Here are four pieces of news from China Daily:

SHANGHAI---The Huachen Group, which has put 83 million yuan in the development of the commerce market since its official registration late last year, recently held a meeting in Shanghai to show the use of its newly opened tourism business payment network. The network aims to serve tourists from all over the world, but especially from Europe and the United States where credit cards are popularly used. After opening the www.ehinaeonet.com website, netizens can get information about hotels and tourism services on tourism page. Hotels and services can be reserved and payment made through credit cards. The network opened in February in Beijing.

SYDNEY---The Sydney Olympic flame will travel underwater on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef during the torch relay following a successful test.

Scuba diver Wendy Craig, a marine biologist, will carry the torch on three-to-four-minute underwater journey at Agincourt Reef on June 27, creating Olympic history, organizers said yesterday.

Burning at 2,000 degrees, the torch is expected to remain alight three meters underwater because of a special kind of technology which creates a “fierce flame”--- too powerful to be drowned out by water. Charles Tegner, managing director of torch creator, said the flame would burn like a flame from oxygen-producing chemicals.

BEIJING---The election of a new leader in Taiwan cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China. “Taiwan Independence” in whatever form will never be allowed, according to a statesman of China’s central government.

“We should listen to what the new leader in Taiwan says and watch what he does. We will observe where he will lead Cross-Straits relations. We are willing to exchange views on Cross-Straits relations and peaceful reunification(統(tǒng)一) with all parties, organizations and people in Taiwan who favor the one-China principle,” says the statesman, from Taiwan Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee.

HAIKOU---Customs officers in Haikou, capital of South China’s Hainan Province, recently stopped a boat loaded with 781 cases of foreign-brand cigarettes being smuggling into China. The cigarettes are estimated to be worth more than 1.8 million yuan, said a customs officer. They discovered the smuggling boat as they were going around the northern sea area of Yangpu Port.

The smuggled cigarettes cases, packed into two containers, were disguised to avoid being examined. The boat was registered in the coastal city Xiamen in East China’s Fujian Province. All eight suspects aboard the boat were kept by the police in Haikou.

1.Why does the network aim to serve tourists especially from Europe and the USA?

A. Because they are from developed countries.

B. Because the payments of hotels and services are usually made through credit cards in these places.

C. Because people in these countries travel much more than those in other countries.

D. Because they have more computers than others.

2.Which is the best title for the third piece of news?

A. Ready to Fight B. No Good End

C. Wait and See D. Peace Comes First

3.Which of the following best explains the underlined word “disguised” in the last piece of news?

A. Made different from the normal so as to hide the truth.

B. Designed for a good purpose.

C. Hidden out of people’s sight.

D. Covered with unattractive things.

短文改錯

My swimming experience is extreme interesting. There was a time when I swim like a rock.This went on till one day when I was fishing with a friend of mine at nearby pond. I was so much careless that I slipped into one. Had my friend not come to my rescue, I would have be drowned. Ever since then, I have come to know the importance of learn to swim. I didn’t go to any training class but learned it all by me. Now I have no difficult swimming at all . Though the way I swim looks clumsy ,at least it can keep me floating. Thinking of this, I feel quite satisfying.

A common memory they all have ______ their school days is the school uniform.

A. on B. of C. to D. with

Every 40 minutes we will take a 20-minute break, ______ your guide will give a short talk on different aspect of the Great Wall.

A. during that B. and when C. which D. during which time

New York State has passed a law requiring that all legal contracts _____ in simple, understandable English.

A. be written B. written C. to be written D. write

As a Chinese saying goes, a mountain ______ be too high or an ocean too deep. Therefore, there is no end to our self-improvement.

A. shall never B. will ever C. can never D. must ever

閱讀理解。閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項A、B、C、D四個選項中，選出最佳選項。

While you are online there are plenty of perfectly legal sites where you can listen to music for free. This gives you the chance to listen to music before buying it, discover new music, and create great online playlists that you can share with others.

The Sixty One

The Sixty One is devoted to showcasing obscure or unknown artists of all genres. There’s a range of musical styles from classical to rock and roll, folk to jazz, and everything in between. Don’t expect to find big name musicians on here; you’re more likely to find the musicians playing at local coffee shops than bands you hear on the radio..

Pow Wow

Pow Wows are the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships, and making new ones. This is a time method to renew Native American culture and preserve the rich heritage of American Indians. PowWows.com has 2 online radio stations that play Native American Music 24/7 free! Here you can listen to your favorite artists and drum groups on your computer or mobile device and add your music to our station.

Playlist

Playlist has an enormous library, so you can create playlists with almost any musician you can think of. They have both some lesser known artists and big names, so you have a really good selection. The worst part: Due to licensing laws, many of the songs on Playlist are now restricted to certain countries. So unless you live inside the US, it is likely that you might not be able to find all of your favorite songs.

Pandora

Pandora is an intelligent Internet radio site. Basically, as you listen, you can give each song a thumbs up or thumbs down. You can create your own radio station that only plays music you like. The best part: It listens to your opinion, so that after a while it’s only playing music you like, but the list is always changing and expanding.

My Space

Combine a major social networking site with thousands of artists around the world. Each musician has their own page, which normally has a playlist of several of their songs. But it has a huge range of musicians ranging from huge stars to the up-and-coming, and you can listen to the music and interact with the rest of the page.

1.If you enjoy listening to some new music, you can pay a visit to ______.

A. Pow Wow B. Playlist C. The Sixty One D. Pandora

2.You can’t listen to some music on Playlist possibly because ______.

A. it is only open to those who are in the United States

B. you are not one of the members of the website

C. you don’t have any playlist

D. the music is played only by the local people

3.Pandora is different from the other websites of music in that ____.

A. listening to music is free of charge

B. the website keeps changing and expanding

C. it is built according to your suggestions

D. you can always enjoy your favorite music

4.Which or the following is true of My Space?

A. Thousands of artists visit it every day.

B. It is unnecessary to create your own playlist.

C. There are many songs of each musician.

D. It is possible to meet the stars around the world.

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Best Free Music Websites.

B. All Kinds of Music Online.

C. Create Your Own Playlist.

D. Listen to Music for free.

Photographs are everywhere. They decorate (裝飾) the walls of homes and are used in stores for sales of different goods. The news is filled with pictures of fires, floods, and special events. Photos record the beauties of nature. They can also bring things close that are far away. Through photos, people can see wild animals, cities in foreign lands, and even the stars in outer space. Photos also tell stories.

Reporting the news through photos is called photojournalism. At times photojournalists tell their stories through a single picture. At other times, they use a group of pictures to tell a story. Each picture is like a chapter in a book, which can do more than record the facts. It can also be a strong force for social change.

Jacob Riis was among the first photojournalists. He took pictures of parts of New York City where the poor lived. Riis believed that poverty(貧窮) caused crime, and he used photos to help him prove his point. A few years later, the photos of small children working in factories by Lewis Hine shocked the public. Hine’s pictures helped bring about laws to protect such children.

Hundreds of pictures may have to be taken in order to get one or two really good photos. It takes science to have the photo come out clearly and art to make a photo that has a good design and expresses feeling. Photojournalists make an actual record of what they see. A photo, however, can be both a work of art and an actual record. It can record an important event as a beautiful or exciting picture.

As historical and artistic documents(文獻(xiàn)) , photos can become more important over time. Today photojournalists still have their pictures appear in newspapers and magazines. They also publish(發(fā)表) them in books and on the Internet.

1. The underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refers to .

A. beauties B. photos C. goods D. events

2. The photos of the small children by Hine show us that photos .

A. are also works of art

B. are popular ways of reporting news

C. often shock the public

D. can serve as a force for social change

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. News with pictures is encouraging.

B. Photos help people improve.

C. News photos mean history in a sense.

D. People prefer reading news with pictures.

4. The text is mainly about .

A. telling the story through pictures

B. decorating the walls of homes

C. publishing historical papers

D. expressing feeling through pictures

完形填空

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從36~55各題中所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項。

I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but we had a ________ over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always ________ . Not knowing we were poor, my kids(孩子們) just thought I was ________ . I’ve always been glad about that.

It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t ________ for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big ________ for the kids was the fun of Christmas ________ .

They planned weeks ahead of time, asking ________ what they wanted for Christmas. Fortunately, I had saved $120 for ________ to share by all five of us.

The big ________ arrived. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and ________ them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered(散開). We had two hours to shop; then we would ________ back at the “Santa’s Workshop”.

Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits, ________ my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually ________. She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies—fifty-cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything ________ we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door, ________ to be angry again. This is what she told me:

“I was looking ________ thinking of what to buy, and I ________ to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees.’ One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she ________ for Christmas was a doll(玩具娃娃). So I took the card off the tree and ________ the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”

I never felt so ________ as I did that day.

1.A. roof B. hat C. sky D. star

2.A. little B. less C. enough D. more

3.A. busy B. serious C. strict D. kind

4.A. effort B. room C. time D. money

5.A. improvement B. problem C. surprise D. excitement

6.A. shopping B. travelling C. parties D. greetings

7.A. the other B. each other C. one by one D. every other one

8.A. toys B. clothes C. presents D. bills

9.A. day B. chance C. cheque D. tree

10.A. forced B. reminded C. invited D. begged

11.A. draw B. stay C. move D. meet

12.A. including B. besides C. except D. regarding

13.A. quiet B. excited C. happy D. ashamed

14.A. since B. after C. while D. until

15.A. waiting B. ready C. hoping D. afraid

16.A. out B. over C. forward D. around

17.A. forgot B. stopped C. failed D. hated

18.A. wanted B. did C. got D. played

19.A. made B. search C. bought D. fetched

20.A. angry B. rich C. patient D. Bitter

短文改錯

短文中共有10處錯誤，錯誤涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：在缺詞處加一個漏詞符號(∧)，并在此符號下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線( \ )劃掉。

修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞的下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：

1. 每處錯誤及其修改均僅限一詞；

2. 只允許修改10處，多者(從第11處起)不計分。

We receive your application last week. We regret to inform you that our company has hired a boy calling Tonny the job of the manager assistant. Having studied your certificate careful，we decided that we should hire someone with more office experiences for this particular position. You have impressed them with your desire to learn and your ability to work hard, but we do hope that you will apply for a position in our company sometime in the future. We would like to thank you on your being interested in our company. Please to contact us if there is any further questions.