Hikosaburo Yasuda of Nakano, Japan, plans to buy an iPad to keep up with junior members in his computer club．"It's important to always try new things, otherwise you get left behind," he says．  

        

       Yasuda is 95 years old．He and his colleagues, looking for easier ways to search the Web and send e-mail, represent a potential market for Apple （AAPL）'s iPad．The company has sold 3．27 million iPads since its launch in April, but doesn't break down sales figures by customer age, making it impossible to know with certainty how many seniors are buying them．However, anecdotal evidence suggests it's a hit with the elderly．

       The iPad's intuitive interface （直观界面） makes it appealing to senior citizens around the world, says Takahiro Miura, a researcher at the University of Tokyo: "The iPad is a good tool for the elderly because it's very forgiving of mistakes．" Miura's team uses computers to help train senior citizens to rejoin the workforce．"Unlike the PC, it doesn't require previous knowledge," he says．

       James Cordwell, a technology analyst at Atlantic-Equities in London, says the iPad's popularity with the elderly is helping Apple reach beyond its traditional base of younger customer. “The world’s population, especially in developed markets, is getting older, and it’s probably a market where Apple has least entered,” Cordwell says. Elderly users are “a key source of growth for them in the future.”

The elderly in Japan, who make up an estimated 22 percent of the population, may prove particularly receptive to the iPad. They spend more than any other group in the country except for those under 30, according to a report by Japan's Cabinet Office. Motoo Kitamura, 78, a former gas salesman, bought an iPad to help him communicate with his 2-year-old grandson and stave off dementia. "Trying new things like that is a good mental exercise," he says.

The underlined part “a hit” in Paragraph 2 may probably mean “      ”.

       A．a hard strike     B．a heavy burden       C．quite popular    D．very familiar

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of the iPad over the PC?

       A．It has intuitive interface. B．It is easier to operate.

       C．It is more accessible to beginners.   D．It is a good mental exercise.

What can we learn from the passage?

       A．The people under thirty are the largest consumers in Japan except for the elderly.

       B．The traditional customers of AAPL’s products are usually the yong.

       C．The elderly will soon grow into the largest customer group in place of the young.

       D．The elderly in Japan have great enthusiasm for latest hi – tech products.

What could be the best title for the passage?

      A．The iPad leads Apple to the elderly

       B．Ipad hits Japan’s store shelves

       C．Ipad’s arrival in Tokyo causes Uapanese to reflect

       D．AAPL attempts to balance the old and the yong

He may not even drink water at night, _______ swallowing insects possibly floating on the surface．

    A．in case of  B．for fear of     

C．for the sake of    D．in line with

It s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree．It has been there for the past 10 years or so．It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas—the commercial aspects of Christmas-overspending．Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to avoid the usual presents．The idea came in an unusual way．

       Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by a church．These youngsters, dressed in ragged clothes, presenting a sharp contrast to our boys in their beautiful dresses and shoes．As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears．It was a luxury that the poor team obviously could not afford．Well, we ended up defeating them．Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said．"They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．" That's when the idea for his present came．That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought wrestling headgear and shoes for the youngsters and sent them anonymously （匿名地） to the church．On Christmas Eve? I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in the following years．

       For each Christmas, I followed the tradition．The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas．It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed expectation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to show its contents．As the children grew, they joined．

       May we all remember the reason for Christmas, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always．God bless梡ass this along to your friends and loved ones．

The author avoids usual Christmas presents because her husband _____．

       A．likes cheap Christmas presents

       B．likes expensive Christmas presents

       C．dislikes spending much on large Christmas presents

       D．dislikes spending much on unmeaningful Christmas gifts

The underlined word "luxury" in Paragraph 2 means "_____"．

       A．something of poor quality          B．something abundant

       C．something strange        D．something expensive

From the passage we can infer that in character the husband is _____．

       A．modest and mature     B．kind and practical

       C．strong-willed and vain             D．optimistic and outgoing

What is the most exciting thing for the family at Christmas?

       A．Preparing gifts．             B．Exchanging gifts．

       C．Opening the envelope．        D．Writing Christmas cards．

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卷标号为16—25的相应位置上。

       One of the many things we take for granted in the twentieth century is the speedy collection and delivery of letters to and from all parts of the world at _______ ( astonish ) cheap rates.

       A husband away ____ a business trip can write home to his wife two thousand miles away knowing that the letter will reach _____ in a few days. His special airletter may cost him less than a loaf of bread ____ his own bus fare to work.

       This service, however, is a favor of comparatively recent origin. Until modern times, the cost of sending letters privately was so great that the _____ ( arrive ) of a letter was a considerable event and might even cost financial hardship to the receiver ______ had to bear the charges.  _____ the Middle Ages on，there were indeed special messengers ______ ( carry ) state correspondence, and other messengers employed to travel with between the great monasteries or the great merchants’ houses, but for centuries there was no official post service by which private letters could be sent. It was not until 1840 ______ the official organization known as the Penny Post ____ ( establish ) in Great Britain and gave ordinary people cheap and efficient postal deliveries.

Nothing is more pleasing and romantic as flowers in the bedroom. Now, a new study says that the sweet smells of flowers in the bedroom can also lead to sweet dreams.

Researchers in Germany have carried out the study and have found that sleeping with flowers in the bedroom may encourage sweet dreams, a major finding they claim could help nightmare sufferers to and extent.

They came to the conclusion after an analysis of the sleep patterns of 15 female volunteers for a period of nearly 30 nights, a leading British newspaper reported on Monday.

The researchers pumped scents of rotten eggs, roses or no scent under their noses for nearly ten seconds while the women were in the Rapid Eye Movement period of sleep when a dream occurs.

The subjects were then woken up and asked to record their dreams. The smells had an effect on the emotions of the dreams but did not become part of the dream in that the women exposed to roses did not dream about roses the study found.

There was a correlation between the negative smells and negative emotional scores the sleepers reported from their dream.

According to the researchers, it’ll be interesting to study nightmare sufferers and if positive smells can actually influence the mood of their dreams as a form of treatment in the future.

The study has been presented at the 2008 American Academy of Otoblaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting in Chicago.

What is the best title for the text?

A. A recent study on dreaming   B. Smells influence one’s dreams

C. Do you want to have a good dream?  D. Flowers in the bedroom lead to sweet dreams.

What is the right order of the events related to the experiment?

a. The female volunteers get to sleep.  b. The researchers wake up the sleeping women.

c. A particular smell is pumped under dreamers’ noses  d. The dreamers are asked to describe their dreams.

A. a, c, b, d     B. d, c, b, a    C. a, c, d, b    D, d, b, c, a

The underlined word “correlation” in paragraph 6 can be replaced by _______

A. combination  B. coincidence  C. connection  D. cooperation

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. People are very sensitive to smells at night.

B. The subjects were tested on when they dreamed

C. Pleasant smells get sleepers to dream of roses.

D. The experiment is designed to treat sleeplessness.

What is the future perspective（前景）of the study?

A. Sleeplessness can be cured in the near future.

B. Nightmare sufferers are likely to recover soon.

C. The finding can give hope to nightmare sufferers.

D. Roses will become more popular among patients.