Once upon a time there was a crook（骗子）who only thought about how to get money. What he hated most was when people were polite to each other, saying things like “please”, “thank you”, and “don’t mention it”.
The crook thought all those kinds of words were a waste, so he spent a lot of time inventing a machine which could steal words. With this machine, he planned to steal “please”, “thank you”, “don’t mention it”, and similar words people used to be polite. After he stole these words, he intended to take them apart and sell the letters to book publishers. After he started up his machine, people would open their mouths, intending to say kind and polite things, but nothing came out. All those words ended up inside the big machine.
The crook was happy with his success, but he didn’t count on (料想到)a couple of very special little girls. Those girls were deaf, and had to communicate with sign language. Because the machine couldn’t steal gestures, these girls continued being kind and polite. Soon they realized what had been happening to everyone else, and they found out about the crook and his plan. The girls followed him and found the machine busy separating all the words into letters. They approached the machine and started being polite to each other.
Try as it might, the machine couldn’t steal those words, and it started to suffer a power overload(超载). Finally, it exploded, sending all the letters it had gathered flying into the sky. These letters started coming down, like rain, and most ended up in the sea. After that, everyone could be polite again.
Seeing all those letters fall into the sea, those little girls had an idea. A little while later they opened a factory, making alphabetic spaghetti soup!What the crook hated most was ______.
| A．his machine | B．money | C．language | D．politeness |
The crook spent a lot of time inventing a machine to ______.
| A．publish books | B．steal words |
| C．write letters | D．make alphabetic soup |
Why did the machine have no effect on the two girls?
| A．Because they were kind and polite. |
| B．Because they were very clever. |
| C．Because the machine couldn’t steal gestures. |
| D．Because there was something wrong with the machine. |
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| To Minneapolis/St. Paul And Back |
| Depart Arrive Depart Arrive |
| 9:15 a.m 10:52 a.m 6:20 p.m 9:30 p.m |
| To Phoenix And Back |
| Depart Arrive Depart Arrive |
| 9:15 a.m 12:25 p.m 1:10 p.m 9:30 p.m |
| To Boston And Back |
| Depart Arrive Depart Arrive |
| 10:00 p.m 10:53 p.m 7:30 a.m 8:30 a.m |
| All times are local. All flights to/off from Newark international Airport. |
This passage is most probably ______.
| A．a warning | B．a notice | C．an advertisement | D．an announcement |
If you want to fly to Boston soon after you come back from Minneapolis, you have to wait for _____.
| A．thirty minutes | B．one hour | C．one hour and a half | D．three hours and ten |
Suppose the price of flight ticket is 300 dollars to Phoenix, as a secondary school student, how much can you save after having chosen over a dozen US air discount fares?
| A．120 | B．150 | C．180 | D．225 |
According to this form above, ______.
| A．all flights from Newark leave in the morning |
| B．the flight to Phoenix takes three hours and ten minutes. |
| C．Flights to and from Boston take the same amount of time |
| D．It’s impossible to return from Phoenix and fly to Boston on the same day |
BEIJING, Feb 13 — Never has China’s economic growth attracted so much global attention. The shock waves from the financial crisis (危机) that started in the United States have spread across the entire world, sending developed nations, including Japan and those of Europe, into serious recession(衰退). The world is now holding out hope that China, with its massive potential, will serve as the engine to fuel global economic growth.
But China’s real economic growth slowed sharply to 6.8 percent in the October-December quarter. For China, this rate of economic expansion must be as disappointing as negative growth is for Japan. Beijing has set an official goal of achieving a minimum annual growth rate of 8 percent -- a pace it regards as important to ensuring job security.
The Chinese government is apparently confident the nation will achieve the minimum growth target of 8 percent in 2009. At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the Chinese economy began to show signs of recovery late last year.
Last week, however, the International Monetary Fund predicted that China’s economic growth in 2009 will be 6.7 percent. China’s economic outlook is likely to keep both hope and anxiety for the time being.
China’s impressive economic growth has been fueled by swelling exports and massive investment (投资)in equipment to produce goods for overseas. But the US, Japanese and European economies, which have absorbed the bulk(数量) of China’s exports, are expected to shrink simultaneous（同时）in 2009, for the first time since the end of World War II. For the first time since it started serious efforts to turn itself into a market economy in the 1990s, China is facing the challenge of maintaining healthy economic growth without depending on external demand.
Expansion of domestic (国内的) demand holds a key to China’s success in tackling this challenge. Consumer spending accounts for only 35 percent of China’s gross (总的)) domestic product. The ratio(比率) is considerably lower than the 70 percent for the United States and the nearly 60 percent for Japan. That is because the middle class - the group that should lead consumer spending - is still relatively small in China, where the benefits of the nation’s strong economic growth in recent years have mostly eluded rural villages and low-income earners.According to the report, in the last quarter of 2008, China’s real economic growth was at least ______less than planned annual growth rate.
| A．6.7% . | B．6.8% | C．1.3% | D．1.2% |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The financial crisis has had bad effects on many countries including China. |
| B．China’s economic growth has been depending on exports. |
| C．If China intends to keep the same economic growth, it must increase goods for overseas. |
| D．Consumer spending in China is much lower than that of the US. |
The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means____.
| A．benefited | B．avoided | C．influenced | D．missed |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Economic change, the only hope for china. |
| B．China has attracted much global attention. |
| C．China, the engine to fuel global economic growth. |
| D．The financial crisis has influenced China’s economy. |
The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take various forms: organized competitive struggles, athletic games, hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year.
Baseball is the most popular sport in the US. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall.
Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It’s not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players as well on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country.
Basketball is the winner sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the US, many Americans prefer it to football because it is played indoors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. And the famous NBA games are considered the best of this game.
Other sports attracting a great many people include wrestling, boxing and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the exactness of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do not come primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.Baseball is so popular in America that some professional teams play it until ___________.
| A．spring | B．summer | C．fall | D．winter |
When playing football, American players are dressed in a special uniforms ___________.
| A．to avoid unexpected injuries |
| B．to play it like European football |
| C．to make the game rough enough |
| D．to look like professional players |
Many Americans prefer basketball to football because______.
| A．NBA games are very popular |
| B．it is originated in the US |
| C．it is much faster than football |
| D．it is played indoors throughout winter |
Horse-racing fans can’t be exactly considered as sportsmen because they ________.
| A．mainly stand and watch the races |
| B．don’t ride horse in the races |
| C．are only interested in the results |
| D．don’t care who wins in the races |
The underlined word “jockeys” in the last paragraph refers to _______.
| A．the person who bets upon the the race |
| B．the person who cares about horse-racing |
| C．the rider who enjoys watching the race |
| D．the rider who competes in horse-racing |
Another man-made wonder of the US was built long before the nation was established. About 900 years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan people built villages high in the walls of canyons（大峡谷）in Colorado, where 600 cliff dwellings are now part of the Mesa Verde National Park.
Visitors can stand at the top and look into the dwellings almost hidden in openings of the rock walls.The Puebloan people cut small steps into the rock, which connected buildings containing hundreds of rooms.
The rock walls have protected the buildings from severe weather in the area; therefore, they remain mostly unchanged in the hundreds of years since they were built.
Our final man-made wonder is in the northwestern city of Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle was built as the central structure for the 1962 World’s Fair.
The 184-meter-tall structure was designed by Edward Carlson, which has a wide base on the ground, with its middle narrow and a large ring-like structure on top.The structure was meant to look like a “flying saucer,” a vehicle that was popular in science fiction space travel stories. The saucer includes an observation area and eating place.The restaurant slowly turns to provide visitors with a 360 degree view of Seattle.
The Space Needle was not very costly, and was designed and completed in about a year and opened on the first day of the World’s Fair.
Today, the Space Needle is the most popular place for visitors to Seattle. And it remains the internationally known symbol of the city.What can be talked about before the text?
A. American geography.
B. Touring in the USA.
C. Other US artificial wonders.
D. World natural wonders.The underlined word “dwelling” is closest in meaning to “________”.
| A．houses | B．people | C．canyons | D．steps |
The buildings in the rock stay almost unchanged because________.
| A．the weather there is severe |
| B．they were well built |
| C．people look after them well |
| D．the rock walls protect them |
Which is true of the Space Needle?
| A．It remains a symbol of the US. |
| B．Edward Carlson built the structure. |
| C．It has a ring-like structure on top. |
| D．It is a man-made wonder in Colorado. |
What is the best title of the text?
| A．Cultural Relics | B．Artificial Wonders in the US |
| C．Symbols of Cities | D．Natural Places in the US |
?Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food
9:00—9:45 a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists (成员)：Jami Bernard, David Kamp, Marion Nestle and Peter Singer.
Hosted by Denise Grady, science writer for The New York Times.
How does what we eat not only affect our bodies, but also the world？The food and nutrition experts debate the role that the diet plays in both personal and global health, and present a look at food politics.
?Sports Writing：For the Love of the Game
9:50—10:35 a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists：Christine Brennan, Ira Rosen, Joe Wallace and Joe Drape.
Hosted by William C.Rhoden, sports writer for The New York Times.
Whether catching that key moment of victory or defeat, or covering breaking news, sports writers are anything but audience. Listen as some professionals discuss the special experience in reporting of sports news.
?The Art of the Review
11:15—12:00 a.m. Green Tent
Panelists: John Freeman, Barry Gewen, David Orr, Celia McGee and Jennifer Schuessler.
Hosted by Sam Tanenhaus, editor for The New York Times Book Review.
How much of an effect does the book review have on book sales？Join this group of critics(评论家) as they discuss the reality of book review and bestseller lists, and how they choose books for review.
?New York Writers, New York Stories
3:00—3:45 p.m.Green Tent
Panelists: Cindy Adams, Richard Cohen, Ric Klass and Lauren Redniss.
Hosted by Clyde Haberman, columnist (专栏作家) for the City Section of The New York Times.
Join this inspiring group of New York－centric writers as they talk about why New York is a gold mine of ideas for their work.If you are free in the afternoon, you can attend_______.
| A．The Art of the Review |
| B．New York Writers, New York Stories |
| C．Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food |
| D．Sports Writing: For the Love of the Game |
If you like sports writing, you will most probably _______.
| A．go to Blue Tent at 11:15 a.m | B．enjoy Jami Bernard’s talk |
| C．listen to Christine Brennan | D．attend the Art of the Review |
Sam Tanenhaus is in charge of ________.
| A．The Art of the Review |
| B．Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food |
| C．New York Writers, New York Stories |
| D．Sports Writing：For the Love of the Game |
All the four activities above _______.
| A．are about writing | B．will last 45 minutes each |
| C．can be attended freely | D．will attract many readers |
We can learn from the text that________.
| A．sports writers are a type of audience |
| B．the New York Times is popular |
| C．Denise Grady will discuss politics |
| D．book reviews may affect book sales |
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