Two magazines recently listed the best cities to live in. Here are two of the cities listed as "the world's
 best."
     SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA The city has comfortable weather all year round (15℃ to 26℃). Housing
  is not very expensive in San Jose. Also, many of the city's older neighborhoods are very beautiful and
 have small hotels and caf?s. Beautiful mountains are around the city. Lots of people go sightseeing there
  every year. But air pollution is a problem in the city center.
     HONG KONG, CHINA This lively city-once a small fishing village-is today an international business
 center. It is an interesting mix of East and West, old and new. Modern tall buildings are next to small
 temples (廟宇). Popular nightclubs are close to traditional teahouses. Busy people fill the streets at all
 hours of the day. But outside the city, there are parks for walking or relaxing. Hong Kong is famous for its
  wonderful native dishes. There's also food from Europe, North America, and other parts of Asia.
 However, this small city has a large population of nearly seven million! That's why housing is very e
 xpensive. Traffic and air pollution are also a problem.

1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about San Jose?

    A. The weather.            
    B. The mountains.
    C. The air.                
    D. The traffic.

2. What makes Hong Kong the world's best according to this passage?

    A. The lively city and the wonderful dishes.
    B. The large population and the traffic.
    C. The expensive housing.
    D. The beautiful temples.

3. The writer thinks housing in Hong Kong is expensive because    .

    A. it is a small fishing village
    B. it is a mix of East and West
    C. it is a beautiful city
    D. there are too many people in the city

4. What do the two cities have in common?

    A. They both have beautiful mountains.
    B. They both have a large population.
    C. Air pollution is a problem in both.
    D. They are both crowded.

5. From the passage, we can know that    .

     A. San Jose and Hong Kong are the only two cities of the world's best
     B. San Jose has more natural sights than Hong Kong does
    C. the weather in both cities is fine
    D. San Jose used to be a small fishing village

       Summer holiday is coming. Some kids have already made great plans for the summer.
       Travel for fun
       Many teens say they will travel with their parents during the holidays. Fan Zhe from Yantai will go to
Shanghai with his parents. "I will need a break, as I will be really tired of tests by that time," said Fan.
Gao Yuan will spend his holiday far away from his parents. From August 10, the 15-year-old boy and
20 other students at Shanghai Weiyu Junior Middle School will spend 18 days in Australia.
       Summer studies
       Some teens are spending the summer studying. Xing Wei from Tianjin and Zhou Xiaolin from Beijing
have to go to math, physics and English classes. Their parents think this will help their future studies. But
Xiaolin is unhappy, "I will spend my holiday playing with numbers. How boring!"
       Plenty of activities
        Li Yuanchen from Hefei will be doing all the usual things. "I'll be travelling a little bit, partying with
friends and reading books," he said. Shanghai's Ma Jiameng said she will spend a lot of time with friends,
doing different things. "We will do some drawing and go swimming. I will also write short stories," Jiameng said.
       Summer is a great chance to do many things. Keeping fit is an easy and cheap way to have fun.
Running, swimming and dancing are all great exercises. There is always volunteer work to do, too. Do
something! Anything! If you don't, you'll be sorry when September comes.

1. Where is Fan Zhe going for the summer holiday?

A. Yantai.  
B. Hefei.  
C. Tianjin.     
D. Shanghai.  

2. How long will Gao Yuan stay in Australia?

A. Two months.    
B. 20 days.  
C. 18 days.    
D. 45 nights.

3. How will Zhou Xiaolin spend her holidays this summer?

A. She will write some short stories.
B. She will spend a lot of time with friends, doing different things.
C. She will have to go to math, physics and English classes.
D. She will spend her holiday in Australia.

4. How many people are mentioned in the passage?

A. 5      
B. 6    
C. 7        
D. 8  

5. What is the writer's opinion according to the article?

A. Summer holiday is the best time of the year.
B. Children should travel during the summer holiday.
C. Children must do a lot of volunteer work on holiday.
D. Children should do something interesting during their summer holidays.

       In China, people who were born in and after the 1980s are called the post-80s generation (80后的一代). Most of them come from single-child families. However, the generation are playing a more and
more important part in China, and their image (形象) in people's minds is changing. Han Han, a popular
writer, is one of them.
       Han Han was born in Shanghai in 1982. His talent for writing was clear at an early age. At the age
of 17, Han Han was paid much attention to by the public because of the article Viewing the People
Through the Glass. He won the first prize in the National New Concept Composition Competition.
Later, Han Han again surprised the public by leaving high school. "I tried my best to improve my studies,
but I failed. In the end, I gave up my schooling. But I am always learning. I think learning and going to
school are two different things," said Han Han.
       Han Han's first novel Three Folded Gates (《三重門》) sold very well in China. Later the book
was translated into several languages and sold to other countries.
       In the following years, Han Han wrote a lot of books. All of them were very popular and sold very
well. In 2006, he started blogging (寫網(wǎng)絡(luò)日志). Today, Han Han's blog has received over 200 million
clicks (點(diǎn)擊) and has become one of the hottest blogs on the Internet.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，選擇最佳選項(xiàng)。

1. Which is TRUE about the post-80s generation?

A. The generation were born in 1980.
B. The generation are good at writing.
C. The generation have changed China's image in the world.
D. The generation are playing a more and more important part in China.

2. What can we learn from Han Han's words in the second paragraph?

A. He never studied hard at school.
B. In the end, he left school in order to write his novel.
C. Though he gave up his studies, he didn't stop learning.
D. The post-80s generation cannot learn unless they go to school.

3. When did Han Han begin to write his first blog?

A. In 1992.
B. At the age of 17.
C. When he was 20.    
D. At the age of 24.

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Three Folded Gates was only sold in China.
B. Han Han's blog is very popular on the Internet.
C. The post-80s generation like writing blogs very much.
D. The public expected that Han Han would leave high school.

5. What does the passage mainly tell us about?

A. The post-80s generation.
B. How to become a good writer.
C. Han Han, a popular young writer.    
D. Popular books written by Han Han.

       Do you know about agricultural (農(nóng)業(yè)的) tourism? It is for people who want to visit farms for f  1  , education or just to get away from the city. Agricultural tourism is p  2   in the United States. It can help
farmers make more m  3   and become richer. Farmers can sell farm products (產(chǎn)品) to visitors. They
can o  4   horseback riding and take visitors a  5   their farms. Children can learn a lot about farm animals.
       Randy Nixon is a farmer. He says offering service and entertainment on farms can help b  6   the farmers and the country. Nixon's Farm is a good e  7   of this. It not only grows corn and soybeans (大豆)
there, but also h  8   business meetings, weddings and other events. Mrs Nixon is willing to c  9   for
visitors. Her recipes are very popular with guests. Randy Nixon says the business has become very s  10  .

     As we know, there are differences between Western culture and Chinese culture. We can see
differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let's look at some words about animals
and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, "a homeless dog", "a mad dog", "a
running dog" and "a dog catching a mouse", have negative meanings. But in Western countries, dogs are
considered to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive
actions. For example, "you are a lucky dog" means you are a lucky person. And "every dog has its day"
means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person's serious illness, they say "sick as a
dog". The word "dog-tired" means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in Western
culture, "cat" is often used to describe a woman who is cruel (冷酷的). There are many other examples
of how "cat" is used differently as well.
     The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some Western countries. People think the
rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national f lower of England,
America and many other countries.
     The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can
learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

1. The word "dog" in Chinese usually _____.

A. shows peace
B. stands for friendship
C. has a negative meaning
D. has a positive meaning

2. "Every dog has its day" means "_____" in English.

A. Everybody in the world is lucky
B. Each person lives his own way of life
C. If one works hard, he's sure to succeed
D. Everybody has a time in life to be lucky

3. Western people usually use "cat" to refer to (指代) "_____".

A. a tired person
B. a brave man
C. a homeless person
D. an unkind woman

34. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Words show differences in cultures.
B. Chinese people prefer dogs to cats.
C. Western people regard cats as good friends.
D. Rose is the national flower of all Western countries.

5. What's the BEST title for the passage?

A. Negative or Positive?
B. Different Countries Have Different Cultures
C. Rose Means the Same in Chinese and English
D. What Dog and Cat Mean in English and Chinese

       A. China, Torch Passing On
       The torch for the 29th Olympic Games was lit on March 25, 2008. It arrived in Beijing at last before August 8 after traveling across 135 cities around the world over 130 days.
       B. Reading, Happiness and Knowledge
       On April 23, 2008, World Reading Day, billions of people opened their books and read. Books
brought them into a world of happiness and knowledge.
       C. Chang'e into Space
       Chang'e I, China's first moon satellite, went into space on October 24, 2007. It took pictures of the
moon and sent them back to the earth.
       D. Plastic Bags Limited(受限制)
       From June 1, 2008, the Chinese are not allowed to use common plastic(塑料的) bags thinner than 0.025 mm. Instead, they are encouraged to use cloth bags or environmental plastic bags.
       E. Movie on Show
       Do you believe cats are afraid of mice? It is so in Mouse Madness, an American cartoon movie,
which was on show in May, 2008.

將下面各句與上面的信息進(jìn)行匹配，將字母序號填在橫線上。

1. Ben is interested in movies, he might like reading           .

2. Zhang Ying will go shopping. She could use cloth bags according to          .

3. Mike wants to know something about the 29th Olympic Games. He may have read         .

4. Maria can get some information about China's satellites after reading         .

5. John's hobby is reading. He may feel happy and excited after reading         .

　　The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese. The New
Year comes with the first day of the First Moon, between January 21 and
February 19. People get ready for the holiday for fifteen days. Finally, at
midnight it is the first day of the First Moon. People close the shops and the
streets are empty. Everyone locks (鎖) the doors and stays at home.
　　It is an important time for the family. The younger people bow (鞠躬)to the
older people. The Chinese people call this “ke tou”. This means "to touch the
ground with forehead (前額)". Then the younger people wish the older people a
happy new year. The older people give children presents or money in red
envelopes. The family then go to sleep.
　　In the morning, people put on their best clothes. Some people stay at home,
and others go out to visit friends or neighbors. They are very polite and do not
use bad words. It’s the most important day of the year.

1."The Chinese New Year" in the passage means _____.

A. Mid- Autumn Day                  
B. the Spring Festival
C. Christmas Day                        
D. the Dragon (龍) Boat Festival

2. It takes about _____ to get ready for the Chinese New Year.

A. a few days                            
B. twelve days
C. half a month                          
D. three days

3. At midnight you can see _____ people in the streets. Everyone stays at home.

A. lots of                            
B. hundreds of
C. many                              
D. few

4. On the Chinese New Year's Day, what do people usually say to each other when they meet?

A. Good luck!                      
B. Best wishes!
C. Good morning!                
D. A and B

   Are you interested in country music? I like it very much! It  will  take me away  for a  while  after I  am
tired. The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields.
   Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings.It's the spirit of America ,easy to understand,
slow and simple.
   Country music developed in the Southern United States.It was the folk music of American countryside.    Many of songs tell about the lives of famers.They talk about love,crops or death.
   The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in  country  music are  often sad.At first, people
played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later.In the 1920s, people played
country songs on the radio,and they made them into records.
   When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with
them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.
   John Denver was one of America's most famous  country  singers  in the  1970s.  His song "Take Me
home, Country Roads" is well-known and people still play it today.

1.Country music is usually about _______.

A.everyday life and feelings
B.farmers' feelings  
C.the lives of workers  
D.workers' feelings

2.Country music developed _______.

A.in John Denver's city          
B.in the Southern United States
C.in the Northem United States    
D.in the Western United States

3.People bagan to make country song records _______.

A.in the 1920s
B.in 1920
C.in the 1970s    
D.in 1970

4.Why did Country music become popular in America?

A.Because city people liked the music.
B.Because farmers moved  to cities with their music and it continued to change.
C.Because country music talked about city people's lives.
D.Because city people liked the country

5.Who is famous for the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads"?

A.A farmer in the countryside.
B.A person who moved to towns
C.John Denver  
D.Denver John