A group of senior high school students are playing outside on a basketball court. They are shouting with excitement. And they all have the same dream. They wish to play in the NBA, just like Huston Rocket’s Yao Ming. “Someday, there will be more Chinese players like Yao in the NBA,” said 15-year-old Xie Tao, a senior 1 boy at Shanghai No. 2 Middle School. Xie always watches Yao playing on TV. “He is a great player. He makes me proud to be Chinese,” he said.
Like Xie, 17-year-old Liu Yan at Beijing No. 22 Middle School is also a big NBA fan. “Since early May, I’ve not missed one game in the NBA,” said the senior 3 student.
Basketball is becoming popular in middle schools across the country. And more young players are starting to like the sport. More students are playing the game.
Jiang Hui, a basketball teacher at Beijing No. 2 Middle School, said that 85 percent of the students at this school like the sport. “Students are full of passion for the game,” Jiang’s team won the regional first prize in the 2004 National High School Boy’s Basketball League in march. The league is the first national basketball competition for high school students.
Playing basketball is a good way to exercise. But students also enjoy it for other reasons. For Li Yan, a Senior 2 at Shanghai No. 12 Middle School, basketball teaches him lessons in life. “When I am in a game, I feel more confident about my studies, “ he said. “ It also teaches me to have a good team spirit and to enjoy friendship.”The same dream of the group of senior high school students is to ______.
| A．to play in the NBA | B．be as tall as Yao Ming |
| C．watch Yao Ming playing on TV | D．visit Huston Rocket’s center |
How many students are mentioned in the passage?
| A．2. | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
Which school team won the regional first prize in the first national basketball competition for high school students?
| A．Shanghai No. 2 Middle School. | B．Beijing No. 22 Middle School. |
| C．Beijing No. 2 Middle School. | D．Shanghai No. 12 Middle School. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Basketball is becoming popular in middle schools in Chine. |
| B．The 2004 National High School Boy’s Basketball League was held in May. |
| C．Playing basketball is a good way to exercise. |
| D．Students enjoys playing basketball for a lot of reasons. |
Who learns to have a good team spirit from playing basketball?
| A．Xie Tao | B．Yao Ming | C．Jiang Hui | D．Li Yan |
My 18-month-old son, Adam, called from the front door．“Look, Mama! Doggie!” I dropped what I was doing and stuck my head out the door．Brandy, our next-door neighbor’s 11-year-old dog, was over again．“Go away!” I shouted．
Brandy’s owner had died about a month earlier．The woman’s family had emptied the house and stuck a “For Sale” sign in the front yard, but the family had left old Brandy behind．For weeks, she’d been wandering around the neighborhood．
It wasn’t that I disliked dogs or anything like that．I just didn’t think about them very much．I never had a dog growing up and had never thought to get one．
Brandy went away and I stayed outside with Adam．Then the phone rang．I went inside to take the call．When I came back, Adam was gone．I searched the yard, front and back, then the basketball court and public pool．No trace of him．I was so nervous that I ran home and called the police, then my husband．
Police searched the neighborhood．Suddenly I heard another sound: a dog barking．“It’s coming from the woods,” one of my neighbors said．We followed the barking to a wooded cliff（悬崖）．There we found my son, and he was just inches away from the edges of the cliff, fast asleep．Brandy was beside him, leaning（倚靠）against him to keep him away from the edge．When I picked Adam up, Brandy sank down on her side, breathing quickly．She must have been holding Adam there for hours!
I thanked the police and brought Adam and Brandy back to our house．She hesitated a moment on our doorstep, no doubt remembering the time I’d driven her away．
“Come on, girl,” I said．“This is your home now．” Brandy stepped in, and once she saw she was really welcome, she relaxed and lay down on the floor just inside the door．She’d done a great thing, and I wondered if she knew it ．She’d certainly touched me in a way that no animal ever had．What a pity a dog like Brandy had been left behind!What is the correct order for the events in the story about Brandy?
a．She was left behind by her owner’s family．
b．She stepped into the woman’s house．
c．She appeared at the woman’s front door．
d．She stayed beside the woman’s son for hours．
| A．d, a, b, c | B．a, c, b, d |
| C．c, d, b, a | D．a, c, d, b |
What did the woman do when she first saw Brandy?
| A．She gave her some food． |
| B．She drove her away． |
| C．She took her home． |
| D．She said thank you to her． |
Why did the woman call the police?
| A．Her son was lost |
| B．Brandy was gone． |
| C．Brandy appeared in her yard． |
| D．She got a scary call． |
How were they able to know that the woman’s son was near the cliff?
| A．By searching the neighborhood． |
| B．By hearing a dog barking． |
| C．By following a dog’s footsteps． |
| D．By hearing her son’s crying． |
Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!From paragraph 2 we know that _______ .
| A．animals are as clever as human beings |
| B．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees |
| C．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills |
| D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children |
Both experiments show that_______ .
| A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right |
| B．Rico can recognize different things including toys |
| C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics |
| D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities. |
| B．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. |
| C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects. |
| D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．To train your dog. |
| B．To talk to your dog. |
| C．To be friendly to your dog. |
| D．To be careful with your dog. |
Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare’s World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up. The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806 .The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world ,for over 250 years.
◆Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare's World，a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.
◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare’s period.
◆Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden，planted with trees and flower mentioned in the poet’s works.
The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map；nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ Walk).
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre, its exhibition．and the garden are accessible (可进入的)to wheelchair users.
The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children？
| A．￡9.80． | B．￡12.00． |
| C．￡14.20． | D．￡16.40． |
Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace？
| A．Behind the exhibition hall． |
| B．Opposite the Visiturs’Centre． |
| C．At Windsor Street． |
| D．Near the Coffee House． |
A wheelchair user may need help to enter_________．
| A．the House | B．the garden |
| C．the Visitors’Centne | D．the exhibition hall |
An old friend from California called from the airport to tell me that he had arrived. I was not able to leave the office, but I had made plans for his arrival. After explaining where my new house was, I told him that I had left the key under the doormat (门垫). Since I knew it would be pretty late before I could get home, I suggested that he make himself at home and help himself to anything that was in the refrigerator.
Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house. At the moment, he said, he was listening to some of my records after having had a delicious meal. Now, he said, he was drinking a glass of orange juice. When I asked him if he had had any difficulty finding the house, he answered that the only problem was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat, but luckily, the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and he had climbed in through the window. I listened to all this in great surprise. There is no apple tree outside my window, but there is one by the living room window of my next door neighbor's house!An old friend of mine called ______.
| A．to tell me to meet him at the airport |
| B．to tell me about his arrival |
| C．to ask me to leave the office |
| D．to ask me to make plans for his arrival |
My friend climbed into the room because ______ .
| A．there was an apple tree outside |
| B．the living room window was left open |
| C．he had difficulty opening the door |
| D．he hadn't found the key |
My friend telephoned me two hours later ______ .
| A．from my home |
| B．at the airport |
| C．in his office |
| D．from my neighbor's house |
Walt Disney and Shanghai government have formally agreed to open up a Disney theme park in China's commercial capital.
Just days after the World Expo was closed, they agreed on plans for a joint venture(合资企业)to manage the project, expected to cover nearly eight square miles for the entire resort(度假胜地), the city government said in a statement. The cost is reportedly estimated at 25 billion yuan.
Plans call for the theme park to be a “strong international tourism resort” with a pleasant, low-carbon environment, the city said.A joint venture between local companies and Disney will be responsible for construction, management and operation of the Disney theme park，it said.
Some villagers were long ago moved off farmland in Chuansha, a part of Pudong district near the city's main international airport，to make way for the park.
Disney issued a statement confirming its discussions with the Shanghai government, saying, “We can confirm the statement from the Shanghai government that we have taken another step forward in the approval process.”
But the company said it was still awaiting final approval of the joint venture by the central government and completion of necessary procedures.
The sixmonthlong World Expo，which ended on Sunday，drew a record of 72 million visitors，mostly Chinese tourists.That event made it necessary for the city to build nearly a dozen new subway lines，new highways，airport upgrades and other modern facilities.
With the Disneyland project due to start，the city appears likely to continue its building boom(激增)．
The agreement on Friday came exactly a year after China's national planning agency approved the plans for the parka major step toward getting the project started.
The park will give Shanghai，the mainland's main financial and commercial centre，a new showcase.While the city is one of China's most modern and wealthy cities，it has relatively few big historic landmarks compared with ancient capitals like Beijing and Xi'an.
Disney has said the Shanghai resort will include a “MagicKingdomstyle theme park with characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region.”
Disney has been expanding its presence in mainland China after opening a theme park in Hong Kong in 2005.That venue, which has suffered from disappointing attendance，is in the midst of Disney’s expansion as it intends to compete with the future theme park in Shanghai.What do we know about the Disneyland project to be built in Shanghai?
| A．The cost is more than 25 billion yuan. |
| B．The design is environmentally friendly. |
| C．It will be built by Walt Disney Company. |
| D．It is as large as the World Expo Garden in area. |
What can we learn from Disney's statement?
| A．The construction of the theme park is in process. |
| B．They need approval from the central government. |
| C．The joint venture has completed necessary procedures. |
| D．Disney didn't think their discussions with the Shanghai government was helpful. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that________.
| A．visitors often go to Hong Kong Disneyland these days because of its expansion |
| B．the Shanghai theme park should learn from Hong Kong's |
| C．Hong Kong Disneyland will face more challenges |
| D．Hong Kong Disneyland is well managed |