Traveling by train is usually not easy in China. It can be hard to get a ticket. When you’re traveling to the railway station you look at your watch, afraid you will miss your train.
But there is good news for people traveling between Beijing and Shanghai. Construction (建设) on the express railway (高速铁路) between the two cities started just before the Spring Festival of 2008. When it is finished by 2013, taking a train will be as easy as taking a bus.
“There will be trains every several minutes. Buying a ticket, getting through the checkpoint (检查站) and taking your seat, will take just 10 minutes,” said an engineer.
There may be high-speed trains running at 350 kilometers an hour. The travel time between the two cities will decease from 10 to about 5 hours. The trains will carry twice the present number of passengers.
The new line will be 1,318 kilometers long and go across specially built bridges. It will run along side the present line. There will be 21 stations in Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu.
“The cost of traveling by the express railway may be around 800 yuan. That will be more expensive than an ordinary train, but cheaper than by air.” Said Zhang Xiaoling, a Jiangsu government official.
According to Zhang, the higher price is caused by the large cost of the railway project. At about 200 billion yuan, the project may be even more expensive than the Three Gorges Project (三峡工程).The express railway between Beijing and Shanghai will be finished _______.
| A．at the end of this year | B．before the Spring Festival of 2008 |
| C．after 2013 | D．in about 5 years |
Before taking your seat, you should _____ with your ticket.
| A．buy a ticket | B．get through the checkpoint |
| C．pack your things | D．make some friends |
The word “decrease” in the passage possibly means ______ in Chinese.
A. 延长 B. 缩短 D. 提速 D. 限速Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Traveling by train is usually difficult in China because tickets are too expensive.
B. The high-speed trains will have 21 stations in Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Hunan and Jiangsu.
C
. Tickets for the high-speed trains will be cheaper than those for planes.
D. The cost of the e
xpress railway project is as high as that of the Three Gorges Project. What
can be the best title of the passage?
| A．An enormous project. | B．Train tickets will get more expensive |
| C．Specially built bridges | D．Beijing—Shanghai express railway |
The Sixth Time I Went to the Principal's Office
When I was in the seventh grade，I had problems behaving．My heart was in the right place，but I couldn't always follow the rules．I played many tricks
on my schoolmates．Once，I even pulled a girl's hair on the school bus to get her attention．As a result，I was repeatedly sent to the office of the principal（校长）．Although I hated going there，I did not hate the principal，Mr．Ratcliff．
Mr．Ratcliff was a kind，elderly man．When he spanked（ 打屁股） me for putting some ants into a
classmate's pencil box，it didn't hurt at all，but it did hurt my feelings．I thought so much of him and
moments like that seemed to prove I was hopelessly bad．
When I got called to Mr．Ratcliff's office for the sixth time，I had no idea what I had done．I
felt disappointed as I walked down there．I went into his office，sat down，and looked at the floor．Then he said the last thing I expected to hear："Kevin，I've heard you've been behaving really well lately．I
want you to know how proud I am of you，and I just called you down to my office to give you a
peppermint．"
"Really？"I was surprised．
"Yes．Now you can take that peppermint and go back to class．"
I carried the peppermint with me as if it was a gold coin．When I got into my classroom，I bragged （ 吹嘘） to my classmates about my turnaround，excitedly．I wasn't so bad after all．
Mr．Ratcliff was really kind．He made me realize that I was just a kid who had problems with behavior．He bought some peppermints and took the time to notice me when I got something﹣anything﹣right．Mr．Ratcliff gave me some hope by giving me some love．I will just remember him for the rest of my life．
（1）In his seventh grade，the writer ．
A．hated the principal
B．had problems behaving
C．always followed the rules
D．often helped his classmates
（2）How did the writer feel when he went to the principal's office for the sixth time？
A．Lonely．
B．Excited．
C．Confident．
D．Disappointed．
（3）The sixth time the writer went to the principal's office，he got ．
A．a peppermint
B．a model bus
C．a pencil box
D．a coin
（4）The writer will always remember Mr．Ratcliff，because the principal ．
A．talked with him in the office
B．played games with him
C．expected him to be a teacher
D．gave him some hope and love．
Summer Programs at Museums
41．You can join in the programs at the Postal Museum any day ．
A．from July 17 to 23
B．from July 29﹣30
C．from August 7﹣20
D．from August 21 to 27
42．If you are interested in the program about video arts，you can phone ．
A.965﹣0400
B.654﹣0930
C.357﹣3030
D.272﹣0560
43．A 15﹣year﹣old student can take part in the programs at ．
A．the Building Museum
B．the Postal Museum
C．the Air and Space Museum
D．the Science Museum
44．In the Air and Space Museum，you can ．
A．create a stamp
B．build a house
C．make a paper airplane
D．explore a future city．
Long ago， Mother Nature gave each tree a different purpose． However， she did not share her sons with the trees．
Fir Tree（杉树） had many tree friends．In summer，they watched Bird and Squirrel（松鼠）play in the field．Then autumn arrived．The leaves on other trees turned colourful．Fir Tree's leaves stayed green．Fir Tree told Mother Nature that he wanted his leaves to change colours too．
"Be patient，" Mother Nature said． "You will learn your purpose．"
So Fir Tree waited．The temperature dropped． Bird flew south， and Squirrel was nowhere around．All the trees lost their leaves except Fir Tree． Soon it snowed．Fir Tree cried，"Why don't I change like my friends？"
"Be patient，" Mother Nature replied． " Soon you will get to know your purpose．"
Just then， Squirrel appeared．She was cold．She asked if she could build a warm home in branches（树枝）．Other trees said no because they had no leaves． But Fir Tree said yes． Squirrel ran up Fir Trees branches． Soon， she was warm， comfortable and asleep．
Fir Tree was happy that his green leaves provided a warm home for animals in winter． He finally understood his purpose．
（1）What did Fir Tree want to do in autumn？ （不超过10个词）
（2）Why did other trees say no to Squirrel？ （不超过10个词）
（3）What purpose did Fir Tree understand at last？ （不超过15个词）
The local people of La Gomera can carry on conversations by whistling（吹口哨） from far away． For face﹣to﹣face conversations，they Spanish．But when they need to speak over a distance（距离），they whistle．
La Gomera is a small island．This island is almost shaped like a circle．It is very mountainous．Walking from one place to another may be a slow and difficult job． That is why whistling is so useful to the local people． A message can easily be whistled over a couple of miles， while to travel that same distance on foot might take an hour．
A good whistler can be heard and understood five miles away．His whistling can be farther away when it is windless． It is said that the record is about nine miles．Anyone who a top whistler will agree that this record is quite possible．
A whistle travels farther than a shout， and is easier to understand． When a person shouts， he cannot pronounce his words well． But if a whistle is heard， it will be heard clearly
Whistling is popular at La Gomera， and many methods of whistling are used…
（1）How do people of La Gomera speak over a distance？
A． By shouting．
B． By whistling．
C． By travelling．
D． By recording．
（2）What can we know about La Gomera from Paragraph 2？
A． It is very mountainous．
B． It lies between two circles．
C． It is easy to travel there．
D． It is hard to find a job there．
（3）What helps a whistle travel farther？
A． A windless day．
B． A long distance．
C． A useful message．
D． A clear pronunciation．
（4）What will the writer talk about in the last paragraph？
A． Disadvantages of whistling．
B． Stories of a top whistler．
C． Different methods of whistling．
D． Examples of good whistlers．
Xiao Liuying is an old man living in a village near the Yangtze River． He used to be a fisherman． But now he is head of a voluntary（志愿的） team that cleans waste from the Yangtze river．
To protect finless porpoises（江豚） and the Yangtze River， the government has stopped people from fishing on the river．In 2019，Xiao Liuying formed the voluntary team with 12 other fishermen．Today the team has more than 50 members．All of them are over 60 years old． "We want to protect the river while we can，" said Xiao．
Every week， the team go along the river to collect waste and make sure no one is fishing on the river．Some of the waste they collect is sent to the disposalstation，while some that can be reused is sold．So far， they have cleaned over 50 tons of waste， Thanks to their hard work， the Yangtze River is getting clearer．
（1）How many members were there in the team when it was formed？
A．12．
B．13．
C．50．
D．62．
（2）What does the underlined word "disposal" in Paragraph 3 mean？
A．处理．
B．传播．
C．救护．
D．保养．
（3）What is the best title（标题） for the text？
A． Fishing on the Yangtze River．
B． Tons of Waste in the Yangtze River．
C． Reasons for Protecting the Yangtze River．
D． A Voluntary Team Protecting the Yangtze River．
