How Much Time for TV?

　　Once upon a time, there was no television. That wasn't because no one had tried to invent it. Scientists had worked on the idea starting in the late 1800's. Many years passed before television worked well.

　　In the 1940's, television caught on. It was a hit from the beginning. Soon the movie business, the restaurant business, and even the jukebox (大型唱机) business went down. Americans stayed home to watch television. How much watching do people do? The graph(图表) below can help you decide.

　　This graph is called a pictograph. It shows the average number of hours a day that people have watched television in different years.

　　A pictograph uses pictures, or symbols, to show information. In the graph at the left, the symbol is a clock. Find the key at the bottom. The key tells you that each clock on the graph equals one hour of television watching. Half a clock equals one-half hour of watching.

　　To read the graph, count the number of clocks in the row for each year. A row runs across, from side to side. Use the graph to answer the questions below.

1．The average number of hours spent watching TV in 1960 was ________ .

[　　]

2．People spent an average of six hours a day watching TV in ________ .

[　　]

3．From 1970 to 1976, television watching ________ .

[　　]

4．Television watching went up the most from ________ .

[　　]

5．In which two years did the number of hours stay the same?

[　　]

The Slowest and the Fastest

　　The state of Florida was once almost gobbled (大吃) up by snails(蜗牛). They were giant(巨大的) snails from Africa. A visitor took some to Florida, where they spread quickly. Some of the snails were as big as a person's hand. They ate the leaves on trees and other plants. They had to be stopped, and they were. Poison killed thousands of the snails, and Florida was saved.

　　Catching a snail should be easier than catching any other animal. The snail is the slowest of all land animals. Its top speed is 55 yards per hour. At this speed it would take the snail about 32 hours to travel one mile. A snail only goes that fast when it's very hungry.

　　The bar graph below shows some other top speeds.

　　A bar graph has bars of different lengths, instead of pictures. This kind of graph makes it easy to compare several things quickly. To read the graph, notice where each bar ends. Then find the closest number at the bottom of the graph.

　　Use the bar graph about running speeds to answer the questions.

1．What is the top speed of a rabbit?

[　　]

2．Fifty miles per hour is the top speed for ________ .

[　　]

3．What is the difference in running speed between a greyhound and a gazelle?

[　　]

4．The closest to an elephant in running speed is ________ .

[　　]

5．A rabbit and greyhound can both run faster than ________ .

[　　]

Every morning, the newspaper chief editor（主编） holds a meeting with the reporters. They discuss the main events（事件） of the day. Reporters are then sent to cover the events.　　

As soon as the reporters know what to write about, they get down to work. They telephone people and fix a time for a face-to-face interview with them. Sometimes they do telephone interviews. Checking information is very important. They go to the newspaper's own library to look up any information that they need. This is called “doing one's homework”.

At the same time, the picture editor decides which photographs will be used for the next day's paper. All the people who work on a newspaper must be able to work fast. Reporters have to stop working on one story and start working at once on the important new one. They must find out the new information as quickly as possible. Later in the day, everything is put together at the news desk. Reporters return, type their stories into the computer and hand them to the editor.　　

The chief editor decides which will be the most important story on the front page. Sometimes this will have to be changed if something more important happens late in the day. Other editors read the stories which the reporters have written and make any necessary changes.　　

Finally, there is no more time left for adding new stories, and the time for printing（印刷） the newspaper has come. This is done on fast-moving printing machines. The newspapers are then delivered（发送） by truck, plane or rail. Speed is important. People want to buy the latest newspaper; nobody wants to buy yesterday's.　　

1.What is the work in a newspaper office like?　

A. Interesting and confusing B. Important and patient.　　

C. Particular and necessary. D. Fast and busy.

2.According to the passage, the right order for a reporter's work is ____________.　　

a. writing stories         b. doing interviews  c. joining in a discussion   

d. doing homework       e. handing stories to the editor

A. c-b-a-d-e     B. c-d-e-a-b     C. c-b-d-a-e     D. c-a-d-b-e

3.The front page contents（内容） are decided by ___________.

A. the importance of the events

B. how well the stories are written　　

C. the knowledge of the chief editor

D. whether they are the latest　　

4.Word editors' work is to ____________.

A. help the chief editor with the morning discussion　　

B. decide when and how the papers can be printed　　

C. read the stories and make necessary changes　　

D. get together information from reporters and photographers

5.The best title for this passage is “____________”。　　

A. How a newspaper is produced     B. How newspapers are delivered　　

C. What kind of papers readers like   D. Whose work is more important