YUXI, China — Many people of this city in southwester China spent Saturday night in tents, too scared to sleep in their homes after an earthquake which killed 188 people early that morning.
Countless homes were destroyed and lots of people became homeless after the earthquake which is believed to have a magnitude of 7.
The quake was not as serious as the 7.9-magnitude earthquake in 2008 that left more than 70,000 people dead in the Wenchuan area. But villagers who work in Chengdu, about 100 miles away, hurried back home Sunday morning, many on foot, the lucky ones on motorbikes, to check on their homes.
Song Yuanqing, 43, a worker, arrived back after a 22-hour trip and found his house was still there but had already been very unstable(摇摇欲坠). “We would like to do something, but we can’t do anything,” Mr. Song said as he sat with neighbors around an outdoor fire built by the village leader in his backyard.
In all, the government sent about 7,000 soldiers and People’s Armed Police officers to the earthquake-hit area. By Saturday evening, there were so many rescue workers in the area that the government asked volunteers to stop coming.
Li Keqiang, China’s prime minister, flew to the area and slept in a tent on Saturday evening in Lushan County.
The earthquake shook Sichuan Province at 8 a.m., when people were getting up a little later than usual because schools and universities were closed.
“We were just getting up and getting dressed in our dormitory when the building shook, and I looked outside from our window and saw a row of houses had collapsed,” Xu Yan, 22, a student at the Agricultural University in Ya’an, said in a telephone interview. “I had never flew down the stairs faster.”
The Chinese government said early Sunday that the death toll was 174, and about 5,700 people had been injured.
The earthquake was also felt in Chengdu, one of China’s biggest cities and the capital of Sichuan Province. People described water getting out of home aquariums and things like balls falling to the floor.
In the town of Longmen, another hard-hit area near Ya’an, a local man, Zhang Yan, said 90 percent of the buildings had collapsed.
“About 100 people died around here,” Ms. Zhang said in a telephone interview. “Rescue teams have not yet arrived. There is no water or electricity.”
In the 2008 quake, many schools of poor quality collapsed and killed thousands of students. This time, many people also expressed their worries about students on their micro-blogs.
Sichuan Province is also one of China’s best-known hometowns for pandas, and at the Bifengxia reserve, about six miles north of Ya’an, workers said that 20 pandas in the park were safe. “We examined the panda area after the quake, and they were not affected,” said Chen Yong, an officer of the reserve.When did the quake take place in Ya’an? On_______________________.
| A．Saturday morning | B．Sunday morning |
| C．Saturday night | D．Sunday night |
Why did many people hurriy home after the earthquake.
| A．They wanted to provide rescue to the hit area and give other people a helping hand as volunteers. |
| B．They wanted to find out the situation of their home. |
| C．They felt it too dangerous to stay where they had been. |
| D．There weren’t enough soldiers in the hit-area. |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．Xu Yan didn’t make it through the stairs. |
| B．Xu Yan get out of the dorm quickly. |
| C．Xu Yan felt the earthquake shaking the stair. |
| D．Xu Yan was scared that he wouldn’t be able to catch up with the stair. |
Which of the following is NOT true.
| A．Tens of thousands of students were killed in Ya’an. |
| B．The earthquake also influenced some other cities. |
| C．The government took very quick actions. |
| D．Most buildings has collapsed in Longmen. |
Where would you most probably read this passage?
| A．Reader. |
| B．A History of China’s Earthquakes |
| C．How to Survive(求生) in an Earthquake |
| D．China Weekly |
One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese student of English, “You speak very good English.” But the student answered, “NO, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite surprised at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself understood or the Chinese student had not heard him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.” But the Chinese student sill kept saying “No.” In the end the American boy could not understand and didn’t know what to say.
What’s wrong with the student’s answer? He didn’t accept a compliment（赞美词）in the same way as the American people do. He should answer “thank you” instead of “no”. He really understood what the American boy had said, but he thought he should be modest（谦虚的）.In the west, people will feel proud and confident when they are praised. So if someone says the dishes you have cooked are very delicious, you should say “Thank you”. If someone says to a woman “You look so beautiful with the new clothes on.” She must be very happy and answer “Thank you”.
In our country we think being modest is a virtue（美德）and being proud is a bad thing, but in my opinion, being confident does not mean being proud, so sometimes you should be confident instead of being modest.
If you are modest and say, “No, I’m afraid I can’t do it well” while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often say “No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by others. If asking for a job, one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try”, he or she will expect to get it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence! Why was the American boy surprised at the Chinese student’s answer?
| A．Because he was expecting the Chinese student to say “Thank you”. |
| B．Because he wouldn’t like others to say “No”. |
| C．Because he could hardly hear what the student had said. |
| D．Because he wondered whether the student could really speak good English. |
As the student kept saying “No”, the American boy ________.
| A．became disappointed | B．didn’t know what to say |
| C．lost his interest | D．got angry |
In the west, if you meet a friend who wears a really beautiful dress, you may say “________”.
| A．Where do you buy it? |
| B．Could you give me your dress? |
| C．How beautiful you are today! |
| D．I want a dress like yours very much. |
Why does a man in the west who asks for a job say something like “Yes, I can certainly do it”?
| A．Because he is not modest. |
| B．Because he is confident and he wants to get the job. |
| C．Because he just wants to try. |
| D．Because he can do nothing but speak in that way. |
We can learn that the writer wants us to ________ through his passage.
| A．be modest | B．be confident |
| C．be clever | D．be beautiful |
My grandfather is 70 years old this year. He is in good condition but he lost his hearing at the age of 65. Then it became difficult for me to communicate with him. My mother bought a hearing aid (助听器) for him, but he often forgot where he had put it. So my mother advised me to communicate with him by gesture. Good idea! And then I began to use gesture.
When I wanted to have an apple, firstly, I pointed to my mouth; later I made my hands form a round shape. Then he gave me an apple. When I was hungry, I pointed to my stomach. He would go into the kitchen and cook for me. When I wanted to use, the computer, I pointed to it. If he nodded(点头), I could play computer games from 8 pm to 10 pm; if he disagreed, he always touched my head and pointed to the desk -- that meant that I should do my homework first. It was an easy way for us to communicate with each other!How long has Grandfather been deaf?
| A．For 70 years. | B．For 65 years. |
| C．For 10 years. | D．For 5 years. |
Who bought Grandfather a hearing aid?
| A．The writer. | B．Father. |
| C．Mother. | D．Grandfather himself. |
How did the writer communicate with his grandfather?
| A．By talking | B．By letter |
| C．By gesture | D．on the phone |
What did the write mean when he pointed to his stomach?
| A．He had a stomachache. | B．He was cold. |
| C．He was full. | D．He was hungry. |
How long could the writer use the computer if his grandfather nodded?
| A．2 hours. | B．3 hours. |
| C．8 hours. | D．10 hours |
Some time ago, a friend working in a part of the city I did not know very well, invited me to visit him. It took me hours to get there and I drove round and round looking for a place to park my car. At last I found a place in a back street. As I was already half an hour late, I parked my car quickly and hurried off on foot. Making my way rapidly along the street, I could not help thinking that it was much easier to walk than to drive.
At noon, I left my friend's office. It suddenly stuck me that I had no idea where I had parked my car. Walking down street after street, I examined each car closely and was greatly relaxed to see a small green car just behind an old truck. But how disappointed I was to discover that though the car was very much like my own, it belonged to someone else. Quite tired now, I was ready to give up the search when I turned the corner. I nearly jumped with joy: my car was just in front of me !Why did the author park the car quickly?
| A．Because he saw a wallet on the ground. |
| B．Because he was already late. |
| C．Because he wanted to have lunch with his friend. |
| D．Because he was very tired. |
When he left his friend's office, what happened to him?
| A．He wanted to go back. |
| B．He didn't know where he had parked his car. |
| C．He had a telephone call. |
| D．He found his car. |
What does the underlined word "disappointed" mean in the second paragraph?
| A．Happy. | B．Successful. |
| C．Upset. | D．Pleasant. |
We can infer (推断) his car is _________.
| A．green | B．grey | C．blue | D．yellow |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
| A．The friend was his neighbour. |
| B．He found his car at last. |
| C．It took him a short time to find a place to park his car. |
| D．The small green car behind an old truck was his car. |
Life in the future will be different from life today. Between then and now many changes will happen. But what will the changes be?
The population is growing fast. There will be more people in the world and most of them will live longer than people live now.
Computers will be much smaller and more useful, and there will be at least one in every home. And computer studies will be one of the important subjects in schools then. People will work fewer hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, watching TV and traveling. Traveling will be much cheaper and easier. And many more people will go to other countries for holidays.
There will be changes in our food, too. More land will be used for building new houses. Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Work in the future will be different, too. Robots will do dangerous and hard work. Because of this, many people will not have work to do. This will be a problem.
| A．much more fruit | B．fewer people |
| C．less meat | D．less people |
| A．robot | B．cow | C．TV set | D．computer |
| A．work long hours | B．work fast |
| C．walk on foot | D．eat meat |
| A．fruit | B．vegetables | C．meat | D．rice |
| A．many people don't have to work. |
| B．many people will not be able to find work. |
| C．people have to work fast. |
| D．all the work will be done by robots. |
Young people have many dreams. Here are Lei Ping and her friends’ dreams. Lei Ping is going to be an actor. She likes acting. She thinks the actors are well-known and they can make lots of money. She is going to take acting lessons. Her friend Yong likes writing. He is going to write articles for the magazines when he grows up. He thinks reading more is good for writing. So he often reads books in the library now. The other friend Li is going to be a teacher. She thinks children are lovely and in the long vacation she can do what she wants to do.
| A．actor | B．pilot |
| C．bank clerk | D．reader |
| A．The actors are famous. |
| B．The actors can travel anywhere. |
| C．She doesn’t like actors. |
| D．She thinks they are tired. |
| A．He does more exercise every day. |
| B．He writes articles for the magazines. |
| C．He reads books in the library. |
| D．He takes writing lessons after school. |
| A．reader | B．cousin |
| C．sister | D．friend |
| A．not good | B．interesting |
| C．not to be true | D．wrong |