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 a11．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 1 0 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 Beijing 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’11 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 a11．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 Oregonian(俄勒冈报) is the daily newspaper for the state of Oregon where the Hagens live. Since it is published in the largest city, which is Portland, most of the readers live within 50 miles of Portland.
From Monday to Saturday, the paper has about 75 pages, of which 20 pages are advertisements. It normally has 5 sections which are called Nation, Sports, Metro(大都会), Living and Business.
Nation is national news mostly with some international news about earthquakes, floods, and tensions(紧张)around the world. Sports cover the professional sports in season, college sports, and high school sports. Metro is local news of the city of Portland which includes political stories, crimes, and good neighbor articles. Living is the section with television programs, movies, comics, music, stories about pets, and advice. Business has listing of more than 10,000 stocks and a regular report about the stock market and business news. The advertising section includes apartments and houses, employment opportunities and items to buy, especially cars and trucks.
On Sunday, the paper is very large weighing more than two kilos. There are additional sections called Art, Books, International, and Travel. Since this is the day most Americans do not work, they have more time for reading. Each of the daily sections is longer so the newspaper is twice the size of the daily sections. However, the advertisements are nearly as many pages as the news on Sunday so the entire paper is more than four times larger than the daily paper.
Some companies print their own advertisements and pay to put them in The Oregonian. These include grocery(杂货) stores, clothing stores, car agencies(代理处), camera and video equipment stores, toy stores, and computer stores. All of the companies feel that the best way to advertise is to put a beautiful color advertisement in every Sunday.
1. The Sunday edition of The Oregonian probably has _____.
A. 75 pages B. less than 300 pages
C. more than 300 pages D. less than 75 pages
2.If you want to seek information about the stock market from The Oregonian, you refer to the section “_____”.
A. Metro B. Living C. Nation D. Business
3. Who are the regular readers of The Oregonian ?
A. The Hagens. B. Residents of the Portland area.
C. Businessmen. D. People who have more time to read newspapers.
4. One reason that the Sunday paper is very large is that _____.
A. it adds four additional sections
B. it has five sections
C. most Americans do not work that day
D. some companies like to print advertisements in it
四、阅读理解（共16小题；每小题2分，满分32分）
You Mi, a lovely and confident 17-year-old student, is the first Chinese high school student to appear on the cover of the popular young adults’ fashion magazine Seventeen.
“You is IN,” said Wang Lihua, Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. “She is active and mature(成熟的) because of her knowledge on everything from academic studies, to books on art, to movies. We found she’s the very style we’re looking for to represent young people’s attitudes.”
You also impressed Wang with her fluent English when they first met last year. As the hostess of an English broadcasting programme at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, You is always praised for speaking English almost like a native speaker. “I’ve built up my English by watching thousands of English DVDs since I was 10,” she explained.
But for You, watching isn’t enough. Last year, while in Senior 1, she met a talented boy who showed self-made DV movies at the English Corner in her school.
“I thought it was so cool and I knew that I should start making my own films,” she said. So she wrote a campus(校园) story, persuaded schoolmates to star in it and then began shooting a 30-minute DV movie, all in English. “I played one of the leading roles, actually I was everything in my film. I worked on it every single day during the SARS holidays,” she recalled. The movie finally became a big hit on campus, earning You a strong reputation(名气) as a DV movie director.
But this is not the only field she wants to master. Despite being a science student, You likes art, literature and fashion design very much.
“There are people who can be artists, there are people who edit books, and there are people who become film producers. But I just hope to mix all the things up!” she said. “There is an old saying I believe: Chance favours only the prepared mind.”
1. You Mi’s fluent English is based on _____.
A. her chance to host an English broadcasting programme
B. the influence of her parents
C. her deep interest in it
D. her making DV movie
2. The author mentioned a talented boy to show _____.
A. the great influence he had on You Mi
B. he was admired by his schoolmates
C. the young can do things as well as the adults do
D. self-made DV movies are popular at school
3.In the 30-minute DV movie, You Mi didn’t act as a(n) _____.
A. director B. musician C. actress D. producer
4. We can learn from the passage that _____.
A. You Mi hopes to be a mixed talent
B. the success of a 30-minute DV movie shocked You Mi
C. You Mi dreams of becoming a scientist
D. the outbreak of SARS delayed You Mi’s studies
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
1. Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A. The man’s job was bike racing. B. It was their only possession.
C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed. D. They used it for work and daily life.
2. We can infer from the text that ____________.
A. the couple worked 60 hours a week. B. people were busy before Christmas
C. the stranger brought over the bike D. life was hard for the young family.
3. How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A. From radio broadcasts. B. From a newspaper.
C. From TV news. D. From a stranger.
4 What do the couple learn from their experience?
A. Strangers are usually of little help. B. One should take care of their bike.
C. News reports make people famous. D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.
A month after Hurricace Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house,
reduced to waist-high rains, smelly and dirty.
Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up
the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. “You from New Orleans?” she asked. I said I was,
“No charge.” She said, and firmly shock her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I
went for a haircut, and the same thing happened.
As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage（抵押贷款）on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We’d began to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kemmedy in California. He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for state, the online magazine and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”) a new house across the lake from New Orleans. It sounded a good to her return, but I replied, thinking him for his exceptional generosity, then we to go back. Then the University of Florida offered to let him house to me. While he want to England on his one year, paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kemdedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months. Throughout this painful experience , the kindness of strangers back my faith in humanity .It’s almost worth losing you wordy possessions to be reminded that people really when given had a channel.
1．The garage employee’s attitude toward the author was that of
A．unconcern B．sympathy
C．doubt D．tolerance
2．What do we know about James Kemnedy?
A．He was a written of an online magazine.
B．He was a poet at the University of Florida
C．He offered the author a new house free of charge.
D．He learned about the author’s sufferings.
3．It can be inferred from the text that
A．the author’s family was in financial difficulty
B．rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster
C．houses were difficult to find in the hurricane0stricken area
D．the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank
4．The author learned from his experience that
A．worldly possessions can be given up when necessary
B．generosity should be encouraged in some cases
C．people benefit from their sad stories
D．human beings are kind after all.
Charles Blackman：Alice in Wonderland
An Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV),Australia
June —12 August 2007
Venue (地点) The Ian Potter Centre
Admission Free entry
Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful painting of dreams. In 1956, he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland –the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole, meets a lot of funny characters and experience all kinds of things .At that time, Blackman’s wife was suffering form progressive blindness. The story of Alice moving through the strange situations, often disheartened by various events ,was similar to his wife’s experiences. It also reflected so much of his own life. All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.
Illustrator Workshop
Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration. The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques, workshop exercise and group projects.
Dates Sunday 17 June &Sunday 5Aug.10am—1pm
Venue Gas Works Arts Park
Wonderful World
Celebrate the exhibition and Children’s Book Week with special activities just for the day, including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit
Date Sunday 24 June ,11am—4pm
Venue Exhibition Space .Level 3
Topsy-Turvy
Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box. Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will be screened.
Dates Sunday 8,15,22,29 July, and Tuesday 24-Friday 27 July, 12noon—3pm
Venue Theatre, NGV Australia
Drawing Workshop
Distortions of scale ( 比例失真) can make artworks strange but interesting .Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world .then experiment with scale in your own drawings. More information upon booking.
Date Friday 27 July,10:30am-3pm
Venue Foryer, Level 3
1. Charles Blackman’s paintings come from ________.
A. his admiration for Lewis Carrioll
B. his dream of becoming a famous artist
C. his wish to express his own feelings
D. his eagerness to cure his wife’s illness
2. Which two activities can you participate in on the same day?
A. Illustrator Workshop and Wonderful World
B. Illustrator Workshop and Drawing Workshop.
C. Wonerful World and Topsy –Turvy.
D.Topsy-Turvy and Drawing Workshop.
3. To understand the Alice in Wonderland paintings, you should go to ________.
A. Exhibition Space .Level 3 B. Gas Works Arts Park
C. Theatre ,NGV Australia D. Foyer, Level 3
4. Activities concerning children’s books are to be held
A. on June 24,2007 B. on July15,2007
C. on July 24,2007 D. on August 5,2007