When I was going home to India last year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from China.
When India had not opened up its markets to the world, I carried suitcase loads of dark glasses and jeans. Thankfully, we can get all these anywhere in India now.
Still, her answer surprised me: “Green tea.”
As long as I can remember she didn’t even drink Indian tea.
I dutifully bought a big packet of Longjing and headed home to hear the story. My mother and her brother, both regular newspaper readers, believed that Chinese green tea was the wonder drug for all illnesses.
At the turn of the century, China was not really familiar to the average Indian. It was a strange country.
How things change! And how soon!
Now every town of any size seems to have a “China Market”. And everyone is talking about China.
The government of India has planned to send a team to China to see how things are done. A minister once said that India must open the doors for more foreign investment (投资) and such a step would “work wonders as it did for China”.
But it’s a two-way street. I just heard about a thousand Shenzhen office workers who have gone to Rangalore to train in software. Meanwhile, all the IT majors are setting up a strong presence in China.
No wonder that trade, which was only in the millions just ten years ago, is expected to hit about US $15 billion for last year and US $20 billion by 2012, a goal set by both governments.
No wonder, my colleague wrote some weeks ago about this being the Sino-Indian (中国和印度的) century as the two countries started on January 1st the Sino-Indian Friendship Year.
But what is still a wonder to me is my mother’s drinking Chinese tea.Why did the mother ask for Chinese green tea?
| A．She was tired of Indian tea. |
| B．She had a son working in China. |
| C．She believed it had a curing effect. |
| D．She was fond of Chinese products. |
What does the author mean by “it’s a two-way street” in Paragraph 10?
| A．China and India have different traffic rules. |
| B．Tea trade works wonders in both India and China. |
| C．Chinese products are popular in both China and India. |
| D．There are exchanges between India and China. |
What do we know about the Indian IT industry?
| A．It is seeking further development in China. |
| B．It will move its head office to Shenzhen. |
| C．It has attracted an investment of US $15 billion. |
| D．It caught up with the US IT industry in 2008. |
In the text the author expresses _______.
| A．his concern for his mother’s health |
| B．his support for drinking Chinese green tea |
| C．his surprise at China’s recent development |
| D．his wonder at the growth of India’s IT industry |
It is inferred in the text that _______.
| A．the author’s mother loves China very much |
| B．the Indians were not familiar with China before |
| C．the government of India encourages their people to buy Chinese green tea |
| D．the two countries didn’t cooperate until last year |
It has been said that Lincoln was always ready to join in a laugh at himself. There is one particular story that he always told with great delight.
In his early days as a lawyer, Lincoln went from town to town to hear and judge legal(法律的)cases. During one of these trips, he was sitting in a train when a strange man came up to him. The stranger looked at the tall clumsy(笨拙的)lawyer and said that he had something he believed belonging to Lincoln. Lincoln was a bit puzzled. He had never seen the man before. He didn’t see how a total stranger could have something of his. Lincoln asked how this could be. The stranger pulled out a penknife and began to explain. Many years before, he had been given the pocketknife. He had been told to keep it until he was able to find a man uglier than himself.
Lincoln’s eyes always sparked when he reached this part of the story. The story always brought smiles to the faces of those who heard it. The tale itself was funny. But even more delightful was the fact that a man as great as Lincoln could still laugh at himself.This passage is about.
| A．a stranger and his strange knife |
| B．Lincoln’s favorite story |
| C．meeting stranger in a train |
| D．Lincoln’s favorite penknife |
From the story we can infer that the stranger in the train
| A．liked to make friends | B．liked to tell jokes |
| C．collected penknives | D．was not handsome |
Lincoln was given the pocketknife for
| A．his appearance | B．a good laugh |
| C．being a lawyer | D．being good-humored |
Which of the following statements is right?
| A．Lincoln, even though great, was not proud. |
| B．Lincoln was a great and proud man. |
| C．Lincoln lacked self-respect. |
| D．Lincoln had a good sense of humor. |
What does the word “sparked” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．闪耀 | B．暗淡 | C．无神 | D．忧伤 |
A new law helps people with disabilities. The law says that people with disabilities must be able to get into and out of all public buildings. It also says that business must offer special services to people who have special needs. Companies can not refuse to hire disabled workers. Many businesses may have to change their buildings and services.
—Ramps (坡道) must be built so people can get into buildings.
—Movie theatres must have space for people in wheelchairs and seats for their friends to sit near them.
—Elevators (电梯) must have floor number in Braille.
This law will help millions of people. One woman who has been in a wheelchair for many years said,“It is like a dream.”According to the passage we can see that.
| A．it will be difficult for the normal persons to get into the public buildings |
| B．the buildings of all the businesses will have to be changed |
| C．Most businesses used to offer special services to people who have special needs |
| D．it was difficult for the disabled workers to find jobs in the past |
Ramps can help people.
| A．with hearing problems |
| B．who have difficulty in using their hands |
| C．who have difficulty in using their legs or feet |
| D．who don’t like stairs |
The fact that the new law has been passed shows that______.
| A．the government has paid no attention to the disabilities |
| B．the government wants to help these disabilities |
| C．normal people show mercy to the disabilities |
| D．companies will hire millions of disabled people |
Every country has its heroes. The heroes are the people the nation and especially the young people admire. If you get a list of the heroes of a nation, it will tell you the potential of that nation.
If today in America, you ask the high school students to list their heroes, their choice would probably fall into three groups. The first group of heroes would be the rock stars —the people connected with rock music. There is no doubt that such people do have talent but one wonders if one should regard rock stars as a model. The rock stars too often are involved with drugs and their personal life is not all that good. The rock stars are rich and wear the latest fashion styles. However, one should seek more in a hero than such things as money and good clothes.
A second type of hero for the American youth is the sports star. Again you have a person who has a great ability in one area — SPORTS. However, too often the personal life of the sports star is a bit of a mess. Too frequently drugs and drinking are a part of life of the sports star.
A third type of hero is the TV or movie star. This person may have lots of acting talent and is quite handsome. However, the personal life of too many actors is quite sad and they should not be held up as a model for young people.
Today, the rock star, the athlete and the actor all have become the models of the youth in America. Really, do you hear a young person say that his hero is a doctor, a teacher, or a scientist? These people are not rich and do not wear fashionable clothes. However, they are talented people who work hard to make the world a better place for everyone.
What is really sad is that the young try to imitate their heroes. They like to wear the same clothes and follow their styles. If the heroes of today for the American youngsters are limited only to rock stars, athletes and actors, the future does not look too bright.The hero discussed in this article means a person ______.
| A．who has done something brave |
| B．who plays an important role in a play |
| C．whom people greatly admire |
| D．who rides the waves and moves with the tides |
What is true of the groups mentioned in this article?
| A．They are not fright but are good-looking. |
| B．They are rich but are strict with themselves. |
| C．They are talented in some area but lead an indecent life. |
| D．They are perfect in every way. |
American young people will not admire ______.
| A．a university professor | B．a popular singer |
| C．a football player | D．a film actress |
According to the writer, people should hold up as their model those______.
| A．who are rich and wear the latest fashion clothes |
| B．whose personal life is good |
| C．who can express people’s feelings |
| D．who work in the interests of the people |
If you go to Brisbane, Australia, you can easily get a small book called Discover Brisbane free. The book tells you almost everything in Brisbane: the restaurants, the shops, the cinemas, the streets, the buses, the trains, the banks, etc. Here is something about banks on page 49:
ANZ Banking Group
Cnr. Greek && Queen Sts ……………… 228 3228
Bank of New Zealand
410 Queen Street ……………………… 221 0411
Bank of Queensland
229 Elizabeth Street …………………… 229 3122
Commonwealth Banking Group
240 Queen Street ……………………… 237 3111
National Australia Bank Ltd
225 Adelaide Street …………………… 221 6422
Westpac Banking Corp
260 Queen Street ……………………… 227 2666
Banking hours are Mon.-Thu. 9:30 am to 4 pm. Fri. 9:30 am to 5 pm. All banks close Sat. Sun. && Public Holidays.
Australia has a decimal currency(十进币制) with 100 cents to the dollar.
Notes available are: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5
Gold coins are: $2 && $1
Silver coins are: 50, 20, 10&&5 cent
Copper coins are: 2 && 1 cent You can find ANZ Banking Group on ______.
| A．Queen Street | B．Elizabeth Street |
| C．the corner of Greek Street and Queen Street | |
| D．the corner of Queen Street and Elizabeth Street |
______ seems to be the most important street inBrisbane.
| A．Greek Street | B．Elizabeth Street |
| C．Queen Street | D．Adelaide Street |
On Saturdays, you can go to ______ to put your money in or take your money out.
| A．ANZ Banking Group | B．Bank of Queensland |
| C．National Australia Bank Ltd | D．no bank |
In Australia, the banks have their longest servicehours on ______.
| A．public holidays | B．Sundays | C．Saturdays | D．Fridays |
Switzerland is famous for its watches. However, this country didn’t invent the watch. It was the British who did it. Here is a story of how the watch was brought to Switzerland.
Many years ago, an Englishman was traveling to Italy, on his way he stopped in a small town in south Switzerland. This Englishman traveled in a carriage inside which there was a carriage watch. This was the earliest kind of watch. A native shop assistant happened to see the watch. He wondered what it was and asked the Englishman about it, “it is a carriage watch,” said the man. “This machine tells the time but now it isn’t working.”
At once the shop assistant offered to try to repair it. So the traveler handed him the watch. The assistant was a very wise man. So it was not very surprising that he managed to repair it. He even remembered how it was made. As soon as the traveler had gone on his journey, he made a watch exactly the same type.
Thus the watch-making was started in Switzerland. Today Swiss watches are sold in stores all over the world.Switzerland is famous for______.
| A．making watches. | B．selling watches. |
| C．inventing watches. | D．the carriage watch |
The earliest watches were made in_______.
| A．Switzerland | B．England | C．Italy | D．a small town |
The first Swiss watch was made by_______.
| A．an Italian shop assistant. |
| B．an English shop assistant. |
| C．a shop assistant in Switzerland. |
| D．a man who was traveling to Italy. |
The carriage watch was a machine which________.
| A．was put in the carriage | B．wasn’t working |
| C．told people time | D．had to be repaired |