However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing ever more rapidly. Some of this growth has occurred in the developed world, but the most dramatic increase has been in the Third World. Almost all the world’s population growth over the next 30 years will take place in the cities of developing countries
By the year 2030, for the first time in history, 60 percent of the world’s people will be living in cities.
This is actually good news in some ways. “Cities are the fundamental building blocks of prosperity,” says Marc Weiss, chairman of the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development, “ both for the nation and for families.” Industrial and commercial activities in urban areas account for between 50 and 80 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in most countries of the world“ there’s the crazy notion that the way to deal with a city’s problems is to keep people out of them,”Weiss continued. “But the problems of the rural life are even more serious than those of the city.” For better or worse, urban-watchers are clear on one point: The quality of life for most people in the future will be determined by the quality of cities. Those cities will be bigger than ever. And yet, population numbers by themselves don’t determine a city’s prospects; after all, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Hamburg, Germany, have the same population. Nor is explosive growth necessarily the determining factor. “City problems,” one authority points out, “mostly have to do with weak, ineffective, and usually unrepresentative city governments.”The passage mainly discusses ______________.
| A．Big cities. | B．City life. | C．Population. | D．Gross Domestic Product. |
According to the passage, in the year of 2030 _______.
| A．there will be 21 cities having a population of more than 10 million. |
| B．rural area will be extinct. |
| C．most people will live in cities. |
| D．the third world will keep abreast with the developed world. |
In the author’s opinion, _________.
| A．better city, better life |
| B．both urban and rural areas have a larger population |
| C．the larger population, the faster a city develops |
| D．both urban and rural areas have larger gross domestic products |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The developing countries develop faster than the developed countries. |
| B．Cities contribute more to the GDP than the villagers. |
| C．Some problems are more easily solved in cities than in country. |
| D．It’s impossible to solve urban problems by getting people out of cities. |
The last paragraph implies that ____________.
| A．Public services are ineffective. |
| B．Cities are increasing too fast. |
| C．Population is not linked with development. |
| D．Government should be responsible for the problems in the cities. |
Why is setting goals important? Because goals can help you do, be, and experience everything you want in life．Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow yourself to make your life happen．
Successful and happy people have a vision of how their life should be and they set lots of goals（both short-term and long-range）to help them reach their vision．By setting goals you are taking control of your life．It’s like having a map to show you where you want to go．Think of it in this way．There are two drivers．One has a destination in mind（her goal） which is laid out for her on a map．She can drive straight there without any wasted time or wrong turns．The other driver has no goal or destination or map．She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver．But she drivers aimlessly around, never getting anywhere , just using up gas and oil．Which driver do you want to be?
Winners in life set goals and follow through on them．They decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals．Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident．Goals aren’t difficult to set, and they aren’t difficult to reach．It’s up to you to find out what your goals,ideals and visions really are．You are the one who must decide what to pursue and in what direction to aim your life．
Research tells us that when we write a goal down we are more likely to achieve it．Written goals can be reviewed regularly, and have more power．Like a contract （合同） with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget．
Also when you write your goals in a particular way you are able to make yourself continuously aware of situations that will bring you nearer to your goals．The author gave the example of two drivers to show_______．
| A．the foolishness of the first driver |
| B．the importance of having a map and right direction |
| C．the foolishness of the second driver |
| D．the importance of setting goals |
According to this text, the most important thing in realizing one's ideal is to _____．
| A．try to be realistic about one's ability |
| B．have a clear understanding of what he or she wants in life |
| C．let others understand him or her first, then work together with them |
| D．let others help him or her to make his or her dream come true |
If people want to reach their goals, they should ______．
| A．write down their goals |
| B．sign a contract with other people |
| C．face the difficulties in front of them |
| D．discuss with others and ask for their help |
If you want to succeed, you must _____．
| A．study hard | B．have a goal and achieve it |
| C．live happily | D．sleep well |
Packaging is an important form of advertising．A package can sometimes motivate someone to buy a product．For example, a small child might ask for a breakfast food that comes in a box with a picture of a TV character．The child is more interested in the picture than in breakfast food．Pictures for children to color or cut out, games printed on a package, or a small gift inside a box also motivate many children to buy products or to ask their parents to buy for them．
Some packages suggest that a buyer will get something for nothing．Food products sold in reusable containers are examples of this．Although a similar product in a plain container might cost less, people often prefer to buy the product in a reusable glass or dish, because they believe the container is free．However, the cost of the container is added to the cost of the product．The size of a package also motivates a buyer．Maybe the package had “Economy Size” or “Family Size” printed on it．This suggests that the larger size has the most product for the least money．But that is not always true．To find it out, a buyer has to know how the product is sold and the price of the basic unit．
The information on the package should provide some answers．But the important thing for any buyer to remember is that a package is often an advertisement．The words and pictures do not tell the whole story．Only the product inside can do that．From the passage we know the buyer pays more attention to __________．
| A．the size of a container |
| B．a container with attractive picture |
| C．a well-designed container |
| D．a plain container with low cost |
What suggestion does the author give in the passage?
| A．It’s not good to buy the product which is sold in a glass or dish． |
| B．The quality of a container has nothing to do with the quality of the product． |
| C．The best choice for a buyer is to buy a product in a plain package． |
| D．A buyer should buy what he needs most rather than a well-designed package． |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Package a Product． |
| B．How to Make an Advertisement． |
| C．How to Sell Product． |
| D．How to Treat the Package Wisely． |
Parents whose children show a special interest in a sport feel very difficult to make a decision about their children’s careers．Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen and sportswomen? For many children it means starting schoolwork very young．And going out with friends and other interests have to take a second place．It’s very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train five hours a day, even at the weekend, when most of his or her friends are playing．
Another problem is of course money, In many countries money for training is available from government for the very best young sportsmen and sportswomen．If this help can not be given, it means that it is the parents who have to find the time and the money to support their child’s development and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment, etc．All can be expensive．
Many parents are worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age．Some doctors agree that young muscles may be damaged by training before they are properly developed．Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by training when young that you can reach the top as successful sports person．It is clear that very few people do reach the top, and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training．Where can we most probably find this passage?
| A．An advertisement． | B．A diary． |
| C．A newspaper． | D．A notice board． |
What does the underlined phrase “to take a second place ”in the first paragraph mean?
| A．to become less important |
| B．To put it at another place |
| C．To happen again |
| D．They are the most important of all the things |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．It’s easy to make a decision when your children want to take up sports． |
| B．Most of the students may become top sports men after a long period of training． |
| C．Early training may damage young muscles． |
| D．It’s not very expensive for parents to support their children’s development in sports． |
There is a joke among flu researchers: “If you've seen one flu season, you've seen one flu season.” The joke is about the unpredictable nature of the flu virus．Every year it looks different, and every strain (类型) follows its own pattern — it's the reason why new strains like H1N1 are extremely difficult to predict.
Dr．Michael Osterholm is a former adviser to the U.S．Department of Health and Human Services．“I know less about influenza today than I did 10 years ago,” he says in a joking way．“Every stone we've turned over, we get more questions.”
The flu rectums every season and the world experiences terrible pandemics (全国或全世界范围流行的疾病), but researchers still do not understand why some strains infect people and others do not; they are not entirely sure about how the flu is transmitted; nor do they understand why some patients become seriously ill while others develop mild symptoms (症状)．As a result, when a new strain shows up — like H1N1 — they often have little information to fall back on, and the lessons of previous pandemics are only somewhat helpful．While researchers are still putting together a complete picture of H1N1, for example, its most striking difference with the seasonal flu is that the elder1y are not the most vulnerable (易受攻击的) population.
Influenza's unpredictable nature makes it a moving target for researchers, says researcher Allison Aiello
at the University of Michigan．“Even if we had complete seasonal flu data from the past, it wouldn't be much helpful for a new strain of influenza,” she explains.
Whi1e researchers are frustrated by the holes in their knowledge, they say, however, that the pub1ic--health community is generally doing a very good job responding to H1N1 with seasonal flu data that do exist．Studying influenza, says Osterholm, is “like looking through the windows of a house you can't get into because the door is locked.” Gathering the data researchers do have is like “looking through the windows to get a pretty good picture of what the inside looks like.”
One thing researchers do know for sure: the best way for people to protect against H1N1 is to get the vaccine once it becomes available to them.What do we learn about H1N1 from the passage?
| A．In fact it is not a kind of influenza virus. |
| B．It is quite possible to predict it in theory. |
| C．Old people are more likely to contract it than kids. |
| D．Receiving vaccines will be effective to protect against it. |
The underlined phrase
“fall back on” in Para．3 probably means .
| A．rely on | B．pass on | C．col1ect | D．exchange |
What do we know about p
revious seasonal flu data?
| A．It is useless to study them. |
| B．It is still necessary to study them. |
| C．They are misleading most of the time. |
| D．They are much more helpful than expected. |
Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Outbreaks of the flu | B．Symptoms of the flu |
| C．Mysteries of the flu | D．Risks of the flu |
Rare birds in the UK have been living far better than the more common birds over the last decade due to the efforts of conservation organisations, according to a new assessment．
The research shows 
almost 60% of the 63 rare birds that live in the UK have increased over the last 10 years.
By contrast, only about one third of common species have increased over the same period．Just 28% of rare birds have decreased over the same period, compared with four out of every 10 common birds．The rare birds described in the assessment with increasing populations include the osprey (鹗) and corncrake (秧鸡)．All of these birds are subject to conservation action.
The declining common birds include the nightingale, swift (雨燕), house sparrow and red grouse (苏格兰雷鸟)．These are suffering declines for a variety of reasons, including changes in farming practices.
Dr David Noble, from the British Trust for Ornithology, said: “That some of our rarer birds have responded to targeted conservation action is great news．It shows just what can be achieved．What we need to do now is to continue the good work and use some of the lessons we have learned to help our more common birds.”
Dr Mark Avery, the conservation director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: “Over the last decade we've enjoyed some great conservation successes, including removing some threatened species from the World Conservation Union's Red List of Thratened Animals and increasing the populations of red kite, osprey, etc．However, these successes are countered (抵消) by continued declines of some widespread species.”
The overview of 210 native birds has been produced by a group of conservation organisations, to mark the publication of The State of the UK's Birds report, which is in its l0th year．The report was published by the RSPB for a group of conservation organisations.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The decline of widespread birds is not worrying for the UK. |
| B．The UK has got some practical experience of bird conservation. |
| C．Changes in farming practices contribute to the increase of rare birds. |
| D．Half of common birds have decreased in the past ten years in the UK. |
We can learn from the passage that Dr David Noble .
| A．hopes that conservation organisations will change the way they work |
| B．is quite disappointed with the result of the new assessment |
C．is losing confide nce in conservation organizations’ action |
| D．has high hopes for the increase in bird population in Britain |
Which of the following can best explain Dr Mark Avery's words?
| A．The UK should not be satisfied with what they have achieved. |
| B．The UK should share their experience with other countries. |
| C．What conservation organisations do is far from satisfactory. |
| D．The RSPB is responsible for the decrease of common birds. |
The passage is most likely to be found in a book about .
| A．popular science | B．historical events |
| C．nature | D．society |
The author's purpose of writing this article is to tell people .
| A．some good ways to protect rare birds |
| B．the differences between rare birds and common birds |
| C．the number of rare birds has increased over the last decade |
| D．some widespread birds in the UK are in great need of help |