What brings a nation together? Of the four choices — shared values, language, history, and religion, it’s shared values. In our latest poll (民意调査), seven out of 16 countries chose values as the greatest factor (因素）bringing a nation together, and six preferred language. Both choices scored high in the poll, suggesting that our values and how we express them are closely linked .Still, history was not forgotten in some countries, particularly in Mexico and Russia. Even Canada and the United States chose national histories as the second-most important factor uniting their people. The biggest surprise? Not one country picked religion as its top choice.
| Respect your elders In most countries, the oldest generation considered values more important to a nation than did those who are under 45 years old. |
Do you speak Canadian? Language scored lower in Canada than in all other countries polled, perhaps because the country speaks two official languages, French and English. |
Church and state Most people polled do not connect their religious beliefs to their national pride. Religion ranked last in 13 countries — with France scoring it at 1%, the lowest of all. |
According to the poll, what was the most important factor in bringing a nation together?
| A．Language. | B．Values. | C．History. | D．Religion. |
In which country did language score the lowest in their national pride?
| A．Canada. | B．Mexico. | C．France. | D．America. |
According to the charts, shared values and language were considered equally important in .
| A．Australia | B．Brazil | C．China | D．India |
Suppose you are working as a manager in a famous company in China, and you will be sent to New York for a further study soon, but you don't think your English is good enough. So you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English.
Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers. You may find the information you need.
What is special about the 2lst Century English Training Centre?
| A．Its teaching quality is better. |
| B．It is the nearest to the city center. |
| C．Its courses are more advanced. |
| D．It requires an entrance examination. |
Which school will you choose if you are busy in the daytime?
| A．Global English Center and Modern Language School. |
| B．Global English Center and the International House of English. |
| C．Modern Language School and the 2lst Century English Training Centre. |
| D．The 2lst Century English Training Centre and the International House of English. |
If you prefer to have English course on weekends, which telephone number will you call?
| A．67353019. | B．67705272. |
| C．67801642. | D．67432308. |
London has become a cycle friendly zone after the launch of a new bike hire scheme. It has been designed to encourage more people to cycle in and around central London.
So how does it work? First you have to sign up to the scheme to be sent a key. The key will unlock one of the bikes, which are kept at docking stations in and around central London. You have to pay an access fee for the key and then you pay as you go, for the length of time you use the bike.
Transport for London, which runs the scheme, is hoping to have 6,000 bikes and 400 docking stations in place by the end of the year. The new hire system is hoping to ease congestion (拥挤 ) in London and is expected to create up t0 40 ,000 extra cycle trips a day into the city centre. London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the scheme and said London had been 6ifilled with thousands of gleaming machines that will transform the look and feel of our streets and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses".
However, there have been a few problems since the scheme was launched last Friday. On the first day some people found they couldn't dock their bike properly and their usage of the bike had not registered. Transport for London did admit they had been expecting a few "teething problems" and have said they wouldn't charge for the first day as a "gesture of goodwill". Some other people have criticized the lack of docking stations and locks for the bikes as well as the price it costs to hire the bicycles.
Despite the comments, the green-thinking London Mayor still seems very positive about things, saying, "My campaign for the capital to become the greatest big cycling city in the world has taken a big pedal-powered push forwards. "London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the new bike scheme in order to______.
| A．reduce the air pollution of the city |
| B．deal with the city's traffic problems |
| C．increase employment opportunities |
| D．encourage the citizens to take exercises |
If you want to hire a bike, in which order will you do?
a. pay for the key to a bike
b. sign up as a member to get a key
c. cycle in and around central London
d. pay for the bike according to the time you use it
| A．b→a→c→d | B．b→d→c→a |
| C．d→c→b→a | D．d→b→c→a |
All the following are the problems of the scheme EXCEPT_____.
| A．the high cost to hire a bike |
| B．docking the bikes properly |
| C．not registering their usage of the bikes |
| D．not charging for the first day of the scheme |
From the passage, we can infer that_______.
| A．the cycling revolution is not successful |
| B．all the citizens in London support the scheme |
| C．the London Mayor is confident in the scheme |
| D．the scheme will be cancelled because of the problems |
Over 500 dogs being delivered to a butcher house were saved by a Chinese animal protection organization. The incident then resulted in a debate among Chinese netizens about the necessity of pouring so much money and efforts into saving dogs.
On Friday, a truck loaded with over 500 dogs was stopped by volunteers from animal protection organization on Beijing section of Jingha expressway.
Beijing Times reported these dogs were being delivered to slaughter houses in the city of Changchun, northeast one in Jilin Province and would be eventually served on dinner tables.
After negotiations (协商) with the truck driver and a philanthropic (慈善) founda tion, Shangshan Foundation purchased these dogs with much money. Dogs were then delivered to the headquarter of China Small Animal Protection Association (CSAPA) , being taken care of and waiting for adoption.
After the dog saving mission was reported, Chinese net users debate over whether saving dogs worth so much efforts and money while there are still many poor and needy people in China lacking assistance.
Some net users argue the dog saving mission is placing too much attention to animals while lots of needy people are still left unattended.
A microblogger "Xiaowulaitajie" said on China's twitter-like website, weibo. com, "Dogs are saved, adopted and they attracted media attention. We'd better spend such money and take such efforts in helping the needy people. "
Another microblogger, Liluping, said "We poured such huge sum of money into saving dogs. I would rather the money be spent on disaster relief. "
Some applaud volunteers' actions and show eagerness of offering their helping hands to those saved dogs.
Still many disapprove those "saving dogs" critics. They argue that such act nevertheless embodies social progress.
A microblogger named "broken bridge" said, saving dogs does not go against taking care of people. Such enthusiasm in public affairs will help raise social awareness in helping the needy.
I think people and animals are created equal. Attention should be paid to people as well as animals.According to the passage, we know the article probably comes from________ .
| A．a science fiction | B．a TV programme |
| C．the Internet | D．a magazine |
Which one has the similar meaning to the underlined word “embodies”?
| A．express. | B．share. |
| C．emphasize. | D．prevent. |
Whose opinion is closest to the writer's?
| A．Some net users'. | B．Liluping's. |
| C． Broken bridge 's. | D． Xiaowulaitajie's. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Why some people disagree to save the 500 dogs. |
| B．How the volunteers saved the 500 dogs to be killed. |
| C．These dogs were finally saved and sent back to their owners. |
| D．Different Chinese net users have different opinions on the mission. |
When I left my bag on a train, I lost my most precious possession, a small framed photograph of my great grandparents, Emily and Gordon Baker. The frame was made of silver, with an elegant flower design in one corner. The photograph was taken in March 1939 0n their wedding day. Emily looked very happy, and Gordon looked rather a larmed. A few months later, he was killed in action in North Africa. I received the photograph when my aunt Mabel died.
I'm a student at Edinburgh University and I live in an old Edwardian house. At the end of last term, I packed a large bag and a small bag and set off for London, where I was planning to catch the Eurostar train to Paris. Minutes after getting off the train at Kings Cross Station, I realized that I'd left the small bag in the overhead luggage rack. I ran back to the train, but it had already left the platform. www..com
This all happened several months ago, and I had become resigned to the loss of my most precious possession. then last week, something extraordinary happened. I logged onto the site ~ eBay and looked for a silver photo frame and I found it ! The photo of my great grandparents was on eBay !
I called the person who was advertising it. He was a little suspicious(怀疑 ) at first, and told me that he had bought it from a stall at an antique market. After we talked for a while, he asked if there was any way I could prove it was mine. All I could think of was that the photo was taken in March 1939. He opened the frame and made sure that this date was written by hand on the back of the photograph.
“It ' s definitely yours. " he said. "Come and get it ! "The author's most precious possession was .
| A．A wedding photo in a silver frame taken in North Africa |
| B．A pretty family portrait in a silver frame taken in 1939 |
| C．A special photo of his great grandparents in a silver frame |
| D．A common photograph of his grandparents taken by Mabel |
Which of the statement about the author is not wrong?
| A．He left the photo on a train and never got it back. |
| B．He put the photo in a small bag and left it on a train. |
| C．He left the photo on the Eurostar and ran back to get it. |
| D．He left the photo at his old Edwardian house in Edinburgh |
The man advertising the frame proved it was the author's .
| A．by calling the seller up immediately |
| B．according to the price of the silver frame |
| C．by the author's explanation about the photo |
| D．by the date written on the back of the photo |
It can be inferred that the author felt______when he found the silver photo on eBay.
| A．nervous | B．excited |
| C．disappointed | D．worried |
According to Beth Anaclerio, an Evaston mother of two, ages 4 and 18 months, a child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun, “Having a party at home usually requires a lot of running around on the part of the parents, and often the birthday boy or girl gets lost in wild excitement．But it really doesn’t have to be that way,” said Anaclerio．Last summer, Anaclerio and her friend Jill Carlisle, a Northbrook mother of a 2-year-old, founded a home party-planning business called “A Party in a Basket．” Their goal is to help parents and children share in the fun part of party planning, like choosing the subject or making a cake, while they take care of everything．
Drawing on their experiences as mothers, they have created 10 ready-to-use, home party packages．Everything a family needs to plan a party, except the cake and ice cream, is delivered to the home in a large basket．
“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive（互动） and creative in that they build a sense of drama based on a subject．For example, at the Soda Shoppe party the guests become waiters and waitresses and build wonderful ice cream creations．”
The standard $200 package for eight children includes a basket filled with invitations, gifts, games and prizes, paper goods, a party planner and the like．For more information, call Anaclerio at 708-864-6584 or Carlisle at 708-205-9141．．The main purpose of writing this text is _____．
| A．to share information about party planning |
| B．to introduce the joys of a birthday party |
| C．to sell a service |
| D．to announce a business plan |
．The most important idea behind the kind of party planning described here is that _____．
| A．it brings parents and children closer together |
| B．guests play a part in the preparation of a party |
| C．parents are spared the trouble of sending invitations |
| D．it provides a subject of conversation |
．What does the underlined word “hassle” probably mean?
| A．a party designed by specialists． |
| B．a plan requiring careful thought． |
| C．a demand made by guests． |
| D．a situation causing difficulty or trouble． |
．Which of the following is most likely to be a party planner?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |