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. |
For hundreds of years humans have dreamt of finding life on distant planets. Now the hope of discovering real evidence of life has greatly increased
NASA’s Mars detector (探测器), Opportunity, succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet. Opportunity landed on Mars in January. Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life.
This discovery was chosen by Science, one of the world’s leading magazines, as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday
“This little, wheeled, one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,” according to Science. “It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed.”
“Although we still can’t say that life could have existed in this environment, it is now certain that there was water on Mars,” said Steve Squyres, one of the scientists working on the Mars mission. The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity. It includes marks on rocks like those caused by flowing water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds. Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has been existed on Mars. But it is still unknown whether the water on Mars was like an ocean or just ice.
While Opportunity has not found any signs of life, the presence of water means life is possible. “In everything we know about life on Earth, there is no example without liquid water,” Squyres said. “So water is important for the search for life on Mars.”
Researchers agree that a future mission (任务) should bring back physical samples (样品). But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth. “The problem here is how to get the samples back,” Squyres replied. “I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk.”
1. ________ prove that water existed on Mars.
A. The physical samples with salty chemicals
B. The marks on rocks and salty chemicals
C. Scientific achievements of 2004
D. Creatures from Mars
2. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. It is now certain that there was water on Mars.
B. The water on Mars was like an ocean.
C. Evidence of life on Mars has been found.
D. Search for life on Mars is a great risk to humans.
3. How did scientists draw the conclusion that there was water on Mars?
A. The world’s leading magazine has announced the fact.
B. Scientists have taken many pictures and chemical readings on the Mars.
C. Astronauts have got some rocks from Mars.
D. Scientists have made a study of the pictures and readings sent back by Mars detector.
4. It can be inferred that, if the creatures from Mars came to Earth, ________.
A. they would be kind to humans
B. they would be cruel to humans
C. they would be a great danger to Earth
D. it would be hard to say whether it would be a good news or bad news
In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work. Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately owned. The government does not give them money. So where does the money come from? From advertisements. Without advertisements, there would not be these private businesses.
Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is? Through the years, people have given different answers to the question. For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of "keeping your name before the public" And some people thought that advertising was "truth well told" Now more and more people consider it in this way; Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive presentation of goods, services and ideas by some certain sponsors (发起人) through various media
First, advertising is usually paid for. Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and hear over the various media. Second, advertising is non-personal. It is not face-to-face communication. Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in reality, it is directed at large groups of people. Third, advertising is usually persuasive. Directly or indirectly it asks people to do something. All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service advertised can benefit them. Fourth, the sponsors of the advertisement must show their names. From the advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or a single person. Fifth, advertising reaches us through old and modem mass media. Included in the old media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and films. Modem media include emails, matchbox covers, and boards on top of buildings.
9. The existence of the privately owned mass media depends on the support of ________.
A. the government B. their owners’ families
C. advertisements D. the TV stations
10. The passage seems to say that different ideas of advertising are given due to ________.
A. the change of time B. the subject of the advertisements
C. people’s age difference D. people’s different opinions
11. Which of the following is considered modem mass media?
A. Newspapers. B. Emails. C. Magazines. D. Films.
12. According to the passage, which of the following statements about advertisements is NOT true?
A. The sponsors are always mentioned.
B. Advertising must be honest and humorous.
C. There is the description of things advertised.
D. Advertising is meant for large groups of people.
Since life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better. Soon enough the time will come when you are too tired to move farther than the terrace of the best hotel. Go now.
No need, you may say, to tell that. But what I need to tell you is that you will meet with a surprising amount of opposition the moment you try to set out. Rubbish, you will reply. More people go abroad nowadays than ever before; never has travel, particularly among the young, been more strongly visit, of international exchanges. Perhaps not; but none of this, my dear young friends, is travel. Travel is not going on a round coach trip for $ 67 in all, or spending ten days at a hotel by the sea. Travel is when you want to see how much money and resources you have and then set out, alone or with chosen friends, to make an unhurried journey to a distant goal without a set date for your return.
Real travel, then, is independence in action, and is not liked by most parents. They don’t mind your going in a school party to Athens, because they know just where you are and when you’ll be back, and they can therefore permit you the imagination of freedom without for one second letting you beyond their control. But what they cannot bear is that you should travel all on your own, without giving them your address and return date. In fact, their fears are quite reasonable because that shows how much they love you. So in order to enjoy real travel and at the same time put your parents’ mind at ease. It would be really important for you to bear the following advice in mind.
5. Which statement is true according to the passage?
A. People travel more than before.
B. Young people are encouraged to travel abroad.
C. People should not go on a round coach trip for $ 67.
D. Educational visits should not be encouraged as they are not real travel.
6.What does real travel mean according to the writer?
A. It means telling your parents nothing about the travel
B. It means not knowing where you want to go.
C. It means traveling to a distant goal in an unhurried manner.
D. It means traveling without any plan.
7. Your parents allow you to travel in a school party because ________.
A. they want you to be truly free B. you are still under their control
C. they don’t have time to travel with you D. they know it’s good for you
8. According to the writer, when you do real traveling, you should ________.
A. never mind how worried your parents are
B. give your parents your address and return date
C. tell your parents details about your travel
D. not let your parents worry about you
You want something you can’t get by behaving within the rules, and you want it badly enough you’ll do it regardless of any guilt or deep regret, and you’re willing to run the risk of being caught. That’s how Ladd Wheeler, psychology professor at the University of Rochester in New York, defines cheating. Many experts believe cheating is on the rise. "We’re suffering a moral breakdown," Pinkard says. "We’re seeing more of the kind of person who regards the world as a series of things to be dealt with. Whether to cheat depends on whether it’s in the person’s interest." He does, however, see less cheating among the youngest students. Richard Dienstbier, psychology professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, believes that society’s attitudes explain much of the increase in cheating. "Twenty years ago if a person cheated in college, that is extremely serious, he will be dropped for a semester if not kicked out permanently," he says. "Nowadays, at the University of Nebraska, for example, it is the stated policy of the College of Arts and Science that if a student cheats in an exam, the student must receive an "F" on what he cheated in. That’s nothing. If you’re going to fail anyway, why not cheat? Cheating is most likely in situations where the interests are high and the chances of getting caught are low," says social psychologist Lynn Kahle of the University of Oregon in Eugene.
1. The passage focuses on ________.
A. making the reader believe that cheating is immoral
B. discussing the reasons for cheating
C. describing how students cheat in exams
D. suggesting how to control cheating
2. Cheating tends to occur in all the following situations except when ________.
A. one wants something badly B. one can’t get something in a right way
C. it is not very likely to be found out D. a series of things have to be dealt with
3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. It is forgivable to cheat unless money is involved.
B. There has been an increase in cheating.
C. Most cheaters are college students.
D. Cheaters do not feel guilty and regretful.
4. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Cheating is widespread because society is too understanding.
B. Cheating is the result of heavy pressure.
C. Cheating is cheating, whether in a test or on any other occasions.
D. Cheating comes together with civilization
If you look for a book as a present for a child. You will be spoiled for choice even in a year there is no new Harry Patten J.K Powling’s wizard is not alone the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and an increased sales of classics such as The lard of the Rings.
Yet despite that , reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics in 1997 23% said they didn’t like reading in all. In 2003, 35% did . And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.
Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computes games. Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Cordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class. In his pre-budget report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.
Reading Recovery is wined at six year olds, who receive four months of individual daily half-hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation either this year reported that children on the school made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.
International research tends to find that when British children leave primacy school they read well, but read text often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are been on reading can report lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage
Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?
| A．Marry children’s books have been adapted from films. |
| B．Marry high-quality children’s books have been published. |
| C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films. |
| D．The sales of presents for children have increased. |
Statistics suggested that .
| A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers |
| B．a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading |
| C．a minority of primacy school children read properly |
| D．a huge percentage of children read regularly |
What do we know about Reading Recovery?
| A．An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year. |
| B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking. |
| C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading. |
| D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading. |
Reading for fun is important because book-loving children _______.
| A．take greater advantage of the project |
| B．show the potential to enjoy a long life |
| C．are likely to succeed in their education. |
| D．would make excellent future researchers |
The aim of this text would probably be _______.
| A．to overcome primary school pupils reading difficulty. |
| B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books |
| C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun |
| D．to introduce a way to improve early children reading |
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