Zoe Chambers was a successful PR(Public Relations) consultant and life was going well — she had a great job, beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. “The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through.” she said. “After everything I’d done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn’t feel like looking for another job. I hate everything about the city and my life.”
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later she is still on the farm.
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London 1 was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy's wonderful dinners."
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing — watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now."When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a ______life.
| A．satisfying | B．tough | C．meaningless | D．boring |
The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy's farm is that______.
| A．Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant |
| B．Kathy persuaded her to do so |
| C．Zoe got tired of the city life |
| D．Zoe loved Wales more than London |
How docs Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?
| A．Tiresome and troublesome. |
| B．Romantic and peaceful |
| C．Mentally exhausting but healthy |
| D．Physically tiring but rewarding. |
Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．A misfortune may turn out a blessing. |
| D．Kill two birds with one stone. |
阅读表达（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
【1】The air was pleasant and the music was loud in the vast square in front of the New York State office building in Harlem(哈莱姆， 美国纽约市黑人居住区) as health advocates（支持者，提倡者） set up information tables for Harlem wellness Week. It was a wide-ranging effort to educate people about non-communicable diseases: Heart disease, cancer, lung disease, obesity, and so on.
【2】There is an economic effect caused by these diseases, especially in Harlem, one of the city’s poorest districts. Without healthy employees and healthy customers, you cannot have healthy business, says Patricia Ricketts of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors Wellness Week.
【3】Dr. Jo Ivy Boufford is president of the New York Academy of Medicine, a Wellness Week partner. She says education about better nutrition is important, but that people with low incomes often lack the means to put what they know into practice. But there is hope. New York is very active in adovating good, effective public health policies. “New York City has banned smoking in public places, both indoors and outdoors. That is a fantastic example of what can be done, without having any impact on the economy. It is a city where you have bike paths. That is a good message for the world, because bikes make your transport active. That is good for your health and lowers air pollution,” she said.
【4】“It is not enough to focus on the management of disease through medication,” Dr. Boufford says. “That’s why health advocates will be trying to persuade UN officials during Wellness Week to pass resolutions that deal with road and transport design and construction and other potential causes of non-communicable diseases.” What is the main idea of the text? (no more than 8words)
Complete the following statement with words from Paragraph【4】.(no more than 3words)_______________ the management of disease through medication is not enough.
What noninfectious diseases are mentioned in the text?( no more than 6 words)
Do you think it is necessary to hold a Wellness Week to prevent diseases? Why, or why not? (no more than 16 words)
What does the word “That”(paragraph 3) refer to?(no more than 4 words)
The quality of water supply in southern Beijing has been improving in recent years, an official said.
In addition to improvements in the network of pipes, the government has been upgrading three recycled water plants in the south of the capital, said Zhao Lei, spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.
"The transformation of the three plants has increased the recycled water processing capacity by 160,000 cubic meters per day," he said.
In addition, the city is also speeding up the construction of sewage treatment plants to further recycle the sewage, Zhao said.
Zhang Xiang, a researcher from Nature University, an environmental protection NGO in Beijing, said recycled water use should be promoted, especially in water-scarce cities such as Beijing.
Setting up more recycled water plants in the capital will not only promote efficient water use, but also reduce costs because recycling water is much cheaper than transferring it over long distances, he said.
According to the Beijing Water Authority, the capital will set up 46 more recycled water plants citywide in the next three years while upgrading 20 sewage treatment plants.
The treatment rate of domestic sewage in downtown Beijing will reach 98 percent by the end of 2015, it said.
The capital's recycled water is mainly used for industry, landscaping and cleaning, Zhang said.
Many new communities in southern Beijing are equipped with a network to recycle water.
In the past, people were not enthusiastic about using recycled water. However, as the government has boosted the quality of recycled water and set up more recycled water plants, more residents are gradually accepting it.
Residents in southern Beijing will also enjoy more clean energy, as the government will replace traditional coal-burning stoves with electric radiators as part of a three-year plan to develop southern Beijing from 2013 to 2015.
Since 2010, Beijing has taken measures to develop its southern areas. Earlier efforts have seen the region, which used to rely heavily on low-end industries such as cement factories and small coal mines, being turned into a bustling commercial center and home to many educational institutions.This passage may appear in ________ section.
| A．business | B．life | C．politics | D．forum |
which statement is true according to the passage
| A．Recycled water will be mainly used for drink. |
| B．As usual, recycled water is accepted by people. |
| C．Traditionally people in southern Beijing use coal-burning stove for cooking. |
| D．The water Transferred over long distance is cheaper than recycled water. |
How many recycled water plants will the capital city have in about 3 years?
| A．46. | B．20 | C．3 | D． 49 |
What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．Southern area in Beijing has taken on a new look. |
| B．The southern area is hone to many educational institutions |
| C．Southern area in Beijing is more beautiful now. |
| D．Southern area in Beijing is a busy place now . |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Beijing government has taken measures to improve its people`s life. |
| B．Recycled water flows to southern Beijing. |
| C．More recycled water plants will be built. |
| D．The southern Beijing residents will enjoy clean water |
BEIJING - China's railway rates for freight and passenger transport will continue to be set by the government, announced a senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, on Friday.
Cao Changqing, head of the NDRC's department of price, said that the country will continue to implement government-set or government-guided prices for the railway sector after the China Railway Corporation (CRC), a State-owned company that takes over the commercial functions of the former Ministry of Railways (MOR), went into business on March 17.
Cao said the railway sector, constituting China's main public transport facilities, is a key basic industry. Its pricing scheme is concerned with both the sector's normal operation and development, as well as the daily traveling and vital interests of the general public.
The state will be very cautious in making any price adjustment in the railway sector, taking into account various factors including operation, construction, public acceptance and coordinated development with other modes of transport, according to the NDRC official.
Under Chinese law and regulations, hearings will be held before adjustments in the basic passenger train ticket fare, Cao said.
In China's latest railway reform, endorsed at the just-concluded annual session of the country's top legislature, the former MOR was dismantled into two parts, with the newly created CRC carrying out business functions and a state railways administration fulfilling administrative functions.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．China’s railway pricing scheme unchanged |
| B．A State-owned company takes over the commercial functions of MOR. |
| C．China’s latest railway reform |
| D．The former MOR was divided into two parts |
What does Cao mean according to the passage?
| A．There will be adjustment in the basic passenger train ticket |
| B．China’s railway rate for passenger will not be changed forever |
| C．Hearing will be held before adjustment of railway price |
| D．The price adjustment are being considered |
What can we infer from the fourth paragraph?
| A．The public will be very curious about the price adjustment |
| B．Various factors are taken into account by the state before adjustment |
| C．Public acceptance is the most important factor |
| D．NDRC should coordinate railway development with other modes of transport |
Why will hearings be held before adjustments in the basic passenger train ticket fare?
| A．The public request it |
| B．Under Chinese laws and regulations |
| C．According to the order from leaders |
| D．Because it will cause a lot of problem |
We would most probably read this passage on the newspaper about________
| A．News | B．Entertainment | C．Society | D．Financial |
All it took was a slice of Xinjiang cake to spark heated debates online over China's policy on ethnic（民族的）minorities .
Since Monday,qiegao(cut cake) has been a trending topic on Sina Weibo, China’s main Twitter-like microblogging service.
The cake was a reference to Xinjiang’s famed nut cake, sometimes known by its old Turkic name baklava, a popular pastry across Central Asia and the Middle East. In Xinjiang, they are sold by Uygur vendors（小贩）on tricycles who are known to charge dubious prices depending on the time and season.
The ethnic flare-up started after the Yueyang police from Hunan province posted a message on their official Weibo account. It reported a dispute in Pingjiang countyover an overpriced piece of nut cake between a Xinjiang Uygur vendor and a villager named "Ling".
Villager Ling got into a fight with a Uygur due to a misunderstanding. The verbal dispute eventually escalated into a fight and then a mass fight. As a result, two people were injured and Xinjiang nut cakes worth about 160,000 yuan (US$25,000) were destroyed. The total damage was worth 200,000 yuan which included a broken motorcycle and injuries to people. Local police have detained（扣留） Ling. The 16 Uygur sellers were dully compensated and sent back to Xinjiang.
"Yueyang police incident" quickly became one of the most popular topics on Weibo. Yueyang police removed the post shortly after. As of Tuesday night, the topic was still amassing more than 66,000 hits.
The incident is just one of many similar cases of ethnic tensions across China, notably in Xinjiang province, where deeply entrenched social and racial frictions between the dominant ethnic Han Chinese and minority Uygur Muslims occasionally spark violence. Many Uygurs living in major Chinese cities are viewed by locals as thieves, crooks and even terrorists.Which of the following is true?
| A．The dispute is between a Xinjiang Uygur vendor and a policeman. |
| B．Nut cake is a popular pastry across East Asia and the Middle East. |
| C．The prices of Baklava will change according to the time and season. |
| D．The demand of the 16 Uygur sellers were refused and they were sent back to Xinjiang. |
How much did the broken motorcycle cost？
| A．160,000 yuan | B．200,000 yuan |
| C．40，000yuan | D．We don’t know |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．World's most expensive baklava. |
| B．Ethnic tensions across China. |
| C．Pay attention to the Uygurs |
| D．Misunderstanding caused by a fight |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Yueyang police are afraid of the Xinjiang Uygur vendor |
| B．It’s not the only ethnic tension across China, |
| C．Many Uygurs living in major Chinese cities are viewed by locals as thieves, crooks and even terrorists. |
| D．Villager Ling got into a fight with a Uygur due to a misunderstanding. |
Where is this passage probably from?
| A．Microblogging. | B．Textbook. |
| C．Newspaper. | D．Article. |
Most of the time, we choose colors for decorating based on our personal taste and our sense of aesthetics (审美学). But, a number of color experts believe that colors have an effect on our emotions and that it would be wise of us to be conscious of that before settling on a definite choice.
Some of the effects of colors are well known and accepted by most people. In fact, those effects have been the subject of serious research and experiments and have been scientifically proven. But not all scientists agree on the validity (正确性) of the results.
When we become interested in the psychological effects of colors, it is important to know that not all societies share our opinion of those effects on our emotions. What we hold as an "objective" observation on a color is often nothing more than a reflection of our cultural belongingness, which has attributed properties to that color for generations.
Why is it not possible for us to hold a really objective discourse(论述)on the subject? In part, because it is very difficult to separate the psychological from the symbolic, the symbolic aspects are definitely cultural. Often, and this without our realizing it, they influence our understanding of colors and the following emotions - both psychological aspects. Black and white are good examples. In western countries, black is considered serious, dramatic and sometimes sad. People are warned against its potentially depressing effects on decoration. Black is the traditional color of mourning. White, on the other hand, is associated with purity, peace and optimism. For those reasons, white is the traditional color of bridal dresses. No one would think of attending a funeral in white. Any more than it would occur to a bride to wear black. We simply remain convinced that it is not in the "nature" of those colors. Yet, in certain oriental countries, it is white, not black that is the color of mourning.
That having been said, there is some “overlapping” in the properties different cultures attribute to certain colors. For example, Feng Shui, the traditional Chinese philosophy that distinguishes between good and evil influences explains colors much in the same way as the majority of western color specialists. Is that to say that colors have real natural properties which all humans perceive(感知) in the same way or is the phenomenon an example of the cross-influences that affect the thinking of cultures brought closer to one another by a certain Venetian(威尼斯人) called Marco Polo? It is difficult to say.
But, be that as it may, colors do affect us. And if you feel emotions for a certain color, note them and remember them. You may even wish to consider them next time you are planning to decorate. The decision is yours! Most of the time, we ignore ______ when choosing colors for decoration.
| A．personal taste | B．our aesthetics |
| C．cultural effects | D．psychological effects |
Why is it not possible for us to hold a really objective discourse on the subject?
| A．Because it is often nothing more than a reflection of our cultural belongingness. |
| B．Because the colors have the properties for generations. |
| C．Because it is difficult to separate the psychological from the cultural. |
| D．Because the symbolic aspects influence our perception of colors. |
The italicized word “overlapping” is paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to______
| A．difference | B．conflict | C．sameness | D．agreement |
In western countries, white is ______.
| A．preferred by bridals | B．used in a funerals sometimes |
| C．depressing in decoration | D．pure in its nature |
According to the author, which of the following statements is certain?
| A．Different cultures can have the same properties of colors. |
| B．If you feel emotions for a color, note them and remember them. |
| C．All humans perceive colors’ natural properties in the same way. |
| D．Marco Polo disclosed the psychological effects of colors. |