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A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords（声带）can heal．
It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. "It's a proud moment for all of us," his wife told DNAIndia.com．
I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm．Don't get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity．But his record—singing for 80 hours straight—is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records．
Granted, I'm not qualified to speak on the subject．I've got no world records to my name, and I never expect to have any．Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley（集成曲）of pop songs．
But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure．He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades（荣誉）．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake．
To all of these enterprising souls I ask, simply, "What was it all for?"
Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you, with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese．
After all, records are made to be broken．
1.From the text, we can conclude that the author _________．
A．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless
B．feels it a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures
C．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords
D．has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat
2.Before someone wins a Guinness record, he or she has to ________．
A．become an international celebrity
B．know all about Guinness records
C．practice a great deal
D．bear great stress for fear of injury
3.We can infer from the article that ________．
A．after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak
B．Burbure’s wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record
C．many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior
D．challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health
4.The author’s attitude to some Guinness world records is ________．
A．positive B．impressed C．negative D．touched
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Although credit cards are becoming a more acceptable part of the financial scene, they are still regarded with doubts by many as being a major part of the “live now pay later” syndrome（综合症）．Along with hire-purchase, rental and leasing schemes（租赁项目）, they provide encouragement to spend more money．Of course, it is only the hotheaded who give way to the temptation to live, temporarily at least, beyond their means, and such people would no doubt manage to do so even without credit cards．
Advertising campaigns have, however, promoted a growing realization of the advantages of these small pieces of plastic. They prevent need to carry large amounts of cash and are always useful in emergencies．
All the credit card organizations charge interest on a monthly basis which may work out as high as 25 per cent a year, yet sensible purchasing using a card can mean that you obtain up to seven weeks, interest-free credit．Using the card abroad, where items frequently take a long time to be included on your account, can extend this period even further．
It is worthwhile shopping around before deciding on a particular credit card. It is necessary to consider the amount of credit granted; interest rates, which may vary slightly; the number and range of outlets（经销店）, though most cards cover major garages, hotels, restaurants and department stores; and of course, what happens if your card is lost or stolen．A credit card thief may be sitting on a potential goldmine particularly if there is a delay in reporting the loss of the card．
However, if used wisely, a credit card can cost nothing, or at least help to tide you over a period of financial difficulty．
1.The hotheaded are people who ________．
A．spend more money than they have
B．spend less money than other people
C．save money
D．make money
2.The disadvantage of credit cards is ________．
A．to enable you to buy things without carrying large amount of cash
B．to encourage people to spend more money
C．to be always useful in emergencies
D．to help people tide over a period of financial difficulty
3.Deciding on a particular credit, you do not have to consider ________．
A．the amount of credit granted
B．the number and range of outlets
C．the possibility of loss of money
D．the department stores where you are going to use your credit cards
4.The underlined words in the last paragraph probably means ________．
A．floating with the tide of
B．going through a difficult period of
C．rising and falling with the tide of
D．attempting to go against the tide of
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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Suppose that we lined up our roughly 14 million United States businesses in order of size, starting with the smallest, along an imaginary road from San Francisco to New York. There will be 4,500 businesses to the mile, or a little less than one per foot. Suppose further that we planted a flag each business. The height of the flag pole represents the yearly volume of sales (销量) , each $ 10, 000 in sales in shown by one foot of pole.
The line of flagpoles is a very interesting sight. From San Francisco to about Reno, it is almost unnoticeable, a row of poles about a foot high. From Reno eastward the poles increase in height until, near Columbus, Ohio - about four - fifths of the way across the nation - flags fly about 10 feet in the air.
But as we approach the eastern terminus (终点) , the poles suddenly begin to mount (升高) . There are about 300, 000 firms in the country with sales over $ 500, 000. These firms take up the last 75 miles of the 3,000 - mile road. There are 200, 000 firms with sales over $ 1 million. They take up the last 50 miles. Then there are 1, 000 firms with sales of $ 50, 000, 000 or more. They take up the last quarter of a mile before the city limits, flags flying at cloud height, 5 , 000 feet up .
At the very gate of New York, on the last 100 feet of the last mile , we find the 100 largest industrial firms . They have sales of at least $ 1.5 billion, so that their flags are already miles high. Along the last 10 feet of road , there are 10 largest companies . Their sales are roughly $ 10 billion and up : their flags fly 190 miles in the air , almost in the stratosphere (平流层) .
1.What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?
A．To tell the reason why the largest firms are in New York.
B．To show the geographical distribution (分布) of the United States businesses.
C．To provide a general idea of the size of businesses in the United States.
D．To tell us how the United States businesses are arranged.
2.What’s the correct order of the following places from east to west?
A．San Francisco, Reno, New York, Columbus.
B．San Francisco, Reno, Columbus, New York.
C．New York, Columbus, Reno, San Francisco
D．New York, Reno, Columbus, San Francisco
3.Among the four parts of the imaginary road , which part , considering all the firms in it , has the largest total volume of sales ?
A．The last 75 miles. B．The last 50 miles.
C．The last 100 feet of the last mile. D．The last quarter of a mile
4.Which of the following diagrams (图表) shows the right order of size of the US businesses , according to the text ?
S =" San" Francisco R =" Reno" C =" Columbus" N =" New" York H =" height" F = feet
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Ron Meyer is the president and COO（首席运营官） of Universal Studios．As one of the most successful business leaders in Hollywood, he heads up Universal Pictures and Universal Parks & Resorts．He's the guy who oversees the production of Multimillion-dollar extravaganzas（作品） like King Kong and Cinderella Man．
Meyer’s story sounds like the plot of one of his motion pictures．He grew up in a modest home where there was little income．It was a big deal to go to a restaurant．At 15, he quit high school and spent his time hanging out with the neighborhood toughs（流氓）．He was then a kid quick with his fists who seemed to get into fights somewhat regularly．At one point, he was separated from others with an infectious disease, having no TV and nothing to do．His mother sent him two books．One was The Amboy Dukes, a novel about kids in street gangs．The other was The Flesh Peddlers, about a guy in the talent agency（星探公司）who lived a successful life．“I realized,” he says, “that I was no longer that silly kid I had been, and I wanted to change my life．”
Meyer took any job he could get．He worked as a busboy and short-order cook．He cleaned offices and sold shoes．That attitude made an impression on people．One day he received a call from Paul Kohner, a successful agent who represented stars like John Huston, Charles Bronson and Lana Turner．Their messenger and driver had quit, and they knew Ron was willing to take whatever job they offered. He started the job the next day．
Meyer was lucky to work with a good boss―and he had the brains to make the most of that experience．In nearly six years of driving for Kohner, Meyer became his right-hand man and learned a lot．By the 1970s, Meyer had built many relationships in the business．In 1975, the fate presented an opportunity and he started his own operation Creative Artists Agency, which became a huge success, representing Hollywood legends like Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise．
Twenty years later, Meyer was appointed to run Universal Studios, a position far beyond his youthful dream．But once he saw success was possible, he was driven to achieve it．Today, colleagues regularly owe his success―and theirs―to his humility and perseverance．It’s a level of success that takes determination, personality and intelligence, whether it comes from a college education or from the street．
1.What is the main idea of the passage?
A．How a bitter childhood contributes to one’s success．
B．It’s important to choose a right career to achieve one’s life goal．
C．A talent agency helps a person to become famous．
D．It’s people’s determination, intelligence and personality that decide their success．
2.What does the author mean by saying “he had the brains to make the most of that experience”?
A．He benefited a good deal from the experience．
B．He smartly took the opportunity to learn from the experience．
C．That experience made him ever smarter than ever before．
D．He used his brains to impress his boss．
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．A talent agency is to oversee the production of movies．
B．Ron Meyer did far more successfully than Raul Kohner．
C．Relationship is the most important thing in the film industry．
D．Meyer had never thought of being as successful as today．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
