London taxis, with their friendly drivers who actually know where they are going, are ranked best in the world, according to an annual taxi poll(調(diào)查).
The survey by travel website hotels.com found London taxis, despite being the most expensive, beat rivals across the globe to head the list for the third consecutive years, scoring a total of 59 percent in votes on several categories by travellers.
London taxi drivers were voted both friendliest and most knowledgeable. Drivers in the English capital must pass a rigorous examination called The Knowledge to earn their taxi licence.
New York’s yellow taxis came second in the list, scoring 27 percent which was up 10 percentage points from last year even though Manhattan’s cab drivers tied with Parisian taxi drivers as the rudest.
Travellers said New York had the most available taxis.
Cabbies in Rome were voted the worst drivers in the world with almost one in 10 travellers thinking the Italian capital had the world’s worst taxi drivers when it came to the quality of driving.
“Travelling by taxi is one of the first experiences that many travellers have upon arrival in a new city. In fact, the research found that cabs are by far the most popular method of travelling from the airport to their hotel,” a spokesman for hotels.com said in a statement.
The global poll scored city based taxis for their levels of cleanliness, value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness, safety and availability.
Rounding out the top five were Tokyo with a total score of 26 percent, Berlin with 17 percent, and Bangkok famed for its tuk-tuks scoring 14 percent.
Madrid’s taxis were ranked sixth in the poll, followed by Copenhagen and Dublin with 11 percent and Frankfurt and Paris with 10 percent.
Taxis in Sydney fell short of the top 10, scoring badly in the areas of value for money, availability and knowledge of the area.
The survey for hotels.com, part of the Expedia group, was conducted among over 1,900 travellers between May 11-28 this year.
小題1:What does the underlined word “rigorous” in the third paragraph mean _______?

A．official

B．lawful

C．strict

D．important

小題2:The writer introduced the result of the survey by _____.

A．listing the ranks of the taxi service of the European cities

B．listing the ranks of the taxi service of the cities concerned

C．different kinds of reading forms and famous travel websites

D．interviewing the taxi drivers and travellers of the cities

小題3:Rome’s taxi drivers are lack of _______.

A．driving skills	B．good manners
C．the sense of cleanliness	D．the sense of safety

小題4:What does the writer want to tell us?

A．The global taxi drivers should be trained strictly.

B．The global taxi drivers should be given an exam.

C．The global taxi drivers have different driving skills.

D．The global big cities’taxis service is scored by a travel website.

Poor families in some countries spend as much as eighty percent of their money on food. Rising prices in recent months have created the worst food crisis(危機(jī)) in more than thirty years. The United Nations World Food Program says high food prices could push one hundred million people into hunger.
Nathan Childs is an expert on rice markets. He notes that the harvest for the latest growing season was the largest on record. But India, Vietnam and others have restricted exports(限制出口) to keep prices down at home and protect supplies.
Thailand’s agriculture minister says his country will never restrict rice exports. He told the Reuters news agency Thursday that Thailand has enough supplies to meet demand at home and for export.
Thailand is the world’s largest rice exporter. Recent signs of an increase in supplies have helped ease record prices for Thai rice. Prices rose last week above one thousand dollars a ton.
Vietnam, the second biggest exporter, has banned(禁止) exports until June. And Vietnamese officials have now warned that non-food traders who buy rice for speculation(投機(jī)活動)will be severely punished.
Some experts say speculation is a necessary part of market activity. But the head of the U.N. Environment Program blames it for the high food prices. “We have enough food on this planet today to feed everyone.” Achim Steiner told the Associated Press.
Earlier, a member of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission didn’t accept the idea that speculators are the main cause. Bart Chilton blamed reduced harvests and grain supplies and the falling value of the dollar.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called heads of major international agencies to a meeting this week in the Swiss capital, Bern. He says high food prices could harm world trade, economic growth, social progress and political security.
小題1:What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Vietnam has banned rice exports to other countries.

B．Thailand is the largest rice exporter in the world.

C．Some families are too poor to afford enough food.

D．Rising prices of food have led to the world food crisis.

小題2:Which country restricted food exports according to the passage?
A. Thailand.    B. Switzerland.    C. Vietnam.    D. The USA.
小題3:All of the following are the results of rising prices of food EXCEPT ____.

A．the worst food crisis

B．reduced harvests and grain supplies

C．people spending more money on food

D．pushing one hundred million people into hunger

小題4:What is the reason for the speculation according to the head of the U.N. Environment Program?

A．High food prices.

B．The falling value of the dollar.

C．Enough rice supplies in some countries.

D．Restricted food exports in some countries.

If Confucius were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities.  More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy. Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers. 
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
小題1: The opening paragraph is mainly intended to _________.

A．provide some key facts about Confucius

B．a(chǎn)ttract the readers’ interest in the subject

C．show great respect for the ancient thinker

D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations

小題2:We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students_________.

A．fight for a chance to learn Chinese

B．try to get high scores in Chinese exams

C．have a great interest in studying Chinese

D．take an active part in Chinese competitions

小題3: What is the best title for the passage?

A．Forgotten Wisdom in America

B．Old Thinker with a Big Future

C．Chinese Culture for Westerners

D．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language

小題4: The passage is likely to appear in _________.

A．a(chǎn) biography	B．a(chǎn) history paper
C．a(chǎn) newspaper	D．a(chǎn) philosophy textbook

Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport — skateboarding. The country’s first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.
Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea, who has been skating for 6 months, says skating has already become his favorite sport.
The skaters are learning tricks like launching off a jump or half-pipe and flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.
A non-governmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan years ago. Rory Burke is working with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.
Rory Burke points out, “Yeah, it’s definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime (消遣). And I think the idea of ‘why skateboarding’ is that it’s not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, ‘Hey, this is new, this is something different.And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, ‘Wow, what is that?’ and they want to get involved. ”
Skateistan partners with local groups that work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred twenty participants. They all come from troubled lives.
Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. “Sometimes I don’t do well in subjects like math,” he says, “I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that is why I skateboard ---to improve my bad feelings. ’，
He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.
Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders.
小題1: According to the passage, PSE is a group ______.

A．that works with Cambodian students

B．for young Cambodians to learn a trade

C．for young Cambodians in troubled lives

D．for young Cambodians taking skateboarding

小題2: What is said about skateboarding in the passage?

A．It was born in Afghanistan years ago.

B．It is easy for young Cambodians to learn.

C．It is as popular as Khmer boxing in Cambodia.

D．It is a good sport to help get good feeling again.

小題3:The underlined part alittle bit of hook probably means ______.

A．something strange

B．something quite new

C．something different

D．something attractive

小題4: It can be inferred from the passage that skateboarding is becoming ______.

A．a(chǎn) sport liked by most young Cambodians

B．a(chǎn)n increasingly popular sport in Cambodia

C．a(chǎn) sport used to better young Cambodians’ life

D．a(chǎn) good way to train young Cambodians’ learning skills

The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city’s employment problems.
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year,1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas.
People interested in jobs in Beijing’s rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www. Bjbys. com from February 1 through March 15.
“We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers,” Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency.
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan
( $ 250) in the first year, 2,500 yuan ($ 320) the second year and 3,000 yuan ($ 385) the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards, Sun said.
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside. After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Beijing's Pinggu District. For one project, Wang contacted people at the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting. Her efforts paid off. The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year.
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry predicts that 4. 95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year. About 1.4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate.
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year. Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau.
小題1:The underlined word “recruit” in the first paragraph probably means______.

A．employ

B．force

C．encourage

D．train

小題2:We can see from the passage that______.

A．once you are hired as a junior official, you can get an endlessly rising salary

B．the government guarantee a gradually high salary for the successful candidates

C．working as junior officials is easy but very meaningful

D．the competition for the job as junior officials is very fierce

小題3:From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that______.

A．the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful

B．local farmers can get big harvests if they learn more knowledge

C．university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas

D．Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries

小題4:The last two paragraphs aim to tell us that______.

A．more and more graduates will work as junior officials

B．the universities should not have so many students

C．there are more and more graduates in recent years

D．it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays

小題5:Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A．What is the best career?

B．Graduates go to the countryside.

C．Job hunting for university graduates.

D．A good choice for university graduates.

A New Zealand volcano dormant for more than a century has erupted，sending up ash clouds，disturbing flights and closing roads．
Mount Tongariro, one of three volcanoes in the centre of the North Island, became active just before midnight local time, with reports of loud explosions，pouting rocks and steam.
The 1, 978m peak is in a national park popular with hikers. No damages have been reported after the eruption.
Witnesses described a dramatic scene as the volcano erupted.
“I saw this beautiful. big cloud and I thought: ‘Gee that looks like a volcanic plume’. Just as I thought that there was a great big orange flash,” truck driver Bryn Rodda told New Zealand National Radio. “It was quite impressive.”
Mount Tongariro last erupted 115 years ago. And scientists said they did not yet know if this eruption was a single event.
Experts said they were caught by surprise—they had recorded some activity like an earthquake in recent weeks but were not expecting an eruption．
“This might just be a quiet period and we should expect it to start again at any time. So we are watching things Very closely,” volcanologist Michael Rosenberg told TVNZ.
Eruption activity has currently reduced, New Zealand media said．Meteorologists(氣象學(xué)家)said the ash was blowing east towards the Pacific Ocean.
A number of inland flights from the North Island to the South Island had been affected by the volcanic activity, Air New Zealand said.
Police said highways that had been closed because visibility was affected after the eruption are now open.
Some residents in the nearby areas had temporarily left their homes. Officials have not ordered an evacuation(撤離), but advised those affected by the ash cloud to stay indoors and close their doors and windows.
小題1:What effect did the eruption cause?

A．Flood.

B．Road block.

C．Strong wind.

D．Air crash.

小題2:What does the underlined word“dormant”in the first paragraph probably mean?

A．Inactive.	B．Movable.
C．Silent.	D．Covered.

小題3:Which of the following is true of the passage?

A．Some international flights were cancelled after the eruption.

B．All residents had to move away from their homes after the eruption.

C．Some witnesses thought it was very interesting and attractive.

D．Loud explosions caused great damage to the highways and airports.

小題4:What do the experts expect might happen next?

A．Another eruption.

B．An earthquake.

C．Diseases caused by the ashes.

D．An overall evacuation.

小題5:Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．National Park in New Zealand Damaged

B．Nothing Is Impossible.

C．Volcano or Earthquake?

D．Sudden Eruption of a Volcano in New Zealand.

Zhang Wenchi is a 19-year-old student of Hubei Xiangyang No.1 High School. He is very brave and always helps others in need.
On March 26, 2012, Zhang donated bone marrow (骨髓) at the Navy General Hospital of Beijing. He is the youngest and the first high school student to do it. Last April, Zhang became a blood donor on his 18th birthday. He also joined the China Marrow Donor Program that day. Six months later, his bone marrow was chosen as a match for a 4-year-old leukemia (白血病) patient from Fujian.
Zhang was studying for the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) when the call from the Chinese Bone Marrow Donors came. He found out that the patient could not wait, or things might get worse. With the support of his family and school, Zhang arrived at the hospital in Beijing the very next day.
“Saving a life is more important than taking an exam, and having the chance to help cure a patient does not allow for more thought,” Zhang said.
The transplant operation (移植手術(shù)) was a success. After that, Zhang Wenchi was in good health and he came back to school soon. Zhang said then the most important task for him was the exam. He hoped that his dream of becoming a pilot could come true.
Now the NCEE has been over for more than a month, and what about Zhang Wenchi’s marks? To our great relief, it’s known that he has earned 540 points, which means he can be admitted into Beihang University (formerly Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics). Therefore he can realize his dream of flying in the sky.
Zhang’s deed has earned him nationwide respect, and some have given him the nickname, “the most beautiful post-90s student”.
小題1:Which of the following about Zhang Wenchi is right?

A．He was born on March 26, 1993.

B．He donated bone marrow at a hospital in Xiangyang.

C．He is the first university student to donate bone marrow.

D．His bone marrow was chosen as a match for a patient from Fujian.

小題2:From Zhang Wenchi’s words we know that ______.

A．he is a little unreasonable

B．he is very active and outgoing

C．he is very kind and determined

D．he is always ready to quit exams

小題3:What’s the main idea of the last but one paragraph?

A．Zhang Wenchi’s points and our anxiety.

B．Zhang Wenchi’s points and his future education.

C．Zhang Wenchi is sure to fly in the sky tomorrow.

D．Beihang University has already decided to admit him.

小題4:What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Zhang Wenchi’s college dream

B．A 19-year-old student gave up exams

C．A 4-year-old leukemia patient was saved

D．Zhang Wenchi---the most beautiful post-90s student

小題5:The text is most probably taken from ______.

A．a(chǎn) computer book	B．a(chǎn) library guide
C．a(chǎn) project handbook	D．a(chǎn) newspaper report

A Swedish man aws dug out alive after being snowed in car on a forest track for rwo months with no food, police and local media reported on Saturday, The 45-year-old from southern Sweden was found on Friday , Fedruary 17, Too weak to say more than a rew wouds, He was found not far from the city of UImea in the north of Sweden by snowmobilers who thought they had come across a ruined car until they dug their way to a window and wawmovement inside.
The man ,who was lying in the back seat in a sleeping bag ,said he had been in the car since December 19.
“Just incredible that he’s alive considering that he had no food,but also since it’s been ,really cold for some time after Christmas,” a rescue team member told regional daily Vasterbottens - Kuriren ,which broke the news.
Ebbe Nyberg, duty officer at the Umea police , said police waw no reason to doubt that the man had been stuck in the car for a very long time,“We sould not make up something like this, The rescue services were on site too and saw the same as us”,he told Vasterbottens-Kuriren.
Umea University Hospital ,where the man is recovering after being rescued by police and a rescue team , said in a statement he was doing well considering the circumstances.
Doctors at the hospital said humans would normally be able to survive for about four weeks without food ,Besides eating snow , the man probably survived by going into a dormant-like（休息似的）state ,physician Stefan Branth told Vasterbottens-Knriren ,“He probably had a body temperature of around 31 degrees which the body adjusted to ,Due to the low temperature ,not much energy was used up”
小題1:Who found the Swedish man in the snow?

A．Snowmobilers

B．The police

C．A rescue team

D．Local people

小題2:“Police saw no reason to doubt that the man had been stuck in the car for a very long time”implies that         

A．police didn’t think it true

B．police were sure of the fact

C．police had some doubt on the fact

D．police had reasons to doubt the fact

小題3:The reason shy the man could survive was most probably that         

A．he was only forty –five –year old	B．he did not use any energy
C．he slept in the sleeping bag	D．he was in a dormant-like state

小題4:Which is the correct order of the following evernts?
a、The Swedish man was stuck in the snow
b、He was went to Umea University Hospital
c、He was found by snowmobilers
d、He was recovering after treatment
e、He stayed in his car for nearly two months
f、He was dug out by people

A．eackfb

B．a(chǎn)ecfbd

C．a(chǎn)fcebd

D．ecfadb

小題5:Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．A Traffic Accident	B．A long Sleep in Winter
C．An Incredible Survival	D．A Successful Rescue

Up, Up, and Away!
An adventurer who became the first person to fly across the English Channel on a cluster（簇）of balloons has launched a house into the sky just like in the hit movie Up-in reparation for a more ambitious journey and a new record
Fearless Trappe , from North Carolina, stepped into the cartoon themed home before flying above the leon International Balloon Festivel in Mexico more than a week ago.
The 38-year-old Trappe was using the event as a warm-up for his planned trans-Atlantic flight scheduled for next summer ,He aims to complete the 2,500-mile journey in a seven-foot lifeboat carried by 365 huge helium（氦氣）ballooms
The brave man is learning to sail a lifeboat ,in case he meeds to ditch (在海中迫降)into the ocean during the danger-filled adventure
He sill fly at between 18,000 feet and 25,000 feet , beating his previous world altitude record of 21,600 feet ,and must fly uninterrupted a distance ten times longer than his previous world record of 230 miles in order to succeed.
The adventurer Trappe ,who holes records for crossing the Alps, flying the most cluster balloons, and the longest distance , has opent his entire carreer ,building up to this ambitious plan.
“I didn’t wake up one day and think：‘I’ going to fly across the Atlantic, ’”he said “he said  Every attempt before this was prepared for this fight ,I’ve been training for a long time”
小題1:The adventurer flew across the English Channel to          

A．test the balloons

B．launch a house

C．shoot a hit movie

D．prepare for breaking a record

小題2:To finish the journey ,he will fly a distance of           

A．2500 miles

B．18,000 feet

C．25,000 feet

D．230 miles

小題3:About the ambitious journey ,which is NIT mentioned in the passage?

A．When he will fly	B．How high he sill fly
C．How far he will fly	D．How long it will take him

小題4:How many world records does Jonathan hold?

A．Two

B．Three

C．Four

D．Five

小題5:What does he last paragraph imply?

A．Trappe can’t sleep worrying about the adventure

B．Trappe was born to set world records

C．Trappe always keeps his ambition in mind

D．Trappe never thought of crossing the Ataantic before

Worried about how many calories you will get in that piece of pizza, chocolate cake or bag of chips? A new iphone application Mealsnap may help. Users just need to take a picture of the meal with the phone, and it will give a calorie read-out almost immediately.
Mealsnap was developed by DailyBurn, a health social network that focuses on helping its users lead healthier lifestyles. It has created several other health and diet-related iphone applications. The applications gives users a quick reply. To do that, it matches the taken picture to a databank containing the calorie information of nearly 500,000 kinds of food. Users then get the range of calories for the meal that is photographed.
We started with something simple — an apple. A couple of minutes later the application replied that it was an apple and between 64 and 96 calories. More impressive was the reply we received after sending a photo of mixed salad bowl. Mealsnap replied that the bowl contained “yellow rice with corn, boiled eggs and beans” and that the food was between 532 and 798 calories.
Mr. Smith, director of DailyBurn, said that usual calorie counting needed a long time, but that the application made it easier to know the calories in food. That’s why it is so popular among those who are trying hard to lose weight.
In addition, Mealsnap can serve as a food diary. No need to write down what they’ve eaten, the photos will be stored. Then users can keep a visual log (記錄). Mr. Smith said: “It’s like a food journal, but easier. All you do is to take the picture. The simple act of recording something can cause a psychological change that can help people on their health journey. Knowing the calorie range makes me think more about what I’m eating.
60. 小題1:The purpose of DailyBurn is to _______.

A．help people have a healthy life

B．make iphone more popular

C．help people find ways to lose weight

D．persuade people to buy iphone products

61. 小題2: We can know from the passage that Mealsnap is ________.

A．a(chǎn) camera

B．a(chǎn) phone

C．a(chǎn) calculator

D．a(chǎn)n application

62. 小題3:What can be learned from the third paragraph?

A．Mealsnap can also tell what the food is.

B．Mealsnap is only useful for simple things.

C．The result of Mealsnap isn’t always right.

D．Mealsnap needs a long time to show the calorie range.

63. 小題4:Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Mealsnap iphones work as a health signal

B．Mealsnap iphones offer you a health signal

C．Mealsnap iphones — the best-selling phones

D．Mealsnap iphones count your calories