The government of Norway is planning to build an unusual storage center on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The place would be large enough to hold about two million seeds. The goal is to present all crops known to scientists. The British magazine New Scientist published details of the plan last month. The structure will be designed to protect the world’s food supply against nuclear war, climate change and other possible threats. It will be built in a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, the northernmost position on earth.

An international group called the Global Crop Diversity Trust is working on the project. The director of the group, Cary Fowler, spoke to New Scientist. He said the project would let the world rebuild agriculture if, in his word, “the worst came to the worst”. Norway is expected to start work next year. The project is expected to cost three million dollars. Workers will drill deep in the side of a sandstone mountain. Temperatures in the area never rise above 0??C. The seeds will be protected behind concrete walls a meter thick and high-security door.

The magazine report says the collection will represent the products of ten thousand years of farming. Most of the seeds at first will come from collections at seed banks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To last a long time, seeds need to be kept in very low temperatures. Workers will not be present al the time. But they plan to replace the air inside the storage space each winter. Winter temperatures on the island are about eighteen degrees below 0??C. The cold weather would protect the seeds even if the air could not be replaced.

Mr. Fowler says the proposed structure will be the world’s most secure gene bank. He says the plant seeds would only be used when all other seeds are gone for some reason. Norway first proposed the idea in the 1980s. But security concerns delayed the plan. At that time, the Soviet Union was meeting in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The project is meant to ______.

A．increase the world’s food output in the future      

B．carry out some scientific experiments on plant genes   

C．protect crop seeds from dying out in case of possible disasters

D．build an exhibition centre of the world’s plant seeds

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the above passage?

A．The government of Norway will perform the project alone.

B．Seeds to be collected there were produced ten thousands years ago.    

C．Spitsbergen is chosen because it is free of the threat unclear war forever.   

D．Temperature is a major consideration when choosing the storage place.

We can infer from the text that _______.

A．People will get newly-developed seeds from the center every year.

B．The storage center will greatly promote world agriculture   

C．Norway had meant to build the storage centre about 20 years before. 

D．There haven’t been any seed storage centres in the world before.

What is probably the best title of the passage?

A．The Best Place to Store Seeds B．Noah’s Ark（諾亞方舟）of Plant Seeds in Plan

C．Concerns of World Food Supply    D．A New Way to Feed the World

She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.

The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louver Museum(盧浮宮) where it is housed.

“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.

Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision(視覺) is excellent at picking up details, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”

However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.  

In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louver by a former employee, who took it out of the museum, hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later. During World War Ⅱ, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.

We can infer from the text that_______

A. the Mona Lisa is proved to be able to last another 500 years

B. Mona Lisa’s beauty is fading gradually with 500 years passing by

C. the Mona Lisa has been catching people’s wide attention in the past 500 years

D. Mona Lisa does not look out of date though painted 500 years ago

Which of the following is true about the Mona Lisa?

A. It was once taken away and hidden up by German forces.

B. Its painter himself loved it greatly and always kept it in a shade.

C. Mona Lisa stops smiling when you look at her wanting to see her smiles.

D. King Francis I bought it and then returned it to Italy.

Choose the right order about the happenings onto Mona Lisa.

a. It was stolen from the Louver.

b. Its painter sold it to King Francis I

c. Its state of health was checked.

d. It was returned to France and housed in the Louver Museum.

e. It was hidden and protected against Germans.

A. b-a-d-e-c       B. d-e-c-b-a        C. d-a-e-c-b       D. b-c-a-d-e

It may add to the difficulty in repairing the painting that_____.

A. experts haven’t noticed changes in its shape as visitors do

B. it is likely to be stolen again when it’s under repair

C. it is uncertain which country, Italy of France, should take charge

D. experts aren’t sure about the materials and the chemical state of its oil paint

Some researchers claim that people??s personalities can be classified by their blood types.?If you have blood type O, you are a leader. When you see something you want, you strive to achieve your goal. You are passionate, loyal, and self-confident, and you are often a trendsetter. Your enthusiasm for projects and goals spreads to others who happily follow your lead. When you want something, you may be ruthless about getting it or blind to how your actions affect others. Another blood type, A, is a social, “people” person. You like people and work well with them. You are sensitive, patient, compassionate, and affectionate. You are a good peacekeeper because you want everybody to be happy. In a team situation, you resolve conflicts and keep things on a smooth course. Sometimes type As are stubborn and find it different to relax. They may also find it uncomfortable to do things alone.?

People with type B blood are usually individualists who like to do things on their own. You may be creative and adaptable, and you usually say exactly what you mean. Also you can adapt to situations, you may not choose to do so because of your strong independent streak. You may prefer working on your own to being part of a team. The final blood type is type AB. If you have AB blood, you are a natural entertainer. You draw people to your because of your charm and easygoing nature. ABs are usually calm and controlled, tactful and fair. On the downside, though, they may take too long to make decisions. And they may procrastinate, putting off tasks until the last minute.??

People with type O will do the following things except____.?

A. direct a board              B. burn the night??s oil?

C. be considerate             D. self-oriented?

Which of the following is not the feature of type A??

A. Stubborn.      B. Sensitive.?   C. Reserved.    D. Patient.?

What is Not true to type B??

A. He likes to work by himself.? B. He doesn’t think much before he speaks.?

C. He has many original ideas.? D. He cannot fit in with the environment.?

The best profession for a type AB is ____.?

A. Musician          B. Peacekeeper       ?C. Actor           D. Spokesman

MOST recently, my world has been shaken by the death of a teacher at my school. He was Dr Allan Woolley and he was only 52. Suddenly he took his own life, which remains a mystery.

That morning, everyone sensed that something wasn't right. During our lessons, an announcement was made that an assembly (集會(huì)) was scheduled for morning break, which was only done in emergencies.

Once morning break came, the entire school gathered in the main hall. As our headmaster marched out to announce the "momentous (重大的) news", it felt like the air around us trembled . Many students broke down in tears, and the reaction afterward was intensely powerful and unifying .  

The headmaster said that students were allowed to miss lessons and have a free period to collect themselves if they found the news too distressing (悲傷的). Many students went outside and shared memories of Dr Woolley to control theirselves.

Dr Woolley taught me chemistry two years ago, but up until his death he still taught many of my close friends. Many of my friends were so shocked that they still couldn't believe the person that they had owed (欠) some homework to was now dead.

It was heart-warming to spend time with teachers that morning and get to know more about them. Despite the time of sadness, I feel that every cloud has a silver lining. Although Dr Woolley's death is something nobody wanted to see, we must move on.

What did the students feel at the news of his teacher’s death?

A.unhappy   B shocked    C.surprised    D.silent

What does the underlined word “collect” in Paragraph4 mean?

A. bring something together  B.calm  down  

C. increase in amount        D.get and keep

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A.The real cause of Dr Woolley’s death is known to us.

B.Many students didn’t prepare themselves for the bad news so that they felt very sad.

C.It takes the whole school some time to recover from the dispressing news.

D.Dr Woolley’s death allows students to understand teachers better.

It can be inferred from the underlined sentences in the last paregraph that______.

A.Dr Woolley’s death made students sad.

B.There is still some comfort and hope in trouble

C.Dr Woolley’s death disappointed students greatly

D.We should forget the fact to study better.

The best title for the passage should be_______.

A. Our School Faces a Tragedy 

B. Dr Woolley—A Great Teacher

C. The Living Live For the Death

D. Lesson From the Death.

Adults are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced in the meantime. A man who has not dad an opportunity to go swimming for years can   1   swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after several decades and still   2   away. A mother who has not   3   the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or recite the story of Cinderella or Snow White.

One explanation is the law of over learning, which can be started as following:  4   we have learned something, additional learning increases the   5   of time we will remember it.

In childhood, we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and   6   ourselves of poems such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” and childhood tales such as Cinderella or Snow White. We not only learn but   7  .

The law of over learning explains why cramming(突擊學(xué)習(xí)) for an examination,  8   it may result in a passing grade, is not a   9   way to learn a school course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little over learning,  10  , is usually a good investment toward the future.

A. only               B. hardly        C. still                          D. even

A. more              B. drive          C. travel                       D. ride

A. though about   B. cared for    C. showed up                D. brought up

A. Before            B. Once          C. Until                        D. Unless

A. accuracy         B. unit           C. limit                        D. length

A. remind           B. inform              C. warm                       D. recall

A. recite             B. overlearn    C. research                   D. improve

A. though           B. so              C. if                             D. after

A. convenient      B. demanding C. satisfactory               D. swift

A. at most         B. by the way C. on the other hand      D. in the end

Wugging, or web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won’t cost them a penny.

Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity — 88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than ??5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的) or possible.

Beth Truman, a 21 year old recent university graduate, has used Everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the “wugging” movement grow in popularity with students. “When you’re at university you become more socially aware, but it’s sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself,” says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny.”

Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don’t feel they have the means to do so. Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding.

Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.

According to the passage, “wugging” is actually ______.

A. a website       

B. a charity-related action

C. a school organization  

D. a student movement

In the case of charity, Everyclick.com ______.

A. frees students of the financial worries

B. receives much money from students

C. offers valuable information to students

D. praises students for their money-raising

What does Beth Truman think of the “wugging” movement?

A. It makes Everyclick.com popular in the UK.

B. It becomes easy to do charity because of it.

C. It results in students’ more social awareness.

D. It helps students to save money.

From the passage, we can conclude that ______.

A. most full time students do charity on the Internet every day

B. Everyclick.com helps students pay for the college education

C. “wugging” is a win-win idea for both students and charities

D. Everyclick.com is the most successful search engine in the UK

What would be the best title for this passage?

A. “Wugging”, a new popular term on the Internet.

B. British people show strong interest in charity.

C. More Britain charities benefit from the Internet.

D. Students raise money for charity by “wugging”.

The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth , is of great importance to African ecosystem(生態(tài)系統(tǒng)). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.

It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.

What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.

11. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Disappearance of African elephants.

B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

C. The effect of African elephants' search for food.

D. The eating habit of African elephants.

12. What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

A. Fixing the time.                                   B. Worsening the state.

C. Improving the quality.                          D. Deciding the conditions.

13. What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A. They result from the destruction of rain forests.

B. They provide food mainly for African elephants.

C. They are home to many endangered animals

D. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.

14. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The African elephant is the largest animal on earth.

B. African elephants have 300 pounds of plants every day, including small trees and underbushes.

C. The African elephant is in a way the builder of the environment like other land animals

D. If the African elephant disappears, the whole ecosystem won’t be affected..

15. The passage is developed mainly by        .

A. showing the effect and then explaining the causes

B. pointing out similarities and differences

C. describing the changes in space order

D. giving examples

Below is a web page from Google.   

Olympic—Modern Olympic Games

The completer results archive of summer and winter Olympic games, with winners lists, statistics, national anthems and flags of all countries since 1896.

www. olympic. it/english/home-16k

Environment

Beijing steel plants to run at the lowest level of cost during 2008 Olympics [2007-03-11] Beijing able to treat 90 pct of waste water [2007-02-05]. Air quality in Beijing has improved over the past six years [2007-02-01]·Green Olympics dream coming true …

en. Beijing2008.com/80/67/column211716780.shtml-52k

Beijing announces planned route of Olympic torch relay

Beijing announced the 2008 Olympic Games torch relay route and set off the Olympic Games torch on Thursday. … Green Olympics is one of the three concepts of the Beijing Games. …

english.china. com/zh_cn/news/sports/110592227/14069663.html-26k

Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics —‘Green Olympics’

Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics —‘Green Olympics’, officially announced on Saturday, 24 September 2005. The symbol, created using a calligraphic art form, is composed of human and tree-like shapes, …

my.opera.com/green_head/blog/show.dml/92155-18k

Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004   

On behalf of BOCOC, Wang Wei, executive vice president of BOCOC, gave a presentation about Green Olympics, introduced the environment protection work of BMC and BOCOC, and answered several questions such as protection of cultural relics …

en.beijing2008.com/84/91/article211929184.shtml-36k

Olympic Games Quizzes and Olympic Games Trivia

Who was the founder of the Modern Olympics? In which cities were the modern Olympic Games due to be held/ scheduled during the ‘war years’, i.e., 1916, 1940, and 1944? … In which three years of the Modern Olympic Games were … More questions …

www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/sports/ olympic_games.html-12k

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT

… aimed at young researchers engaged in scholarly research on the Olympic Movement, its history and values, and the impact of the …[ Full story] SPORT ACCORD[2005-01-23]…

www.olympic.org/

Ancient Olympic Heritage and Modern Olympic Games in Athens 2004

As put forward in the various official texts, the Olympic symbols of ancient Olympia, the Olympic flame and the Marathon race are bridges between the ancient and the modern Olympic Games,    

www.2008.org/rendanews/knowledge_detail.asp?id=911-106k

6. When was the environmental symbol of Beijing Olympics made public?

  A. On January 23, 2005.                      B. On September 24, 2005.

  C. On February 5, 2007.                      D. On March 11, 2007.

7. Which of the following websites is designed for young researchers interested in the Olympics?

  A. Environment

  B. Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004

  C. Olympic Games Quizzes and Olympic Games Trivia

  D. OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT

8. Which website provides a complete list of the winners in the Olympic Games?

  A. Olympic—Modern Olympic Games

  B. Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004

  C. Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics —‘Green Olympics’

  D. Ancient Olympic Heritage and Modern Olympic Games in Athens 2004

9. Which website provides the founder of the Modern Olympics?

A. Olympic—Modern Olympic Games

B. Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004

C. Olympic Games Quizzes and Olympic Games Trivia

D. Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics —‘Green Olympics’

10. What do we learn from the above web page?    

  A. Beijing has made efforts to improve its air quality.

  B. The Olympic torch relay route has not been planned.

  C. The Olympic flag will be on display in Athens.

  D. A quiz on the Olympics will be held in Beijing    

One day Walt Disney had a vision. It was a vision of a place where children and parents could have fun together. The more Walt dreamed of a "magical park," the more imaginative and elaborate it became.

The original plans for the park were on 8 acres next to the Burbank studios where his employees and families could go to relax. Although, World War II put those plans on hold. During the war, Disney had time to come up with new ideas, and creations for his magical park. It was soon clear that 8 acres wouldn't be enough.

Finally in 1953, he had the Stanford Research Institute conduct a survey for a 100-acre site, outside of Los Angeles. He needed space to build rivers, waterfalls, and mountains; he would have flying elephants and giant teacups; a fairy-tale castle, moon rockets, and a scenic railway; all inside a magic kingdom he called "Disneyland."

The search for the best venue for the park ended in the rural Anaheim, California with a purchase of a 160-acre orange grove near the junction of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) and Harbor Boulevard.

Construction for Disneyland began on July 21, 1954, 12 months before the park was scheduled to open.

Some 160-acres of citrus trees had been cleared and 15 houses moved to make room for the park. However, when the real designing came around, Disney met with inevitable questions. How do you make believable wild animals, that aren't real? How do you make a Mississippi paddle ship? How do you go about building a huge castle in the middle of Anaheim, California? Disney asked his movie studio staff for answers. The design of Disneyland was something never done before.   There would be four uniquely different theme parts: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland Tomorrow land. Bit by bit, Disneyland got ready for Opening Day. The staff worked around the clock to get ready.

But opening day was a terrible disaster. Beside the terrible opening day conditions, the park did eventually pick up. By 1965, ten years after opening day, 50 Million visitors had come through the gates.

1. The passage is mainly about___________.

What visitors can enjoy in Disneyland.

The difficulties Disney met in building Disneyland

How Disneyland came into being

A brief introduction to Disneyland

2. Which of the following dates would probably be the opening date of Disneyland?

A. 1953     B. 1954       C. 1955       D. 1965

3. Which of the following statements is Not True?

World War II had some influence on the building plan of the Disneyland.

Disney must have met many difficulties in building Disneyland.

About 50 million visitors have visited Disneyland so far.

Disney was a great man with great imagination and creativity.

4. You could see all the following things except_________ in Disney.

A. rivers, waterfalls, and mountains    B. flying elephants and giant teacups

C. a huge castle                    D. wild animals

5. The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means _________.

A. collect      B. improve     C. find       D. open

DIABETES? Is your CHOLESTEROL number up?

Life shouldn’t be a game of chance. But if you have dia??betes (膽固醇) and raise cholesterol(糖尿病), you have an increased chance of heart disease or stroke. So it’s really im??portant that you find out your cholesterol number (the level of cholesterol in your blood) — especially since your cholesterol level is controllable, just like your diabetes. Your doctor is the best person to talk to about this.  

So don’t play a game of chance with your health, call for a FREE copy of our ChoLESterol booklet. It contains useful in??formation and may help you talk to your doctor.

Call 0800 068 0439 today. Call any time for a FREE booklet.

You can also write to ChoLESterol, Dept 9,FREEPOST NEA 10820,Rotherham S639BR,or visit our website: www. lesscholesterol. co. uk where you can download or request your booklet.

10. Who will be interested in this passage?

A. Doctors who treat diabetes.      B. People who like free books.

C. Patients with heart disease.       D. People who suffer diabetes and raise cholesterol.

11. What information will the booklet provide for its readers?

A. When to see a doctor. B. How to cure your diabetes.

C. How to know the level of your cholesterol.     D. How to get the free book.

12. The word ChoLESterol in the passage probably means

A. keeping cholesterol steady B. making cholesterol fall down

C. the level of cholesterol          D. curing your diabetes

13. The purpose of this advertisement is ________.

A. to help doctors get more patients  B. to help people with higher level of cholesterol

C. to obtain benefit from the booklet  D. to make the organization well known