. . . .
we could do with mobile phones. With the advancement of technology, more and more features are being added to the mobile phones which make them more useful. In addition to making calls, mobile phones also support a wide variety of other services such as text messaging, email, Internet access, business applications, gaming and photography. We can bring them everywhere, and can be reached by others anytime. They make the world smaller, bringing people together no matter where they are.
But we could have some risks when using our mobile phones. We may have accidents when we use them while driving. Some studies show that mobile phones can do harm to our bodies; and materials in mobile phones could damage our environment.
Since there are so many risks, why do we still have mobile phones? This is because these risks or disadvantages can be overcome. For example, while we are driving we can easily pull up our car if we really need to use the phone. Mobile phone manufacturers are reducing the radiation of mobile phones to avoid health risks.
Though there are both pros and cons of using mobile phones, we could easily see that there are more advantages than disadvantages. Moreover, mobile phones are becoming cheaper, which might be another reason why mobile phones are increasingly used today.
6. Which of the following functions is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. Text messaging. B. Camera. C. GPS.
7. What risks might mobile phones cause?
A. Traffic accidents and health problems. B. Environmental damage. C. Both A and B.
8. What are mobile phone manufacturers doing to prevent mobile phone users from health risks?
A. They are reducing the radiation of mobile phones.
B. They are trying to persuade people to use mobile phones less. C. They are developing new models of mobile phones.
9. Why do people still use mobile phones despite their disadvantages?
A. Because people don’t believe that mobile phones have any disadvantages. B. Because the disadvantages of mobile phones can be avoided. C. Because people cannot live without mobile phones.
10. According to the last paragraph, why are mobile phones increasingly being used today?
A. They are safer.
B. They have more functions. C. They are becoming cheaper.
Passage 3
It is often difficult for a man to be quite sure how much tax he ought to pay to the government because it depends on so many different things: whether the man is
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married; how many children he has; whether he supports any relations, how much interest he receives, how much he has spent on his house during the year, and so on. All this makes it difficult to decide exactly how much the tax is.
There was an artist who was always very careful to pay the proper amount. One year, after posting his check as usual, he began to wonder if he had paid enough, and after a lot of work, with a pencil and paper, he found that he had not. He thought that he owed the government something.
He was just writing another check to send it to the tax collector when the postman dropped a letter into the box at the front door. Opening it, the artist was surprised to find inside it a check for five pounds from the tax collector. The official explained that too much had been paid, and that therefore the difference was now returned to the taxpayer. 11. According to the passage, to decide the exact amount of tax to be paid is
____________. A. simple B. easy C. difficult D. interesting
12. It is mentioned in the passage that one has to pay tax according to ____________.
A. how much education one has received B. whether one is single or married C. how old one’s children are D. where one lives
13. The word “proper” in the second paragraph means __________.
A. small B. big C. right D. wrong
14. After a lot of work, the artist thought that he had paid the government ____________.
A. less tax than he should have B. more tax than he should have C. as much tax as usual D. just enough tax
15. Why did the tax collector send a letter to the artist?
A. To send him a new tax form. B. To return the money overpaid. C. To remind him of paying the tax. D. To explain the rules of tax paying.
Passage 4
The invention of telephone has greatly eased the communication among people, but callers should be careful about when to make a phone call or it will cause embarrassments.
It is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning in the USA. If
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someone is called very early in the morning, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call indicates great importance of the matter which requires immediate attention of the person called. The same implication is attached to telephone calls made after 11:00 p.m. at night. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he assumes it’s an urgency of life or death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance. Time plays a very important role in our social life as you can imagine. In the USA an invitation should be sent to the guests in advance because guests usually believe that they are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party is extended only three or four days before the party date. But it is not always necessarily true of the case all over the world. In some other countries, it may be taken stupid to make an appointment too far in advance because plans made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten. The concept of time varies in different regions of the world. Thus, misunderstandings are sometimes inevitable between men of different cultural backgrounds that treat time differently. Promptness is valued highly in America, for example. A lack of promptness is regarded as being impolite or not being fully responsible. In the US it would be incredible to keep a business partner or a guest waiting for an hour, and it would be too impolite and unacceptable by their social etiquettes. A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to give some words of explanation to the people waiting, though he might not complete his sentence. 16. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. It is not customary to telephone someone in the morning or in sleeping hours in the US.
B. The role of time in social life over the world..
C. If people are not prompt, they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible in the US.
D. Not every country treats the concept of time as the same.
17. What does it mean according to the passage if you call someone during his or her sleeping hours?
A. A matter of work. B. A matter of life or death. C. You want to see him or her.
D. You want to make an appointment with him or her.
18. Which of the following time is proper if you want to make an appointment with your friend?
A. At 7:00 a.m. B. At 4:00 p.m. C. At the midnight. D. At 4:00 a.m.
19. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. In the USA guests tend to feel they are highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party is expended only three or four days before the party date. B. There id no misunderstanding between people from different cultures about the concept of time.
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C. It may be considered foolish to make an appointment well in advance in the USA. D. Being on time is highly valued in America. 20. From the passage we can infer that ____________.
A. it’s a matter of life or death if you call someone in daytime B. the meaning of time differs in different parts of the world
C. it makes no difference in the US whether you are early or late for a business party D. if a person is late for a date, he needn’t make any explanation
IV. Complete the sentences with the words from the bracket, and you should put them in proper order.（每小题 3 分，共 30 分）
1. This film ticket is __________________（再也买不到了）. (no, available, longer)
2. She sang __________________（声音很小，我几乎听不见）. (quietly, that, I, hear, so, could her, hardly)
3. All of them arrive late __________________（由于种种原因）. (variety, reasons, for, of, a)
4. We’ll have to find a job, __________________（不管花多长时间）. (how, it, long, takes, no matter)
5. Do __________________（手机对大脑有害）? (harm, to, cell phones, brains, do)
6. A thinking person must __________________（致力于为和平工作）. (working, commit, himself, to, for, peace)
7. Driving on the left is strange at first but you __________________（很快就会习惯）. (get, used, to, will, soon, it)
8. Otherwise you have nothing to __________________（为讨论做贡献）. (contribute, discussion, this, to)
9. Don’t ask me. I don’t want to ________________（卷入你们的争吵）. (your, be, in, involved, quarrel)
10. We can still negotiate __________________（关于薪酬和福利）. (payment, regard, with, welfare, and, to)
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