1 . Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people 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?
_____________________ 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 paperbacks (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 textbooks, 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.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．TV programs are a chief provider of knowledge

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

2. What does the underlined sentence in the second paragraph “Television has not killed reading, however.” suggest?

A．People only need reading, though.

B．Reading is more fun than television.

C．Reading is still necessary today.

D．Watching television doesn’t help reading.

3. Where can you probably see this passage?

A．In a travel booklet.

B．In a science report.

C．In a fashion show magazine.

D．In an education book review.

2 . In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded．The advantages are clear：You can carry as many hooks with you as you want．You can simply download ever7 book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail．
However，one thing hadn't changed．If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy books．Until now that is．Amazon．com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks．
Where to rent eBooks？
As mentioned before，Amazon．com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks．Luckily，Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive．They are also the producer of the Kindle，the most popular eReader，which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work．
You can currently only rent eTextbooks．But this is likely to change as soon as the word gets out that you can save money by renting eBooks．
Why rent eBooks at Amazon？
~ Save money：Save up to 80% of the normal price of the eBook．
~ Decide how long you rent：From 30 days to 360 days，you decide how long you want it．You can extend the time by as little as a day．Or simply buy the eBook if you want to keep it after all．
~ Use any device：If you rent an eBook from Amazon，you can read it on your PC，Mac，iPad，iPhone，Android device，Windows Phone 7．Blackberry．or Kindle．
~ Keep your notes：Do you like to keep annotations (注释) and highlights in your eBooks？Don't worry．You can always revisit your notes and highlights through Amazon．com．
How to rent eBooks？
Simply search for the eBook you want to rent on Amazon．com and select the "Rent eBooks" option．After that，a new page will open where you can select how long you’d like to rent the eBook．You can read eBooks for a period of 30 to 360 days．
You decide how long you need the eBook．1f you later find out you need it for longer．you can simply extend the time．Or buy it for the normal price whenever you want．
Once you've chosen the Lime you want to rent the eBook，you simply go to checkout．Or you can use the "Rent now" button．
1. According to the passage，_________

A．eBooks will be changed into other types by Amazon．com

B．eBooks will replace hardcover hooks in the next few years

C．readers get a discount of at least 20% of the normal price

D．readers are able to rent eBooks only at Amazon．com now

2. To rent an eBook online，which of the following goes last？

A．open a new page

B．select the "Rent eBooks" option

C．choose a rental date

D．press "Rent now" button

3. The main purpose of the passage is to_________．

A．inform and explain

B．discuss and assess

C．compare and evaluate

D．describe and argue