BEIJING, China (CNN)-- China's economic growth dropped to 9 percent for 2008, according to numbers released by the government Thursday--in line with expectations, but still the slowest rate the nation has seen in seven years.

Economists are concerned about what the slowdown means for investment in the future, whether new projects will be undertaken in manufacturing companies and in factories. If not, it will translate into more job losses and erase any optimism about a rebound (反彈) in 2009.

Since 2001, China has been used to double-digit growth as consumers buy Chinese goods. However, the export sector was hit hard in late 2008, with December exports down 2.8 percent.

Consumer spending has mostly held up in China, as people there do not carry as much debt as their American counterparts and can continue to spend.

Consumer confidence, however, is a problem, said Dong Tao, Asia chief economist for Credit Suisse. Infrastructure (基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的建設(shè)) is the only thing driving the Chinese economy, Dong said.

Tens of thousands of Chinese factories have closed, millions of people are looking for jobs and an untold number of migrants who can't find work may be leaving cities for good because of the slowdown, which would have been unheard of six months ago.

Fourth quarter numbers showed growth at 6.8 percent. Goldman Sachs predicted 6.5 percent, down from 9 percent in the third quarter.

For all of 2008, Goldman Sachs had predicted 8.8 percent, down from 11.9 percent in 2007.

1. Since 2001, the slowest rate in annual economic growth China has seen is ___.

    A. 6.8%    B. 8.8%    C. 9%    D. 11.9%

2. According to Dong Tao, the only thing driving the Chinese economy is ____.

    A. export    B. infrastructure    C. consumer confidence   D. consumer spending

3. Which of the following is NOT the difficulty China is facing?

    A. Tens of thousands of factories have closed.

    B. Millions of people are looking for jobs.

    C. An uncertain number of migrant workers may be leaving cities forever.

    D. The terrible situation will erase any optimism about a rebound in 2009.

4. In which quarter of 2008 did the slowdown of China's economic growth first appear?

    A. 1st.    B. 2nd.    C. 3rd.    D. 4th.

5. The best title of this passage should be _____.

    A. China's Economic Growth Slows.

    B. Economic Crisis in China.

    C. Economists Analyze China's Economy.

    D. Several Factors Determine China's Economy

Do you consider it any good _____ the truck again ?

      A. to repair       B. repairing          C. repaired        D. being repairing

— I like football.

— ______ my sister and me.

A. So do       B. So are      C. So did     D. So it is with

He was in great need of money, so he _____ $5, 000 for his car.?

　　A. paid       B. took      C. cost       D. spent?

I think he is _____ to win, but I'm not sure.?

　　A. possible       B. likely?     C. impossible       D. certain??

______ nice，the food was all eaten up soon.

A. Tasting   B. Taste   C. Tasted    D. To taste

If you look for a book as a present for a child，you will be spoiled for choice even in a year there is no new Harry Patten．J．K Rowling’s wizard is not alone ．The past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books ,which has set off a large quantity of films and an increased sales of classics such as The lard of the Rings．

Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children ．According to statistics in 1997, 23% said they didn’t like reading at all．In 2003, 35% didn’t．And around 6% of the children leave primary school each year unable to read properly．

Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computes games．Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile．Either way, Chancellor Cordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class ．In his pre-budget report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most．

Reading Recovery is aimed at six year olds, who receive four months of individual daily half-hour classes with a specially trained teacher．An evaluation this year reported that children on the school made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress ,and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age．

International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school, they read well ,but read text often for fun than those elsewhere ．Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on reading can report lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success ．According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage．

51．Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?

A．Many children’s books have been adapted from films．

B．Many high-quality children’s books have been published．

C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films．

D．The sales of presents for children have increased．

52．Statistics suggested that ．

A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers

B．a(chǎn) decreasing number of  children showed interest in reading

C．a(chǎn) minority of primary school children read properly

D．a(chǎn) huge percentage of children read regularly

53．What do we know about Reading Recovery?

A．An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year．

B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking．

C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading．

D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading．

54．Reading for fun is important because book-loving children _________．

A．take greater advantage of the project

B．show the potential to enjoy a long life

C．a(chǎn)re likely to succeed in their education．

D．would make excellent future researchers

55．The aim of this text would probably be _________．

A．to overcome primary school pupils reading difficulty．

B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books

C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun

D．to introduce a way to improve early children reading

Who would you rather ______ you repair your CD player?

A. help   B. helped   C. helping   D. to help

I have never met a successful person who wasn’t 100% prepared. Once you realize the advantage that exceptional __21___ gives, it becomes a lifelong habit.

Ivan Lendl is a typical example. He has thought about every side to his game, _22___ it is playing plan against an opponent, or his diet, or fitness program. But what really __23____ me was when he told me he also knew the airline and flight number he was taking to the city in question. That is the way he __24___ everything. It is one element that has made him a champion.

One reason many of us aren’t prepared is that we rarely appreciate it. And if anyone does find out we have prepared carefully to make certain we __25___ our goal, we may well be laughed at. In fact, many people are afraid to be prepared: if they are, they lose an excellent _26____when they fail.

In sport, you meet athletes who let it be known they are not in top condition for a competition. It __27___ the pressure. If they lose, they were not at their best. If they win, they go beyond everyone’s __28___. This is a classic 50% solution: you win some, you lose some. Then there are the people who do their preparation in public. They constantly tell you how hard they are working. That way, if they fail, it is not because they did not try. This is the 75% solution: prepare well, give it your best, let things turn out as they will.

The very best performers, __29___ , spend hidden hours to make sure that they are No. 1. They don’t need or want the world to see them sweat. This is the 110% solution: First determine the __30__ result. Then calculate your effort.

21        A. chance            B. possibility         c. preparation         D. ambition

22        A. whether        B. when                c. whatever            D. if

23        A. amused           B. delighted           c. astonished          D. confused

24        A. works out     B. deals with          c. gets to         D. acts as

25        A. acquire            B. achieve             c. possess               D. have

26        A. reason             B. explanation        c. prediction          D. excuse

27        A. relieves           B. releases             c. rejects                D. regulates

28        A. expectations     B. wishes            c. ideas                  D. opinions

29        A. yet                 B. however        c. besides               D. furthermore

30        A. desired            B. acquired            c. admired             D. prepared

When a baby sees a ball, the baby may reach out for it. If the baby is very young, and you __21____the ball behind a pillow (枕頭), then the ball ______22 exists for the child. As the child grows older, the child will move the pillow to get the ball. Even though the child cannot see the ball, the ball still exists. This is an early example of “l(fā)earning to see the __23____”.

Just about all of us have __24____, so we all think we can see. But, in __25____ we are all blind to probably 99% of the world. Because___26____ people realize this, few people make the attempt to learn more, in order to see more. Just like a child, what we don’t see doesn’t exist.

__27_____, because most of us are blind to 99% of the world, we rely on others to give us the answers. We willingly allow doctors, lawyers, priests, and politicians to tell us what to do or think, but they take no responsibility when the results go wrong. Commercial television, radio, newspapers, and magazines are largely corporate owned, profit driven, and focus more on distraction and misinformation than on education. Yet, we continue reading, watching and listening to commercial media under the illusion that we are learning. Corporate (法人的) media is education with blinders. They only show you the __28____ picture, and, in this way, they control public opinion. __29___ needs to turn to noncommercial television, radio, and Internet world news to get the big picture. Everyone needs to know more in order to __30___ the political spin and lies.

21.  A. put                B. play                 C. find               D. take

22.  A. still              B. no more             C. no longer          D. even

23.  A. visible           B. invisible            C. ball                 D. child

24.  A.  ears              B. noses              C. balls               D. eyes

25.  A. return            B. reality             C. short               D. case

26.  A. many             B. few                 C. some               D. a lot of

27.  A. Unfortunately   B. actually            C. fortunately        D. strangely

28.  A. big               B. little                C. clear               D. new

29.  A. Everyone        B. Someone           C. Anyone             D. No one

30.  A. see to            B. look out             C. see through        D. look for