Liu Huan is a professor at the University of International Business and Economics. He is also a noted musician and popular singer in the Chinese mainland.
Born on Aug. 26, 1963 in to a teacher’s family in Tianjin, Liu enrolled at the University of International Relations in Beijing in 1981, majoring in French literature. He was retained at the university as a faculty member(教职工)after graduation in 1985. He won two first prizes in Beijing’s first-ever university English and French singing contests in 1985. To help promote local education by teaching music, he lived in Shizuishan, a remote area in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, in 1985~1986. He was appointed a professor at the University of International Business and Economics to teach the history of Western music in 1991, and has been working at the university for more than 20 years.
As a professor, Liu is invited every year to colleges and universities in Beijing to teach music courses. As a famous musician, when asked if his classes differ from other teachers’, Liu simply said, “Nothing different. While standing on the platform, I am just a teacher. Everything outside has nothing to do with me at that moment. ”
Since becoming a professional singer in 1985, Liu’s singing has been widely welcomed across the country. He won many national awards, including the Top 10 Film and TV Singers in the Country in 1988, in 1990 and in 1992. On Aug. 8, 2008, Liu sang a duet “You and Me” with Sarah Brightman at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, reaching the top of his singing career. In addition to singing, Liu Huan also creates original scores for film and TV. His works have been well received by both audiences and his peers in the industry.
Therefore, Liu is chosen to act as one of the four judges on “The Voice of China” , a surprisingly popular singing talent show which has been aired on Zhejiang Satellite TV since July 13, 2012. At the same time, his fellow judges are Na Ying, Yang Kun, and Harlem Yu. (322W)
What does the underlined word “noted” in the first paragraph mean?
| A．Famous. | B．Skilled. | C．Gifted. | D．Important. |
Liu Huan used to live in Shizuishan, a remote area in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to_____
| A．learn about their customs and cultures |
| B．improve his ability of composing music by living in the village |
| C．help promote local education by teaching music |
| D．find some talented students in music |
When he reached the top of his singing career, he was .
| A．45 | B．22 | C．28 | D．49 |
Which is NOT true of the description about his musical achievements?
| A．He has won the Top 10 Film and TV Singers in the Country three times. |
| B．He succeeded in singing a duet “You and Me” with Sarah Brightman at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. |
| C．He creates many original scores for film and TV. |
| D．He is the only one who acts as a judge on “The Voice of China”. |
It was the last day of July and the long hot summer was drawing to a close As for me．1 was out of spirits，and，if the truth must be told, out of money as well，During the past year I had not managed my finances as carefully as usual；and 1 was now limited to spending the autumn economically between my mother’s cottage at Hampstead and my own in town.
My father had been dead for some years，and my sister and 1 were the sole survivors of a family of five children. My father was a drawing-master before me He had been highly successful in his profession and my mother and sister were left economically independent after his death.
The view of London below me had sunk into the black shadow of the cloudy night, when I stood before the gate of my mother’s cottage I had hardly rung the bell．When the house door was opened violently．My worthy Italian friend，Professor Pesca，appeared in the servant’s place，and rushed out joyously to receive me．
I had first become acquainted(熟悉)with my Italian friend at certain great houses，where he taught Italian and I taught drawing What I then knew of the history of his life was that he had left Italy for political reasons and that he had been respectably established for many years in London as a teacher of languages It once happened that I saved him from certain death by drowning while we
were swimming in the sea at Brighton Afterwards he overwhelmed(淹没)me with the wildest expressions of affection and exclaimed passionately, that he would hold his life at my disposal from then on, and declared that he should never be happy again until he had had the opportunity of proving his gratitude．Little did I think that the occasion to serve me was soon to come．
Pesca dragged me in by both hands into the parlor, where my mother sat by the open window, laughing and fanning herself．Pesca was one of her especial favorites，and his wildest strange acts were always pardonable in her eyes．
“Now, my good dears．”began Pesca．“listen to me The time has come I recite my good news．I speak at last…'Hear, hear!”said my mother, humoring the joke“I go back into my life，and I address myself to the noblest of men，who found me dead at the bottom of the sea，and who pulled me up to the top. What did I say when l got into my own life and my own clothes again? I said that my life belonged to my dear friend，Walter, for the rest of my days Now,”cried the enthusiastic little mall at the top of his voice．“happiness bursts out of me at every pore of my skin．For I have found a job for you”The first two paragraphs of the passage serve as an introduction to——
| A．the financial situation the writer then faced |
| B．the season that the story was set in |
| C．the family members of the writer |
| D．the successful profession of the writer’s father |
The underlined word‘‘sole’’in the second paragraph probably means‘‘”
| A．main | B．only | C．lucky | D．possible |
It can be learned from the passage that Pesca
| A．used to be a politician |
| B．was a successful drawing-master |
| C．was quite close to the mother |
| D．wanted to give the writer some money in return |
According to the last paragraph，Pesca was more than happy because
| A．he went back into his life |
| B．he met his dear friend again |
| C．his friend ever saved his life |
| D．he had done something good for his friend |
BEIJING---Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the need to promote the country’s housing security and supply to guarantee people’s basic residential needs
On Tuesday, Xi said that pushing the construction of the housing supply system is a solid project that benefits all people．
‘‘Solving the housing issue is a long-term task,” the president said “China still faces problems such as insufficient affordable housing and imbalances in housing distribution”
Xi said future work will sick to market-oriented reform．and properly handle the roles of government and the market, economic and social functions of housing development，relations of necessity and possibility and the difference between housing security and welfare trap
Meanwhile，he vowed(誓言)the government shall meet the basic housing needs of the group troubled by inadaptable labor skills, lack of job opportunities or low income
Xi pointed out that the general scheme of building China’s housing supply system is that the government realizes most of the basic needs while leaving other diversified demands for the market rules
“China will spare no effort to increase housing supply while pursuing affordable, environmentally friendly and safe living standards in accordance with the country’s practical situation，”he said
According to the country’s 12th five-year plan，China will increase its quantity of affordable housing go that it covers 20 percent of all residential areas by 2015 through construction of 36 million affordable housing units，including renovation(改造)of run-down neighborhoods
Xi said the government will first ensure the quality and safety of these buildings and strive to accomplish the goal while speeding up the construction of public rental and low—rent housing as well as the renovation of run-down neighborhoods
Land and financial policies will be further improved to support the project，Xi said，adding the government will explore and encourage ways for non-profit institutions to participate in the construction and management of affordable housing．
The top leader also stressed that China shall strengthen supervision，establish standard management system and punish illegal occupation of affordable housing units.The housing supply system is constructed to
| A．guarantee people’s basic residential needs |
| B．handle the roles of government and housing market |
| C．improve land and financial policies |
| D．punish illegal occupation of affordable housing units |
As for solving China’s housing problems．President Xi is．
| A．helpless | B．pessimistic | C．determined | D．uncertain |
Building China’s housing supply system will .
A．be put to an end soon
B cover all residential needs by 2015
C．especially benefit low-income people
D．encourage profit-driven organizations What would be the best title for this passage ?
| A．Handle China’s Housing Issues and Policies |
| B．Better China’s Housing Security and Supply System |
| C．Balance the Functions 0foovermnent and Market Rules |
| D．Strengthen Housing Supervision and Management |
Growing strawberries in pots
·The best way to start growing strawberries is to buy pot-grown strawberry plants m spring：5plants are plenty for a hanging basket and 10 for the average 13 inch-sized pot．
·Plant them immediately in soil-based compost(混合肥料) and they will produce a modest crop in their first year．The second year should see a bumper(特大的)crop，followed by a slightly lower yield(产量)the third summer .Then start again with fresh stock
·Careful watering and feeding are essential Ifyou are to harvest a good crop，you must never
let the compost dry out,particularly when the fruit is forming and ripening；if you do．most of your
crop will drop off血e bush almost immediately．
·Water well then leave the pots for up to 3 weeks，until they reach the point of drying out Be
Careful not to overwater them during the winter months．
Pruning apple trees
·A one-year-old tree is known as a “maiden”. It has a single stem when purchased. Immediately after planting, cut it back by about half to leave 4 good buds at the base of the stem.. This will force growth from the base or the plant during the summer.
·In the second year ,prune in winter by cutting all side branches back by about one-third, Make sure each cut is made cleanly just above an outward-facing bud. In the third and fourth years, new side branches will have emerged from the previous year’s growth. Cut back all these new side branches by a third, pruning to an outward-facing bud.
·By the fifth year the tree should have a well-balanced shape. From then on ,cut back all new branches by one-third in winter .Remove any diseased wood and broken branches, and ensure the centre is open to air circulationThe two pieces of advice probably appear in
| A．a scientific repot | B．a gardening guide | C．a book review | D．a fashion column |
A good crop of strawberries mainly depends on
| A．the size of a pot | B．the season of harvesting |
| C．the number of plants in a pot | D．careful watering and feeding |
Cutting back all side branches by a third is to
| A．remove the diseased and broken branches |
| B．keep the whole tree open to air circulation |
| C．force the apple tree to grow from the base in winter |
| D．help the apple tree to form a well-balanced shape |
The two pieces of advice suggest that planting is closely related to
| A．season | B．water | C．compost | D．cutting |
Way back in 1662，John Evelyn，a brilliant Englishman known for his detailed diaries，wrote about disastrous effects of coal-burning on the city of London .In it,he described an infernal scene of smog．air filled with “Columns and Clouds of Smoke’’given out by small industries and residences that burned coal for fuel．
I found the description in the 2003 book When Smoke Ran like Water，by epidemiologist(流行病学家)and environmental advocator(倡导者)Devra Davis．In it,Davis looks back at several historic pollution events and their disastrous effect on human human health-and at how these phenomena were often Ignored or even actively covered up by then people in charge at that time.
As Davis points out，John Evelyn was ahead of his time when writing about how London’s polluted air affected the well-being of its residents．It wasn’t until nearly 300 years later,after what became well-known as the Great Smog of 1952，that the government began to address the problem in a systematic way．
For four days．Between December 5th“and 9th“，due to all accident of the weather pattern，the city was buried in a heavy fog .People were still burning coal for fuel，and low-grade coal at that time， because 0f wartime condition．A temperature inversion(转向)trapped the smoke from the city’s fires， creating a black cloud in which people could barely find their way down the most familiar streets
Some tried to protect themselves，but most people simply went about their business. But l952’s fog was far worse than any other in memory．In the same week of the previous year, 1852 people had died in London；inl952，that number was 4703 And the deaths didn’t stop when the weather changed and the fog lifted．Davis and her colleagues analyzed data from the next several months and found that about 13000 more people died between December and March than one would have predicted from historical averages Many of them died of pneumonia(肺炎)．The government，she writes．Tried to blame a bad flu season．Her detailed analysis found that explanation simply did
not pan out．
Davis writes that even today in this country ,we still have not completely absorbed the lessons of similar events．Sixty years the killer fog lifted in London，people are dying preventable deaths and suffering life．changing illnesses，simply because they must breathe the air of the cities where they liveThe passage is written to
| A．warn people of the danger from air pollution |
| B．introduce London’s Great Smog of l952 |
| C．blame the government for the smog |
| D．explain the reasons for air pollution |
The underlined word‘‘infernal” in the first paragraph probably means“ ”
| A．imaginary | B．adventurous | C．unbelievable | D．annoying |
One of the reasons for the Great Smog of l952wasthat——
| A．people burned wood for fuel |
| B．a forest fire created a black cloud over the city |
| C．the government ignored the smog |
| D．most people went abouttheirbusine00 |
How does the writer feel about the present air condition in London?
A. lndifferent B Concerned C．Hopeless．D. Panic
Most people know that awkward feeling when you walk into an elevator with other people and try not to make eye contact(接触). But a new research suggests it may be down to a subconscious power struggle being played out as you make your way up and down.
A study found that people decide where they stand based on a micro social status，established within seconds of entering the lift.
Rebekah Rousi．a Ph. D．student in cognitive(认知)science，conducted an ethnographic(人种论)
Study of elevator behaviour in two of the tallest office buildings in Adelaide，Australia.As part of her research，she took a total of 30 lift rides in the two buildings，and discovered .There was an established order to where people tended to stand
In a blog she writes that more senior men seemed to direct themselves towards the back of the elevator She said：“In front of them were younger men，and in front of them were women of aII ages.”She also notice there
was a difference in where people directed their gaze(注视)half way through the ride．“Men watched the monitors，looked in the side mirrors(in one building)to see themseIves．And in the door mirrors(of the other building)to also watch others Women would watch the monitors and avoid eye contact with other users(unless in conversation)and the mirrors，”she writes．
She concluded it could be that people who are shyer stand toward the front，where they can’t see other passengers，whereas confident people stand in the back，where they have a view of everyone else.The passage is mainly about
A. elevator riding manners
B communication in the elevator
C. elevator riders’ standing positions
D. micro social status in the elevatorThe underlined word“it”in the first paragraph probably refers to“”
| A．an elevator | B．the new research | C．eye contact | D．social status |
A person who stands in the back of the lift is probably
A confident B shy C honestThe conclusion of the research in the passage is
A. subjective B．objective C critical D doubtful