China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered. What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8,000 yuan | B．10,000 yuan | C．7,000 yuan | D．It’s not mentioned here |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
| D．There are more people who need houses in China. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it. |
| B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States |
| D．Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high
housing prices?
| A．Four | B．Three | C．Five | D．Two |
We know the famous ones — the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells— but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)？Shouldn’ t we know who they are?
Joan McLean thinks so. In fact, McLean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’ s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”， however, McLean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why”and“how”questions. According to McLean，“When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’ s statement.“If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’ s invention，”said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major，“I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so constructive.” Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy，but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’ t be a built-in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham，Alabama. Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever(操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It’ s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’ s traffic light. It’ s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’ s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?By mentioning “traffic light”and “windshield wiper”， the author indicates that countless inventions are________.
| A．beneficial, because their inventors are famous |
| B．beneficial, though their inventors are less famous |
| C．not useful, because their inventors are less famous |
| D．not useful, though their inventors are famous |
Professor Joan McLean’ s course aims to________.
| A．add colour and variety to students’ campus life |
| B．inform students of the windshield wiper’ s invention |
| C．carry out the requirements by Mountain University |
| D．prepare students to try their own inventions |
Tommy Lee’ s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was________.
| A．not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer |
| B．inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper |
| C．due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm |
| D．not related to Professor Joan McLean’ s lectures |
Which of the following can best serve as the title of this passage?
| A．How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers? |
| B．How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window? |
| C．Shouldn’ t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper? |
| D．Shouldn’ t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities? |
The CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs’ story about death
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”
Remembering that I’ ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ ve ever encountered（遇到）to help me make the big choice in life.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’code for preparing yourself to die.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another biopsy（活组织检查）and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’ m fine now.
This was the closest I’ ve been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
Your time is so limited that you shouldn’ t waste it repeating someone else’ s life. Don’ t be trapped by dogma（教条）—which is living with the results of other people’ s thinking. Don’ t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because_________.
| A．he had to rest at home |
| B．his disease was not serious at all |
| C．his disease couldn’ t be cured |
| D．he had to wait for the result of the test |
How did the author feel after the diagnosis?
| A．Angry | B．Excited | C．Optimistic | D．Hopeless |
What does the author think of death?
| A．He thinks it is nothing to be scared of. |
| B．He thinks it is not the end of life. |
| C．He thinks it is impossible to avoid. |
| D．He thinks it is the beginning of a new life |
In the author’ s opinion, we should ____________.
| A．follow others’ advice |
| B．take no notice of diseases |
| C．take exercise and keep healthy |
| D．have the courage to follow our heart |
Japan’ s nuclear crisis is also causing concerns in China. Worried shoppers rushed to stores and supermarkets in the country for salt, with the belief that it might protect them from potential nuclear radiation spreading from Japan.
Many rushed to buy to store as much iodized salt as possible because of the rumor that iodized salt could help prevent radiation poisoning spreading from Japan’ s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Consumers also worried that the nuclear plumes might spread to China by air and sea, polluting food sources, including salt taken from the sea.
The wave of panic buying spread quickly across the country, driving up salt prices by five to ten fold in some cities.
Even regions rich in salt production, like Jiangxi Province，faced sudden shortages.
The government took measures to guarantee enough supply and to stabilize（稳定）the market. It also dismissed the nuclear rumors, saying the nuclear fallout was unlikely to reach the country, and that salt did not help to prevent radiation poisoning.
Local authorities have stepped in to stabilize the market, too. As well, state-owned salt companies have been urged to increase their supply.
Facing expanding market demand, distribution centers have taken extra measures to ensure they are well-prepared.
Wang Yun, the General Manager of Beijing Salt Industry Corporation, said, “Our storage reserves can guarantee a two-month supply for the Beijing market.”People made panic purchases of salt for the reasons EXCEPT______________.
| A．salt might protect them from potential nuclear radiation |
| B．nuclear radiation might pollute food sources |
| C．nuclear radiation might pollute salt taken from the sea |
| D．there would be a shortage of salt on the market |
The underlined word “fold” in the third paragraph means _______.
| A．times | B．prices | C．quantities | D．means |
What measures did the government take for the panic buying?
| A．Enough salt would be offered to each house. |
| B．It admitted that salt could stop nuclear radiation. |
| C．Authorities urged state-owned salt companies to increase the supply. |
| D．Those who spread the rumor were all arrested and punished. |
What is the purpose of the writer to give the example of Beijing Salt Industry Corporation?
| A．To tell readers that there is a salt company in Beijing. |
| B．To make people believe that the supply of salt is enough. |
| C．To call on panic people to buy enough salt. |
| D．To prove what the government did was right. |
On the morning of November 18, 1755, an earthquake shock Boston. John Winthrop, a professor at Harvard College, felt the quake and awoke. “I rose”, Winthrop wrote, “and lighted a candle, looked at my watch, and found it to be 15minutes after four.” John Winthrop hurried downstairs to the grandfather clock. It had stopped three minutes before, at 4:12. Except for stopping the clock, the quake had only thrown a key from the mantel(壁炉台) to the floor.
The clock had stopped because Winthrop had put some long glass tubes he was using for an experiment into the case for safekeeping. The quake had knocked the tubes over and blocked the pendulum(钟摆).Winthrop, therefore, had the key on the floor. The quake had thrown it forward in the direction of the quake’ s motion by a shock coming from the northwest, perhaps in Canada.What does “it” in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．the floor | B．the key | C．the clock | D．the case |
The selection suggests that.
| A．earthquakes are common in Boston |
| B．John Winthrop was a scientist |
| C．John Winthrop often had difficulty in sleeping |
| D．Harvard College was a center for earthquake researching |
Professor Winthrop ran downstairs because he wanted to know what had happened to.
| A．the clock | B．his grandfather | C．the key | D．the glass tubes |
John Winthrop put some tubes into this clock case because.
| A．he wanted to do an experiment |
| B．he thought an earthquake was probably to happen soon |
| C．he thought it safe for them to be put there |
| D．he wanted to record the exam time of the earthquake |
The aims of the Illustrators’(插图画家的)Exhibition, staged as part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, organized by BolognaFiere and held from 23to 26 December 2011,are to bring illustrators and publishers together and to promote illustrators and their works among publishers.
QUALIFICATIONS
·Individual illustrators or groups of illustrators of any nationality, if they were born before 31st December 1992, whose artwork is intended foe use in children’s books, are qualified to enter the Exhibition, either directly or through publishing houses or schools.
·Please state in the application form whether you are entering work for the Fiction or Nonfiction Category. Illustrators may only enter one category.
·Artwork previously presented to the Exhibition may not be re-entered.
·The confirmation(确认) form must be filled in and a photograph attached, then presented together with illustrations no later than 15 October 2011.
SHIPMENT
Entries may be delivered by post, express delivery service or by hand. From abroad, please use the following forms: Form “A” for registered mail or post by air; Form “B” if using an international forwarding agent or airline.
To avoid delays, material should not be sent by normal post. Material should be sent “carriage (运费) paid”, including any customs and delivery costs.
BolognaFiere may not be held responsible for the non-arrival or late arrival of artwork. all published works must be accompanied by a declaration bearing the ISBN number, publisher’s name and address.
REQUIREMENTS
The illustrations(i.e. the size of the sheet)must not exceed(超过) the following dimensions:
Fiction:
32×42 cm( or 42 × 32 cm)
Non-fiction:
50 ×70 cm ( 70 × 50cm)
Illustrations in larger formats will not be considered, nor will they be returned by BolognaFiere. The illustrations must be on paper or flexible board, maximum thickness 2mm( for scanner separation purposes).
SELECTION PROCESS
All artwork received by the stated deadline and meeting the specified requirements will be examined and selected by an international group ( whose decision is final ), including five members ( from publishing house and art schools ) appointed each year by BolognaFiere.
EXHIBITIONS ABROAD
After the Bologna event, the Illustrators Exhibition will travel to Japan under the supervision of JBBY. The Illustrators Exhibition may afterwards be transferred to other venues in other countries. The exhibitions of illustrations held abroad follow the same rules and regulations as the Illustrators Exhibition, and the provisions (条款) of the regulations are extended to the organizers 
of the exhibitions held abroad.
RETURN OF ARTWORK
All the works will be returned to their owners by BolognaFiere or directly by the organizers of the exhibitions and held abroad by the end of July 2012.Which of the following of the Illustrators’ Exhibition is true?
| A．It will last five days in all in July every other year. |
| B．is intended for college students who are good at painting. |
| C．is held by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in BolognaFiere. |
D． can strengthen the relationship between illustrators and publishers. |
The illustrators of the Illustrators Exhibition __________.
| A．should be at least 16 and no more than 25 |
| B．may re-enter their artwork after it is returned |
| C．should state the category of their artwork clearly |
| D．may choose to attach a photo to the application form |
Which of the following is unacceptable for delivering entries?
| A．Normal post | B．Airline post | C．Registered mail | D．Express delivery |
What is BolognaFiere responsible for?
| A．Paying for the delivery costs | B．Late arrival of artwork |
| C．Confirmation of ISBN number | D．Returning the illustrators’works. |
The illustrators’works will not be considered if they ________.
| A．are received after the day of 15 October 2011 |
| B．are smaller than the required size |
| C．have already been published abroad before. |
| D．don’t meet the demands of the internationals experts. |