All it took was a slice of Xinjiang cake to spark heated debates online over China's policy on ethnic（民族的）minorities .

Since Monday, qiegao (cut cake) has been a trending topic on Sina Weibo, China’s main Twitter-like microblogging service.The cake was a reference to Xinjiang’s famed nut cake, sometimes known by its old Turkic name baklava, a popular pastry across Central Asia and the Middle East. In Xinjiang, they are sold by Uygur vendors（小販）on tricycles who are known to charge dubious prices depending on the time and season.

The ethnic flare-up started after the Yueyang police from Hunan province posted a message on their official Weibo account. It reported a dispute in Pingjiang county over an overpriced piece of nut cake between a Xinjiang Uygur vendor and a villager named "Ling".

Villager Ling got into a fight with a Uygur due to a misunderstanding. The verbal dispute eventually escalated into a fight and then a mass fight. As a result, two people were injured and Xinjiang nut cakes worth about 160,000 yuan (US$25,000) were destroyed. The total damage was worth 200,000 yuan which included a broken motorcycle and injuries to people. Local police have detained（扣留） Ling. The 16 Uygur sellers were dully compensated and sent back to Xinjiang.

"Yueyang police incident" quickly became one of the most popular topics on Weibo. Yueyang police removed the post shortly after. As of Tuesday night, the topic was still amassing more than 66,000 hits. 

The incident is just one of many similar cases of ethnic tensions across China, notably in Xinjiang province, where deeply entrenched social and racial frictions between the dominant ethnic Han Chinese and minority Uygur Muslims occasionally spark violence. Many Uygurs living in major Chinese cities are viewed by locals as thieves, crooks and even terrorists.

47. Which of the following is true?

A. The dispute is between a Xinjiang Uygur vendor and a policeman.

B. Nut cake is a popular pastry across East Asia and the Middle East.

C. The prices of Baklava will change according to the time and season.

D. The demand of the 16 Uygur sellers was refused and they were sent back to Xinjiang.

48. What’s the best title of the passage?

A. World's most expensive baklava.                      B. Ethnic tensions across China.

C. Pay attention to the Uygurs                             D. Misunderstanding caused by a fight

49. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Yueyang police are afraid of the Xinjiang Uygur vendor

B. It’s not the only ethnic tension across China,

C. Many Uygurs living in major Chinese cities are viewed by locals as thieves, crooks and even terrorists.

D. Villager Ling got into a fight with a Uygur due to a misunderstanding.

50. Where is this passage probably from?

  A. A microblog.          B. A textbook.               C. A newspaper.                    D. A magazine.

    Have you ever heard the saying “All roads lead to Rome”? At one time, this was pretty much true. During the Roman Empire, lots of roads were built in order to move armies, send messages by courier (信使), and make trade easier. This construction work went on for five centuries! If all the roads built during the Roman Empire were put together end to end, they would circle the equator twice.

    The network of Roman roads was begun in 312 BC. It was demanded that the roads be built strong so that they would not fall down. Roman soldiers, supervised (監(jiān)督) by engineers, laid down the roads in a special pattern of layers. The first layer was made of sand. Next, the builders added rocks and rubble. On top of these materials came gravel. On this solid foundation, the road builders placed paving stones.

    Also, Roman roads were cambered. This means that they were built higher in the middle than on the edges, allowing rainwater to run off, which prevented flooding. We use the same technique in building roads today. The Romans also laid out roads over hills when necessary, setting them down in a zigzag pattern to make the road rise gradually.

    All Roman roads had milestones (里程碑), placed every thousands paces (a Roman mile). The milestones told when the road was built, who was emperor at the time, the road’s destination, how far the traveler was from the destination, and how many miles had been traveled since the beginning of the road. This information was a great help to travelers.

    Because of their excellence in construction, it really is no surprise that many parts of Roman road still exist today. These roadways are one of the most impressive accomplishments of the Roman Empire.

42. What does the underlined sentence in the first paragraph mean?

 A. The Roman Empire was very powerful.

 B. Lots of roads were built during the Roman Empire.

C. The roads built during the Roman Empire were very long.

 D. The roads built during the Roman Empire were very convenient.

43. Which of the following correctly shows the structure of the Roman roads?

      A.                                                B.

        C.                                         D.

44. The following description about Roman roads is true EXCEPT _____.

A. Roman roads were built by the Roman soldiers directed by the engineers

B. Roman roads could prevent flooding using the technique abandoned today

C. Roman roads had milestones that were placed every other Roman mile

D. Roman roads still exist today as an impressive achievement of Roman Empire

45. What information can you find on the milestones?

A. The builders of the road.                                   B. The materials used in building roads.

C. The distance from one city.                               D. The time spent in building roads.

46. The passage mainly ______.

A. explains the saying “All roads lead to Rome”

B. praises ancient Romans for their great achievements

C. shows how great the Roman Empire was

D. introduces the construction of the Roman roads

New Zealand fishermen caught what may prove to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid (巨大的魷魚(yú)).

    In the cold, dark waters of the Antarctic hides a creature with eight arms, two super long tentacles (觸須) and eyes as big as dinner plates. Sound like something out of a science fiction movie? Think again.

    On February 21, New Zealand fishermen landed a colossal squid the length of a school bus. They had been fishing with long lines for Chilean sea bass (黑鱸) in the waters off the coast of New Zealand when they caught the rare squid. With two hours of hard work, the crew skillfully pulled the creature into a net and dragged it aboard their ship.

    Scientists estimate (估計(jì)) that the animal weighs about a half ton and is about 40 feet long. That would make this colossal squid the biggest on record.

    First identified in 1925 after two tentacles were found in a whale’s stomach, the colossal squid has long been a mystery. The animals are not easy to observe because they can go down to ocean depths of 6,500 feet. What scientists do know from studying the bodies of a half dozen colossal squids is that they are fierce hunters.

    The recently captured colossal squid has been frozen to keep it for scientific study. It will be transported to New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa, in the capital city of Wellington. Experts believe it to be the first adult male ever caught undamaged. Scientists hope to learn more about the colossal squid’s diet, behavior and reproductive (繁殖) patterns.

    “Scientists will be very interested in this amazing creature,” said New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton. “It adds immeasurably to our understanding of the marine environment.”

38. Why is it usually difficult for experts to observe the squid?

 A. Because it moves too fast.                               B. Because it is too large.

 C. Because it is very dangerous.                           D. Because it can go down to deep ocean.

39. What’s the purpose of catching such a huge squid?

 A. To make it into food.                                        B. To set a world record.

 C. To do research on it.                                       D. To display it for visitors.

40. Which of the following is TRUE about the possible record-breaking colossal squid?

 A. It lives in the cold, dark waters of the Arctic.

 B. Its tentacles were found in a whale’s stomach.

 C. It is a fierce hunter according to the scientific study.

 D. It is believed to be the first adult male ever caught.

41. What would be the best title for the passage?

 A. the biggest squid ever found                             B. scientific research on squid

 C. the lifestyle of the colossal squid                       D. how the fishermen caught the squid

An unusual group of musicians from the land of Mozart have just started a nine-day European tour.

　  The First Viennese Vegetable Orchestra (管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)) from Austria contains eight musicians, one sound technician and one cook.

　 This mix of people may seem strange until you know the orchestra play instruments they have carved (雕刻) out of vegetables. At the end of the performance, the cook cuts up the instruments and makes a tasty vegetable soup for the audience.

　 It takes the band about half an hour to make a carrot flute (長(zhǎng)笛). Other instruments include eggplant cymbals (茄子鐃鈸) and pumpkin (南瓜) drums. Microphones make the vegetable sounds loud enough for the audience to hear.

　 "The audience has the possibility of enjoying what they just heard," the band said. "We employ a real cook for the preparation of the soup so it is indeed tasty and very special."

34. Which of the following should be the best title of the passage?

  A. A Special Orchestra                                     B. Uses of Vegetables

  C. A Special Meal                                         D. Eatable Instruments

35. From this passage we can infer that ______.

A. all the musical instruments are made by a cook

  B. vegetables can be excellent materials for musical instruments

C. the shapes and sizes of the vegetables decide what kind of instrument they will be made into

D. the cook makes the band famous and particular

36. The sound technician ______.

A. helps to make sounds   

B. makes the instruments to be used at the concert

C. operates the electrical sound equipments to make the music loud enough

D. tests the quality of the musical instruments to be used by the orchestra

37. The passage intends to tell us that ______.

A. vegetables can be very useful materials          B. common things can be made into things of fun

C. the orchestra has made a great discovery       D. the band is popular with epicures (美食家)   

Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids (小行星) now，one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it，say some scientists.
  Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星)that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
  Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say，we'll have a way to change its course.
  Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn't be cheap.
  Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500，000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall，it would be the end of the world. “If we don't take care of these big asteroids，they'll take care of us，”says one scientist. “It's that simple.”
   The cure，though，might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(毀滅性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them，” said a New York Times article.

31. What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?
  A. They are heavenly bodies different in composition.  B. They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.
  C. There are more asteroids than meteoroids.         D. Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.
32. We can conclude from the passage that_____.
  A. while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world
  B. asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future
  C. the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our       

lifetime

  D. workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth.
33. Which of the following best describes the author's tone in this pass age?
  A. Optimistic.              B. Critical.                     C. Objective.         D. Arbitrary.

I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors. Almost instantly I loved her. She had an unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking,   11   she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.
  Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my  12  . She wanted to know how I thought we should   13  things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew  14  about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her  15  . It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to  16  them. She trusted me to complete things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how  17  I was, so I began to show up to paint more and more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.
  Mrs. Neidl’s   18  that year was, “Try it. We can always paint over it  19  !” I began to take  20  . I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing—only things to be   21  upon. I learned to dip my brush into the paint and  22   create something.
  The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was   23   in the program as “Student Art Assistant” because of the time and effort I’d put in. It was that year that I   24    I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing stage design.
  Being on that stage-design team   25   Mrs. Neidl changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more competent than I had thought, but I also   26   a strong interest and a world I hadn’t known existed. She taught me not to  27  what people think I should do. She taught me to take chances and not be  28  . Mrs. Neibl was my comforter when I was upset. Her   29  in me has inspired me to do things that I never imagined  30  .

11. A. and                         B. yet                             C. so                            D. for
12. A. opinion                   B. impression                  C. information        D. intention
13. A. make                      B. keep                           C. handle                D. change
14. A. anything                 B. something                   C. everything          D. nothing
15. A. questions                B. comments                   C. explanations       D. remarks
16. A. hold                       B. follow                         C. evaluate             D. form
17. A. happy                     B. lively                          C. reliable               D. punctual
18. A. message                 B. motto                         C. saying                D. suggestion
19. A. again                      B. more                          C. instead               D. later
20. A. steps                      B. control                        C. charge               D. risks
21. A. improved                B. acted                          C. looked               D. reflected
22. A. easily                      B. carefully                     C. confidently         D. proudly
23. A. introduced              B. recognized                  C. identified            D. considered
24. A. confirmed               B. decided                       C. realized              D. acknowledged
25. A. with                       B. below                         C. of                      D. by
26. A. developed               B. discovered                  C. took                  D. fostered
27. A. accept                    B. care                            C. judge                 D. wonder
28. A. bored                     B. lazy                            C. sad                    D. afraid
29. A. trust                       B. patience                      C. curiosity            D. interest
30. A. accessible               B. enjoyable                     C. possible             D. favorable

 “I would rather someday in the future I ______ in the back of a BMW instead of smiling on the back of a bicycle.”—it can be seen as the distortion of modern values.

A. sat               B. would sit             C. should sit            D. sit

 Would you please introduce me the man, _________ help I may easily get an interview chance?

A. with which        B. of whose             C. of which          D. with whose

 In order to make up the missing notes, he______ his best to spend as much spare time as possible doing this job these days.

A. will try           B. tried                   C. has been trying     D has tried

 In the past five years, disasters like earthquakes and floods have struck our hometown, Sichuan, _______ in terrible losses to this “Land of Abundance”.

A. having resulted     B. result                            C. resulting                   D. resulted