The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?
First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.
On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother' s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting ! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.The aim of the mother' s plan was to _________.
| A．take them to visit the museum | B．introduce them to the world of art |
| C．ask them to read about artists | D．show them different painting styles |
What was the writer' s experience in the museum before the last visit?
| A．She came to feel her mother' s love. | B．She liked many paintings. |
| C．She hardly enjoyed herself. | D．She could understand the pictures of fat babies. |
What made the writer go through a change that summer?
| A．One of Mary's paintings. | B．A strange way of painting. |
| C．Artists in the Middle Ages. | D．Her mother' s instruction. |
From the text, we can see _________.
| A．the importance of curiosity | B．the effect of art |
| C．the value of learning | D．the power of family education |
When the first spring flowers blossom, Easter comes. It is the oldest Christian feast, in memory of the resurrection (复活) of Jesus Christ.
Along with the traditional Easter walk or outing, the giving of Easter eggs and, more recently, of Easter presents is a main feature of the feast. Parents give their children “Easter eggs” – colored and boiled eggs, chocolate eggs, marzipan eggs – Easter bunnies, sweets, and other gifts. In some German regions, children virtually “collect” Easter eggs from their relatives, especially their godparents.
Usually, the Easter eggs are carefully hidden in the garden or in the house and the children must search for them on the morning of the Sunday. They are told that the Easter bunny has brought them. This anonymous(匿名的), mysterious bunny is like Santa Claus at Christmas. But it is less of an “educational” figure than Santa Claus is, since the eggs are not given to children as rewards for being good.
Some Easter egg games have been preserved at certain places in Germany or have even been newly developed. Children try to outdo others in rolling colored eggs down grassy slopes, for instance, or they knock the eggs’ pointed ends together and the child whose egg does not shatter（砸碎） gets the broken one, too. In some places, this custom was even used as the name of local festival. What are the main features of Easter?
| A．Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and sweets. |
| B．Easter outing and the giving of Easter presents. |
| C．Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and Easter egg games. |
| D．Easter outing, the collecting of Easter eggs, and Easter games |
The underlined word “outdo” means ________.
| A．do better than | B．do worse than | C．do slower than | D．do the same as |
What can be inferred from the passage?
E.Easter bunny will give gifts to children for better or worse.
F.Easter bunny is very similar to Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children.
G.Easter always falls on a Sunday.
H.Some of the local festivals are named by Easter egg games.
（Xinhua）The Expo 2010 Shanghai China formally opened its door to the highly avid public this morning．
Top Chinese political advisor Jia Qinglin and International Exhibitions Bureau President Jean-Pierre Lafon activated the opening device together at a commencement ceremony．
The Expo, carrying a theme of "Better City, Better Life", reflects the crystallization（结晶）of wisdom about urban construction and vision of a better future life, Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said while addressing the ceremony．
BIE Secretary Teneral Vicente Gonzalea Loscertales said the Shanghai World Expo would be "the most splendid and unforgettable" and would help the world better understand the present, have a glimpse into the future and strengthen cooperation between countries and organizations．
Visitors, from home and abroad, are thronging to the gates of the Expo site, waiting for security checks in long queues．Around 300,000 tickets have been sold or distributed for the opening day, organizers said．
The Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors from China and abroad．The Expo site covers an area of 5.28 square kilometers along both sides of the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River．What is the theme of the EXPO 2010 Shanghai China?
| A．Better City, Better Future. | B．Better City, Better World. |
| C．Better City, Better Life. | D．Better City, Better Future. |
What does the underlined word “avid” in paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．active． | B．brave． | C．energetic． | D．eager. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Expo site opens to public． |
| B．Expo site covers an area of 5.28 square kilometers. |
| C．The Expo is wonderful. |
| D．The Expo is unforgettable. |
According to the passage which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The Expo reflects the crystallization of wisdom about urban construction and vision of a better future life. |
| B．The Shanghai World Expo would be "the least splendid and unforgettable". |
| C．Expo site covers an area of 5.28 square kilometers. |
| D．Visitors, from home and abroad, are thronging to the gates. |
China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered. What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8000 yuan | B．10000 yuan | C．7000 yuan | D．It’s not mentioned here |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
| D．There are more people who need houses in China. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it. |
| B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States |
| D．Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
| A．Four | B．Three | C．Five | D．Two |
Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays, were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David saw the railroad both as a boon(要求) to democracy(民主国家) and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler(掠夺者) of nature, furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise. It might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850’s and 1860’s, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.
For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays and important role belong to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boys’ books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads’ prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading—works offering the ambience of stations, yards, and locomotive cabs. These writers, who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the “railroad novel”, are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to______.
| A．railroad | B．manifestation | C．speed | D．nature |
In the first paragraph, the author implies that writers’ reactions to the development of railroads were______.
| A．highly enthusiastic | B．both positive and negative | C．unchanging | D．Disinterested |
According to the passage, the railroad played a significant role in literature in all of the following kinds of books except_______.
| A．thrillers | B．boys’ books | C．romances | D．important novels |
The phrase “first rank” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to______.
| A．largest category(类别) | B．highest quality | C．earliest writers | D．most difficult language |
Which of the following topics is the main idea of passage?
| A．The role of the railroad in the economy of the USA |
| B．Major nineteenth century writers |
| C．The conflict between expanding industry and preserving nature |
| D．The railroad as a subject for literature |
Welcome Aboard Your Piccadilly Flight To HeathrowThe Piccadilly line to Heathrow（伦敦希思罗机场）is not only the most convenient way to travel but also the most cost-effective. So the next time you’re travelling to Heathrow, make sure you fly Piccadilly line.Your Piccadilly flight features：● Departures from 36 stops on the Piccadilly line, or from over 200 stations only one change way● Service every 5 minutes to and from Heathrow throughout the day● Journeys from central London taking less than 50 minutes● Only ￡ 3.70 for a single adult fare● See tables below for journey timesFares to and from central London● Adult single ￡3.70● Child single ￡1.50If you are traveling as a group, then you are allowed to use the Family Travelcard, which means each adult can travel for ￡3.40 and each child for ￡0. 80.The group must consist of 1 or 2 adults travelling with 1-4 children（from 09:30 Monday-Friday and at any time weekends and Public Holidays）.Members within the group do not need to be related.Travelling to Heathrow
| Mon-Sat |
Sun |
|||||
| From |
Journey Time |
Frequency |
First Train |
Last Train |
First Train |
Last Train |
| Earls Court |
39 mins |
5 mins |
05:55 |
00:43 |
07:15 |
23:49 |
| Piccadilly Circus |
49 mins |
5 mins |
05:45 |
00:32 |
07:05 |
23:38 |
Travelling from Heathrow
| Mon-Sat |
Sun |
|||||
| To |
Journey Time |
Frequency |
First Train |
Last Train |
First Train |
Last Train |
| Earls Court |
34 mins |
5 mins |
05:13 |
23:49 |
05:57 |
23:30 |
| Piccadilly Circus |
45 mins |
5 mins |
05:13 |
23:49 |
05:57 |
23:30 |
Which of the following statements is true about the Piccadilly line?
| A．The Piccadilly line is the most convenient one around the world. |
B．Taking the Piccadilly line can save more money than any other public transportation. |
C．The Piccadilly line is the only public transportation to Heathrow. |
D．The flight from Earls Court to Piccadilly Circus takes 39 minutes. |
At what time does the first train from Earls Court arrive at Heathrow on Sunday?
| A．07:49 | B．06:34 | C．07:54 | D．06:31 |
When taking the Piccadilly line, whether to or from Heathrow, one may___________.
| A．get to the destination within 34 minutes |
B．get to the first stop no later than 23:30 |
C．get a discount once traveling in groups |
| D．expect a train every 5 minutes at the stop |