Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you couldn’t see. Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your fingers. How do you feel, then?
With medical knowledge and skills today, two-thirds of the world’s 42 million blind people should not have to suffer. Unluckily, rich countries have this knowledge, but developing countries do not.
ORBIS is an international charitable (慈善的) organization. Its goal is to help fight blindness all over the world. Inside a DC-8 airplane, there is a teaching hospital with television room and classroom. Doctors are taught the latest technology of helping the blind get sight again here. ORBIS is always trying to keep a closer relation among countries.
ORBIS helps those developing countries by providing sight-saving training. It has taught over 35,000 doctors and nurses. They continue to treat thousands of blind people every year. They have traveled around the earth 3 times, visited 76 countries and treated over 20,000 blind people. They need your help to continue their work and free people from blindness.
For just $ 38, you can help one person see; for $ 380 10 people can see; $ 1,300 helps train a doctor new skills; and for $ 13,000 you can provide a training program for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again. Your love can help them open their eyes to the world.How many blind people should not have to suffer with medical knowledge and skills today?
| A．14 million. | B．42 million. |
| C．28 million. | D．200 million. |
A lot of blind people in the world have to suffer because _____.
| A．ORBIS didn’t do its best to offer help |
| B．there is no good medical knowledge and skills |
| C．some countries can’t afford medical knowledge and skills |
| D．developing countries don’t pay much attention to the blind |
According to this passage, ORBIS helps fight blindness by doing the following EXCEPT _____.
| A．writing this kind of articles to ask for help |
| B．providing sight-saving training |
| C．treating thousands of blind people every year |
| D．trying to keep a close relation among countries |
The last paragraph is mainly about _____.
| A．how much a training program for a group of doctors costs |
| B．why ORBIS needs your help to continue their work |
| C．who can make thousands of blind people see again |
| D．what you can do to help blind people open their eyes |
The writer writes this passage in order to ______.
| A．introduce an international charitable organization |
| B．ask people to give the blind a hand |
| C．tell how you feel if you lose your eyes for a minute |
| D．explain why ORBIS helps fight blindness |
If there is one thing I'm sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a newspaper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives—the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It's already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic (基因）engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do—as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It's quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted (传送)electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I'm pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read—sports and international news, etc.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media (媒体）. They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet, it's never really pleasant to read something just on a screen. What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Best Way to Get News |
| B．The Changes of Media |
| C．Make Your Own Newspaper |
| D．The Future of Newspapers |
In the writer's opinion, in the future，__________.
| A．more big political affairs, wars and disasters will make news |
| B．newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer |
| C．newspapers will cover more scientific research |
| D．more and more people will watch TV |
What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?
| A．Sports and international news. |
| B．A menu of important news. |
| C．The most important news， |
| D．What you are interested in. |
From the passage, we can infer __________.
| A．newspapers will win the competition among the different media |
| B．newspapers will stay with us together with other media |
| C．television will take the place of newspaper |
| D．the writer believe some media will die out |
Today most Chinese teenagers are happy to be favored by two parents and four grandparents in their families. But have you ever thought about how to take care of four to twelve old people when you grow up and get married? This could be a problem for most Chinese youths as China is entering a new stage of an aging society.
An aging society refers to one where 10 percent or more of its population is over 60. By the end of 2007，Chinese over 60 years old have made up 11. 7 percent of the nation's total population.
“ China is getting old before becoming rich，” said Cai Chuang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The population increase that has powered Chinese growth for three decades will give way over the next ten years to a rapid aging of the society. This will lead to weaker economic growth, because of a lack of labor resources.
As a result of the family planning policy, it is expected that the country's total working population will decrease after 2015.
China is not the only country getting old. More than 60 countries have become aging societies and one in three people in the European Union is a senior citizen.
However, experts said that China doesn't have a highly developed social security network to support the old. Social security is an insurance program protecting those in need, including the old, the disabled and others. An aging society is a society that __________.
| A．less than 10% of its population is over 60 |
| B．10% or more of its population is over 60 |
| C．there are four old people in a family |
| D．most of its population is over 60 |
If China enters an aging society，__________.
| A．there will not be enough labor resources |
| B．the family planning policy will be ended |
| C．everyone needs to take care of four to twelve old people |
| D．China will have a highly developed social security network |
What does Cai Chuang mean by saying “ China is getting old before becoming rich. ” ？
| A．China will be an aging society, then be a developed country. |
| B．China will be a rich country before being an aging society. |
| C．An aging society will affect Chinese economy development. |
| D．China will stop developing because of its aging problem. |
The passage mainly talks about __________.
| A．an aging society |
| B．Chinese social problem |
| C．family planning policy |
| D．aging problem in China |
I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. If it weren't for my job I would immediately move out for the open spaces and go back to nature.
Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population lives in many tower blocks, noisy, dirty and impersonal. The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. All you can see from your window is sky, or other blocks of flats. Children become aggressive and nervous as they are shut up at home all day, with nowhere to play ； their mothers feel isolated (孤立的）from the rest of the world. Strangely enough, in the past the residents(居民）of one street all knew each other, but nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don't even say hello to each other.
Country life, on the other hand, differs from this kind of isolated existence in that a sense of community generally binds the residents of small villages together. People have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need help. But country life has disadvantages too. While it is true that you may be among friends in a village, it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities. There's little possibility of going to a new show or the latest movie. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go a long way to the nearest large town. The city people who leave for the country often can't bear the stillness and quiet there.
What, then, is the answer? The country has the advantage of peace and quiet, but suffers from the disadvantage of being cut off；the city gives people a feeling of isolation, and constant noise can nearly drive you mad. But one of its main advantages is that you are at the center of things, and that life doesn't come to an end at half-past nine at night. Some people have found a compromise (折中）between the two ： leave cities and move to villages within commuting(乘车往返)distance of large cities. It sounds great ！ It seems that the writer prefers to live in the country mainly because __________
| A．the city is somehow polluted |
| B．the country folks are more friendly |
| C．one can get better sleep in the country |
| D．it's hard for people to find jobs in the city |
The biggest disadvantage of living in the country is that __________
| A．life there is inconvenient |
| B．shopping is almost impossible |
| C．you can not see a movie or a show |
| D．life comes to an end at half past nine |
As to which is better, city life or country life, the writer __________
| A．did some explanation |
| B．made some comparison |
| C．described both of them vividly |
| D．talked a lot about his preference |
The underlined word “ binds" in the third paragraph is similar in meaning to __________.
| A．attracts | B．drives |
| C．prevents | D．unites |
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country's economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country ； keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country's economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads, and other support facilities (配套设施）needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel will lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost. Which of the followings do you think has been discussed in the part before this selection?
| A．It is extremely important to develop tourism. |
| B．Building roads and hotels is essential. |
| C．Support facilities are highly necessary. |
| D．Planning is of great importance to tourism. |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT __________.
| A．a bad effect on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists' customs |
| C．over-crowdedness of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
It can be inferred from the text that __________.
| A．the author doesn't like tourism developing so fast |
| B．local people will benefit from tourist attraction |
| C．other parts of a country's economy won't benefit from tourism much |
| D．we can't build too many support facilities |
The author thinks it is good for local people to know that tourism will __________.
| A．waste a lot of money |
| B．weaken their economy |
| C．help establish their customs |
| D．help improve their life |
One of the best-known American writers of children's books is Alfred Strong, or Doctor Strong, as he is better known to readers everywhere. Now, an art show called “ Doctor Strong From Then To Now" is travelling around the United States. The pictures and drawings show the history of Doctor Strong.
Doctor Strong first became famous almost fifty years ago when his first children's book was published. Since then, he has written forty-five books that have sold more than one hundred million copies around the world.
Doctor Strong's books are known for their easy use of words and colorful, hand-drawn pictures. These drawings bring life to his imaginary creatures, The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and hundreds of others.
The San Diego Museum, in California, organized the show. It included about three hundred Doctor Strong's original (最早的）drawings and some of his writings.
Most of Doctor Strong's books, although written in a funny way, have serious messages. For example, in Mc Elligot's Pool, he describes the danger of pollution. He discusses the arms race in The Butter Battle Book, written in nineteen eighty-four.
Doctor Strong is almost eighty-four years old now. He says he never plans to write stories just for children. He says he writes stories that interest people of all ages. He says he uses easy words so that everyone, even a child, can understand. Alfred Strong is a famous __________ in the United States.
| A．doctor | B．artist | C．writer | D．reader |
Doctor Strong first became famous in __________.
| A．his eighties when an art show was travelling around the United States |
| B．his fifties when his drawings and writings were published |
| C．nineteen-eighty-four when his book Mc Elligot's Pool was published |
| D．his thirties when his first book was published |
Doctor Strong's books are very popular in America because __________.
| A．they are stories about animals such as cats, elephants and so on |
| B．they are written in easy words with colorful pictures |
| C．he organized an art show in California |
| D．they are written in a funny way |
His purpose of writing many such books is __________
| A．to show his original pictures and drawings |
| B．to organize a special art show of his own |
| C．to make his readers laugh when they read his books |
| D．not only to interest people but also to expose( uncover) some serious social problems |