Hey, Mr．and Ms．Unluckiness and Unhappiness! Terrorism, the war, the economic crisis and unemployment are at your door．Are you afraid of them? Well, don’t be! America is a happy land．The Smiley Face icon proves this in towns all over the country．
The tallest structure—the steel water tower—is often painted bright yellow, in a circle containing a pair of black dots for eyes and an upturned（朝上的）line for a mouth: the unforgettable smile．Most towns decorated their spheroid (or cylindrical) water storage tanks in the 1970s, when Smiley was still conceptually fresh．As a "safe" counterculture symbol, with absolutely no bite, the Smile Face water tower was a low cost way to radiate sunny greetings to travelers and locals．Calumet City, Illinois claims to have been the first, when 8-year old resident Kim Fornero sent a letter to the city council in late 1972 suggesting a smile face would be more fun to look at than a plain old water tower．
In the 1980s, with the paint on the water tower fading, residents of Calumet City decided to make the face their own．They repainted the tower, and a Happy Cook Restaurant and Smiley Face Inn appeared on the highway outside the town, ready to make you smile! Local businessmen printed the Smiley icon on their business cards, and displayed Smiley Face souvenirs in shop windows．
By the late 1990s, the survival of the Smiley Face water tower was assured．It didn’t matter why the face had been painted there—it was now a part of history．In May 2009, the town again celebrated its Smiley Face water tower as a symbol of hope for a better tomorrow．
60．The author mainly wants to tell readers that the symbol asks them to_________
A．greet people politely B．deal with their problems
C．enjoy themselves D．forget the past
61．The underlined word “icon ” in the first paragraph probably means________.
A．beautiful picture B．building C．image D．valuable painting
62．Why did Calumet residents accept the tower happily?
A．It set a good example to them.
B．It made them work harder.
C．They wanted to think it for supplying water.
D．They wanted to make the Smiley Face their own.
63．From the text we learn that the Smiley Face water tower________
A．was based on a painter’s inspiration
B．is a symbol of the prosperity of the town
C．is meant to give people hope for a better future
D．was created in 1972 by the city council, just for fun
Hiking
If you like to hike during the warm months, you’ll probably like to hike in the winter. The landscape changes completely from summer to fall to winter, and the snow can make for some really beautiful photos. Be sure to bring your camera with you to capture all the awesome scenery. Because it’s cold out, you also have the added benefit of not sweating too much through your clothes, and it’s a great excuse to grab some hot chocolate when you finish your hike.
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is great exercise and a great way to see the winter scenery at the same time. If you’ve never done cross-country skiing before, be sure to check with an expert before trying it yourself. Knowing what to expect can keep you safe and prevent an injury.
Snowball fighting
Everyone remembers going outside, building a snow fort(城堡),and having snowball fights when they were kids. The fun doesn’t have to stop when you’re an adult! Go outside with your friends, build a fort and start throwing snowballs at each other. If you have kids, get them in on the action. Throwing snowballs is a great way to use some extra energy and can be really fun for the whole family.
Bird-watching
Lots of birds migrate during the winter months, and these quiet, cold hours can be a great time to see them like never before. Eagles, for example, migrate through central Illinois in February, and watching them fly through Starved Rock State Park is a breathtaking sight. Check your local parks to find out what birds you can see in your area and get out there to see them.What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Outdoor winter activities |
| B．Popular winter sports around the world |
| C．Fun winter activities for children |
| D．Best ways to enjoy winter scenery. |
As for cross-country skiing, the author suggests people_______.
| A．try to do it on their own |
| B．ask an expert for advice |
| C．take a camera with them |
| D．take a rest whenever possible |
Which of the following does the author suggest for those with kids?
| A．Hiking | B．Cross-country skiing |
| C．Snowball fighting | D．Bird-watching |
What can we know about Starved Rock State Park from the passage?
| A．It’s the largest natural park in Illinois. |
| B．It’s a good place for bird-watching. |
| C．It’s well-known for its strange animals. |
| D．It is home to a lot of birds. |
Cities need to put efforts to deal with pollution and clear the air.
Chinese cities will need to put efforts to clear up the sky when a new department to improve regional air quality is set up by 2015，according to the latest plan released by the State Council.
Besides the existing pollution control program for CO2，regional emission caps(区域排放上限) for other certain chemicals will be established in the three key air polluting areas—the Yangtze River Delta，Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei region. Coal-consumption caps will also be tried out in some areas，according to the plan.
The plan is aimed at dealing with regional air pollution—such as acid rain and smog—which have become increasingly obvious in China in recent years and caused a severe threat to people’s health，Zhang Lijun，viceminister of environmental protection，said in an interview on Monday.
The air quality in a city affects the areas nearby because pollutants can travel in the sky，said Chai Fahe，vice-director of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
“So efforts to reduce air pollution in a single city，targeting a certain pollutant(污染物) will not be enough，” Chai said.
Zhang said the country’s major industrial districts—the Yangtze River Delta，Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—have recorded more than 100 misty days annually in recent years.
These three regions，home to at least 200 million people，occupy only 6.3 percent of the country’s area but consume 40 percent of the country’s coal and produce half of its steel，according to official figures.
Studies also show that the visibility(能见度) in eastern regions of China has dropped by 7 to 15 km compared to that in the early 1960s，as a result of air pollution.
Liaoning province，the Shandong Peninsula，Wuhan in Hubei province and its surrounding area，the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region in Hunan province，the Chengdu-Chongqing region，and the western coast of the Taiwan Straits are also listed as areas to carry out such regional air pollution control programs，according to the plan.
The new plan also requires an improved air quality system，which will measure the pollution levels. “The current system，which only measures some major pollutants，cannot reflect the_truepicture.” said Chai.It will not be enough to reduce air pollution in a single city because ________.
| A．air pollution has been becoming more and more serious in recent years |
| B．air pollution like acid rain and smog is threatening people’s health |
| C．air pollutants in a city can travel in the sky and affect nearby areas |
| D．air pollutants stay in fixed places over the cities |
Suppose the visibility in eastern regions of China was 130 km in the early 1960s，the visibility there nowadays is ________.
| A．123 to 115 km | B．137 to 145 km |
| C．123 to 145 km | D．115 to 137 km |
The main purpose of the passage is ________.
| A．to inform readers of the damage caused by air pollution |
| B．to introduce the new plan to control air pollution |
| C．to provide official figures of air pollution levels |
| D．to point out the regions affected by air pollution |
What does the underlined phrase “the true picture” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．The major pollutants. |
| B．The key polluted areas. |
| C．The major polluted cities. |
| D．The pollution levels. |
I can remember the day my father came home from the war. As he walked up the front path of our home, he saw Mum and me and he dropped the suitcase.
I was only five years old so Dad made a fuss of me, then began making an even bigger fuss of my mother. This left me free to examine all the stuff lying around the broken suitcase, and I was quick to notice a newspaper advertisement displaying a new piano. When Dad saw me holding up the newspaper cutting, he smiled.
“Yes, that’s right,” he said. “I bought your mum a piano for ten pounds down and two pounds a week.”
A few moments later, a horse pulled a cart with a piano on top. Soon we all stared at it in our small lounger room. Mum had never been close to a piano before, except at the kindergarten I attended, and she used to say how wonderful it would be if the teachers could teach her to play.
After tea that night, Mum began to teach herself to play. She plinked the keys for about two hours and drove everybody in the street mad, until Dad gently said, “Enough is enough.”
From that day on, she would plink between doing the cooking and housework. Three months went by and Mum was now a skilled pianist, holding parties with all the neighbors gathering around to sing.
Although we were poor, Mum felt like a princess and was delighted at all the attention she was receiving.
At the height of Mum’s happiness, I began to notice that Dad was looking increasingly worried. It turned out that since returning from the war, he’d been unable to find a job. Then, a few weeks later, I observed two men taking Mum’s piano away. Mum sobbed in the kitchen. Suddenly, it all became clear to me: no job, no money, no piano.
Dad finally got a job. Mum was happy again as if he’d just win the lottery(彩票). Dad had to study to qualify as an account. Every night after dinner he’d place a stack of books on the kitchen table and study late into the night. Mum didn’t say much but I could tell she was proud of Dad.
Two years later, Dad bought Mum another piano. This time he paid cash for it.How did the author’s Dad buy the piano for his mum?
| A．He paid part of the bill regularly. |
| B．He earned it by winning a bet. |
| C．He paid cash for it. |
| D．He bought it as a big bargain. |
By saying “Enough is enough”, the author’s dad meant_______.
| A．practice makes perfect |
| B．it was time to stop practicing |
| C．he couldn’t bear being troubled |
| D．his wife played the piano well enough |
What made the author’s mum proud of his dad?
| A．His dad’s willingness to help cook. |
| B．His dad’s winning the lottery luckily. |
| C．His dad’s loyalty to his motherland. |
| D．His dad’s determination to rebuild his life. |
Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded (包围) by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice-cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children will buy less take away food.
There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, this will carry on throughout their lives.
There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an pastime(消遣), it also give them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.According to the passage, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?
| A．Those who often took exercise. |
| B．Those who often watch TV. |
| C．Those who often have meals at home. |
| D．Those who often walk to school. |
The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because _____.
| A．their parents often cook meals for them |
| B．they are too busy to go out and play |
| C．they can’t choose what to eat |
| D．there are so many fast food shops around |
The word “steering”underlined in the last sentence most probably means _____.
| A．forcing | B．guiding | C．driving | D．moving |
The main purpose of the passage is to _____.
| A．tell a story | B．provide facts | C．give advice | D．compare opinions |
According to this advertisement ,at the Forum people _________.
| A．come together in order to form an organization |
| B．eat together to celebrate their success or victory |
| C．work together for the purpose of business or trade |
| D．express different opinions and discuss public matters |
If you register both the VIEW qualification course and the Forum at the same time ,you will save .
A．$100 B．$350 D．$400 D．$300“Space is limited ,so early registration is welcome” means.
| A．you’ll lose the good chance if you don’t register soon |
| B．space is limited ,so you can’t register now |
| C．space is too limited for you to register |
| D．you’ll be given a special offer if you register now |
The main purpose of this advertisement is to .
| A．promise everyone can pay less money to attend the Forum |
| B．encourage more people to attend the Forum in time |
| C．call on the people in the north of the USA to go south for holidays |
| D．introduce some new activities and topics of the Forum |