Runners in a relay（接力） race pass a stick in one direction．However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction．They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road．
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network．It passed through thousands of cities and towns．It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea．It was used from about 200 B．C．to about 1300 A．D．, when sea travel offered new routes（路线）．It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway．However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path．They passed through what are now 18 countries．The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles．Only experienced traders could return safe．
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product．Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods．But the traders carried more than just silk．Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia．Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China．Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods．Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West．Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome．The Chinese had learned to graft（嫁接） different trees together to make new kinds of fruit．They passed this science on to others, including the Romans．The Romans used grafting to grow the apple．Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web．
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods．They also shared their beliefs．The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy（外交）, and religion （宗教）．
61．It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed ．
A．to remember the entire trade route B．to know the making of products
C．to receive certain special training D．to deal with a lot of difficulties
62．The Silk Road became less important because ．
A．it was made up of different routes B．silk trading became less popular
C．sea travel provided easier routes D．people needed fewer foreign goods
63．What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A．Silk． B．A trading network．
C．The world’s longest highway． D．Goods．k.s.5.u
64．New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people ．
A．learned from one another B．shared each other’s beliefs
C．traded goods along the route D．earned their living by traveling
65．What is the best title for the passage?
A．The Silk Road: Past and Present B．The Silk Road: East Meets West
C．The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers D．The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning
Poverty is not first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan. After all, there are no children begging on the streets in major cities here. You do not often see Japanese citizens publicly letting out their complaints over the country’s economic decline. But senior government researcher Aya Abe says Japan has the fourth highest rate of child poverty among developed countries.
She says she sees that poverty in schools where students admit to only bathing once a week. Some cannot afford to buy pencils for class.
“They may not be on the streets begging or they may not be turning into criminals, but it’s there. It’s just that we have to open our eyes and see,” Abe said.
Abe owes the increase in child poverty to the country’s changing demographics(人口统计), struggling economy and high social security premiums(保险费). She says fewer people live in three-generation households, where the parents and grandparents work. The number of single mothers has increased. The salary for young fathers has declined with the economic downturn. Social security premiums have increased in the last 20 years, putting families on the edge of poverty.
Abe says studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ) point to rising poverty in Japan before the global economic crises in 2008. But the Japanese government and the public refused to acknowledge it until then partly because of the shame associated with poverty.
“It was very unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty,” said Abe. “Even though OECD Japan announced it in Japanese, Japanese media didn’t make it into the articles.”
Abe says new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has taken one important step to help alleviate (缓解) the problem. Next year, his Democratic Party of Japan plans to double monthly child care allowances given to families.
But Abe wants the government to expand its financial help even more. She wants it to simplify the process to apply for public assistance and provide educational grants for students struggling to pay for tuition at high schools and colleges. The country now only offers loans.
Abe also says the government must act quickly because she says the problem will only get worse in the next few years.
1. The passage is intended to _________.
A. report the result of the studies conducted by OECD
B. tell us about the increase in Japanese child poverty
C. prove that Japan is no longer a developed country
D. introduce Aya Abe, a senior government researcher
2. It seems to be hard to associate Japan with poverty because _______.
A. no children are seen begging in the streets of main cities in Japan
B. its citizens never complain about the country’s economic decline
C. it is one of the few wealthiest countries in the wo
rld
D. its government and public refused to acknowledge it
3. According to Abe, several things contribute to the rising child poverty except________.
A. high social security premiums
B. the increase of the number of single mothers
C. the decrease of the salary for young fathers
D. the expansion of three-generation households
4. Why was it unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty?
A. The Japanese public didn’t think it true.
B. It was forbidden by the Japanese government.
C. The Japanese public regarded it shameful to be poor.
D. OECD Japan had already announced it in Japanes
e.
5. Which of the following is NOT the author’s suggestion for alleviating this problem?
A. Doubling monthly child care allowances given to families.
B. Expanding government’s financial help even more.
C. Providing educational grants for poor students.
D. Simplifying the process to apply for public assistance.
My newly-rented small apartment was far away from the centre of London and it was becoming essential for me to find a job, so finally I spent a whole morning getting to town and putting my name down to be considered by London Transport for a job on the underground. They were looking for guards, not drivers. This suited me. I couldn’t drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train, and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations. The writers Keats and Chekhov had been doctors. T.S. Eliot had worked in a bank and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company. I’d be a subway guard. I could see myself as being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis. Therefore, obviously I’d be more than qualified for it. But I was willing to forget about that in return for a steady income and travel privileges—those being particularly welcome to someone living a long way from the city centre.
The next day I sat down with almost a hundred other candidates, for the intelligence test. I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test. This time there were only about fifty candidates. The interviewer sat at a desk. Candidates were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed, after a longer or shorter time. It was obvious that the long interviews were the more successful ones. Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes. Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half.
I can remember the questions now: “Why did you leave your last job?” “Why did you leave your job before that?” “And the one before that?” I can’t recall my answers, except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter. His closing statement, I thought, revealed (揭示) a lack of sensitivity which might explain why as a psychologist, he had risen no higher than the underground railway. “You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”
Failing to get that job was my low point. I thought that the work was easy. Actually, such jobs — being a postman is another one I still desire — demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that a poet is least qualified to have. But I was still far short of full self-understanding and I was also short of cash.
1. The writer applied for the job chiefly because _________.
A．he wanted to work in the centre of London
B．he could no longer afford to live without a job
C．he was not interested in any other available job
D．he had received some suitable training
2. The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because _________.
A．he often traveled underground B．he had written many poems
C．he could deal with difficult situations D．he had worked in a company once
3．The length of his interview meant that _________.
A．he was not going to be offered the job
B．he had not done well in the intelligence test
C．he did not like the interviewer at all
D．he had little work experience to talk about
4．What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist according to the underlined sentence?
A. He was very unsympathetic.. B. He was unhappy with his job.
C. He was quite inefficient. D. He was rather aggressive
5．What did the writer realize after the intervie
w according to the last paragraph?
A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs could be. B．How difficult it was to be a poet.
C．How unsuitable he was for the job. D．How badly he did in the interview.
PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
A
“San Francisco, open your Golden Gate, ”sang the girl in the theatre. She neve
r finished her song. The date was 18th, 1906.
The earth shook and the roof suddenly divided, buildings crashed to the ground and people rushed out into the streets. The dreadful earthquake destroyed the city that had grown up when men discovered gold in the deserts of California. But today the streets of San-Francisco stretch over more than 40 steep hills, rising like huge cliffs above the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The best way to see this splendid city, where Spanish were the first to make their homes, is to take one of the old cable cars which run along the nine main avenues. Fares are cheap; they have not risen for almost a hundred years.
You leave the palm trees in Union Square------the heart of San-F
rancisco and from the shop signs and the faces around you, you will notice that in the city live people from many nations—Austrians, Italians, Chinese, and others, giving every part of the city a special character. More Chinese live in China Town than in any other part of the world outside China. Here, with Chinese restaurants, Chinese post-boxes, and even odd telephone-boxes that look like pagoda(宝塔), it is easy to feel you are in China itself.
Fisherman’s Wharf, a place all foreigners want to see, is the end of the ride. You get out, and then set out to find a table in one of gay little restaurants beside the harbor. As you enjoy the fresh Pacific sea food, you can admire the bright red paint of the Golden Gate Bridge in the harbor and watch the traffic crossing beneath the tall towers on its way to the pretty village of Tiberon. When you finish your meal, you may d
ecide to take a boat-trip around the bay to look at the sights. You can stare at the 
famous , now empty, prison of Alcatraz. Then why not go to the fishing village of Sansalito—a little like London’s Chelsea or New York’s Greenwich Village—to see people painting and to look at their pictures. You will be able to enjoy a view of the city from the sea and take pleasure in the soft red and blue Spanish-type houses shining in the bright Pacific light. If you have time you might like to go by bus to Carmel, a hundred miles south of San-Francisco, where you will discover a wild and wonderful coast with high cliffs.
1. The first two paragraphs tell the readers that________.
A. everybody will be attracted by the beauty of San-Francisco.
B. this fantastic modern travel city was built by many hard-working people.
C. San-Francisco has experienced so much before it became a modern international city.
D. There are so many entertainments in attractive San-Francisco
2. How many means of transportation are suggested in the passage?
A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The origin city of San-Francisco is created by Spanish people.
B. More Chinese live in San-Francisco than in any other part of the world outside China.
C. Alcatraz used to be a prison but now is deserted.
D. San-Francisco lies near the blue waters of the Pacific.
4.Which is the right order of the travel route given in the passage?
A. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito.
B. Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito--Fisherman’s Wharf.
C. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--Chelsea—Greenwich Village.
D.Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—Chelsea—Greenwich Village—Fisherman’s Wharf.
5.Which of the following can be the best title?
A. San-Francisco—a prosperous city after the earthquake.
B. San-Francisco—a charming travel city of America.
C. San-Francisco—a city to open her Golden Gate.
D. San-Francisco—a harbor stretching over steep hills.
If you want to deal with th
e association (交往) between boys and girls properly, here are some advice for you to follow.
1) Keep a normal and healthy state of mind. Our schools and classes are made up of boys and girls. It is very natural for the boys and girls to contact each other and build up the friendship with the students of the other sex. Generally speaking, we should broaden the circle of the association. We should make as many friends as possible. We should have more friends of the opposite sex instead of one or two. We should contact the students in public instead of in secret.
2) Contact students of opposite sex warmly, generously and sincerely. Don’t be too nervous or too shy in contact with a person of the opposite sex. In that case it is very difficult for you to make a lot of friends, as no one likes a person who is too shy to say a word. If you are too shy a person, you can also find a way out. First of all, you can contact the students with the same interest and hobby with you. As both of you have much in common, you may have much to talk about. If you keep
doing like that, little by little, you will gladly find you are also as free to express yourself as others.
3) Don't fall into the ditch (泥潭) of early love. The boys and girls at adolescence(青春期)are rich in feelings and full of imagination. They are easy to regard the friendship as a sign of love, and fall in love with other at an early age. In my opinion, boys and girls at
middle school are too young and too tender to shoulder the heavy duty of love. Early love is a green apple that can't be 
eaten. An apple won't taste sweet until it is fully ripe. Do keep out of early love.
1 The underlined word “broaden” in the passage means ________.
A. close down B. make small C. make broad D. make known
2. We should contact (交往)the student of the opposite sex in the following ways EXCEPT ________.
A. with a good state of mind B. in public
C. in secret D. warmly and generously
4. A person at adolescence is NOT ________.
A. rich in feelings B. full of imagination
C. old enough to fall in love D. easy to regard the friendship as a sign of love
4. The best title of the passage is ________.
A. The early love
B. Some advice on how 
to associate between boys and girls
C. The contact does good not only to the boys but also to the girls
D. How to talk with a girl
A boy and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly the boy fell, hurt himself, and cried, “AAAhhhhhhhh!!!” To his surprise, he heard the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain, “AAAhhhhhhhh!!!” Then the boy cried again, “Who are you?” He received the answer “Who are you?” He thought someone else in the mountain was making fun of him, so he got angry and shouted “Foolish!” He received the answer “Foolish!”
He looked at his father and asked, “What’s going on?” The father smiled and said, “My son, listen.” And then he shouted to the mountain, “I love you!” The voice answered, “I l
ove you!” Again the man cried, “You’re the best!” The voice answered, “You’re the best!”
The boy was surprised, but did not understand. Then the father explained, “People call this ‘Echo’, but really this is life. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is just a reflection（反映）of what we have done. If you want more love in the world, have more love in your heart. If you want to be successful, work hard. This can be used in everything in life. Life will give you back everything you have given to it.”
1. At first the boy cried because __________.
A. he fell and hurt himself B. he wanted to give himself a surprise
C. he got angry with his father D. he hoped his father would help him
2. When the boy heard the voice repeating, he thought __________.
A. it was foolish to hear other’s voice
B. someone else in the mountain liked his voice
C. he was laughed at by someone else in the mountain
D. there were many people in the mountain
3. The word “Echo” means __________.
A. life itself B. repeating voice C. love in the world D. everything in life
4. We can infer from the story that __________.
A. the boy didn’t like his father at all B. the boy did not understand what his father said
C. people will get everything back D. the father had his own way to teach his son
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