Two magazines recently listed the best cities to live in. Here are two of the cities listed as “the world’s best.”
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA The city has comfortable weather all year round (15°C to 26°C ). Housing is not very expensive in San Jose. Also, many of the city’s older neighborhoods are very beautiful and have small hotels and cafés(咖啡馆). Beautiful mountains are around the city. You can visit them easily from San Jose. So lots of people go sightseeing there every year. But air pollution is a problem in the city center.
HONG KONG, CHINA This lively city—once a small fishing village—is today an international business center. It is an interesting mixof East and West, old and new. Modern tall buildings are next to small temples (庙宇). Popular nightclubs are close to traditional teahouses. Busy people fill the streets at all hours of the day. But outside the city, there are parks for walking or relaxing. Hong Kong is famous for its wonderful native dishes. There’s also food from Europe, North America, and other parts of Asia. However, this small city has a large population. Nearly 7 million people live in Hong Kong! That’s why housing is often very expensive. Traffic and air pollution are also a problem.Which of the following is not mentioned about San Jose?
| A．The weather. | B．The mountains. | C．The air. | D．The traffic. |
What makes Hong Kong the world’s best according to this passage?
| A．The lively city and the wonderful dishes. | B．The beautiful mountains and the lively city. |
| C．The expensive housing and the food. | D．The city and the people. |
The writer thinks housing in Hong Kong is expensive because .
| A．it was a small fishing village | B．it is a mix of East and West |
| C．it is famous for its wonderful food | D．there are too many people in the city |
What do the two cities have in common?
| A．They both have beautiful mountains. | B．They both have a large population. |
| C．Air pollution is a problem in both. | D．They are both crowded. |
From the passage, we can know that .
| A．San Jose and Hong Kong are the only two cities of the world’s best |
| B．San Jose has more natural sights than Hong Kong does |
| C．the weather in both cities is fine |
| D．Hong Kong is the more popular city of the two |
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his vast fortune, largely to the cause of global health, during the course of his lifetime. With an estimated (估计) worth of more than $40 billion, according to Forbes, the project will be no small feat (功绩) for Gates. Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues, Gates said that eventually his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.
So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest? Gates believes that “the equality of opportu
nity” in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the population, he says, has proven to be an essential (实质的) method in helping poor countries to be financially successful. “National borders allow inequalities,” said Gates: “We all need to take a more global view, rather than just saying my country is doing well. We have to step up these health issues, knowing how few resources are going into them.”
Gates said that both his parents set an example for him as a child. His father, William H. Gates, was the head of the local Planned Parenthood, and his mother, Mary, volunteered for the United Way. As he gathered his fortune, Gates knew he would eventually want to give back as well, but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole-heartedly to one project until he was about 60.
However, Gates, 47, began to question his ability to wait that long. “It seemed there was a real time urgency (紧迫),” Gates said. “I started to think, how many lives could I save before then?”.. Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to ___.
| A．improve the health of population in America alone |
| B．improve the health of population all over the world |
| C．avoid leaving his children too much money |
| D．spare the American government the burden of health care |
.. Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is ___.
| A．to set up more foundations for them | B．to aid them with natural resources |
| C．to put more effort into the health issues in them | D．to help them take a more global view |
.It can be learned from the text that Bill Gates thinks ___.
| A．Americans should care about people in other countries |
| B．Americans should treat fellow citizens well |
| C．Americans should devote themselves to certain projects |
D． Americans can be world-famous by giving away vast fortune |
.. Bill Gates gave away his vast fortune earlier than he had expected because of ___.
| A．his weakening health condition | B．his parents’ suggestions |
C．his great s uccess in business |
D．his concern for suffering people |
.The underlined word “channel” probably has a similar meaning as it is used in sentence “___”.
| A．Try to channel your abilities into something useful | |
| B．We ought to channel this street so that water can flow away easily | |
| C．Ships must follow the channel into the port | D．Which cha nnel will you be broadcasting tonight |
The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone. Enter the Red Hat Society—a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun.
“My grandmother didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody. They were programmed to do that,” said Em
ily Cornette, head of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society.
While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age. But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers (生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their pare
nts’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old.
If you take into consideration feminism (女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable (必然的). In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple (紫色的) clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing.
“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. With a red hat which doesn’t go,” said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998. When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention.
“The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper said. “Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves.” This is why chapters are discou
raged from raising money or doing anything useful. “We’re a ladies’ play group. It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood..The unlined word “chapter” in Paragraph 2 means ___.
| A．one branch of an organization | B．a written agreement of a club |
| C．one part of a collection of poems | D．a period in a society’s history |
.From the text, we know that the “baby boomers” are a group of people who ___.
| A．have gradually become more noticeable | B．are worried about getting old too quickly |
| C．are enjoying a good life with plenty of money to spend | |
| D．tried living a different life from their parents when they were young |
. It could be inferred from the text that members of the Red Hat Society are ___.
| A．interested in raising money for social work | B．programmers who can plan well for their future |
| C．believers in equality between men and women | D．good at cooking big meals and taking care of others |
.. Who set up the Red Hat Society?
| A．Emily Cornette | B．Ellen Cooper | C．Jenny Joseph | D．Joe Heywood |
.. Women join the Red Hat Society because ___.
| A．they want to stay young | B．they would like to appear more attractive |
| C．they would like to have fun and live for themselves | D．they want to be more like their parents |
The house was quiet at 5 a.m. and Tim’s mother was asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer broke the 
quiet. He dreamt of the cav
e last night. The purring (轻微颤动声) of the freezer had been the sea.
Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He’d eat after he’d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.
He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches—but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches, she’d want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table:
Gone to Michael’s. Back tonight. Tim.
The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn’t up. Even the highway up the hill wa
s quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and sweet.
The sand hills still breathed heat from yes
terday’s sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves. The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched across the sea. The sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.
Over the first rocks, along to the point, Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky.
He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious now? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn’t go in all the way....What did Tim do at the beginning of the story?
| A．He left the house quietly. | B．He had breakfast at home |
| C．He left a note on the freezer. | D．He put a sweater in his schoolbag. |
.“He settled for some biscuits” in paragraph 3 means that Tim ___.
| A．had to leave the biscuits on the table | B．liked biscuits better than sandwiches |
| C．had to take biscuits instead of sandwiches | D．could only find some biscuits in the kitchen |
.What made it possible for Tim to see the entry to the cave?
| A．The height of the first rocks | B．The ups and downs of the waves |
| C．The change in the position of the sun. | D．The vast stretch of the sunlit beach |
.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?
| A．The sea looked like a piece of gold. | B．Seabirds flew away when Tim arrived. |
| C．Tim was the only person on the beach. | D．The sky got dark as Tim reached the cave. |
.. In the story, Tim’s mood changed from ___.
| A．loneliness to craziness | B．anxiousness to excitement |
| C．helplessness to happiness | D．eagerness to nervousness |
What do you know about the sea? You may have seen it. Some of us have swum or bathed in it. It looks beautiful on a fine sunny day and it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it? Of course, the sea is very large. In the world there is more sea than land. The sea covers three quarters of the earth. The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere, some pa
rts of it are very great. At one spot, near Japan the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! Just think of it, the highest mountain in the world is only about 9 kilometers high! If you have swum in the sea, you know that the water is salty. Rivers carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are more salty than other parts. Do you know the Dead Sea in Arabia? It is very salty. Swimmers cannot sink in it! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea. It is a strange sea. In most parts of the sea, there are a lot of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. No sunlight can reach the depth of the sea. So it is completely dark. Strange fishes live there. Some are blind. Some have their own lights. Some have great jaws. With their great jaws, they swallow fish larger than themselves. The sea can be very cold. Deep sea divers know this well. At the top of the water may be warm. Then as the divers go down, the sea becomes colder and colder.
Many scientists are now making a study of animal and plant life in the sea. They hope to find new resources for mankind.. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．Land covers one fourth of the are a of the earth. |
| B．The depths of the sea are different in different places. |
| C．The depth of a sea at one spot near Japan is nearly the height of the highest mountain. |
| D．The salt in the sea mainly comes from the land. |
.. The Dead Sea is lifeless because ___.
| A．the water in it is too cold | B．the water in it is too salty for anything to grow |
| C．the water in it never flows | D．no sunlight can reach the bottom of the lake |
. We can see the underlined word “rough” in this passage means ___.
| A．ugly | B．noisy | C．cold | D．not calm |
.. Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Some of the fish living in the depth of the sea can not see by themselves. | |
| B．Some fish give out light for themselves. | |
| C．Some fish live on other fish. | D．All of the above |
.. What does the writer intend to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．The necessity of the study of the sea. | B．The purpose of man’s further study of the sea. |
| C．Man’s limited knowledge of the sea. | D．The importance of new resources for man. |
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — Hundreds of families from the two Koreas on Saturday met at the DPRK's (朝鲜人民主主义人民共和国) Mount Kumgang resort (度假胜地)in the first government-arranged reunion since the inauguration（就职）of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
Earlier in the day, 96 South Koreans, of whom more than three-quarters were at the age of 70 or older, crossed the inter-Korean border（韩朝边界）, heading for the Kumgang resort to meet their families separated by the 1950—1953 Korean War.
Arriving at the DPRK's resort in the afternoon, South Koreans met with their long-separated families at a large-scale gathering at around 3 p.m. local time, and later are to have a dining meeting in the evening.
The separate, personal meetings are planned to be held on Sunday.
The South Korean families will come back home on Monday after the three-day gathering, followed by the second-session reunion event which will last from Tuesday to Thursday.
The reunion, which had become a semi-regular event(半定期举行的活动) since 2000 after a historic inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang(平壤), was suspended（取消）in 2007 with a worsening mood in inter-Korean relations.
Saturday's family meeting, however, came as a result of an agreement reached last month between the DPRK leader Kim Jong-il and Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai Group.
The recovery of the family meetings is regarded as conveying the DPRK's reconciliatory(和解) intentions, along with the country's recent moves including lifting a ban(解禁) on cross-border traffic to and from the Kaesong Joint Industrial Park, local media said.
About 600,000 South Koreans are believed to have relatives in the DPRK. Ordinary citizens were not allowed to make phone calls, send letters or exchange e-mails across the border.. Why were there so many families separated according to the passage?
| A．Because they were from different countries. |
| B．Because of the war which broke out in 1950. |
| C．Because of the ban that ordinary citizens were not allowed to cross the border. |
| D．Because the different policies between the two countries. |
.. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．It is the first reunion since they were separated. |
| B．These separated families haven’t seen their relatives for more than 7 years. |
| C．The first day of the reunion fell on a Saturday. |
| D．Ordinary citizens are now not allowed to make phone calls, or exchange e-mails across the border. |
. The underlined word “reunion” can be replaced by _______________.
| A．living together again |
| B．joining together again |
| C．reaching an agreement again |
| D．meeting together again |
. What’s the best title of this news?
| A．South Korean, DPRK families meet in reunion event. |
| B．A Special Family Gathering. |
| C．The improvement of inter-Korean relations. |
| D．A Peaceful Meeting. |