Signs in Chinese will be set up in public areas such as airports, to benefit Chinese travelers, the Italian Government announced in late February. Now many European countries are expected to follow this example.
Despite the different languages, travel across Europe has never been so simple. Just five years ago, if you wanted to visit Germany in the north and Spain in the south in one trip, you had to wait for weeks to apply for different visas from the two countries. You also needed a calculator because both countries had different money.
Today, with a Schengen Visa issued by any member country, you can travel across 15 European countries without stopping. Since 2002, within most of the EU, there is now just one type of money called the Euro. The Euro was designed to be the only money in the EU, and already makes it easier to shop around. If you drive, your driving license and car insurance policy are valid（有效的）in the other European countries. And you can use your mobile phone everywhere.
All the countries in the continent are melting into a united Europe under the EU. For Europeans and visitors, the result is that it is more convenient to travel back and forth between the different countries. By saying the underlined sentence “Now many European countries are expected to follow this example”, the writer means that ____.
| A．more signs will be set up in Chinese in European countries |
| B．more and more Europeans have a desire to know more about China |
| C．more and more Chinese people will go to travel across Europe |
| D．Chinese is now an important language in Europe |
Compared to five years ago, traveling in Europe has become easier because ___.
| A．you needn’t drive a car |
| B．you can use a calculator to exchange money |
| C．applying for different visas is much simpler |
| D．one visa is good enough for traveling in a number of countries |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
| A．an increasing number of Chinese tend to travel to Europe |
| B．Chinese has become an important language in Europe |
| C．the Euro is the only money used in the EU now |
| D．it is always necessary to unite many countries into one |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb. What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. | B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. | D．Having more material than is needed. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste | B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of super markets | D．the fact of packaging overuse |
According to the text, recycling ______.
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmers, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.
In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists (未来学家) predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.
In future, cars will run on new，clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.
A number of large companies now use robots instead of people who ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and can not work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050，scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?By 2050, people will get information mainly by _______.
| A．watching TV | B．reading newspapers |
| C．listening to the radio | D．turning to a website |
From the second paragraph, we learn that _______.
| A．the demand for water will increase a lot in the future |
| B．future wars will lead to an increasing need for water |
| C．there can be no agriculture without enough water |
| D．the population will decrease for lack of water |
Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?
| A．Scientists have found out how to control some genes. |
| B．Cars have computers which tell drivers their positions. |
| C．People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet. |
| D．Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories. |
What will play the biggest part in the quality of life in the future?
| A．Medicine. | B．Technology. | C．Education. | D．Agriculture |
Onceupon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the sea to do his writing. Hehad a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.One day he waswalking along the shore. As he looked down at the beach, he saw a human figuremoving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone woulddance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, hesaw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he wasreaching down to the shore, picking up something and throwing itinto the ocean. As he got closer, he called out, “Good morning! What are youdoing?’’
Theyoung man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwingstarfishes(海星)in theocean.”
“I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfishes in the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide is going out.And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die”
“But, young man, don’t you realize thatthere are miles and miles of beach and starfishes all along it. You can’tpossibly make a difference!”
Theyoung man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish andthrew it into the sea, and said, “It made a difference for that one.”Thereissomething very special in each and every one of us. We have all beengifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can know that gift, wewill gain through the strength of our vision the power(力量) toshape the future.
We musteach find our starfish. And if we throw our starfish wisely and well, the worldwill be better.One day, the wise man saw a young man _______.
| A．dancing along the beach | B．walking with a dancer |
| C．picking up starfish for sale | D．trying to save as many starfishes as possible |
The underlined words “something very special” refers to ________.
| A．the gifts from friends | B．the strength of making decision |
| C．our own starfish | D．the ability to make a difference |
From the last two paragraphs, we can learn that ________.
| A．the wise man realized something new and important |
| B．the wise man thought it was foolish of the young man to throw starfishes in the ocean. |
| C．the young man had the ability to make a difference |
| D．it is necessary for us to save starfish on the beach |
The writer told this story to show us _____.
| A．how and where we can write a good article |
| B．everyone can do something for the future |
| C．wise men are sometimes stupid |
| D．young men are in fact wiser than old people |
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Part Time English Tutor wanted
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Private English Tutor Wanted
Senior Chinese manager is looking for a one-on-one English tutor for several hours per week. He would like to learn British pronunciation, so UK nationals will be preferred. Tutors should be fairly flexible to suit his busy schedule and be of professional appearance. Pay is to be discussed directly and will be very high for the right candidate. Teaching experience is not a must.
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CALLING– Teacher/Librarian!
We are a small Kindergarten to Grade 6 international school in Beijing. We need a teacher/ librarian. The teacher we are looking for will: - Be a Chinese /English speaking librarian.
Qualifications
Be self-starters, active team players,
Have a positive attitude and love to work with kids
Provide an exciting and innovative library program to students.
If you meet the above qualifications, please send your CV and a current picture to principalinchina@yahoo.ca . The purpose of the advertisements is________.
| A．to start a business |
| B．to employ English teachers |
| C．to provide the latest jobs |
| D．to help people find a suitable job |
According to the first advertisement, we can learn that_______.
| A．English Teacher agency charges teacher for this service |
| B．you must go online to offer your basic information first |
| C．you may call to get more information about the job |
| D．once you English Teacher agency, you will get a job |
In the third advertisement, the private English tutor should________
| A．be an English language expert from UK |
| B．speak American English |
| C．have rich teaching experience |
| D．have the ability to deal with changing situations |
If you didn’t pass the interview for Teacher/Librarian, the probable
reason should be that ________.
| A．you like working with children |
| B．you have a strong team spirit |
| C．you lack teaching experience |
| D．you can only speak English |
The underlines word “CALLING” in the fourth advertisement most
means_________.
| A．job or profession | B．wish | C．interest | D．chance |
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人). I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan...”
And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week lone.”
And then, in perfect English I said, “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?
| A．She was unable to speak good English. |
| B．She was often misunderstood. |
| C．She was not clearly heard. |
| D．She was not very polite. |
From Paragraph 2, we know that the author was .
| A．good at pretending |
| B．rude to the stockbroker |
| C．ready to help her mother |
| D．unwilling to phone for her mother |
After the author made the phone call, ___________.
| A．they forgave the stockbroker |
| B．they failed to get the check |
| C．they went to New York immediately |
| D．they spoke to their boss at once |
What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
| A．It confuses her. |
| B．It embarrasses her. |
| C．It helps her understand the world. |
| D．It helps her tolerate (容忍) rude people. |
We can infer from the passage that Chinese English .
| A．is clear and natural to non-native speakers |
| B．is vivid and direct to non-native speakers |
| C．has a very bad reputation in America |
| D．may bring inconvenience in America |