China's long-awaited rules on school bus safety finally came into force on Tuesday, including a list of ways aimed at reducing the risk of accident.
Among the biggest changes is that buses carrying students will be given priority(优先权) in traffic, while companies and drivers will need licenses to offer school transport services.
Officials have spent more than four months making the rules, during which time the country has been shocked by several big crashes because of overcrowded school buses.
The latest accident happened on Monday in Yangchun, Guangdong province, in which three kindergarten pupils were killed and 14 others injured.
Rules and funding
In the new rules, a school bus is considered as a vehicle with more than seven seats that is transporting children receiving the State's nine-year compulsory education (ages 6 to 15) to or from school. This can also be for preschoolers(学龄前儿童) if a parent is unable to take them to or from kindergarten（幼儿园）.
School buses must also operate in routes marked in the map by governments to ensure safety.
Punishment
Companies and bus drivers who fail to meet the rules face the punishment.
Drivers against the rules will be fined 200 yuan ($32) and vehicles will be taken away from its owner if they have been used as an unlicensed school bus.New safety rules for school buses can ________.
| A．make the students have a school bus |
| B．make fewer accident |
| C．make the school bus bigger |
| D．punish the parents |
The accident happened usually because ________.
| A．there were more students than there should be in the bus |
| B．the road is not wide enough |
| C．there were not any rule at first |
| D．companies and drivers faced no punishment |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．When a truck and a school bus meet, the school bus can go first. |
| B．The students (ages 3—5) mustn’t take school bus according to the rules. |
| C．Those who break the rules will be fined two hundred yuan. |
| D．The school bus has at least 7 seats. |
The passage mainly talks about ________.
| A．the accident in Guangdong |
| B．the school bus safety rules |
| C．how to punish the drivers |
| D．what a school bus is like |
A school bus must go _______.
| A．different ways every day |
| B．after other buses |
| C．with all the students |
| D．the same way all the days |
When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest. The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled(毁坏) them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.
He talked about how watering trees made for shallow(浅的) roots(根), and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak(橡树)and instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.
Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray (祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down. We know from the passage, the doctor______.
| A．didn't know how to plant trees at all |
| B．wasn't good at his own medical job |
| C．had his own ways of planting trees |
| D．had nothing to do but plant trees |
When Dr. Gibbs said "... pick out the weaker trees early on.", he meant that______.
| A．some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning |
| B．he would choose the weak trees to water earlier |
| C．the weak trees would be sent to his patients later |
| D．he would not plant weak trees so early anymore |
The passage tells us that the writer。
| A．should beat his trees with a rolled-up newspaper |
| B．didn’t often water his trees |
| C．didn’t have a large field |
| D．took too much care of his trees |
The writer wants to change his prayer,hoping that.
| A．his trees will be stronger than Dr.Gibbs′ |
| B．his trees will not be beaten down |
| C．his sons will be better at planting trees |
| D．his sons will be able to face difficulties |
Which can be the best title of the reading?
| A．Watering Trees | B．Growing Roots |
| C．Doctor and his Neighbor | D．Father and his Children |
Parking has been a problem for drivers for a long time in Taizhou. The Transportation Department(交通部门) is mapping out a new plan for the city’s parking system. There are about 100 thousand cars on the road inTaizhou but only enough parking space to provide room for 15 percent of these vehicles. It is no wonder that local drivers get so worried trying to find a place to park.
The number of the private(私人的) car owners is becoming lager and larger. In March, the city sent out 1,000 private car licenses, the highest number of licenses ever sent out in a month. And prices rose to over 200 yuan, 500 more than in February. Industry experts(专家) say this suggests that local people have a strong, active interest in buying cars.
By the year 2020, the number of cars in Taizhou will probably reach 200 thousand. If one parking lot（停车场） is for each car, then a lot of parking space should be built for these vehicles. The center of Taizhou is most short of parking space. However, experts point out that simply building more parking lots in these areas is not practical and doesn’t solve the problem. The idea of “ Park & Ride” system has been suggested. This means that underground train and city train should be developed quickly. Drivers can leave their vehicles in car parks nearby subway(地铁) and bus stations and then they can ride public transport to go to the city center. Based on this idea, the city will cut down the number of parking lots in the city center and need higher parking fees(费用). But it will build more parking areas near main subway and bus stops. The underlined phrase “ mapping out ” in the first paragraph means _____.
| A．making | B．arguing | C．replying | D．comparing |
About _____ drivers can find places to park their cars in Taizhou now.
| A．8,500 | B．10,000 | C．15,000 | D．20,000 |
What can we infer from the second paragraph?
| A．The city sent out more private licenses in February. |
| B．Less and less people bought cars in March. |
| C．The city sent out less private licenses in March. |
| D．More and more people are going to buy cars. |
According to the idea of a “ Park & Ride ” system, the city will _____.
| A．send out more private car licenses |
| B．build more parking lots near bus stops |
| C．encourage people to buy more cars |
| D．build more parking areas in the city center |
This passage is mainly about_____.
| A．parking problems |
| B．heavy traffic |
| C．pollution in Taizhou |
| D．building more parking lots in the city center |
In China，people born in and after the 1980s are called the post-80s generation(一代人)．Most of them come from single-child families. However，this generation is playing a more and more important part in China，and their image in people’s minds is changing．Han Han,a popular youth writer,is one of them．
Han Han was born in 1982 in Shanghai．His talent for writing was clear at an early age．When he was 17,he drew the public’s attention with the article Viewing the People through the Glass. The article won first prize in the national New Concept Composition Competition．Later，Han Han again surprised the public by leaving high school. “I did poorly in Grade One of high school and failed to move up to the next grade. I tried my best to improve my studies，but failed ,so I gave up. However ,I am always learning, since learning and going to school are two different things.” Han Han said.
Han Han’s first novel Three Folded Gates sold very well in China．Later the book wastranslated(翻译)into several languages and sold abroad．
In the following years,Han Han wrote a lot of books. All of them were welcomed by the market．In 2006，he started blogging(写博客)and had great success. Today，Han Han’s blog has become one of the honest blogs on the Internet．The post-80s generation__________．
| A．have changed China’s image |
| B．are playing an important role in China |
| C．are very good at writing |
| D．are people who are more than 80 years old |
What can we learn from Han Han’s words in the second paragraph?
| A．He was good in all his subjects． |
| B．He never studied hard at school． |
| C．His school life was interesting and colourful |
| D．He didn’t stop learning after he left school． |
When did Han Han begin to write a blog?
| A．When he was seventeen. | B．When he was fourteen |
| C．When he was twenty | D．When he was twenty-four. |
Which of the following is TRUE,according to the passage?
| A．Three Folded Gates was only sold in China. |
| B．Nobody was surprised that Han Han left high school. |
| C．Han Han was not liked by the post-80s generation. |
| D．Han Han’s blog is very popular on the Internet. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The post-80s generation. |
| B．Han Han,a popular post-80s writer. |
| C．Blogging on the Intemet. |
| D．Popular books written by Han Han. |
Best Sellers(畅销书) of the Week
The New York Times
| This Week |
Title / Writer / Price / Story |
Weeks on List（上榜周数） |
| 1 |
The Forgotten Garden,by Kate Morton. $15.85. From England to Australia and back, two women try to solve a family problem. |
18 |
| 2 |
The Help, by Helen Scott. $22.95. A young white man helps two black boys. |
58 |
| 3 |
Spoken From the Heart, by Laura Bush. $30.00. Wife of U.S. President George W. Bush tells the stories of being the first lady. |
24 |
| 4 |
Best Friends Forever, by Carol Brown. $19.95. Childhood friends meet again years later when one needs help. |
6 |
| 5 |
Run For Your Life, by James Clark. $27.85. A New York policeman alone must stop a bad man killing people. |
10 |
The information about the Best Sellers of the Week is provided by __________.
| A．China Daily | B．21st Century | C．The New York Times | D．Washington Post |
The book which has stayed on the list for the longest time is __________.
| A．The Forgotten Garden | B．The Help |
| C．Spoken From the Heart | D．Best Friends Forever |
Nancy wants to buy the top three books on the list this week.She has to pay.
| A．＄68.80 | B．＄70.75 | C．＄77.80 | D．＄80.80 |
David likes to read detective stories,so he can try.
| A．The Forgotten Garden | B．The Help |
| C．Best Friends Forever | D．Run For Your Life |
Sarah is interested in the family life of American President.She can choose the book written by.
| A．Kate Morton | B．Helen Scott | C．Laura Bush | D．Carol Brown |
After a long day’s study at school, you are very tired. So after school you go home to relax. When you get home, a robot greets you. He’s happy to see you and helps you take your school things to your room. He listens to you talk about your school life and tells you a new joke. And he tells you to call your cousin and to say happy birthday. And then he helps you with your homework.
This is your future, and the robot’s name is NAO. NAO has a small body, big eyes and a large head. He can walk and dance. He listens and talks, and he even learns and thinks for himself. His creators (创造者) predict that the robot will be in people’s homes before 2040.
This $16,000 robot knows who you are. NAO can even express emotions (表达情感). He is a self-guided robot. A self-guided robot can sense (感觉), think and act. Other robots might do two out of the three. For example, a robot might sense things using cameras and think using computers, but with no arms, he can’t act. Another robot can move and sense things, but he can’t think for himself. These aren’t self-guided robots. But NAO can do them all.The underlined word “greets” means “” in Chinese.
| A．讨厌 | B．击败 | C．迎接 | D．仰慕 |
The robot tells you to to your cousin.
| A．say happy birthday | B．dance | C．send a birthday gift | D．write |
What does NAO look like?
| A．He has a large body with a large head. |
| B．He has big eyes and a large head. |
| C．He has small eyes and a small head. |
| D．He has a small body with a small head. |
When might people have robots like NAO in their homes?
| A．In 2020. | B．In about 15 years. | C．In 2030. | D．In about 30 years. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．NAO isn’t a self-guided robot. |
| B．NAO can’t help kids with their homework. |
| C．NAO is more than fifteen thousand dollars. |
| D．NAO can move and sense, but he can’t think. |