Allan goes everywhere with Birgitta Anderson, a 54-year-old secretary. He moves around her office at work and goes shopping with her. “Most people don’t seem to mind Allan,” says Birgitta, who thinks he is wonderful. “He’s my fourth child.” She says. She may think of him and treat him that way, buying his food, paying his health bills and his taxes, but in fact Allan is a dog.
Birgitta and Allan live in Sweden, a country where everyone is expected to lead an orderly life according to rules laid down by the government, which also provides high level of care for its people. This level of care costs money.
People in Sweden pay taxes on everything, so aren’t surprised to find that owning a dog means yet more taxes. Some people are paying as much as 500 Swedish kronor in taxes a year for the right to keep their dog, money that is spent by the government on dog hospitals and sometimes medical treatment for a dog that falls ill. However, most such treatment is expensive, so owners often decided to pay health and even life insurance(保险) for their dog.
In Sweden dog owners must pay for any damage(损坏) their dog does. A Swedish Kennel Club official explains what this means: if your dog runs out on the road and gets hit by a passing car you, as the owner, have to pay for any damage done to the car, even if your dog has been killed in the accident.Birgitta pays taxes for Allan because ____________.
A.he is her dog | B.he is her child |
C.he follows her everywhere | D.he often falls ill |
If a dog causes a car accident and gets killed, who should pay for the damage done to the car?
A.The owner of the car | B.The owner of the dog |
C.The insurance company (公司) | D.The government |
From the text it can be learned that in Sweden ____________.
A.dogs are welcome in public places |
B.keeping dogs means asking for trouble |
C.many car accidents are caused by dogs |
D.people care much about dogs |
Julia Roberts was born on October 28, 1967 in Georgia, USA, and she earned an Oscar nomination(提名) for her performance in 1989’s Steel Magnolias.
Later in 1990, she starred in the sad romantic comedy Pretty Woman. The film was an international hit and Roberts became a household name. But her later films, particularly Dying Young (1991), were of a decidedly uneven quality.
In 1993, Julia Roberts married country singer Lyle Lovett and then made a successful come back in The Pelican Brief (1993). But her next two movies in the following year, Pre-a-Porter and I Love Trouble proved to be critical(评论的) and commercial disappointment. Roberts’ bad luck continued when Mary Reilly (1996) failed at the box office. But her career began to pick up again with Michael Collins and Conspiracy Theory (both 1996). In 1997, Roberts made a successful return in comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding and continuedher quick rise in 1999 with Noting Hill and Runaway Bride. Both films helped to further restore Roberts to her status (地位) as the most shining woman in Hollywood. Her biggest success comes from Erin Brockovich. For the excellent performance she made in it Julia Roberts was given the Oscar Best Leading Actress Award on March 25, 2001.
Now Julia Roberts looks on course to win her 10th award for favorite female movie star at this year’s People’s Choice Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.
68. Which of the following movies made Julia Roberts an international name?
A. Steel Magnolias B. Erin Brockovich C. Pretty Woman D. I Love Trouble
69. Why was Julia Roberts given the Oscar Best Leading Actress Award in 2001?
A. Because she made an excellent performance in Erin Brockovich
B. Because she has become a household film star
C. Because she is the prettiest woman in the Hollywood
D. Because she has been wealthy and well-known
70. The underlined phrase “pick up” in the text means ________.
A. collect B. stand up C. fetch D. improve
71. The underlined sentence means that _______.
A. Julia Roberts is going in the right direction
B. Julia Roberts looks more beautiful
C. Julia Roberts is looking for methods
D. Julia Roberts looks very happy
Walking down any of Shanghai’s main shopping streets this week, newcomers might think the locals have been celebrating Christmas for centuries. Christmas may not be a customary holiday in China, but businessmen in Shanghai know it will bring something more valuable than tradition: people are willing to spend money. Most Chinese may feel little connection with the Christmas celebration, but with most shops offering discount (折扣), the message couldn’t be clearer-- it is the season to part with one’s hard-earned cash.
Much of that marketing drive is directed towards thousands of foreigners and foreign companies that call Shanghai home. But for Shanghai’s 13 million locals, regardless of personal interest, there seems no avoiding the season’s commercial greetings. Along some major roads, nearly every shop window displays some symbols to the holiday: a man-made fir tree(杉树) with lights, or a snowman.
With an increasing number of westerners arriving in the city for work, young Shanghainese, eager to keep pace with the latest western fashions, have begun to show their interest in Christmas. But some people still don’t think Christmas is an important festival in China. At least it is less important than the New Year and China’s Spring Festival.
64. Why are people willing to spend money during Christmas?
A. They have earned a lot of money.
B. Goods are much cheaper during this period of time.
C. It is time for shops to sell goods.
D. Businessmen like Christmas.
65. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Christmas is the season people will hold their hard-earned money tightly.
B. Most Chinese people think they have something to do with Christmas.
C. Christmas is the season for common people to earn money.
D. Few Chinese people feel they are connected with Christmas celebrations.
66. Why do some young Shanghainese show great interest in Christmas?
A. They think themselves connected with Christmas celebrations.
B. They think Christmas is more important than New Year’s Day.
C. They want to follow the up-to-date western fashions.
D. They want to part with their hard-earned cash during Christmas.
67. From the first paragraph we know that _______.
A. It is difficult for most people to earn money.
B. It is easy for most people to earn money.
C. Only foreigners in Shanghai celebrate Christmas.
D. Christmas will be as important as China’s Spring Festival.
Good news for game lovers― a tank game has come out recently. In this game you are in a tank and the screen shows your view of the landscape outside. You gain points by shooting enemy tanks, supertanks, missiles (导弹) and flying saucers(飞碟).
Expert players can gain scores of around 150,000 points at this game. To get a high score you have to destroy twenty tanks as quickly as possible. After this, the supertanks, missiles and flying saucers appear. These are worth far more points than the ordinary tanks. However, the number of tanks you have to destroy before the supertanks appear varies on different machines.
Try to get close to an enemy tank from the side or the back, so it cannot shoot at you. Then, when you get close, turn to face it, line it up in your sights and fire before it turns to shoot at you. If you miss or are too slow, quickly escape by moving out of the enemy's line of fire. You can then move around the enemy and come in from another side.
When a supertank appears, try to destroy it as quickly as possible. Then wait safely behind an obstacle(障碍物)for a missile or flying saucer. The cubes are useful objects to hide behind as you can fire over them without exposing yourself to danger. The missiles will fly straight at you, but they are difficult to hit, so do not shoot at them until they are quite close. The saucers are much easier to hit, but do not follow them as you will be open to attack from enemy tanks.
60. This passage is an / a ______ about a game.
A. instruction B. liberation C. tradition D. construction
61. If you hide behind the cubes during an attack, which of the following may not happen?
A. Avoiding being exposed to danger B. Destroying a missile
C. Firing over missiles or flying saucers D. Being hit by a missile
62. If you can destroy a supertank, missile or flying saucer, you will get_____.
A. many more points B. a machine to play with
C. an ordinary tank D. nothing
63. From the last sentence we can see that you are likely to be attacked by tanks if you_____.
A. hit a flying saucer B. run after a flying saucer
C. fire straight at a missile D. shoot at enemy tanks
第二部分:阅读理解(共20题,每小题3分,满分60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,并在机读卡上将该项涂黑。
The part of the earth’s history known as the coal age began more than 250 million years ago and lasted millions of years. During that time, in the area that is now the United States, coal beds formed from Texas to the north Atlantic coast.
At that time thick forests swamps(沼泽) covered much of the earth’s surface. Great trees died and fell into the swamps. Then they rotted (腐烂)and new trees and plants grew on top of them. The process repeated itself for thousands of years. The rotted plants turned into a substance called peat(泥炭), which is still forming today in many swamps.
Meanwhile the land surface was changing. Movement in the earth’s crust (地壳) pushed up hills in some places, while elsewhere land sank. Swift rivers ran from the hills; heavy rains fell and the rivers overflowed, leaving muddy sand in the sunken wooded places and swamps. Oceans, too, poured in over the low-lying land, carrying sand that covered the peaty areas.
The pressure of water and sand pressed the oxygen and hydrogen out of the peat, leaving carbon. Under constant pressure, the rotted material, containing a high percentage of carbon, formed gradually into coal.
56. This main idea of the passage is about the ______.
A. coal beds in the U.S. B. earth’s history C. formation of coal D. swamp age
57. When plants died, they _____.
A. grew up again B. fell into the water and rotted
C. fell into coal beds D. turned immediately to coal
58. Hills were formed as a result of _____.
A. movements of the earth’s crust B. the remaining from swamps
C. the remaining from swift rivers D. ocean currents
59. What is implied but not stated in the passage?
A. Peat is still forming today.
B. The formation of coal requires high pressure.
C. The land surface changed during the coal age.
D. The formation of coal was very rapid.
The story of printing is a long and complex one. Before the invention of printing, the spread of knowledge depended either on word of mouth or handwriting. Both took time and errors happened easily. 2000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty, stone-tablet rubbing(拓印) was common for spreading Confucianism or Buddhism. This led in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) to the use of carving writing or pictures on a wooden board, which became known as block printing(木版印刷).
The first book with an exact date of printing appeared in China in 868. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), this technology was gradually introduced to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Block printing reached its golden age during the Song dynasty (960-1279) as the government encouraged the publication of large numbers of books. Yet block printing had its drawbacks. All the boards became useless after the printing was done and a single mistake in carving could ruin a whole block. In the Song Dynasty, a man named Bi Sheng carved individual characters on pieces of fine clay(粘土). Then he hardened the clay by a slow baking process, resulting in pieces of movable type.
Movable type printing has a very important position in the history of printing, for all later printing methods such as wooden type, copper type and lead type printing all developed on the basis of movable clay types. During the 13-14th centuries, This technology spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Europe. Later, German Johann Gutenberg invented movable type made of metal in the 15th century.
48. The main idea of this passage is about ____.
A. the advantages of China’s printing
B. the history of movable type writing
C. the development of China’s printing
D. the spread of China’s printing
49. The underlined word in the third paragraph probably means____.
A. features B. benefits C. disadvantages D. styles
50. According to the passage, which of the following is right in order of time?
① lead type printing ② copper type printing ③movable clay type printing ④ wooden type printing ⑤block printing ⑥ stone-tablet rubbing
A. ①⑥③④B. ⑥⑤③④ C. ④⑥③① D. ⑥④②⑤