If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station, you don't need to feel surprised. They are a flash mob(暴民). Who are they? Are they mobs? Don't be confused by their name. Actually, a flash mob is a group of people who gather suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disappear.
They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks. The messages may be sent to friends, who send to more people. At a predetermined time, they gather and perform some activities such as exchanging books, coming together to look at the sky, waving their hands and yelling something at the top of their voice for 30 seconds. Then, they quickly disappear before the police can arrive. Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change its place if the first one has been cancelled for any reason.
Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob gathered on June 3,2003. Wasik claimed that he created the flash mob as a social experiment designed to laugh at fashion seekers and stress the cultural atmosphere of wanting to be an insider or part of “the next big thing”．
Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people. Such an activity might seem amusing and magical, but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. Undoubtedly, flash mob can serve as good political tools and have great potential, such as using to advertise a product.
The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular. People use it to do many things. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.
1.What is NOT the feature of the flash mob?
A．It can get together quickly.
B．It can change its place freely.
C．It can do activities suddenly.
D．It can injure people seriously.
2.How do flash mobs inform one another?
①By using the Internet.②By writing letters.③By yelling.④By waving hands.⑤By using mobile phones.
⑥By holding a meeting.
A．③④ B．①⑤ C．②⑥ D．⑤⑥
3.Why did Bill Wasik create the flash mob?
A．To advertise some products.
B．To help people make friends.
C．To laugh at fashion seekers.
D．To create some memories.
4.What can we learn about the flash mob from the passage?
A．Bill Wasik organized the first successful flash mob in May, 2003.
B．People are encouraged to take a more active part in an activity.
C．Flash mobs tend to do something illegal for a short time.
D．Flash mob gathering can frighten all the people present.
It's such a happylooking library, painted yellow, decorated with palmtree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it's pedestrianfriendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach Country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It's a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsinbased nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That's what we're going to do for our spring break！”
Son Austin, now a 10thgrader, didn't see the point of building a library that resembles a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51yearold owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he'd built years earlier for daughter Abbie's toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library's final touches(装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book，” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they'd already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids' favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again，” said Janey, a stayathome mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing(补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project's best payoff, says Peter, are the thankyou notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.”
1.In what way is the library “pedestrianfriendly”？
A．It owns a yellow roof.
B．It stands near a sidewalk.
C．It protects book lovers from the sun.
D．It uses palmtree stickers as decorations.
2.Janey got the idea to build a library from ________.
A．a visit to Brian Williams
B．a spring break with her family
C．a book sent by one of her neighbors
D．a report on a Wisconsinbased organization
3.The library was built ________.
A．by a ship supply company
B．on the basis of toy horses
C．like a mailbox
D．with glass
4.What can we infer from the signboard?
A．It was made by a user of the library.
B．It marked a final touch to the library.
C．It aimed at making the library last long.
D．It indicated the library was a family property.
5.The passage tells us that the users ________.
A．donate books to the library
B．get paid to collect books for the library
C．receive thankyou notes for using the library
D．visit the library over 5 times on average daily
Annie, a neighbor's daughter, was away for her first semester at college this school year. She is a very sweet girl but just a bit shy. When her birthday came around, I found out she was feeling a bit ___.
Her family is quite poor and ____ are tight, so there wouldn't be any birthday visitors. I wanted to ____ her a card and maybe a small gift to ____ her day a bit. I got her school ____ from her mom and planned to pick something up. Then I got a(n) ____！
I ____ perhaps a bit more birthday cheer was needed here. I bought some balloons, birthday hats, and ___ novelties(新颖小巧而价廉的物品) at a store. I took a small ____ and asked three other people in my area at work to ____ “Happy Birthday” and send some birthday wishes to her. It was such fun making the recording! Other people ____ what we were doing and ____ their voices, so it really sounded like we had a party going on!
Then I bought her a small present and a card as ____ planned. The real fun was packing them to be sent. I ____ everything so it was like opening a mini birthday party! At the last minute I added a pack of cupcakes and a box of birthday candles ____ sending them off. I got a call a few days later. Annie said her roommates and one of their neighbors in the ____ got together with her and held a party for her the moment they arrived. She sounded so ____ and I was so glad that she had some friends to ____ her special day with.
It was such an easy and ____ thing to do. The people who helped me make the tape still laugh and talk about it. And Annie ____ me it was the most fun birthday she would remember!
1.A.lonely B．nervous C．alone D．worried
2.A.thoughts B．finances C．measures D．times
3.A.provide B．sell C．send D．draw
4.A.attract B．remember C．describe D．brighten
5.A.number B．campus C．address D．report
6.A.idea B．surprise C．chance D．message
7.A.decided B．thought C．wished D．concluded
8.A.another B．others C．other D．one
9.A.radio B．camera C．recorder D．phone
10.A.say B．sing C．repeat D．make
11.A.took out B．set out C．gave out D．found out
12.A.added B．devoted C．cleared D．lifted
13.A.suddenly B．originally C．finally D．carefully
14.A.collected B．paid C．arranged D．expected
15.A.until B．after C．unless D．before
16.A.dormitory B．home C．classroom D．office
17.A.familiar B．happy C．wonderful D．upset
18.A.help B．compare C．share D．witness
19.A.funny B．challenging C．fun D．timeconsuming
20.A.warned B．convinced C．advised D．told
Bad teeth can be painful and even be deadly. Infections of the gums(牙龈) and teeth can release bacteria into the blood system. Those bacteria can increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke and worsen the effects of other diseases. And adults are not the only ones at risk. For example, a 12yearold boy died when a tooth infection spread to his brain in 2007 in Washington. Experts said it might have been prevented had he received the dental care he needed.
Experts say good dental care starts at birth. Breast milk, they say, is the best food for the healthy development of teeth. Breast milk can help slow bacterial growth and acid production in the mouth. But dentists say a baby's gums and early teeth should be cleaned after each feeding by using a cloth with a little warm water. Experts say if you decide to put your baby to sleep with a bottle, give only water.
When baby teeth begin to appear, you can clean them with a wet toothbrush. Dentists say it is important to find soft toothbrushes made especially for babies and to use them very gently. The use of fluoride(氟化物) to protect teeth is common in many parts of the world. For example, it is often added to drinking water supplies. The fluoride mixes with enamel(釉质), the hard surface on teeth, to help prevent holes from forming.
But young children often swallow toothpaste when they brush their teeth. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry notes that swallowing fluoridated toothpaste can cause problems. So young children should be carefully watched when they brush their teeth. And only a small amount of fluoridated toothpaste, the size of a pea, should be used.
Parents often wonder what effect finger sucking might have on their baby's teeth. Dental experts generally agree that this is fine early in life. Most children stop sucking their fingers by the age of four. If it continues, experts advise parents to talk to their children's dentists or doctors. Because it could interfere_with the correct development of permanent teeth.
Dentists say children should have their first dental visit at least by the time they are one year old. They say babies should be examined when their first teeth appear—usually at around six months.
1.According to the passage，what is the function of fluoride?
A．Making the surface on teeth much cleaner.
B．Protecting gums from being infected.
C．Keeping holes on teeth from forming.
D．Slowing down bacterial growth and acid production.
2.The underlined phrase “interfere with” in Para.5 probably means “________”．
A．do harm to B．account for
C．contribute to D．stand for
3.What is the purpose of the author in writing the passage?
A．To warn us of the deadly infections of gums and teeth.
B．To introduce the advantages of fluoridated toothpaste.
C．To draw our attention to the dental care of young children.
D．To present the research results about dental care.
No one knows for sure when advertising first started. It is possible that it grew out of the discovery that some people did certain kinds of work better than others did them. That led to the concept of specialization, which means that people would specialize, or focus, on doing one specific job.
Let's take a man we'll call Mr. Fielder, for example. He did everything connected with farming. He planted seeds, tended the fields, and harvested and sold his crops. At the same time, he did many other jobs on the farm. However, he didn't make the bricks for his house, cut his trees into boards, make the plows(犁), or any of the other hundreds of things a farm needs. Instead, he got them from people who specialized in doing each of those things.
Suppose there was another man we shall call Mr. Plowright. Using what he knew about farming and working with iron, Mr. Plowright invented a plow that made farming easier. Mr. Plowright did not really like farming himself and wanted to specialize in making really good plows. Perhaps, he thought, other farmers will trade what they grow for one of my plows.
How did Mr. Plowright let people know what he was doing? Why, he advertised, of course. First he opened a shop and then he put up a sign outside the shop to attract customers. That sign may have been no more than a plow carved into a piece of wood and a simple arrow pointing to the shop door. It was probably all the information people needed to find Mr. Plowright and his really good plows.
Many historians believe that the first outdoor signs were used about five thousand years ago. Even before most people could read, they understood such signs. Shopkeepers would carve into stone, clay, or wood symbols for the products they had for sale.
A medium, in advertising talk, is the way you communicate your message. You might say that the first medium used in advertising was signs with symbols. The second medium was audio, or sound, although that term is not used exactly in the way we use it today. Originally, just the human voice and maybe some kind of simple instrument, such as a bell, were used to get people's attention.
A crier, in the historical sense, is not someone who weeps easily. It is someone, probably a man, with a voice loud enough to be heard over the other noises of a city. In ancient Egypt, shopkeepers might hire such a person to spread the news about their products. Often this earliest form of advertising involved a newly arrived ship loaded with goods. Perhaps the crier described the goods, explained where they came from, and praised their quality. His job was, in other words, not too different from a TV or radio commercial in today's world.
1.What probably led to the start of advertising?
A．The discovery of iron.
B． The specialization of labor.
C．The appearance of new jobs.
D．The development of farming techniques.
2.To advertise his plows, Mr. Plowright ________.
A．praised his plows in public
B．placed a sign outside the shop
C．hung an arrow pointing to the shop
D．showed his products to the customers
3.The writer makes up the two stories of Mr. Fielder and Mr. Plowright in order to ________.
A．explain the origin of advertising
B．predict the future of advertising
C．expose problems in advertising
D．provide suggestions for advertising
4.In ancient Egypt, a crier was probably someone who ________.
A．owned a ship
B．had the loudest voice
C．ran a shop selling goods to farmers
D．functioned like today's TV or radio commercial
5.The last two paragraphs are mainly about ________.
A．the history of advertising
B．the benefits of advertising
C．the early forms of advertising
D．the basic design of advertising
A few weeks ago，our dog，which we had kept for more than ten years，had to be put down.First，a tumor on her stomach got worse，and she was very ____.Then，the pain in her back got so bad that sometimes she ____ lie down in the middle of a walk and couldn't take another ____.
When I first found out，I was very sad and cried a lot.She was more like a sister to me than a ____.But I was also angry at my stepfather，Steve，who told us the ____ a week after it happened.He ____ because he didn't want to worry us，and he didn't want me to get depressed (抑郁的)and fail my exams.I just thought she was ____ at the animals' hospital.
I think you know all the ____ that went through my head：She was my dog！Why didn't he tell us earlier？I didn't even get to say goodbye.
People in my family have a ____ of keeping things from me to protect me，such as only telling me that my aunt had cancer ____ she had already improved.All I could think was：Not again!
I ____ to my mum，and she said，“I know.I'm ____，too.”I opened my mouth to shout.And then she added，“I'm so angry with Steve that he had to ____ through all this on his own.”Hearing my mum's words，I shut up my mouth.I had been so ____ on myself.I hadn't thought about ____ Steve was going through.That dog was his baby.He'd had her for longer than he'd had us—and he had to make the decision to ____ her life，and then kept in silence for an entire ____.All my anger melted away，and all I felt was ____.
It makes me realize that we focus so much on ourselves that we ____ the pain of others.At that moment，my mum's words were an incredible ____ that I'll never forget.
1.A.lazy B．lonely
C．painful D．shameful
2.A.would B．should
C．might D．could
3.A.walk B．step
C．foot D．breath
4.A.tool B．toy
C．baby D．pet
5.A.plan B．accident
C．anecdote D．truth
6.A.lied B．waited
C．reflected D．hesitated
7.A.still B．once
C．even D．never
8.A.facts B．opinions
C．thoughts D．doubts
9.A.story B．secret
C．habit D．hobby
10.A.until B．before
C．while D．after
11.A.adjusted B．turned
C．contributed D．related
12.A.angry B．shocked
C．guilty D．abused
13.A.break B．go
C．look D．push
14.A.focused B．hooked
C．dependent D．hard
15.A.that B．where
C．what D．which
16.A.save B．expand
C．make D．end
17.A.year B．month
C．week D．day
18.A.regret B．blame
C．sorrow D．sympathy
19.A.shared B．ignored
C．reminded D．rid
20.A.comfort B．compromise
C．gift D．suggestion
