BEIJING, Feb 13 — Never has China’s economic growth attracted so much global attention. The shock waves from the financial crisis (危机) that started in the United States have spread across the entire world, sending developed nations, including Japan and those of Europe, into serious recession(衰退). The world is now holding out hope that China, with its massive potential, will serve as the engine to fuel global economic growth.
But China’s real economic growth slowed sharply to 6.8 percent in the October-December quarter. For China, this rate of economic expansion must be as disappointing as negative growth is for Japan. Beijing has set an official goal of achieving a minimum annual growth rate of 8 percent -- a pace it regards as important to ensuring job security.
The Chinese government is apparently confident the nation will achieve the minimum growth target of 8 percent in 2009. At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the Chinese economy began to show signs of recovery late last year.
Last week, however, the International Monetary Fund predicted that China’s economic growth in 2009 will be 6.7 percent. China’s economic outlook is likely to keep both hope and anxiety for the time being.
China’s impressive economic growth has been fueled by swelling exports and massive investment (投资)in equipment to produce goods for overseas. But the US, Japanese and European economies, which have absorbed the bulk(数量) of China’s exports, are expected to shrink simultaneous（同时）in 2009, for the first time since the end of World War II. For the first time since it started serious efforts to turn itself into a market economy in the 1990s, China is facing the challenge of maintaining healthy economic growth without depending on external demand.
Expansion of domestic (国内的) demand holds a key to China’s success in tackling this challenge. Consumer spending accounts for only 35 percent of China’s gross (总的)) domestic product. The ratio(比率) is considerably lower than the 70 percent for the United States and the nearly 60 percent for Japan. That is because the middle class - the group that should lead consumer spending - is still relatively small in China, where the benefits of the nation’s strong economic growth in recent years have mostly eluded rural villages and low-income earners.According to the report, in the last quarter of 2008, China’s real economic growth was at least ______less than planned annual growth rate.
| A．6.7% . | B．6.8% | C．1.3% | D．1.2% |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The financial crisis has had bad effects on many countries including China. |
| B．China’s economic growth has been depending on exports. |
| C．If China intends to keep the same economic growth, it must increase goods for overseas. |
| D．Consumer spending in China is much lower than that of the US. |
The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means____.
| A．benefited | B．avoided | C．influenced | D．missed |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Economic change, the only hope for china. |
| B．China has attracted much global attention. |
| C．China, the engine to fuel global economic growth. |
| D．The financial crisis has influenced China’s economy. |
E
Now that the recession（经济衰退）is most likely over, it’s time to start looking at which companies, institutions, and individuals developed well during this unpleasant period. In the downturn that began in December 2007, the recession ruined the wealthiest cconsumer markets—the united States, Europe, Japan—there were very few safe shelters. But some countries, such as Peru, managed to grow right through the global recession. And some companies arranged their business so that they resisted the contraction and benefited from the trends affecting their industry. Some even managed to bring more business.
Chief among the Great Recession’s winners is McDonald’s. McDonald’s sales growth in 2008 was greater than in 2006 and 2007. while many restaurants reduced their business operation, it opened nearly 600 stores in 2008. and the chain has achieved same-store sales growth in each of 2009’s first seven months.
In 2008, after a decade of severely trading up to higher quality consumer goods and services, Americans began to trade down with a vengeance（报复）. McDonald’s, which has 44 percent of its 32,000 stores in the United States, was set up to profit from trading down in two ways. Fist, in a recession, people eat out less and at home more frequently. And when they eat out, they eat at cheaper places. McDonald’s is so cheap, efficient, and convenient that it was a practical alternative to cas
ual restaurants like Ruby Tuesday.
In the United States, McDonald’s may be a cheap source of calories in food. In other parts of the world, McDonald’s is an appealing brand, identified with middle-class, westernized consumerism. Much of the world, such as China, India, is still not developed for the Golden Arches. Coincidentally, these are the right places where its business has continued to grow during the global recession. While it faces operational challenges in markets, McDonald’s has benefited form a weakening dollar and rising incomes in Asia.
The question now for investors（投资者）is whether McDonald’s can survive the recovery.
When people feel better-off, will they still stop by? The growth in same-store sales in the United States has come down a little in recent months. And there’s a rising amount of the population that has grown accustomed to eating healthier and better. Going forward, McDonald’s may face larger cultural barriers in the United States than in China.
72．From the passage we can infer that__________in the recession.
A．the developing countries grew wealthier
B．the rich countries became unable to recover 
C．the Western companies suffered a great loss
D．the opportunities were brought as well as challenges
73．McDonald’s managed to remain popular in the recession mainly because of .
A．its good operation B．the American food culture
C．its low price and convenience D．the weak value of dollars
74．The underlined word “contraction” in Paragraph I means.
A．formal written agreement B．influence on industry
C．disappointing management D．process of reduced trade
75．What can be the best title for this passage?
A．Who Won the Recession
B．Who Traded down in the Recession
C．How Western Business Survived the Recession
D．How McDonald’s Kept Growing after the Recession
D
For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain. Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?
Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices. Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home. The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound.
The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity. The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size. Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages. And you can connect it to your PC to download books.
Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain. For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15.19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16.19.
The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music. So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, they like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging. You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves.
The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material. Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today.
68．What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The age of the electronic book reader is coming
B. Printed books are out of date
C. The Sony reader meets many readers’ needs
D. The revolution in book readers
69．According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________.
A. is as light as a laptop computer B. can hold more than 200 books
C. is convenient to carry around D. cannot be connected to a PC
70．What is the author’s point when he mentions “Stone Cold”?
A. Amazon’s printed books are very cheap
B. “Stone Cold” can be got from the Sony site and Amazon
C. The Sony book reader is not very cheap to use
D. The Sony book reader can benefit its buyers a lot
71．According to the author, what’s the future for the electronic reading devices?
A. They’ll replace printed newspapers and magazines
B. They’ll still be more expensive than printed newspapers
C. They’ll become a must in people’s daily life
D. They’ll become more popular as time goes on
C
You can love them or hate them, but no matter which tourist destination you visit, chances are you’ll see someone
with their head buried in a Lonely Planet guidebook.
Lonely Planet is one of the world’s largest travel guide brands, publishing more than 500 different guides in eight languages. The popular brand also produces television shows, websites and podcasts(播客)all devoted to travel.
Some people praise Lonely Planet books because they make traveling easy and affordable. They also save time and make sure you don’t miss the best things.
They also provide the reviews of hostels(旅店), hotels, restaurants and ticket information about your destination.
This can be great if you’re a nervous traveler, or if you haven’t traveled by yourself before. If you’re in a country where you don’t speak the language, sometimes there’s nothing better than getting into a taxi and opening up a guidebook. You simply point to a map that directs the taxi driver to a hostel that’s cheap and clean, with friendly staff and cold beer.
But others criticize Lonely Planet and other travel guide publishers like them. They say guidebooks take the fun and spontaneity(自发性)out of traveling, and that part of the enjoyment of travel comes from the fact that anything can happen. They also regret that if you follow a guidebook, you’ll end up doing the same thing and having the same experience as everyone else. You might end up seeing the same group of people over and over, because everyone is reading the same book and following the same route.
Another criticism of travel guides is that they have a large impact on local communities. For example, some locals devote their lives to behaving in ways that attract tourists. They pretend to live a traditional lifestyle, wear traditional clothes and live in traditional houses in order to attract the tourist dollar.
64. The Lonely Planet guidebook can bring you the following advantages EXCEPT that __________.
A. you can speak a foreign language when opening a guidebook
B. you can easily find a nice place to stay in a strange city
C. it provides lots of useful information about your destination
D. it can help you save time and money when traveling
65. People criticize the guidebook because __________.
A. it is not as useful as most travelers expect
B. tourist destinations will be crowded if everyone follows the same route
C. travelers may not get the chance to have unexpected adventures
D. local people keep modern lifestyles under its influence
66. What do we know about the Lonely Planet guidebook from the text?
A. It’s a world-famous brand only producing guidebooks for travelers.
B. It’s very useful to a person who’s nervous about touring an unfamiliar place.
C. It’s very useful to a tourist who likes to repeat others’ experiences.
D. It is loved by all travelers because of the convenience it brings to travelers.
67. Which of the following best shows the structure of the text? (①—⑦ stand for Paragraph 1
—Paragraph 7 )
A. ① B. ① C. ① D. ①
② ②③ ④ ② ② ③
③④ ⑤⑥⑦ ⑤ ⑥⑦ ③④⑤ ⑥⑦ ④⑤ ⑥⑦
B
Bicycles are a great way to get around. They’re fun to ride, especially down hills. And, as you speed along the road, you might also think of ways in which you could improve your bike— make it safer, more efficient, or more comfortable. In fact, the two-wheeled machines make for some cool science projects.
This year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), held last May in Cleveland, featured（had）three bicycle projects from three countries. Like many of the other experiments presented at ISEF, the bike projects showed that some of the most interesting scientific research often begins by taking a closer look at things you care about.
Renato Angulo Chu had even grander ambitions. The 12th-grader from Lima, Peru, wanted to address some of his country's economic troubles.
"I see a problem in my country," Renato said. "If you go to the forests in Peru, in some places you cannot find electricity. If you go with my bicycle, you can turn on the lights."
Renato, 16, spent 3 years designing his special Multibike. The device looks like a fixed exercise bike. It has wires fixed along the frame and a blender strapped(fastened) to the back. Turning the pedals operates the blender. The same principle can be used to sharpen knives or sweep city streets.
The Multibike can work either as a fixed bike or as a bicycle able to travel city streets and country roads. It's made from inexpensive materials, and the user gets exercise while pedaling to operate a machine.
"You pedal the bike, and you can mix any drink you want," Renato said. More importantly, he added, the same concept could be used to bring light to houses in remote regions of the rainforest.
60. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Bicycles are the best way to go about
B. Bikes should be made more comfortable to ride.
C. You can improve your bicycle for science research.
D. Many inventions are connected with the bicycle.
61. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. ISEF is an exhibiton displaying bicycle experiments designed by students.
B. Looking closely at things you are concerned about can lead to scientific research.
C. Renato’s improvement of the bicycle has solved the country’s great problem.
D. Renato’s special bicycle will soon be put into use in remote areas.’
62. The underlined word “address” in the third paragraph probably has the same meaning as _______.
A. make address written B. give up C. work at D. speak at
63. It can be inferred that Renato’s special bicycle is mainly designed for ________.
A. distant areas in the rainforest without electricity.
B. the use of his own family to make life easier.
C. the competition of ISEF to win money to support remote rainforests
D. enough exercise by pedaling it
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，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
Prisoner Mitchell King had a visitor— his wife. King was serving a six-year prison term in Auckland, New Zealand for armed robbery. But his wife didn’t want to be away from him for that long. So they held hands and they stuck. She’s rubbed her palms with super glue.
Their new-found closeness was short-lived. And their separation painful. Her technique is not one I'd recommend(introduce) for a closer relationship.
But if you want more closeness; if you desire relationships that are deeper and broader, more meaningful and longer-lasting, then remember the word "TRAVEL."
T is for TRUST. Trust is the glue that holds people together (not Super Glue). A relationship will go nowhere without it.
R is for RESPECT. "Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they are dead; speak them rather now instead," writes Anna Cummins. It's about respecting others and letting them know that you value them.
A is for AFFECTION. Sometimes affection means love. Sometimes it means a touch. Always it means kindness.
V is for VULNERABILITY(harm). Though we may feel afraid to let another too close, no relationship will go anywhere without risking vulnerability. Entrepreneur Jim Rohn says, "The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy." And the love.
E is for EMOTIONAL INTIMACY(亲密). Learn to be open. Learn to communicate freely. What kinds of relationships you make are largely determined by how openly you have learned to communicate.
L is for LAUGHTER. Victor Borge got it right when he said, "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." It's also the most enjoyable.
For relationships that can really go somewhere, just remember the word "TRAVEL." Then enjoy the trip!
56．The author intends to _________ by showing us the example in Paragraph One.
A. condemn the wife for her silly behavior
B. introduce new ways for closer relationships
C. tell us King and his wife would never be separated
D. encourage us to follow the wife’s technique
57．The underlined word “it” in Paragraph Four refers to?
A. Trust. B. Glue. C. Closeness. D. TRAVEL
58．Which of the following agrees with what Jim Rohn says?
A. Walls should be built to keep out the sadness.
B. It’s unnecessary to avoid vulnerability for closer relationships.
C. Love will be kept out if you let another too close.
D. We shouldn’t let another too close because of vulnerability.
59．What does Victor Borge really mean by his word in the ninth paragraph?
A. Laughter will keep the shortest distance.
B. Laughter will make a closer relationship.
C. No relationship will go without laughter.
D. Laughter is necessary to make friends.