Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Bras Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay(马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent (月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.
| A．the government is usually the first to name a place |
| B．many places tend to have more than one name |
| C．a ceremony will be held when a place is named |
| D．people prefer the place names given by the government |
What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Change suddenly. | B．Change significantly. | C．Disappear mysteriously. | D．Disappear very slowly. |
Which of the following places is named after a person? ______________.
| A．Raffles Place. | B．Selector Airbase. | C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Paya Lebar Crescent. |
Bras Basah Road is named _______.
| A．after a person | B．after a place | C．after an activity | D．by its shape |
What can be inferred from the passage? ______________.
| A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain. |
| B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes. |
| C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique. |
| D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers. |
People are talking about the “new economy.” It’s very different from the “old economy”.
In the old economy, people travel to work. They buy things in stores. They use the post office, the fax and the telephone to send information. They see people face-to-face at their jobs or in stores. People get information from newspapers, radio, television, books and libraries.
In the new economy, people do business through the “net,” which is a connection of millions of computers everywhere in the world. In the new economy, workers often work at home. They can get information online. They can communicate with employers and co-workers by e-mail. Businesses have “virtual (虚拟)stores”. They are websites on which customers can see the products. Businesses can sell to customers anywhere in the world.
In the new economy, people live a fast paced, convenient and colorful life. The whole world develops more quickly than before. But the new economy is a double-edge sword. Its disadvantage is also obvious. For example, the Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card cheating. Some illegal websites offer some cheap or banned goods or services. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they want to buy and their card information could even be for sale in an illegal website. So people in the new economy should be smarter and knowledgeable.The cause of the differences between the new economy and the old economy is ____.
| A．the change of people’s idea |
| B．the business people do |
| C．the use of the Internet |
| D．the change of people’s life |
“But the new economy is a double-edge sword ” in the last passage means_____.
| A．The new economy is as sharp as a sword |
| B．The new economy has advantages and disadvantages |
| C．The new economy is better than the old economy |
| D．Both the new economy and the old economy have disadvantages |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People can get all kinds of information on the Internet. |
| B．Telephone, radio, television, newspapers and so on will disappear in the new economy. |
| C．People in the new economy should have high quality. |
| D．Life in the new economy is more comfortable than the one in the old economy. |
Are you interested in country music? I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired .The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields.
Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It’s the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple.
Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of farmers .They talk about love, crops or death.
The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records.
When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.
John Denver was one of America’s most famous country singers in the 1970s.His song “Take Me home, Country Roads” is well-known and people still play it today.Country music is usually about _______.
| A．everyday life and feelings |
| B．farmers’ feelings |
| C．the lives of workers |
| D．the lives of farmers |
People began to make country song records _______.
| A．in the 1920s | B．in 1920 |
| C．in the 1970s | D．in 1970 |
Why did Country music become popular in America?
| A．Because city people liked the music. |
| B．Because farmers moved to cities with their music and it continued to change. |
| C．Because country music talked about city people’s lives. |
| D．Because country music developed in the Southern Africa |
Who is famous for the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads”?
| A．A farmer in the countryside |
| B．A person who moved to towns |
| C．John Denver |
| D．John Denver’s brother |
Whether you’re taking a trip alone or with your family, it’s easier to get sick when you’re in a new place because your body hasn’t had a chance to adjust to the food, water, and air in a new environment. Read the following tips on keeping your travel experience as healthy as possible.
Safe foods and drinks
What foods are safe to eat? Foods that have been boiled are generally safe, as well as fruits and vegetables that have to be peeled before eating. Avoid eating uncooked or undercooked meat.
Stay away from foods that require a lot of handling before serving.
Drink only bottled water when traveling. If you have to use the tap water, you should boil it first.
You can take it with you
When you’re packing, taking some painkiller and diarrhea medicine is a good idea. It’s also a good idea to pack some allergy (过敏) medicine even if you don’t take it at home, because people sometimes unexpectedly develop allergic reactions in a new environment.
Write it all down
Before you leave your sweet home, create a medical history form that includes the following information:
your name, address, and home phone number as well as a parent’s daytime phone number
your blood type a list of any ongoing health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, or AIDS a list of current medicines you are taking a list of allergies（过敏性的）to medicine, food, insects, and animals the name, address, and phone number of a relative other than your parent It also helps if you have some basic emergency medical knowledge, not only for yourself but also for helping others you may be traveling with. A great way to prepare for your trip is to take a first-aid or basic life support course before you go; if you’re traveling with a group, you should know where the first-aid kit is and what’s in it. Which of the following word can replace the underlined word in Para.1?
| A．adapt | B．just | C．adopt | D．correct |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Some travel tips | B．Danger of travel |
| C．Travel experience | D．First aid in travel |
According to the passage before you travel you’d better write the phone number of the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．your own | B．one of your parents |
| C．one of your relatives | D．one of your friends |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Taking a first-aid course. | B．Writing down your blood type. |
| C．Taking some necessary medicine. | D．Telling your parents’ your plan. |
"A child is dying---out of breath!" I had just begun my working day in the city, when these words came through the radio of the police car I was driving. I turned on the red lights and siren(警笛)and drove off as fast as I could. "Just my luck!" I thought. I didn't know this city well and my first call of the day was a life-and-death sudden happening, several kilometers away.
I got to the house. A mother, filled with fear, handed me her baby, his face already blue. Was I too late? Dear me!
I did what had been taught to do in such a serious condition. A small thing flew out of the baby's mouth on to the floor. It was a button. Thank heaven! The holes in it let a little air through.
A doctor rushed into the room. He had with him an oxygen bag.
The child began to cry at the top of his voice, burned red and started to look for his mother. He was angry but was saved.The writer of the story is _______.
| A．a policeman | B．a driver | C．a doctor | D．the boy's father |
The writer turned on the red lights and siren in order to _____.
| A．show that he was a police car |
| B．have the people in the streets make way for him |
| C．warn the people in the streets of the danger ahead |
| D．tell the people in the streets that he did not know the way well |
The baby was still living when the writer got to the house because _______.
| A．the writer arrived in time |
| B．the writer had been taught what to do at that time |
| C．the button was not big enough |
| D．the button happened to have holes in it |
What worried the writer all the way to the dying child ?
| A．He was afraid to come too late to save the child. |
| B．It was a sudden happening and he was too young. |
| C．Any people might be knocked down or killed by his car. |
| D．He was afraid that he could not have the button taken out. |
A new report says the number of foreign students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by three percent last year. This has been the first obvious increase since 2001.
American schools last fall had 583,000 foreign students. The record is 586,000. That was set in 2002 after many years of gains. But after that the numbers fell. The terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 led to more visa (签证) requirements. Now stronger efforts are being made to get more foreign students to study in the United States.
China remained in second place in front of South Korea but behind India, which sent almost 84,000 students last fall. The number of Japanese fell sharply by nine percent, although it remained in fourth place.
There were three percent drops from Indonesia and Kenya, the only African country in the top twenty last year. But there were obvious increases from Saudi Arabia, Nepal and Vietnam. The number of Saudi students more than doubled, rising to nearly eight thousand.
For a sixth year, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles had the most foreign students. Columbia University in New York was second. Other schools in the top five were New York University, the University of Illinois and Purdue University.
Unlike American students in other countries, who often choose history and language study, the leading area of study in the USA was business and management. Second was engineering.
The new report also says more than 220,000 Americans studied in other countries. That was during the 2005-2006 school year. It was a record number, and an increase of eight and a half percent from the year before. But only five percent of them stayed for a full year. After 2002, the number of foreign students in the USA fell mainly because ____ .
| A．Americans were worried that foreign students might attack them |
| B．few American universities welcomed students from abroad |
| C．their own countries could offer them a better education |
| D．it was harder for foreign students to get permission to study in the USA |
Which of the following Asian countries has the largest number of students studying in the USA?
| A．China. | B．Japan. | C．South Korea. | D．India. |
Which subject is the most attractive to foreign students in the USA?
| A．Business and management. | B．History. |
| C．Engineering. | D．Language. |
We can learn from the passage that ____ .
| A．Kenya is the only African country that has students in the USA |
| B．now foreign students are encouraged to study in the USA |
| C．the number of students studying in America always increases |
| D．the number of foreign students in the USA will keep increasing in the future |
In which section of a newspaper could you most probably read this passage?
| A．Culture. | B．Science. | C．Education. | D．Business. |