The Haitian tsunami gave scientists a chance to find out how well vital and potentially life-saving warning systems were working.
Noaa’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory has developed a warning system that picks up signals of tsunamis directly from the sea-floor.
It is called Dart-the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis. If seismometers(地震儀) detect an earthquake, the Dart buoys（浮標(biāo)） will determine what is happening to sea levels, and whether a big wave might be on the way. This information is then sent via satellite to a central location which can organize an alarm. Within 50 minutes of the Haiti earthquake, this system was able to issue an alarm to other countries in the Caribbean to say that a small tsunami had been caused to start, and that was unlikely to affect them.
Dr Bernard said, “The first 30 minutes following the earthquake, we have to rely on education.” The critical aspects of this are: do you feel the earthquake; do you see the ocean draw down; and do you hear that loud roar? If so, you should run for higher ground.
“But after the first few minutes, it’s crucial that we have the technology—the measurements to avoid unnecessary evacuation(疏散撤離)and tell people when it is safe to return.” Right now, there are 50 of these Dart buoys all over the globe—four of which are in the Caribbean.
Dr Bernard says that, with 75 to 100 buoys worldwide, this system could provide global tsunami warnings within one hour.
“That’s for everywhere we know that tsunamis have happened. If we wanted to go to half an hour detection, we could probably double or multiply by four times that number,” he said.
“In some countries, including Haiti, there may not be enough resources to support a specific tsunami warning centre for something that happens so infrequently.”
He said that this system was relatively inexpensive to fix and operate.
“To get it down to an hour for everywhere affected would cost $50m initial investment and then 10% of that to maintain it,” he said.
“That’s not a terribly expensive system considering the potential savings of lives.”
小題1:In which section would you probably read the passage in a newspaper?

A．Education and Society

B．Culture and Leisure

C．Science and Technology

D．Health and Medicine

小題2: How many buoys would at least be needed for global tsunami warnings within half an hour?

A．150

B．100

C．75

D．50

小題3:Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A．The system can warn people of the coming of tsunami directly after the earthquake.

B．We can’t escape the danger of tsunami within 30 minutes following the earthquake.

C．Each country can easily afford a tsunami warning centre though it seldom happens.

D．It’s worthwhile to spend money on the warning system for possible savings of lives.

小題4: Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．Tsunami Assessment

B．Earthquake detecting

C．Disaster Warning System

D．Life Saving System

AAAGH! The Generation 90s is coming!
Wearing earphones, using complex Net language and constantly text messaging friends, the Gen-90s following the Gen-80s begin to make their world debut (初次登臺(tái)).
Each generation or age group has its own symbols and lifestyle. Read on and judge for yourselves if you fit the Gen-90s group.                
Earphones
These little devices seem to grow on the heads of the Gen-90s. They might lead to MP3, MP4 or MP101 players, giving these young people a plugged-in, cool and perhaps self-addicted look, of course, life is not always music to the ears.      
Martian language
They have created their own code-like online language. It’s a mixture of English, Japanese and Chinese that perhaps only Martians can understand. This is an imaginative generation, though they need to be careful to keep it out of their term papers.                 
Self-Portrait
Saying “cheese” to their own digital cameras is usual for this generation. A little bit of narcissism (自戀) never hurts anyone. It helps them reflect a little on their own lives．But be aware of the risks of posting private photos online.
Text-messaging
They can type their mobile phones as fast as they can speak. This is a generation that respects efficiency. However, oral communication is important and will never go out of style.
小題1:According to the passage, if you belong to the Gen-90s , you will _______ .

A．just appreciate yourself and ignore others’ strengths.

B．have your own symbols and lifestyle.

C．have the same symbols and lifestyle of the Gen-80s．

D．like music and dance very much.

小題2:According to the text, the writer will choose ______ as a good example to the Gen-90.

A．Li Hua likes music and always wearing iPod

B．Zhang Chao is not only an imaginative boy but do everything efficiently.

C．Lily is a shy girl and she doesn’t like making friends.

D．Fangfang likes being taken photos and often posting them on line.

小題3:According to this passage, which is FALSE?

A．Not all teens are cautious about posting photos．

B．They type their mobile phones so fast that it can catch the speed of speaking.

C．The Gen-90s have a preference for some music players, and even regard them as a necessary part of life.

D．They don’t use the cool and complex online language in formal writing.

小題4:The main idea of the passage is about________.

A．the Gen-90s’ happy life

B．the difference between the Gen-80s and the Gen-90s

C．the Gen-90s’ unique lifestyle and some practical warnings

D．the similarities between the Gen-80s and the Gen-90s

Garden building is considered an important part of Chinese culture. Some people say that if you have never walked through a Chinese garden, you cannot say that you have really visited China.
Traditional Chinese gardens are located in North China in such places as Beihai Park, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City. In larger imperial gardens, the main buildings are connected by an imaginary（虛構(gòu)的） line in the middle of the garden on the north-south axis(軸). Other features of imperial gardens are colored-paintings, man-made hills and lakes.
Most private gardens are found in the south, especially in cities south of the Yangtze River. Private gardens were mostly built at one side or at the back of the houses. Around the beautiful scene are small open areas with beautiful shaped-doors through which visitors can enjoy the sights. They are open on all sides and are often near the water so that the whole scene can be enjoyed. Suzhou, known as the home of gardens, displays the most and the best Chinese traditional private gardens. Different parts of it are examples of the garden style of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.[
The landscape（自然風(fēng)景） garden contains a number of pleasant natural scenes and some fairy tales. The ancient Chinese used to call the garden landscape “Jing” , which means “scene” in English. Good examples include the ten West Lake Scenes in Hangzhou, the twenty-four slim West Lake in Yangzhou and the eight Daming Lake Scenes in Jinan.
小題1: The passage tells mainly about ________.

A．a(chǎn)n important part of Chinese culture

B．how to enjoy Chinese gardens

C．where foreigners can find Chinese gardens

D．the characters of different style of Chinese garden building

小題2:Which of the following is NOT true for the imperial garden?

A．There is a north-south axis in the center of garden

B．They were built because of some fairy tales.

C．There are man-made hills and lakes in the gardens.

D．They have colored-paintings.

小題3:According to the passage, we can learn that _______.

A．Chinese people often invite foreigners to visit a Chinese garden.

B．The landscape garden reflects different styles of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

C．All three kinds of gardens make up the important part of Chinese culture which is appreciated by the people all over the world.

D．People enjoy the private gardens more than other two styles.

Look at the picture. It’s a nice    1   . In the picture you can see a teacher’s     2  on his desk. It’s a Chinese book. There are fifty desks and fifty chairs in the room. There is also a big blackboard. You can see a girl and    3   boys.
The girl’s    4   is Julia. She is thirteen. The boy with the football is Tom. He likes playing    5  . The other boy is Tony. They    6   the same coats and they are the same age. They look the same. I    7   they are twins. Tom is a    8   boy. A book is in his hand. You    9   see the teacher.   10   is the teacher? He is taking the picture.

小題1:	A．house B．station C．classroom D．shop

小題2:	A．backpack B．basketball C．book D．hat

小題3:	A．one B．two C．three D．four

小題4:	A．name B．a(chǎn)ge C．brother D．notebook

小題5:	A．basketball B．chess C．football D．cards

小題6:	A．a(chǎn)re B．wear C．lose D．is

小題7:	A．think B．see C．look D．meet

小題8:	A．dear B．first C．lost D．good

小題9:	A．a(chǎn)ren’t B．can’t C．doesn’t D．be not

小題10:

A．What B．How C．Where D．When

Even if you are naturally shy, these three tricks will help you to quickly build a new social circle in any new city.
1. Take pictures
One of the great things about taking pictures at an event or party is that it gives you an excuse to get in touch with the person later. Everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves, and it’s very easy after taking a picture to say “If you’d like I can email it to you”. This can be the seed that leads to new connections. The next time you hear about a fun event email your new contacts to let them know about it.
2. Eat alone in public
You might feel self-conscious eating by yourself but it has an important benefit: you are much easier to approach when you are alone. People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in a conversation with someone else. Bring a book or newspaper to read (this will make you feel less self-conscious). Plus, having an interesting book with you will give others an excuse to start a conversation if they’ve read it.
3. Join a class, sports team, or club
Yoga, salsa dancing, volleyball, Toastmasters (a public speaking club), a class for work, etc. Take up a new hobby or continue an old one!
These are all great places to meet new people, primarily because you will be forced to see the same people over and over again in the class. You will automatically make friends with them if you have a common interest and are forced to see each other again.
Tips:
* In the beginning, never turn down an invitation from someone, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do.
* Email your new friends with fun things to do instead of always asking what their plans are. If they have a better plan you can drop yours and join them. This will help establish you as someone who is contributing value instead of just taking it (people want this in a friend).
* Don’t let little things in life upset you or be a negative person. People don’t want to be around someone like that!
小題1:____ can give you an excuse to start new connections.

A．Taking pictures of others	B．Eating by yourself in public
C．Reading interesting books	D．Joining group activities

小題2:When having meals, you’d better ____ if you want to make new friends.

A．sit on your own in public places

B．start a conversation with those who have friends aside

C．invite others to your apartment to eat together

D．a(chǎn)pproach others to show conscious friendliness

小題3:According to the text, which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of joining a   class?

A．It helps you find out your interest and take up a new hobby.

B．It helps you find out people who share a common interest with you.

C．It offers an opportunity to meet the same people repeatedly.

D．It is a good way to meet new people and make friends in a new city.

小題4: Which of the following pieces of advice is a tip from the text?

A．Try to be outgoing and talkative instead of being shy.

B．Never turn down an invitation from your friends.

C．Offer suggestions on how to spend time together.

D．Don’t give a negative response to any request.

小題5:By writing the text, the author intends to tell us ____.

A．why you should change when you move to a new city

B．why you should make new friends in a new city

C．how you can make new friends in a new city

D．how you can keep in touch with strangers

More people speak English than any other language except Chinese .English is the main language spoken in the United Kingdom，Ireland，Australia，New Zealand，Canada，the United States and some other countries. Altogether more than 450 million people speak English as their everyday language .Another 100 million or more speak at least some English. Most English words come from old Anglo­ Saxon，F(xiàn)rench，or Latin words.
Modern English developed through the efforts（努力） of literary(文學(xué)的)and political writings .Modern English was influenced by old English，the beginning of the university­ educated people，Shakespeare，the common language found in the middle of present­day England and an effort to show and standardize(使標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化)English.
British English，known as Standard English or Oxford English，underwent changes during the colonization(殖民)of North America and the creation（創(chuàng)建）of the United States .British English words changed into American English words，such as centre to center，metre to meter，theatre to theater and so on.
Until the 18th century，British and American English were very similar with almost no difference .Immigration（移民） to America by other English peoples changed the language by 1700.Noah Webster，author of the first authoritative(權(quán)威的)American English dictionary，created many changes.
小題1:Modern English developed through______.

A．the efforts of literary writings	B．the efforts of political writings
C．old Chinese	D．both A and B

小題2:American English changed from______ during the colonization of North America and the creation of the United States.

A．British English

B．Standard English

C．Oxford English

D．a(chǎn)ll of the above

小題3:British English was almost similar to American English until the______ century.

A．20th

B．19th

C．18th

D．17th

小題4:What is the title of the passage?

A．Why more people speak English	B．What modern English is
C．When British and American English had no difference	D．English and its development

British people have the worst quality of life in Europe, according to a report which highlights （強(qiáng)調(diào)) the long hours, bad weather, low life expectancy and high price of many goods.
In a study of ten of the largest European countries, Britain, which was considered a popular country to live in, now comes last followed by Ireland, with France and Spain topping the table.
Though British families enjoy the highest income in Europe, they still have to fight with a high cost of living, with fuel, food and alcohol all costing more than the European average.
With the high price of petrol, the UK is the second most expensive country in Europe. However, diesel (柴油) is more expensive in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
The report by the website uSwitch analyses 10 European countries against 17 different benchmarks(基準(zhǔn)點(diǎn)), from the price of gas, electricity, fuel, food and drink to the money each country spends on education, health to working conditions and the weather.
The top three countries are France, Spain and Denmark, with Sweden, Ireland and Britain coming eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.
The study comes less than a week after the United Nations moved Britain out of the top 20 list of most desirable countries to live in for the first time.
Although France and Germany were at the beginning hit hard by the global financial crisis, both have officially got out of the trouble, while Britain has yet to prove this has happened. Later this week, despite (盡管) signs of recovery in the housing market and rising sales, unemployment is still expected to have climbed to above 2.5 million for the first time since 1994.
小題1:Which country has the best quality of life in Europe according to the report?

A．Ireland.

B．France.

C．Sweden.

D．Denmark

小題2:Which is TRUE according to the passage?

A．British families are suffering from the high cost of living.

B．The report comes after the website uSwitch analysed 10 Asian countries.

C．The price of petrol is higher in Britain than anywhere else in Europe.

D．The quality of British life is reported to be terrible because of the bad working conditions.

小題3:The underlined word “desirable” probably means          .

A．terrible

B．a(chǎn)ttractive

C．expensive

D．different

小題4: What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Britain is still struggling to get out of the global financial crisis.

B．Unemployment in Britain is expected to go down soon.

C．Recovery in the housing market leads to unemployment in Britain.

D．Britain has recovered from the crisis together with France and Germany.

Valentine’s Day is on Feb. 14, and Chinese call it “l(fā)overs day”. I don’t think the translation is an accurate one, since it doesn’t only belong to lovers. Valentine’s Day is for expressing affection of all sorts. But it is uniquely for the romantically involved who shine the brightest, who spend the most money, whose hearts are the most engaged.
When I was b boy, my mother would buy enough cheap cards with ugly drawings of butterflies and little rabbits and honeybees for me to give one to every kid in my class, about 20 or so. The cards came in bags, and each card had a few foolish words-“Be Mine” or “I like you” or “You’ve Got My Heart” or the uninteresting words, “Hi, Valentine!” I would sign my name on the cards quickly and the name of one of my classmates on each easily-broken envelope. I would lick （舔）each one shut, but they were so cheap that the envelopes rarely had enough glue. On Valentine’s Day, I would take the cards to school-everyone did. We would have a party in our classroom, with cupcakes（杯形蛋糕）and juice and tiny candy hearts, which also had Valentine messages printed on them-“You’re sweet” or “Cupid（愛神丘比特）”or “Love”.
Ah, love! That’s the Valentine’s Day message: love. No one knows for certain the origin of the holiday. Several, Catholic victims were named Valentine, but it’s difficult to separate legend from fact. One story tells of a priest（牧師）named Valentine who was imprisoned and may have been stoned to death around 270 for performing marriages in going against the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. But it’s hard today to find any religious connection.
小題1:From the first paragraph, why does the author say that we Chinese call Valentine’s Day “l(fā)overs’ day ”is not accurate?

A．Because only lovers would spend it.

B．Because it is only spent on Feb. 14.

C．Because it doesn’t only belong to lovers.

D．Because only those rich people could enjoy it.

小題2:A priest named Valentine was stoned to death for the sake of          .

A．his not attending a ceremony on time.

B．his stealing something from the church

C．his rude words to Roman Emperor Claudius II

D．his not obeying the orders by Roman Emperor Claudius II

小題3:According to the passage, we can know Valentine’s Day may be related to         .

A．religion

B．sports

C．entertainment

D．a(chǎn)rt

Chief Executive Office
Lahore Stock Exchange
Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) is the 2^nd largest exchange of the country with a workforce of almost 150 employees. The Exchanges of Pakistan are currently undergoing a major reform program involving shareholding(使成為股東制) in order to develop the capital markets further.
We seek a dynamic(精干的), forward-thinking Chief Executive with ability to provide strong leadership and effective management to deliver its organization goals and strategic plan. The successful candidate(候選人) should have the business both pre and post shareholding with a proven record.
The candidate should have minimum of 7 years of experience along with a business related degree or other professional qualifications. However, a strong record of achievement, excellent communication and team building skill are equally important. International qualifications or experience will be an added advantage together with the knowledge of the local corporate environment.
Compensation package will be highly attractive and match the position. If you are interested in a strategic leadership role and be part of an organization to make a difference, please write to:
Head of Human Resources, Lahore Stock Exchange (Guarantee)Ltd,
19^th  Khayaban- e- Aiwan –e- Iqbal, Lahore, Pakistan, together with your Curriculum Vitae and latest passport sized photograph.
小題1:What is NOT true about LSE?

A．It’s Lahore Stock Exchange

B．It’s one of the largest exchanges in Pakistan.

C．It’s developing Pakistan’s capital city

D．It’s located in Khayaban- e- Aiwan –e- Iqbal, Lahore, Pakistan

小題2:What is wanted according to this advertisement?
A. A Chief Executive Office            B. A Chief Executive
B. Head of Human Resources           D.A candidate
小題3:What does the underline word compensation probably mean?

A．Salary

B．Job

C．Equipment

D．Food

Hello, Chicago. If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy(民主)，tonight is your answer.
……
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $ 5 and $ 10 and $ 20 to the cause.
It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy(冷漠), who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished(消失)from the Earth.
This is your victory.
And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime—two wars, a planet in peril(危亡), the worst financial crisis in a century.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
……
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there.
小題1: This passage is most probably taken from a (an)_______.

A．report

B．lecture

C．speech

D．a(chǎn)nnouncement

小題2:Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．The speaker has won an election campaign which is quite important for him.

B．The speaker feels they are unlikely to make their ancestors’ dream come true.

C．The speaker thinks America is a nation that lacks democracy.

D．The speaker’s campaign was launched in the nation’s capital.

小題3:The purpose of the speaker is to do the following except______.

A．expressing thanks to his supporters

B．discussing the challenges that lie ahead

C．urging Americans to unite for the bright future of the nation

D．warning the people against two terrible wars in store

小題4:We can see from the passage that the speaker is a (an)_______person.

A．unreliable

B．determined

C．narrow-minded

D．humorous