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 |
Hello, everyone. Because of the high rate of school violence(暴力) in some areas, teenagers’ safety becomes a serious problem. We are planning to set up an organization named School Watch to make sure that students have a safe school environment. Please be part of our plan!
What is School Watch?
School Watch is a volunteer project in our school. It helps us stop violence and improve the quality of school life. It will keep yourself and your schoolmates safe. The other members of School Watch care for you and your classroom, and you do the same for them.
Is it for everyone?
Anybody can become a member of School Watch because everyone has something to offer.
What else can it do?
School Watch makes it possible for us not only to help each other but also to make friends with each other. Some members may offer to help the schoolmates who have problems with their homework.
Who is the School Watch?
Our school will look for the School Watcher and give him or her lots of prizes. You could be the one!
How do you start?
To be part of this plan, the only thing you need to do is to talk to the director of the plan in your grade. You can check the official website at www.schoolwatch.com if you want to get more information.The members of School Watch are probably_______.
| A．teenagers | B．doctors |
| C．parents | D．policemen |
Anyone can become a member of School Watch because _______.
| A．everyone may have problems |
| B．everyone can give help to others |
| C．everyone doesn’t go to school |
| D．everyone isn’t busy |
The best School Watcher will get a lot of prizes from _______ every year.
| A．the website | B．the school |
| C．the parents | D．the director |
If you want to become a member of School Watch, you should _______.
| A．check the website |
| B．talk to the director of the plan in your grade |
| C．be good at school work |
| D．go to the police |
Hundreds of years ago，a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots，a brave people，loved their country very much. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland，but there were too many Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.
One night，the leader of Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill. “We will rest here tonight，my men,”he said. “Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win or we will die.”
They were all very tired，so they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty，but they，too，were very tired，and one by one，also fell asleep.
The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they climbed up the hillside，taking care not to make a sound. Closer and closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more，the war would be over. Suddenly，one of them put his foot on a thistle(蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a moment，they were on their feet and ready for battle. The fighting was hard but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved their country.
The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people like it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.
| A．Roman army and North England |
| B．Roman army and the Scots |
| C．England and Scots |
| D．a brave people and the Scots |
| A．the Scots were not brave |
| B．the Roman army was so strong |
| C．the Scots did not have a good leader |
| D．the Romans had the support from the Scottish |
| A．they were sure to win |
| B．they couldn't escape from death |
| C．they would win and then they would die |
| D．they must try hard to win，otherwise they would be killed |
| A．they didn't want to wake the Scots |
| B．they wanted to reach the top |
| C．they wanted to catch the four guards first |
| D．they were afraid of the sharp needles of the thistle |
| A．it is a beautiful plant |
| B．it is fresh and lovely |
| C．it had so many sharp needles all over it |
| D．it was the thistle that helped the Scots to win the battle |
Dream culture is an important part of ancient Chinese culture. Dream interpreting（理解）is popular in China, and the most famous reference for dream interpreting is the book of Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams.
Ancient Chinese people thought that dreams could suggest lucky and unlucky things. Since different dreams have different meanings, people can get meanings of good or bad luck by interpreting them. Actually, dream interpreting is not totally a superstition. It does have some scientific value.
● Dreams are the reflection of the facts. Many dreams are actually something about what happened in the daytime. This kind of dream can be easily understood without dream interpreting.
● Dreams are the body’s self-implication (自我暗示). Traditional Chinese medical science says that dreams are connected with the health condition of humans’ bodies. When Yin and Yang are imbalanced, dreams come into being. If someone dreamt that he or she was roasted by a big fire, it shows he or she might easily get angry or nervous.
● Dreams are usually different from the facts. It means that things will develop in the opposite direction when they become worse.
To some degree, Duke of Zhou Interprets dreams is scientifically reasonable. Over thousands of years has passed, the book still has many secrets waiting for us to explore.
| A．is important in ancient Chinese culture |
| B．is unimportant in foreign culture |
| C．has no scientific value |
| D．is something about God |
| A．were very popular |
| B．could suggest lucky and unlucky things |
| C．couldn’t be interpreted |
| D．were always different from the facts |
| A．科学 | B．预兆 | C．梦魇 | D．迷信 |
| A．excited | B．relaxed | C．nervous | D．bored |
| A．Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams is a book about dream interpreting. |
| B．When Yin and Yang are not balanced, you dream easily. |
| C．Dreams sometimes are the opposite of the facts. |
| D．There are no secrets in the book Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams |
阅读理解(每小题1分,共15分)阅读下列内容，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。
It is true that people with better education are usually able to get better paying jobs. In other words, they have more chances to choose a good job while people with little or no education don’t. It seems that the purpose of education is to make people get jobs. But this isn’t accepted by all people.
Some people may think that a person should spend the best years of his life getting education only for a way of living. This was probably one of the earliest reasons of education. In fact, if education is just a way of making a living. People don’t need to spend so much time in school. People can get education for a living in a short time. Subjects like history and geography need not be taught to everyone. Even language and mathematics need not be taught in detail (详细地), either. Here it is clear that education is much more than teaching a man to get a way of living.
Education is well-rounded and it is mainly for improving a man. It is not only to teach him to speak, read and write, but also to develop his creative thinking and other abilities. After that, it is to make him a wise man and thankfully enjoy the achievements of human. Education is to make a man lead a better life. Educated people are expected to be able to listen to good music, read good books, watch plays and most of all take an interest in the world.
I would agree that making a good living is an important reason for education, but certainly not the most important or the main reason.
| A．spend a long time in school |
| B．have a good chance to get a job |
| C．spend the best years to choose jobs |
| D．have fewer chances to get a good job |
| A．make a man lead a better life |
| B．teach a man to write and think |
| C．make people get a way of living |
| D．teach people to read good books |
| A．圆满的 | B．崭新的 | C．公平的 | D．全面的 |
| A．accepted education as a way of living |
| B．take an interest in the world |
| C．develop their abilities to make plays |
| D．learn subjects like language and math |
| A．education is mainly for improving a man |
| B．people can get education in a short time |
| C．people should be able to get better paying jobs |
| D．all subjects are so important for a way of living |
At the beginning of last century, there was a farm near Los Angeles in California. It was called Hollywood Ranch(大牧场). However, from the 1910s to the 1950s, Hollywood became the film centre of the world. Why did people go to Hollywood to make films? The reason was the sun. At first people made films in New York on the east coast of the USA. But then they heard about Los Angeles. There are 350 days of sun every year. As they made all the films by sunlight, the west land by the sea was much better place to work in. In addition(而且), near Hollywood you can also find the mountains, the sea and the forest. They did not have to travel far to make any kind of films.
The first films were just pictures without sound. Today we still watch this kind of plays by Charles Chaplin. In the late 1920s, films started to “talk”. You could hear the people speaking and listen to the music.
Today television become more and more popular, and some busy modern people no longer go to the cinema. However, film producers are still making films in Hollywood and many film lovers all over the world enjoy watching themHollywood is on the ______ coast of the USA.
A.east B. west C. north D. southHollywood became very famous in the film industry______.
| A．in the early 19th century |
| B．in the late 19th century |
| C．in the early 20th century |
| D．in the late 20th century |
Why did people decide to make films in Hollywood?
| A．Because they don’t need to travel far |
| B．Because there was a big ranch |
| C．Because of its nice weather and beautiful scenes. |
| D．Because there were lots of film producers. |
What were the first films like ?
| A．They were just pictures with music. |
| B．You could watch nobody but hear the voice. |
| C．You could hear the people speaking and listen to the music. |
| D．You could see the pictures but couldn’t hear them talk. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．People don’t go to Hollywood any more. |
| B．Many film producers still make films in Hollywood. |
| C．Many film lovers all over the world go to the cinema in Hollywood. |
| D．People don’t like the Hollywood films any more. |