Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps(打车软件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.
On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal “taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.
It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.
Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors.
Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China’s big cities. To be fair, these companies’ business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for businesspeople through the Internet and mobile phone apps.
Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.Why did taxi drivers in Shenyang block the streets with their vehicles?
| A．Because they wanted the government to increase their driving allowances. |
| B．Because they wanted to be educated how to use the taxi-hiring apps. |
| C．Because they wanted to make their main complaints known to the government. |
| D．Because they wanted to call on passengers not to hire the private cars. |
The author’s attitude to banning internet car-hiring service is______.
| A．positive | B．negative |
| C．neutral | D．unclear |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The problem mentioned in the passage exists in all cities |
| B．App-based car rental is helpful in some sense |
| C．The government should regulate the app-based car rental market |
| D．Didi Dache is a China-foreign joint company |
From the passage we learn ___________.
| A．Shenyang banned apps-based car rental companies |
| B．Shanghai is the second city banning Didi Zhuanche |
| C．some international investment companies have faith in the future of apps-based car rental companies |
| D．it is easy to describe the apps-based car rental companies illegal |
When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication. For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room. Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell’s invention for taking photographs, surfing the internet, or watching videos, rather than talking. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone.
The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modern mobile handset (手机). Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modern cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks. In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the “yuppie”, the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone.
But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags.
Moreover, people’s timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. But later Meeting time became inexact under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service （SMS） or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it’s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you’re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing “Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! -).”
Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years. If he were around today, he might say “That’s gr8! But I’m v busy rite now. Will call U 2nite.”What does the underlined part in Para.2 refer to?
| A．Houses of modern cities. | B．Sharp-suited characters. |
| C．New type of professionals. | D．Mobile phones. |
According to Paragraph 4, why did Meeting time become inexact?
| A．People were more likely to be late for their meeting. |
| B．SMS made it easier to inform each other. |
| C．Young people don’t like unchanging things. |
| D．Traditional customs were dying out. |
If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him?
| A．Call U@ SKUg8 2nite. | B．IM2BZ2CU 2nite. |
| C．W84U@ SKUg8 2nite. | D．CU@ the bar g8 2nite. |
What does the passage mainly tell us about?
| A．Alexander Graham’s invention. |
| B．SMS as a new way of communication. |
| C．The development of the mobile phone. |
| D．New functions of the mobile telephone. |
Having taken a room at the hotel at which he had been instructed to stay, Smallwood went out; it was a lovely day, early in August, and the sun shone in an unclouded sky. He had not been to Lucerne since he was a boy, but remembered a covered bridge, though not clearly, a great stone lion and a church in which he had sat, bored yet impressed while they played an organ (风琴); and now wandering along a shady quay (码头) he tried not so much to find his way about a half-forgotten scene as to reform in his mind some recollection of the shy and eager boy, so impatient for life, who so long ago had wandered there. But it seemed to him that the most lively of his memories was not of himself, but of the crowd; he seemed to remember the sun and the heat and the people; the train was crowded and so was the hotel, the lake steamers were packed and on the quays and in the streets you found your way among the holiday-makers. They were fat and old and ugly and strange.
Now, in wartime, Lucerne was as deserted as it must have been before the world discovered that Switzerland was the play-ground of Europe. Most of the hotels were closed, the streets were empty, the boats for hire rocked (摇晃) lazily at the water’s edge and there was none to take them, and in the avenue by the lake the only persons to be seen were serious Swiss taking their dogs for their daily walk. Smallwood felt happy and, sitting down on a bench that faced the water, surrendered (听任) himself to the feelings. The blue water, snowy mountains, and their beauty hit you in the face. So long, at all event, as the fine weather lasted he was prepared to enjoy himself. He didn’t see why he should not at least try to combine pleasure to himself with advantage to his country.We can infer that Smallwood went to Lucerne _________.
| A．to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the area |
| B．to do something as told |
| C．to visit his friend there |
| D．to get in touch with the shy and eager boy |
He felt that the city _________.
| A．was more crowded than it used to be |
| B．had changed out of all recognition |
| C．had been ruined by becoming an attraction |
| D．was quieter than he remembered it |
He was prepared to enjoy himself as long as _________.
| A．he was serving his country |
| B．he was making a profit |
| C．the pleasant weather continued like this |
| D．he could stay in Lucerne |
After reading the passage, we can draw a conclusion that _________.
| A．Smallwood’s former visit to Lucerne was made in peacetime |
| B．Smallwood was pleased by the sound this time |
| C．Smallwood was very nervous when he got to Lucerne |
| D．A war would soon break out in Lucerne |
| My Left Foot (1989) Imagine being a prisoner of your own body, unable to make any movements except to move your left foot. The main character in My Left Foot, based on the real story of cerebral palsy (大脑性麻痹) sufferer Christy Brown, can hardly move his mouth to speak, but by controlling his left foot, he’s able to express himself as an artist and poet. For his moving performance of Brown, Daniel Lewis won his first Academy Award for best actor. |
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| Shine (1996) Do you have a talent you’re afraid to share with the world? David Helfgott seemed meant from childhood to be “one of the truly great pianists,” but the pressures of performing (and pleasing his father) resulted in a complete breakdown. Ten years in a mental institution didn’t weaken Helfgott’s musical gift. When he was rediscovered, he was playing concertos in a bar. Shine received seven Oscar nominations (提名), and Geoffrey Rush won best actor for his performance of Helfgott. |
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| Life Is Beautiful (1997) Nothing’s more powerful than the love between a parent and a child. In this heartbreaking Italian film, a father (Roberto Benigni) makes an unbelievable sacrifice for his 4-year-old son: trapped in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, the Jewish man convinces his boy that they are playing a complex game. He manages to spare him the horror of the terrible war, and even in his final moments of life, keeps his son smiling and hopeful. Benigni won the best actor Oscar. |
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| Stand and Deliver (1988) Few people can inspire us more than a good teacher. Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos got Oscar nomination for best actor) is a great one. Employed at a high school where kids are expected to fail, Escalante challenges his math students to struggle for better things, like getting good grades in the AP exam. Despite the difficulties in their lives, the classmates achieve their goals, thanks to Mr. Escalante’s support. The real Jaime Escalante, the Best Teacher in America, says that Stand and Deliver is “ 90% truth, 10% drama.” |
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The underlined part in the passage means _________.
| A．The main character in My Left Foot is a prisoner |
| B．The main character in My Left Foot is a disabled person |
| C．The main character in My Left Foot is trapped by others |
| D．The main character in My Left Foot can’t control his whole body |
If you want to watch a movie about wars, which may be one of your choices?
| A．My Left Foot. | B．Life Is Beautiful. |
| C．Shine. | D．Stand and Deliver. |
Jaime Escalante has a talent for _________.
| A．teaching | B．drawing and writing |
| C．making stories | D．playing the piano |
What do the four movies have in common?
| A．They are all based on real stories. |
| B．The main characters all won Academy Award for Best Actor. |
| C．They are all inspiring stories that make a difference. |
| D．The main characters are all sick to some degree but succeed. |
We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes,” our teacher told us as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing, “The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster. ”
We studied the board carefully. Some of us looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard, rocking the sheets to the right or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten-dollar grand prize, each and every one of us. I’m going to spend mine on candies, one hopeful would announce, while another practiced looking serious, wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins, while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of us used big designs, and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one corner of our poster and let the space draw the viewer’s attention to it. Some of us would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the sort they seemed especially fond of, making all of us believe we had a fair chance, and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat, but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen, and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed. No one came along to give me the grand prize, and then someone distracted(扰乱注意力) me, and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk, thinking, What poster? When the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.What was the teacher’s requirement for the poster?
| A．It must appear in time. |
| B．It must be done in class. |
| C．It must be done on a construction sheet. |
| D．It must include the words on the blackboard. |
The underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 most probably means “_________”.
| A．formed an idea for | B．seek some suggestions for |
| C．made some space for | D．chose some colors for |
After seeing the good students’ designs, some students _________.
| A．loved their own designs more |
| B．thought they had a fair chance |
| C．put their own designs in a corner |
| D．thought they would not win the prize |
We can infer from the passage that the author _________.
| A．enjoyed grown-up tricks very much |
| B．loved poster competitions very much |
| C．felt surprised to win the competition |
| D．became wise and rich after the competition |
According to the Ministry of Health, 260 million Chinese people have chronic（慢性）diseases, and 85 percent of all deaths in China are caused by such diseases. Among them, cardiovascular（心血管的）disease has bothered more people than any other kind of chronic disease.
According to the WHO(World Health Organization), salt consumption（消耗）, one of the key causes of high blood pressure that can lead to cardiovascular disease, is much higher in China than in other countries.
Douglas Bettcher, the director of the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, says, “The average Chinese person consumes about 12 to 14 grams (of salt) per day, while the suggestion of the WHO is consumption of less than 5 grams per day. High salt consumption is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and high pressure in China.
Changing the way that food is prepared could reduce salt consumption in China.
Another major risk factor in China is smoking. Dr Michael O’Leary, a representative of the WHO, says, “We know already that one million deaths in China are related to smoking, This is an enormous number. It means that we are seeing nearly 3000 deaths a day in China, or two deaths every minute, related to smoking.
According to O’Leary, about 26 percent of men who die from smoking-related diseases in China die before the age of 60. People who can still contribute a great deal, in other words, are dying too young.
China has tried to ban smoking , but more efforts are needed.
More than half of chronic diseases are preventable by changing lifestyles and reducing risks. The four key risk factors are: smoking, diets high in fats, salt and sugar, environments that prevent physical activities, and alcohol consumption. These are the areas on which efforts to make changes need to concentrate.Which of the following is more in China than in other countries?
| A．The amount of salt consumed |
| B．The number of deaths caused by high blood pressure. |
| C．The number of people with cardiovascular disease. |
| D．The number of people with high blood pressure. |
According to the WHO, how much salt should a Chinese person consume?
| A．About 12 to 14 grams per day. |
| B．Less than 5 grams per day. |
| C．About 17 to 19 grams per day. |
| D．About 7 to 9 grams per day. |
Why does O’Leary mention “26 percent of men” in Paragraph 6?
| A．To show China needs to try to ban smoking. |
| B．To show smoking causes the deaths of elderly people. |
| C．To show smoking causes the deaths of too many young people. |
| D．To show the number of smoking-related deaths in China is large. |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．There are four causes of chronic diseases. |
| B．The change in lifestyles can prevent some chronic diseases. |
| C．No smoking or alcohol means no chronic diseases. |
| D．If we do physical activities, we will have no chronic diseases. |