Celebrity (名人) has become one of the most important representatives of popular culture. Fans used
to be crazy about specific film, but now the public tends to base its consumption (消费) on the interest of
celebrity attached to any given product. Besides, fashion magazines have almost abandoned the practice of
putting models on the cover because they don"t sell nearly as well as famous faces. As a result, celebrities
have realized their unbelievably powerful market potential, moving from advertising for others" products to
developing their own.
Celebrity clothing lines aren"t a completely new phenomenon, but in the past they were typically aimed
at the ordinary consumers, and limited to a few TV actresses. Today they"re started by first-class stars
whose products enjoy equal fame with some world top brands. The most successful start-ups have been
those by celebrities with specific personal style. As celebrities become more and more experienced at the
market, they expand their production scale rapidly, covering almost all the products of daily life.
However, for every success story, there"s a related warning tale of a celebrity who overvalued his
consumer appeal. No matter how famous the product"s origins is, if it fails to impress consumers with its
own qualities it begins to resemble an exercise in self-promotional marketing. And once the initial (最初的)
attention dies down, consumer interest might fade, loyalty (忠诚) returning to tried-and-true labels.
Today, celebrities face even more severe embarrassment. The pop-cultural circle might be bigger than
ever, but its rate of turnover has speeded up as well. Each misstep threatens to reduce a celebrity"s shelf life,
and the same newspaper or magazine that once brought him fame has no problem picking him to pieces when
the opportunity appears. Still, the ego"s (自我的) potential for expansion is limitless. Having already achieved
great wealth and public recognition, many celebrities see fashion as the next frontier to be conquered. As the
saying goes, success and failure always go hand in hand. Their success as designers might last only a short
time, but fashion-like celebrity-has always been temporary.
B. no longer put models on the cover
C. need not worry about celebrities" market potential
D. judge the market potential of every celebrity correctly
B. producers prefer models to celebrities for advertisements
C. producers prefer TV actresses to film stars for advertisements
D. quality rather than the outside of products is more concerned
B. damage the image of a celebrity in the eyes of the general public
C. cut short the artistic career of a celebrity in show business
D. influence the price of a celebrity"s products
B. celebrity and markets potential
C. celebrity and fashion design
D. celebrity and clothing industry
will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the
information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short
television program can tell you all that you want to know?
Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of
every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment.
Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbooks (平装本),
which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening
at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times.
Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every
home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia (百科全书), though expensive, is
useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history
books, science textbook, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems. Then from time to time you can
take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.
B. cinemas are the best choice in getting information
C. reading is a cheap way of learning and having fun
D. newspapers are an expensive way to enjoy oneself
suggest?
B. Reading is still necessary today.
C. Reading is more fun than television.
D. Watching television doesn"t help reading.
A. Fewer and fewer people will buy books.
B. More people like TV programs about famous men.
C. Books with hard covers sell better than paperbooks.
D. A good dictionary should be kept in every home.
Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the
passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.
them fighting for jobs in a weak labor market or risking homelessness.
A study by Experience Works, released on Tuesday, showed 46 percent of the 2,000 low income people
over 55 years who participated needed to find work to keep their homes. Nearly half of them had been
searching for work for more than a year.
"These people are at the age where they understandably thought their job-searching years were behind
them," said Cynthia Metzler, president and CEO of Experience Works.
"But here they are, many in their 60s, 70s and beyond, desperate to find work so they can keep a roof over
their heads and food on the table."
According to the study, many of the participants had no intention of working past their 60th birthday, but
had to change plans after being dismissed or following the death of the partner. Over a third of the participants
had retired.
Ninety percent of respondents 76 years and older planned to continue working for the next five years.
Huge medical bills due to a personal illness or that of a spouse (配偶) were also reasons for coming out of
retirement, the survey found. The longest and deepest economic slump since the 1930s is making finding a job
for the low-income elderly workers a difficult challenge.
The Experience Works study found that 46 percent of the elderly jobseekers were sometimes forced to
choose between paying rent, buying food or medication. Almost three-quarters believed their age made it harder
to compete for jobs with younger workers.
"This study underscores calls for the need to create policies that remove barriers to employment for older
workers and provide additional programs and services specifically aimed at helping older people re-enter the
work force or remain working," said Metzler.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why is it hard for the elderly job seekers to find a job? (No more than 13 words)
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Use several words to describe the possible feelings of the elderly job seekers? (No more than 4 words)
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. What might be the solution to the problem according to the study? (No more than 15 words)
____________________________________________________________________________________
And so too has the Canadian workforce. Yet many employment practices have not kept pace with this
change. For example, some work environments and washrooms designed for able-bodied workers seldom
accommodate people who use a wheelchair.
Modernizing these practices is what employment equality is about. For example, making sure work
benches and washrooms are adapted for disabled people entering the workplace, paving the way for workers
who become disabled on the job. By doing so, any given group of people formerly discriminated against-now
has access to better employment opportunities.
The objective, of course, is to make the workplace reflect Canadian society. However, this does not
necessarily mean setting and enforcing quotas (配额). Rather, it means identifying the barriers to employment
and designing measures, with achievable goals and clear timetables, to remove them.
For example, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees-Canada"s largest union, it would be
unrealistic in the short term to insist that because half of the working age population is women, half of the
employees of an engineering firm should be women. At this moment, there would not be enough qualified
female engineers.
A reasonable numerical goal would be based on the number of women who actually are engineers (8%)
and those who are studying to become engineers (25% ). A short term goal of 13% would be appropriate
without running the risk of hiring unqualified people.
Equally important is to ensure people who have been disadvantaged the chance to become qualified for
new opportunities. If aboriginal people (土著居民), for example, can"t qualify for certain jobs because they
haven"t had access to appropriate educational opportunities, then an employment equality program would
have to address that problem with training programs.
Employment laws in this country cannot be considered displeasing if they guarantee all Canadians fair
and equal access to the workforce.
B. achieve equality of employment opportunities
C. protect women"s rights in employment
D. complete a job training program
B. 13% of the working age women should be hired as engineers
C. policy makers should adopt a practical and flexible approach
D. the quota of women for employment should be raised
B. run into
C. find out
D. deal with
An ageing society is one in which the population of people over the age of 60 is increasing. The global
population at present is about 6 billion with l person in every 10 aged 60 or above. 1._____ This will mean
that for the first time in human history the population of older persons will be larger than the population of
children! What are the causes of this population change?
2._____ And another is that birth rates have dropped as people, especially women, are educated. Measures
to slow population growth like China"s one-child policy, have also contributed to lowered birth rates. The
increase in the aged population is not just an interesting trend, however; it also has severe implications for the
future of global economies.
People traditionally retire at 65 and live on government pensions. 3._____ Another concern is that as medical
expenses increase with age, the demands of the growing aged population will eventually cause medical systems
to face bankruptcy (***).
4._____ They suggest that because people are living longer, they ought to work longer, while governments
need to establish a sound social security system. They also suggest that individuals start saving as soon as
possible to ensure a financially secure retirement. People should also develop good health habits in their youth
to ensure an active and productive old age. 5._____ By finding cures for diseases like Alzheimer"s and cancer,
medical bills and the need for care would be drastically reduced.
Finally, an important step to ensure a bright future for all is to do away with negative stereotypes that see
valuable members of society only as pensioners or patients. It"s high time we stopped seeing ageing as a disease
and started playing our parts in securing the future of our ageing societies.
B. Experts insist that steps should be taken now to prepare for the future.
C. As people grow older, a huge financial burden will be placed on the government.
D. Biomedical research is another tool we can use to deal with the problems of ageing societies.
E. One reason is that dramatic health advances have added 20 years to the average life expectancy.
F. The United Nations projects that by 2050, it will be l in every 5.
G. As is known to all, good habits lead to good health.
Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk
about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents
when he was a teenager.
"I would never have said to my mom, "Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?""
says Ballmer." There was just a complete gap in taste."
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations
of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on
subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and
common. And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can
continue into adulthood.
No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, "To my mother, my best friend."
But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents.
"There"s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change
happening," says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. "In the middle of that change, there
is a lot of confusion among parents."
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as
a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that
encourages everyone to have a say.
"My parents were on the "before" side of that change, but today"s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the "after" side," explains Mr. Ballmer. "It"s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life
is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now."
B. distance
C. difference
D. separation
B. Parents put more trust in their children"s abilities.
C. Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.
D. Parents share more interests with their children.
B. new equality between parents and children
C. less respect for parents from children
D. more strictness and authority on the part of parents
parents _____.
B. can set a limit to the change
C. fail to take the change seriously
D. have little difficulty adjusting to change
B. discuss the development of the parent-child relationship
C. suggested the ways to handle the parent-child relationship
D. compare today"s parent-child relationship with that in the past
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