Finding the right school for 
your child is a process． You will want to read about the school, talk to any friends who are involved in the school and, most important of all, visit the school．
The first step in finding out about Indian Creek is to request an information packet． We will be happy to send you a packet containing a brochure（小册子）, the fee structure and an application． The packet should answer most of your general questions about the school．
In order to get a true sense of Indian Creek School, you should come for an Admission Tour, which includes a personal meeting focusing on your child, a tour of the building and the classrooms, and a discussion of the curriculum（课程）．
This visit is no less important if the child for whom you are seeking admission is a teenager than if he or she is a three-year-old one． Every school has a different “school climate．” If you visit two or three schools, you will notice that each “feels” different． You know your child best and you will quickly develop a sense of whether a school is the right match or not．
●The initial point of entry for Indian Creek Students is at the pre-kindergarten level for three year olds．
●Children must be three years old by August 31st．
●We also have major points of entry from grade six to grade nine． At each of these levels, we open new sections and accept students in addition to those moving up from our own lower grades．
●There are scattered（零散的） openings available throughout the program due to attrition（学生流失）． Once an opening occurs, students spend a day at ICS, part of which includes admission testing．You can NOT get to know about ICS by ．
| A．getting an information packet | B．taking an admission tour |
| C．asking friends involved in ICS | D．taking an admission test |
During the Admission Tour, you can ．
| A．having a meeting with the children |
| B．decide on the design of the classrooms |
| C．talk with the school about the courses |
| D．choose the weather suitable for study． |
Which of the following is NOT accepted for ICS when there is no attrition?
| A．A boy who will be 3 years old by July． |
| B．A fifth grader originally studying in ICS． |
| C．An eighth grader from another school． |
| D．A fourth grader from another school． |
The text is intended for ．
| A．teachers | B．parents |
| C．kindergarteners | D．school kids |
China’s economic growth “hard to predict”
The worsening global economic situation makes it difficult for China to predict its growth for next year, a senior official said on Friday.
“How fast China’s economy will grow next year is uncertain,” Liu He, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economy Work, told China Daily.
“To a large extent, the rate will be decided by the external(外部) situation,” Liu said during a discussion with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and other economists in Beijing.
“This year, GDP is estimated to grow at 9.4 or 9.5 percent, down from 10.6 percent last year,” he said. “However, the impact of the current financial turbulence on our economy is much less than on the rest of the world.”
Nicholas Stern, a former UK government advisor, also told China Daily it will take at least one or two years for the world to recover from the recession, which is now spreading from the US and the UK to the rest of the world.
“We don’t know how long the recession will last, but it is unlikely to be short,” he said.
Liu said China can use the downturn(衰退) as an opportunity to restructure its economy, which has relied heavily on government investment, foreign trade and low-cost technology over the past years.
“When the economy is experiencing fast growth, companies are unwilling to upgrade their technologies,” Liu said.
“The slowdown gives such firms the opportunity to enhance(提高) their competitive edge through better technologies.”
(From China Daily 2009-01-11)How many people are mentioned in this passage?
| A．Only 2. | B．No more than 3. | C．Not more than 4. | D．At least 5. |
It can be inferred from Liu’s words that the impact of the current financial turbulence on China’s economy is ______.
| A．more | B．less | C．the most | D．the least |
The underlines word “extent” probably means ______.
| A．sense | B．degree | C．size | D．depth |
According to the passage, the reason why Liu said this downturn is an opportunity for China to restructure its economy is that ______.
| A．China’s economy will not depend on government investment in the future |
| B．Foreign trade will grow in the future |
| C．The downturn will force China’s companies to upgrade their technologies |
| D．Low-cost technologies will not exist in China |
In the hit film The bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman meet in hospital in California after they have been diagnosed with cancer. Between them they cook up a “bucket list” – a to-do list of all they want to do before they kick the bucket. The movie makes you wonder what would be on your bucket list. So let’s pack up some and see what it would cost to go out and have a little fun.
THE PYRAMIDS, GIZA, EGYPT
On to the pyramids, surely on anyone’s bucket list. Exotik Tours can take you there on a variety of trips, including their popular Egypt Express which includes three nights in Cairo and a three-night Nile Cruise(乘船游览). From $1,384, including four-and five-star accommodation, 12 meals and a ton of sightseeing.
www.exotiktours.com 416-646-3347
TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, INDIA
One of the world’s most fascinating images, India’s Taj Mahal makes even Nicholson and Freeman look calm. Toronto’s Goway Travel has many suggestions for India, including a three-day independent visit to Agra. Stay at the attractive Oberoi AmarVilas overlooking the Taj. Include two breakfasts, touring and airport transfer from $1,420.
www.gowaytravel.com 416-322-1034
THE GREAT WALL, CHINA
If the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, check into Tour East Holiday’s four-day Amazing Beijing Tour for $580 per person, four-star accommodation, sightseeing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, breakfasts and two lunches, transportation and guide.
www.toureastholidays.com 416-929-0888
THE HIMALAYAS, NEPAL
And on to the Himalayas. Talk about “something truly majestic(壮丽的). See the top of the world on GAP Adventures’ Everest Adventure tour, a 15-day exploration including Everest Base Camp, teahouse lodge stays, and walking through Sherpa villages. Incredibly affordable at just $665 plus local payment of $250. GAP Adventures warns that this is a physically demanding trip.
www.gapadventures.com 416-260-0999The underlined phrase “kick the bucket” in Paragraph 1 means ______.
| A．come to life | B．play a game | C．pass away | D．list interesting places |
If you take on the Everest Adventure tour, you should be aware that ____.
| A．the sights may not be so good. |
| B．It is a tiring trip |
| C．you may not be used to the food there |
| D．it is an expensive trip |
According to the passage, where can you enjoy a view of the whole Taj Mahal?
| A．In Sherpa village. | B．Near the Forbidden City |
| C．Through Egypt Express. | D．At Oberoi AmarVilas |
Which of the following websites may offer you more information about Agra?
| A．www.gowaytravel.com | B．www.exotiktours.com |
| C．www.gapadventures.com | D．www.toureastholidays.com |
Researchers who helped discover a new species of Mexican butterfly are offering to sell the naming rights to raise money to fund more research. Co-discoverer Andrew Warren is hoping to raise at least $50,000 by auctioning(拍卖) off the rights to name the 4-inch “owl eye” butterfly, which lives in Sonora, a Mexican state bordering Arizona.
“That would support at least two years of research for our team down in Mexico,” Warren said. “Money goes a long way down here in Mexico.”
According to the scientific tradition, discoverers of a new species have the say in naming it. In recent years, some discoverers have auctioned off their naming rights to raise money.
Warren said the amount being sought for the butterfly is not out of the question, noting that naming rights for a new monkey species brought in $650,000 two years ago. A group of 10 new fish species that went on the naming auction block at the same time earlier this year brought in a total of $2 million.
The butterfly discovered by Warren and researcher George Austin ranges as far north as Mexico.
The butterfly was actually in a collection, misidentified as an example of another new species, at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of National History in Gainesville, said Warren. They soon began the hard process of determining that it was indeed a “new” model of butterfly.
After checking photos and comparing it with other known species, they determined it was a separate species.Where did the researchers discover the new species of butterflies?
| A．In Sonora. | B．In Mexico state. |
| C．In a place in US. | D．Near the US-Mexico border. |
Why will the researchers sell the naming rights of the butterfly?
| A．To raise money for wildlife protection. |
| B．To raise money for more research. |
| C．To cause people’s attention to the new discovery. |
| D．To cover the cost of the research. |
When the butterfly was first discovered, people thought ______.
| A．it was a new species at once |
| B．it wasn’t a species of American butterfly |
| C．it belonged to the monarch branches |
| D．it belonged to a new species |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．the new species of butterfly live both in the US and Mexico |
| B．it took the researchers a lot of efforts to determine the new species of butterfly |
| C．the researchers are not sure whether they can get the money they want from the auction |
| D．it is the first time that the new species of butterfly has been found |
All areas of the world face a nurses shortage. But the shortage is most severe in developing countries. Many of their nurses move to the more developed nations for better pay, better working conditions and better chances for career development. For example, nearly 2,000 nurses left the Caribbean between 2002 and 2006.
The Caribbean nations currently have about 1 nurse for every 1,000 people. The ratio(比例) of nurses to population is about 10 times higher in the United States and countries in the European Union(EU). Now, more than 21,000 nurses who trained in the Caribbean are working in the United States, Canada and Britain.
Gaetan Lafortune is an official of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(O.E.C.D) in Paris. He says the nurses shortage also affects industrialized countries. He says, “There is concern in most O.E.C.D.countries that the number of nurses is too small to meet the demand. And what is more worrying is that their concern is sort of growing.” Mr Lafortune says a large number of nurses are expected to retire within the next 10 years. At the same time, the health care needs of aging populations are expected to grow, intensifying the shortage of nurses.
Gaetan Lafortune said, “In the U.S., for instance, some researchers have found that there may be a shortage of close to a million nurses by 2020.” The United States is 1 of the 21 countries in the O.C.E.D. Gaetan Lafortune says in the recent years many of the countries increased their efforts to hire foreign nurses. As a result of that, O.E.C.D. countries were mainly exporting their shortage problem to countries that may have an even greater need for these nurses.
What will be the main causes of the global nurses shortage in the next 10 years?
a. The demand for nurses will decrease.
b. Many nurses will be too old to work.
c. Many rich countries will hire more foreign nurses.
d. Nurses are often looked down upon.
e. Aging populations will increase rapidly
| A．a and b | B．b and c | C．b and e | D．c and d |
The underlined word “intensify” in para. 3 means “________”.
| A．strengthen | B．neglect | C．reduce | D．cause |
We know from this text that America and the EU countries ______.
| A．refuse to offer equal pay to foreign nurses |
| B．have at least one nurse out of 100 people |
| C．don’t like to train nurses of their own countries |
| D．have more serious nursing problems than the Caribbean nations |
What does the text mainly tell us?
| A．Nursing is no longer a worthwhile profession in most countries. |
| B．The different attitudes towards nursing in different countries. |
| C．Nurses shortage will result in serious consequences. |
| D．The health care industry needs more nurses. |
People in Shanghai can quench their thirst with high quality water if the Shanghai Water Authority (SWA) is able to make good on its word. It has vowed to make the city’s water match its status as a world class city.
“The current tap water quality meets national standards, but, compared with that of the European Union and the United States, it still needs to be improved.” said the SWA’s director general, Hang Jiayi.
In other developed countries, water fountains can be found almost everywhere—people do not bother with bottled drinking water.
By 2020, the water of the Huangpu River will be treated to reduce the amount of organic waste in it. Major water works that draw water from the Huangpu will need more treatment facilities to improve the colour, texture, ammonia(氨)and nitrogen content before 2010.
These treatment facilities are expected to cost 4 billion yuan, something that could affect the price of water, according to Chen Yin, SWA’s deputy director general.
Chen said that replacing water pipes was also a key project. The city’s aged pipes are mostly to blame for the bad water quality.
The SWA has started the water facilities renovation(更新)work, including the more than 14,000 kilometres of indoor piping, 107,000 tanks on top of the buildings, and more than 6,000 underground facilities.
World Water Day came on March 22, and this year’s theme is “Water for the future”. Beijing is also drawing up plans during China’s Water Week, which runs until March 28.
By 2010, the water for the Shanghai EXPO is to be above World Health Organization standards. And, the people of Beijing will be able to drink their tap water as well.People in Shanghai can drink their tap water_____.
| A．by 2020 | B．in the first half of this year | C．by 2010 | D．by 2008 |
What step need not be taken in order to improve the tap water?
| A．The water of the Huangpu River will be treated. | B．Aged water pipes will be treated. |
| C．Water facilities must be renovated. | D．Water fountains must be found. |
Which is the correct statement according to the passage?
| A．The tap water quality in Shanghai hasn’t met national standards. |
| B．World Water Day fell on March 22 this year. |
| C．The people of Beijing cannot drink their tap water now. |
| D．The treatment of the water of Huangpu River has been finished. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The cost of treating the tap water. |
| B．How to reach the water standards of developed countries. |
| C．The project for making tap water drinkable in Shanghai and Beijing. |
| D．The progress of treating the water of Huangpu River. |
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