.
Beijing plans to build huge free or low-cost parking lots beyond the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads to encourage more car owners to take buses or subways to the downtown area.
The plan is just one of the many measures the city plans to take to reduce its traffic jams. Low or no parking fees would be used as economic leverage（杠杆作用）to reduce growing parking demands from urban areas.
Car owners living in the suburbs will be encouraged to park their cars beyond the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads and take buses or subways to the downtown area. Statistics show that nearly one quarter of the city’s traffic flow is concentrated in the 62-square-kilometre downtown area within the Second Ring Road, which makes up only 12 percent of the city’s total area.
The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau receives between 400 and 500 calls reporting traffic jams every day and more than 90 percent of the roads are filled to capacity during rush hour every morning and evening. Part of the problem is the lack of easy links between bus routes, subways and cars.
According to the communication commission, half of the city’s investment in transportation will go towards public transit（公共交通）construction in the next few years, making a jump from the current only 20 percent. Moreover, Beijing plans to change its layout（布局）by building new city centers, such as at Yizhuang, Tongzhou, Shunyi and Changping, in a bid to reduce the traffic flow to the downtown.
The current layout of Beijing-expanded ring roads around the same center of the Forbidden City, is seen as the root cause of the endless traffic jams. The downtown area is crowded with three business centers and one financial centre, as well as nearly 400 government organs and institutions.
Traffic experts say building more urban centers around Beijing may reduce the number of residents living in the suburbs and traveling long distances to work downtown every day, thus reducing traffic flow.
40. In the coming years, if a man beyond the Fourth Ring Road goes to work in the
downtown of Beijing, he is encouraged to _______.
A. take buses or subways
B. take a taxi
C. drive the car quickly
D. park his car in a place which asks for no fees
41. According to this passage, when more and more people drive to work in rush hour in Beijing, it is likely to ________.
A. save time B. cause traffic jams
C. cause traffic accidents D. reduce air pollution
42. The aim in building new city centers is to ________.
A. make it convenient for people to go shopping
B. develop its local resources
C. reduce the traffic flow to the downtown
D. solve the problem of more laid-off workers
43. The passage suggests the author _________.
A. is tired of driving to work
B. finds it costs less to take subways than to drive
C. is for the plan to reduce Beijing’s traffic congestion（拥挤）
D. has benefited a lot by driving to the downtown every day
C
New York City was dealing with a growing public health threat Sunday after tests confirmed (证实) that eight students at a private Catholic high school had contracted（感染）the same strain of the AH1N1 flu that has ravaged (重创) Mexico . Some of the school’s students had visited Cancun on a spring break trip two weeks ago .
Officials reported 68 U.S. cases of AH1N1 flu in five states so far , with the latest in Ohio and New York . Unlike in Mexico , cases in the United State have been mild – and U.S. health authorities can’t yet explain why .
In New York City , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that there were 45 cases , Mayor Michael Bloomberg said .
About 100 students at St. Francis Preparatory School complained of flu-like symptoms(症状) ; further tests will determine how many of those cases are AH1N1 flu. St. Francis is the largest private Catholic high school in the nation , with 2, 700 students . The school canceled classes on Monday and Tuesday in response to the outbreak .
Bloomberg stressed that the New York cases were mild and many are recovering , but said that some family members of students also had flu symptoms .
In Mexico , health officials say a strain of AH1N1 flu has killed up to 160 people and sickened over 2, 000 . New York officials said the flu strain discovered in the patients here is the same strain as in Mexico , though all the New York cases are mild .
AH1N1 flu is a respiratory (呼吸道) disease of pigs caused by type A flu viruses . Human cases are uncommon but can occur in people who are around pigs . It also can be spread from person to person . Symptoms include a high fever , body aches , coughing , sore throat and respiratory congestion .
49.The passage seems to suggest that _________ .
New York City hasn’t done enough to prevent the disease
the AH1N1 flu in the U.S. likely came from Mexico
people appear to have immunity (免疫力) to the virus
children are likely to be infected with the AH1N1 flu
50. What did St. Francis do in response to the outbreak ?
A. The school called off courses .
B. The school handed out masks to every student .
C. The school planned another trip to Cancun .
D. The infected students were required to stay at home .
51.Compared with cases in the U.S. cases in Mexico are _________ .
A. milder B. more typical C. more severe D. more gentle
52. Which is the main idea of the article ?
A. AH1N1 flu is spreading quickly globally .
B. Many people died of AH1N1 flu in Mexico
C. How does AH1N1 flu spread ?
D. AH1N1 flu is confirmed in New York City
B
News（March 6, 2008）that Microsoft was making a $44. 6 billion bid to buy Yahoo was greeted with heated discussion by many Internet users on Friday. Here are some responses:
Mark Galeassi of Kansas City, Missouri
This is the best move for both parties. Yahoo has the ideas and Microsoft has the money to finally market these ideas correctly. Microsoft and Yahoo are a perfect fit and the deal will be good for consumers.
Scott G. of New Jersey
I was a Yahoo user for years along with Hotmail from Microsoft. Then Google came along. . . Google Earth, Google Toolbar and Gmail. Google is so innovative（创新的）with everything they do. Yahoo and Microsoft. . . same old story. . . I don’t think the merger（合并）will do anything for either company except improve the Yahoo shareholders’ bank accounts:
Michael Glosser of Estero, Florida
Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they’ll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo’s formerly non-priced features. Microsoft’s greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is.
Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights, California
Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet!
Antonio Simmons of Parkville, Maryland
Microsoft purchasing Yahoo would be nothing more than an attempt from Microsoft to further impose upon the users their poor-quality software and obtain more wealth for the company. In my opinion, they will never be able to compete with Google because Yahoo and Microsoft’s current search engines are too inferior（差的）to compete. Even if combined, they still lack.
45. Who is in favor of the merger of Microsoft and Yahoo?
A. Antonio Simmons B. Michael Grosser C. Mark Galeassi D. Scott G
46. In the opinion of Scott G. ,_______________.
A. Yahoo and Microsoft are lacking in innovation
B. the merger will contribute to Microsoft
C. the merger will allow Microsoft to overtake（超越）Google
D. Google is getting short of management experience
47. Michael Glosser is afraid that .
A. the merger will lead to Microsoft’s monopoly（垄断）of the market
B. the merger will cost Yahoo’s free features
C. Internet users will have to buy Microsoft’s costly software
D. the increased competition will force Google out of the game
48. What is Antonio Simmons’ attitude towards Google?
A. Doubtful B. Positive C. Negative D. Disapproval
第二部分阅读理解（共两节，满分50分）
第一节：阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并将答案写在答题卡上。（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
A
O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.
41. In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank. c. Travelled to Texas.
d. Was put in prison. e. Had a newspaper job. f. Learned to write stories.
A. e. c. f. b. d. a B. e. b. d. c. a. f. C. c. e. b. d. f. aD. c. b. e. d. a f.
42. O. Henry went to prison because ___________.
A. people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper
B. people thought he had taken money that was not his
C. he wanted to write stories about prisoners
D. he broke the law by not using his own name
43. What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
A. He was very good at learning. B. He was not serious about his work.
C. He was devoted to the poor. D. He was well-educated.
44. Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
A. His life inside the prison. B. The newspaper articles he wrote.
C. His exciting early life as a boy. D. The city and people of New York.
E
Here is a passage about learning a foreign language.
Outside of class, the most natural way of finding out if you are making mistakes is from other people’s responses. If the mistakes are too serious, your listeners will be asking you all the time what you mean. If they are not so serious, then people may be asking you whether you said such and such. That will tell you how close you are to speaking “cogently”.
Of course, there are other times when it is important to have errors pointed out. Your class assignments(作业) are probably marked in this way, in which case you need to spend time going over them to take advantage of the individual feedback. In some classes the teacher gets better and better at grammar because she does all the corrections, but the students make slow progress if, when an assignment is returned, they quickly stuff it into their folders without looking.
You are the person who should be connecting your error, even if the marker has signaled them, When you look at them, there are some steps to work through. One distinction that has been made about learners’ language is this. You make mistakes about rules that you already know but you make errors about points you haven’t learned yet. In other words, you can find your own mistakes, but not your errors. First, make sure you understand what you have written or said, or your correction will simply be another stab at the right answer. Next, decide on the best way of practicing the correct form. Would it help you to write out the sentence once more. Can you make up another similar sentence? Then you could test yourself in a few days time to see whether you have remembered the right form, Anyone can get it right immediately after being told. He challenge is to remember it and apply it later.
57．We can learn from the passage that__________in learning a foreign language.
A．making mistakes about rules can always be avoided
B．speaking is the only way to correct mistakes
C．getting and using responses is important
D．errors can be easily corrected
58．How can you know that you are making fewer mistakes when speaking a foreign language?
A．By following the suggestions the writer put forward.
B．By practicing the correct forms.
C．From the teacher’s getting better and better at grammar.
D．From your listeners responses.
59．The writer thinks some students make slow progress because__________.
A．they understand what they have written or said.
B．they have remembered the right form
C．they hardly pay attention to their marked assignments
D．they decide on the best way of practicing the correct form
60．Which of the following might be the most important to work through your mistakes?
A．Keeping the right form in mind and using it later.
B．Writing out the sentence once more.
C．Learning your mistakes by heart.
D．Correcting your mistakes and writing down the teacher’s words.
D
Share your poetry on FanStory, cont and you will receive detailed feedback(反馈) for everything you post. The BEST way to share your writing?
The benefits of our membership for writers:
*Beginner to Expert—All forms of writing welcomed including poetry, fiction, non-fiction, book chapters, and scripts. Learn from feedback that will be written on everything you write.
*Contests—Participate in free writing contests and you can win eash prizes. Over 50 new writing contests are opened (and always free) every month. In addition, a new writing prompt contest is announced daily.
*Rankings—If you are talented enough you can earn a top rank or even the No, I spot in the rankings. Every comment counts towards your rank.
*Pressure Free Feedback—You will receive at least three reviews(评论) for everything you post. These reviews are included with your membership, A large reviewer base means you do not have to write reviews to get reviews.
*Magazine Subscription(订阅)—Your membership includes a subscription to Lua Flow—our online magazine for writers.
*Fun—Enjoy an online experience with no match. Put your writing to work for you and enjoy the friendly and competitive nature of FanStory. com.
*Great Value—Free membership will get you started. Membership for writers is as low as $ 2.80 per month. One week trial period for membership.
Pricing details:
Join right now for a full year (or two!) and enjoy all the benefits of our membership for writers. You’ll be posting in a few minutes. Start Your Membership For Writers Now!
2 years for $ 67—$ 2.80 per month!
1 year for $ 48—$ 3.95 per month!
subscription—$ 6.95 per month!
For over nine years we have been helping writers improve their skills. Get started with your free membership!
53．FanStory. com is a website where you can__________
A．publish your poems B．tell your stories
C．easily win a lot of money D．put on all forms of your writing
54．How many benefits can a member get if the prices are not included?
A．5. B．7. C．9. D．11.
55．Which of the following prices is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A．Membership for two years. B．Membership for one year.
C．Membership for nine years. D．Magazine subscription.
56．The purpose of the passage is mainly to__________.
A．provide writers with more entertainment
B．introduce an online magazine to writers
C．encourage people to join FanStory. com
D．explain the reviews of writing skills