I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant, and ancient for a sportsman. Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me. Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age, but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.
A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying, “Fifty is what forty used to be.” He had made an inspirational (有灵感的) point. Am I over the hill ? People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling them that the high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.
“You are not getting older, you are getting better.” Says Dr. Joyce Brothers. This, however, is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.
And so as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net, I am moved to share some thoughts on aging with you, I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally. Getting older, of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼词). In fact, a poet name Robert Browning considered it the best change of all:
Grow old along with me !
The best is yet to me.
Whether or not Browning was right, most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by. I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend(混合) of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher(哲学家) was right when he said , “old is always fifteen years from now.”The author seems to tell us in Paragraph 1 that ______.
| A．time alone will tell | B．time goes by quickly |
| C．time will show what is right | D．time makes one forget the past. |
When the author turned fifty, people around him ________ .
| A．tried to comfort him | B．got inspiration with him |
| C．were friendlier with him | D．found him more talkative |
The author considers his fifty years of life _________.
| A．peaceful | B．ordinary | C．satisfactory | D．regretful |
We can infer from the passage that ________ .
| A．the old should lead a simple life |
| B．the old should face the fact of aging |
| C．the old should take more exercise |
| D．the old should fill themselves with curiosity |
Which of the following statements is WRONG?_______.
| A．It’s hard for the author to jump over the six-feet high-jump bar now. |
| B．The author is optimistic about his future. |
| C．the author used to think 50 was far away from him. |
| D．Most elephants live less than 50 years. |
Most teenagers are given pocket money by their parents in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Teenagers get between ￡7 and ￡20 a Week. They spend it on fast food, clothes, the cinema, concerts, magazines and mobile phone.
Lazy parents?
37% of parents pay teenagers to clean the room, and 66% of parents pay teenagers to take the rubbish out.
Lazy teens?
51% of teenagers don't make their beds before they leave home. Only 13 % of teenagers wash the car for money. Some parents even pay their teenagers to do their homework.
Equality? Not yet!
Boys get more money than girls for most odd jobs. For washing the dishes, boys get about ￡4 and girls get about ￡1.
And if you need some more money?
Teens get an extra ￡250 a year out of their parents except pocket money! About 50% of teens get gifts of money from their grandparents. Go to Mum if you need extra money! She gives more than Dad.
Where you live makes a difference!
Parents in Scotland and the North of England give the most pocket money.
Spending
51% spend their money on clothes. 30% buy cosmetics, jewelry and toiletries (化妆品). Less than 40% of teenagers save their money.
Earnings
Here is what some children told us about their pocket money: I get ￡30 a month. I have to take the rubbish out and tidy my room. -- Emma, 15, Edinburgh
I get ￡10 a week. But I have to clean the car and the house and load and unload the dishwasher. I usually save the money. -- James, 12, Sheffield.
I get ￡7.50 a week. I have to be "good" but I don't have to do any jobs for the money. -- Lain, 13, Cardiff.
I get ￡5 a week. But our neighbors go away a lot and they give me ￡25 a week for looking after their cats. -- Richard, 13, Belfast.
68. Which of the following would be the best title for the test?
A. How to get pocket money. B. Pocket money in Britain.
C. How to spend pocket money. D. How teenagers everywhere get pocket money.
69. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Most parents are so lazy that they let their children do housework.
B. Most teens are too lazy to do housework unless they are given pocket money.
C. Boys and girls aren't equal in getting pocket money when they do odd jobs.
D. It isn't right for children to ask for pocket money.
70. We can infer from the passage that.
A. boys earn the same amount of money at home as girls
B. only rich parents give children pocket money
C. girls earn more money at home than boys
D. most children don't save their pocket money
71. Who probably gets the most pocket money for a whole year according to the passage?
A. Richard. B. James. C. Lain. D. Emma.
China's relatively poor western regions are to receive 296 billion yuan (about 43.3 billion U.S. dollars) of investment through 551 projects signed with investors from both China and abroad.
Those deals (合同) were sealed at the tenth Western China International Economy and Trade Fair in Chengdu, provincial capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
The region has 12 provinces, autonomous (独立的) regions and municipalities (自治区), with a combined population of about 370 million.
Chinese investors contributed 539 of the 551 projects, involving 288.9 billion yuan of investment. The rest 12 projects would be invested by foreign contractors (承包商), involving in around 1 billion U.S. dollars of investment.
Sectors involving local resources, equipment manufacturing (制造业), service and new and high technology were investors' favorite target areas.
According to agreements signed here, German industrial conglomerate Siemens would spend 30 million yuan in Chengdu to setup a "Global IT Operation Center", intending to provide better IT operation support for its customers.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Foxconn Group, the world’s top maker of outsourced electronics, would invest 1 billion dollars to build an industrial base in Chengdu, setting up production lines for products like LED-TV, LCD module (组件), LED backlight module and LCD package. The new base will also develop software and sell 3G digital products as wells.
64. What can we learn from the passage?
A. China’s relatively poor western regions are to receive 296 billion yuan of investment.
B. Those deals were sealed at the eleventh Western China International Economy and Trade Fair.
C. The region has 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
D. The region has a combined population of about 310 million.
65. How many projects were signed with investors from both China and abroad?
A. 539. B. 551. C. 370. D. 288.
66. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. 539 projects would be invested by Chinese investors, involving 288.9 billion yuan of investment.
B. Sectors involving local resources, equipment manufacturing ( 制造业), service and old and high technology were investors' favorite target areas.
C. German industrial conglomerate Siemens would spend 30 million yuan in Chengdu to setup a "Global IT Operation Center".
D. 12 projects would be invested by foreign contractors, involving in around 1 billion U. S. dollars of investment.
67. How much money would Taiwan’s Foxconn Group invest?
A. 30 million yuan. B. 43.3 billion U.S. dollars.
C. 1 billion dollars.D. 2 billion dollars.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that "for the first time in history, more than one billion people are hungry."
The secretary-general made the statement in his message to the World Food Day, which fails on Friday. The World Food Day is celebrated on Oct. 16 annually, and the theme this year is "Achieving food security in times of crisis."
In his message, the secretary-general attributed the increase of hungry population world-wide to volatile (易变的) food prices, economic crisis, climate change and, conflict over the past two years.
Ban described food and nutritional security as "the foundations of a decent (正常的) life," saying that "the challenges of food security demand multilateral commitment (承诺), creativity and leadership."
"We must invest in food production and distribution (分配) ," he said. "Last year, I set up a. High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis. Its Comprehensive (全方位的) Frame-work for Action outlines a strategy to provide safety nets and assistance for smallholder farmers and to support longer-term agricultural productivity and resilience, social protection schemes (方案), market access and fair trade. "
"The challenges of food security demand unilateral commitment, creativity and leadership. At this time of crisis, I encourage all nations to pursue coordinated (配合) and comprehensive strategies for agricultural development and effective social protection so that vulnerable people -- women and children in particular -- can get the food they need for nutritional security and well-being," he said.
60. Which day is the World Food Day?
A. On Oct. 16. B. On Oct. 17. C. On Oct. 15. D. On Oct. 11.
61. How many reasons led to the increase, of hungry population worldwide according to the passage?
A. 3. B.5. C.2. D.4.
62. What does the challenges of food security demand?
A. Multilateral commitment and leadership.
B. Volatile food prices, economic Crisis and climate change.
C. Multilateral commitment, creativity and leadership.
D. Coordinated and comprehensive strategies.
63. What is the theme of the World Food Day this year?
A. Fight Hunger to Reduce Poverty. B. Achieving food security in times of crisis.
C. Women Feed the World. D. Water: Source of Food Security.
第三部分：阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分, 满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
One year after the hosting of the exceptional Beijing Olympic Games, the 11th National Games, billed as China’s mini-Olympics, opened amid a splendid ceremony here Friday evening.
Chinese President Hu Jintao officially opened the Games at the ceremony held in the newly built Olympic Sports Complex in this capital city of east China’s Shandong province.
With 55 of all 63 Chinese Beijing Olympic champions expected to compete, the quadrennial national meet was set to stage another sports gala (节日) for the country which just celebrated its 60th birthday.
Taking part in the biggest-ever National Games are 10,991 athletes of 46 delegations (代表团) from all province, municipalities, autonomous regions, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the People’s Liberation Army, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and various sports associations of the trades such as railways, coal mining, forestry, finance and banking and aviation ( 航空 ).
The athletes' parade was followed by an Olympic-style art performance, a brilliant combination of dazzling light, music and dance, fireworks, and cultural extravaganza.
The flame was ignited in a traditional sun-ray ceremony on Aug. 1 at the top of Mount Taishan, one of the world cultural and natural heritage (遗产) sites in China.
The Games, with the theme of "Harmonious China and People’s Games", features 33 sports consisting of all 28 sports in summer Olympics, four winter sports and wushu as well.
Before its official kick-off, finals of 104 events from winter sports and summer sports such as table tennis, gymnastics and diving have concluded.
The Games runs from October 16 to 28 and will be held in 17 cities for the overall benefits throughout Shandong province.
56. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Chinese President Hu Jintao officially opened the Games at the ceremony.
B. China’s 11th National Games was opened.
C. 10,991 athletes of 46 delegations from all provinces take part in the biggest-ever National Games.
D. The Games runs from October 16 to 28.
57. Where was the 11th National Games opened?
A. At the top of Mount Taishan. B. In Beijing.
C. In the capital city of east China’s Shandong province. D. In Shanghai.
58. How many Chinese Beijing Olympic champions were expected to compete?
A. 55. B. 11. C.28. D.55.
59. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. China just celebrated its 60th birthday.
B. The flame was ignited at the top of Mount Taishan.
C. The flame was ignited in a traditional sun-ray ceremony on Aug. 2.
D. The theme of the Games is "Harmonious China and People's Games".
When my father was getting ready for work, our house was ruled by knocks and words．He used to come downstairs to breakfast．The morning paper lay beside his plate．He always read the “Deaths” first, and then he knocked once on the table．One of my sisters brought his bread, already buttered for him．Usually he said nothing, but once I heard him say, “I love you very much, Edith．I would love more if you buttered my bread on both sides．” He read the paper all through breakfast．Two knocks on the table meant “I am ready for my tea．” If a single knock followed that meant, “More bread, please．”
After breakfast he said, “Boots．” The paper was spread（展开） for him over the back of an arm-chair．Yesterday’s paper was put on the chair for his feet, and his boots were brought to him, freshly cleaned．He read standing at the same time putting on his boots．With one boot finished he said, “Bus．” At that point one of the girls went outside to the garden gate and waited there．Her job was to stop a bus when it came．It came early sometimes and it had to wait for my father．“Overcoat, hat．” One of my sisters had already brushed his overcoat．Now she held it open for him．Another girl came with his hat, nicely brushed．“Handkerchief, pipe（烟斗）．” They were brought and put, with his tobacco（烟草）, into his pocket．He looked out of the window and said either “Walking stick” or “Umbrella”．It was handed to him．Ready now, he was still reading the paper．He didn’t put it down until he heard the shout “Bus coming!” Then he kissed my mother and went out．The girls breathed freely．
How lucky a man was to have a wife and five daughters at home!
68．When the father made the first knock, he meant _______．
A．he had begun to read the morning newspaper
B．he was made to feel sad by the” Deaths” news
C．he would start to read the other parts of the paper
D．his breakfast should begin
69．What does “Edith” mean?
A．A kind of bread． B．One of the writer’s sisters．
C．The writer． D．The writer’s mother．
70．All the daughters were quite busy in the morning because _______．
A．their father never helped them
B．their father always gave different instructions at the same time
C．each of them had to start and finish her job just on time
D．they were not clever or quick enough to do their jobs
71．What was the father’s favorite?
A．Reading newspaper． B．Having bread buttered on both sides．
C．Giving instructions． D．Being clean and tidy．