—Susan didn’t get an invitation to Joe’s wedding ceremony.

— ______ She doesn’t care.

A．What for?         B．How is it?          C．So what?          D．How so?

 

Don't go to Kauai. Go to any of the other Hawaiian Islands --- Maui, Lanai, the Big Island --- but leave Kauai for us. The weather on Kauai is so unpredictable (不可预测的) that sometimes it rains all day --- in fact, it's the second-wettest spot on the earth. Yes, there are giant double rainbows all the time, and the sunlight through the clouds is magical. But if you are not interested in these, go somewhere else. You just can't control the nature on Kauai, and who wants to surrender (屈服) to the nature when you could be at a fine hotel, lying in a comfortable chair next to a swimming pool, with food served upon request?

So what if Kauai produces surf champions the way Texas produces cowboys？Most of its 300 white-sand beaches are unmarked. Unless you connect with the local people, the hidden spots are hard to find. While Hanalei is the most beautiful town you've ever dreamed of, you can forget about discos and clubs. Worse, it doesn't have one single four-star restaurant. What it does have is the original drive-through places where you pass by a rambutan tree (红毛丹树), and pick a piece of fruit.

Shopping in Kauai? Forget it --- unless you are interested in shell necklaces and beautifully carved wood bowls. Kauai is not about pampering. It's about going natural and finding the nature within you. It's a do-it-yourself place that offers walking along the coast, diving and swimming in the Pacific Ocean, and lying on the beach.

Don't go to Kauai unless you have a lot of time, because there's only one road, which can be slightly dull. It winds through the beautiful scenery of waterfalls, rivers flowing into the ocean, and taro (芋头) fields. You have no choice but to look at everything, because the speed limit is 35 m.p.h.

If you're not interested in color, don't bother with Kauai, because that's what you get --- red roads, blue oceans, and a hundred different shades of green. It's like diving on land. Many people on Kauai believe that this is Lemuria --- a lost island in the Atlantic. Can you imagine? Those Hawaiians, surfers, New Agers, and people who love nature and beauty and want a different quality of life --- what do they know, anyway? Forget about it --- you're not going to like it. Go somewhere else. Leave Kauai for us.

After reading the text, we come to know that it is _____.

A. a piece of shocking news B. an exciting story

C. an interesting introduction D. a moving advertisement

It can be learned from the text that _____.

A. Kauai is an island near the Hawaiian Islands  

B. Kauai is another name of the Hawaiian Islands

C. Kauai is one of the Hawaiian Islands

D. Kauai does not belong to the Hawaiian Islands

In the writer's real opinion, Kauai _____.

A. is not worth visiting at all B. is well worth visiting

C. is not a beautiful island D. is a dangerous island

Who would like to visit Kauai?

A. Those who love nature. B. Those who love city life.

C. Those who love the comfort in a fine hotel. D. Those who love going shopping.

Protecting Copyright

Having finished her homework, Ma Li wants some music. As usual, she starts her computer and goes to Baidu.com to download music files. But this time she is surprised when an announcement about protecting songs’ copyright bursts onto the screen. The age of free music and movie downloads may have come to an end as Web companies like Baidu are accused of pirating copyright. Lawsuits have been filed against four websites offering free downloads. In September 2005, a Beijing court ordered Baidu to pay recording company Shanghai Push compensation for their losses. Baidu was also told to block the links to the pirated music on the website. This caused a heated discussion on Interact file sharing.

“Baidu’s defeat in the lawsuit shows it is not right to get copyrighted songs without paying. Down loaders may face lawsuits or fines,” said an official.

Like many teens, Huang Ruoru, an 18-year-old girl from Puning in Guangdong Province, doesn’t think that getting music from websites is wrong. She always shares her favourite songs downloaded from Baidu with her friends. When told about the lawsuit, she began to feel a little guilty about obtaining others’ work without paying.

However, other teenagers have different ideas. Wang Yafei, a Senior 2 girl from Jinan, Shandong Province pointed out that file sharing is a good way to promote pop singers. “If I download a song and really like it, I will buy the CD,” she said. “So what the recording companies really should concentrate on is improving their music, rather than pursuing file-sharers.”

1.Which of the following best describes the passage?

A. Downloading material can be illegal.

B. Music on the Internet is of better quality.  

C. It’s good to get free music on the Internet.

D. Baidu is a popular web company.

2.The four web companies were put to court because ________.

A. they got copyrighted songs without paying    

B. they make copyrighted files for free downloads

C. they downloaded copyrighted music for people

D. they offer free music on line

3.How do some of the teenagers feel while downloading free music after the lawsuit?

A. A bit guilty. 　                      B. A little sad.  　   

C. Extremely angry. 　                  D. Awfully sorry.

4.What’s the advantage of file sharing for recording companies?

A. Getting more money from web companies.  

B. Making pop singers more popular.

C. Helping to improve the music.           

D. Enabling people to download favorite songs.

5.It can be inferred from the text that _________.

A. Web companies are still ignoring the copyright laws.

B. Teenagers haven’t got money to buy CDs.

C. Teenagers are probably still downloading free music.

D. Teenagers prefer CDs with copyright to pirated music.

 

If there is one thing I’m quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.

The basic British character won’t change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don’t much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?

Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody’s enjoyment.

The nature of what is news may change. What essentially (本质上) makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it’s love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.

It’s quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted electronically from the national equivalents of Fleet Street (伦敦的舰队街，以报馆集中而著称) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I’m pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You’ll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own bespoke newspaper by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device (装置) to do the job for you.

I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring (持久的) than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it’s never really satisfying to read something just on a screen.

1.The author of the passage is most probably from _______________.

A．Russia            B．India             C．Britain            D．America

2.According to the passage, the future of newspapers ____________.

A．will be mainly connected with scientific research

B．will report more important political activities

C．will directly cover more on scientific research

D．will build a bridge between different people

3.The underlined part “bespoke newspaper” of the passage probably refers to _____________.

A．a newspaper which dares to report the truth

B．a newspaper edited to one’s own interest

C．a newspaper edited and published for the public

D．a newspaper which only covers the life of family members

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It was centuries ago that newspapers came into being .

B．Televisions have taken the place of newspapers .

C．The Internet will gradually take the place of newspapers.

D．The nature of news may remain the same over generations.

 

– Lynne kicked a goal just before the game ended.

– _____ Her team lost the game at last.

A．So what?          B．Oh, really?         C．Good for her!      D．You may be right!