Learning Chinese has been like climbing a steep(陡峭的)mountain.
My mother was born in Tokyo,while my father moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong when he was seven years old. At home we speak English. I know some basic Chinese customs :to use chosticks gracefully (得体地)and what to say on Spring Festival to get a red envelope. But I never truly learned to speak Chinese.
Why should I need to learn the language ,anyway? I live in America where everyone speaks English.
I realized I was wrong in ninth grade when I arrived at Philips Academy,a famous boarding school in Massachusetts.The school encourages a global outlook(视野). Th
ere I decided to welcome the opportunity to learn Chinese. I met other American-born Chinese and together we spoke Ching-lish outside of the classroom.
I searched for ways to access Chinese culture through dramas such as Meteor Garden (《流星花园》)and music by singers such as S.H.E,Wilbur Pan and Jasmine Leung(梁静茹). Listening to Chinese music is where I found my favorite singer in the whole world:Jay Chou. Even if I cannot understand what he is crooning(哼唱), I do feel more Chinese whenever I listen to his music.
Last summer I spent five weeks in China,four of which were taking a language course at a Beijing high school. I was proud when I could understand the dialogue in Intitial D(《头文字D》) and when I could easily translate Fairy Tale sung by Kong Leung(光良).
Learning Chinese has been a rocky trek(艰苦跋涉), and I know it will continue to be that way before I arrive at a relative plateau(高地) of fluency(流利).I hope that one day I will be able to work and maybe even live in China as a true Chinese.The author wrote the text mainly to___.
| A.share her experience of learning Chinese |
| B.tell us why she is interested in learning Chinese |
| C.show off(炫耀) the progress she made in learning Chinese |
| D.give advice on how to learn Chinese |
The author's attitude to learning Chinese changed because___.
| A.she found Chinese was interesting to learn |
| B.she wanted to take a course to pass easily |
| C.she realized she should have an open mind to the outside world |
D. she made friends with some American___born Chinese at the school she studied |
The author tried all of the following to learn Chinese EXCEPT___.
| A.listening to Chinese music |
| B.practicing speaking Chinese with her parents |
| C.enjoying Chinese dramas |
| D.taking a Chinese course in China |
We can learn from the text that___.
| A.S.H.E.is the author's favorite singer |
| B.dialogues in Meteor Garden are easy to guess |
C.the author enjoys learning Chinese though it is difficult |
| D.the author can speak fluent Chinese now |
U.S. airlines are seeing a major interruption because of hundreds of flights canceled due to the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, but European flight companies will face the biggest losses.
The airline business has been tough: The decline dramatically slowed traffic; February heavy snow forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights; and now the ashes from the volcano stopped all traffic in and out of northern Europe for days.
"For U.S. flight companies, it'll be a relatively short-term hit," said Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International, an aviation (航空学) consulting firm. "We think right now they're down about $80 million in terms of lost income, and they're down domestically about 80,000 passengers that would have been flying domestically but aren't because they can't get here."
Delta announced that volcano-related interruption grounded about 400 flights until Monday at a cost of $20 million in lost revenues. But compare that to the recent snowstorms, when the airline canceled 7,000 flights and lost $65 million in revenue.
The disruption has created uncertainty for customers, but analysts say U.S. airlines won't face as many costs as you might think. They are not flying in extra planes to handle the passengers in trouble because, airline analyst Robert Mann said, companies simply don't have them.
"Airlines run a very lean operation now," Mann said. "So, since there are no spare aircraft or crews, the airlines will attempt to maximize loads on every one of their aircraft that do fly. But it may take days, or in some cases a week or so, to get some of these customers to where they want to go."
46. Which negative consequences mentioned in the passage did the disasters cause?
A. coldness, pollution and airlines’ losses
B. airport damage, pollution and slow traffic
C. passenger delay,coldness and airport damage
D. passenger delay, airlines’ losses and slow traffic
47. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The fewest airplanes will fly the trapped passengers to their destinations.
B. All the customers are sure to be sent to their destinations in time.
C. The U.S. and U.K. airlines suffered the same losses in the natural disasters.
D. The volcano eruption reduced the traffic to and from northern Europe.
48. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A. the troubles that the airlines will face after the ash cloud disappears
B. the measures that the airlines will take to maximize their profit
C. the present situation of the airlines and their plan to deliver the passengers
D. the reasons why the airlines run a fine operation
49. Why will it take a long time for airlines to send the passengers to their different destinations?
A. Because the passengers enjoy staying in airports to talk with one another.
B. Because the airlines don’t have spare planes or employees to serve.
C. Because the airlines don't have enough financial support after the disaster.
D. Because the passengers are asking for full refund from the airlines.
50. The passage is most probably from_______.
A.a novelB.a news report
C.a magazine D.a thesis
Ⅲ 阅读 (共两节,满分40分)
第一节阅读理解 (共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you’re expecting isn’t exactly the top priority— rather, it’s making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother’s regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus’ health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.
The finding is a bit surprising, because exercise is known to lower the risk of insulin resistance(胰岛素抵抗),a condition eventually leading to diabetes(糖尿病). Although insulin resistance is a detriment in healthy adults, it turns out to be helpful for proper fetal(胎儿)development. In pregnant women, this condition means nutrients get shunted to the growing baby.
The question is: could a mother’s exercise put her developing baby’s food supply at risk? Past studies looking at the effect of exercise on birth weight have been inconclusive, and none have really investigated the influence of exercise on the mother’s sensitivity to insulin. So the University of Auckland’s Dr. Paul Hoffman and his team decided to study 84 first-time mothers, who were of normal weight on average, and track any effects aerobic exercise(有氧运动) might have on their insulin sensitivity and, ultimately, on their babies’ birth weight. Researchers asked some women to exercise on a stationary bicycle for at least 40 minutes per session, up to five times each week, starting in the 20th week of pregnancy; the other women were not specifically asked to exercise. When the two groups and their babies were compared, the team found that women who bicycled regularly gave birth to babies who were on average 150g lighter than those born to the non-exercising mothers. In both groups, however, the babies were of healthy weight, and there was no difference in the mothers’ weights.
Generally speaking, babies on the lower end of the normal weight range are considered healthier and less prone to developing diabetes and obesity than heavier ones, so this was an encouraging result. Even more reassuring was that regular exercise did not seem to affect the flow of nutrients to the growing babies in the womb.
41. According to the new study, a pregnant woman’s regular exercise may _______.
A. bring benefits to a baby’s growth
B. lower the risk of insulin resistance
C. put her baby’s food supply at risk
D. help her keep slim and healthy
42. What does the underlined word “detriment” mean in the second paragraph?
A. Something that brings good.
B. Something that brings damage.
C. Something that brings obstacles.
D. Something that brings development.
43. What is the purpose of the experiment carried out by Dr. Paul Hoffman?
A. To investigate the influence of exercise on pregnant women.
B. To find out what aerobic exercise can benefit a baby’s growth.
C. To make sure of the effects exercise may have on babies’ birth weight
D. To compare the differences between mothers who exercise and who don’t
44. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Lighter babies are generally believed to be healthier than heavier ones.
B. Non-exercising mothers will definitely give birth to heavier babies.
C. No studies have looked at the effect of exercise on birth weight before.
D. Some women studied were asked to exercise regularly while some don’t.
45. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
A. All mothers should take aerobic exercise.
B. Moms who exercise give birth to lighter babies。
C. Exercise reduces the risk of insulin resistance.
D. Heavier babies are more likely to develop diabetes.
Having finished her homework, Ma Li wants some music for relaxation. As usual, she starts her computer and goes to Baidu.com to download music files. But this time she is surprised when an announcement about protecting songs’ copyright bursts onto the screen. The age of free music and movie downloads may have come to an end as Web companies like Baidu are accused of pirating copyright. Lawsuits(诉讼) have been filed against four websites offering free downloads. In September 2005, a Beijing court ordered Baidu to pay recording company Shanghai Push compensation(赔偿)for their losses. Baidu was also told to block the links to the pirated music on the website. This caused a heated discussion on Interact file sharing.
“Baidu’s defeat in the lawsuit shows it is not right to get copyrighted songs without paying. Downloaders may face lawsuits or fines,” said an official.
Like many teens, Huang Ruoru, an 18-year-old girl from Puning in Guangdong Province, doesn’t think that getting music from websites is wrong. She always shares her favourite songs downloaded from Baidu with her friends. When told about the lawsuit, she began to feel a little guilty about obtaining others’ work without paying.
However, other teenagers have different ideas. Wang Yafei, a Senior 2 girl from Jinan, Shandong Province pointed out that file sharing is a good way to promote pop singers. “If I download a song and really like it, I will buy the CD,” she said. “So what the recording companies really should concentrate on is improving their music, rather than pursuing file-sharers.”
77. Which of the following best describes the passage?
A. Downloading material can be illegal. B. It’s good to get free music on the Internet.
C. Music on the Internet is of better quality. D. Baidu is a popular web company.
78. The four web companies were put to court because _________.
A. they got
copyrighted songs without paying
B. they downloaded copyrighted music for people
C. they offer free music on line
D. they make copyrighted files for free downloads
79. How do some of the teenagers feel while downloading free music after the lawsuit?
A. A bit guilty. B. Awfully sorry. C. A little sad. D. Extremely angry.
80. It can be inferred from the text that _________.
A. Web companies are still ignoring the copyright laws.
B. Teenagers haven’t got money to buy CDs.
C. Teenagers are probably still downloading free music.
D. Teenagers prefer CDs with copyright to pirated music.
Schools across the country are turning green. So-called green schools are built from recycled and environmentally friendly materials. They are designed to use less energy than traditional school buildings. In the next few years, Southern California alone plans to open 150 green schools. Studies have shown that there are good reasons to go green, including good air quality that cuts down on asthma(哮喘)attacks and airborne germs that can cause illnesses. Students learn better in classrooms that have natural light and ideal temperatures. Green schools have lower energy bills. Go On, Get Green
Here’s how to save energy and help the environment.
Light Savers
Turn off the lights in a room when it is not in use. This bright idea can produce big savings on energy costs. Some schools use sensors that automatically shut off the lights when there is no motion in a room.
Heat Smart
Your school’s thermostat(温度调节器)should be set to 78℃in warm weather and 68℃in cooler weather. The temperature can be even farther from the comfort zone at night and on weekends, when no one is using the school building.
Reuse, Recycle
Reuse paper, cans, bottles and batteries. Use both sides of notebook paper. Carry a lunch box rather than a paper bag. Recycle whatever you can reuse.
Don’t Drip(滴水)
Leaky taps can waste large amounts of water. A small, steady flow can add up to hundreds of gallons a year. Report drips if you see them.
73. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Green Schools. B. Reusing and Recycling. C. Light Savers. D. No Dripping.
74. Some schools are called green schools because ______.
A. they are built from new materials B. they are painted green
C. there are more trees in these schools D. they are built from recycled materials
75. All of the following are advantages of a green school EXCEPT __________.
A. the air quality of the school is great
B. the
temperature is comfortable
C. the school has lower energy bills than a traditional school
D. it is more beautiful than a traditional school
76. In a green school, students will ________.
A. use both sides of their notebook paper B. not use lights at all
C. use paper bags to carry food D. get sick more easily
Banks view online banking as a powerful “value-added” tool to attract and keep new customers while helping to eliminate costly paper handling or teller(出纳员)interactions in an increasingly competitive banking environment .
Today , most large national banks , many local banks and credit unions offer some form of online banking , variously known as PC banking , home banking , electronic banking or Internet banking . Online banks are sometimes referred to as “brick-to-click” banks , both to tell them from “brick-to-mortar” banks that haven’t yet offered online banking , as well as from “virtual”(虚拟)banks that have no physical branches or tellers whatsoever .
The challenge(挑战)for the banking industry has been to design this new service channel in such a way that its customers will readily learn to use and trust it . Most of the large banks can now offer fully safe ,fully functional (功能的)online banking for free or for a small cost . As more banks succeed online and more customers use their sites , fully functional online banking will likely become as commonplace as automated teller machines (ATM).
Online banking has a lot of advantages . Unlike your corner bank , online banking sites never close; they’re at hand 24 hours a day , seven days a week , and they’re a mouse click away . If you’re out of state or even out of the country when a money problem appears , you can log on instantly to your online bank and take care of business . Online bank sites generally carry out and confirm (确认)deals at or quicker than ATM processing speeds . Many online banking sites now offer fashionable tools to help you manage all of your valuable items more effectively .
69.The word “eliminate” in the first paragraph probably means “___________”.
A.keep B.remove C.reduce D.improve
70.What is the challenge for the banking industry according to the text ?
A.To make online banking attractive . B.To open new services all over the world .
C.To offer online banking for free . D.To take care of business 24 hours a day .
71.From the text we can conclude that__________ .
A.“brick-to-click” banks are in fact another kind of physical banks
B.the function of a “brick-to-click” bank is as common as that of an ATM
C.a “ brick-to-mortar” bank is no better than a virtual one
D.customers can deal with their banking by a mouse click
72.What would be the best title for this text ?
A.Banking of Various Forms B.Improvement of Banking Industry
C.Development of Online Banking D.Functions of the “Brick-to-Click” Bank