C
From the earliest times，man has been interested in art．People have often worked together to collect and save the world's art treasures．
Fine art treasures from many countries are kept in an art museum called the Louvre(卢浮宫) in Paris，France．The works of art have been collected by the people of France over many centuries．
The Louvre has not always been a museum．The first building was a fort（炮台）．In 1190，it was the king's castle with high walls and a round tower．It had a moat to keep out his enemies．
Over the years，the number of buildings around the castle grew．By 1350，the castle was no longer needed as a fort．The Louvre became a palace home for French kings and queens．
During times of peace，new treasures were brought in．During days of war，many treasures were stolen，and the buildings were damaged．
When Francis I became king of France in 1515，he brought in artists from many countries．One of the artists was Leonardo da Vinci from Italy．Da Vinci's"Mona Lisa"is the best known painting in the museum today．
In 1793，the Louvre became a public museum，just as it is now．It is a place where art treasures have been saved for everyone to enjoy．
48. On the whole，this passage is mainly about____.
A . an art museum called the Louvre B．an Italian artist named Leonardo da Vinci
C．a king of France named Francis I D．the best known painting in Louvre
49．Why is it good for great art to be kept in public museums？
A．It helps people remember who the King of France is．
B．It keeps people out of the palaces．
C．It gives everyone a chance to enjoy good art．
D．It helps people to know who is the greatest artist．
50．From the passage we know that _____．
A．it is not possible for treasures to be stolen
B．old forts always make the best museums
C．great art should be shared with all the people
D．king Francis I of France brought in artists from an old fort
51．In the third paragraph the word "moat "probably means_____．
A．a high tower built in former times where soldiers watched out for enemies
B．a long and deep ditch dug round a castle and was usually filled with water
C．a cart pulled by horses on which soldiers fought
D．a long and high wall around castle
Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, having grown by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years. Denmark’s agriculture minister is herself an organic farmer. The UK market for organic food grew by 55 percent in 2000, while the food market as a whole grew by only one percent. Yet only seven percent of British shoppers account for nearly 60 percent of organic sales. However popular the idea of organic farming may be, it is still an interest for only a few people.
So what makes the idea of organic farming popular? Organic farming means farming with natural materials, rather than with man-made fertilizers or pesticides. Organic farmers rely on many methods — such as crop rotation (农作物的轮作) and the use of resistant（有抵抗力的） varieties, because
they are necessary for organic farmers to compensate for the shortage of man-made chemicals.
Organic farming is often supposed to be safer than traditional farming for the environment. Yet after a long research on organic farming worldwide for a number of years, science continues to be against this opinion. The House of Commons committee on agriculture publicized that, even with complete research work, it would fail to find any scientific evidence to prove “that any of claims （宣称） made for organic farming is always true”.
However, the talk about the benefits of organic farming is going on. This is partly because many people depend on their individual farm, the soil, the weather, and so on. The first paragraph mainly tells us _____.
| A．organic farming has been performed only in Europe over the past 10 years |
| B．governments of European countries have cared less about organic farming |
| C．organic farming is far from being as popular as expected |
| D．European countries need organic food more than the other countries in the world |
The underlined words “compensate for” in the second paragraph probably mean “________”.
| A．argue for | B．care for | C．struggle for | D．pay for |
What can we know about organic farming?
A．It refers to farming with na tural materials, instead of chemical fertilizers. |
| B．It refers to farming with chemical fertilizers rather than natural fertilizers. |
| C．It refers to farming with soil rather than any other thing. |
D．It refers to growing crops with man-made f ertilizers and pesticides. |
According to the third paragraph, _____.
| A．organic farming is safer than traditional farming for the environment |
| B．the idea that organic farming is safer has not been proven by science |
| C．organic farming is accepted by the UK’s House of Commons committee |
| D．organic farming is preferred to traditional farming |
Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
| A．The UK’s agriculture minister is an organic farmer. |
| B．Organic farming is popular with young people. |
| C．Farmers make use of many different kinds of methods to improve the organic sales system. |
| D．Ninety-three percent of British shoppers don’t buy organic products. |
Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, the aged, and children who have lost their parents, but also friends, workmates, relatives and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.
Over 60 years ago, when a Cleveland man noticed that some people, such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed, too often felt forgotten and neglected, he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving them small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed
, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. Over time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the poor, the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift. Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA.
Sweetest Day is
not based on any single group’s religious beliefs or on a family relationship. It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning.
Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a positive way.What is Cleveland?
| A．An island. | B．A country. |
| C．A city in America. | D．A village in England. |
What do most p
eople usually do to show their care to others according to the passage?
| A．They give gifts. | B．They give money. |
| C．They send regards. | D．They offer help. |
What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in October. |
| B．Sweetest Day is just an occasion to care about disabled people. |
| C．Sweetest Day is an occasion for lovers to express love. |
| D．Sweetest Day is a day to make others happy. |
The underlined word “neglected” in the second paragraph means “______”.
| A．remembered | B．hated |
| C．disappointed | D．paid little or no attention to |
Which of the following has little relationship to Sweetest Day?
A．Visiting sick peop le of the hospital. |
| B．Visiting children who have lost their parents. |
| C．Giving flowers to sweethearts. |
| D．Giving friends small gifts. |
There is a wonderful story about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her.
One day, feeling very sad and lonely, she was walking through a grassland when she noticed a small butterfly caught in a thorn (荆棘) bush. The young girl carefully released the Butterfly. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy. The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
“For your wonderful kindness,” the good fairy said to the girl, “I will give you any wish you would like.” The little girl thought for a moment and then replied, “I want to be happy.”
The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the fairy disappeared.
As the little girl grew up, there was no one in the land as happy as she. Everyone asked her secret of happiness .She would only smile and answer, “The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl.”
When she was very old and on her deathbed, the neighbors all gathered around her, that her unbelievable secret of happiness would die with her. “Tell us, please,” they begged, “Tell us what the good fairy said.” The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, “She told me that everyone, no matter how secure they seemed, no matter how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me.” ______ the girl felt sad and lonely.
| A．There were many friends but |
| B．There was nobody to love her so |
| C．There was nothing to do |
| D．Seeing the butterfly was caught |
Noticing the butterfly was caught by the thorn, the orphan girl ______.
| A．helped the butterfly escaped from the thorn |
| B．felt sorrow, but she didn’t go up to help it |
| C．fell down on it too |
| D．failed to help it release from the thorn |
The butterfly ______ after was saved by the little girl.
| A．flied away | B．still died |
| C．changed into a fairy | D．was more beautiful than before |
The only thing that the little girl wanted was________.
| A．to be rich | B．to have her own parents |
| C．to have a lot of friends | D．happiness |
The neighbors all gathered around the old happy woman when she was dying, because ______.
| A．they loved this woman deeply and they didn‘t wanted her to die |
| B．the woman had lots of money to be shared as soon as she died |
| C．they wanted to know the secret of her lifetime happiness |
| D．they wanted to pray for her after her death |
When people hear a president speak, they seldom think about others helping to shape the presentation（报告）. Today, however, presidents depend on writers such as J. Terry Edmonds to help them communicate（交流）effectively. Edmonds is the first African American ever to work as a full-time speechwriter for a U. S. president; he is so the first African American to serve as director of speechwriting for White House. His is an all-American story of success.
Edmonds grew up in Baltimore, Maryland; his father drove a truck, and his mother worked as a waitress. A. great reader, Edmonds 
showed a
gift for writing at his high School, Baltimore City College. After graduating in 1967, Edmonds went on to Morgan State University.
Edmonds began his career in business, with jobs in public relations and communications. He joined the world of politics as news secretary for his congressman （国会议员） from Baltimore During Bill Clinton’s presidency. He wrote speeches for Health and Human Services, Secretary Donna Shalala and
Only three local students won Chinese Blog（博客）Competition. And 15 of the 18 awards went to students from China.
170 students’ task: to get a fully-designed blog up and running, complete with many posting based on a theme of choice—all written in Chinese.
Themes ranged from local opinions－such as the usage of Singlish, education and whether Singapore can be a cultural centre－to food blogs.
The entries were judged on Language proficiency（熟练程度）and the quality of writing, as well as the design and level of exchanging ideas with readers.
Academics from the National University of Singapore and the SIM University IT experts, and a journalist from Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in Singapore made up the judges.
In the end, only three Singaporean students made it to the award list—the rest of the awards were swept up by students from China.
“No surprise.” said Mr. Chow Yaw Long, 37, teachers in charge from Ianova Junior College, which organized the event. “Although the topics were local subjects, the foreign students were generally better in terms of the content of the posts and their grasp of the Chinese language.”
One of the three local students winning the first prize in the Best Language Award was blogger Christina Gao，19, from the Saint Andrew’s Junior College, who spared no effort in researching for and writing her blog. Each entry took her between five and seven days to produce, complete with pictures and even podcasts（播客）.Her advice for bloggers is: Be responsible. “Some bloggers out there only seek to blame the authorities and other bloggers.” Said Miss Gao. “I think they lack responsibilities and there is no value to their posts.”The competition was organized by _______
| A．the National University of Singapore |
| B．Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao |
| C．Ianova Junior College |
| D．the Saint Andrew’s Junior College |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Chinese students won most of the awards. |
| B．Not all the themes were about local subjects |
| C．The blogs could be written in Chinese or Singlish. |
| D．The judges were from university in Singapore and China. |
What Miss Gao said suggests that _____________
| A．she likes to blame the authorities |
| B．she has a sense of responsibility |
| C．she thinks highly of the others’ blogs |
D．she loves to read v aluable posts |