Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people don't know where they should go next.
The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teenagers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japans rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than their counterparts did in the ten other countries surveyed.
While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression." Those things that do not show up in the test scores, personality, ability, courage or humanity are completely ignored," says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's education committee." Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild." Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents of school violence, including 929 assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World WarⅡ had weakened the "Japanese morality of respect for parents."
But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles." In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro, "it’s never a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure." With economic growth becoming centralization, fully 76 percent of Japans, 119 million citizens live in cities where community and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two generation households. Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.
小題1: In the Westerners eyes, the postwar Japan was_____ .

A．under aimless development	B．a(chǎn) positive example
C．a(chǎn) rival to the West	D．on the decline

小題2:According to the author, what may chiefly be responsible for the moral decline of Japanese society?

A．Women's participation in social activities is limited.

B．More workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.

C．Excessive emphasis has been placed on the basics.

D．The life-style has been influenced by Western values.

小題3:Which of the following is true according to the author?

A．Japanese education is praised for helping the young climb the social ladder.

B．Japanese education is characterized by mechanical learning as well as creativity.

C．More stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity.

D．Dropping out leads to frustration against test taking.

小題4:The change in Japanese life-style is revealed in the fact that____.

A．the young are less tolerant of discomforts

B．the divorce rate in Japan exceeds that in the U.S.

C．the Japanese endure more than ever before

D．the Japanese appreciate their present life

In a US city, a woman parked her car in an attended lot. Hoping to get a discount on the cost of parking, she asked, “Do you give validation(批準(zhǔn))?”“Certainly,”replied the store's manager:“You are an excellent person and I love your hair.” That might be worth the cost of parking．I mean，who wouldn't pay a couple of dollars for this kind of validation?
Author Alan McGinIlis cites an interesting study about the power of positive encouragement．A second-grade teacher complained that her children were spending too much time standing up and roaming around the room rather than working．
Two psychologists observed the behavior of the children and the teacher. Every ten seconds they noted how many children were out of their seats. They counted 360 unseated children throughout each 20-minute period．They also noted that the teacher said "Sit down!" seven times during the same period．
The psychologists tried an experiment．They asked the teacher to tell the children to sit down more often. This time they noted that she commanded her students to sit down 27.5 times in an average 20-minute period, and now 540 were noted to be out of their seats during the same average period．Her increased scolding actually made the problem worse．
Then the experimenters tried a different task．They asked the teacher to quietly praise those children who were seated and working．At this time, children's roaming was decreased by 33％．They showed their best behavior when they were praised more and blamed less．
People who motivate others to take great action are almost always those who encourage more than criticize; who praise more and blame less.
Perhaps the woman's question is the correct one after all．"Do you give validation?" I hope I can always answer “YES”.
小題1:When parking her car in an attended lot, the woman ________.

A．made a very silly mistake	B．was laughed at by the manager
C．got great praise from the manager	D．failed to pay the cost of parking at last

小題2:The students in the study performed better mainly because_______.

A．they were motivated by the psychologists

B．they were inspired by the teacher's attitude

C．they regretted roaming around the classroom

D．they changed their relationship with the teacher

小題3: In the passage, the author thinks that_______.

A．it is better to blame others than to praise others

B．sometimes it's hard to receive praise from others

C．criticizing children does no good to their growth

D．we all know how to encourage others by praising

小題4: Why does the author talk about the study in the passage?

A．To show the power of encouragement.

B．To show how the teacher praises children.

C．To show his argument is scientifically based.

D．To show the teacher is a successful motivator.

小題5:What is the author's attitude towards giving validation?

A．Neutral

B．Negative

C．Positive

D．Reasonable

Scientific Progress
Most scientific progress is the result of careful consideration of work that has already been done. The wonderful world which lies before us today has been put up by hardworking men with clear heads and inventive mind, and these who follow them along life’s road will improve on their efforts. It is sometimes necessary to question and even to disbelieve some of the statements made by experts. Action or experiment can often end an argument or achieve a breakthrough.
When men were wondering whether it was possible to reach India by sailing westwards from Europe, and whether there was any land on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Christopher Columbus decides to act. He gathered some men, invited them to go on board his three ships, and set out across the dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He was successful in finding land, but it was not India. The result of his action was that the arguments came to the end.
Any young man who wishes to do research must be courageous enough to question old beliefs and do some original thinking about them. Although we seem to know so much, there are many things we don’t know. Even when we pull an atom to pieces, we do not really know what the pieces are, we often do not reach the reality behind what we discover, and the more we learn, the better we realize our ignorance.
小題1:Christopher Columbus decided to set out his trip because he wants to ________

A．travel round the world

B．bring words into action

C．discover the truth with action

D．bring the argument to an end

小題2:According to the passage, the more we learn _______

A．the more ignorance we will become

B．the more brilliant we are

C．the more confident we are of ourselves

D．the more we know about our ignorance

小題3:Our present wonderful world has been built up by _______

A．men who do not believe in others but themselves

B．those who work hard and dare to break way from old ideas

C．those who can make improvements on other people’s work

D．men who work extremely hard in following their teachers

小題4:Columbus succeeded in finding out that_______

A．the Atlantic was dangerous to get across

B．India was to the west of the Atlantic

C．There was land on the other side of the Atlantic

D．it was possible sail to India by crossing the Atlantic

Please help! I live in Germany with my wife and three kids. My parents live in the UK. I want my kids to have as much contact with their grandparents as possible. The kids all use e-mail, Skype and SMS but my parents won’t. I’ve bought them a laptop, paid for broadband, given them both mobile phones and a digital camera, but they won’t use them. My parents say they hate computers and new technology. What can I do with these “technophobes”?
Daniel, Buremburg, Germany
Actually, the original technophobes were the Luddites, a group of cloth workers in 19^th century Britain during the Industrial Revolution. The Luddite cloth workers, who traditionally made cloth by hand, were worried that machines were going to take away their jobs and way of life. These machines could make cloth much faster and cheaper than humans. In 1811 and 1812 the Luddites destroyed the machines that they hated so much, but the British government supported the factory owners. Many Luddites were arrested. Charlotte Bronte’s novel Shirley will tell your parents all about it.
Laura, Valencia, Spain
Laura makes some interesting points, I think. Technophobes has been a common theme in science fiction. Frankenstein, one of the first science fiction, is a warning of what could happen if humans began to experiment with human life.
Freda, Copenhagen, Denmark
One thing you could try is to find hardware that is designed for older people to use. An example is the mobiles made by the US company, Jitterbug. Instead of icons and menus the Jitterbug phones ask users simple “yes/no” questions and have larger keypads. The company realized that there are potentially 100 million older users in the US alone.
Graham, Patras, Greece
小題1:The underlined part “the technophobes” in the passage refers to ______.

A．those who are ready to try new technology

B．those who are addicted to the Internet

C．those who refuse to use modern technology

D．those who are devoted to inventing new things

小題2:Which of the following is TRUE of the Luddites?

A．They called themselves the technophobes.

B．They got full support from their factory owners.

C．They preferred to keep their traditional working methods.

D．They were killed by the government.

小題3:Who has put forward a practical and useful suggestions?

A．Laura.

B．Freda.

C．Daniel.

D．Graham.

小題4:The passage is probably taken from _____.

A．a(chǎn) personal blog	B．a(chǎn) letter between friends
C．a(chǎn) personal diary	D．a(chǎn) speech on new technology

小題5:What can we infer from the passage?

A．Daniel would buy her parents a novel written by Shirley.

B．Charlotte Bronte wrote about technophobes in her novel Shirley.

C．Daniel would buy her parents cell phones with icons and menus.

D．Daniel worried about her children using e-mails.

When middle-aged Alex gave up his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell surely whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test-even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadow land （虛幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a fulltime writer．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly.
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （堅(jiān)毅） it takes to stay the course (堅(jiān)持到底)in the shadow land．
小題1:Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn't like the working conditions．

B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living．

C．Because he felt he had no potential in his job．

D．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer．

小題2:What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A．He refused the job offer．

B．He was willing to give them a hand．

C．He expected them to pay him more money．

D．He would write in his spare time．

小題3:What kind of person is Alex?

A．Determined．

B．Modest．

C．Shy．

D．Brave．

小題4:Which of the following can be the best title of the passage ?

A．Look before you leap．	B．Two heads are better, than one．
C．Hold on to your dream, and it will come true．	D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush．

Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. "Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” Fill up with Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!"
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless （魯莽的） or daring, the ride can be as thrilling （驚心動(dòng)魄的） as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the rightor the lefthand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the armrests even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at no more ways to sit.
小題1:According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?

A．Buses on the road.	B．Films on television.
C．Advertisements on the billboards.	D．Gas stations.

小題2:What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips.

B．To persuade you to take a long bus trip.

C．To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.

D．To describe the billboards along the road.

小題3:The writer of this passage would probably favor        .

A．bus drivers who aren’t reckless	B．driving alone
C．a(chǎn) television set on the bus	D．no billboards along the road

小題4:The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because          .

A．the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun

B．they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between

C．the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses

D．both traveling and watching TV are not exciting.

小題5:The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are .

A．exciting

B．comfortable

C．tiring

D．boring

The iPhone, the iPad, the iPod : each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (時(shí)尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” — and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer — which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet — adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear — popular in the US and UK — that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper came out last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.
Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it is no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i” . Why not use “a”, “b” or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPad, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition ,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (輕便).” adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “Twitter”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, fads come and go. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably（不可避免地）disappeared.
小題1:People use iPlayer to ____________.

A．listen to music

B．make a call

C．watch TV programs online

D．read newspapers

小題2:We can infer that the Independent’s “ i ” is aimed at _____________.

A．young readers

B．old readers

C．fashionable women

D．engineers

小題3: Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products that are ______________.

A．a(chǎn)dvanced

B．portable

C．recyclable

D．environmentally friendly

小題4:The author of the passage would probably agree that _______________.

A．“i” products are often of high quality	B．a(chǎn)ll “i” products have something to do with Internet
C．the popularity of “i” products may not last long	D．iTeddy is a live bear

完型填空（共20小題；每小題1.5分，滿分30分）
閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從36—55各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。
It’s Saturday morning. Tony’s sitting at the kitchen table,   36   with a piece of bread. He’s not even   37 . Is he ill? No, but he does have a   38 . He has nothing to do because the Internet is down. When he  39  up this morning, Tony was feeling  40 . He jumped out of bed full of plans for the weekend  41 . It would be a weekend like any other --- a great weekend. But that was  42  he turned on his computer and  43  he was unable to go online. Having no Internet changes everything.
Every weekend, Tony   44  goes online to email friends, read the  45  to keep up with what’s happening in the world and  46  a few online chess games with his cousin Helen to finish the weekend off. The perfect weekend --- online!
Just as Tony is  47  how he can possibly have a normal weekend without the Internet, his mum walks into the  48 . “Cheer up, Tony. Don’t  49  the Internet any more, OK?” Tony makes no   50  but sighs (嘆氣). “Go and play chess with Helen!” Tony’s mum  51 .
“Oh, yes! Helen lives just around the  52 . We can meet and play chess face to face for a  53 . Maybe this weekend won’t be so bad,” Tony   54  , as he walks to the phone. There is  55  without the Internet after all.

小題1:	A．cutting B．playing C．eating D．thinking

小題2:	A．hungry B．generous C．equal D．confident

小題3:	A．lifestyle B．problem C．pressure D．tradition

小題4:	A．dialled B．rang C．stood D．woke

小題5:	A．great B．peaceful C．urgent D．unusual

小題6:	A．a(chǎn)round B．a(chǎn)bove C．a(chǎn)head D．a(chǎn)way

小題7:	A．a(chǎn)fter B．before C．until D．when

小題8:	A．thought B．guessed C．surprised D．found

小題9:	A．usually B．nearly C．especially D．a(chǎn)lready

小題10:

A．disasters B．news C．reports D．documents

小題11:

A．a(chǎn)dmire B．explore C．play D．involve

小題12:

A．suffering B．wondering C．realizing D．supposing

小題13:

A．living-room B．hall C．kitchen D．study

小題14:

A．talk about B．care about C．think about D．look about

小題15:

A．a(chǎn)nswer B．progress C．movement D．choice

小題16:

A．requests B．cries C．solves D．suggests

小題17:

A．edge B．distance C．corner D．end

小題18:

A．challenge B．champion C．ceremony D．change

小題19:

A．promotes B．smiles C．reacts D．continues

小題20:

A．study B．task C．weekend D．life

The girl looking for the job turned out to be excellent but she ended up giving her employer a headache when it also turned out that she used an unreal diploma(文憑).
In December, a Civil Administration Bureau in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, an­nounced that it needed five new staff members. Some 120 people applied and took the exam. Ap­plicants were required to show proof of a college degree at least.
Mei Jing beat everyone in the test and the interview. When a follow-up check was done, however, her education certificate(證書) was discovered to be an unreal one.
This was a bit of an embarrassment for the employers. A dilemma, one might say. If she were hired because of her excellent performance, she still wouldn't have the qualifications on pa­per. But, if she were dropped because she didn't meet the education requirements, they would lose a good worker. Tough problem!
While Mei's future hangs in the balance, the public having learned of the case got involved. Some people said the Bureau should employ her, since results are the only important thing. “After all, ability is more important than a diploma, ”said one office worker.
Others, however, have attacked Mei's dishonesty. They said that morality was, after all, more important than talent, especially in the case of a government position. Mei wasn't honest, so she shouldn't be hired.
But, Shen Ronghua, the head of the Shanghai Public Administration and Human Resources Institute, tries to be a bit more philosophical.
“There is still a sort of  'diploma means this'  prejudice among people,” Shen explains, “Many employers regard a diploma as the only sign of ability and talent.”
So, with this in mind, people may pay little attention to whether someone has real ability or not. They turn to chasing a diploma instead. The unreal diploma is the natural product of this thought.
The conclusion? "China needs a new human resource system. The new system will not define a person only by his or her diploma, " Shen says.
小題1:What's the meaning of the underlined word “dilemma” in Paragraph Four?

A．A problem easy to deal with or solve.

B．A situation in which it is difficult for you to make the decision.

C．A difference in two or more statements, ideas, or stories.

D．Something said or done that is funny.

小題2:What can we infer from this news report?

A．The Civil Administration Bureau of Wuhan employed the girl.

B．The girl was not employed because of dishonesty.

C．It remained to be seen whether the girl was to be employed or not.

D．Another Human Resource Institute employed the girl.

小題3:What does Shen Ronghua mean by saying “diploma means this”?

A．A diploma can tell whether a person is honest or not.

B．A diploma is the only sign of ability and talent.

C．A diploma is what you get after you finish a course.

D．A diploma means a job.

小題4: Which of the following do you think is the best title of this news report?

A．A Girl's Unlucky Experience.	B．Unreal Diploma.
C．Dishonesty Has Been Attacked.	D．Can A Diploma Be All There Is.

Photos that you might have found down the back of your sofa are now big business!
In 2005, the American artist Richard Prince’s photograph of a photograph, entitled (Cowboy), was sold for $ 1, 248, 000.
Prince is certainly not the only contemporary artist to have worked with so-called “found photographs”—a loose term given to everything from discarded(丟棄的) prints discovered in a junk shop to old advertisements or amateur photographs from a stranger’s family album. The German artist Joachim Schmid, who believes “basically everything is worth looking at”, has gathered discarded photographs, postcards and newspaper images since 1982. In his on-going project, Archiv, he groups photographs of family life according to themes: people with dogs; teams; new cars; dinner with the family; and so on.
Like Schmid, the editors of several self-published art magazines also champion (捍衛(wèi)) found photographs. One of them, called simply Found, was born one snowy night in Chicago, when Davy Rothbard returned to his car to find under his wiper(雨刷) an angry note intended for someone else: “Why’s your car HERE at HER place?” The note became the starting point for Rothbard’s addictive publication, which features found photographs sent in by readers, such as a poster discovered in your drawer.
The whole found-photograph phenomenon has raised some questions. Perhaps one of the most difficult is: can these images really be considered as art? And if so, whose art? Yet found photographs produced by artists, such as Richard Prince, may raise endless possibilities. What was the cowboy in Prince’s Untitled doing? Was he riding his horse hurriedly to meet someone? Or how did Prince create this photograph? It’s anyone’s guess. In addition, as we imagine the back-story to the people in the found photographs artists, like Schmid, have collated (整理), we also turn toward our own photographic albums. Why is memory so important to us? Why do we all seek to freeze in time the faces of our children, our parents, our lovers, and ourselves? Will they mean anything to anyone after we’ve gone?
In the absence of established facts, the vast collections of found photographs give our minds an opportunity to wander freely. That, above all, is why they are so fascinating.
小題1:The first paragraph of the passage is used to _________.

A．remind readers of found photographs

B．a(chǎn)dvise reader to start a new kind of business

C．a(chǎn)sk readers to find photographs behind sofa

D．show readers the value of found photographs

小題2:The underlined word “them” in Para 4 refers to __________.

A．the readers	B．the editors
C．the found photographs	D．the self-published magazines

小題3:By asking a series of questions in Para 5, the author mainly intends to indicate that ________.

A．memory of the past is very important to people

B．found photographs allow people to think freely

C．the back-story of found photographs is puzzling

D．the real value of found photographs is questionable

小題4:The author’s attitude towards found photographs can be described as _________.

A．critical

B．doubtful

C．optimistic

D．satisfied