【推荐2】Dear Customers,
I feel quite pleased to announce Amazon Prime, our latest membership program, which provides “all-you-can-eat” express shipping. It’s simple: for a directly yearly membership fee, you get unlimited two-day shipping for free on over a million in store items. Members also get overnight shipping for only $3.99 per item—order as late as 6:30PM ET.
Amazon Prime takes the effort out of ordering: no lowest purchase and no combining orders. Two-day shipping becomes an everyday experience rather than an occasional excitement.
We are offering Amazon Prime membership at the introductory price of $79 per year, which includes sharing the benefits with up to four family members in your household. Considering that we normally charge $9.48 for two-day shipping on a single book and $ 16.48 for overnight, many of our customers will find the program very rewarding. It works across books, DVDs, music, electronics, kitchen, tool, health, personal care, etc, etc.
We expect Amazon Prime to be expensive for Amazon.com in short term. In the long run, we hope to earn even more of your business, which will make it good for us too. We hope you enjoy our latest transformation(转变).
You can sign up for membership with one click HERE.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO

1. What’s the purpose of the letter delivered by the CEO?

A．To encourage customers to join in a special program for free.

B．To ask for the feedback of the customers.

C．To express festive greetings to the consumers.

D．To encourage customers to consume more on line.

2. How much can you save compared with the ordinary customers if you have two orders each with a two-day shipping and a over-night shipping?

A．$ 21.97	B．$ 25.96
C．$ 16.48	D．$ 9.48

3. What does “all-you-can-eat” mean in the first paragraph?

A．direct	B．unlimited
C．convenient	D．cheap

4. What does the last part infer?

A．They lose much in the special program.

B．The customers spend more in the future.

C．This program can offer a double-win in a long term.

D．Amazon.com is a very popular on-line bookstore.

【推荐3】DESIGN-A-LOGO CONTEST

We need a logo (标志) that will be the perfect sign of our great new Wellsville Skate Park. We would like those of you who are counting the days until the grand opening to design a perfect logo that can be used on stationery, business cards, fliers, brochures, posters and T-shirts. A well-designed logo will provide an opportunity for young artists to receive recognition as well as great prizes. If you are interested, here are the things you need to know:

Logo Requirements

◆Your design mustn’t have copied anyone else’s.

◆Your design must include no more than two colors.

◆The words “Wellsville Skate Park” must appear in the logo.

◆The logo should be presented on 8×11 paper in every shape.

Submission (提交) Details

◆Your name and address must appear on the back of the logo design.

◆You need to include a one-page written explanation of the design.

Deadline

◆Mails will be accepted between July 10 and August 15.

◆Winning designs will be posted on our website at www. wellsville. skatepark. com on August 20.

Prizes

◆First Prize: a digital camera

◆Second Prize: a one-year pass to Wellsville Skate Park

◆Honorable Mention: a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo

MAIL DESIGNS TO:

Wellsville Skate Park Logo Contest

Riverside Recreation Center

1295 New Rockford Hwy, Riverside, VA 23226

1. In Paragraph 1, the advertisement tries to encourage readers to enter the con test by ________.

A．offering great prizes	B．explaining the rules
C．attending the grand opening ceremony	D．offering free visits to Wellsville Skate Park

2. Which of the following time can meet the deadline for submitting your design?

A．June 10

B．August 16

C．July 15

D．September 15

3. How will the winners be announced?

A．By mail.

B．On the website.

C．On the TV.

D．By telephone.

【推荐1】When I was a kid, if someone told me that I would grow up to become a published author and founder of a youth literacy (读写能力) foundation, I would have laughed and kept walking. Even now when I see the title of my latest picture book, My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World, I shake my head, not quite believing that book has my name on it. But the truth is, this was indeed my own personal experience of early school days.

It took me a very long time to find my personal reading voice. In Valdosta, Ga. where I grew up, my community promoted two pathways to a better life for little boys like me: being an athlete and being an entertainer. I was no different than the other kids, so I did what felt natural: Play football and overlook school. School presented challenges every day and so did football practice, but overcoming physical adversity (逆境) was on trend with my neighborhood’s culture, reading books not so much.

Fortunately, I went to college. That’s where my reading struggles really reared their ugly head. Trips to the grocery store were stressful because there was so much reading involved in the simple act of buying food. I would misread labels and grab the wrong items. Once, I picked up apple sauce thinking it was apple slices. I didn’t notice my mistake until I got home and realized that it was my inability to understand the differences in the wording on the labels that caused the mistake. I realized that I needed to make an important decision. If I wanted to be a better version of me, I had to become a stronger reader.

I joined a book club and read every free moment I had. My journey with reading also created a desire in me to inspire others who struggle with reading. So I started a nonprofit, “Share the Magic Foundation”, trying to transform the lives of children living in poor communities through literacy.

1. What does the author think of his new book?

A．It’s full of humor and wisdom.	B．It helps with youth literacy.
C．It’s related to his early record of life.	D．It comes out beyond his expectation.

2. Which was the main reason for the author’s failure to find his reading voice?

A．His preference for football.	B．The influence of his community.
C．His dream to be an entertainer.	D．The challenges he came across in study.

3. What does the underlined phrase “reared their ugly head” mean?

A．Turned up.

B．Showed off.

C．Gave out.

D．Took over.

4. Which of the following best describes the author?

A．Creative but absent-minded.	B．Ambitious and respectful.
C．Reasonable but unconfident.	D．Reflective and warm-hearted.

【推荐3】We have a crisis on our hands. You mean global warming? The world economy? No, the decline of reading. People are just not doing it anymore, especially the young. Who’s responsible? Actually, it’s more like, what is responsible? The Internet, of course, and everything that comes with it — Facebook, Twitter. You can write your own list.

There’s been a warning about the immediate death of literate civilization for a long time. In the 20th century, first it was the movies, then radio, then television that seemed to spell doom for the written world. None did. Reading survived; in fact it not only survived, it has developed quickly. The world is more literate than ever before — there are more and more readers, and more and more books.

The fact that we often get our reading material online today is not something we should worry over. The electronic and digital revolution of the last two decades has arguably shown the way forward for reading and for writing. Take the arrival of e-book readers as an example. Devices like Kindle make reading more convenient and are a lot more environmentally friendly than the traditional paper book.

As technology makes new ways of writing possible, new ways of reading are possible. Inter-connectivity allows for the possibility of a reading experience that was barely imaginable before. Where traditional books had to make do with photographs and illustrations, an e-book can provide readers with an unlimited number of links: to texts, pictures and videos. In the future, the way people write novels, history and philosophy will resemble nothing seen in the past.

On the other hand, there is the danger of trivialization. One Twitter group is offering its followers single-sentence-long “digest” of the great novels. War and Peace in a sentence? You must be joking. We should fear the fragmentation (碎片化) of reading. There is the danger that the high-speed connectivity of the Internet will reduce our attention span — that we will be incapable of reading anything of length or which requires deep concentration.

In such a fast-changing world, in which reality seems to be remade each day, we need the ability to focus and understand what is happening to us. This has always been the function of literature and we should be careful not to let it disappear. Our society needs to be able to imagine the possibility of someone utterly in tune with modern technology but able to make sense of a dynamic, confusing world.

In the 15th century, Johannes Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press in Europe had a huge impact on civilization. Once upon a time the physical book was a challenging thing. We should remember this before we assume that technology is out to destroy traditional culture.

1. The following are all cited as advantages of e-books EXCEPT _________.

A．multiform content	B．environmental friendliness
C．convenience for readers	D．imaginative design

2. The underlined word “trivialization” in the fifth paragraph is closest in meaning to “______”.

A．making things unimportant and less serious	B．reducing people’s attention span
C．making things funny like a joke	D．offering “single-sentence-long” novels

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．We are facing the problem of declining of reading due to the fast development of the Internet.

B．The single-sentence-long “digests” can help us read the great novels with ease.

C．People need the knowledge of modern technology in order to survive in the fast-changing society.

D．The author is concerned about the negative effect of technology on traditional culture.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Technology pushes the way forward for reading and writing.

B．Inter-connectivity is a feature of the new reading experience.

C．Technology is an opportunity and a challenge for traditional reading.

D．Technology offers a greater variety of the reading experience.

【推荐1】Now, I’ve talked much about education. I’ve talked about teacher’s responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you act correctly, and you get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most committed teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in (投入) the hard work that leads us to succeed. That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

And no matter what you want to do with your life. I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

That’s okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. J. K. Rowling’s who wrote Harry Potter- her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that’s why I succeed.”

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don’t ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

1. The passage is probably a ________.

A．travel journal	B．science fiction
C．speech manuscript	D．fairy tale

2. What docs the underlined word “committed” in the second paragraph mean?

A．devoted

B．confused

C．frightened

D．embarrassed

3. What does the passage intend to tell us?

A．Speak often, ask seldom.

B．Spare the rod, spoil the child.

C．Never put off until tomorrow what may be done today in our daily life.

D．Move ahead and fulfill our own educational responsibilities by studying hard.

4. Which of the following statements about last two paragraphs is true?

A．Keep on going and never give up.

B．Action speaks louder than words.

C．Nobody knows his own advantages.

D．Love of and devotion to one’s country is the most significant.

【推荐2】Amazon Charts

The Top Five Most Sold & Most Read Books of the Week

No. 1 It — Now a major film BY STEPHEN KING

Stephen King’s terrifying, classic # 1 New York Times bestseller, “a landmark in American literature (Chicago Sun-Times)”— about seven adults who return to their hometown to fight a nightmare they had first been troubled with as teenagers…an evil without a-name: it.

Readers of Stephen King know that Derry, Maine, is a place with a deep, dark hold on the author. It reappears in many of his books, including Bag of Bones, Hearts in Atlantis and 11/22/63. But it all starts with It.

No. 2 A Column of Fire — # 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER BY KENFOLLETT

In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral looked down on a city split by religious conflict. As power in England shifted dangerously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clashed, testing friendship, loyalty and love…

No. 3 A Game of Thrones — NOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES BY GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

From a master of contemporary fantasy comes the first novel of a landmark series unlike any you’ve ever read before. With A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has launched a genuine masterpiece, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Mystery, intrigue, romance and adventure fill the pages of this magnificent saga, the first volume in an epic series sure to delight fantasy fans everywhere.

No. 4 The Cuban Affair — INSTANT # 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER BY NELSON DEMILLE

Brilliantly written with his signature humor and real experience from his research trip to Cuba… Nelson DeMille is a true master of genre.

No. 5 Sleeping Beauties BY OWEN KING, STEPHEN KING

In this spectacular father/son collaboration, Stephen King and Owen King tell the “highest of high-stakes stories: What might happen if women disappeared from the world of men?”

In a future so real and near that it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep. And while they sleep, they go to another place, a better place, where harmony prevails and conflict is rare…

1. According to the article, which book is co-authored?

A．It	B．A Game of Thrones
C．The Cuban Affair	D．Sleeping Beauties

2. According to the passage, which books have been adapted for television or the big screen?

A．It and A Game of Thrones	B．Origin and The Cuban Affair
C．A Game of Thrones and Origin	D．Sleeping Beauties and A Column of Fire

3. According to the article, which of the following statements is true?

A．The Cuban Affairs is a novel written with a serious tone.

B．The story in A Column of Fire is set in a modern European country.

C．It describes a frightening story set in Derry, a location familiar to readers of Stephen King.

D．The author of A Game of Thrones has also written other books, including Bags of Bones.