认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格只填一个单词。
Ticket tax fuels Indian cinema strike
Cinemas in Mumbai, Bollywood’s homeland are striking against high taxes on ticket sales.
Owners of Mumbai’s single-screen theatres will keep their shutters (百叶窗) down until Friday to protest about taxes, which they say are driving them out of business.
More than a third of single-screen cinemas in the state of Maharashtra have closed down in the last five years. According to the Cinema and Exhibitors Association of India, just 700 are still in operation. The association blames the closing down on Maharashtra’s high rate of entertainment tax. Its president, R V Vidhani, says that cinemas must pay a tax for every ticket sold, which is 45%, and this makes it hard to break even. It’s the highest of all states across India. The majority of the states in India pay zero entertainment tax. Mr Vidhani says his members had decided to go ahead with a one-week closure after getting no response from the state government on the matter.
It is not just a high tax rate contributing to the shrinking（收缩）number of traditional cinemas, however. Large costs and declining box office takings also make times tougher.
Mr Vidhani has run the New Excelsior Theatre in South Mumbai since 1974. Last week a screening of Bollywood movie Tanu Weds Manu sold just 71 tickets despite a capacity of more than 1,000. Whether it’s a full house or an empty screening, running costs are more or less the same. “Air conditioning, regular business — every expenditure (支出) is the same, but the income has stopped.”
The cricket (板球) World Cup is not helping matters, according to Mr Vidhani. “The World Cup is creating the biggest problem,” he says. “These people are crazy so far as the cricket is concerned. When India is playing, occupancy in the theatre is just 15%.”
Mumbai’s city centre is dotted with empty cinemas.
So after remaining empty for six years, the Novelty theatre is perhaps more fortunate than its neighbours: it is to be reborn as a four-screen multiplex cinema.
Over the last decade the number of multiplexes in India has risen sharply. Despite higher ticket prices, with more choice on offer and typically newer facilities they pose fierce competition to the traditional single-screen theatres.
“Competition from the multiplexes is really tough,” Mr Vidhani says. “Then there is competition from the movie window being narrow. Movies are being released much quicker on television than they used to be so people can pretty much watch movies for free at home.
“With rising incomes, everyone’s going out and buying DVD players or VCD players. Content is available for the asking whether it is official or pirated(盗版).”
Unless single-screen theatres can become special destinations in their own right, while also offering up-to-date facilities, Jehil Thakkar thinks the decline is a trend that will continue, especially as multiplex cinemas spread to smaller towns.
“They are large corporate chains,” he says. “They have the ability to spend money on branding and advertising, so to a large extent the small cinema guys are fighting a losing battle.”
Ticket tax fuels Indian cinema strike
| The current (1) ▲ of cinema business in Mumbai |
● Many single-screen cinemas are (2) ▲ . |
| The causes of the closing down of cinemas |
Cinemas in Mumbai have to pay a tax (3) ▲ than any other places in India. It costs a lot to (4) ▲ a cinema whether it’s a full house or an empty screening. The occupancy is (5) ▲ by people’s enthusiasm for cricket. Single-screen cinemas are (6) ▲ with competition from multiplex cinemas, which offer more choices and (7)▲ facilities. A quicker release of movies on television is to (8) ▲ . People prefer to watch DVD or VCD rather than go to the cinema. |
| The (9) ▲ of single-screen cinemas |
The trend of decline will continue. Single-screen cinemas are certain to (10) ▲ the battle. |
根据对话内容。从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有两项为多余选项。
A: ___61___?
B: I'm writing a letter.
A: But you don't often write . ___62___?
B: I'm writing to my aunt.
A: ___63___?
B: Just to thank her for giving me the birthday present.
A: But___64___.
B: No , she hasn't sent me anything th
is year. I'm writing to thank her for last year's present.
A : Do you think she will understand you?
B : Of course ,my letter will help her remember___65___
A : So you ' re expecting another present from her.
| A．What do you want to tell her |
| B．that my birthday is coming soon |
| C．How are you |
| D．What are you doing |
E .she hasn't sent you a present this year
F .She is not only my aunt but my friend as well
G . Who are you writing to
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中，选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Last month, students from one hundred and three universities in eighty-eight countries took part in an international computer programming contest. The Battle of the Brains took place in Harbin, China. 71
Jerry Cain, coach of Stanford University Team, California, says “One of the programming problems was trying to figure out how to break an arbitrary chocolate bar into a certain number of pieces of a certain number of sizes and to do it as quickly as possible. 72 ”
The students first listed the problems in order of difficulty. 73 They designed ways to test their solutions. And they wrote needed software systems. Even the winning team form Shanhai Jiaotong University in China was not able to solve all the problems within the given time limit. Stanford’s team solved five problems and finished in 14th place. Stanford was one of twenty-one American universities that took part in the contest this year.
74 It began in 1970 at Texas A and M University. The contest quickly became popular in the United States and Canada. It developed and grew as more and more schools took part in local and area contests.
The first final competition was held in 1977 at the Association for Computer Machinery Computer Science Conference. Today, a network of universities holds area competitions that send the winners to the world finals, now organized by IBM. Contest spokesman Doug Heintzman says the world champions receive prizes and scholarships. 75
| A．The competitors show great interest in IBM. |
| B．Then they figured out the requirements of each. |
| C．And that’s probably the simplest of all of them. |
| D．This competition is an opportunity to be recognized by famous universities from the world. |
E．Three-person teams from each school had five hours to solve eleven real world problems.
F．The official name of the Battle of the Brains is the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest.
G．They are also guaranteed and offer of employment with IBM.
Directions: Read the follow
ing text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
E.Record your dreams |
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cious, a way of tapping your inner self. Keep a note pad and pen by your bedside, and a
s soon as you wake, note down whatever snatches of dreams you can recall. Dreams can solve your problems, give you advice, reveal your true feelings, and be a source of inspiration.
|
81.
What are you aware of right now? Look at a familiar object in the room as if seeing it for the first time —explore it with your eyes. Next, listen intently to any sounds you can hear. What can you smell and taste at this moment? Touch whatever is within reach, run your hand over and around it —how does it feel? During the next few weeks activate all your senses. Visit an art gallery, walk in a pine forest, luxuriate in a second bubble bath, go to a concert, swim, have a massage. Try to experience it all as if it were totally new to you.
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82.
If you’re right-handed, develop the skills of your left hand or vice versa —allow it to draw something, switch TV channels or drink a cup of tea. Try this exercise: write a list of ten adjectives which characterize your personality using the hand you usually write with. A few days later, repeat the exercise writing with the other hand. Then compare the two lists. You might be surprised at the secrets of your inner self! For example, on the first list you might have written that you’re “witty”, but the second list might say “suspicious”. Then try a similar exercise, making two lists of “ What I would most like to do”.
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83.
Have you ever longed to paint portraits or watercolors, write a novel, draw cartoons, compose a song, design your own clothes, set up a business or landscape your garden? If so, why not start now? Yes, you might discover that your fast efforts are laughable —but try, try again. With a few notable exceptions such as Mozart, most people haven’t developed their creative talents through sheer hard work. Don’t kid yourself that you haven’t any spare time. It’s a question of making time, of seeing your talents as important enough to devote a few hours to each week. Who knows —you might be the next Laura Ashley or Agatha Christie?
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84.
Forget about being told off for daydreaming at school. Daydreaming is good for you! Whether it’s a purely fantasy, or a dream about how life might be in the future, only the right-brain has visions of this kind. Creative visualization, vividly imagining whatever you desire as if it has already happened —and really believing in it, is said to be a powerful way of getting what you want. Many top sports people imagine themselves playing and winning —and it seems to work.Direction: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest words.
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)
From Buckingham Palace to Oxford, the UK is loaded with wonderful icons(标志) of past eras. But it has also modernized with confidence. It’s now better known for vibrant(充满活力的) cities with great nightlife and a
ttraction. Fashions, fine dining, clubbing, shopping — the UK is among the world’s best.
Most people have strong preconceptions about the British. But if you’re one of these people, you’d be wise to abandon those ideas. Visit a nightclub in one of the big cities, a football match, or a good local pub and you might more readily describe the English people as humorous and hospitable. It’s certainly true that no other country in the world has more bird-watchers, sports supporters, pet owners and gardeners than the UK.
Getting around England is pretty easy. Budget airlines like Easyjet and Rynnair fly domestically. Trains can deliver you very efficiently from one major city to another. Long distance express buses are called coaches. Where coaches and buses run on the same route, coaches are more expensive (though quicker) than buses. London’s famous black cabs are excellent but expensive. Minicabs are cheaper competitors, with freelance (个体的) drivers. But usually you need to give a call first. London’s underground is called the Tube. It’s very convenient and can get you to almost any part of the city.
The UK is not famous for its food. But you still need to know some of the traditional English foods. The most famous must be fish and chips. The fish and chips are deep fried in flour. English breakfast is something you need to try. It is fried bacon, with toast and a pot of tea. Other things like shepherd’s pie and Yorkshire pudding are also well-known as a part of English food culture.
Pubbing and Clubbing are the main forms of English nightlife, especially for the young. Pubbing means going to a pub with friends, having drinks, and chatting. Clubbing is different from pubbing and includes going to a place of music, or a bar, or any other place to gather with friends. Clubbing can be found everywhere. Usually there is some kind of dress code for clubbing, such as no jeans, no sportswear, while pubbing is much more casual.If you are involved in the real life of local residents, you may find them ______________________________.
How many kinds of transportation forms are mentioned in the third paragraph? Give examples (at least four).
_____________________________________________________________.When you go clubbing in the UK, you should not ______________________________.
What aspects are introduced about UK according to the passage?
_____________________________________________________________.
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
|
E. stressed |
||||
| F. surprisingly |
G. impressed |
H. questions |
I. cooperation |
J. increasingly |
Barack Obama has been a hit in China. Apart from holding talks with Chinese leaders, the president ___41___ the Chinese with a lively question-and-answer session with college students. In fact, he is the first U.S. president to visit China inside his first year in office.
“The United States insists we do not seek to contain China’s rise,” he told Chinese students in Shanghai. “On the contrary, we welcome China as a strong and ___42___ and successful member of the community of nations.”
The U.S.-China relationship has opened the door to partnerships on ___43 ___ global concerns including economic recovery, clean energy, climate change, and the ___44___ of peace and beyond, he added.
Indeed, given these pressing issues, China and the United States have ___45___ found their future linked together. They discovered that the largest developing nation and the most powerful industrialized country have to work in concert.
Obama’s visit to China on November 15-18 highlighted the complexity of arguably the most important bilateral (双边) relationship in the world. Moreover, for all their differences and disagreements, Beijing and Washington are ___46___ to manage their relations in a way that will contribute to world peace and development.
Obama kicked off his first state visit to China in the country’s financial and economic centre, Shanghai, where he held a “town hall” meeting with more than 500 Chinese students. The one-hour discussion, during which Obama took ___47___ ranging from antiterrorism to recipes for success with his signature charisma (领袖魅力), was broadcast live on the websites.
He ___48___ that young people could help build bridges in U.S.-China ___49___ — a process that he said must grow beyond the two countries’ governments to take root in the people.