Do you know star anise? It has a Chinese name “bajiao”(八角). You can find this spice(调味料) in almost all Chinese kitchens. Suddenly people around the world need the small fruit from which the spice is made, because of bird flu(禽流感). 
Bird flu has made tens of millions of birds die and killed at least 60 people in Asia. Scientists say if flu changes to spread from person to person, it could kill millions!
A medicine called Tamiflu(达菲) is supposed to fight bird flu in humans. Roche, a Swiss company, developed it. But Roche says it hasn’t enough raw material(原料) to make lots of Tamiflu. The material is the Chinese spice star anise.
About 90% of the world’s star anise is produced in South China. The fruit is harvested(丰收) between March and May. Besides spice, people also use it as medicine.
People afraid of bird flu have begun to buy star anise and cook chicken and other meat with it more. But so far, no scientists say the spice could give protection(保护). Some scientists say that eating the fruit itself won’t help against bird flu.Most world’s star anise is produced in .
| A．Swiss | B．Africa | C．Asia | D．South China |
According to the passage, the underlined word “supposed” probably means .
| A．thought | B．should | C．felt | D．ought |
Star anise is harvested .
| A．for one month | B．for half a year |
| C．for almost three months | D．All year round |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．The introduction of star anise. |
| B．The influence of bird flu. |
| C．The introduction of Tamiflu. |
| D．Star anise is used to make medicine to help fight bird flu. |
Which one is NOT right according to the passage?
| A．Star anise is a kind of spice. |
| B．Most star anise is produced in China. |
| C．Bird flu is dangerous for people. |
| D．Scientists say spice can help against bird flu. |
Driving a car at a high speed along a highway seems to be fun. You only need to follow the bright traffic signs beside the highway and it will take you where you wish to go. But to a London taxi driver, driving is not an easy job. A taxi driver needs to have not only good driving skills but also a good knowledge of the city of London, from the loneliest street to the popular restaurant around. He has to be at the service of all kinds of passengers (乘客) at all times.
A London taxi driver said the following about his job.
During the night it is usual for him to stop two or three times for some food. He said, “I never drink when I’m working, otherwise I’d lose my license (驾驶执照).”
He normally goes home between two and three o’clock in the morning. There are times he has to stay longer and try to make more runs. He said, “That’s the worst thing about working for yourself. If you don’t make money, no one is going to give it to you. ”
London taxi drivers not only “take” but also “give”. Every summer hundreds of poor children from London go for a day at the sea ― by taxi! There rides are paid by the taxi drivers. At the sea, they are met by the mayor (市长) , and a lunch party is also held for the taxi drivers and the children. After a happy day’s running around the beaches and visiting the market there, the children go home again by taxi, free of charge of course!London taxi drivers try to make more runs sometimes mainly because __________.
| A．they make a living by driving |
| B．they prefer to work for themselves |
| C．they want to help more passengers |
| D．they are used to working deep into the night |
How do London taxi drivers “give”?
| A．They give the poor children a lunch party at the sea each summer. |
| B．They give poor children the chance to meet the maor. |
| C．They pay for some poor children’s rides for a day’s tour each summer. |
| D．They play with some poor children at the sea for a day each summer. |
Which of the following words can be used to describe London taxi drivers?
| A．Brave and careful |
| B．Rich and generous |
| C．Modest and easy-going |
| D．Hard-working and kind |
The passage is most likely to be found from __________.
| A．an advertisement of a taxi company |
| B．an online travel guide |
| C．a website about the taxi drivers in London |
| D．a report about living conditions in London |
Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.
Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?
Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around India was on an elephant.
Reporter: What did you do next?
Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.
Reporter: How long did it take to find a suitable elephant?
Chris: Not too long. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about 6, 000 dollars.
Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?
Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1, 200 km away. It took us 64 days to complete the journey.
Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?
Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. Btu that got better quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!
Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?
Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from __________.
| A．a visit to a zoo |
| B．an elephant expert from India |
| C．the photos of elephant |
| D．an old friend who lived in India |
The elephant expert told Chris __________.
| A．when to buy an elephant |
| B．how to feed an elephant |
| C．where to sell his elephant |
| D．how to ride an elephant |
Chris decided to go to Sonepur because __________.
| A．it is a very interesting place |
| B．he would be able to sell Tara there easily |
| C．elephants cannot be sold anywhere else |
| D．it would take only a short time to get there |
When Chris arrived at the market in Sonepur, __________.
| A．he realized that he did not really want to sell Tara |
| B．he visited some shopkeepers |
| C．he sold Tara to a national park |
| D．he decided to take Tara home with him |
DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK. Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV programmes show people how to DIY.
English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK----“As Englishman’s home is his castle”. Huge number of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”. If there is anything that needs fixing around their homes, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experience with their friends. More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money. With the economic downturn at present, many people can not afford a big house. They are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money. It is not surprising that DIY is so popular.
DIY can be difficult. There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to get together themselves with a few basic tools. However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can’t understand the instructions. Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions. Many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker. Unluckily, many people don’t care about this warning and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41,000 who fell off ladders.
Therefore , DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if we bite off more than we can chew. Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY.How do many English people spend their hoildays to the passage?
| A．Making their homes beautiful. |
| B．Visiting their friends. |
| C．Travelling all over the world |
| D．Making a lot of money |
Why do English people like DIY?
| A．Many stores sell DIY things. |
| B．DIY can bring them fun. |
| C．TV programmes teach them to DIY |
| D．All DIY projects are easy. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．DIY is a waste of money. |
| B．it is always difficult to DIY. |
| C．We should be careful while doing DIY. |
| D．It is very safe for us to DIY. |
In the passage, “we bite off more than we can chew” probably means .
| A．We can eat everything we like. |
| B．We should do something difficult. |
| C．We do something that is too difficult. |
| D．We eat too much food that is not safe. |
Jack Johnson is one of the most popular singer-song writers in the world.
Jack was born on May 18. 1975 in Hawaii Being the song of a famous surfer. Jack usually has an interest in surfing.Most of his life lessons were learned in the water.At the age of 17, Jack entered the finals of the Pineline Masters—the worlde’s most famous surfing competition.Everyone thought Jack would become a professional surfer like his father.Unluckily .One month later,he had a deadly accident while surfing and was seriously hurt.
Life is like a reaching door.When it closes, it also opens. Jack started to practise playing the guitar and write songs when he was staying in hospital.At first ,his father thought Jack only did it for fun.but soon he was suiprised at the great progress his song had made.
When studying in the university. Jack didn’t stop practising his guitar skills.He played the guitar for school partses.He wrote songs and sang for his teachers and friends.They liked his songs.His first music albam Brushfire Fairytaies came out in 2001.It was a great success.His second album，On and On ，was much like his first.They were filled with sweet，easy-going songs that everybody liked listening to later. Jack had lots of concerts in and out of America.He became popular all over the world.
Jack had five albums by 2010 and more than 15 million copics of them were sold.His music doesn’t fit into any of the popular music styles like pop,rocks R and B or hip-hop.It is more like folk music, played with a guitar and beautiful voice.When listening to his songs,you feel like lying on the beach enjoying the warm sunfine.
Jack is a talent,though he himself says he is only a surfer who loves music. In his songs we can find his secret of success.Whatever happens in our lives,we have to accept it and do the best we can.At the age of 17, Jack__.
| A．had his first music album |
| B．took part in a surfing compentition |
| C．had his first concert |
| D．became popular all over the world |
Jack started to write songs__.
| A．while he was staying in hospital |
| B．when he had concerts out of America |
| C．after his seccond album came out |
| D．after he played the guitar at the school party |
What is the seccet or Jack’s success?
| A．He was born in Hawaii |
| B．His father was very famous |
| C．He wrote many songs for his teachers and friends |
| D．He always faced difficulties bravely and tried his best. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．A Famous Writer | B．Surfing in the Sea |
| C．A Guitar Player | D．Surfing in the Music |
There are about 80.000.000 mines under the ground in more than 60 countries. It is difficult and dangerous to clear these mines.About 50 people including many children were killed or hurt each day.In 2003，APOPO，a Duch research company that trains the animals,came up with the idea of using rats to search for the mines.
The animal trainers found that a kind of rats from Africa were clever and had a sharp sense of smell.The rats were about 75 cm long and weighted about 1.35 kg.light enough to run across a minefield without setting off the mines.
In January 2004，the APOPO startec this preject.First ,the trainers let the 4-week-old baby rats get familier with humans. A few weeks later，the rats were no longer afraid of people and the things around them.Then they were trained to connect a click sound with food.After the rats had learned that ,the trainers then taught them to tell the different between the smell of mines and other smells.When the rats could do it，the click was sounded and they were given a bit of bananas.The method was called clicker training.“The training isn’t easy.”said the trainer Adulish Mebomvu.“You have to be patient.Sometimes I get angry,but then again.I tell myself these are animals.”
After nine months’ training,the rats were taken to 4 minefield. They ran across the minefield ,stopped, sat and searched the ground to tell the deminers that they smelt out a mine. Then the mine was cleared.It had taken two deminers a day to clear a 200 m2 minefield. But with the help of two rats they could finish it in two hours.
The rats and the deminers saved thousands of lives.“The rats did this job much better than we expected.So far they have helpde to make almost 2.000.000 m2 of land safe.They are heroes.”said Bart Woetjcds.the head of the APOPO.The APOPO trained the rats to search for__.
| A．children | B．animals | C．minea | D．bananas |
While training the rats,the trainers have to be __.
| A．patient | B．clever | C．brave | D．serious |
How long did the training last?
| A．Two hours | B．One day | C．Four weeks | D．Nine month |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE acorrding to the passage?
| A．Each day about 200 people were killed or hurt by minea |
| B．The APOPO started to train the rats is January 2004. |
| C．The trainers gave the rats food after they smelt out a mine . |
| D．The rats and the deminres saved thousands of livers. |