It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly （精彩地）written book”. However, he then went on to talk about Mr. Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.
And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out), I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten. But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.
The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either) and Herman Melville.
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in–depth!
But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).
1.How did the author find his friend a book liar?
A. By judging his manner of speaking.
B. By looking into his background.
C. By discussing the book itself.
D. By mentioning a famous name.
2.Which of the following is a “guilty secret” according to the World Book Day report?
A. Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list.
B. 42% of people pretended to have read 1984.
C. The author admitted having read 9 books.
D. Dreams From My Father is hardly read.
3.By lying about reading, a person hopes to .
A. control the conversation B. make more friends
C. learn about the book D. appear knowledgeable
4.What is the author’s attitude to 58% of readers?
A. Favorable. B. Uncaring
C. Friendly D. Doubtful
They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert （警觉）. Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze（凝视） starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise （同样地） when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.
1.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s .
A. sense of sight B. sense of touch
C. sense of hearing D. sense of smell
2.Babies are sensitive to the change in______.
A. the size of cards B. the colour of pictures
C. the number of objects D. the shape of patterns
3.Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.
B. To carry their experiment further.
C. To see how babies recognize sounds
D. To keep the babies’ interest.
4.Where does this text probably come from?
A. Science fiction. B. Children’s literature.
C. A science report. D. An advertisement.
Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York，So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing （揭露） the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.
1.Why did Delta give the author's family credits?
A. Their flight had been delayed.
B. Their flight had been cancelled.
C. They had early bookings
D. They took a later flight
2.What can we learn about the author?
A. She rarely misses a good deal.
B. She seldom makes a compromise.
C. She is very strict with her children
D. She is interested in cheap products.
3.What does the author do?
A. She's a teacher. B. She's a media person
C. She's a housewife. D. She's a businesswoman.
4.What does the author want to tell us?
A. How to expose bad tricks. B. How to reserve airline seats.
C. How to make a business deal. D. How to spend money wisely
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
In a village near Nuremberg lived a family with eighteen children. Merely to keep food on the table, the goldsmith（金匠）father worked eighteen hours a day. Despite their condition, two of Durer's children had a dream to seek their talent for , but they knew 1well their father would never be able to send of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.
The two boys finally worked out an agreement. They would toss（扔） a coin. The _ would work in the nearby mines to support his brother. Albrecht Durer the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, work at the academy was almost an success. Albrecht's woodcuts（木刻） and oils were better than those of his professors and he soon was earning considerable fees his works.
When the young returned home, the Durer family held a festive dinner. Albrecht rose to toast to his beloved brother, "Now, Albert, it is your to seek your dream. I will support you."
All heads turned to the far end of the table, where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, while he and repeated, "No ...no." Finally, Albert rose and the tears from his cheeks. He said softly, "I go to Nuremberg, brother. It is too late for me. Look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed（猛击） at least once, and I cannot even hold a glass to your toast."
Today, Albrecht Durer's masterful works in every great museum in the world, but chances are great you, like most people, are familiar with only one of them. Albrecht Durer drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin stretched（伸展） skyward. He it "The Praying Hands."
Next time you see that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one ever makes it !
1.A. hopeful B. hopeless C. disappointed D. lucky
2.A. music B. art C. mining D. farming
3.A. all B. each C. both D. either
4.A. painter B. loser C. winner D. failure
5.A. lost B. got C. won D. beat
6.A. whose B. his C. whom D. who
7.A. casual B. immediate C. attractive D. ordinary
8.A. far B. quite C. very D. more
9.A. for B. to C. in D. at
10.A. miner B. artist C. worker D. professor
11.A. luck B. turn C. move D. moment
12.A. sobbed B. nodded C. smiled D. laughed
13.A. recovered B. wept C. wiped D. handed
14.A. can’t B. mustn’t C. can D. have to
15.A. hold B. return C. move D. turn
16.A. visit B. represent C. present D. hang
17.A. when B. that C. which D. as
18.A. figures B. hands C. fingers D. arms
19.A. said B. loved C. told D. called
20.A. alone B. out C. yet D. before
— This apple pie is too sweet, don’t you think so?
— ____________. I think it’s just right, actually.
A. I hope so B. Not really
C. Sounds good D. No wonder
Not until all the fish died in the river ____________ how serious the pollution was.
A. did the villagers realize
B. the villagers realize
C. the villagers did realize
D. didn’t the villagers realize
