Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on one inexpensive postage stamp has made the stamp worth a million and a half times its original value.
The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the British colony of Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 1847 an order for stamps was sent to a London printer — Mauritius was to become the fourth country in the world to issue stamps.
Before the order was filled and delivered, a ball was planned at Mauritius’ Government House, and stamps were needed to send out the invitations. A local printer was instructed to copy the design for the stamps. He accidentally inscribed the words “Post Office” instead of “Post Paid” on the several hundred stamps that he printed.
Today there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left fourteen One Penny Orange-Reds and twelve Two Penny Blues. Because of the Two Penny Blue’s rareness and age, collectors have paid as much as ＄16 800 for it.Over a century ago, Mauritius _______.
| A．was an independent country |
| B．belonged to India |
| C．was one of the British colonies |
| D．was a small island in the Pacific Ocean |
The mistake on the stamps was made _______.
| A．in Mauritius | B．at Mauritius Government House |
| C．in a post office | D．in London |
Stamp collectors have paid 16 800 for _______.
| A．fourteen One Penny Orange-Reds |
| B．twelve Two Penny Blues |
| C．one One Penny Orange-Red |
| D．one Two Penny Blue |
It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip t Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmine landmines(地雷)Within hours of arriving in Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,” she said. “But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her.”
The Princess concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines”. And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.
But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as “very ill-informed” and a “loose cannon”(乱放炮的人).
The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: “This is a distraction(干扰), we do not need. All I’m trying to do is help.”
Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged(显现出来)that the Princess’s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government’s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government.
To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkidnd, claimed that the Princess’s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards” a worldwide ban. The Defense Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding.”
For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people an their problems.Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997
| A．to clarify(澄清)the British government’s stand on landmines |
| B．to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims |
| C．to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims there |
| D．to voice her support for a total ban of landmines |
What did Diana mean when she said “…putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me”(Line 5, Para. 1)?
| A．Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics. |
| B．She just couldn’t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face. |
| C．The actual situation in Angola made her like going back home. |
| D．Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation. |
Some members of the British government criticized Diana because
| A．They were actually opposed to banning landmines. |
| B．She was ill-informed of the government’s policy. |
| C．She had not consulted the government before the visit. |
| D．They believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola. |
How did Diana respond to the criticisms?
| A．She made more appearances on TV. |
| B．She paid no attention to them. |
| C．She rose to argue with her opponents. |
| D．She met the 13-year-old girl as planned. |
What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?
| A．It had caused embarrassment to the British government. |
| B．It had greatly promoted her popularity. |
| C．It had brought her closer to the ordinary people. |
| D．It had affected her relations with the British government. |
The total on advertising spent on the Chinese mainland last year rose by 25 per cent over 2003, a survey shows.
Expense reached US$23 3 billion, including television and print media, the survey/vas released by CTR Market Re-search on February 23, 2005.
The cosmetics and toiletries化妆品) sector was ranked No.1 in spending with US＄4.8 billion, an increase of 34 percent.
Advertising can be seen as the "weather glass" of the overall development of the country's economy, said Tian Tao, deputy general manager of CTR..
"The results of the survey reflect strong economic development in the country," Tian said.
"One of the most interesting-findings from the survey is that local and foreign mobile phone manufacturers reacted quite differently in terms of advertising spending," Tian said.
Most local mobile phone manufacturers had decreasing advertising expense while the foreign ones saw significant growth, Tian said.
Researchers also found that advertising on so called functional drink categories(种类) increased while milk makers decreased after a clear increase in advertising spending in 2003.
The survey also includes figures from Hong Kong and Taiwan, advertising expense in Hong Kong reached US $ 4.8 billion, an increase of roughly 15 per Cent from the previous year. Taiwan advertising spending reached US $15 billion, up roughly 27 per cent from the previous year.
In Hong Kong, the top three advertising categories were household and toiletries~ banking and investment services, and cosmetics.
In Taiwan, the top three advertising categories were real estate(房地产) , automobile and financial institutions.The first largest advertising spending on the Chinese mainland in the year 2004 was .
| A．real estate | B．household |
| C．the cosmetics and toiletries | D．automobile |
Advertising can be seen as the "weather glass" of the overall development of the country's economy because the rise of the advertising spending reflects strong __.
| A．agricultural development in the country |
| B．trade development in the country |
| C．industrial development in the country |
| D．economic development in the country |
According to the passage, the advertising expense on __ dropped in the year 2004.
| A．most foreign mobile phones |
| B．most local mobile phones |
| C．so-called functional drink categories |
| D．banking and investment services |
According to the passage, the growth. rate on advertising spending of __ is the fastest.
| A．the Chinese mainland | B．Hong Kong | C．Taiwan | D．Macao |
The word’s largest aircraft made its public debut last week at Europe’s biggest factory, a purpose built assembly line in Toulouse, souther, n France．The Airbus A380 will have 50 per cent more floor space than American rival Boeing’s 747 Jumbo, with room for duty-free shops, restaurants and even a sauna．This new arrival is expected to change the face of air travel．
The A380 will enter service in early 2006 with Singapore Airlines．
Airbus claims the A380 will burn less fuel, make less noise, create less pollution and cost 17 per cent less per seat than the 747．It will also reduce traffic problems in the skies．
The aircraft, which cost between ￡140 million(US$250m) and ￡157 million (US$280m) each compared with ￡84 million (US$150m) for Boeing’s new Dreamliner jet, is being built at 16 factories in Germany, France, Spain and the UK．
But activists have warned of more noise and pollution from the Superjumbo, while Boeing believes huge aircraft will not be in great demand over the next decade．
As a result, it is putting faith in the much smaller 7E7 Dreamliner．But Airbus is pinning its hopes on the “big is beautiful” theory, gambling on size being the key factor in the US-European battle for the skies．
Airbus said it was in talks with half a dozen global airlines about buying the A380. China Eastern Airlines, already an Airbus customer, is said to be targeted, while executives made it plain that they wanted to fight for the Japanese market, which had traditionally been controlled by Boeing．
Over the next 20 years, Airbus hopes to sell 750 of the new planes into a market worth ￡185billion (US$330bn)．The company already has129 firm orders for the A380, with 52 options．According to Airbus, which of the following is not the advantage of A380 compared to Boeing 747?
| A．Making less noise, causing less traffic problems |
| B．Using less fuel, costing less money |
| C．Creating less pollution, having less weight |
| D．Having more floor space, creating less pollution |
From the passage, we can infer that _________
| A．Airbus is not aiming at the Japanese market． |
| B．Boeing is not a rival of Airbus． |
| C．A380 hasn’t been used yet． |
| D．Boeing is better than Airbus． |
In the Airbus A380, passengers cannot find ___________．
| A．duty-free shops | B．restaurants | C．banks | D．a sauna |
According to the news, the prospect of A380 may be ___________．
| A．not so good | B．cheerful | C．undesirable | D．gloomy |
John Steinbeck once said, “All American believe they are born fishermen. For a man to admit to a distaste in fishing would be like speaking publicly against mother-love or hating moonlight”.
I can’t say I’m the biggest John Steinbeck fan. Actually, the only thing I can ever remember reading by him was “The Pearl” when I was in middle school, but I couldn’t agree more with the man when it comes to fishing. When I am on a boat in the middle of the lay Lake, fishing off the shores of the Florida Keys for tarpon or catching rainbow trout in the Shoshone River of Wyoming. Fishing is my life.
According to the American Sports Fishing Association, the fishing industry brings in more than $ 116 billion per year from fishermen across the country.
Though a beautiful picture to imagine, fishing is much more than that. Fishing is a way of life from many people and a way to escape everyday stress. Being a fisherman makes me a member of a wonderful group of people extending to all walks of life. Even President Bush can be found fishing on his farm in Texas with his good friend Roland Martin when the jobs gets too stressful.
I can remember fishing with my grandfather when I was 5 years old on his boat at Lake Michel. Although I didn’t understand what I was doing, I did know that my grandfather was happy and that made me happy. Since then I’ve spent the past 16 years on the rivers and lakes of Alabama.
After days of practice, before and after work, I slowly developed an understanding of fishing. My boss, Ric Horst, took me back to the Shoshone, and I managed to bring in a 19-inch cutthroat trout. Fishing with Ric was a life-changing experience for me. He not only showed me how to fish correctly, but also told me how fishing could be a way to escape your problems.
Since then, prime-time season seems to take forever to arrive.
Now, with the ending of February and beginning of March is sight, the excitement of heading out to Lake Tus caloosa or Lake Lurleen before classes and catching something has finally returned.What John Steinbeck said in the first paragraph implies that ______
| A．American are believed to be the offspring of fishermen. |
| B．it is unthinkable for an American to admit his dislike of fishing. |
| C．all American are expert at fishing. |
| D．those who dislike fishing would not love their mother. |
The writer came to understand the real meaning of fishing ______.
| A．when he was reading “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck |
| B．when he went fishing with his grandfather at Lake Mitchell |
| C．after he had spent 16 years on the rivers and lakes of Alabama |
| D．after he went fishing with his boss, Ric Horst on the Shoshone |
According to the author, ______.
| A．people can get to know VIPs when fishing |
| B．people can smooth away all the troubles by fishing |
| C．fishing is a way of communication |
| D．fishing is a way of life for most American people |
What is the purpose of the writing?
| A．To describe the writer’s experience and understanding of fishing. |
| B．To explain the reason why so many Americans like fishing. |
| C．To make others understand the industry of fishing. |
| D．To express his opinions about fishing in different time of the year. |
Is it possible to persuade mankind to live without war? War is an ancient custom which has existed for at least six thousand years. It was always evil and usually foolish, but in the past the human race managed to live with it. Modern skill has changed this. Either man will stop war, or war will stop man. For the present, it is nuclear weapons that cause the greatest danger, but bacteriological( 细菌的 ) or chemical weapons may, before long, offer an even greater threat. If we succeeded in stopping war, there would be no danger for us. To do this, we need to persuade mankind to look upon international questions in a new way, not by contests of force, in which the victory goes to the side which is most skillful in massacre (大屠杀 ),but by arbitration (仲裁）in accordance with agreed principles of law. It is not easy to change old mental habits, but this is what must be attempted.
There are those who say that the adoption of this or that ideology (意识形态)would prevent war. I believe this to be a complete error. All ideologies are based upon beliefs without proof which are, at best, doubtful, and at worst, totally false. Those people who believe them are willing to go to war in support of them.
The movement of world opinion during the past two years has changed very largely such as we can welcome. It has become a common belief that nuclear war must be avoided. Of course, very difficult problems remain in the international world, but the spirit in which they are being approached is a better one than it was some years ago. It has begun to be thought, even by the powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that agreements should be reached even if both sides do not find these agreements wholly satisfactory. It has begun to be understood that the important conflict (冲突) nowadays is not between East and West, but between Man and the Hbomb.From the first paragraph we can know that ____.
| A．we may face greater threat from weapons |
| B．bacteriological or chemical weapons are less dangerous than nuclear weapons |
| C．man’s idea of victory has changed |
| D．dangerous weapons are forbidden in modern society |
According to the author,______.
| A．it is impossible to live without war |
| B．the difference between East and West will lead to war |
| C．war must be stopped if man wants to survive |
| D．war will be stopped by modern skill |
The author believes that the only way to stop war is to____.
| A．stop nuclear weapons |
| B．settle international issues through agreements |
| C．destroy bacteriological and chemical weapons |
| D．let the stronger side take over the world |
The last paragraph suggests that______.
| A．nuclear war will definitely not take place |
| B．real agreements have been now reached |
| C．world opinion is still divided on nuclear war |
| D．man is beginning to realize that nuclear war is his greatest enemy |
Which of the following words can best describe the author’s feeling in writing this passage?
| A．Disappointed. | B．Doubtful. | C．Worried. | D．Hopeful. |