Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this 17-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.

Justin Bieber was born in Straford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007,he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then,with the help of his mother, he uploaded videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.

Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contracted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta 7 months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.

In 2009,Justin Bieber released his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album（首张专辑）.The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0”in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.

1.Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when ________.

A．he met with Scooter Braun

B．he released his debut album

C．he won second place in a competition

D．his singing videos were uploaded to a website

2.It can be infered from the text that Justin Bieber ___________.

A．owed his success to good luck

B．showed a gift for music when he was young

C．is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry

D．released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun

3.What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time”according to the text?

A．It is about love and was released in 2010.

B．It attracted the world’s attention after released.

C．It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries.

D．It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A．Justin Bieber’s journey to success

B．Lucky boy-- Justin Bieber

C．What made Justin Bieber a singer

D．Secrets of Justin Bieber’s success

 

We often use the words “growth” and “development” as if they meant basically the same thing. But this may not always be the case. One can easily imagine instances in which a country has achieved higher levels of income (growth) with little or no benefit coming to most of its citizens (development).

In the past, most development policies were aimed at increasing the growth rate of income per capita (人均所得). Many are still based on the theory that benefit of economic growth will come to all members of society. If this theory is correct, growth should encourage development.

By the early 1970s, however, the relationship between growth and development was being questioned. A major study by the World Bank in 1974 concluded that it is now clear that more than decades of rapid growth in developing countries has been of little benefit to & third of their population.

The World Bank study showed that increase in GNP per capita did not promise important improvements in such devel??opment indicators as nutrition (营养), health, and education. Although GNP per capita did indeed rise, its benefit came down to only a small part of the population. This realization gives rise to a call for new development policies. These new policies favor agriculture over industry, call for national redis??tribution (资源分配) of income and wealth, and encourage programs to satisfy such basic needs as food and shelter.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s the international macroeconomic crises (大规模的经济危机) of high oil prices, worldwide recession (衰退) and the third world debt, forced attention away from programs designed to get rid of poverty. however, the lesson remains: economic growth does not prom??ise economic development. Efforts may be required to change growing output capacity (能力) into economic benefit that reach most of a nation’s people.

What do we learn from the first paragraph about the relationship between growth and development?

A. Growth and development refer to the same thing.

B. Growth always brings about development.

C. Development is not a necessary result of growth.

D. Development is a reliable measure of growth.

Before the 1970s, most development policies were based on theory that economic growth would benefit ________.

A. most people in society                  B. some people in society

C. few people in society                   D. everyone in society

according to the study by the World Bank in 1974, economic growth in some backward countries brought ________.

A. benefit to a third of their population

B. benefit to two thirds of their population

C little benefit to their people

D. no benefit at all to their people

If the passage continues, what would the author most likely discuss in the next paragraph?

A. How to turn growth into development.

B. How to remove poverty from society.

C. How to decrease the third world debt.

D. How to cope with economic crises.

Master of Science in Information Systems (MS INSY)

University of Texas Arlington College of Business Administration                     

Introduction                                                 

1. Learn how to develop and manage computer-based information    Start date  01/05/2008

systems                                                End date Request info

2. Learn how information systems support general business activities        Place  United States

3. Prepare for careers in business, industry, government, or non-profit            of America,

organizations                                                    Arlington, TX

4. Electives (选修课程) available:                              Application deadline

●expert systems                                                 01/01/2008

●decision support systems                                     Start date  01/09/2008

●system concepts                                        End date  Request info

●computer science                                          Place  United States

●information systems                                                    of America,

●management science                                               Arlington, TX

●business logistics                                         Application deadline

●enterprise resource planning (ERP)                                 01/04/2008

Requirements                                                Start date  01/01/2009

For those students holding a BBA or equivalent, this program requires   End date  Request info

a minimum of 30 hours (holders of non-business degrees will likely      Place  United States

require additional coursework):                                            of America,

12 hours of coursework in:                                                Arlington, TX

●management information systems                             Application Deadline

●database management systems                                        01/09/2008

●system analysis and design                                    TYPE  Campus

●distributed information systems and data communications               Level  Master

6 hours of Thesis research on a major project (or substitute 9 hours of   Duration Request info

advanced electives)                                            Part time  No

6 hours of research/statistics courses                             Full time  Yes

6 hours of electives                                            Price  Request info

1.If you want your program to start from September 2008, you’ll have to apply before _______.

A．May 1st           B．September 1st      C．January 1st        D．April 1st

2.Students of non-business degrees are required to spend _______ hours on the program.

A．at most 48         B．at least 42         C．more than 30      D．not less than 60

3.What do we learn from the above web page?

A．You won’t be admitted to the university if you are working in a company.

B．This program will prepare you for your further study in business.

C．Expert systems, computer science and business activities are available as electives.

D．Detailed information about the end dates can be obtained by phone.

 

Shane Thomas is a 10-year-old pianist from England. He’s being called the next Mozart because of his amazing abilities.

He has only been having piano lessons for four months, and practices four hours a week, but he has already played difficult classical pieces. He was just seven when he sat down at the piano, and could play at once. He also says he never gets nervous.

When Shane was three years old, he said that he could play the piano, but nobody took him seriously. At school, he could listen to the teacher and do his work while composing (作曲) in his head. Shame remembers all the melodies（旋律）,and when he gets home he plays them on the piano, while his father records them. Shane loves playing the piano, and when he grows up he wants to be a composer.

His tutor, Richard Goffin-Lecar, says he is like Amadeus Mozart, who lived during the 18^th century in Salzburg, Austria, and was one of the most famous composers ever. Mr. Goffin-lecar says, “I don’t teach Shane very much. I just give him directions, then sit back and watch.”

His father, a single parent with two other children, says that although he has little money, he wants to send Shane to a good music school. “I’m a single father, but I have this gifted child. I don’t have much money, but I want to give him the best teachers, and also take him into a studio to record.”

1.When did Shane tell others that he could play the piano?

A. At age three.    B. At age ten.      C. At age seven.  D. At age four.

2.Which of the following is TRUE about Shane?

A. He feels nervous while playing the piano

B. He can compose in his head while doing his work.

C. He wants to be a piano tutor when he grows up.

D. He doesn’t like to listen to the teacher at school.

3.What do we learn about Shane’s father?

A. He also plays the piano well.

B. He’s a single father with two children.

C. He believes in Shane’s talent for music and will support him.

D. Not having enough money, he will ask the teachers for help

 

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition which she won last year.

As a writer, I know about winning contests – and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection letter from the publisher. I also know the pressure of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and destroyed hopes can resurface in our children.

A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting my daughter’s experience.

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

1.What do we learn from the first paragraph?

A．A lot of amusements compete for children’s time nowadays.

B．Children have lots of fun doing mindless activities.

C．Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time.

D．Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.

2.What did the author say about her own writing experience?

A．She was constantly under pressure to write more.

B．Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.

C．She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.

D．Her road to success was full of pain and frustrations.

3.Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?

A．She believed she possessed real talent for writing.

B．She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

C．She wanted to share her stories with readers.

D．She had won a prize in the previous contest.

4.The author took great pains to improve her daughter’s stories because _______.

A．she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dreams of becoming a writer

B．she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing

C．she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much

D．she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance

5.The underlined sentence probably means that the author was _______.

A．trying not to let her daughter enjoy her own life

B．trying to get her daughter to do the thing as the author wished

C．making sure that her daughter would win the contest

D．helping her daughter develop real skills for writing

6.What’s the author’s advice for parents?

A．Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.

B．Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.

C．Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.

D．A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.