For years, business people in Western Europe were worried. They knew they could not compete against business from the U.S. The United States is much larger and had many more resources than any Western European countries
Some European people realized that the European nations need to join together to help each other. If they could forget their language differences and the differences in customs, they might become strong competition against other countries.
In 1958, six of the European countries --- Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Italy got together and decided to cooperate. They called their group the European Economic Community, or the Common Market. These countries agreed to join their resources together.
Within a few years, the European Economic Community had worked so well that its members were more prosperous than many other European nations. Soon, other nations began to realize the advantage of the Common Market. Today the Common Market includes most of the important countries in Western Europe. It is helping Western Europe to again take its place as a leader among the industrial nations of the world.From the passage we know the U.S. is much richer than ________ in resources.
| A．any other Western European countries | B．any other country in Western Europe |
| C．any country in Western Europe | D．every country in Europe |
The members of the European Economic Community have developed fast because they ___.
| A．share their resources and become more prosperous |
| B．can again take the place as a leader in the world |
| C．forget the differences in their languages and customs |
| D．have become strong competition against the U.S. |
Which statement is true?
| A．The Common Market is only a political association. |
| B．The Common Market is an economic and political association |
| C．The Common Market is only an economic association |
| D．The Common Market is neither an economic association nor a political one. |
In order to ______ the Western European countries decided to cooperate.
| A．join together to found a united country |
| B．help each other to smooth away the differences in customs |
| C．work and act together for common purpose |
| D．work together and fight against the U.S. |
When I first heard about geocaching（地理寻宝），I was skeptical. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like an interesting idea.I at least wanted to try it once.
Having familiarized myself with how the game works,I set out in search of my first cache. My trip took me through a series of lively hutong（胡同）,past a number of small temples, and right into the courtyard of a quiet youth hotel.I spent several minutes looking around, but couldn't find anything. Just before l was about to give up,I spotted a colorful object in the crack of a wall. Could it be the hidden cache?
At that moment a group of backpackers amved. According to the game's rules, people who are not in the game must not be allowed to find out about secret caches. So I pretended to make a phone call while waiting for them to leave. When the coast was clear,I grabbed the object. It was the cache! I opened it and pulled out a crumpled（皱的）sheet of paper with several names and celebratory messages written on it.I added my own and replaced the cache in its hiding place, ready for the next geocacher to find.
It may seem like a simple game, but the idea that there are caches hidden all around us is exciting. Once you're hooked, it's easy to set yourself the goal of finding every single cache in a neighborhood or even an entire city. The real treasure, however, is not the cache itself, but the places it takes you to.
Hunting for further caches has since introduced me to places which I didn't even know existed. Some are peaceful parks, while others are forgotten historical sites.A few caches have even been in places I passed regularly without giving them any thought. Now,Ifeel a much closer connection.What was the author's initial attitude to geocaching?
| A．He thought it interesting. |
| B．He wanted to try it at once. |
| C．He showed little interest in it. |
| D．He found it unsuitable for him. |
Where did the author find the cache?
| A．In a hutong. | B．In a temple. |
| C．In a well. | D．In a hotel. |
When a group of backpackers were approaching, the author____.
| A．pretended to be cleaning the yard |
| B．made a call to other geocachers |
| C．didn't allow them to come in |
| D．tried to keep the cache secret |
In what way does the author benefit from geocaching?
| A．He's more familiar with the city. |
| B．He has found much treasure. |
| C．He has made more friends. |
| D．He has mastered hunting. |
Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China’s suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research.
Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country’s Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world.
According to Jing’s calculation, China’s suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the “missing” suicides were added, China’s suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.
Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men.
As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people’s lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to social environment for the better, he concludes.From Jing’s search, we can see ________.
| A．China has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world |
| B．in the rest of the world suicide rate has been rising quickly in the last few years |
| C．different from Michael R. Philip’s idea, the trend of suicides in China is declining |
| D．the suicide rate among Chinese women is lower than that of men |
The data in Para. 2 is mainly to prove that ________.
| A．the result from Jing’s research is believable |
| B．Jing’s research is more complicated than Michael R. Phillip’s |
| C．Jing has made great efforts to make the research |
| D．China’s suicide rate was comparatively low all the time |
Why has the suicide rate in China dropped steadily according to Jing Jun?
| A．Because the life level of Chinese people has improved a lot. |
| B．Because China’s government has adopted measures to reduce the suicide rate. |
| C．Because the number of Chinese women who commit suicide has declined. |
| D．Because the world environment affects the suicide rate in China. |
In Jing’s opinion, what should be done to reduce the suicide?
| A．Pay more attention to rural women. |
| B．Continue to improve social environment. |
| C．Set up more mental health centers. |
| D．Make policies to prevent suicides. |
We can infer that the text is _______.
| A．a news report |
| B．a research report |
| C．a description of suicides |
| D．an introduction to a professor |
A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, reduced to waist-high rains, smelly and dirty.
Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. “You from New Orleans?” she asked. I said I was, “No charge.” She said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened.
As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage (抵押贷款) on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California. He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for Slate, the online magazine and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”) a new house across the lake from New Orleans.
It sounded too good to be true, but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional generosity, that we had no places to go back. Then a poet at the University of Florida offered to rent his house to me while he went to England on his one-year-paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months.
Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It’s almost worth losing your worldly possessions to be reminded that people are really nice when given half a chance. The garage employee’s attitude toward the author was that of ________.
| A．unconcern | B．sympathy |
| C．doubt | D．tolerance |
What do we know about James Kennedy?
| A．He was a writer of an online magazine. |
| B．He was a poet at the University of Florida. |
| C．He learned about the author’s sufferings via e-mail. |
| D．He offered the author a new house free of charge. |
It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．the author’s family was in financial difficulty |
| B．rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster |
| C．houses were difficult to find in the hurricane-stricken area |
| D．the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank |
From Paragraph 4, we can know that the author’s new house ________.
| A．was located in the University of Florida |
| B．was offered by a poet and the rent was expensive |
| C．was sponsored by James Kennedy with its 8-month rent |
| D．was well-equipped but the rent was low |
The author learned from his experience that ________.
| A．worldly possessions can be given up when necessary |
| B．generosity should be encouraged in some cases |
| C．people benefit from their sad stories |
| D．human beings are kind after all |
If boy wizard Harry Potter uses his magic to capture (迷住) the hearts of millions of teenagers, high school students Gabriella and Troy have charmed American boys and girls with their stories of campus life.
They are the leading characters in High School Musical, a series of hugely successful films in the US. The sequel (续集), High School Musical 3, came out on October 24 and has topped the American box office for two straight weeks.
The show has everything attractive to teenagers — dancing, catchy music, puppy love and good looks. The story starts when high school basketball star Troy and brainy Gabriella — two teenagers who are worlds apart — meet during the winter break. At a karaoke contest they discover their love for singing and an interest in each other. When school starts, Troy finds out that Gabriella is the new girl at his school.
Eager to find the magic they had during karaoke, Troy and Gabriella decide to audition (试镜) for the school’s upcoming musical. This angers the school’s drama queen Sharpay. However, they overcome difficulties and become the leading actors.
But the story doesn’t end there. High School Musical 2 follows their adventures over summer vacation when Sharpay tires to break up Troy and Gabriella. In the latest sequel, high-school seniors are facing the possibilities of being separated from each other as they go off in different directions when graduating from high school.
Joined by the rest of their friends, Troy and Gabriella stage a musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about the future.
“The success of the High School Musical films shows Disney’s long-term efforts to attract youngsters for whom Mickey Mouse seems to babyish,” wrote New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff. “For the time being, the movie has made fictional high school students as recognizable as that 79-year-old mouse.”What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Boy wizard — Harry Potter. |
| B．High school students Gabriella and Troy. |
| C．A successful show — High School Musical. |
| D．Disney’s long-term efforts. |
How many films are there in this series of films?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
What can you learn from the words “two teenagers who are worlds apart”?
| A．They live far away from each other. |
| B．They used to know each other well. |
| C．They have a big difference between each other. |
| D．They study at different schools. |
What happens in High School Musical 2, according to the passage?
| A．Troy and Gabriella audition for a school musical. |
| B．Troy and Gabriella meet at a karaoke contest. |
| C．Troy and Gabriella graduate from high school. |
| D．Sharpay tries to break up Troy and Gabriella. |
What does New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff mean?
| A．High School Musical is possibly more attractive to youngsters. |
| B．The high school students don’t like Mickey Mouse. |
| C．Mickey Mouse is more attractive to youngsters. |
| D．Mickey Mouse is too old to be recognized by youngsters. |
April 27 is Take Our Daughters to Work Day in Britain. Started at first in the United States and brought to Britain in 1994, Take Our Daughters to Work Day has become a special day for girls between 11 and 15. On that day thousands of girls take a day off school and go together with one of their parents to their work places. The purpose of this day is to broaden girls’ horizons and raise their self-confidence.
For many years people have thought that boys can do better than girls in society. But actually, “girls can be whatever they want to be just like boys, whether it is a pilot, a nurse or a chief executive,” says the chairman of Our Sons and Daughters Charitable Trust, an organization which supported the activity of the Day. “Now the girls have a close look at what their parents are doing and this may help them to be more self-confident when they are faced with a choice of work.”
Schools and many companies support the activity too. Palmers Green High School for Girls, in north London, has made the Day a necessary part of career education.
Zarina Bart, 15, from Palmers Green, went with her mother to her lawyer’s office on this year’s Take Our Daughters to Work Day. She found it interesting to see her mother at work. “It’s really strange seeing Mum at work — running around, getting serious and telling people what to do.” She has always liked this idea of going into law and thinks it likely that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps. Having a chance to see how her mother works has given her more self-confidence.
Experts believe that girls with higher self-confidence aim higher and are more likely to be successful in life. Parents have the most important effect on the confidence of teenage girls. If parents believe in their daughters and show examples both at work as well as at home for them, this will give a lot of help to girls. Take Our Daughters to Work Day is surely a step in the right direction.What is the topic of this passage?
| A．Raising daughters’ self-confidence. |
| B．Take Our Daughters to Work Day. |
| C．Equally between boys and girls. |
| D．Following mothers’ footsteps. |
It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that ________.
| A．women pilots are popular in Britain |
| B．girls are sure about their future jobs |
| C．people have wrongly believed that girls can do as well as boys |
| D．for many years boys have had a relatively wider choice of work |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Take Our Daughters to Work Day is British in origin. |
| B．Palmers Green favors Take Our Daughters to Work Day. |
| C．On the Day children are taken to their parent’s work places. |
| D．Parents in Britain show good examples both at work and at home. |
After her experience on Take Our Daughters to Work Day, Zarina felt ________.
| A．confident about finding a job in the future |
| B．strange to watch her mother working in the office |
| C．sure about what to choose as her future career |
| D．interested in doing the same job as her mother |
The author’s attitude towards the Day is ________.
| A．favorable | B．unclear |
| C．critical | D．neutral |