My mother has always been a follower of traditional methods when it comes to anything. She cooks traditional food，likes dressing up traditionally and likes the traditional way of shopping. She loves going to markets and going from one shop to another to find out what suits her best. She can walk miles when it comes to shopping along with her friends. She knows all the local markets and shops and knows very well where she can get best discounts（折扣）．

However，now she always gets tired when she goes out in the market. So one day I decided to introduce a new shop，which is much larger than usual markets and where she can also get discounts．I am talking about online gift stores. She has a basic knowledge of computers and can operate computers. At the beginning，she was doubtful about shopping from these online gift shops because she wasn’t too sure about the quality of the products.

One day I decided to get her some branded things so that she could build trust in these shops. I ordered a Timex watch and a Sisley handbag for her. She never bought things online，but when they were delivered as a gift，she jumped for joy. She could not believe that I had ordered these gifts for her despite her being not much positive about online shops. However，after she saw both the products，she was assured that these online gift shops sent the promised brands and products，she loved her new watch and handbag.

After this experience she ordered a gift for her friend's wedding. She chose a gift basket that could be made according to her requirements. They sent a beautifully decorated basket with fine wines and chocolates. The basket was so artistically decorated that it became her friend's favorite gift. Since then she has been consistently shopping online.

1. What can we learn about the author's mother?

A. She lives in a traditional way. B. She likes shopping very much.

C. She is kind and very humorous. D. She always leads a simple life.

2. Why does the author decide to introduce a new shop to her mother?

A. The new shop is much larger. B. She can't go shopping as before.

C. There are more goods for her to choose from.

D. The goods in the new shop are much cheaper.

3. What was the attitude of the author's mother to shopping online at first?

A. She thought it was a good idea. B. She thought goods online were cheap.

C. She doubted the quality of the goods.

D. She worried about the difficulty in operation.

4. The author decided to buy his mother some branded things＿．

A. in order to please his mother B. so that she could trust in shopping online

C. so that she would live a happy life in her later years

D. so that she would get a surprise on Mother's Day

B

　 In English the spelling of words does not always represent the sound. So people say /rait/ but spell it right or write, or even rite. Combinations of letters may be pronounced in many ways. And some words just seem to have too many letters.

　 For Americans things are a little bit easier, thanks to the work of Noah Webster, a teacher who graduated from Yale University in 1778. As a young man, he had fought against the British in the American War of Independence, and he felt that written English in the newly independent United States should have a distinctive American look.

　 So he began his work on American English. His first book, The Elementary Spelling Book, suggested simplifying the spelling of English words. The book was extremely popular. By the 1850s, it was selling one million copies a year, making it one of the most popular school books ever.

　 Many of the suggestions were quickly adopted. Center instead of centre, program instead of programme, and flavor instead of flavour. Others, however, such as removing silent letters like s in island or the final e in examine, were not .

Webster is best known for his American Dictionary of the English language, which first appeared in 1828. It introduced lots of new American words, with information about their pronunciation and use, and, of course, the new spelling. The British criticized the dictionary, but it quickly became a standard reference book in the States. Today, Webster's dictionary is still the number one dictionary for American students.　　

5. What is the text mainly about?

　　A. Webster and his best sellers.

　　B. British and American English.

　　C. The history of American English.

　　D. The man who made spelling simple.

6. Which is the right order according to the text?

　　①Webster graduated from Yale University.

　　②American Dictionary of the English language came out.

　　③Webster's book was selling one million copies a year.

　　④Webster took part in the American War of Independence.

　　A. ②①③④ B. ③①②④ C. ④①③② D. ①②③④

7. What can we learn from the text?

　A. All the spelling of words does not represent the sound.

　B. The Elementary Spelling Book was published in the 1850s.

　C. Webster's suggestions were accepted completely.

　D. Webster's dictionary is the best all over the world.

8. What attitude do the British have towards Webster's dictionary?

　A. They thought highly of it.

　B. They found fault with it.

　C. They argued bitterly about it.

D. They followed the examples of it.

C

More than a century ago, the composer and bandleader John Philip Sousa warned that technology would destroy music, who said, “These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy … in front of every house in the summer evenings you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or the old songs. Today you hear these terrible machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord (声带) left.”

Music has greatly changed in the past hundred years, which has been everywhere in our world: rivers of digital melody flow on the Internet or on disc; MP3 players with forty thousand songs can be put in a back pocket or a purse. Yet, for most of us, music is no longer something we do ourselves, or even watch other people do in front of us. It has become a radically virtual medium, an art without a face.

Ever since Edison invented the phonograph cylinder(留声机), people have been assessing what the medium of recording has done for and to the art of music. Sousa was a spokesman for the party of doom; in the opposite corner are the utopians(乌托邦), who argue that technology has not imprisoned music but liberated it. Before Edison came along, Beethoven’s symphonies could be heard only in select concert halls. Now the recordings carry the man from Bonn to the corners of the earth. Glenn Gould, after renouncing live performance in 1964, predicted that within the century the public concert would disappear into the electronic air.

Having discovered much of my favorite music through LPs and CDs, I am not about to join Sousa’s party. Modern urban environments are often so soulless or ugly that I’m grateful for the humanizing touch of electronic sound. But neither can I accept Gould’s slashing futurism. I want to be aware of technology’s effects, positive and negative. Fortunately, scholars and critics have been methodically exploring this terrain for many decades, trying to figure out exactly what happens when we listen to music with no musicians in the room.

9. The first paragraph is intended to .

A. defend an argument B. make a prediction

C. criticize an attitude D. summarized a viewpoint

10. The author’s attitude towards the recorded music may best be described as .

A. dissatisfied B. defensive C. optimistic D. objective

11. The underlined word “terrain” in the last paragraph most nearly means .

A. region B. subject C. land D. distinction

12. The primary purpose of the passage is to .

A. explain different attitudes of scholars and critics

B. defend the view of one group from the criticism of another

C. advocate an unexpected solution to a pressing problem

D. present the key issues in an ongoing debate

D

“Enough” with the multivitamins already. That’s the message from experts behind three new studies that tackled an often debated question: Do daily multivitamins make you healthier?

“We believe that the case is closed - supplementing(补充) the diet of well-nourished adults with (most) mineral or vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and might even be harmful,” concluded the authors of the editorial summarizing the new research papers. They urge consumers to not ‘waste’ their money on multivitamins. “The ‘stop wasting your money’ means that perhaps you’re spending money on things that won’t protect you long term,” editorial co-author, Dr. Edgar Miller said, “What will protect you is if you spend the money on fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, low fat dairy, and things like that. Exercising would probably be a better use of the money.”

The strong message was based on a review of the findings from three studies that tracked multivitamins link to cancer protection, heart health, and brain and cognitive(认知的) measures. The first study looked at vitamin supplementation’s role in preventing chronic(慢性的) disease. The next study looked at whether long-term use of multivitamins would have any effect on slowing cognitive decline. The third study looked specifically at multivitamins and minerals role in preventing heart attack. “The three studies found no difference in rates of chronic disease, heart attack and the need for hospitalization between vitamin-takers and placebo(安慰剂)-takers.” Dr. Edgar Miller stated.

One expert agreed some nutrient-deficient people may still benefit from multivitamins. “There might be an argument to continue taking a multi(vitamin) to replace or supplement your not healthy diet,” Dr. Edgar Miller added. He also notes that vitamins can benefit people with celiac disease and those who are pregnant.

13. This text is likely to be selected from a book of .

A. medicine B. education C. food D. business

14. Which of the fo