Imagine, one day, getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours, and then, after a full day of work, going back home to Beijing and having dinner there.
Sounds unusual, doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic, with the development of China’s high—speed railway system. And that’s not all. China has an even greater high-speed railway plan—to connect the country with Southeast Asia, and eventually Eastern Europe.
China is negotiating to extend its own high·-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 10 to 15 years, eventually reaching London and Singapore.
China has proposed three such projects. The first would possibly connect Kunming with Singapore via Vietnam and Malaysia. Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and possibly to Germany. The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe.
If China’s plan for the high-speed railway goes forward, people could zip over from London to Berlin in under two days.
The new system would still follow China’s high-speed railway standard. And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as some airplanes.
China’s bullet train(高速客车),the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou, already has the World’s fastest average speed. It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours.
Of course, there are some technical challenges to overcome. There are so many issues that need to be settled, such as safety, rail gauge(轨距),maintenance of railway tracks. So, it’s important to pay attention to every detail.
But the key issue is really money. China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic railway expansion.
China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment. Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development.
It’ll be a win-win project. For other countries, the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business, tourism and so on, not to mention the better communication among those countries.
For China, such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources, but would also help develop China’s far west. We foresee that in the coming decades, millions of people will migrate to the western regions, where the land is empty and resources unused. With high-speed trains, people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all. And they’11 trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries.China’s new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because .
| A．China will get much-needed resources and develop its western regions |
| B．China and the countries involved will benefit from the project in various ways |
| C．China will develop its railway system and communication with other countries |
| D．the foreign countries involved will develop their railway transportation, business and tourism |
According to the passage, the greatest challenge to the new high-speed railway plan is .
| A．technical issues |
| B．safety of the system |
| C．financial problems |
| D．maintenance of railway tracks |
Which of the following words best describes the author’s attitude towards China’s high-speed railway plan?
| A．Critical. | B．Reserved. | C．Doubtful | D．Positive. |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．New Railway Standards |
| B．Big Railway Dreams |
| C．High-speed Bullet Trains |
| D．International Railway Network |
The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she walked slowly to lift, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets(床单) that had been hung on her window. “I love it.” She said with the happiness.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…. Just wait..” “That doesn’t matter.” She replied. “ Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind, I have already decided to lobe it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I will focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account(帐户). You put what you have in. So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank.” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones.”
Mr. Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108. We can infer from the passage that the writer_____________.
| A．is one of Mrs. Jones children |
| B．is a relative of Mrs. Jones |
| C．works in the nursing home |
| D．is the owner of the nursing house |
The room in which the old lady will live ____________.
| A．isn’t in good condition |
| B．is fairly big |
| C．is very comfortable |
| D．is equipped with new furniture |
Which of the following words can best describe Mrs. Jones?
| A．Proud | B．Pleasant |
| C．Loyal | D．Honest |
The author intends to tell us_________________.
| A．why the lonely woman was happy |
| B．what a nursing home was alike |
| C．how to live a long life |
| D．how to lead a happy life |
Matt grows the best vegetables in the village. He grows fruit too – big, sweet apples and oranges. And what else? Well, the biggest and the prettiest flowers.
Things grow in Matt’s garden all through the year. He cuts some flowers for his sitting room table; and of course , he eats some fruit and vegetables. But he sells everything else in the market. Matt is not a poor man.
He knows a few other gardens; but he does not have any friends. You might ask, “What is that?” Why doesn’t he have friends. I will tell you. People do not understand him. And they do not understand his garden. “Why not?” You will ask. “It is a very good garden, isn’t it?” It is a wonderful garden. Matt plants things in spring, summer, autumn and winter. After that he does very little work. He sits in the garden with his small radio. And everything grows.
People ask, “How does Matt grow these wonderful things? He waters the plants sometimes, but he doesn’t do anything else. He just sits under an orange tree with his radio. He listens to music nearly all day!” and that is all quite true. People cannot understand it, and so they don’t like it very much.
Matt likes music. But what about the garden? Who does the work? I will tell you another true thing: the music does the work. All plants love music; and Matt knows that.
Do you want big vegetables and the loveliest flowers? Well, just give your plants a lot of music.There are not only vegetables and flowers, but also ________ in Matt’s garden.
| A．plants | B．fruit trees | C．ants | D．crops |
Matt makes a living by ___________
| A．selling his vegetables, fruit and flowers | B．growing trees in his garden |
| C．working in the market | D．helping other people growing plants |
Everything in Matt’s garden grows well because ______
| A．he has a good garden |
| B．he is good at growing things and likes listening to the radio |
| C．music helps his plants a lot |
| D．he is very hardworking |
People don’t like Matt because ____________
| A．he doesn’t give them any vegetables or fruit | B．he listens to the radio too much |
| C．they don’t understand him | D．Matt doesn’t let them listen to his radio |
If we observe carefully, we van find that most of the flowers in nature are red, orange and yellow. If we have seen a black flower, it’s a chance in million. People have made a census(普查)to colours of more than four thousand kinds of flowers and discovered that only eight of them are black. Why?
As we know, sunlight is formed by seven different kinds of coloured light. The wave length of each light changes, so the quantity of heat in each light changes, too. Flowers, especially their petals(花瓣), are very delicate(纤弱) and prone(易于) to the harm caused by high temperature. Black flowers can take in all the light waves, which cause the flowers to dry up in a high temperature. So black flowers can rarely survive sunlight. But red flowers, orange flowers and yellow flowers can protect themselves from sunlight by reflecting the red light, orange light and yellow light, each of which has a large quantity of heat.
That is why red, orange and yellow flowers are very common in nature while black flowers are so rare. We can hardly find black flowers because _____.
| A．they are so weak that it’s difficult for them to grow up |
| B．there are no black flowers in the world. |
| C．the petals of black flowers are very delicate |
| D．they can take in the light of all wave lengths, which make the flowers dry up |
Sunlight is formed by _____.
| A．many different kinds of coloured light |
| B．three different kinds of coloured light—red, orange and yellow |
| C．seven different kinds of coloured light |
| D．four thousand kinds of coloured light |
The red, orange or yellow light contains _____.
| A．less heat than the other lights | B．more heat than the other lights |
| C．a great deal of heat | D．a little heat |
“It is a chance in a million” means_____________
| A．it is common | B．it is extremely rare | C．it’s lucky | D．it’s impossible |
Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing . Three years ago, few people would go swimming in the icy waters. But now there is a Winter-swimming Enthusiasts Club(冬泳爱好者协会) and it has more than 2,000 members. The oldest is 84 and the youngest is only 7. The members are from all walks of life. They may be workers, peasants, soldiers, teachers, students.
Though it is now the coldest part of the season and the water temperature in the city’s lakes is around 0℃, many winter-swimmers still swim in the icy waters, even when it is snowing. They enjoy themselves in the lake, while the people by the side of the lake are wearing heavy clothes.
Why are so many people interested in winter-swimming? Because winter-swimming can be good for one’s health.
Bei Sha is a good example. He is 69, and he once suffered from heart trouble for 26 years. After ten years of winter-swimming he is now in good health. Scientists are now studying the effects of winter-swimming on health.Among the winter- swimmers the oldest man is ________ years older than the youngest
| A．91 | B．84 | C．77 | D．7 |
Guess what “The members are from all walks of life” mean?
| A．The members do different jobs at different places |
| B．They come from all parts of Beijing. |
| C．They are persons of different ages. |
| D．They are man and woman, old and young. |
Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing because_________________.
| A．more and more people like to swimming in Beijing |
| B．it is more interesting than swimming in summer |
| C．winter-swimmers are brave men |
| D．winter-swimming does a lot of good to one’s health |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．People Like Swimming in Winter |
| B．Winter-swimming- a Craze(狂热) in Beijing |
| C．People Benefit from Winter- swimming |
| D．Winter-swimmers are Brave Men |
阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Education for Japanese children is free for the first nine years and all children must go to school for six years of primary schooling and three years of secondary schooling. In the primary and secondary school, about 99.9% of school-age children are present. School usually begins at 8 o’clock in the morning and ends at 3 o’clock in the afternoon on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays. The school year begins in April and ends in March. There is a summer holiday in August and a winter holiday during the New Year season.
After nine years of schooling, students can enter the three-year high school by passing an examination and by paying a small charge each year. After high school, students can go on to study at different kinds of colleges, usually for four years. There are also two-year junior colleges. The passage mainly discusses _____________.
| A．colleges in Japan | B．free education in Japan |
| C．education in Japan | D．school time in Japan |
If you want to go to high school in Japan, you must ______________________.
| A．pay a small amount of money |
| B．study at primary and secondary school for 9 years |
| C．take part in the exam and pay a little money |
| D．pass the exam and pay a little money |
What is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Types of colleges. | B．Times for schooling |
| C．The teaching staff(教职员工) | D．The number of children attending schools |
How many days do the Japanese students have to go to school every week?
| A．Two days | B．Four and a half days | C．Five days | D．Five and a half days |