What is a six-letter word that immediately comes to mind when you need some information on the Internet? You probably thought of Google. But Google wasn't always the name of the famous search engine. In fact, the original name was BackRub! BackRub was the name two graduate students gave to the new search engine they developed in 1996. They called it BackRub because the engine used backlinks to measure the popularity of Web sites. Later, they wanted a better name -- a name that suggests huge quantities of data. They thought of the word googol. (A googol is a number followed by 100 zeros.) When they checked the Internet registry of names to see if googol was already taken, one of the students misspelled the word by mistake, and that's how Google was born. Google is just one example of a name change in the business world. Many other companies have decided to change their names or the names of their products. Here are some more examples: Jerry Yang and David Filo, two young computer specialists, developed a guide to Internet content in 1994. They called it "Jerry and David's Guide to World Wide Web." But they soon realized that this wasn't a very catchy name, so they searched through a dictionary and found a better one: "Yahoo." Sometimes companies change their names because of the popularity of one of their products. In 1962, a young runner named Phil Knight started a company called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, Knight decided to design and manufacture his own brand of shoes. He named the shoes after the Greek goddess of victory -- Nike. Nike shoes became so well known that Knight changed the name of the whole company to Nike. According to the text, Google _ . A) has been famous since 1996 B) is a result of a spelling mistake C) means a number followed by 100 zeros D) is the original name of the search engine
B
(Question)
When we give our kids holiday gifts, many of us can't wait to hear their appreciative cries of"thank you!"once the wrapping gets ripped off. But here's a tip: You'd be wise not to expect much gratitude from them for what they receive. Gratitude can make us happier, healthier, and even fitter. But do the kids show their gratitude for the stuff we buy them? All the research I've done has convinced me that it won't happen. One mom told me that when she asked her 16-year-old son to thank her for buying him a cellphone, he said, "But that's what moms should do." From a teenager's angle, it's a parent's responsibility to take care of the family. According to Dunham, Yale's assistant professor of psychology, "When teenagers code it that way, a gift is no longer something given freely and voluntarily"--it's just mom and dad living up to their obligation. Parents do have the right to demand good manners and children should thank sincerely whoever gives them something. But kids can't know how blessed they are unless they have a basis for comparison. And they don't learn that by a parent complaining that they're ungrateful. We need to give our children the gift of a wider world view. Show by example that gratitude isn't aboutstuff--which ultimately can't make any of us happy anyway.It's about realizing how lucky you are and paying your good fortune forward. You can collect all the charitable appeals and sit down together with the kids to go through them. You set the budget for giving and the kids decide how it's distributed. Once the conversation about gratitude gets started, it's much easier to continue all year. Also you can set up a family routine at bedtime where kids describe three things that have made them grateful. When kids go off to college, you can text them a picture each week of something that inspires your appreciation. Teaching children to focus on the positive and appreciate the good in their lives is perhaps the greatest gift we can give them. And we can all learn together that the things that really... How do children respond when receiving gifts from their parents? A) They show no interest in their parents' gifts. B) They can't wait to open their parents' gifts. C) They show much gratitude to their parents for the gifts. D) They take their parents' gifts for granted.
(Answer)
D
Ques: Effective environmental protection laws and other measures have led to the improvement of water quality in Tai Hu lake in prefix = st1 /JiangsuProvince. The news was announced by officials from the provincial environmental protection bureau, which has just conducted an inspection of the lake area. By the end of September, about 80 per cent of industrial pollutants met required standards and the lake is expected to be cleaner by the end of the year, officials said. According to targets set by the State Environmental Protection Administration, all polluting enterprises must meet set standards by the end of this year or they will be shut down. The Taihu Lake area, which surrounds the cities of Suzhou, Wuxiand Changshou, is one of the most economically developed areas in the country and has long enjoyed a reputation as the "land of fish and rice" However, the quality of water in the lake has been deteriorating at an alarmingly rate in recent years, which has caused concern from the government and local people. Pollution is so high mainly because people do not have enough environmental awareness and have put economic benefits ahead of their surroundings. Economic development in the area has been rapid with hundreds of factories being built. But officials say most of these do not have the anti-pollution equipment or measures they should have. Because of the lack of waste treatment facilities, wasted water and other rubbish from residential areas in nearby towns and villages flow into rivers which are connected to TaihuLake. This also contributed to the lake's pollution. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the provincial and local governments began to tackle the problem. Experts were invited to offer suggestions and laws and regulations were issued. All newly built factories and enterprises in the lake area were required to install necessary anti-pollution facilities before they can go into operation. Also, some wasted water treatment works will be built in the three cities. The reason why the pollution became so serious here is that _ A) the people here didn't know how to deal with the pollution B) the factories thought the economy was the first C) the local governments didn't know the situation at all D) the factories had no the technology to control the pollution.
Ans: B
I wasn't interested in becoming a model at first. I worked as a receptionist in a beauty shop during high school. It was in South Dakota. A woman who had worked for Vogue--a famous fashion magazine said to me, "Why don't you go to New York and be a model?" So I went to New York at eighteen. I went to the first model agency, they thought that I was too long-waisted. It was too bad since I came all the way from South Dakota. I did an information check on the internet and found that Hunting Hartford had just bought the agency. I looked up in the telephone book and dialed. Then I went there. About half an hour later, the man who had just taken over the agency--he had been a male model before--came in. I was just staring at this unfamiliar man when he said, "You! Come into my office!" How do you feel as a fashion model? Quite OK, I should say. But you stop thinking when you are working. It takes a lot of nervous energy as well because the camera goes one, two, three very fast and you have to move very fast. I like my job because it gives me freedom. I can have half a day off to do things I like. I can't do that if I do a normal job. I never like becoming a secretary. They have to sit in the office for eight hours a day, facing the same people. Most models, after one or two years, can't be still very interested in it. But I like being a model. Maybe I was a born one, as many people say. Why did the author like being a model? A) Because she liked the woman customer. B) Because she liked the freedom. C) Because she liked to have a regular work schedule. D) Because she liked Hunting Hartford.
B