Intellectual property (IP) is a product of the mind that has commercial value.  The concept dates back to 1623 when the first patent law to protect IP rights was passed.  IP rights protect an artist from having his/her creative ideas copied by another.  For example, if somebody generates an idea for a novel, that idea is protected by IP rights.  If someone else wishes to represent the idea or develop it further, he/ she must consult the original artists, who will normally be rewarded financially for its use.  Back in the 17^th century, IP rights were primarily carried out to protect newly developed manufacturing processes against stealing.  But today, intellectual property rights, are also enjoyed by those who create music, art and literature.

In recent years, IP rights have been the focus of a great deal of discussion because of a technology which seems to weaken them altogether; the Internet.  Many years ago, if you wanted a recording of a song, you would have to purchase it from a music store; if a novel, from a book store.  In those days, IP rights were easily protected since it was very difficult to obtain intellectual property without paying for it.  However, a lot of IP, including songs, films, books and artwork, can be downloaded today free of charge using the Internet.  This practice has now taken the world by storm, dramatically affecting the way in which we view IP rights.

48 According to the writer, in the beginning, IP rights were mainly of use to ______.

   A.  those creating music, art and literature        

   B.  novelists

   C.  engineers and inventors           

   D.  those not receiving financial reward for their work

49.  What do we know about the internet according to the passage?

   A.  It makes IP rights harder to protect.

   B.  It sells songs and films.

   C.  It does not affect the way we understand IP rights.

   D.  It prevents the production of artwork.

50.  According to paragraph 2, what has “taken the world by storm”?

   A.  Intellectual property rights.          

   B.  The Internet.

   C.  Free downloading.                    

   D.  The large number of songs, films and books.

Western New Bridge Library Announcement

2008-3-10

44.  To attend the annual Children’s Gathering, one has to _____.

   A.  buy a ticket                        B.  apply in advance

   C.  make a reservation              D.  contact the call-down service

45.  According to the passage, Enzo Monfre will ______.

   A.  show the children around a zoo 

   B.  tell stories to children over seven

   C.  be present at the science show in person

   D.  lead the children to the Ellen DeGenerse Show

46.  The Help Desk in this library supplies service ______.

   A.  only during the daytime               B.  in case of emergency

   C.  till the end of the Spring Break     D.  after 22:00 p. m.  every day

47.  We can learn from the passage that children can ______.

   A.  attend all the activities with their parents

   B.  borrow some relevant books for the activities.

   C.  participate in the activities form 8:00 a. m.  to 4:00 p. m.

   D.  choose only one of the activities according to their interst

My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.  My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields.  I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick.  For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.

It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons.  Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could.  I’ve never been late for any job since.  I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for.  More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.

I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job.  Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week.  Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet.  Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters.  This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.

When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house.  My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them.  Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one.  Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.

The more I dreamed, the more I thought.  Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴樹枝) and a piece of pipe.  Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball.  And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth.  I practiced with the same devotion and intensity.  I learned working in the field ― except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.

40.  The writer’s first job was _______.

　 A.  to stand down the fairway at a golf course

　 B.  to watch over the sugar-cane plantation

　 C.  to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields

　 D.  to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them

41.  The writer learned that_______ from his first job.

　A.  he should work for those who he liked most

　B.  he should work longer than what he was expected

　 C.  he should never fail to say hello to his owner

　 D.  he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for

42.  _______ gave the writer self-esteem.

A.  Having a family of eight people

　 B.  Owning his own golf course

　 C.  Bringing money back home to help the family

　 D.  Helping his father with the work on the plantation

43.  Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

　 A.  He wanted to be a successful golfer.  

　B.  He wanted to run a golf course near his house.

　C.  He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.

　D.  He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.

Too often we accuse others of not listening, pretending that we ourselves are faultless, yet in our hearts we know that many of the mistakes we make come about because we haven’t listened carefully enough.  We get things wrong because we haven’t listened carefully enough.  We get things wrong because we haven’t quite understood what someone meant when they were talking to us.  Anyone who has ever taken the minutes of a long meeting will know how hard it is to remember-- despite the benefit of notes-- exactly what everyone said.  But success depends on getting things right--and that means listening.

Listening is not the same thing as hearing; it is not an effort actively.  It demands attention and concentration.  It may mean quizzing the speaker for additional information or for clarification------ it is always better to ask than to continue regardless and get things wrong.  However, if you allow your mind to wander onto something else, even for a few minutes, you’ll miss what the speaker is saying------ probably at the very moment when he or she is saying something critical.  And not having heard, you won’t know you’ve missed anything until it’s too late.

The most common bad habit we have is to start thinking of what we are going to say about the subject long before the other speaker has finished.  We then stop listening.  Even worse, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have decided what to say there is a fair chance you will interrupt to say it.  Good listeners don’t interrupt.  In fact it is often worth explaining the main idea of what you have just been told before going on to make your own points.  Nobody is offended by this and it shows that you have listened well.

Above all be patient and accept that many people are not very good communicators.  It’s helpful to remember that the ways people move and position themselves while they are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying.  Equally important you should put yourself in the other person’s place, both intellectually and emotionally; it will help you to understand what they are getting at and form a response.  But don’t be too clever.  Faced with a know-all, many people keep quiet because they see no point in continuing.

36.  Which is the best title for this passage?

A.  Don’t be too clever                      B.  Be a good listener.

C.  Don’t miss anything critical          D.  Think of the speaker

37.  In the last paragraph, “…… what they are getting at ……” means________ .

A.  what they imply                                  B.  what they like

C.  what they attack                                 D.  what they achieve

38.  What is the writer’s opinion?

A.  If you want to be a good listener, you should be very clever and emotional.

B.  Speakers won’t continue talking when their listeners explain what they’ve heard.

C.  If you don’t want to get things wrong, it’s important to be a good listener,

D.  It’s hard to be a good listener because listening tests you on your intelligence.

39.  What is the lesson we can learn from this passage?

A.  Don’t accuse others of not listening while talking with them.

B.  Don’t get anything wrong if you miss what the speaker is saying.

C.  Listening inattentively may cost you the loss of your success.

D.  Think carefully of what you’re going to say before the speaker finishes.

    In the depths of my memory, many things I did with my father still live.  These things have come to represent, in fact, what I call   16  and love.

    I don’t remember my father ever getting into a swimming pool.  But he did   17   the water.  Any kind of   18   ride seemed to give him pleasure.    19   he loved to fish; sometimes he took me along.

    But I never really liked being on the water, the way my father did.  I liked being 20 the water, moving through it,   21  it all around me.  I was not a strong   22  , or one who learned to swim early, for I had my   23  .  But I loved being in the swimming pool close to my father’s office and   24   those summer days with my father, who   25   come by on a break.  I needed him to see what I could do.  My father would stand there in his suit, the   26  person not in swimsuit.

    After swimming, I would go   27  his office and sit on the wooden chair in front of his big desk, where he let me   28   anything I found in his top desk drawer.  Sometimes, if I was left alone at his desk   29   he worked in the lab, an assistant or a student might come in and tell me perhaps I shouldn’t be playing with his   30  .  But my father always   31   and said easily, “Oh, no, it’s   32 . ” Sometimes he handed me coins and told me to get   33   an ice cream…

    A poet once said, “We look at life once, in childhood,; the rest is   34  . ” And I think it is not only what we “l(fā)ook at once, in childhood” that determines our memories,   35  who ,in that childhood, looks at us.

When _____ comes to codes of ethics, I think everyone should strictly obey them.

  A.  that             B.  this             C.  it                    D.  one

One of the collectors collected some seeds from a tree that had _____ him.

  A.  interest in     B.  appealed to     C.  been attracted    D.  drew attention of

-----They say Tom’s brother is a billionaire.

----_____________?He wouldn’t accept any help from his brother ,even though it was offered.

  A. What if        B. What for      C. So what        D. Forget it

They returned home after a long journey,___________________.

  A. hungry & tiredly                B. hungrily & tired ly

  C. tired & hungry                  D. tired & hungrily

He stood there dumfounded without daring ________ his head as a consequence of his wrong action.

  A. lift             B. to lift          C.  turn          D.  to rise