A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.
First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.
In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions. Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.
To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.
小題1:What is the passage mainly about?

A．The problems faced by the old in society.

B．Why we should take responsibility for the old.

C．How we can improve the lives of the old.

D．Where the old can go to get their pensions.

小題2: The underlined word "viable" most probably means"       ".

A．impossible

B．practical

C．useful

D．important

小題3:What is the writer's main purpose in writing this article?

A．To point out the need for government support for old people.

B．To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people.

C．To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem.

D．To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life.

小題4:The text is most likely to be found in a book about____.  

A．social science	B．historical events
C．political problem	D．political systems

Chinese people are now spending more time surfing the net than watching TV, according to results of a survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) published Thursday.
The survey, of citizens of five Chinese cities, found that 79 percent of interviewees use the internet for information, and 55.1 percent to read news on the internet. About 63 percent of the interviewees use e-mail. The average times spent surfing the net and watching TV were 2.73 hours and 1.29hours, respectively.
Only 10.4 percent reported use the internet primarily to send and receive email; 65.9 percent read online news; 62.2 quite often play games on-line. More and more people have taken an interest in the entertainment opportunities online. Up to 56.5 percent of interviewees quite often download music, and 53.5 percent get entertainment messages from the internet.
Yet the survey found that television is still the dominant mass medium. Seventy-nine percent of interviewees choose to watch TV to get information, and another 75 percent take newspapers as important as TV.
Five major web sites in the Chinese language, namely Sina, Sohu, Netease, Baidu and Yahoo are still ranked top ones by web users, and those that voted for Sina as the best among them were 30.9 percent.
Authorized statistics showed that web users in China have already exceeded 100 million, second to that of the United States.
小題1:Which of the following is not true?

A．Chinese people are now spending more time surfing the net than watching TV.

B．There are more Chinese people using the internet for information compared with those reading news on the internet.

C．There are more people using e-mail compared with those searching information on the internet.

D．There are more people using e-mail compared with those reading news on the internet.

小題2:The survey shows that     .

A．Only 10.4% reported use the internet to send and receive email.

B．Less than half of the people use the internet for enter fain-ment.

C．All of the people reported like to play games on-line.

D．Most of the people reported read online news.

小題3:Which will you choose if you want to chat with your friends on the internet?

A．TV

B．Sina

C．telephone

D．QQ

小題4:The underlined word “exceeded” means        .

A．increased to

B．increased by

C．risen

D．decreased

When it comes to human resources, hiring highly-skilled staff is not usually enough for a company to function successfully. Besides the knowledge in their particular fields, employees must always have additional skills-----those of co-operation. In the case that work tasks can only be carried out by communicating with people, accepting common decisions, solving problems, sharing information and helping one another, teamwork skills are important.
While some jobs may require talent, the ability to work as a team is learned. There are no complicated formulas(規(guī)則); you don't need to have any special qualities or exceptional mental abilities. Individuals can be effective as a team if they have developed certain behaviors or habits of communication. Many companies, clubs and organizations use team building activities. Team building activities may include a number of teamwork elements. They are aimed at encouraging active participation in task accomplishment while all members have their roles as individuals and are able to co-operate towards a common goal as a team.
Many team building activities focus on problem solving and discussing team issues; thus argument as a way to common consensus (共識(shí)) is encouraged. Team building activities often involve recognition and identification of team member skills, talents, knowledge, and experiences which allow the team members to learn more about each other and fully utilize (利用) those skills where appropriate（合適的）. Many team activities are focused on developing keys to trust during challenging times.
小題1:In the author's opinion, which of the following is important for a company to be successful?

A．Specialized knowledge.	B．Highly-skilled staff.
C．Exceptional talent.	D．Teamwork skills.

小題2:According to the second paragraph, co-operation skills______.

A．require special qualities and abilities

B．a(chǎn)re learned while working in a team

C．need exceptional mental abilities

D．a(chǎn)re quite complicated to learn

小題3:Team building activities are good for______.

A．hiring employees with special talent

B．encouraging employees to co-operate

C．helping employees work independently

D．training employees in their special fields

小題4:What is the best title of the passage?

A．Team Building	B．Problem Solving
C．Communication Skills	D．Company Management

完形填空（共20小題；每小題1分，滿分20分）
It’s 10:30 p.m., and 11-year-old Brandon Blanco is sound asleep at home. Suddenly, a loud noise (1)____ him up. Naturally, Brandon (2) ____ his cell phone. He blinks twice, and the message on the screen becomes clear: “R U awake?”
The (3) ____ text does not annoy Brandon since he gets frequent (4) ____ and calls, even after bedtime. And he can’t imagine life without them. “If I didn’t have a cell phone, I wouldn’t be able to talk to my friends or family as often,” he told the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Brandon’s use of (5) ____ doesn’t stop there. He also has a computer, a TV and three video-game consoles（控制臺(tái)）in his room. With so many (6) ____, it is no surprise that when he is not at school, he spends nearly every (7) ____ minute using one or more of these devices. Brandon is hardly (8) ____. According to a recent study by TFK, kids aged 8 to 18 are spending more time than ever before using (9) ____ devices. How much time? More than seven and a half hours a day (10) ____, the study found. That’s about an hour more than just five years ago.
The jump is the result of a huge explosion in mobile devices, says Victoria Rideout, the lead author of the study. “These devices have opened up many more (11) ____ for young people to use media, whether it’s on the bus, on the way to school or waiting in line before the cashier,” says Rideout.
Often, kids (12) ____, or use more than one device at a time. “If you’ve got a chance to do something on your (13) ____ and take a phone call and have the TV on at the same time, why not?” Media expert Cheryl Olson says. Most experts agree technology has much to (34) ____ kids. But some worry the kids could be (15) ____ other (16) ____ like playing outside or (17) ____ with friends. “It’s a matter of balance,” says Olson.
Multitasking while (18) ____ is another concern. Some kids listen to music, watch TV or use the phone while doing their homework. “It’s important to make sure that you should (19) ____ one thing deeply,” says Rideout.
With new and exciting devices hitting stores every year, keeping technology use (20) ____ is more important than ever. “Kids should try,” adds Rideout. “But parents might have to step in sometimes.”

小題1:	A．wakes B．takes C．makes D．gets

小題2:	A．reaches for B．takes out C．puts out D．turn off

小題3:	A．early B．a(chǎn)fternoon C．morning D．night

小題4:	A．books B．messages C．letters D．passages

小題5:	A．cell phones B．papers C．technology D．words

小題6:	A．friends B．a(chǎn)ssignments C．devices D．interrupts

小題7:	A．working B．speaking C．sleeping D．waking

小題8:	A．happy B．a(chǎn)lone C．tired D．worried

小題9:	A．electric B．useful C．electronic D．fashionable

小題10:

A．on average B．in total C．for fun D．without stop

小題11:

A．jobs B．machines C．rooms D．opportunities

小題12:

A．like B．enjoy C．hate D．multitask

小題13:

A．computer B．desk C．own D．time

小題14:

A．employ B．offer C．a(chǎn)ttract D．tell

小題15:

A．setting up B．missing out C．working with D．relying on

小題16:

A．methods B．ways C．chances D．a(chǎn)ctivities

小題17:

A．helping out B．fighting with C．hanging out D．looking after

小題18:

A．listening to music B．watching TV C．using phone call D．doing homework

小題19:

A．looking for B．concentrate on C．staring at D．writing down

小題20:

A．in check B．a(chǎn)t the same time C．more often D．less often

Long after the 1998 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still cursing the disputed refereeing decisions that denied victory to their team. A researcher was appointed to study the performance of some top referees.
The researcher organized an experimental tournament involving four youth teams. Each match lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 minutes during which different referees were in charge.
Observers noted down the referees’ errors, of which there were 61 over the tournament. Converted to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, a remarkably high number.
The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyse the matches in detail. Surprisingly, he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident. When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action. The average distance in the case of errors was 12 meters. The research shows the optimum (最佳的) distance is about 20 meters.
There also seemed to be an optimum speed. Correct decisions came when the referees were moving at a speed of about 2 meters per second. The average speed for errors was 4 meters per second.
If FIFA, football’s international ruling body, wants to improve the standard of refereeing at the next World Cup, it should encourage referees to keep their eyes on the action from a distance, rather than rushing to keep up with the ball, the researcher argues.
He also says that FIFA’s insistence that referees should retire at age 45 may be misguided. If keeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical.
小題1:The experiment conducted by the researcher was meant to ________.

A．review the decisions of referees at the 1998 World Cup

B．a(chǎn)nalyse the causes of errors made by football referees

C．set a standard for football refereeing

D．reexamine the rules for football refereeing

小題2:The number of refereeing errors in the experimental matches was ________.

A．slightly above average	B．higher than in the 1998 World Cup
C．quite unexpected	D．a(chǎn)s high as in a standard match

小題3:The findings of the experiment show that ________.

A．errors are more likely when a referee keeps close to the ball

B．the farther the referee is from the incident, the fewer the errors

C．the more slowly the referee runs, the more likely errors will occur

D．errors are less likely when a referee stays in one spot

小題4:The word “officials” (Para. 4) most probably refers to ________.

A．the researchers involved in the experiment

B．the inspectors of the football tournament

C．the referees of the football tournament

D．the observers at the site of the experiment

小題5:What is one of the possible conclusions of the experiment?

A．The ideal retirement age for an experienced football referee is 45.

B．Age should not be the chief consideration in choosing a football referee.

C．A football referee should be as young and energetic as possible.

D．An experienced football referee can do well even when in poor physical condition.

Your living room
Feng shui is all about balance. Try to arrange sofas and chairs in a square around a circular table. Avoid an L-shaped arrangement as this leaves a missing corner. The centre of the living room should be left clear. Make sure there is a lot of light, which will promote good energy.
Put plants in the corners of the room, as they attract good energy and will energize your health, but not ones with sharp leaves such as yuccas or cactus. Fresh flowers also bring good energy, but throw them away as soon as they begin to die, and don’t have dried flowers.
Mirrors are vital because they reflect energy. Round or oval ones are best, but they should not be opposite each other, nor should they reflect a door, otherwise your good fortune will go out of it.
To promote harmony between the members of your family, have photos of them around the room, preferably smiling. If you want to find a partner, energize the south-west corner of your living room or bedroom by placing a floor light at least 1.75m high there, and turn it on every evening. Surround yourself with decorations and objects in pairs, such as ducks or birds.
To avoid blocking the positive energy in the room, keep everything tidy. Don’t accumulate too many unnecessary things. Take a look at every object, and ask yourself, “Do I really need it? Do I really like it?” If the answer is no, get rid of it.
Your bedroom
You should have the head of your bed placed against a wall, as this gives you a sense of security. Avoid having a bed under a window, as you are exposed to danger and bad energy from outside. If this is impossible, use blinds or heavy curtains to cover the window. Never sleep in a place where you can’t see the door—you should always be able to see someone who’s coming in.
Avoid hanging pictures or lights above your bed, as this leads to a subconscious feeling of threat. Don’t put mirrors opposite the bed either, as they “break up” the image, and therefore the relationship reflected in them.
Keep lighting low and soft, and decorate preferably with dark colors. Do not hang paintings of fierce animals, abstract subjects, or water in the bedroom. Water is very good elsewhere, but in the bedroom it suggests financial loss. Make sure you never put plants in the bedroom, and don’t have a TV facing the bed, or at least cover it when it is not in use.
Your study
Don’t use the same room for your bedroom and your study, as the different energies will be in conflict. If you have to do this, try to separate the areas either symbolically with plants, or with a screen. Put away piles of files or unfinished work—don’t leave them on your desk. Being tidy promotes positive energy. Wherever you study make sure your desk is in the north-east corner, especially if you are preparing for exams, as this area symbolizes education.
A bookcase is bad feng shui, as its sharp corners generate negative “arrows”, and if you have one you ought to put a climbing plant on it to avoid this effect. Cupboards are better than open shelves.
小題1: As for lights, which of the following statements is false?

A．A partner may come with a tall burning floor light in the south-west corner of your room.

B．Good energy can be promoted if there is a lot of light in the living room.

C．Bright lighting in the bedroom can light your mood.

D．It is not a good idea to hang lights above your bed.

小題2:A bed should be put according to the following rules EXCEPT         .

A．the head of your bed should be placed against a wall

B．having a bed under a window should be avoided

C．mirrors should not be opposite the bed

D．your bed can’t face the door for the sake of privacy

小題3:To avoid bad luck, the author will probably agree with the statement that         .

A．it is economical to sleep and study in the same room

B．fresh flowers ought to be put on the bookcase with sharp corners

C．blinds or heavy curtains can be used to cover the window if your bed is under a window

D．you can accumulate items as you please

小題4: Which do you think is the best title for the passage?

A．Feng shui—a magical power.

B．How does positive and negative energy come to you?

C．Change your room to change your life.

D．How to reorganize your furniture.

Virginia is set to begin enforcing the toughest drunken-driving punishment, one that will require thousands of first-time offenders­­—whether they were highly drunk or slightly over the limit – to install (安裝) in their cars blood-alcohol testing devices that can lock the ignition. The devices work like this－A driver must blow into a blood alcohol device linked to the car’s ignition. If the result is higher than the legal limit, the car will not start. The device also requires random “rolling retests” once the driver is on the road.
Virginia’s current law requires only repeat drunken-driving offenders or those with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or higher to have an ignition interlock device in their car.
The new law, which takes effect in July, will roughly increase the number of people required to use ignition interlock devices four times, and offenders will have to pay about $ 480 for a typical six-month installation.
The measure has caused a debate between groups battling drunken driving and those representing offenders. Such groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program say that Virginia’s 274 alcohol-related road deaths and more than 5,500 injuries in 2010 remained unacceptably high despite years of cracking down on drunken driving. Ignition interlock devices, they say, reduce repeat offenses. But some public defenders and lawyers argue that the devices are too severe a punishment for offenders at the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.08, and that the court system will be burdened by more cases going to trial and lower-income drivers will be affected by the fees.
Del. Sal R. laquinto, who sponsored the bill, had a simple reply for concerns about the costs of the interlock devices: “How much does a life cost?” “Blowing into a tube for six months, you will remember that, ” Iaquinto said, “ and you are not likely to offend again. ”
小題1:The ignition probably refers to the part in a car where ______.

A．the alarm goes off	B．the car is fueled
C．the key is placed	D．the engine starts

小題2:Who are required to install the blood-alcohol devices according to the current law?

A．The repeat drunken-driving offenders.

B．The first time drunken-driving offenders.

C．Drivers whose blood alcohol level is below 0.15.

D．The drivers who are not able to pay offence fees.

小題3:Some groups support the new law because ______.

A．the government can be financed to build roads

B．some traffic deaths and injuries may be avoided

C．lower-income drivers will not afford to drink again

D．the court system is forced to work more effectively

小題4:The debate aroused by the measure suggests that ______.

A．justice has long arms

B．punishment is the key to all

C．no law is absolutely perfect

D．prevention is better than cure

We do not know when man first began to use salt, but we do know that it has been used in many different ways throughout history. Historical evidence shows, for example, that people who lived over 3,000 years ago ate salted fish. Thousands of years ago in Egypt, salt was used to preserve (保存) the dead.
Stealing salt was considered a major crime (罪行) during some periods of history. In the eighteenth century, for example, if a person was caught stealing salt, he could be put in prison and his ears could be cut off.
In the Roman Empire, one of the most important roads was the one that carried salt from the salt mines to Rome. Guards were stationed along the route to protect against salt thieves, and they received their pay in salt, thus bringing the English word, salary. Any guard who fell asleep while on duty was thought to be “not worth his salt”, and as a result he would get a little less salt on his next payday. The expression, “not worth his salt”, is still used today in English.
In the modern world salt has many uses beyond the dining table. It is used in making glass and airplane parts, in the growing of crops, and in the killing of weeds (雜草). It is also used to make water soft, to melt (融化) ice on roads and highways, to make soap, and to fix colors in cloth.
Salt can be got in various ways besides being taken from mines underground. Salt water from the ocean, salt water lakes or small seas can be used to make salt. Yet, no matter where it comes from, salt will continue to play an important role in the lives of people everywhere.
小題1:According to the text, salt can be used in the following EXCEPT _____.

A．keeping dead bodies

B．punishing thieves

C．protecting crops

D．making industrial products

小題2:In the Roman Empire many people were employed as guards to _____.

A．protect the city of Rome

B．watch people carrying salt

C．prevent thieves from stealing salt

D．carry salt from the mines to Rome

小題3:The expression “not worth his salt” used today refers to the one who _____.

A．fails to do his work well

B．should not be paid in salt

C．doesn’t want to work at all

D．should use less salt

小題4:The main purpose of the text is to tell readers _____.

A．how salt was found and got

B．salt is important in people’s life

C．salt was difficult to get in the past

D．what salt brings to the English language

One thing the tour books don’t tell you about London is that 2,000 of its residents are foxes. As native as the royal family, they fled the city about centuries ago after developers and pollution moved in. But now that the environment is cleaner, the foxes have come home, one of the many wild animals that have moved into urban areas around the world.
Several changes have brought wild animals to the cities. Foremost is that air and water quality in many cities has improved as a result of the 1970s pollution-control efforts. Meanwhile, rural areas have been built up, leaving many animals on the edges of suburbs. In addition, urban wildlife refuges (避難處) have been created. The Greater London Council last year spent $750, 000 to buy land and build 10 permanent wildlife refuges in the city. Over 1,000 volunteers have donated money and cleared rubble from abandoned spots. One evening last year a fox was seen on Westminster Bridge looking up at Big Ben.
　　For peregrine falcons (游隼), cities are actually safer than rural cliff dwellings (懸崖棲息地). By 1970 the birds had died out east of the Mississippi because the DDT had made their eggs too thin to support life. That year, scientist Tom Cade of Cornell University began raising the birds for release in cities, for cities afforded abundant food.
　　Cities can attract wild animals without turning them harmful. The trick is to create habitats where they can be self-sufficient but still be seen and appreciated. Such habitats can even be functional. In San Francisco, the local government is testing different kinds of rainwater control basins to see not only which ones retain (保持) the cleanest water but which will attract the most birds.
小題1:The first paragraph suggests that ________.

A．environment is the key to wildlife

B．tour books are not always a reliable source of information

C．London is a city of fox

D．foxes are highly adaptable to environment

小題2:Which of the following is NOT a reason that wildlife is returning to the cities?

A．Food is plentiful in the cities.

B．Wildlife is appreciated in the cities.

C．Wildlife refuges have been built in the cities.

D．Air and water quality has improved in the cities.

小題3:It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．Londoners are putting more and more wild animals into their zoos

B．Londoners are happy to see wild animals return to their city

C．Londoners are trying to move wild animals back to the countryside

D．Londoners have welcomed the wild birds, but found foxes a problem

小題4:What is the passage mainly about?

A．Wildlife returning to large cities.

B．Foxes returning to London.

C．Wild animals living in zoos.

D．A survey of wildlife in New York.

You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At the start they only fight with their fists（拳頭）.But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead!
Of course he isn’t really dead. With any luck he isn’t even hurt. Why ? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains, who crash cars of even catching fire, are professionals（職業(yè)）.They do this for a living. These men are called stuntmen. That is to say, they perform tricks（騙局）.
There are two sides to their work. They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building. However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress（床墊）. Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar!
But although their work depend on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stuntman’s success depends on careful timing（計(jì)時(shí)）.For example, when he is “blown up” in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion（爆炸）just at the right moment.
Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed. A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff a thousand feet high. His parachute（降落傘）failed to open, and he was killed.
In spite of（盡管）all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only. Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action. For nowadays there are stuntgirls too!
小題1:Stuntmen are those who____________

A．Often dress up as actors

B．prefer to lead dangerous lives

C．often perform seemingly dangerous actions

D．often fight each other for their lives

小題2:Stuntmen earn their living by___________

A．playing their dirty tricks

B．selling their special skills

C．jumping out of high windows

D．jumping from fast moving trains

小題3:When a stuntman falls from a high building,___________

A．he needs little protection

B．he will be covered with a mattress

C．his life is endangered

D．his safety is generally all right

小題4:Which of the following is the main factor(因素) of a successful performance?

A．Strength

B．Exactness

C．Speed

D．Carefulness

小題5:What can be inferred from the author’s example of the Norwegian stuntman?

A．Sometimes an accident can occur to a stuntman.

B．The percentage of serious accidents is high.

C．Parachutes must be of good quality.

D．The cliff is too high.