a Beijing park reads: "Little grass is smiling slightly, please walk on sidewalk．"

    Li Honghai, the city official in charge of the battle, said," Linguistic perfection （語言美） is becoming increasingly important with the rise in the number of the foreigners flowing into the city．"

    However, not everyone shares the disdain （蔑視） of the Beijing government for the mixed language．"The choice of words is pretty much．One can either choose the verbs, adverbs, nouns or whatever one likes," explained one Hong Kong linguist on an Internet website．

    So many examples exist that several Internet sites have been set up to collect Chinglish phrases．Many come from English instructions on packages such as a candle marked with "Keep this candle out of children" and a model boat—curiously named Posh Sailboat—which means, "Please don't place it in dusty play．"

    If the battle against Chinglish is successful, Chinese will also turn their attention to the English-language versions of newspapers, which play an even more important role in teaching right English．

1.The underlined word "obliterated" refers to            ．

    A．removed          B．exploited        C．translated       D．beautified

2.From the passage, we know that           ．

    A．everyone shares the disdain for the mixed language

    B．Chinglish usually communicates in many cases

    C．a(chǎn)ll the people don't share the disdain for the mixed language

    D．several Internet sites have been set up to clear the Chinghsh phrases

3.We can infer that the English language versions of newspapers _____．

    A．should report the battle above

    B．should be paid more attention to

    C．should collect more Chingliah phrases

    D．should be in duty to teach normal English

4.Which of the following signs is Chinglish?