The Couch Surfing network is an online community stretching across the globe with over one and a half million members．The basic concept is to provide a platform for travelers to contact people who are willing to put them up free of charge．Travelers connect with potential hosts online and, if they like each other, exchange details to make further arrangements．
Basil is one traveler from Switzerland who is currently couch surfing with a Chinese host in Beijing．"I thought staying in hostel is nice but you mostly meet foreigners and speak English．If you use Couch Surfing you have chance to meet people living here and really get a chance to know the life of the place you visit．" Basil was speaking during a regular meeting of the Beijing network of Couch Surfing with a membership of almost 2,000．
Although some people may have concerns about meeting complete strangers and giving them full access to your house, Beijing group member Fred Sharp from California says that the Couch Surfing community is one that generally attracts trustworthy people．
"I have never had a problem with guests．I'd say that this Couch Surfing community worldwide is a fairly trustworthy community．Like I say, always be cautious, make sure that you read everyone's profile that you're considering hosting, and if it doesn't feel right just say 'no', it's ok．"
Originally launched in the US as a non-profit organization in 2004, Couch Surfing is growing fast across the world．China is no exception with around 30,000 members and hundreds more signing up each week．One of them is Beijing resident Hai Yan who joined in November 2009．She says the first time she hosted a guest was a very positive experience．"My first guest was from Italy．He was very kind and helpful．He bought me a present from Italy, a handbag．It's a famous brand!"
As the organization grows from strength to strength, hotel owners across the world will be watching very closely and possibly thinking twice about raising their prices too high．The Couch Surfing network is intended to ____．
| A．give reliable information about hotels |
| B．provide people with a platform to contact each other |
| C．find potential hosts who want to supply travelers with couches |
| D．offer travelers convenience to find suitable hosts for free accommodations |
According to Fred Sharp, ____．
| A．couch surfers can fully rely on Couch Surfing community |
| B．Couch Surfing community enables you to meet different people |
| C．Couch Surfing community is trusted by all couch surfers |
| D．couch surfers may form a judgment on hosts and make a final decision |
We can infer from the passage that ____．
| A．Couch Surfing has a long history |
| B．Hai Yan is satisfied with her host |
| C．Couch Surfing is getting popular in China |
| D．Basil works at the Beijing Network |
The last paragraph suggests that hotels will ____．
| A．be replaced by the organization | B．probably not charge too much |
| C．not consider raising their prices | D．show no concern about the organization |
About five years ago I started at a new school when my family moved to Iowa. I was just a little ex-cited, but I worried I would never fit in with the other sixth graders.
Lucy, a girl in my class, who I thought was not ready for change, didn’t like me from the start. In fact, I was pretty sure she hated me. I would ask her a question, and I could tell she thought I was a total fool.
My teacher made us sit by each other for the last term. Lucy was horrified (惊骇的). I didn’t wear make-up (化妆品), and I didn’t wear those terrible bell-bottom pants. I didn’t exactly look like the coolest girl. But, I kept smiling at her, though she rolled her eyes, and I kept telling her she looked beautiful, even when she was angry.
Finally, Lucy let me talk to her, even in sight of her “cool” friends. She started telling me how beautiful I looked. I still remember that first time when she smiled at me saying that, and I smiled right back, telling her thanks. Lucy invited me over to her house for a party, and talked to me all the time instead of her other friends. Lucy, the girl who hated me, called me her best friend. After that, we still were good friends a whole year later.
I may have moved to Arizona after that, but I will never forget Lucy. It’s funny — I still remember her birthday. She was a great friend. And to think, she considered me her enemy at first. Though it was hard, and it felt like I was wasting my time, and losing my dignity (尊严), I still smiled at Lucy when she made fun of me. I’m not stupid, I didn’t think she was right in doing those things, but I still put up with it. And we became great friends.
About two weeks ago, I read a sentence by Abraham Lincoln: “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?” Immediately, I smiled, thinking of Lucy. That sentence just reminded me how great it was for me to change Lucy into my friend in that state of Iowa five years ago.When the author started at a new school in Iowa, she worried _____.
| A．she looked stupid when asking questions |
| B．she didn’t look like the coolest girl in her class |
| C．she was not ready for change at all |
| D．she couldn’t get along well with her classmates |
How did the author change Lucy’s attitude towards her?
| A．By wearing make-up. |
| B．By keeping smiling at Lucy. |
| C．By wearing bell-bottom pants. |
| D．By sitting beside Lucy in class. |
From Paragraph 5, we know the author thought _____.
| A．it was right of her to suffer when making friends |
| B．it was a waste of time to make friends with Lucy |
| C．it was a shameful thing to put up with what Lucy did |
| D．it was foolish of her to smile at Lucy all the time |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Patience is important in making friends. |
| B．Friendship needs to be cared for. |
| C．Making friends means losing enemies. |
| D．Kindness can defeat any enemy. |
When you go to St. Petersburg, the number of at-tractions can seem overwhelming. If you’re short on time, or just want to make sure to hit the highlights, these are the top must-see sights in St. Petersburg.
The Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum is one of the most important sights to see for any visitor to St. Petersburg. There you can see lots of different paintings of old masters inside the Hermitage. Prepare to come face-to-face with classic Western artists.
The Russian Museum
The Russian Museum holds one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world. View Russian art creations through the ages, from Byzantine (拜占庭)-style icons to the Socialist Realism of Stalin’s times.
Kizhi Island
Kizhi Island is an open-air museum of wooden buildings from the Karelia Region of Russia. These impressive structures are made without any nails (钉子) — the wood fits together with joints and grooves (沟槽).
Peterhof
Peterhof is as beautiful as it is fun. You’ll be charged for admission (门票), but go to Peterhof when the fountains (喷泉) are working — during the day in the summer. They are shut off in winter as well as in the evenings.
The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood
Love it or hate it, the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood is an attractive must-see sight. The beautiful look may make your eyes brighten, and the paintings inside the church will make you say “Wow!”
The Bronze Horseman Statue
The Bronze Horseman is a part of Russian Culture and a symbol of St. Petersburg. Made famous by Alexander Pushkin (普希金), this statue of Peter the Great sitting on his horse can truly show Peter the Great’s influence on the Russian idea of greatness.If you’re interested in paintings, you’d better go to _____.
| A．the Hermitage Museum and Peterhof |
| B．the Hermitage Museum and the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood |
| C．Kizhi Island and the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood |
| D．the Russian Museum and Kizhi Island |
The man on the Bronze Horse refers to _____.
| A．Peter the Great | B．Alexander Pushkin |
| C．Byzantine | D．Stalin |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．The fountains in Peterhof can be seen all year round. |
| B．The largest collection of Russian art is in the Hermitage Museum. |
| C．The buildings on Kizhi Island are made of wood. |
| D．You can visit Peterhof free of charge. |
The main purpose of this passage is to _____.
| A．show the wonderful history of Russia |
| B．introduce the famous buildings in Russia |
| C．persuade artists to study St. Petersburg |
| D．attract tourists to visit St. Petersburg |
One day I was walking home along the street with my iPod on, when suddenly my headphones(耳机) were knocked off my head and a man threw his arm around my neck, saying “Just be quiet.” I was being attacked, and this man’s arm was gripping (紧夹) onto me! I started screaming and tried to pull him off me, but failed. He was forcing me to walk towards the back of an auto repair shop and he just kept saying: “Be quiet.”
My mind froze with fear. Then I heard my great-grandmother’s voice in my head. She was saying: “Come on now, I know you are stronger than that!” She was the rock in our family until she died four years ago.
I have never had any self-defense(自卫) training, but I went for it—I let out a loud scream as I kicked my leg back into his shin(胫骨)! He let go of me and I ran off. When I looked back to see if he was running after me, I saw he was running in the opposite direction. Then I ran like crazy to a nearby drugstore.
I asked the girl at the counter for the phone and called my mom. She picked me up five minutes later and I explained what happened through sobs. “I am calling the police!” She exclaimed. When we got home, two officers were waiting for us and I told them what had happened.
After my experience, I was afraid to do anything. Things slowly got better, but I still don’t like anyone going near my neck.
The fear isn’t totally gone—after all, the guy is still out there somewhere. But I had a new understanding of my own strength. I never expected to be able to fight off an attacker. I am stronger than I realized. How did the author get rid of the man?
| A．Her great-grandmother came and helped. |
| B．She used all her strength to pull him off her. |
| C．Her loud scream scared the attacker and people came to help. |
| D．Her great-grandmother’s words gave her the strength to defend herself. |
After the author escaped from the man, _________.
| A．she called the police |
| B．she called her mother |
| C．she screamed to get more attention |
| D．she looked back to remember his appearance |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The accident left no influence on the author now. |
| B．The attack made the author more confident in a way. |
| C．The author Suddenly remembered some self-defense moves. |
| D．The author was so frightened that she did nothing to fight back. |
What might be the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To show the importance of self-defense training. |
| B．To warn teenagers of possible dangers on the way to school. |
| C．To show how brave she was while she was being attacked at that time. |
| D．To share her experience and tell us that we are perhaps not as weak as we thought we were. |
I'm not so sure I like my friends any more. I used to like them-to be honest. We'd have lunch, talk on the phone or exchange e-mails, and they all seemed normal enough. But then came Facebook and I was introduced to a sad fact: many of my friends have dark sides that they had kept from me.
Today my friends show off the unpleasant aspects of their personalities via Facebook. No longer hidden, they're thrown in my face like TV commercials—unavoidable and endless advertisements for the worst of their personalities.
Take Fred. If you were to have lunch with him, you'd find him warm, and down-to-earth. Read his Facebook and you realize he's an unbearable, food-obsessed bore. He'd pause to have a cup of coffee on his way to save a drowning man—and then write about it.
Take Andy. You won't find a smarter CEO anywhere, but now he's a CEO without a company to run. So he plays “Mafia Wars” on Facebook. He's doing well-level 731.Thanks to Facebook, I know he's playing about 18 hours a day. Andy, you've run four companies—and this is how you spend your downtime? What happened to golf? What happened to getting another job?
Take Liz. She is positive that the H1N1 vaccine will kill us all and that we should avoid it. And then comes Chris who likes to post at least 20 times a day on every website he can find, so I get to read his thoughts twice, once on Facebook and once on Twitter.
In real life, I don't see these sides of people. Face to face, my friends show me their best. They're nice, smart people. But facing Facebook, my friends are like a blind date which goes horribly wrong.
I'm left with a dilemma. Who is my real friend? Is it the Liz I have lunch with or the anti-vaccine lunatic(狂人) on Facebook? Is it the Fred I can grab a sandwich with or the Fred who weeps if he's at a party and the wine isn't up to his standards?Who is opposed to the H1N1 vaccine in the text?
| A．Fred. | B．Andy. | C．Liz. | D．Chris. |
According to the text, Facebook tends to ________.
| A．present another side of people |
| B．offer some food for free |
| C．show endless advertisements |
| D．get you to attend more parties |
The text is developed mainly by ________.
| A．giving examples | B．following the time order |
| C．listing figures | D．raising questions |
The author focuses on the question of “________”.
| A．what is Facebook? | B．what happened to golf? |
| C．who is my real friend? | D．who can help me? |
There are many great movie directors of all time and the following are five of those who have largely impressed audience with their body of work.
As a member of the New Hollywood gang, Francis Coppola is best remembered for The Godfather series. His decision to cast Marlon Brando in the lead also met with fierce opposition from the studio bosses. Good sense became popular, and The Godfather went on to become one of the most memorable movies ever. Critics may point out that he has become less creative after his seventies, but try as one might, no one can possibly take the place of this great director's work.
Stanley Kubrick's movies focus on the themes like sci-fi, horror, dark humor and war. He used symbolism in most of his movies, giving us some wonderful screen visuals, as shown in 2001: A Space Odyssey. His actors in Hollywood complained about the endless number of retakes, but they appreciated the performance he milked out of them. People argue about films like Lolita, A Clockwork Orange and Paths of Glory, but these are now seen as classics.
Steven Spielberg is a great success at the box office, and he is one of the world's most popular filmmakers today. As the creator of classics like Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, ET, Indiana Jones series, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, no one can win his hold over the audience. His critics accuse him of being emotional and over the top, but the fact remains that his movies attract the audience and set the cash registers ringing.
Woody Allen is a director who directs movies full of crime and hate. This comic genius has given us Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and Midnight in Paris, which have also become classical. His movies constantly include characters who arouse the audience's sympathy and laughter at the same time, as they set out on a journey of self-discovery. Hollywood star power has never fazed Allen. Thankfully, awards and honors do not interest him, which results in creativity that is original.What do the directors mentioned in the passage have in common?
| A．They are interested in awards for their works. |
| B．They are members of the New Hollywood gang. |
| C．They have created a lot of movies taken as classics. |
| D．They focus their themes on the negative side of society. |
Stanley Kubrick's works include the following except ________.
| A．Midnight in Paris | B．2001: A Space Odyssey |
| C．A Clockwork Orange | D．Paths of Glory |
It is implied in the underlined sentence that Steven Spielberg ________.
| A．was successful in amusing the audience |
| B．succeeded in making a great box office |
| C．became much better at creating classics |
| D．had set a cash register working for himself |
What will be discussed in the paragraph that follows this passage?
| A．Their contribution to society. |
| B．The difference between the directors. |
| C．Another famous movie director. |
| D．More great movies of the directors. |
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