Well, parents, surprise! Lots of us are using Twitter and Facebook to thumb rides, and not just to school. It’s awkward to be refused when you call a friend and ask for a ride. But with Twitter, you just look for other people heading the same way.
It may sound risky, so many teens stay within their own social circles to find rides, and don’t branch out beyond friends when asking on Twitter just like me, but to some young people, especially those taking longer trips, stranger danger is less of a concern.
“I think the digital connection of young people is really key, because younger generations grew up sharing things on line, sharing files, photos, music, etc, so they’ve been very used to sharing,” said Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College.
The sharing economy got big during the recession (經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退), allowing people to access more goods, services using technology and even to share costs. And that technology, for me, is what the car was for my mom, a gateway to more freedom, like what my friend Earl says, “The symbol of freedom isn’t the car any more because there’s technology out there connecting you to a car.”
According to the researchers at the University of Michigan, 30 years ago, eight in ten American 18-year-olds had a driver’s license compared to six in ten today. So it’s not that surprising that on my 16th birthday I wasn’t rushing to get a license but an iPhone.
“Driving, for young people, does mean they have to disconnect from their technology, and that’s a negative. So if they could sit in the passage side and still be connected, that’s going to be a plus.” Schor continued.
To me, another plus is that ridesharing represents something, something much bigger than trying to save money. I see it as evidence that people still depend on each other. My generation shares their cars and apartments the way neighbors used to share cups of sugar. For the system to work, some of us still need our own cars. But until I get my own version of the silver Super Beetle, you can find me on Twitter.
小題1:The American teens like me, prefer to possess an iPhone as a birthday gift because _______.

A．it is most fashionable and cool

B．they are bored with driving cars

C．they are fond of being connected

D．it is much cheaper than a car

小題2:We can learn from the text that _______.

A．Twitter is a website for teens to make friends and achieve goals

B．ridesharing can be seen as a sign that people still count on each other

C．driving cars for teens means a plus and connecting with technology

D．having a car and cost-sharing symbolize more freedom for the author’s mother

小題3:Professor Juliet would agree that _______.

A．young people will sit waiting to be contacted by reading a passage

B．sharing economy is bound to be responsible for the recession

C．young people tend to share a car with strangers by means of Twitter

D．being connected via technology comes first for young people

小題4:The best title for the passage is probably _______.

A．Twitter, an Awesome Website	B．Cars or iPhone
C．Teens Use Twitter to Thumb Rides	D．Cool Teens on the Go

Love is a telephone which always keeps silent when you are longing for a call, but rings when you are not ready for it. As a result, we often miss the sweetness from the other end.
Love is a telephone which is seldom program-controlled or directly dialed. You cannot get an immediate answer by a mere "hello", let alone go deep into your lover's heart by one call. Usually it had to be relayed by an operator, and you have to be patient in waiting. Destiny(命運(yùn)) is the operator of this phone, who is always irresponsible and fond of playing practical jokes to which she may make you a lifelong victim intentionally or unintentionally.
Love is a telephone which is always busy, When you are ready to die for love, you only find, to your disappointment, the line is already occupied by someone else, and you are greeted only by a busy line. This is an eternal regret handed down from generation to generation and you are only one of those who languish for（因…受煎熬） followers.
Love is telephone, but it is difficult to seize the center time for dialing, and you will let the opportunity slip if your call is either too early or too late.
Love is a telephone which is not always associated with happiness. Honeyed words are transmitted by sound waves, but when the lovers are brought together, the phone serves no purpose that many lovers observe that marriage is the doom of love.
Love is a telephone which, when you use it for the first time, makes you so nervous and excited that you either hold the receiver upside down or dial the wrong number. By the time you've calmed down, you will beat a loss to whom you should make the call.
Love is a telephone which often has crossed lines. And this usually happens to you unexpectedly. Your time will either cross or be crossed. Both cases are referred to as "triangle". Fortunately, all such occurrences are transient(轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝的).
小題1:What is the best title of the passage?

A．Love is transient

B．Love is permanent

C．Love is a telephone

D．What’s love in life

小題2:Which statement has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?  

A．"all shall be well，Jack shall have Jill�！埃ㄓ星槿私K成眷屬）

B．A lifelong love is not only romantic but also practical

C．Love is all we have in life

D．Beauty is in the eyes of beholder

小題3:Which is the synonym with the underlined word ”doom”?

A．monument

B．final end

C．key point

D．substitute

小題4:In which part can this passage probably be found ?

A．a(chǎn)dvertisement

B．financial

C．emotion

D．lottery

People in cities all over the world shop in supermarkets. Who decides what you buy in the supermarket? Do you decide? Does the supermarket decide?
When you enter the supermarket, you see shelves full of food. You walk in the aisles (走道) between the shelves. You push a shopping cart and put your food in it.
You probably hear soft, slow music as you walk along the aisles. This may be an attempt to please you, so you will enjoy shopping. Some supermarkets want to increase their profits by playing soft and slow music, because the slow music makes you walk slowly and you have more time to buy things.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually put near the entrance. When you arrive at the supermarket, you think about the kinds of fruit and vegetables you need first. Once you’ve got that out of the way, you can relax and do the rest of the shopping without any hurry. Besides, if you see fresh goods first, it gives you a “feel good” impression of freshness, so you can not help spending your money.
Maybe you go to the meat department then. There is some meat on sale, and you want to find it. The manager of the supermarket knows where customers enter the meat department. The cheaper meat is at the other end of the meat department, away from where the customers enter. You have to walk past all the expensive meat before you find the cheaper meat. Maybe you will buy some of the expensive meat instead of the meat on sale.
Most of the food in supermarkets is very attractive. It all says “Buy me quickly!” to the customers. The fresh fruit and vegetables say “Buy me quickly!” as you walk by. The expensive meat says “Buy me quickly!” The supermarket tells you what to buy.
小題1:Some supermarkets play soft, slow music because it ______.

A．makes customers walk slowly and buy more

B．can help customers get the things they want

C．can make customers relaxed and happy

D．can tell customers exactly where to go

小題2:The manager knows ______.

A．where customers come from

B．which customers like slow music

C．where fresh meat should be put

D．which customers like cheap meat

小題3:When walking past the expensive meat, the customers will ______.

A．pay no attention to it	B．possibly buy some
C．look for some cheap meat	D．feel uncomfortable

小題4:If you see fresh goods first in the supermarket, ______.

A．you know where to get things

B．it brings you good luck

C．it makes you spend less money

D．you’ll get a fresh impression

小題5:Supermarket managers make the food attractive so that ______.

A．the customers will buy more	B．it looks very expensive
C．the customers come often	D．it seems cheap and fine

I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks (地標(biāo)) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, ‘Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite, They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
小題1:When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________

A．describe the place carefully

B．show him a map of the place

C．tell him the names of the streets

D．refer to recognizable buildings and places

小題2:What is the place where people measure distance in time?

A．New York.

B．Los Angeles.

C．Kansas.

D．Iowa.

小題3:People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________

A．in order to save time

B．a(chǎn)s a test

C．so as to be polite

D．for fun

小題4:What can we infer from the text?

A．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

B．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

C．People have similar understandings of politeness.

D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

Forget Twitter and Facebook, Google and the Kindle. Television is still the most influential medium around. Indeed, for many of the poorest regions(地區(qū))of the world, it remains the next big thing—finally becomes globally available. And that is a good thing, because the TV revolution is changing lives for the better.
Across the developing world, around 45% of families had a TV in 1995; by 2005 the number had climbed above 60% . That is some way behind the U.S. ,where there are more TVs than people, and where people now easily get access to the Internet. Five million more families in sub-Saharan Africa will get a TV over the next five years. In 2005 , after the fall of the Taliban（塔利班）,which had banned TV, I in 5 Afghans had one. The global total is another 150 million by 2013—pushing the numbers to well beyond two thirds of families.
Television’s most powerful effect will be on the lives of women. In India, researchers Robert Jensen and Emily Oster found that when TVs reached villages, women were more likely to go to the market without their husbands approval and less likely to want a boy rather than a girl. They were more likely to make decisions over child health care. TV is also a powerful medium for adult education. In the Indian state of Gujarat, Chitrageet is a popular show that plays Bollywood songs with words in Gujarati on the screen. Within six months, viewers had made a small but significant improvement in their reading skills.
Too much TV has been associated with violence, overweight and loneliness. However, TV is having a positive influence on the lives of billions worldwide.
小題1:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Americans used to get access to the Internet easily.

B．The world’s TV sets will total 150 million by 2013.

C．45% of families in the developing countries had a TV in 2005.

D．Over two thirds of families in the world will have a TV by 2013.

小題2:The author intends to ____________.

A．stress the advantages of TV to people’s lives

B．persuade women to become more independent

C．encourage people to improve their reading skills

D．introduce the readers some websites such as Google

小題3:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．TV Will Rule the World	B．TV Will Disturb the World
C．TV Will Better the World	D．TV Will Remain in World

Every one of us, rich or poor，should at least have one or two good friends. I learned that a true friend is the most important in my life after I had gone        so many terrible things. I felt
upset when I was told that I would have to        the company . As I had a very big family to __ ___   
and was in great need of money，what I was        about was how to find another new  job .In order to         this problem, I rushed from place to place like crazy. I read almost all the newspapers and         almost all the telephone numbers in the newspaper___    in my notebook and tried to call almost a11 the companies that  needed new  _ ___．Not until I found a job in a small town near  Townsville had I        down .My new boss ,Mr. Johnson , was one of my good friends since primary school.“Why didn’t you        me until now ? Was it         to do that ? Explain to me the reason ,”he said ,      me a cup of hot coffee. Both of us were overjoyed to see each other and we          the whole afternoon talking about things and persons that we       at school .John asked me to give him some  advice about          to enlarge his present business and he was entirely happy about my      .To my great surprise，he offered me a         which didn’t need much experience because  I was not         with this field but the pay l got was much more man         .The moment I saw my          ，the sum of money given by the company，I cried for the first time — that was the first time for me to do so since I grew up.

小題1:	A．over B．through C．a(chǎn)round D．for

小題2:	A．leave B．desert C．choose D．operate

小題3:	A．care B．protect C．love D．support

小題4:	A．particular B．curious C．concerned D．excited

小題5:	A．a(chǎn)nalyze B．raise C．explain D．solve

小題6:	A．took down B．turned down C．looked for D．stood for

小題7:	A．comments B．surveys C．reports D．a(chǎn)dvertisements

小題8:	A．customers B．bosses C．clerks D．a(chǎn)pplicants

小題9:	A．broken B．slowed C．sunk D．calmed

小題10:

A．contact B．trust C．overlook D．find

小題11:

A．desperate B．harmful C．worthy D．significant

小題12:

A．a(chǎn)warding B．sharing C．handing D．showing

小題13:

A．spent B．wasted C．spared D．saved

小題14:

A．discussed B．debated C．remembered D．imagined

小題15:

A．what B．how C．which D．when

小題16:

A．a(chǎn)bility B．courage C．interests D．suggestions

小題17:

A．position B．chance C．fortune D．service

小題18:

A．popular B．familiar C．patient D．content

小題19:

A．offered B．required C．expected D．needed

小題20:

A．tip B．share C．fund D．salary

For many centuries，countless scholars have asked the question：What is beauty? As designers update the latest fashions and artists create their masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes at an alarming pace.
Fifty years ago，the full-figured Marilyn Monroe was a symbol of the American aesthetic(美學(xué)的)value；today，many Hollywood actresses different in appearance from Marilyn’s have taken her place. However，aesthetic values not only differ from generation to generation，but do so along cultural lines as well. Often, what is considered disgusting to one civilization is just the aesthetic appeal in another. Thus it is difficult to give an absolute definition(定義)of beauty.
As fundamental(基礎(chǔ)的)physicists，my colleagues and I like to believe that we are involved in a search for a beauty that affects definition. The beauty that we search for is not what is set up through the work of people and subject to the tastes, but rather what has been laid down by nature Physics allows its students to look past outer appearances，into a deeper beauty. As a human being，I am attracted by the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach. As a physicist, however I am able to see the deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon.
In truth，since Albert Einstein put forward the idea that there might be one main physical theory that governs the universe，aesthetics have become a driving force in modern physics. Einstein and other later physicists have discovered that：Nature, as its most fundamental level，is beautifully constructed. The extraordinary simplicity of the laws that govern the universe is really breathtaking . As Einstein said, it would seem more likely that we should find ourselves living in a“chaotic(無(wú)秩序曲)world，in no way graspable through thinking”. Yet we are now closer than ever to a full understanding of the universe’s beautiful clockwork. As new discoveries and technologies allow us to examine the physical world on deeper and deeper levels，we find that the beauty itself becomes much deeper.
小題1:The reference to“Marilyn Monroe”in Paragraph 2 mainly serves to___________.

A．provide an example of today’s beauty standards

B．show there is no fixed definition of aesthetics

C．compare traditions of the East to the West

D．discuss her abilities as an actress

小題2:When appreciating a wave crashing on the beach，a physicist sees the beauty of___________.

A．the visual attraction	B．the powerful sounds
C．the physical laws behind	D．the lovely creatures

小題3:Why are Albert Einstein’s words mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．To detail the functions of physical laws.

B．To highlight the range of Einstein’s influence.

C．To show that Einstein doubted the beauty of physics.

D．To stress the very simplicity of the laws of the universe.

小題4:The passage is mainly to___________.

A．present a special way of seeing beauty

B．emphasize the influence of physics

C．discuss the awareness of cross-culture

D．a(chǎn)rgue the traditional ideas on value

Years ago，there was a very wealthy man who，with his devoted young son，shared a passion for art collecting ．Together，they traveled around the world，adding only        art treasures to their collection．
One year，as winter approached，    engulfed（吞沒(méi)） the nation，and the young man left to      in the army．After only a few short weeks，his father received a telegram．His beloved son was      in action．The art collector     awaited more news，     he would never see his son again．Within days，his fears were      ．The young man had died while rushing a fellow soldier to a doctor．
Upset and        ，the old man faced the coming Christmas holidays with sadness．On Christmas morning，a knock on the door awakened the        old man．As he opened the door，he was greeted by a        with a large package in his hands．
He introduced himself to the old man by saying，“I was a      of your son .I was the one he was      when he died．May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you．”
As the two began to     ，the soldier told of how the man’s son had told everyone of his，not to mention his father’s，      of fine art．“I am no     ，”said the soldier，“but I want to give you this．”
As the old man unwrapped the package ，he saw a portrait （畫像）of his son．Though the world would        consider it the work of a genius，the painting featured the young man’s face        detail．
Overcome with emotion，the man      the soldier．After the soldier had left，the old man put the painting above the fireplace，pushing       thousands of dollars worth of art．His task completed，the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the        he had been given．

小題1:	A．poorest B．richest C．finest D．cheapest

小題2:	A．flood B．fire C．storm D．war

小題3:	A．save B．protect C．serve D．build

小題4:	A．missing B．a(chǎn)cting C．fighting D．dying

小題5:	A．calmly B．a(chǎn)nxiously C．quietly D．secretly

小題6:	A．fearing B．doubting C．wondering D．expecting

小題7:	A．completed B．doubled C．removed D．confirmed

小題8:	A．nervous B．tired C．lonely D．frightened

小題9:	A．sad B．puzzled C．a(chǎn)ngry D．worried

小題10:

A．farmer B．soldier C．painter D．seller

小題11:

A．guard B．photographer C．partner D．friend

小題12:

A．rescuing B．commanding C．guarding D．hiding

小題13:

A．a(chǎn)rgue B．move C．talk D．eat

小題14:

A．description B．love C．sense D．understanding

小題15:

A．a(chǎn)rtist B．businessman C．hero D．reporter

小題16:

A．sometimes B．never C．often D．still

小題17:

A．for B．of C．in D．on

小題18:

A．thanked B．questioned C．welcomed D．treated

小題19:

A．down B．up C．a(chǎn)side D．off

小題20:

A．treasure B．gift C．souvenir D．package

Phil White has just returned from an 18,000-mile, around-the-world bicycle trip．White had two reasons for making this epic journey．First of all, he wanted to use the trip to raise money for charity, which he did．He raised ￡70,000 for the British charity, Oxfam．White's second reason for making the trip was to break the world record and become the fastest person to cycle around the world．He is still waiting to find out if he has broken the record or not.
White set off from Trafalgar Square, in London, on 19th June 2004 and was back 299 days later．He spent more than l,300 hours in the saddle（車座） and destroyed four sets of tyres and three bike chains．He had the adventure of his life crossing Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas．Amazingly, he did all of this with absolutely no support team．No jeep carrying food, water and medicine．No doctor．Nothing! Just a bike and a very, very long road.
The journey was lonely and desperate at times．He also had to fight his way across deserts, through jungles and over mountains．He cycled through heavy rains and temperatures of up to 45 degrees, all to help people in need．There were other dangers along the road．In Iran, he was chased by armed robbers and was lucky to escape with his life and the little money he had．The worst thing that happened to him was having to cycle into a headwind on a road that crosses the south of Australia．For l,000 kilometres he battled against the wind that was constantly pushing him．This part of the trip was slow, hard work and depressing, but he made it in the end．Now Mr．White is back and intends to write a book about his adventures.
小題1:When Phil White returned from his trip, he __________.

A．broke the world record	B．collected money for Oxfam
C．destroyed several bikes	D．travelled about l,300 hours

小題2:What does the underlined word "epic" in Paragraph l most probably mean?

A．Very slow but exciting．	B．Very long and difficult.
C．Very smooth but tiring．	D．Very lonely and depressing.

小題3:During his journey around the world, Phil White __________.

A．fought heroically against robbers in Iran

B．experienced the extremes of heat and cold

C．managed to ride against the wind in Australia

D．had a team of people who travelled with him

小題4:Which of the following words can best describe Phil White?

A．Imaginative．	B．Patriotic．
C．Modest．	D．Determined.

小題5:What actually inspired Phil White to overcome all the difficulties?

A．To help people in need.	B．To test his new bicycle.
C．To prove his potential.	D．To show off his ability.

The slavery drama “12 Years a Slave” won the Academy Award for best picture on Sunday, making history as the first movie from a black director to win the film industry's highest honor in 86 years of the Oscars．Can anyone tell me your ideas about this movie? —— GreatMartin
“12 Years a Slave is a surprisingly underwhelming movie．It is more of a string of picture about several heartless and evil white men(and women)who are just mean without the motivation of running a plantation on their minds．There is very little character development and most of the film relies on what the audience already knows and feels about slavery．” 一一GeminiJef
‘‘Never have I been stunned into an emotional silence after watching a film in the theater．I've come out of films before thinking” My god，that was unbelievable”，like when I saw The Lord of the Rings for the first time，but this film just hits you on another level entirely．You sit there after it’s over，wondering if what you’d just experienced was real．The day after．you feel the same．”一一Pauljohnson
“This movie is just an average movie about slavery．Are you kidding me，segregation movies are a dime a dozen and this movie beat out Gravity for Golden Globes? Gravity has never been done before．12 Years a Slave I watched once and will never watch again．I watched Gravity 5 times and still love it．’’一一Dominionator
“This movie was realistic and engaging at every second．Even the dramatic pauses were worthwhile and definitely not a waste of time．The script inferred and hinted at events rather than just plain saying them，and that was genius．Outstanding photography，amazing special effects and the acting is top notch．There were a few people that walked out during some scenes．What a shame!” 一一Apols
小題1:The main purpose of GreatMartin’s writing is __________ .

A．to give a brief introduction of the movie

B．to share his own opinions with others

C．to invite answers to his question

D．to explain why he asks the question

小題2:The underlined word “stunned’’ in the third paragraph probably means __________ .

A．puzzled

B．shocked

C．disappointed

D．concerned

小題3:Among the four speakers，who made positive comments on the movie?

A．GeminiJef and Pauljohnson	B．Pauljohnson and Dominionator
C．GeminiJef and Dominionator	D．Pauljohnson and Apols

小題4:Which of the following best states Pauljotmson’s ideas about l2 Years a Slave?

A．It leaves little room for character development．

B．It reaches the height of The Lord of the Rings．

C．It doesn’t deserve such high praise．

D．It amazes the audience with its special effects．