When he took office, George W. Bush, son of former president George Herbert Walker Bush, became the first son to follow his father into the White House since John Quiney Adams followed John Adams in the early 19th century.
Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush. Although George Herbert Walker Bush began his career in the oil industry, he finally served as a congressman(国会议员), and vice(副) president and president of the United States.
At the age of two, Bush moved with his parents from Connecticut to Odessa, Texas, where his father took up the oil business. After a year in Texas, the family moved to California for business reasons. A year later, the family returned to Texas and settled in Midland, where Bush lived from 1950 to 1959.
In 1959, again for business reasons, the family moved to Houston, Texas. In 1961 Bush left Texas and went to Andover, Massachusetts, to attend Phillips Academy, aboarding school(寄宿学校) that his father had also attended.
At Phillips, Bush played basketball, baseball, and football. He was best known for being head cheerleader. In 1964 he enrolled at Yale University in Connecticut.His father and grandfather had also attended Yale. At Yale, Bush was considered an average student, but he was popular with his classmates.
Bush graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1968. Then he joined the Air National Guard and remained in the Guard until 1973. After earning his MBA from Harvard in 1975, Bush returned to Midland. Like his father, he first entered the oil industry as a “landsman(新手)”. However, Bush’s oil companies never enjoyed great success. He took more interest in politics. He helped his father to become president and in 1994 he himself was elected governor of Texas.
In the summer of 1999, Bush began to run for the president of the USA and on January 20, 2001, George W. Bush, hand raised, took the oath(宣誓) of office to become the 43rd president of the US.What does the writer intend to tell us in the first paragraph?
| A．George W. Bush is the first son in American history to follow his father into the White House. |
| B．George W. Bush is the first son of former president George Herbert Walker Bush. |
| C．George W. Bush is the second one in American history to follow his father into the White House. |
| D．John Quincy Adams and his father were both former American presidents. |
We may learn from the text that young Bush ______.
| A．got on very well at the universities |
| B．was very good at basketball, baseball and football |
| C．was a very successful politician like his father |
| D．did everything as his father had done |
Which of the following is NOT true about George W. Bush?
| A．He once studied at a university that his father and grandfather had also attended. |
| B．Young Bush lived with his family in Texas from 1948 to 1961. |
| C．He once ruled over an American state before he entered the White House. |
| D．He once served at the Air National Guard for about five years. |
“The Lord of the Rings”, one of the best sellers in the new millennium（千禧年）, was made up of three parts——“The Fellowship of the Ring”, “Two Towers”, and “The Return of the King”. Millions upon millions of people have read it in over 25 different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative masterwork.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892. His parents died when he was a child. Living in England with his aunt, Tolkien and his cousins made up playing languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien’s becoming skilled in Welsh, Greek, Gothic, Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon.
After graduating from Oxford, Tolkien served in World War I. In 1917, while recovering from trench fever, he began composing(创作) the mythology（神话故事） for The Rings. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1930s at Oxford, Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings, which included several writers. The group was soon listening to chapters of Tolkien’s imaginative work “The Hobbit”.
Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for a local people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural class. Hobbits live in hillside holes. One of them, Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves（侏儒）. On the way, he meets the twisted（变形的）, pitiful creature Gollum, from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible.
One of Tolkien’s students persuaded her employer, publisher Allen & Unwin, to look at a draft（草稿）. The chairman of the firm, Stanley Unwin, thought that the best judge for a children’s book would be his ten-year-old son. The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the adventure was exciting, and “The Hobbit” was published in 1937.
It sold so well that Unwin asked for a continuation. Over a dozen years later, in 1954, Tolkien produced “The Lord of the Rings”, a series of books so creative that they hold readers—new and old —after their publication. What can we learn about “Hobbit” that Tolkien created in his works?
| A．Hobbit was a local people who were very tall and strong . |
| B．Hobbit was a race living in English downtown areas . |
| C．Hobbit was a group of people who were mostly dwarves. |
| D．Hobbit was a social group of people who lived in old castles. |
Which of the following helped most in making “The Hobbit” published?
| A．Stanley Unwin’s son . |
| B．One of Tolkien’s students . |
| C．Bilbo Baggins. |
| D．Allen & Unwin . |
What is mainly discussed in the text?
| A．a famous professor at Oxford University.. |
| B．A completely new masterwork in the new millennium. |
| C．“The Lord of the Rings” and its writer . |
| D．The power of the magic ring. |
Which of the following shows the right order of Mr J.R.R.Tolkien’s life experience?
a. He had his “The Hobbit” published.
b. He became a member of the lnklings.
c. He served in World WarⅠ
d. He became an undergraduate at Oxford.
e. His work “The Lord of the Rings” came to the world.
f. He moved to England to live with his aunt.
| A．f-c-d-b-e-a | B．d-f-c-a-b-e | C．f-d-b-c-a-e | D．f-d-c-b-a-e |
Language is a major problem for the European Union (EU) . The Treaty (条约) of Rome ,which created the organization that finally became the EU, stated that each country’s language must be treated equally. The original six countries had only three languages between them: French, German and Dutch/Flemish. However, there are now 15 countries in the EU, with a total of 12 languages. EU documents must be translated into all these languages, and at official meetings the speeches must be translated into all the languages by interpreters.
All this translating is very expensive and time-consuming. It is said that nearly half of all employees of the EU are engaged in translating documents and speeches and nearly half of the EU’s administrative (管理方面的) costs are spent on this task. In the near future it is probable that several more countries, most of them having their own languages, will join the EU, thus making the situation even worse.
The problem is just cost; there are practical difficulties as well. With 12 languages, there are 132 possible “translation situations” that might be needed. It is often difficult to find people in the right place at the right time who can translate from, for example, Danish into Greek, or Dutch into Portuguese, at a high professional standard.
In practice the problem has been less serious by the use of English in many contacts between EU officials , since almost all of them speak some English. However, any move to reduce the number of official languages (perhaps to four or five) would be a blow to the pride of the smaller countries. Another commonly suggested solution is to make English the official language for all EU business. However, this is strongly resisted by powerful member countries like France and Germany .The organization that finally became the EU _______.
| A．included 132 languages |
| B．was set up by the Treaty of Rome . |
| C．started with three countries . |
| D．was started by France and Germany . |
What’s the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To show that the problem cannot be solved . |
| B．To criticize the European Union for inefficiency . |
| C．To find out a problem and show how serious it is. |
| D．To give a solution to a problem . |
The writer mentions “Danish into Greek” as an example of _______.
| A．a situation that occurs often. |
| B．a situation that might be difficult to deal with . |
| C．languages easily being interpreted. |
| D．one of the 12 situations that requires an interpreter |
The writer suggests that if the number of official languages was reduced, _______.
| A．Only languages which are easy to translate would be used officially. |
| B．The smaller member countries would be pleased . |
| C．the EU would not know which official languages to choose . |
| D．Countries whose languages were not used officially would be unhappy . |
To find how the name Canada came about we must go back to the 16th century. At that time, the French dreamed of disclosing and controlling more land, of expanding trade beyond their borders and of spreading their faith across the world .In 1535, Francois I ,King of France, ordered a navigator named Jacques Cartier to explore the New World and search for a passage to India.
Cartier first arrived at the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, which he wanted to explore. He did not know what to expect but he hoped that this Gulf was just an arm of the ocean between two islands. If it was, he would soon be on his way to the Far East. So he sailed upstream along the St. Lawrence River. However, instead of reaching Asia he arrived at Quebec or Stadacona, as the Indians called it. It was at this point that the term “Canada” entered the country’s history. Apparently the word “Canada” came from an Indian word “Kanata”, which means community or village. Cartier first used it when he referred to Stadacona or Quebec. What a huge “village” Canada is!In the early sixteenth century, the King of France ordered Cartier to ______
| A．find the new world. |
| B．go and visit the American Indians |
| C．build an entirely new country |
| D．get more information about America and find a way to Asia |
Having reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence Cartier thought _____
| A．he had already got to India |
| B．he had sailed into the Atlantic |
| C．it was a water passage to the East |
| D． it was a water way to the New World |
In the early sixteenth century, Quebec was only ____.
| A．an Indian village |
| B．a little town in southern Canada |
| C．the place which we call Canada now |
| D．a village at the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence |
China is a land of bicycles. At least it was back in 1992 when I traveled around the country. Everyone seemed to be riding a bicycle. Millions of them are black. Cars were rare. Yet since my arrival in Beijing, I've found the opposite (对立面) is true. There are millions of cars.
However, people still use their bicycles to get around. For many, it's the easiest and cheapest way to travel today. Bicycles also come in different colors — silver, green, red, blue, yellow, whatever you want.
It's fun watching people biking. They rush quickly through crossroads, move skillfully through traffic, and ride even on pavements. Bicycles allow people the freedom to move about that cars just can't provide.
Wanting to be part of this way of Chinese culture, I decided to buy a bicycle. After my great buy, I immediately jumped up on my bicycle seat and started home.
My first ride home was orderly (守秩序的). To be
safe, I stayed with a "pack" of bikers while cars on the streets came running swiftly out of nowhere at times. I didn't want to get hit. So I took the ride carefully.
Crossing the streets was the biggest problem. It was a lot like crossing a major highway back in the United States. The streets here were wide, so crossing took time, skill and a little bit of luck.
I finally made it home. The feeling on the bicycle was amazing. The air was hitting my face and going through my hair. I was sitting on top of the world as I passed by places and people. Biking made me feel alive.According to the author, why are bicycles still popular in China today?
| A．Because they are traditional and safe. |
| B．Because they are convenient (方便的) and cheap. |
| C．Because they are colorful and beautiful. |
| D．Because they are fast and environmentally friendly. |
The author decided to buy a bicycle because he meant _________.
| A．to ride it for fun |
| B．to use it for transport |
| C．to experience local culture |
| D．to improve his riding skills |
How did the author feel about his street cross-ing?
| A．It was boring. | B．It was difficult. |
| C．It was lively. | D．It was wonderful. |
Which of the following best describes the author's biking experience?
| A．The author enjoyed showing off his biking skills. |
| B．The author was angry at the air while riding. |
| C．The author was praised by other bikers. |
| D．The author took great pleasure in biking. |
Every day we go to school and listen to the teacher, and the teacher will ask us some questions. Sometimes, the classmates will ask your opinions of the work of the class. When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying. You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends---you are in a slightly unnatural situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say. You must speak so that they can hear you---loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself.
Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you. The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease but the situation is somewhat different from that of a ordinary conversation. You must take special care that you can be heard.When you speak to the class, you should speak ________.
| A．as slowly as possible | B．in a low voice |
| C．loudly | D．forcefully |
Usually, when you speak to the class, the class is ________.
| A．noisy | B．quiet |
| C．having a rest | D．serious |
If you are having a conversation with an official, the most important thing for you is____.
| A．to show your ability |
| B．to be very gentle |
| C．to make sure that you can be heard |
| D．to put the official at ease |
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