A report by the Consumer Electronics Association says electronics are among the most popular gifts being bought this holiday season.       Jim Barry is a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the CEA study found that electronics represent three of the top five things on its "holiday gift wish list" this year. JIM BARRY: "Notebook computers are at the top, followed by iPads and then e-readers. IPad is a touch-screen tablet computer and that's really the big player in that category." The computer company Apple began selling its small, touch-screen computers in April.   People use the touch-screen computers to surf the Web, write e-mails, watch movies and read books. Since the iPad's release earlier this year, several other companies have come out with their own tablet computers just in time for Christmas. A report from the e-Marketer research group predicts that worldwide, tablet sales will reach more than eighty-one million in two thousand twelve. Still, Jim Barry says these devices are facing tough competition this year from another Christmas favorite. JIM BARRY: "Another hot category right behind that are the e-readers. So you can read on an iPad or a touch-screen tablet, but the e-book readers are less expensive. The Kindle is the market leader there, from Amazon. But you also have the Nook from Barnes and Noble and the e-reader from Sony. And you have more and more of those e-readers coming into the market as well." The Consumer Electronics Association report found that iPod music players are also in high demand this holiday season.    But not all of the things on the holiday gift wish list involved electronics. Clothes, cars and motorcycles also made the list. So did family togetherness and good health. And the one thing that people wanted most? JIM BARRY: "At the top of the list was peace and happiness." That is also our wish for you this holiday season. Which of the following sentences is TURE? A) iPads are the most popular gift among all the electronics. B) Only the computer company Apple releases a touch-screen tablet computer. C) All of the things on the holiday gift wish list are electronics. D) There are more and more kinds of e-readers in the market.
D

When companies do business overseas, they come in contact with people from different cultures.These individuals often speak a different language and have their own particular custom and manners.These differences can create problems.        For example, in France, business meetings begin promptly   at the designated time and everyone is expected to be there.Foreign business people who are late are often left outside to cool their heels as a means of letting them know the importance of promptness.Unless one is aware of such expected behaviors, he may end up insulting the people with whom he hopes to establish trade relations.        A second traditional problem is that of monetary conversions .For example, if a business deal is conducted with Russia, payment may be made in rubles.Of course, this currency is of little value to the American firm.It is, therefore, necessary to convert the foreign currency to American dollars.How much are these Russian rubles worth in terms of dollars? This conversion rate is determined by every market, where the currencies of countries are bought and sold.Thus there is an established rate.although it will often change from day to day.For example, the ruble may be worth 0.75 on Monday and 0.72 on Tuesday because of an announced wheat shortage in Russia.In addition, there is the dilemma associated with converting at 0.72.Some financial institutions may be unwilling to pay this price, feeling that the ruble will sink much lower over the next week.As a result, conversion may finally come at 0.69.These "losses" must be accepted by the company as one of the costs of doing business overseas.        A third unique problem is trade barriers.For one reason or another, all countries impose trade barriers on certain goods crossing their borders.Some trade barriers are directly related to exports.For example, the United States permits strategic military material to be shipped abroad only after government permission has been obtained.Most trade barriers, however, are designed to restrict... According to the passage, conversion rates   _  . A) are always changing B) are determined by financial institutions C) are agreed upon by two trading countries D) vary from day to day
D

The prestigious   Peking University and Tsinghua University held graduation ceremonies on the same day this year. The presidents of the two universities delivered excellent speeches at the ceremonies as they used words, phrases or ways of expression that are very popular on the Internet currently. At the same time, graduation speeches by other university presidents were also under the spotlight for the same reason. Their speeches were warmly welcomed by students as they contained many fashionable words today, such as "floating clouds" ( meaning "too small and of little importance to mention") and "gelivable" (meaning " very helpful") . In the speeches , these university presidents recalled campus life together with students and finally moved all the audiences. They were very different from the usual run of lectures. Many university presidents have changed their regular manner of addressing graduation ceremonies from an advising and preaching   mode to a more fashionable and funny approach. They try to use those words popular among young people in their speeches. In the past, university presidents' speeches were criticized for being too standard and lacking sentiment. Now , they quote fashionable words in their addresses, reflecting they are starting to adopt more everyday attitudes to students. The use of these new expressions has _ a heated discussion. It focuses on the question of whether university presidents should speak in an informal way at graduation ceremonies. Supporters agree with the new approach. They consider it good to build close ties with students by using the youth's own words. Opponents argue the new ways have no practical value or significance for education but are merely to please those leaving university. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A) Many people are likely to be influenced by the Internet. B) The writer thinks it necessary for us to follow the traditional customs. C) More and more words are changing with the development of technology. D) People argue about whether to use fashionable words on formal occasions.
D

Mr. Hadley was my 6th grade teacher. At that time I was a short girl weighing 70 kilograms. Boys always laughed at me because of it. So I became an extremely shy young lady.  One day Mr. Hadley told us that we would be required to come to the front of the class and read the reports that we had completed. When my turn came, I refused to stand in front of all those students and open up to their tricks. Mr. Hadley handed me my report and asked me to read it. I gave it back to him. He walked to the front and said,"Martha has a very good report here and I think everyone needs to hear her read it. If you make strange noises or make fun of her in any way, I will let you fail right here and now. OK?" Mr. Hadley walked back to me and handed me the paper again, asking me to go to the front of the class. I walked there on legs that were shaking and I felt a rabbit in my chest. Everyone was all quiet, including those boys. I stood there trying to be calm. Mr. Hadley walked over to me and put his arm around me,"You can do it. I have confidence in you!" His words helped me calm down. I read the report and instead of the kids laughing at me and making fun of me, they all stood up and clapped their hands. From that day on the kids never made fun of me any more and some actually made friends with me. I continued to be quite shy all through school but I knew if I had to stand up in front of the class, I could do it. Mr. Hadley helped Martha gain_. A) satisfaction B) self-confidence C) humor D) happiness

B