With the development of technology, more and more small electronic devices have been replaced by smart phones. Media channels, including newspapers, magazines and television shows, are also suffering. So who cares if people watch less regular TV or read fewer printed publications?
The answer is: advertisers. With all the traditional channels disappearing, how are advertisers supposed to reach customers? Banner (横幅) ads on our devices are ugly and disturbing. To overcome various digital problems, the ad industry has been serving up a sneaky (鬼鬼祟祟) solution: make ads look less like ads and more like the articles, videos and posts around them. An ad that matches the typeface, design and layout of the real article feels less like a tacky intrusion (俗气的入侵).
This trend, called native advertising, has taken over the Internet; even the Websites such as NYTimes.com and Wall-Street.com are using it. Social media companies have signed on to it as well. On Facebook and Twitter, every 10th item or so is an ad; only the small subtitle “Sponsored (赞助)” appearing in light gray type tells you which posts are ads.
Overall, native ads have been a huge success. On NYTimes.com, readers spend as much time on the ads as on the articles. But won’t dressing up ads to make them look like reported articles mislead people? Sometimes, yes. An Interactive Advertising Bureau study found that only 41 percent of general news readers could tell such ads apart from real news stories. And it’s getting worse. Advertisers worry that the “Sponsored” label discourages readers from clicking, so some Websites are making the labels smaller and less noticeable. Sometimes the labels disappear entirely.
At a recent talk about the difficulty of advertising in the new, small-screen world, I heard an ad manager tell an impressive story. She had gotten a musical performance — paid for by her soft drink client — perfectly inserted (插入) into a TV awards show, without any moment of blackness before or after. “It looked just like part of the real broadcast!” she recounted happily.
But how, then, could viewers tell the ad from the independently produced material? A participant rolled his eyes. “People are clever. They know!” he responded.
Look, it is great that native advertising works — publications and programs and free social networks have to stay solvent (有偿付能力的) somehow. But if advertisers truly believe in their material, they should have no problem labeling it as advertising.
For now native ads continue to be a fashion — with no laws governing them and no labeling standard. But that could change; the Federal Trade Commission has begun considering regulation. If the new generation of digital advertisers clean up their act according to the regulation, native ads might become more acceptable.
1.What can we learn about native ads according to the passage?
A. They have overcome the problems of banner ads.
B. They are clearly labelled as ads in Websites.
C. They are a special type of articles.
D. They are used by all Websites.
2.The ad manager’s story in Paragraph 5 is used to show _____.
A. it’s difficult to advertise in the small-screen world
B. it’s difficult to tell native ads from what they have been inserted in
C. it’s easy to insert ads into a TV awards show
D. it’s easy to deal with the “sponsored” label
3.In the author’s view, the future of native ads is _____.
A. bright B. discouraging
C. uncertain D. time-dependent
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. How to advertise in the digital age.
B. Difficulties facing native ads.
C. Truth in digital advertising.
D. What native ads are.
Who would have thought that there was any connection between a cup of coffee and a bird, butterfly, or even a bat? Such seems to be the case, however, as methods for growing coffee plants have gradually changed over time.
Coffee plants were first discovered growing in Africa hundreds of years ago. The plants grew under a wide cover of forests, which protected the coffee plants' leaves from the burning sun. As coffee was introduced to other countries, farmers would naturally try to grow the plants in the shade of tall trees. These trees provided more than shade for coffee plants; they were also home for many species of birds, insects, and other plants.
Over the past 30 to 40 years, people developed a new kind of coffee plant, one which grows well in open sunlight. Sun-grown coffee produced two times more coffee than shade-grown coffee in the same amount of time and space. As a result, the growing need for coffee makes the sun-grown method appear to be the best way to grow coffee.
However, this newer method has some unexpected results. First, the lack of tree cover leaves the land open to heavy rainfall, which can wash away the soil's nutrients (营养物质). This necessitates an increased use of fertilizers (化肥) and additives, which is likely to create health risks. Second, as forests are taken down to make way for sun-grown coffee plants, native and migratory birds no longer have a home. This is threatening many species, and the effect is now being examined and recorded by ornithologists, who are discovering sharp falls in some species that travel to the northern United States each year. Finally, more pesticides (农药) are used in the sun-grown method, all of which have a bad influence on both the environment and the long-term health of the coffee plants themselves.
Today, as more people recognize the problems of coffee grown in the sun, perhaps they will be willing to pay the higher prices, encouraging coffee growers to return to the more natural method of producing this worldwide product.
1.Coffee plants can grow naturally when _____.
A. there is much hot sunshine
B. there is enough heavy rainfall
C. there are tall trees around them
D. there are lots of nutrients in the soil
2.What do ornithologists most probably do?
A. Study birds. B. Grow coffee.
C. Protect forests. D. Make pesticides.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Compared with shade-grown coffee, sun-grown coffee is more expensive.
B. The passage mainly explains the connection between coffee and sunlight.
C. More and more coffee farmers are growing coffee plants in the shade.
D. The author wants coffee farmers to grow shade-grown coffee.
Dear Managing Director,
As you know, money was recently received for improvements to the café, and the Board (董事会) has made some suggestions about how to spend it. The purpose of this letter is to show the reaction of the staff (全体员工) to your ideas and to present some suggestions of our own.
As we understand it, the Board has three main suggestions:
• to repaint the walls and hang curtains
• to buy longer tables and more chairs
• to brighten up the café with plants
We are very happy with the idea of repainting and curtains. This would certainly make the café more attractive. However, we do not feel that there is any need for new tables and chairs. The present furniture is in good condition and because the tables are small, they encourage a friendlier feeling than long tables would. As for plants, we feel the money could be better spent on other things. Our suggestions are:
• to buy a new dishwashing machine. The present machine is of poor quality and doesn't always clean the dishes well.
• to buy a new coffee machine. The present machine breaks down very often and takes a long time to get repaired.
Also, would it be possible to change our servicing company?
• to buy more salt and pepper sets so we have one for every table.
• to buy new staff uniforms. The present uniforms are uncomfortable and unattractive.
We hope that our suggestions will be given serious consideration, particularly those related to the two machines.
We look forward to discussing them with you at a convenient time.
Constanza Brookes, Staff Representative
1.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The staff agree to spend the money on plants.
B. The tables in the café provide a comfortable feeling.
C. The dishwashing machine must be repaired very often.
D. The staff think that curtains are unnecessary for the café.
2.Which of the following do the staff think is more important?
A. Buying more salt sets.
B. Making new uniforms.
C. Getting a new coffee machine.
D. Changing the servicing company.
A hero doesn’t refer to the main character in a sci-fi movie or in a bestselling thriller. What really ____ a hero are the good things done in order to ____ one’s life greatly, providing peace, values and positive thinking. A hero is a person who is admired for having done something very ____ or having achieved something good.
I want to share with you my hero who makes me feel ____ enough each day of my life to reach my own goals. For most of you my hero may be ____; however, I recall a whole life full of ____ and experiences. My grandmother is known by all her grandchildren as “Mocita”. She’s a spirited woman, always ____ her mind to fight for what she wants.
Like most housewives, she kept my family ____. She is always patient, brave and ___. She has never lost her passion (热情) for life. Even though ____ times may come, or a ____ may be round the corner, she’s always optimistic and never ___ the smile on her face.
She started playing tennis when she was 50 and soon became ____ at it. And she is still playing at 74 years old. She ____ to play and I’m sure she will die on the ___, doing what she likes most. Because of her love for tennis, she has ____ the whole family in this great sport, giving us the ____ to enjoy great times together as a family. She’s a champion, and has ____ so many medals, exactly 80. Maybe she isn’t the most famous person you’ve ever known, ____ for me, she’s one of the most amazing people that ____ me in my daily life to become the best I can be.
1.A. faces B. makes C. attracts D. convinces
2.A. influence B. lead C. enjoy D. build
3.A. important B. satisfactory C. different D. proper
4.A. energetic B. patient C. brave D. happy
5.A. unusual B. unfortunate C. unwelcome D. unknown
6.A. expectations B. choices C. incidents D. imaginations
7.A. bringing to B. changing C. making up D. opening
8.A. forward B. together C. out D. up
9.A. strong B. lucky C. creative D. gentle
10.A. free B. modern C. great D. hard
11.A. trick B. storm C. helper D. visitor
12.A. ignores B. loses C. doubts D. wears
13.A. concerned B. puzzled C. skilled D. surprised
14.A. exercises B. stops C. lives D. relaxes
15.A. court B. air C. surface D. way
16.A. interested B. helped C. kept D. involved
17.A. order B. chance C. information D. warning
18.A. carried B. collected C. received D. presented
19.A. so B. but C. or D. for
20.A. inspire B. ask C. force D. allow
—To be good at the game you need a reasonable level of _____.
—That’s true. Practice alone cannot make you a master of it.
A. fortune B. intelligence
C. independence D. guidance
Although it hasn’t been published, I think this book _____ by those who have learned only a little English and are ready to improve it.
A. liked B. has been liked
C. would like D. will be liked
