1 . When I first got an e-mail account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisements and other correspondence that do not interest me at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need specific laws that make spamming a crime.

If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?

This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam e-mails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passes on to the consumer.

For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate against spam. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.

1. What does the underlined word “correspondence” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Messages.

B．Ideas.

C．Connections.

D．Programs.

2. According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?

A．Companies rely on e-mail for communications.

B．More people in the world communicate by e-mail.

C．Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail.

D．More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam.

3. According to the author, who is the final victim of spam?

A．The business.

B．The advertiser.

C．The employee.

D．The consumer.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To inform.

B．To educate.

C．To persuade.

D．To instruct.

2 . Ever since they were first put on the market in the early 1990s, gentically mondified (GM, 转基因) foods have been increasingly developed and marketed in many countries in the word,mainly on the basis of their promise to end the worldwide food crisis. But can GM technology solve world hunger problems? Even if it would, is it the best solution?

Despite what it promises, GM technology actually has not increased the production potential       of any corp. In fact, studies show that the most widely grown GM crop. GM soybeans, has suffered reduced productivity. For instance, a report than analysed nearly two decades of research on mojor GM food crops shows that GM engineering has failed to significantly increase US crop production.

Something else, however, has been on the rise, While GM seeds are expensive, GM companies tell farmers that they will make good profits by saving money on pesticides（杀虫剂）. On the contrary, US government data show that GM crops in the US have produced an overall increase in pesticide use compared to traditional crops. “The promise was that you could use less chemicals and boost production. But neither is true,” said Bill Christison, President of the US National Farm Coalition.

At the same time, the authors of the book World Hunger: Twelve Myths argue that there actually is more than enough food in the world and that the hunger crisis is not caused by production, but by problems in food distribution and politics. These indeed deserve our efforts and money. Meanwhile, the rise in food prices results from the increased use of crops for fuel rather than food, according to a 2008 World Bank report.

As a matter of fact, scientists see better ways to feed the world. Another World Bank report concluded that GM crops have little to offer to the challenges of worldwide poverty and hunger, because better ways out are available, among which “green” farming is supposed to be the first choice.

1. The author develops the second paragraph mainly      .

A．by classification	B．by comparison
C．by example	D．by process

2. What does the underlined word “boost ” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A．Control.

B．Evaluate

C．Obtain.

D．Increase.

3. GM companies promise farmers that they will benefit from ______________.

A．practicing “green” farming	B．use of less chemicals
C．fair distribution of their crops	D．using more crops for fuel

4. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author towards GM technology?

A．Optimistic

B．Defensive

C．Disapproving

D．Casual

3 . D
Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of prenatal involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.
The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools except them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.
Kaith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the task." They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."
Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.
Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved parents ", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success." A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."
1. The underlined expression "parental involvement " in Paragraph 1 probably means       .

A．parents' expectation on children's health

B．parents' participation in children's education

C．parents' control over children's life

D．parents' plan for children's future

2. What is the major finding of Robinson's study ?

A．Modern parents raise children in a more scientific way.

B．Punishing kids for bad marks is mentally damaging.

C．Parental involvement is not so beneficial as expected.

D．Parents are not able to help with children’s homework.

3. The example of Asian-American parents implies that parents should       .

A．help children realize the importance of schooling

B．set a specific life goal for their children

C．spend more time improving their own lives

D．take a more active part in school management