There's something rotten in Rio and the smell is coming from the huge stacks of rubbish pried up on sidewalks all over the city. Rio's street sweepers chose the carnival holiday to demand better salaries. Their wages start at roughly $400 a month.
There could hardly be a better time for them to prove their importance. The streets were left a mess after hundreds of carnival parades and now, rubbish pries up in both poor and uptown neighbourhoods and in tourist areas like Ipanema or Copacabana beach.
The president of Rio's rubbish collecting company has even appealed to the population to store rubbish at home whenever possible. He says 30% of the city's sweepers have gone on strike. Some of those who have been working have been threatened by the strike movement so now the police has been deployed alongside rubbish collectors to keep them sage as they go about their business.
The strike has divided opinions in Rio. On social media, many support the sweepers' demands for better salaries. Others say they are opportunists and the situation is a big embarrassment to the city.
But Brazil's culture of littering the streets doesn't help. A video that went viral online shows that even authorities have a problem with that. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, is seen throwing what seemed to be the rest of an apple on the sidewalk--and now promised to impose himself a fine for his wrongdoing. His government recently created a programme to keep Rio's residents from littering the streets.Rio's street cleaners go on strike to
| A．prove their importance | B．threaten the government |
| C．ask for higher salaries | D．appeal to the public not to litter |
The reason why the police are involved is that __
| A．the police are called out to put down the riot | B．the police are required to protect some cleaners |
| C．the police are to collect rubbish for the time being | D．the police are sent to arrest people who litter around |
The author's attitude to Brazil's culture of littering is __
| A．hopeless | B．approving | C．critical | D．optimistic |
The purpose of writing the passage is to __
| A．criticize, street sweepers of Rio for misusing their rights |
| B．call attention to the embarrassing situation of Rio |
| C．describe the effect or the strike on people |
| D．inform people of the present situation of Rio |
Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 68～70.
Fill in the blank in the sentence “I can’t believe this is Daniel—he’s ______ since we last met! Much taller than the other boys of his age!”
| A．shot up | B．shot out | C．shot through | D．shot down |
When you are talking about unimportant things, we say you are ______.
| A．shooting yourself in the foot |
| B．shooting your mouth off |
| C．shooting the breeze |
| D．shooting questions at somebody |
Choose a word to complete the sentence “The ______, which killed a policeman and wounded a passer-by(路人), was reported to have lasted only 13 seconds.”
| A．shooter | B．shoot | C．shot | D．shooting |
Win $ 50 in the Coolest Gadget of the Week
Look at what’s the coolest gadget (vote for a chance to win $ 50). 
Cryo S: A Cool Netbook Cooler
Like the other devices of NZXT, the Cryo S was designed to provide a competitive advantage at PC gaming. It has two adjustable(可调节的) 120mm fans(风扇) that provide powerful cooling.
The full post(帖子) can be found onTrends Updates. 
Starry Night Bed
Are you having trouble getting that good nights sleep that you’re needing? Well, not any more. Why not take a look at the Starry Night Bed? The Starry Night Bed is a great new invention which will revolutionize the way in which you sleep. Not only is this bed fashionable and comfortable but it’s also a gadget heaven. With this bed you get many added gadgets including anti-snore technology, movie projector with speakers, temperature control and many more.
The full post can be found onTech Styling. 
Fugoo—talking gadgets
Fugoo gets all your appliances(装置，设备) talking to each other so your alarm clock could first wake you up and then tell the coffee machine to start working while checking traffic conditions online to tell you how long it will take you to get to work.
The full post can be found onDecide What to Buy.
Vote What is this week's coolest gadget?
〇 A Cool Netbook Cooler
〇 Starry Night Bed
〇 Fugoo—talking gadgetsWhere can you find the full post of the “Cryo S”?
| A．Tech Styling. | B．Super Cool Pets. | C．Decide What to Buy. | D．Trends Updates. |
If you buy a Starry Night Bed, you can get all the following gadgets EXCEPT ___________.
| A．temperature control | B．movie projector |
| C．adjustable fans | D．anti-snore technology |
From this passage, we learn that Fugoo can_________.
| A．check traffic conditions | B．wake you up | C．take you to work | D．make coffee |
Where does this advertisement probably come from?
| A．A magazine. | B．A website. | C．A newspaper. | D．A textbook. |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| B．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| C．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
| D．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport | B．offered a ride to his/her home |
| C．treated hospitably at his/her home | D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time | B．serious with time |
| C．careful with time | D．willing to spend time |
I still remember the last time I went to the playground with two of my children. It had rained during the night and the playground was very muddy (泥泞的). They had just put on clean clothes, so I was a little worried about the mud on the playground. It was not long before Kathy got her beautiful skirt dirty on the playground. She dug through the rocks. I was about to blame (指责) her for getting her clothes dirty when she ran towards me with a smile on her face. When she got to me, she handed me a little heart-shaped rock and said, “Here, Mom! Here is a heart for you —just because I love you! Keep it!” With tears in my eyes, I thanked her.
Should I blame her for getting her clothes muddy? No way! I still have that little heart-shaped rock. It is one of the best gifts that I have ever received. I realized that many times it was not necessary for us adults to worry about the small things our children did. Let them do what they’d like to.
I will spend a lot more time on the playground with my children. I’m sure I will learn a lot from them. It makes me think of the days when my grandfather told me, “You would not enter the kingdom of happiness until you pretended (假装) to be a small child.”At first, the author wanted to blame Kathy because she __________.
| A．ran on the playground |
| B．dug through rocks |
| C．gave her a muddy rock |
| D．got her clothes dirty |
The author was deeply moved by her daughter’s _____.
| A．digging task on the playground |
| B．special way to show her love |
| C．smile on her face when running |
| D．love of the muddy playground |
From Paragraph 2, we can learn that the author thought parents should _________.
| A．not worry about the small things their children do |
| B．allow kids to do whatever they like |
| C．keep the presents given by children |
| D．not give too much care to their own children |
The author’s grandfather’s words imply that _______.
| A．children care more about happiness than adults |
| B．adults can not share children’s happiness |
| C．children may find happiness more easily in life |
| D．adults find it hard to know children’s happiness |
Richard’s father died when he was five. Later on he 36 his mother. The poor boy had to 37 on his own, so he went to work for a rich farmer, who paid him nothing except food and clothes. An old woman felt 38 for him and often helped him. The boy wanted to go to (the) 39 very much, but he had no money. But he 40 lost heart and found some old books near the school and 41 himself to read and write.
There was a narrow 42 between two mountains which connected the village and the town. One morning people 43 there was a big stone on the path. It brought them 44 : they had to move it away, or they had to cross the mountains to the town. 45 the stone weighed thirty tons at least and even the strongest young man couldn’t move it. They 46 for a long time, but nobody knew what to do.
Richard looked at it carefully for a while and said, “I have a 47 to move it away.” But 48 men believed him. Some villagers even 49 him. The night 50 and people went back. Only the boy stayed there. To their surprise, the villagers found the stone was 51 the next morning. They didn’t 52 who had moved it away. The old woman said Richard had done it all by himself.
“How could he?” the rich farmer called out, “He’s 53 fifteen! He couldn’t move it at all!”
“He 54 a big hole beside the stone.” said the old woman, “and then he could 55 push it into the hole!”
Looking at each other, the villagers couldn’t say a word.
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