LONDON — Britain awoke on Easter Monday to a period of mourning for the Queen Mother, who died over the weekend after a life spanning a century of noisy and evident change. The 101-year-old royal matriarch died in her sleep last Saturday with Queen Elizabeth, her elder and only surviving daughter, at her bedside. For a woman who was one of the best-known figures in Britain for more than 80 years — from the era of tinted portraits on tin biscuit boxes and cigarette cards to the age of the Internet, the Queen Mother remained an enigmatic(不可思议的) and elusive(躲避的) figure.
She achieved such a respect through aeons(永世, 亿万年) of, first, fawning and, later, intrusive media fascination, by remaining almost entirely silent. Her private thoughts were never paraded(炫耀) in public. What the public saw was a charming and benign elderly lady, adept at winning the admiration of press photographers, whom she always favoured with a particular smile.
CHINA’s third unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou Ⅲ, landed safely in central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, after orbiting the earth 108 times in slightly less than a week. The craft, which lifted off from Jiuquan in Gansu Province last Monday night, landed after successfully conducting a chain of flight and scientific experiments over a period of 162 hours.
A powerful earthquake jolted Taiwan, killing five construction workers, authorities(官方) said. Over 200 injuries ware reported across the island, mostly minor, as a result of Sunday’s 7.5-magnitude quake. The quake was centred off Hualien, 180 kilometres east of Taipei. It struck at 2:53 pm and lasted for nearly a minute.
1. Which of the following statements is true according to the news?
A. The Queen Mother died on Easter Monday alone.
B. The Queen Mother was an attractive person in her political life.
C. The British people felt sorry for the death of the Queen Mother.
D. The Queen Mother was suffering a lot when she was dying.
2. It can be inferred that _______.
A. the craft landed in central Inner Mongolia unexpectedly
B. it took the craft at least 2 hours to orbit the earth once
C. the Chinese scientists did a lot of experiments in space
D. China was successful in sending an unmanned spacecraft into space
3. The third news mainly talks about the _______ in Taiwan.
A. political matters B. social problems
C. unexpected damage D. construction workers
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of September 2, 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives .
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o’clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them .
Samuel Pepys , the famous writer, writer about the fire, “People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path（路径） of the fire.With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone．In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among which was the new St Paul’s
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The underlined word‘family’in the second paragraph probably means____.
| A．house | B．children | C．wife and husband | D．wife and children |
It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that .
| A．many people lost their lives |
| B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire |
| C．many famous buildings were destroyed |
| D．the King’s bakery was burned down |
Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
| A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
| B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
| C．To show that poor people suffered most. |
| D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．The King and his soldiers came to help. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．Houses standing in the path of the fire were destroyed. |
A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus. The conductor(售票员) hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child. On seeing this, people began to talk. "You know this conductor used to be very rude. Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior , "said a middle-aged man.
"Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger. "That's right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor. "
Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said , "Excuse me, but can I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised..."
Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted (打断谈话), "I know his name. I call him Dad."The passengers were ________ to see the conductor's kindness to the woman and the child.
| A．excited | B．pleased | C．interested | D．surprised |
One passenger suggested writing a letter to the company to ______ .
| A．make a demand for more buses |
| B．thank the conductor for his good service |
| C．criticize（批评） the conductor for his rude behavior |
| D．invite a newspaper reporter to write about the conductor |
What was the gentleman?
| A．A teacher. |
| B．A newspaper reporter. |
| C．Not known from the story. |
| D．The conductor's friend from his company. |
The word "he" in the last paragraph refers to _______.
| A．the gentleman |
| B．the conductor |
| C．the middle-aged man |
| D．the three-year-old child |
Scientists are trying to make the deserts ,which get very little rain, into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts，so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time．
Why is more and more land becoming desert？Scientists think that people make deserts．People are doing bad things to the earth against the scientists’ wish．
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts．This is because some green plants are growing there．Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places．Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier． Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away．When a bit of rain falls，the plants hold the water. Without plants, the land can become desert more easily． Deserts ____________ ．
| A．never have any plants or animals in them |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller |
| D．get very little rain |
More and more landisbecomingdesertbecause____________．
| A．plants can’t grow there |
| B．there is not enough rain |
| C．people haven’t done what scientists wish them to do |
| D．scientists know little about the deserts |
Smallgreenplantsareveryimportanttodryplaces because ________
| A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
| B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
| C．they hold water |
| D．All of the above． |
After reading this passage, we learn that _____________ ．
| A．plants can keep dry land from becoming desert |
| B．it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts |
| C．all places without much rain will become deserts |
| D．it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them |
Ban Fur? Then Why Not Leather?
Much to the displeasure of some local businesses, the City Council in West Hollywood, California, voted without opposition last week to ban the sale of fur products. Should laws be involved in this issue? Is it unfair to ban sales of fur, but not sales of leather and hides (兽皮)?
Animals Do Not Have Rights
By Tibor R. Machan
My view is that animals do not have basic rights. It is a matter of ethics (伦理学) and not of the laws of human societies. If animals had such rights as human beings do, they would have to be held responsible for killing fellow animals in the wild. That way of thinking about animals makes a category mistake. Using animals, including their fur or organs, to improve people's lives is acceptable.
A Small Step Against Cruelty
By Kate Carter
Both fur and leather are the skins of dead animals. Why should we think that the lovable furry ones deserve more of a life than the less pleasing ones? Some say leather is less cruel because it's a byproduct (副产品) of the meat industry. But this isn't really true. Some cheap leather may be a byproduct of the meat industry, but often it's the other way round. In South Africa, where there is a developing market for ostrich(鸵鸟)farms, the skins account for roughly 80 percent of the slaughtered (宰杀)birds' value, a mere 20 percent of which comes from the meat.
"Who" Are You Wearing?
By Marc Bekoff
West Hollywood's ban is a move in the right direction. However, we must work to ban the sales of leather and hides, too. Furs come from animals who are attacked to become clothing, while some leather and hides come from slaughterhouse(屠宰场) animals. We must remember that when people choose to wear fur, leather and hides, they are wearing formering conscious beings. So it's a matter of who they are wearing, not what they are wearing because these animals must be referred to as who and not what or that.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．West Hollywood's ban on fur products. |
| B．Differences between fur and leather sales. |
| C．The government's role in protecting animals. |
| D．The ecological imbalance in West Hollywood. |
What is Kate Carter's opinion about wearing fur and wearing leather?
| A．Both are decided by the meat industry. |
| B．There is little distinction (区别) between them. |
| C．Wearing fur is generally more acceptable. |
| D．Wearing leather is cheaper than wearing fur. |
What is Marc Bekoff’s attitude towards sales of fur?
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Careless. | C．Tolerant. | D．Opposed. |
JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author, has signed a deal with Little, Brown and Company, to publish her first ever novel for adults, which is set to become one of the most anticipated (期望的) book in years.
The deal means that Rowling’s long-standing relationship with Bloomsbury, the London-based publisher that launched (发行) the Harry Potter books, has come to an end, at least in terms of new works by the author.
Rowling is keeping her fans guessing about the characters and plot of her new book. She only said that the new novel will be nothing like the Harry Potter series, which was sold over 30 million copies in the UK alone. She thought that with the move from children’s to adult fiction, a switch to a new publisher seemed like a natural and reasonable step.
She said, "Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, this book will be very different from the Harry Potter series. The freedom to explore a new field is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me."
Ian Rankin, the Edinburgh-based author whose highly-successful detective novels are also set in the city, suggested Rowling’s book will be a crime novel.
"Wouldn’t it be funny if JK Rowling’s first novel for adults turned out to be a crime story set in Edinburgh?" he said.
Industry insiders guessed that the deal is worth more than ￡5 million and the new book is expected to come out later this year.
A spokesman said, "JK Rowling’s audience is vast and her position is unique. Harry Potter books were a global success and her fans are very loyal. Children that were eight, nine, or ten when the books first came out in the 1990s are now in their 20s. Plenty of adults, loved the books regardless of whether they had children, so the potential market for her is huge."What does the text mainly tell us?
| A．JK Rowling has signed a deal with a new publisher. |
| B．JK Rowling's new book will be more successful than her Harry Potter series. |
| C．JK Rowling’s first book for adults will be published later this year. |
| D．JK Rowling has to switch to a new publisher in order to publish her new book. |
JK Rowling’s new book for adults.
| A．has been sold 30 million copies in the UK alone |
| B．is poorly thought of by the London-based publisher Bloomsbury |
| C．has nothing in common with the Harry Potter series |
| D．is expected to bring her more money than the Harry Potter series |
The author used Ian Rankin’s words in order to.
| A．tell us that some famous novelists offer to give Rowling some advice |
| B．show that many readers are curious about Rowling’s new book |
| C．tell us that many readers prefer to read detective or crime novels |
| D．prove that a crime story set in Edinburgh is sure to be successful |
We can learn from the text that.
| A．Little, Brown and Company is specialized in publishing adult books |
| B．the author has no doubt about the success of Rowling’s new book |
| C．JK Rowling will be a crime novelist as good as Ian Rankin |
| D．it was in Edinburgh that Ian Rankin got to know JK Rowling |