Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so your can never build another one . Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And
the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World.
In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying ,
she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial（纪念物）to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 2 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today, 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
64. The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that .
A. the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building
B. ancient Indian emperors were cruel
C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India .
D. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world.
65. The Taj Mahal was first built as .
A. a prison B. a gift to Mumtaz C. a memorial building D. a tourist attraction
66. From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in .
A. 1626 B. 1632 C. 1634 D.1653
67. The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “ ”.
A. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife
B. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power.
C. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal
D. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal
An explosion on Thursday killed one and injured 21 in a busy street in Tongren, Southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
The bomb was hidden in a rubbish bin in the city’s commercial hub（商业中心），where lots of shops and restaurants are concentrated.
The ear-splitting blast was heard around 12∶50 p.m.，said a local newspaper, citing witnesses. The power of the blast shattered（使粉碎）nearby shop windows and ripped the stainless（不生锈的）steel rubbish can to pieces.
One passer-by，identified（确认）only as Zhang，said she was shocked by the noise and saw a lot of pedestrians lying on the ground when she got to the scene.
Thirteen of the injured were taken to a local hospital after the explosion. A doctor there said five were in serious condition but already out of danger after emergency treatment. The others were just slightly hurt.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, said an officer with the Tongren police, but refused to speculate as to the cause.
46．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. All the injured were taken to a hospital
B. 8 of the injured were not taken to a hospital
C. The rubbish bin with a bomb was in a restaurant
D. The rubbish bin with a bomb was in a shop
47．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. One passer- by, indentified only as Zhang, saw the man throwing a bomb into a bin.
B. Some customers in restaurants were injured.
C. The writer didn’t get to the scene.
D. All customers in shops got hurt.
48．In the last paragraph the underlined word“ speculate” probably means ________.
A. tell B. guess C. discuss D. talk
49．What of the follwing can be the best title for the passage?
A. Bomb Hidden in a Rubbish Bin B. The Cause of the Explosion
C. A Terrible Thing D. Market Blast Kills 1 ,Injures 21
Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.
One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine. Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot.
Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.
They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels.
The study appeared in the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine.
The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always run shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.
Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.
Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings.
64. How many organizations are involved in the two studies?
A. Three. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six.
65. Why do running shoes increase the risk of injuries to runners?
A. They create more stress.
B. They’re too big and heavy.
C. They can affect the way the runners run.
D. Their heels can soften landings.
66. What can we learn from the text?。
A. Most running shoes are designed improperly.
B. The design of high heels is better than that of running shoes.
C. No one will run with running shoes in the future.
D. Both of the studies are done in America.
67. How did the researchers do the two studies?
A. By practising. B. By comparing.
C. By questioning. D. By reasoning.
Only one of the ancient wonders of the world still survives — now history lovers are being invited to choose a new list of seven.
An original list of nearly 200 sites nominated by the public was narrowed to 21 by the organizers and experts, including the former director general of Unesco Professor Federico Mayor.
The vote is organized by a non-profit Swiss Foundation called New 7 Wonders which specializes in the preservation (保存), restoration and promotion of monuments (纪念碑), and the results will be announced on July 7, 2009, in Lisbon.
About 20 million votes have already been lodged (提出) including many from India, for the Tai Mahal; China, for the Great Wall; Britain, for the Stonehenge; the only British landmark and from Peru, for Machu Picchu, the fortress city of the Local.
The other original seven wonders of the ancient world were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Tia Viering, spokeswoman for New 7 Wonders, said: “Apart from the Pyramids, the seven ancient wonders of the world no longer exist.”
The only standard for the new list is that the landmarks were built or discovered before 2000.
Votes can be made online, at www.new7wonders.com. To vote your favorite Natural site for the selection of New 7 Wonders of the World, you will need to be a member of New 7 Wonders Campaign. For
the membership form, simply go to http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/vote_on_nominees
and get registered with the required information and email address. After registration process is complete, you can vote your favorite sites.
60. Why does Swiss Foundation organized the vote?
A. Because they want to make money from it.
B. They want to protect the ancient landmarks.
C. They want to show their influence in the world.
D. The UN asked them to organize the vote.
61. The word “nominated” in paragraph 2 probably means _______.
A. officially selected B. carefully chose
C. finally decided D. formally suggested
62. Which is the only survivor of the original seven wonders?
A. The Great Wall. B. The Stonehenge.
C. The Pyramids. D. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
63. The passage most probably appears _________.
A. on the internet B. in a magazine
C. in a textbook C. in a diary
第三部分：阅读理解（共 20小题；每小题 2分，满分 40分）
阅读下列短文，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和 D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was unfeeling. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense that she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks came toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the cold water of the sea, she struggled on — hour after hour — while millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still warming her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not fatigue (疲劳) or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith ready and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim across the Catalina Channel, eclipsing (让……黯然失色) the men’s record by two hours!
56. What can be the best title for the text？
A. Keep your goals in sight.
B. Woman can be better than men.
C. How to swim across the Catalina Channel.
D. Where there is a will, there is a way.
57. Why did Florence give up swimming across the Catalina Channel the first time?
A. She couldn’t swim with the dense fog.
B. She could hardly see her support boats.
C. She was all worn out.
D. She couldn’t see the land ahead.
58. It can be inferred from the text that_______.
A. weather has little effect on swimmers
B. knowing one’s goal is very important
C. Florence had great desire to break the men’s record
D. Florence was full of energy after two months’ rest
59. Which of the following is NOT true about Florence?
A. She didn’t know only a half mile left the first time.
B. She had long distant swimming experience before.
C. The TV audience felt unsatisfied because she quit on the half way.
D. It’s dangerous for her to swim across the Catalina Channel.
Win a trip to the OREGON COAST-Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. Build the biggest sand castle on the beach. Search tide pools for sea life. Watch the bright orange sunset over the ocean. Whether you’ve been to the Pacific Ocean before or have only closed your eyes and imagined it, we want to know how you would explore the Oregon Coast if you had the chance to go this summer.
JUDGING
1. Clear relationship between the Essay and the Drawing 40%
2. Creativity and skill in design and form of the Drawing 
40%
3. Expression of the passion to draw and explore 10%
4. Journalistic quality, tidy nature and overall quality of the Essay 10%
PRIZE
By entering, you will have the chance to win an all expense paid trip to the ORECON COAST. Activities will include: kite flying, studying beaut
iful sea creatures, searching for sea life in a boat, science exploration at a science center and roasting over a beach campfire.
Who may enter: The competition is 0pen to kids aged 6 - 14.
TERM : Entries(参赛作品) must be postmarked no later than July 31 ,2009.
How to enter
Surf travelogue. com/kids to download and print out an entry form.
Be sure to mark whether you have or have not been to the Pacific Ocean in山e form. Create a drawing of the Pacific Ocean on a piece of paper using a pen or paints.
Write an article of 100 words or less to explain why you want to go, what you think you would see and what you would explore if you have never been to the Pacific Ocean, or describe your favorite memories from your last visit.
Send to Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. NG1145 14th street NW. Washington D. C. 20036
72. What is the most important for the judging?
A. Whether your article is written in a neat way.
B. The article and the drawing should be closely related.
C. Whether you show your passion to draw and explore.
D. The skill in your drawing the map of the Atlantic Ocean.
73. If you win the competition, you may____
A. search the beach for sea plants
B. fly a kite on the beach
C. roast the sea creatures over a beach campfire
D. win an all expense paid trip to Washington D. C.
74. What information can you get from the passage?
A. Your article should be 8t least 100 words.
B. Every kid can rake part in the competition.
C. You must send the drawing before June 31, 2009.
D. Your entry form should be downloaded and printed out.
75. You can most probably read the passage in _ .
A．a textbook B．a travel guide
C．a newspaper D．a research book