Endless playing of songs like All I want for Christmas in shops during the festive season doesn’t just drive us mad —the songs also make us more careless with our money, research has warned.
While repeated performance of Jingle Bells may seem like an innocent attempt to raise customers’ spirits during the nightmare of Christmas shopping, the songs also have a more delicate impact.
“Background music, or “Muzak”,can be used by marketers to impose cultures ---such as the commercialization of Christmas--- onto consumers and influence their behaviour,” experts said.
Dr. Alan Bradshaw of Royal Holloway, University of London, said, “Festive jingles are force-fed to Christmas shoppers in a bid to change their mood, influence their sense of time and what sort of products they buy. In other words, this is an attempt to control your shopping habits in a way that you might hardly be aware of.”
“Often we are told that we have the freedom to choose where we want to shop, but during Christmas the use of music in this way is so common that our freedom to choose disappears.”
Dr. Bradshaw and Prof Morris Holbrook of Columbia University examined the phenomenon and found that retailers often “dumb down” the music played in shops to relax customers, meaning it is easier to control their behaviour.
It is thought that slowing down the rhythm of music in shops can trick customers into thinking less time has passed, and therefore spend more time examining the shelves, for example.
Some providers of background music have been known to promote their services by claiming they can boost profits by controlling the behaviour of customers.
“A common trick is to take a popular current song and record an instrumental version which can be slowed down or sped up at different time of the day to influence behaviour in different ways,” Dr. Bradshaw said.
Background music is often classed as “Muzak” in honor of the Seattle-based company which began producing its soft-sounding melodies in the 1930s.
1.According to Dr. Bradshaw, in what ways does Christmas music influence customers?
①their mood ②their income
③their sense of time ④ the sort of products they buy
A.①②③ B.①③④ C.②③④ D.①②④
2. Shopkeepers slow down the rhythm of music in shops to ___________.
A. let customers spend more time shopping
B. make customers and sales assistants relaxed
C. let customers enjoy the beautiful music
D. help customers find what they really want
3.What kind of music is now often adapted to influence customers in shops?
A. Classical music B. Popular modern songs.
C. Folk songs. D. Jazz music.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. Music makes happy Christmas
B. Christmas “Muzak”
C. How to make Christmas music?
D. Christmas music makes us spend more
According to the US Geological Survey, about seven million earthquakes strike worldwide every year—but fortunately, only about 1500 of these are of a magnitude(震级) of 5 or greater on the Richter scale. Certain areas, such as California and Japan, are more prone to earthquakes than others. Although the chance of being caught in “The Big one” is remote, it’s wise to be prepared if you live in a region where earthquakes are common.
Educate your family about earthquakes before a big one strikes. For example, they need to know to take shelter in a doorway or under a strong object if indoors, and never to run outdoors if they are inside. If outside, they need to know to stay away from power lines and buildings where objects could fall.
Teach family members how to turn off gas or water lines or electrical power that may need to be shut off after a quake if severe damage occurs.
Develop a plan. Where will your family meet in the event of a disaster? What if some people are at work or school? How will you know if they are safe? Where will you all meet up?
Pack a preparedness kit(衣物装备) and keep it in a safe location. In a major earthquake, it’s possible that you won’t be able to get into your house. Keep supplies in your car trunk or an outside storage shed if possible. Pack whatever your family is likely to need, enough for three days to a week, including food, water, medication, first aid and personal hygiene supplies, flashlights, a portable radio, blankets, clothes and shoes, cash, or camp stove, candles, matches or lighters, and a whistle.
Consider earthquake insurance for your home if you live in an earthquake-prone area. Regular homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover earthquake damage.
1.The underlined words “prone to ” in paragraph 1 can be replaced by___________.
A. likely to suffer B. frequent to explore
C. regular to measure D. impossible to experience
2.According to the passage, if you are outside in an earthquake, you should_________.
A. stay where you are B. hide under a big tree
C. avoid power lines D. sit on the ground
3. We can learn from the passage that_________.
A. about 1,500 earthquakes happen every year
B. people should store some clothes in their houses in advance
C. family members should meet in their home after an earthquake
D. people suffering earthquakes often should buy earthquake insurance
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How to Keep Safe in an Earthquake
B. How to Prepare for an Earthquake
C. Who Can Help Us After an Earthquake?
D. Where Is an Earthquake-prone Area?
作为一名高三学生的你，明年即将毕业。现在校报征稿，请根据以下要点写一篇英语短文，谈谈你对高三生活的体会和建议。
1. 对老师与家长的关爱表示感谢；
2. 向与自己发生过矛盾的同学表达歉意；
3. 努力学习，实现人生梦想；
4. 对学弟、学妹的建议。
注意：
1. 可适当加入细节，使行文连贯；
2. 词数：100 左右（开头已给出，不计入总字数）。
High school is always considered as the most cherished period of one’ s life. As a Senior 3 student, it won’t be long before I graduate.
将答案写在答题卷上，写在本试卷上无效。
第四部分：写作（共两节，满分35分）
第一节 短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改仅限一词。
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Attention please, everyone. I have announcement to make. You will pay a visit to the museum on October 1st. I think we will be interest in it. In the course of the visit, the guide will give us an account of the past or the development of the city. She say something about the advanced workers, included some teachers. We will see many pictures there. I’m sure of that we can learn a lot. After the visit, we’ll have a discussion in group and each of us must write a composition. We are to start out as earlier as 7:00 am. We must gather against time at the school gate. That’s all. Thanks.
Weight loss is a hard topic. Lots of people aren’t satisfied with their present weight, but most people aren’t sure how to change it. You may want to look like the models or actors in magazines or on TV, but those goals might not be healthy or realistic for you. __1.__
So what should you do about your weight control?
__2.__ The best way to find out if you are at a healthy weight or if you need to lose or gain weight is to talk to a doctor or dietitian (营养学家). __3.__ If it turns out that you can benefit from weight loss, then you can follow a few of the simple suggestions listed below to get started.
4. People who lose weight quickly be crash dieting or other extreme measures usually gain back all of the pounds they lost, because they haven’t permanently changed their habits. Therefore, the best weight management ways are those that you can maintain for a lifetime.
Small changes are a lot easier to stick with than large ones. Try reducing the size of what you eat. 5. Once you have that down, start gradually introducing healthier foods and exercise into your life.
It’s a good idea to maintain a healthy weight because it’s just that: healthy.
A. Weight management is about long-term success.
B. They will compare your weight with healthy standards and help you set goals.
C. Being healthy is really about being at a weight that is right for you.
D. People who don’t smoke cigarettes are healthier than those who do.
E. Besides, no magical diet will make you look like someone else.
F. Try paying attention as you eat and stop when you are full.
G. Changing from non-fat or low-fat food to whole-fat food is also a good idea.
I live in Hollywood. You may think people in such an attractive, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more long-lasting emotion. Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. But in memoir(回忆录) after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children, and long-time loneliness.
The way people hold on to the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equates happiness actually decreases their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But, in fact, the opposite is true: More times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very efforts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, charitable work and self-improvement.
1.According to the passage, “fun activities” ____________.
A. are the things we do before we find happiness
B. may help us relax and forget our problems sometimes
C. will lead us to the true happiness
D. could provide long-last positive effects
2. In the author’s opinion, those Hollywood stars ____________.
A. possess happiness because they are rich and famous
B. experience almost all kinds of happy things
C. tell us happiness isn’t equal to fun using their own stories
D. have to suffer a lot before they become successful
3. It is difficult for people to find real happiness because ____________.
A. they believe happiness is the fun life without pain
B. they find pain equals unhappiness
C. they fear to lose what they already have in life
D. They are afraid all their efforts were in vain
4.The main purpose of the text is to ____________.
A. describe the difference between happiness and fun
B. show the true meaning of happiness
C. encourage people to pursue fun activities
D. advise people to find their real life
