Endless playing of songs like All I want for Christmas in shops during the festive season doesn’t just drive us mad —the songs also make us more careless with our money, research has warned.

While repeated performance of Jingle Bells may seem like an innocent attempt to raise customers’ spirits during the nightmare of Christmas shopping, the songs also have a more delicate impact.

“Background music, or “Muzak”,can be used by marketers to impose cultures ---such as the commercialization of Christmas--- onto consumers and influence their behaviour,” experts said.

Dr. Alan Bradshaw of Royal Holloway, University of London, said, “Festive jingles are force-fed to Christmas shoppers in a bid to change their mood, influence their sense of time and what sort of products they buy. In other words, this is an attempt to control your shopping habits in a way that you might hardly be aware of.”

“Often we are told that we have the freedom to choose where we want to shop, but during Christmas the use of music in this way is so common that our freedom to choose disappears.”

Dr. Bradshaw and Prof Morris Holbrook of Columbia University examined the phenomenon and found that retailers often “dumb down” the music played in shops to relax customers, meaning it is easier to control their behaviour.

It is thought that slowing down the rhythm of music in shops can trick customers into thinking less time has passed, and therefore spend more time examining the shelves, for example.

Some providers of background music have been known to promote their services by claiming they can boost profits by controlling the behaviour of customers.

“A common trick is to take a popular current song and record an instrumental version which can be slowed down or sped up at different time of the day to influence behaviour in different ways,” Dr. Bradshaw said.

Background music is often classed as “Muzak” in honor of the Seattle-based company which began producing its soft-sounding melodies in the 1930s.

1.According to Dr. Bradshaw, in what ways does Christmas music influence customers?

①their mood               ②their income

③their sense of time         ④ the sort of products they buy

A.①②③    B.①③④    C.②③④   D.①②④

2. Shopkeepers slow down the rhythm of music in shops to ___________.

A. let customers spend more time shopping

B. make customers and sales assistants relaxed

C. let customers enjoy the beautiful music

D. help customers find what they really want

3.What kind of music is now often adapted to influence customers in shops?

A. Classical music     B. Popular modern songs.

C. Folk songs.        D. Jazz music.

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A. Music makes happy Christmas

B. Christmas “Muzak”

C. How to make Christmas music?

D. Christmas music makes us spend more

單詞拼寫（共10小題，10分）
【小題1】His first speech as president made a strong i______________ on me
【小題2】Parents draw the c___________ that both day schools and boarding schools are important to train young students for our society.
【小題3】To our great d__________, he managed to pass the final exam.
【小題4】The careless driver is to b____________ for the car accident.
【小題5】To some teenagers, g__________from high school is an important turning point.
【小題6】 Youngsters are risking their lives in a dangerous craze which is ___________（席卷）the country.
【小題7】The baby burst into tears _____________（一…就）she saw her mother.
【小題8】Many newspapers, like China Daily and the 21^st Century ____________（吸引） to Chinese English learners.
【小題9】All the staff in this company are trained to ____________（應(yīng)付） difficult customers.
【小題10】 The same economic problems had led to the _______________（垮臺） of the government.

A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love (早戀) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression . The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.

The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “l(fā)oss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “l(fā)ose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “l(fā)oss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.

Dr Marian Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesti ng school activities and spend enough time with family.

Parents should watch for signs of depression -- eating or mood changes -- and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity (成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.

1.Which of the following is more likely to have depression?

A. Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness.

B. Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions.

C. Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior.

D. Careless parents whose children are deep in love.

2. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The older a woman is，the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance.

B. Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly.

C. Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents.

D. Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression.

3.What’s the author’s attitude towa rds puppy love?

A. Confused.                  B. Disinterested.

C. Scared.                          D. Disapproving.

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Puppy love may bring young people depression.

B. Parents should forbid their children’s love.

C. Romance is a two ­ edged sword for adults.

D. Romance is good for young people.

Like any good mother,when Karen found out that another baby was on the way,she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son,Michael,prepare for a new baby.Day after day,night after night,Michael sang to his mommy’s tummy(肚子).

Finally,Michael’s little sister was born.But she was in serious condition.With sirens (警報) howling in the night,the ambulance rushed the baby to St.Mary’s Hospital.The days inched by.The little girl became worse.The pediatric(兒科的) specialist told the parents to prepare for the worst.

Michael kept begging about singing to his sister,but kids are not allowed in pediatric department at St.Mary’s Hospital.Karen made up her mind to take Michael to see his sister.She dressed him in an oversized suit and marched him into the hospital.He looked like a walking laundry basket,but the head nurse recognized him as a child and shouted,“Get that kid out of here now!”Karen rose up strong,and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed into the head nurse’s face.“He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!”

Karen towed （拖行）Michael to his sister’s bedside.He gazed at the tiny baby losing the battle to live.And he began to sing.In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old,Michael sang,“You are my sunshine,my only sunshine.You make me happy when skies are grey.”At once  the baby girl responded.Her pulse(脈搏) rate became calm and steady.Her strained breathing became smoother.

“Keep on singing,Michael.”“The other night,dear,as I lay sleeping,I dreamed I help you in my arms…”Michael’s little sister relaxed as healing rest seemed to sweep over her.“Keep on singin,Michael.”Tears conquered the face of the nurse.“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

The next day—the very next day—the little girl was well enough to go home!

1.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A.It’s Hard to Raise a Baby            B.The Miracle of a Brother’s Song

C.Mother’s Love                     D.An Unforgettable Day

2.From Karen’s action in the first paragraph we know that        .

A.mothers often pay much attention to their newly-born babies

B.mothers often tell their children how to look after their younger brothers or sisters

C.it is good for children to learn to sing songs to babies

D.it often takes some time for a child to accept his/her newly-born brother or sister

3.When did Michael’s sister go home?

A three days later      B.after two weeks       C.after  one year      D  the very next day

4.Which words can describe Michael?

A.Naughty and annoying.              B.Strong and brave.

C.Active and careless.                 D.Concerned and determined.

假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處。錯誤涉及一個單詞的添加、刪除或修改。
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One day a child was play with a vase of great value. He careless put his hand into it. Hard as he tried, he
could not pull it out. His father tried his best, too, but their efforts were in a vain. They were thinking of breaking the vase whenever the father said, “Now, my son, why have one more try? Open your hand or hold your fingers out straight as you saw I doing, and then pull.” To his surprise, the child says, “I can’t hold my fingers straight like that, because I don’t want to drop my penny.” Thousand of us sometimes are so busy hold on to the world’s worthless penny that we cannot achieve liberation.