Passage One  

Many people believe that taking vitamin supplements is the best safeguard against the dangers of an incomplete diet but this should be a last resort rather than a way out of a problem. Even if there is a genuine need for extra vitamins, then sooner or later the question arises"which ones do I need, how much of them, and how often?" There is really no simple answer to this question. The Food Standards Committee suggests in their recent report to the government that we do not need any extra vitamins. They say that they are"not necessary for a healthy individual eating normal diet". Whilst few of us would challenge their authority on the subject of nutrition, it is, perhaps, pertinent to ask the question"how many of us are healthy, and what is a normal diet?" There is a nelement of doubt in many minds about these two aspects and though few people are familiar with the wording of the Food Standards Report they do wonder instinctively if they are eating the right things. The blame for faulty eating habits is often placed at the door of the ubiquitous junk and convenience foods. As we have seen, some of these are not the criminals they are made out to be. White bread is only slightly less nutritious than brown bread and frozen vegetables can be almost as"fresh"as fresh food. There are very few foods which can really be described as pure rubbish. Many pre-packed foods contain too much sugar and we would all benefit by avoiding these, but most tinned, processed and dried foods contain useful amounts of fat, protein,carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. The addition of a small amount of fruit or a side salad to convenience foods such as pizzas or hamburgers can turn a snack in to a well-balanced meal.  "Junk" food is difficult to define. White sugar is probably the nearest contender for the title. It contains plenty of calories for energy but not much else, and is often described as an"empty calorie" food. Alcohol is also high in calories. but beer and wine contain some of the B vitamins and wine is a good source of iron, so even a teetotaler could not describe all alcohol as useless, nutritionally speaking. Calories measure the energy we derive from the food we eat, and sugar and alcohol are sometimes described as having a high energy density. There is a limit to the amount of energy we need each day(2,000~2,200 calories is the average for women and 2, 500~3,000 for men) and if we eat too much sugar and alcohol there is no appetite left for the vitamin-rich foods we need-fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. Buying vitamins can be predicted by psychological as well as nutritional motives and it is prudent to investigate why we think we need them and what benefits we expect from them before we rush off to the health shop to make our purchases. 

A.many of us do not have a healthy diet

B.many of us need to think twice about our eating habits

C.people do not need extra vitamins if they have a normal diet

D.people must have extra vitamins as a safeguard against illnesses

A.enough sugar

B.some extra supplements

C.fresh vegetables

D.some useful substances we need

A.healthy food usually contains no calories

B.we cannot simply define alcohol as

C.alcohol surely contains extra vitamins

D.white sugar is not at all healthy

A.a person who never drinks alcohol

B.a person who usually eats junk food

C.a person who never eats white sugar

D.a person who usually has a balanced diet

A.we should not buy vitamins blindly

B.white sugar and meat should not be eaten together

C.alcohol is a good companion for foods like fish and meat

D.we need to measure calories contained in the food before we eat it

Passage Two  

I've known the mother sitting in front of me at this parent-teacher conference for years, and we have been through a lot together. I have taught three of her children, and I like to think we've even become friends during our time together. She's a conscientious mother who obviously loves her children with all of her heart. I've always been honest with her about their strengths and weaknesses, and I think she trusts me to tell her the truth .But when she hits me with the concern that's been bothering her for a while, all I can do is nod, and stall for time.  "Marianna's grades are fine; I'm not worried about that, but she just doesn't seem to love learning anymore."She's absolutely right. I'd noticed the same thing about her daughter over the previous two or three years, and I have an answer, right there on the tip of my tongue, for what has gone wrong.  The truth-for this parent and so many others-is this: Her child has sacrificed her natural curiosity and love of learning at the altar of achievement, and it's our fault. Marianna's parents her teachers, society at large-we are all implicated in this crime against learning .From her first day of school, we pointed her toward that altar and trained her to measure her progress by means of points, scores, and awards. We taught Marianna that her potential is tied to her intellect, and that her intellect is more important than her character. We taught her to come home proudly bearing As, championship trophies, and college acceptances, and we inadvertently taught her that we don't really care how she obtains them. We taught her to protect her academic and extracurricular perfection at all costs and that it's better to quit when things get challenging rather than risk marring that perfect record. Above all else, we taught her to fear failure. That fear is what has destroyed her love of learning.  Marianna is very smart and high-achieving, and her mother reminds her of that on a daily basis. However,Marianna does not get praised for the diligence and effort she puts into sticking with a hard math problem or convoluted scientific inquiry. If that answer at the end of the page is wrong, or if she arrives at a dead end in her research, she has failed-no matter what she has learned from her struggle. And contrary to what she may believe, in these more difficult situations she is learning. She learns to be creative in her problem-solving. She learns diligence. She learns self-control and perseverance. But because she is scared to death of failing, she has started to take fewer intellectual risks. 

A.pays much attention to her daughter's academic achievements

B.is sensitive and is ready to protect her children at any time

C.has much confidence in her children

D.is honest and trustworthy

A.the teacher is really worried about Marianna's grades

B.the mother has been a friend of Marianna's teacher for 2 or years

C.the mother has noticed her daughter's poor performance in her study

D.the teacher knows the reason why Marianna lost her love for learning

A.the whole society are involved in the crime against learning

B.teachers should be blamed for students' loss of strengths

C.parents kill their children's interest in grades

D.children are not born to love learning

A.Teachers usually stimulate their students to face new challenges

B.Children will never learn anything if they fail in their scientific inquiry

C.Marianna never wins praise for the effort she puts into problem-solving

D.Parents usually encourage their kids to solve the problems independently

A.Parents Play Important Roles in Academic Education

B.Academic Pressure May Lead to Failure in Learning

C.Academic Success Is the Ultimate Goal of Learning

D.Academic Perfection Means a Successful Future

Passage Three  

At last, unemployment is easing. But the latest low rate-hovering below 6 percent obscures a deeper, longer-term problem: "skills mismatches" in the labor force, which will only worsen in years to come. According to the most recent figures, 9.3 million Americans are unemployed, but 4.8 million jobs stand empty because employers can't find people to fill them. With new technology transforming work across a range of sectors, more and more businesses are struggling to find workers with the skills to man new machines and manage new processes.  

One solution has enchanted employers,educators, and policymakers on both sides of the aisle: European-style apprenticeship.  

I've just come back from Germany, where I visited some half dozen apprenticeship programs at brand-name companies like Daimler, Siemens,and Bosch, and the metaphor I came away with is a native tree-flourishing, productive, highly adapted to its local climate zone, but unlikely to take root or grow in a climate as different as the America's. This doesn't mean we shouldn't adapt the German model. But it's not going to be quick or easy.  The U.S. has its own tradition of apprenticeship going back many years. But like most kinds of vocational education, it fell out of fashion in recent decades-a victim of our obsession with college and concern to avoid anything that resembles tracking. Today in America, fewer than percent of young people train as apprentices, the over whelming majority in the construction trades. In Germany, the number is closer to 60percent-in fields as diverse as advanced manufacturing, IT, banking, and hospitality. And in Europe, what's often called "dual training" is a highly respected career path .

 "Dual training"captures the idea at the heart of every apprenticeship: Trainees split their days between classroom instruction at a vocational school and on-the-job time at a company.The theory they learn in class is reinforced by the practice at work. They also learn work habits and responsibility and, if all goes well, absorb the culture of the company. Trainees are paid for their time, including in class. The arrangement lasts for two to four years, depending on the sector. And both employer and employee generally hope it will lead to a permanent job-for employers,apprentices are a crucial talent pool.  

The first thing you notice about German apprenticeships: The employer and the employee still respect practical work.German firms don't view dual training as something for struggling students or at-risk youth. "This has nothing to do with corporate social responsibility, "an HR manager at Deutsche Bank told the group I was with,organized by an offshoot of the Goethe Institute. "I do this because I need talent. So too at Bosch. 

A.the unemployment rate is dropping

B.there are more and more people being laid off

C.the unemployed workers are leading an easy life

D.the problem of skills mismatches will be easily solved

A.make

B.service

C.operate

D.maintain

A.can be very fruitful in the U S

B.may not be suitable in the U S

C.will not be welcomed in the U S

D.can easily adapt to the new environment in the U S

A.banking industry

B.hospitality industry

C.information technology

D.construction trades

A.At the end of the program, the trainees will be offered a permanent job

B.In this program, the trainees spend most of their time learning skills

C.The program tries to strike a balance between theory and practice

D.This program specifically emphasizes on-the-job training

Passage Four

"In the beginning was Apple. All things were made by it; and without it was not anything made that was made. If technophiles were to write their own Testament, these might be the opening lines. Apple's ability to redefine the appeal of whole categories of computing has attracted the unerring faith of millions of followers. Apple has popularized existing technologies four times: with the Macintosh computer in1984, the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010. Recently the faithful have prayed that Apple will pull it off again with its smartwatch.Many firms already make wrist-based devices that measure sleep patterns and exercise, but so far the category has remained a niche plaything for geeks and athletes.

On March 9th the firm gathered its flock to share details about the Apple Watch, which will go on sale next month. Tim Cook, its boss, called it the most advanced timepiece ever created". In addition to telling the time, it can respond to voice commands, measure its wearer's heart rate, act like a credit card at payment points and provide alerts for incoming calls and e-mails. It can display many of the apps that are popular on smartphones such as those of social networks, without the hassle of having to pull out a phone.

The launch of the Apple Watch points to a broader story: high expectations that wearable technology will soon take off Some 21m wearable devices were sold last year, according to IDC, a research firm; wrist-worn wearables, including watches, were the majority.

Wearables have so far lacked the elegant design and ease of use that helped smartphones ring in such success. Even the fashion models who were hired to demonstrate Google Glass struggled to make it look stylish. Most companies are focusing on the engineering challenges in front of them and paying too little attention to the "cultural engineering" that needs to happen for wearables to become accepted. Apple has hired fashion-conscious executives from luxury brands like Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent to make its watch attractive, but it is not yet obvious that it has cracked the cool code.

But the biggest challenge facing wearables is the absence to date of a"killer app". Watches do not yet provide much more than smartphones currently do, and some models offer far less. Moving beyond phones' will take time.it will also depend on getting developers to build apps that will make the most of wearables' possibilities

A.tell us what kind of products Apple can produce

B.show us the achievements that Apple has made

C.explain the reason why Apple is so successful

D.define the business scope of Apple

A.people who have religious faith

B.people who are dedicated to a religion

C.people who are loyal to a certain brand

D.people who accept the leadership of another

A.carry out voice commands

B.make payment as a credit card

C.inform the wearer of incoming calls

D.measure the wearer's blood pressure

A.Most of the wearables are quite expensive

B.Most wearable producers lack fashion-co-

C.Most of the wearables do not have a fashionable look

D.Most wearable producers pay too much attention to cultural engineering

A.They have dominated the market

B.They have already had elegant designs

C.They can provide more functions than smartphones

D.They need further improvement to become accepted

In the laboratories where astronauts are trained for their journeys, they are subjected to conditions that resemble those of flight. It takes time for them to prepare for the great changes that occur in space. When the spaceship leaves the earth at tremendous speed,the astronauts feel as if they are being crushed against the spaceship floor.Later, when they leave the zone of the earth's gravitation, they are unable to stay in one place. Simple actions, such as eating and drinking, become very difficult to perform. You may get an inkling of what the astronauts have to deal with if you try to drink a glass of water while standing on your head or while just lying down.

The beginnings of man's conquest of space took place in 1958, seven years before Leonov's trip. The first successful launching of"Sputnik"demonstrated that it was indeed possible to send objects far enough out of range of earth's gravity so that they would not fallback to earth. Rather, such objects could be forced to revolve about the earth,just as the moon does. However, while the moon is so far from earth that it takes it a month to revolve around the earth, man-made satellites, which are closer to earth, can make a complete revolution in a few hours.

It was three years after the first satellite launching that a spaceship containing a man made a successful flight.The flight lasted less than two hours, but it pointed the way to future developments.

Other planets are so far away that spaceships must attain tremendous speeds to reach them in a reasonable time. If spaceships were launched from space or from the moon, the absence of weight would permit the ships to be launched with great speed at reduced pressures. A relatively small explosion would be enough to send ship off at very fast rate.And, since there is no atmosphere in space as there is on earth, the spaceship would meet with no resistance.