A recent survey of teachers found that an unhealthy passion with celebrity culture is having a negative impact on British students’ studies and it discovered that celebrity couple, the Beckhams, are the favorites among most students. Many students are ignoring building their own careers to seek a chance at fame instead, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) survey found.

Almost two-thirds of teachers said sports stars were the type of celebrity many pupils wanted to follow while more than half of students wanted to be pop stars.

The survey said the celebrities that students aspired to mostly were David and Victoria Beckham who live in Los Angeles now. Soccer player Beckham is on the top of the survey while in second place, with almost a third of the survey’s votes, was his 33-year-old pop star wife.

Almost half of the 300 teachers surveyed said pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing "unsuitably".

"We are not surprised about the influence of celebrity culture in schools —it reflects the current media passion with celebrities and the effect of celebrity culture on society as a whole," ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said in a statement.

"Celebrities can have a positive effect on pupils. They can raise pupils’ aspirations and desires for the future. However, celebrity culture can spread the idea that celebrity status is the greatest achievement and reinforce the belief that other career choices are not as valuable," said one primary school teacher. "Too many of the pupils believe that school success is unnecessary, because they will be able to get fame and fortune quite easily through a reality TV show."

The story mainly tells us that ______.

  A. the Beckhams are mostly admired in Britain

  B. most students think that being pop stars is more valuable than other career achievements

  C. the celebrity passion has a harmful impact upon British students’ studies

  D. a survey was made recently about the popularity of the stars

According to the survey, Victoria Beckham ______.

  A. is a pop star most students admire

  B. goes in the second place of the celebrities admired

  C. won two-thirds of the votes

  D. lives in New York now

Why does the author mention that pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing “unsuitably”?

  A. The pupils think it interesting to pretend to be the celebrities.

  B. The behavior or the dress of celebrities can be followed as examples.

C. The author wants to show the negative influence these celebrities had on the students.

D. The author just wants to show being pop stars is very valuable to the students.

What is not TRUE according to the story?

  A. Celebrities can’t have positive impact on the students.

  B. Beckham and Victoria are husband and wife.

C. The so-called celebrity culture does harm to the pupils’ ideas about achievement.

  D. Many students believe that school success is unnecessary.

The best title of the story is _____.

 Sports Star David Beckham 

B. Survey of Students about Celebrities

C Harmful Effect of Celebrities on Students 

D. Better to Be Pop Stars Than Sports Stars

       To err is human．To blame the other guy is even more human．

       Common sense is not all that common．

       Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

       These three popular misquotes （戏谑的引语） are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature．To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem．Perhaps it is the natural thing to do．The original quote about human nature went like this, “ To err is human, to forgive, divine（神圣的）．” This saying mirrors an ideal: people should be forgiving of others’ mistakes．Instead, we tend to do the opposite --- find someone else to pass the blame on to．However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a making of great maturity．

       Common sense is what we call clear thought．Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan．Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine．Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything．People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing．”

       And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time．There is a corollary（直接推论）to that: if good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?

According to the author, what is a sign of a man’s maturity?

       A．Doing things his own way．

       B．Bearing responsibility for his mistakes．

       C．Making as few mistakes as possible．

       D．Thinking seriously about his wrongdoing．

Which of the following is N0T based on common sense?

       A．A man tries to take charge of everything in a large company．

       B．A student goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather．

       C．A company’s next move follows a good plan．

       D．A lawyer acts on fine judgments．

What is the author’s opinion about a good excuse?

       A．Making a good excuse is sometimes a better policy．

       B．Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas．

       C．A good excuse is as rewarding as honesty．

       D．Bitter truth is better than a good excuse．

What would be the best title for his passage?

       A．A Mirror of Human Nature     B．To Blame or to Forgive

       C．A Mark of Maturity D．Truth or Excuse

       To err is human．To blame the other guy is even more human．

       Common sense is not all that common．

       Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

       These three popular misquotes （戏谑的引语） are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature．To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem．Perhaps it is the natural thing to do．The original quote about human nature went like this, “ To err is human, to forgive, divine（神圣的）．” This saying mirrors an ideal: people should be forgiving of others’ mistakes．Instead, we tend to do the opposite --- find someone else to pass the blame on to．However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a making of great maturity．

       Common sense is what we call clear thought．Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan．Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine．Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything．People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing．”

       And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time．There is a corollary（直接推论）to that: if good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?

According to the author, what is a sign of a man’s maturity?

       A．Doing things his own way．

       B．Bearing responsibility for his mistakes．

       C．Making as few mistakes as possible．

       D．Thinking seriously about his wrongdoing．

Which of the following is N0T based on common sense?

       A．A man tries to take charge of everything in a large company．

       B．A student goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather．

       C．A company’s next move follows a good plan．

       D．A lawyer acts on fine judgments．

What is the author’s opinion about a good excuse?

       A．Making a good excuse is sometimes a better policy．

       B．Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas．

       C．A good excuse is as rewarding as honesty．

       D．Bitter truth is better than a good excuse．

What would be the best title for his passage?

       A．A Mirror of Human Nature     B．To Blame or to Forgive

       C．A Mark of Maturity         D．Truth or Excuse

To switch or not to switch, that is the question．Google’s announcement of its Nexus One smartphone（智能手机） happened over a week ago and I’m still receiving lots of e-mails from readers asking the same question: Should they give up their iPhone for the Nexus One?

       Some people with iPhones, disappointed by American Telephone&Telegraph’s inadequate service and the high monthly cost, are wondering if they have really got something to replace it．Does the Nexus One offer the functions that Apple has led them to expect?

       I’m on the fence myself, even though I never thought I’d be interested in anything but the iPhone．From my experience using the Nexus One, and from talking to people who have made the change, it’s not necessarily about the differences between the iPhone and the Nexus One．The phones are extremely similar in design and general feel．Instead, the decision can be made based on the software（软件） services you use on your desktop．

       My friend Chad Dickerson received a pre-launch Nexus One from Google three weeks ago．He said Google’s phone feels connected to certain services on the Web in a way the iPhone doesn’t．“Compared to the iPhone, the Google phone feels like it’s part of the Internet to me,” he said．“If you live in a Google world, you have that world in your pocket in a way that’s cleaner and more connected than the iPhone．”

       Personally, the phones work perfectly with their own software, but both of them don’t make an effort to play well with other services．

Why are some iPhone users expecting a new type of phone?

     A．Because their old ones are out of date．

     B．Because they accept Google’s announcement．

     C．Because of the limited service and high cost．

     D．Because of the terrible software they can use．．

What’s the author’s attitude towards the new phones in the third paragraph?

       A．Negative       B．Neutral              C．Indifferent          D．Positive

In Chad Dickerson’s opinion, the Nexus One is ________ the iPhone．

     A．better than     B．worse than     C．as good as      D．as bad as

The best title of the passage might be ________．

       A．Apple’s New Smartphone             

       B．Torn Between Two Phones

      C．Good Services Matter     

       D．Google’s New Smartphone

A clique(小圈子,派系) is a group of friends who hang out together and act in similar ways. Cliques are common feature of the teen years. Members of a clique usually have certain things in common. For example, they might all be good students. Membership in a clique is limited. Not everyone who wants to belong can join.

Cliques can have a positive or negative influence. Because most teens have a strong need to belong, they want to feel that they fit into a group. Cliques can help them meet this need. Sometimes teens feel unsure of themselves, and they use a clique to gain approval of what they wear or how they act.

Cliques can become harmful, however, if they pressure members to behave the same way as the group that may damage their health. Cliques may discourage members from making their own decisions, giving their own opinions, or having other friends who aren’t accepted by the clique. Cliques may even pressure members to act in ways that go against their own values and beliefs, such as lying to parents or teachers. Cliques can also hurt people outside the group. For example, members might make fun of a teen who isn’t in the clique.

If you find yourself under this type of pressure from a clique, here are some actions you can take to improve your situation.

● Suggest other activities. Offer ideas that don’t involve hurting others or putting anyone at risk.

● Find new friends. If staying in the clique is becoming a negative experience, you will be better off with new friends.

Why do teens want to be a member of a clique?

A. Because it is popular with teens.                   

B. Because it meets teens’ need of belonging.

C. Because it is where teens can be themselves.

D. Because it provides an opportunity for them to be away from their parents.

Why can cliques be harmful?

A. Because kids in there don’t have independent thinking.

B. Because kids in there are not allowed to have their own opinions.

C. Because kids in there sometimes are pressured.

D. Because kids in there are forced to lie to their parents.

What is the writer’s attitude toward the clique?

A. He is very supportive to it.                            B. He is strongly against it.

C. He is not against it, though he doesn’t like it.

D. He is not against it. However, he has some worry about it.