Five Olympic mascots were announced exactly 1000 days before the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony. The long--anticipated mascots represent four of China's most popular animals — the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope and the swallow .The fifth mascot is the brightly burning Olympic flame.
Each of the mascots has a repeated two-syllable name. This type of name is a traditional way of showing affection for children in China. BeiBei is the fish, JingJing is the panda, HuanHuan is the Olympic flame, YingYing is the Tibetan antelope and NiNi is the swallow. The first characters of their two-syllable names read “Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.”
The five elements of nature, including the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky are found in the mascot's origins and headpieces. These special headpieces also display the folk and culture of China. Each mascot also symbolizes a different blessing ---prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck.
It is the first time more than three mascots will share the important duty of representing their host country. Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team explained that, “China has such a rich culture that no single mascot could possibly represent it! That is why we chose to produce five mascots instead of one.”
Called the “Five Friendlies,” the figures embody（体现） the Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics, representing not only multi-ethnic(多民族的) cultures of China, but also the traditional Chinese philosophy of harmony between humans and nature.
In order to help Beijing 2008 spread its theme of One World, One Dream to every continent, the Five Friendlies reflect the deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Games — and to invite every man, woman and child to take part in the great celebration of human union in 2008.
51. What’s the theme of Beijing 2008 Olympics?
A. Welcome to Beijing.
B. Prosperity, Happiness, Passion, Health and Good luck.
C. New Beijing, New Olympics.
D. One World, One Dream.
52. What did Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team, think of the five mascots?
A. He thought highly of the five mascots.
B. No single mascot could represent China.
C. The five mascots represented the culture of China.
D. They would reflect the desire of Chinese people.
53. Which of the following statements is not true?
A. It’s for the first time that five mascots are chosen to represent their host country in the Olympic history.
B. One of the five mascots YingYing stands for the Olympic flame.
C. Beijing announced its five 2008 Olympic mascots just 1000 days before the big event.
D. The five mascots express affection for Chinese children by two-syllable names.
54. Which of the following best reflects the main idea of the passage?
A. The 29th Olympic Games will be held in Beijing in 2008.
B. The theme of 2008 Beijing Olympics — One World, One Dream.
C. The significance of five 2008 Olympic mascots — the Five Friendlies.
D. How the Five Fantastic Mascots came into being.
55. What do the five mascots — the Five Friendlies represent?
A. “Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.”
B. Chinese multi-ethnic cultures, philosophy of harmony between humans and nature and five elements of nature.
C. Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics.
D. The deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Olympics.
Based on cultural traditions and the changing face of contemporary British communities, the Festival of Muslim Cultures joins young people from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds together through the creation of innovative(创新的), high quality cultural activities.
We have been working with arts and educational institutions across the UK to promote the mainstreaming of Muslim cultures within UK everyday life. The Festival was created out of the need to encourage a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote respect for Muslim cultures and to show how culture creates the pathways that connect us all together.
The program launched with a visit by the Festival’s patron(赞助人), the Prince of Wales, to the exhibition “Palace and Mosque” in Sheffield and since then there have been more than 100 events that have ranged from a Somali community day in Cardiff at the National Museum of Wales to a late-night Dance with Radio Tarifa (from Spain) and Dimi Mint Abba (form Mauritania) in the Royal Albert Hall and from a home-grown play in Nottingham about the Kashmir earthquake to the exhibition“Beyond the Palace Walls” at the Royal Museum Edinburgh of Islamic art from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
We are now working on a number of long-term projects which stay true to our commitment to promoting Muslim cultures through arts collaborations(协作) and build on the extensive network of local, national and international partners that Festival has created. These include a three-year national program that connects young Muslims to their local cultural institutions; a UK Muslim cookbook; an exhibition of the Ottoman architect Sinan; and a project for schools around the 1000-year old story “The Animals’ Lawsuit against Humanity”.
For more information about the Festival, please click on another page: Who’s Who.The best title of this passage would be _______.
| A．Welcome to the Celebration of Muslim Cultures |
| B．The History and Development of Muslim Cultures |
| C．The Exhibition of “Beyond the Palace Walls” |
| D．New Ways to Connect Muslims to Local Cultures |
Which is NOT the purpose of holding the Festival of Muslim Cultures?
| A．To promote people’s respect for Muslim cultures. |
| B．To show to people how cultures join the people together. |
| C．To try to change the beliefs of various religions. |
| D．To make Muslims and non-Muslims understand each other better. |
This passage was probably taken from _________.
| A．a website | B．a newspaper | C．a book | D．a magazine |
Researchers have found more evidence that suggests a relationship between race and rates of lung cancer among smokers. A new study shows that black people and Native Hawaiians are more likely to develop lung cancer from smoking. It compared their risk to whites, Japanese, Americans and Latinos.
The study, however, found almost no racial or ethnic differences among the heaviest smokers. These were people who smoked more than thirty cigarettes each day.
Other comparisons have shown that blacks are more likely than whites to get lung cancer from smoking. But the scientists say few studies have compared the risks among Native Hawaiians, Asians and Latinos.
Researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii did the new study. The New England Journal of Medicine published the findings.
The eight-year study involved more than 180,000 people. They provided details about their tobacco use and their diet as well as other information. They included current and former smokers and people who never smoked. Almost 2,000 people in the study developed lung cancer.
Researchers say genetics might help explain the racial and ethnic differences. There could be differences in how people’s bodies react to smoke. But environmental influences, including the way people smoke, could also make a difference.
African-Americans and Latinos in the study reported smoking the fewest cigarettes per day. Whites were the heaviest smokers. But the scientists note that blacks have been reported to breathe cigarette smoke more deeply than white smokers. This could fill their lungs with more of the chemicals in tobacco that cause cancer.
Many researchers disagree not only about the effect of race on the risk of disease, but even about the meaning of race. Yet scientists know that some diseases affect different groups differently. And some drug companies have begun to develop racially targeted medicines.
Last June, the United State Food and Drug Administration approved a drug designed to treat heart failure in black patients. The name is BiDil. The agency called it “a step toward the promise of personalized medicine”. Which of the following orders is right from higher to lower risk of having lung cancer?
| A．Whites---Native Hawaiians. |
| B．African-Americans---Latinos |
| C．Asians---Native Hawaiians |
| D．African-Americans---Hawaiians |
From the passage, researchers agree that it is _______ that may probably determine blackpeople’s risk of lung cancer.
| A．the bigger amount of smoking than the white |
| B．the living style or habit of the blacks to form |
| C．the depth of cigarette smoke into their lungs |
| D．the physical strength to react to cigarette smoke |
The subjects that the smoking researchers investigate are made up of _______.
| A．heavy smokers in America |
| B．the black and white people |
| C．the Asians and Hawaiians |
| D．smokers and non-smokers |
The production of BiDil is referred to in the last paragraph in order to _______.
| A．explain different races react to some diseases differently |
| B．tell the readers that racial differences exist in smokers |
| C．show a big step people have taken in the medicine area |
| D． support the idea that it is easy for blacks to have cancers |
Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away. Besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.
All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift. While her teacher was giving a lecture¸ Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”
“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”
“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”
Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”
Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”
“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.
“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.
Vicki’s cheeks flushed.
We can learn from the text that Vicki_______.
| A．often received gifts from her father |
| B．expected Uncle Tom to give her a doll |
| C．was sad because of her father’s death |
| D．liked and respected Uncle Tom |
What do the underlined words “done it” refer to?
| A．Guessed the result |
| B．Opened the box |
| C．Realized Uncle Tom’s purpose |
| D．Known what her birthday gift was |
What kind of person is Uncle Tom?
| A．Thoughtful | B．Humorous | C．Mysterious | D．Funny |
What did Uncle Tom want to teach Vicki?
| A．How to respect others | B．The meaning of gifts |
| C．How to deal with gifts | D．The value of a promise |
We like to consider ourselves the superior race, and we are. It’s true that we are getting to know more and more, and we actually live in “the information age”. Our human vanity(虚荣心) makes us believe that we really have to know everything! Surprisingly, we do not have this ability. The question “what is happening in the Bermuda Triangle” is the very proof.
Where is the Bermuda Triangle located? The mysterious triangle is believed to be situated between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, where too many unusual events have happened.
On December the 5th 1945, five U.S. military planes took off from Florida on a clear day only to disappear over Bermuda. Furthermore, some other disappearances took place; in 1947, an American C54 plane simply disappeared at 100 miles from Bermuda; at 80 miles, a Star Tiger plane disappeared in 1948.
Even Columbus had trouble in Bermuda. Some of his journals were about the strange happenings there: “the waters are changing their colors” and “compasses are going wild”.
Maybe it’s why it is called the Devil’s triangle or the Atlantic cemetery.
Many hypotheses were stated in order to explain the strange events. In spite of these attempts, the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle remains unsolved.
Some people get to say that maybe aliens are involved in it. Other imaginative scientists relate the happenings in Bermuda to Einstein’s theory, saying that the missing ships and planes are translated to another dimension of space and time and taken into another world.
Maybe we will just have to wait to go to Heaven and ask the One who made it. The answer will surely be a satisfying one!The writer may probably think that______.
| A．humans have to and can know everything strange |
| B．the missing ships are taken into another world |
| C．humans can know more in “the information age” |
| D．God created the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle |
Columbus’ journals told us that in Bermuda _______.
| A．an American C54 plane disappeared |
| B．there were some strange happenings |
| C．the compasses were lost |
| D．a cemetery was found |
The underlined word “hypotheses” in the 6th paragraph probably means______.
| A．guesses | B．reports | C．places | D．stories |
The purpose of the writer is to______.
| A．tell some stories about the Bermuda Triangle |
| B．warn people not to travel to the Bermuda Triangle |
| C．laugh at man’s vanity to know everything |
| D．prove man does not have the ability to know all |
Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”
The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.”“I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”“The sun is up and the tide is going out, and if I don’t throw them in they’ll die.”
“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely, then he bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”
There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can know that gift, we will gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future.
We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.One day, the wise man saw the young man .
| A．dancing along the beach | B．walking with a dancer |
| C．picking up starfish for sale | D．trying to save as many starfish as possible |
Near the end of the passage, “something very special” refers to .
| A．the gifts from friends | B．the strength of making decision |
| C．our own starfish | D．the ability of shaping one’s own future |
From the last two paragraphs, we can learn that .
| A．the wise man realized something new and important |
| B．the wise man thought it was foolish of the young man to throw starfish into the ocean |
| C．the young man had the ability to make a difference |
| D．it is necessary for us to save starfish on the beach |
The writer told this story in order to show us .
| A．how and where we can write a good article |
| B．everyone can do something for the future |
| C．wise men are sometimes stupid |
| D．young people are actually wiser than old people |
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