His eyes nearly in tears from the crush of fellow travelers at Guangzhou's train station, Hong Tao said things were much better on Sunday, after days of waiting for a train to his home in Hubei province.
"I think it's fine today, and everything is going smoothly," the 28-year-old said. "I thought it would be really crowded but it has turned out to be OK."
Chinese authorities say they expect 1.3 million people to travel out of Guangzhou's train station over the next few days, as they rush to get home by Wednesday, the eve of Lunar New Year.
Hong's optimism may have been helped by the blue skies that emerged over Guangzhou on Sunday for the first time in a week.
Last week, a rare winter storm paralyzed China's transportation system as millions tried to get home to celebrate the holiday — the only chance for many migrant workers to see their families all year.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Friday that 95 percent of rail traffic had "returned to normal." But Guangzhou's train station remained packed with a backlog of hundreds of thousands of travelers hoping to get home for the holiday.
A young woman was stepped on in a stampede (人群蜂拥) at the train station Friday, and later died of her injuries, according to Xinhua. Video of the situation on Friday showed crowds of people screaming, elbowing each other, in some cases sobbing and collapsing in the rush to get a slot (狭缝，窄孔) on a train.
China Sunday announced it has organized over 300,000 People's Liberation Army forces to southern China in what it described as a "war on winter weather".
The government also announced a $700 million plan to help farmers whose crops have been destroyed.How many days is it from the day this article was made to the Lunar New Year?
| A．Two days. | B．Three days. |
| C．Four days. | D．Five days. |
What can we know about the weather condition of last week in Guangzhou?
| A．Sunny with blue sky. | B．Rainy for a whole week. |
| C．Heavily snowy. | D．Rainy first and snowy now. |
Why are there so many passengers in Guangzhou’s train station?
| A．Because the heavy snow stopped the passengers from leaving the station. |
| B．Because the passengers didn’t hope to leave the station right now. |
| C．Because the passengers hoped to leave for their hometown. |
| D．Because the holiday was coming near. |
Where is Hong Tao from?
| A．Shandong province. | B．Hubei province. |
| C．Guandong province. | D．Not mentioned. |
Gregory Olsen is not an astronaut. He is a 60-year-old businessman from New Jersey where he owned his successful technology company. This week, however, Olsen became the world’s third non-astronaut to pay for a trip into space.
On Monday, the Russian-built Soyuz rocket, carrying Olsen, an American astronaut and a Russian astronaut, docked (对接) at the International Space Station (ISS).
Olsen’s wish has come true. He is the third “space tourist” in four years to travel on a Russian craft to the space station. American Dennis Tito and South African Mark Shuttleworth have both made round trips to the ISS. Going into space is not easy, however. Olsen has worked hard for two years to prepare for it.
The Russian Federal Space Agency offers an ISS trip to anyone who can afford it and pass the necessary training. Olsen reportedly paid $20 million for his trip. The Russian space program has been short of money in recent years and is looking for individuals interested in space travel to _________.
NASA（美国宇航局）has relied on the Russian space program and its Soyuz capsule（太空舱）to transport American astronauts to the ISS since the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003. The space shuttle Discovery (发现号宇宙飞船)made a flight earlier this year, but the program stopped halfway because of safety concern. So far, the Russians have not charged the U.S. for trips to the ISS. That may change by the end of the year.
As one of the few space tourists, Olsen focuses his attention on the glory of traveling in space. What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 5 words.)
________________________________________________________________________________Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
Up till now, Russia has been helping American astronauts go to the International Space Station for free.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________Fill in the blank with the proper words or phrases. (Please answer within 10 words.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________According to the passage, who can travel into space in the Russian shuttle? (Please answer within 30 words.)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely act of stealing or an even cheat. Either way, it could be the perfect crime, because the criminals are birds—homing pigeons !
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up. Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.
There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoids not only collecting money but also going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars,he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an advertisement in the newspaper asking for help.
The thought is supported by the fact that, so far,none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars–seems too little for a car worth many times more.
Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,” he said. After the car owner received a phone call, he _______.
| A．went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried |
| B．gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park |
| C．sent some money to the thief by mail |
| D．told the press about it |
The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to _______.
| A．the car thief who stays at home |
| B．one of those who put the ads in the paper |
| C．one of the policemen in Changwa |
| D．the owner of the pigeons |
The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show _______.
| A．how easily people get fooled by criminals |
| B．what Chen thinks might be correct |
| C．the thief is extremely clever |
| D．the money paid is too little |
The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ____.
| A．criminals | B．pigeons | C．the stolen cars | D．demands for money |
We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because _______.
| A．he reads the ads in the newspaper |
| B．he lives in the same neighborhood |
| C．he has seen the car owners in the park |
| D．he has trained the pigeons to follow them |
In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider story” is often told. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web（蜘蛛织网）. The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times without success. On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English… Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one.
So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top from yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?
Second, is the goal you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about his question, “If I do succeed in this, where will it get me?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s a part of life. Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, “You can’t win them all.”This passage deals with two sides of failure. In paragraph 1, the author talks mainly about________.
| A．the value of failure | B．how people would fail |
| C．famous failures | D．the cause of failure |
The underlined phrase “made it” means________.
| A．succeeded | B．failed | C．gave | D．got |
The lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce seems________.
| A．productive | B．straight forward | C．sorrowful | D．deep |
The author tells you to do all things except________.
| A．to think about the cause of your failure |
| B．to check out whether your goals are right for you |
| C．to consider failure as a part or life |
| D．to bear in mind that you will never fail in your life |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Bruce and Edison were successful examples. |
| B．Failure may be regarded as a way toward success. |
| C．Edison learned a lot from the lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce. |
| D．One may often raise a question whether his goals are worth attempting. |
认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡相应题号的横线上。
The standard of living of any country means the average person's share of the goods and services which the country produces. A country’s standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its ability to produce wealth. "Wealth" in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things that money can buy, “goods” such as food and clothing, and "services" such as transport and entertainment.
A country's ability to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most of which have an effect on one another. Wealth depends to a very large degree upon a country's natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other minerals, water supply and so on. Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a fertile (肥沃的)soil and a favorable climate; other regions possess perhaps only one of these things, and some regions possess none of them. The USA is one of the wealthiest regions of the world because she has vast natural resources within her borders(边疆), her soil is fertile, and her climate is of great variety. The Sahara Desert, on the other hand, is one of the least wealthy.
Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use. Sound and stable (稳定的)political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion(侵略), enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well ordered.
Another important factor is the technical efficiency(效能) of a country's people. Old countries that have, through many centuries, trained up numerous(无数的) skilled craftsmen and technicians are better placed to produce wealth than countries whose workers are largely unskilled.
Wealth also produces wealth. As a country becomes wealthier, its people have a large margin(富余)for saving, and can put their savings(储蓄) into factories and machines which will help workers to turn out more goods in their working day.
| Title |
People's (1)_____ standard |
| Meaning |
The average share of the goods and services for people (2) _____ by the country. |
| Some factors that (3) _____ the standard of living of any country |
▲ Wealth depends (4) _____ upon a country's natural resources such as coal, gold, other minerals, water supply and a fertile soil and a favorable climate ▲ Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn (5) _____ resources to use. ▲ The (6) _____ efficiency of a country's people is another important factor |
| The comparison between the USA and the Sahara Desert |
▲ The USA has vast natural resources, her soil is fertile, and it has (7) _____ climate ▲ The Sahara Desert, on the other hand, is one of the (8) _____ |
| The (9) _____ of wealth |
▲ Wealth also produces wealth. ▲ Wealthy people can put their savings into factories and machines which will help workers to (10) _____ out more goods in their working day. |
When foreigners come to Chengdu, a good alternative is to get around by taking the bus. Once getting used to going by bus, you will discover that it is actually not that bad.
Although a ride usually covers two or twenty stops, a bus ride costs RMB 2 in Chengdu. It is important to carry enough small money with you, because it is not usual to get back changes. Even though it is cheap, you can pay less and save some trouble if you get a RMB 25 bus card at your local pharmacy, Hongqi Chain Store or bus station terminal office—note that personal identification is needed. Explain to the worker that you want to purchase a bus card.
With this card, one bus drive costs only RMB 1 if you use a card based on frequency of your ride. If your card is based on the so called E-purse, you pay each time RMB 1.80 for the bus. If you require the use of subway, you can ask the cashier at the Hongqi Chain Store to activate the metro. After having your bus card, you can store money on your travel card. The fees for bus and metro have to be stored separately.
It is important to keep in mind that the money on the card does not overlap. For example, you charge 40 bus rides on the card, but you only used 20 during the month, the rest 20 will be invalid at the beginning of the next month and you have to recharge the card. Therefore, it is important to calculate the exact numbers of bus rides you will have to take.
After you have your own bus card, one swipe is only needed when you get on the bus at the front door. If you only manage to get on the bus at the back door, just ask the passengers to pass your card to the front and swipe it for you. With the bus card, you can transfer buses for fee if the travel time is within two hours.
Furthermore, it is to stress that you should keep an eye on your belongings while being on the bus. Generally, Chengdu is a safe place but most of the thefts are occurring on buses, at train stations or crowded large area, like the shopping street Chunxi Road.
Due to the fact that the place names are announced in Chinese, it is better to know the Chinese name of your destination. Even though there are announcements in English, they will sound like the following: “The next stop is Jinjiang Binguan (Jinjiang Hotel)”Which of the following statements is true when taking the bus in Chengdu?
| A．It’s always important to carry enough small money with you every day. |
| B．It only costs RMB 25 to get around in Chengdu by bus per month. |
| C．Personal identification is not essential when applying for a bus card for locals. |
| D．RMB 0.2 will be saved each time if you use E-purse rather than cash on the bus. |
Why are the readers reminded to pay close attention to their personal possessions?
| A．Because Chengdu is not a safe place. |
| B．Because some thieves like stealing things in crowded buses. |
| C．Because people can transfer buses for fee within two hours. |
| D．Because the bus card must be swiped at the front door. |
Why does the author suggest the Chinese name of the destination be learnt?
| A．Because it helps know clearly where to get off the bus. |
| B．Because it can prevent people from missing the bus they want to board. |
| C．Because the place names are merely announced in Chinese. |
| D．Because it prevents the passengers getting off at the next stop on time. |
The author might write this passage specially for ________.
| A．The local Chengdu people who are interested in traveling by bus |
| B．Regular bus riders in Chengdu who fails to manage their bus cards properly. |
| C．New foreigners in Chengdu who want to get around by bus. |
| D．Pedestrians in Chengdu who are considering choosing to take the bus. |