56．What is the　 subject of this news story?

　　　 A．Poor working conditions in offices.　　　　　　　 B．Research work of the Work Foundation.

　　　 C．Influence of　 technology in the workplace.　 D．different attitudes to old computers.

答案　 53.A　 54.B　 55.C　 56.C

Passage 87

(06·浙江E篇)

You are from a middle-class family, and live in a normal-size home without any showy possessions, but you are worried that he will want to live as they do ,and wonder if you should move.

　　　 Sometimes big pocket money, joyful birthday parties, special playrooms and super-big houses tell you that your neighbors probably have more money than you do, and that they’re not as careful as you are with money, but you may. Find that they cook and dig in the garden with their children just as often as you do, talk with them as freely and read to them every night.

Or you may find that some of these parents stay in one wing of their big house while their child plays by himself, way off in a wing of his own. In that unfortunate case, he is basically growing up alone without being looked after properly, but this can happen to a child who lives in a normal-size house, too, if he has a TV, a computer and a few video games in his room. Even the most caring parent doesn’t walk in and out of it to see what show her child is watching, what Internet site he has found and if he’s still playing that video game.

Too much uncontrolled screen time may lead to a certain loss of innocence(天真), but mostly this child will lose the sense of unity and satisfaction that comes from being in a family.

A neighborhood should also provide you with a sense of unity and satisfaction, and if it doesn’t, you might decide to move. Don’t judge your neighborhood too harshly(嚴(yán)厲地),though. There are some things that are right with almost any neighborhood and some things that are wrong with the best of them-like those super-big houses. The wealth of their owners-and the way they throw money around-may make your son feel sorry for himself, unless you help him understand that you and his dad save some of the money, give some to people who don’t have enough and use the rest to pay for whatever the family needs.

Children want---should be provided with-explanations when their parents don’t give them what they want.

55．According to White, why were the women surveyed more likely to use old computers?

　　　 A．Most office workers use old computers.

　　　 B．They do some of their work with computers.

　　　 C．Dealing with new equipment can cause anxiety.

　　　 D．They are easier to be satisfied with new technology.

54．How many office workers using old computers in Britain expressed their dissatisfaction?

　　　 A．16%　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．25%

　　　 C．35%　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．55%

53．The underlined word “this”(paragraph 3) refers to 　　　.

　　　 A．workplace dissatisfaction　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．computer use in most jobs

　　　 C．the ageing of office computers　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．the survey by

63．It can be concluded from the passage that 　　　　.

　　　 A．everyone is happy about reality TV

　　　 B．reality TV will do well in many countries

　　　 C．a(chǎn)ll the people in Europe are in favor of reality TV

　　　 D．reality TV will not be broadcast in any countries

答案　 60.A　 61.C　 62.C　 63.B

Passage 86

(06·浙江D篇)

Old Computers Make for Unhappy Workers－Survey

　　　 LONDON(Reuters)－Dealing with the dissatisfaction of ageing and unreliable office computers leads to workers’ unhappiness and more sick-leave, a survey (調(diào)查)showed on Wednesday.

　　　 A survey carried out by care4free. net of over 2,700 European office workers from the UK, France and Germany found that workplace dissatisfaction increased greatly with the age of computer equipment.

　　　 “We do know that job satisfaction is falling in Britain and in most advanced nations,” said Stephen White, a researcher from the Work Foundation. “The actual reasons for this are the subject of very heated discussion. It’s certainly one interesting theory that technology may be the cause of this in some way,” White added.

　　　 A quarter of those using outdated computers in Britain said they were “quite” or “very dissatisfied” with their everyday job compared to 16 percent of those who had enjoyed an advantage from up-to-date technology.

　　　 The survey also said that among workers dealing with outdated equipment, there was a 35 percent greater probability they would take six or more days of sick-leave per year compared with the average worker. In France, where more workers use older computers, the probability jumped to 55 percent.

　　　 Results also showed that women in the three countries were more likely to be using outdated equipment. In the UK, where more workers have up-to-date computers than in the other countries surveyed, the number of women using old equipment doubled that of men.

　　　 White pointed out that there were two sides to this problem, saying that continually having to deal with new technology and new equipment can also be a source of worry. “Old and faulty equipment is a major cause of office dissatisfaction, there’s no question about it. But you also have to say that the frequent change of equipment is also, or could be, a main cause of dissatisfaction.”

62．Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage ?

　　　 A．Pop Idol is one of the popular reality TV shows in the world .

　　　 B．Big Brother was one of the first reality TV shows in the world .

　　　 C．Rubbish TV is one of the personal reality TV shows in the world .

　　　 D．Expedition Robinson was the first reality TV show in the world .

61．Who would pay for the cost of reality TV shows according to the passage ?

　　　 A．TV producers who make reality TV shows .

　　　 B．TV actors who take part in reality TV shows .

　　　 C．TV viewers who telephone reality TV shows .

　　　 D．TV companies which broadcast reality TV shows .

60．Those who take part in reality TV shows are usually 　　　　.

　　　 A．common people

　　　 B．pop TV Stars

　　　 C．a(chǎn)ttractive people

　　　 D．famous film stars

71. Which of the following is the author’s main argument?

A. It’s cheap to self-treat your own illness.

B. It’s embarrassing to discuss your bad habits.

C. It’s reasonable to put up a medical website.

D. It’s dangerous to be your own doctor.

　 答案　 68.B　 69.C　 70.C　 71.D

Passage 85

(06·江蘇B篇)

The first reality TV show in the world was called Expedition Robinson and it was shown in Sweden in 1997 . Half the population of the country watched the final event and a new kind of TV program was born . Two years later in Holland , the first series of Big Brother was filmed. Again , it was a great success and the final program was watched by 15 million people . Now more than 20 countries around the world have Big Brother or Expedition Robinson on their TV screens . The ordinary people who take part in the programs are known by millions of people in their own countries and reality TV has become big , big business .

For the TV producers , reality TV is a dream come true because many of the programs cost nothing to make . At some point , the television viewers (觀眾) are asked to telephone the program to vote or to apply to take part in the show . It is the cost of these telephone calls that pays for the shows . One of the most popular shows is Pop Idol. In the show, a group of attractive young people are made into pop stars. TV viewers vote for their favorite person on the show. The winner　　 makes a record and millions of copies of the record are sold . His or her pictures are published on the covers of magazines or on the front pages of newspapers , and then , they are quickly forgotten .

But not everyone is happy about reality TV. In Portugal , two TV channels got into trouble because they showed too much of the personal lives of the people in the shows . In France , reality TV is called “rubbish TV ” and the TV studios of Big Brother were attacked three times in one week . In Greece , Big Brother was described as “against human rights and civilization”.

70. According to the study of Brown Medical School, ______.

A. more than 6 million Americans distrust doctors

B. only 1/10 of medical websites aim to make a profit

C. about 1/10 of the websites surveyed are of high quality

D. 72% of health websites offer incomplete and faulty facts