to. I vowed(发誓) that when I arrived, I would have a long talk with him. I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, only to find that my father, at the age of 76, had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.

24. From the first paragraph we can infer (推断) that the author's father ______. A. was a good driver C. sometimes fell ill

B. had many hobbies

D. was in good health

25. The underlined phrase \

as \A. except because of

26. According to the last paragraph, we can know that the author's father was born in ______. A. 1916

B. 1918

C. 1920

D. 1922

B. including

C. without

D.

27. The author wrote the article in order to ______. A. praise her father

B. remember her father D. let her father be known

C. show her father was healthy

( C )

Usually two weeks before Christmas, buying presents is the most important for a lot of people in the UK. However, last year not so many people were leaving their homes to browse(随便看看) in the shops.

These days lots of people can do their shopping in the comfort of their own home with the help of the Internet.

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular for a number of reasons: Goods are often cheaper online, and you don’t have to queue up in busy shops and you can buy almost any product imaginable with just a few clicks of your mouse.

Computer trends are often male-dominated but last year women did more shopping on the Internet than men. It seemed women were more attracted to the convenience of online shopping to the slightly lower average of ￡233 for men, while the average expense per person on the high street was only ￡197. Seventy percent of Internet

users, male and female, are now buying their Christmas gifts online.

In the past a lot of people were unwilling to shop online. Many were worried about the security of entering their card details on the Internet and the reliability of the Internet, but as shopping online has become more widespread, these worries have begun to disappear. 45% of Internet users still do have security worries but it hasn’t slowed down the ever-increasing numbers of online shoppers.

There are lots of special offers in the high street shops during Christmas because of the influence of the online shopping. They are concerned that not enough shoppers are coming through their doors. Most shops traditionally have sales after Christmas, but last year the bargains had come early in an attempt to attract consumers to spend. 28. What would be the best title for the passage? A. Online shopping — an increasing trend. B. Female-dominated computer trends. C. Shopping for presents online. D. Influence of online shopping.

29. Which of the following is NOT the reason for the popularity of online shopping? A. Goods online have lower prices.

B. It costs you nothing but a few clicks of your mouse. C. There are varieties of products to choose from. D. People can save much time.

30. We can learn from the passage that last Christmas _____.

A. shops in the high street tried to promote sales in a different way B. 70% of Internet users bought Christmas gifts online C. men spent much more money online than women on average D. every person spent ￡197 on the high street 31. According to the passage, we can conclude that _____.

A. more Internet users are sure to go back to shops because of special offers B. there will be few customers in the high street shops

C. security worries don’t affect online shopping as much as before

D. people will neglect(忽略)security and reliability of the Internet

( D )

Baby girls make their way to dolls as soon as they can crawl(爬), and boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown. The findings---the first to show consistent differences in very young babies--suggest there is a biological basis for their preferences.

Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd carried out an experiment involving 90 babies aged 9 months to 36 months. They were allowed to choose from 7 toys. Some were boys’ toys: a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

Of the youngest children (9 to 14 months), girls spent much longer time playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and the ball than the girls did. Among the two and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ views on which toys were more fit for boys or girls, and the children’s choices.

Dr Brenda Todd said, “Children of this age are already exposed to(接触) much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preferences. But these findings are consistent(一致的) with the former idea that children show intrinsic(内在的) interest in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to moving objects, probably through hunting instincts (本能), while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.” 32. Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because____________. A. baby boys are much more active B. baby girls like bright colors better C. their parents treat them differently

D. there is a biological difference between them