Great literary works do not fade with time. Shakespeare’s plays, for example, have been read again and again by generation after generation; they have also been adapted for the big screen and shown at places other than the theater. Great literature also knows no language boundaries.  For example, Chinese classical novels like The Dream of the Red Chamber and Journey of the Monkey have been widely read not only by Chinese but also by sinologists, people who study Chinese culture, from many language backgrounds.
People read literature to enjoy great writers’ ways with words and their humor. In the English language world, William Somerest Maugham is a novelist who is good at irony, i.e., saying the opposite of what is meant, to create humor. Another reason why Maugham’s novels are well-loved is that he never fails to provide a surprise ending to amuse his readers. 
When readers become involved with what they are reading, they may behave as if they have traveled through time to live with the characters in the story. Readers of Maugham’s short story, The Luncheon, may often stop and wonder about how the main character is so easily fooled when hehas lunch with a woman he met once in Paris. They may also grow to love or hate this woman in the course of their reading.
Literary works often provide room for different interpretations. For example, poetry, because of its succinct use of words, can often be interpreted in a number of different ways. Short plays, on the other hand, contain more elaborate descriptions of the setting and the moods of the characters, not to mention the stage directions. However, almost all literary works make use of symbols to suggest ideas indirectly. Because symbols can carry different meanings in different cultures, one person’s interpretation of a symbol can be very different from another person’s. 
Great literature is not bound by time or language barriers. It will continue to speak to generations of people.
小題1:In Paragraph 3, whom does “he” refer to?

A．The author.

B．The reader.

C．The main character.

D．Somerest Maugham.

小題2:What would be the best title for this article?

A．The Many Languages of Literature	B．Great Literature Has No Barriers
C．Great Literature Has Time	D．The Irony of Literature

小題3:According to the passage, all the following things may draw readers’ attention EXCEPT______

A．language backgrounds	B．humorous words
C．surprising endings	D．the use of symbols

The Japanese government has launched(發(fā)起)a campaign encouraging people to go to bed and get up extra early in order to reduce household carbon dioxide emissions(二氧化碳排放).
The Morning Challenge campaign，put forward by the Environment Ministry, is based on the idea that swapping late night electricity for an extra hour of morning sunlight could greatly cut the nation’s carbon footprint．
A typical family can reduce its carbon dioxide footprint by 85 kg a year if everyone goes to bed and gets up one hour earlier，according to the campaign．The amount of carbon dioxide emissions potentially saved from going to bed an hour early was equal to 20 percent of annual emissions from household lights，“Many Japanese people waste electric power at night time，for example by watching TV until very late,”a ministry spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.“But going to bed early and getting up early can avoid wasting electrical power which causes carbon dioxide emissions.” The campaign also proposes that people take advantage of an extra hour of morning sunlight by improving their lifestyles in general by running, doing yoga and eating a nutritious breakfast.
It is the latest action dealing with climate change by the Japanese environment ministry，which is faced with the challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels within the next decade．
It was the same government department that launched the Cool Business campaign five years ago, which encouraged workers to wear short—sleeved shirts and offices not to turn air conditioning lower than 28 degrees during the summer.
小題1:. Why are Japanese encouraged to go to bed and get up early?

A．Because it is of great benefit to their health．
B．Because Japan is a country without enough electricity.
C．Because it can give off less carbon dioxide．	D．Because it is a good habit．

小題2:.. The underlined word“swapping” means___________.

A．comparing

B．exchanging

C．turning

D．competing

小題3:.. In general，a Japanese family gives off _________of carbon dioxide every year.

A．85 kg

B．170 kg

C．425 kg

D．850 kg

小題4:. We can draw a conclusion that_________.

A．People can save energy and reduce emissions by changing their lifestyle

B．Japanese often don’t have nutritious breakfast

C．Japanese prefer to wear short—sleeved shirts in summer

D．Yoga is very popular with the old Japanese

小題5:.. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The Japanese government has launched the Cool Business campaign．

B．What can we do to cut carbon emissions?

C．Change your lifestyle and you can become healthy．

D．Japanese are encouraged to go to bed an hour early to cut carbon emissions．

The whole world was talking about Octopus(章魚)Paul Allen since it had a 100％correct prediction record of the matches，including Germany in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2010.The question was whether there be a prediction of the grand final, since it did not include Germany.
The answer to that much awaited question is yes. Celebrity Octopus Paul Allen does have a winner. It has picked Spain over Holland to lift the wishful prize. In a live television show all over Europe, Paul picked out a mussel(蚌)from the tank with the Spanish flag, ignoring the tank that had the Dutch flag. This means the prediction is that Spain will be FIFA World Cup 2010 champion．Regarding the place 3 and 4 playoff, Octopus Paul A11en has predicted that Germany will beat Uruguay to take the 3 rd place, which was right.
Octopus Paul Allen has become a worldwide celebrity after it has predicted with 100％ accuracy all of Germany’s World Cup games’ outcomes. It even stopped critics and experts when it correctly predicted a Serbia win over the strong Germans. Much to the sorrow of German fans，it also rightly predicted Spain having an advantage over Germany in the semifinals. And when this came true，there were many calls from angry and sad Germans fans to kill and eat it．Now let’s wait and see if this final prediction by Octopus Paul Allen comes true and its 100％accuracy record stays the same．It goes without saying. Spain will be smiling, at least right now!
小題1: Octopus Paul Allen became a hot topic because__________.

A．it predicted records of FIFA World Cup 2010 matches correctly

B．it was the mascot of FIFA World Cup 2010

C．it took part in the game with Germany and other teams

D．it lent a helping hand to Germany to win the game

小題2: From the second paragraph we know that the third place in FIFA World Cup 2010 was______.

A．Spain

B．Holland

C．Germany

D．Uruguay

小題3:. According to the passage, when this news is released,_______.

A．FIFA World Cup 2010 has come to an end

B．Spain has already beaten Germany in the semifinals

C．Spain has already won the World Cup 2010 champion

D．the sad German fans have killed Octopus Paul Allen

小題4:. By saying “It goes without saying”, the writer means_______.

A．Spain will be FIFA World Cup 2010 champion

B．Octopus Paul Allen won’t predict anything in the future

C．Octopus Paul Allen will surely leave

D．everything goes on well

Just 25 years ago, the top three career hopes for young people in Britain were teacher, banker and doctor. Now, they want to be sports star, pop star and actor, according to a survey by the Guardian newspaper.
Rachel, a character in the popular TV show Glee, may be said to speak for British teenagers. “Nowadays being nobody is worse than being poor.” He said.
Emma Brockes, a reporter with the Guardian, believes it is “the bad influence of celebrity(名人) culture”  that is to blame. “When children wanted to be doctor, it wasn’t because they were really more interested in the functions of human organs than they are now; you go where the respect is.” She wrote.
It could explain why there has been such an increase in levels of anxiety and depression. Dr Carlo Stranger, of Tel Aviv University, studied the sense of self for his new book The Fear of Insignificance: Searching for Meaning in the 21^st Century. He told the Daily Mail that young people now are “affected by the close connection to the global entertainment network, which has turned ranking and rating people according to wealth and celebrity into an obsession(癡迷).”
“As humans, we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a global village. We are comparing ourselves with the most ‘important’ people in the world and finding ourselves wanting…” he said. Today, even high achievers constantly fear that they are insignificant when they compare themselves to success stories in the media.
The way out? Simply stop measuring your achievement through a fantasy of wealth and celebrity. Dr Strenger said that it is a process called “active self-acceptance through a constant search for self-knowledge through life.”
“The fear of insignificance can only be overcome through strong individual and cultural identity over and above measurable achievement,” he said.
小題1:.Nowadays, young people in Britain want to        .

A．choose jobs based on interests	B．become famous
C．be teacher, banker and doctor	D．earn more money

小題2:.．According to Emma Brockes, what causes the increasing level of anxiety?

A．Choices of future careers.	B．Access to the global network.
C．Bad influences of celebrities.	D．Endless comparison with others.

小題3:.．Which of the following is true of Dr Carlo Strenger?

A．He is a newspaper reporter.	B．He is the spokesman of teenagers.
C．He tells success stories on TV.	D．He is against ranking people with wealth.

小題4:.．Dr Carlo Strenger suggests that young people should        .

A．seek active self-acceptance	B．stick to their own dreams
C．make great achievements	D．search for the secret of wealth

小題5:.The text is mainly written to        .

A．talk about job choices	B．a(chǎn)nalyse a social phenomenon
C．encourage celebrity culture	D．introduce three famous people

The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一時(shí)的風(fēng)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 was launched last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes(前綴) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came to use..
Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s 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 iPod, 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 “blog”, 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, people grow tired of fads. 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 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:. The underlined word “ambiguous” means         .

A．popular

B．uncertain

C．definite

D．unique

(   )小題4:. Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are         .

A．portable

B．environmentally friendly

C．a(chǎn)dvanced

D．recyclable

(   ) 小題5:.. The writer suggests that         .

A．“i” products are often of a high quality

B．the popularity of “i” products may not last long

C．the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products

D．iTeddy is a live bear

In Daniel Gilbert’s 2006 book "Stumbling(跌撞) on Happiness," the Harvard professor of psychology looks at several studies and concludes that marital(婚姻的) satisfaction decreases after the birth of the first child and increases only when the last child has left home. He also declares that parents are happier grocery shopping and even sleeping than spending time with their kids.
The most recent comprehensive study on the emotional state of those with kids shows us that the term "bundle of joy" may not be the most accurate way to describe our kids. "Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers," says Florida State University’s Robin Simon, a sociology professor.
Simon received plenty of hate mail in response to her research，which isn’t surprising. Her findings shake the very foundation of what we’ve been raised to believe is true. In a recent NEWSWEEK Poll, 50 percent of Americans said that adding new children to the family tends to increase happiness levels. But which parent is willing to admit that the greatest gift life has to offer has in fact made his or her life less enjoyable?
Is it possible that American parents have always been this disillusioned(有幻覺(jué)的)? In pre-industrial America, parents certainly loved their children, but their kids also served a purpose—to work the farm, contribute to the household. Today, we have kids more for emotional reasons, but an increasingly complicated work and social environment has made finding satisfaction far more difficult. Raising children has not only become more complicated, it has become more expensive as well. The National Marriage Project’s 2006 report says that parents have significantly lower marital satisfaction than nonparents because they experienced more single and child-free years than previous generations.
As for those of us with kids, all the news isn’t bad. Parents still report feeling a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their lives than those who’ve never had kids. And there are other rewarding aspects of parenting that are impossible to quantify.
小題1:.
What’s the main idea of the book Stumbling on Happiness?

A．Parents are happier shopping than looking after their children.

B．Once they have children, the couples can never be as happy as before.

C．Compared with their childless peers, parents are leading a sad life.

D．The adding of children at home brings down marital satisfaction.

小題2:.
. What can we infer from Para.3?

A．The Newsweek Poll shows that people think Prof. Simon’s finding is right.

B．Many people can’t accept the fact that they are not happy with their children.

C．It isn’t surprising that Professor Simon’s controversial research made her famous.

D．Simon’s findings are based on the belief passed down from generation to generation.

小題3:.
What can we learn about American’s families in the past?

A．People had very good parents-children relationship in the family.

B．Having children could be partly out of some practical purposes.

C．Parents loved their children but they still asked them to work a lot.

D．Children had to work very hard to make their parents love them.

小題4:.
What’s the author’s opinion about having children?

A．The author doesn’t think having children is a good thing to the family.

B．The author feels children make the life of a family happy.

C．The author thinks parenting can still be rewarding in a certain way.

D．The author believes that parents sacrifice a lot for having children.

What’s your dream vacation? Watching wildlife in Kenya? Boating down the Amazon? Sunbathing in Malaysia? New chances are opening up all the time to explore the world. So we visit travel agents, compare packages and prices, and pay our money.
We know what our vacation costs us. But do we know what it might cost someone else? It’s true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income. Unfortunately, though, tourism often harms the local people more than it helps them.
It might cost their homes and lands. In Myanmar, 5,200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas（佛塔）in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas.
Tourism might also cost the local people their livelihood and dignity. Local workers often find only menial（卑微的）jobs in the tourist industry. And most of the profits do not help the local economy. Instead, profits return to the tour operators in wealthier countries. When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven from their lands, some moved to city slums. Others now make a little money selling souvenirs or posing for photos.
Problems like these were observed more than 20 years ago. But now some non-government organizations, tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them. Tourists, too, are putting on the pressure.
The result is responsible tourism, or“ethical tourism.”Ethical tourism has people at its heart. New international agreements and codes of conduct can help protect the people’s lands, homes, economies and cultures. The beginnings are small, though, and the problems are complex.
But take heart. The good news is that everyone, including us, can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit. Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn reasonable wages.
They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotels, restaurants and guide services. They can share profits fairly to help the local economy. And they can involve the local people in planning and managing tourism.
What can tourists do? First, we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local citizens. We can then make our choices and tell them why. And while we’re abroad, we can:
★Buy local foods and products, not imported ones.
★Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price.
★Avoid flaunting(炫耀) wealth.
★Ask before taking photographs of people. They are not just part of the landscape! Let’s enjoy our vacation and make sure others do, too.
小題1:.
．What is probably the best title for the article?

A．Tourism Causes Bad Effects	B．Tourism Calls for Good Behavior
C．Vacations Bring a Lot of Fun	D．Vacations Cost More Than You Think

小題2:.
The underlined phrase“take heart”means“     ”.

A．pay attention

B．take care

C．cheer up

D．calm down

小題3:.
According to the passage, the writer thinks     .

A．tourism is not a promising industry.

B．dream vacations should be spent abroad

C．the problems caused by tourism are easy to settle.

D．tourists should respect local customs and culture

If you know exactly what you want, the best way to get a job is to get specialized training. A recent survey shows that companies like graduates in such fields as business and health care who can go to work immediately with very little on-the-job training. 
That’s especially true of booming fields that are challenging for workers. At Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, for example, bachelor’s degree graduates get an average of four or five job offers with salaries ranging from the high teens to the low 20s and plenty of chances for rapid advancement. Large companies, especially, like a background of formal education coupled with work experience. But in the long run, too much specialization doesn’t pay off. Business, which has been flooded with MBAs, no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval. The MBA may open doors and command a higher salary initially, but the effect of a degree washes out after five years.
As further evidence of companies gradually losing faith in specialized degrees, Michigan State’s Scheetz mentions a pattern in hiring practices. Although companies tend to take on specialists as new hires, they often seek out generalists for middle and upper-level management.  “They want someone who isn’t constrained（限制）by details to look at the big picture,” says  Scheetz. This sounds like a formal statement that you approve of the liberal-arts （文科）graduates. Time and again labor-market analysts mention a need for talents that liberal-arts majors are assumed to have: writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adaptability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems. David Birch, manager of the Boston Red Sox, claims he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree, “I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things,” says Birch.
For a liberal-arts degree, students focus on some basic courses that include literature, history, mathematics, economics, science, human behavior—plus a computer course or two. With these useful and important courses, you can feel free to specialize, “A liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training is a very good combination in the marketplace,” says Scheetz. 
小題1:
What kinds of people are in high demand on the job market?

A．Students with a bachelor’s degree in humanities.

B．People with an MBA degree from top universities.

C．People with formal schooling plus work experience.

D．People with special training in engineering

小題2:
By saying “…but the effect of a degree washes out after five years”(Para 2), the author means     . 

A．most MBA programs fail to provide students with a solid foundation

B．a(chǎn)n MBA degree does not help in the future promotion

C．MBA programs will not be as popular in five years’ time as they are now

D．people will not forget about the degree the MBA graduates have got

小題3:
According to Scheetz’s statement ( Para. 3), companies prefer people who     . 

A．have a strategic mind	B．a(chǎn)re talented in fine arts
C．a(chǎn)re ambitious and aggressive	D．have received training in mechanics

小題4:
David Birch claims that he only hires liberal-arts people because they     . 

A．a(chǎn)re more capable of handling changing situations

B．can stick to established ways of solving problems

C．a(chǎn)re thoroughly trained in a variety of specialized fields

D．have attended special programs in management

小題5:
Which of the following statements does the author support?

A．Specialists are more expensive to hire than generalists.

B．Formal schooling is less important than job training.

C．On-the-job training is, in the long run, less costly.

D．Generalists will do better than specialists in management.

Roslyn Hing School on long Island recently started a pilot program using iPads in some classrooms.
A growing number of schools across the U.S.are multimedia,history through gamse and math with step-by -step animation(動(dòng)畫）of complex problems.
As part of a pilot program,Roslyn High School handed out 47 iPads on Dec.20,2010 to the students and teachers in two humanities(人文學(xué)科）classes. The school district hopes to provide iPads eventually to all 1,100 of its students.
The iPads are to be used in class and at hom during the school year to replace texbooks,allow students to correspond with teachers and tum in papers and homework tasks,and preserve a rocord of student work in digital files.
“It allows us to extend the classes beyond these four walls.”said larry Reiff,an English teacher at Roslyn who now posts all his course mateials online.
But educators are still divided over whether practices to give every student a laptop have made a difference academically.
“Thre is very little evidence that kids learn more,faster of better by using these machines,”said Larry Cuban,a retried professor of eduction at Staford University.“IPads are excellent tools to attract kids,but then the fieshness wears off and you eget int hard-core problems of teaching and learning.”
But school leaders say the iPad is not just a cool new toy but rather a powerful and multifunctional tool with a number of applications,including thousands with educational uses.
“If there isn't an application that does something I need ,there will be sooner or later,”said Mr.Reiff,who said he now used an application that includes all of Shakespare's plays.
小題1:The program of using iPads in class is            .

A．widely accepted by most schools in the United States

B．only an experimental one carried out in some schools

C．a(chǎn) compulsory one carried out by the U.S government

D．encouraged and organized by the iPad company

小題2:The underlined part “these four walls”in paragraph 5 refers to    .

A．school dormitory	B．school campus
C．teacher's office	D．school classroom

小題3:We can use iPads to do the following at school except     .

A．replace the school textbooks	B．keep digital record of homework
C．judge the teachers'teaching	D．communicate with teachers

小題4:The school leaders tink highly of the iPad mainly because it is       .

A．cool and interesting	B．powerful and helpful
C．multifunctional and expensive	D．a(chǎn)ttractive and vivid

小題5:We can infer from the passage that     .

A．most old teachers are against the pilot program

B．students have achieved a lot after using iPads

C．teaching will become less important with the help of ipads

D．iPads will be used is more and more schools in the US

There is that great idea that in an information and knowledge based economy, the most important thing for companies is attracting and holding outstanding talented guys．Obviously I will not say that is not important, but in my opinion a successful and groundbreaking company cannot be built just from the collection of high talented people, as a great sports team can't be constructed only by the collection of great players．
It is more important to build teams of people that achieve the goals according to the company's organizational vision．It is necessary to create organizations where everybody （with outstanding talent or not） can develop their best personal capabilities and that these capacities are addressed to achieve the corporate goals and mission．The company efforts must be addressed to design an organizational system that produces and uses talent from everyone in the company．
Trying to get the best from our people through corporate team building policies, establishing a concrete corporate culture and values, making our company a place where people want to work because it is a good place to stay and develop their capacities, is the best way to compete in the knowledge economy．That will keep us out of the obligation to constantly seek for the "best players" and entering in the retribution auctions（拍賣）．
We have to take into account that, nowadays, the real talented and creative people, like to work or engage themselves in projects where they can develop their capacities, they can be involved in the organizational goals and vision, and where they are treated with respect and dignity．Definitively, they want to be happy doing their jobs．And we have to build organizations where they can find that．
小題1:
．The underlined word that in Paragraph 1 refers to ________．

A．information and knowledge	B．the great idea
C．the collection of talented people	D．a(chǎn)ttracting and holding talented people

小題2:
．In the author’s opinion, a good company should consist of ________．

A．only outstanding people	B．both talented and common people
C．only common people	D．more talented people than common people

小題3:
The most important thing a successful company should do is ________．

A．constantly seek for talented people

B．employ people with different abilities

C．make the company a place where employees are glad to devote themselves to work

D．make the company a place where employees can get the best pay and great respect

小題4:
According to Paragraph 3, the company can get the best from its employees in the following ways EXCEPT ________．

A．making corporate team building rules

B．forming corporate culture and values

C．encouraging them to develop their abilities

D．competing in the knowledge economy