In the south no one spoke to you at bus stops or in the markets, _____ here people smiled at you and said a few words.

1. A.
   although
2. B.
   so
3. C.
   whereabouts
4. D.
   whereas

It is generally considered unwise to give children ________ they wants.

1. A.
   however
2. B.
   no matter how
3. C.
   whatever
4. D.
   no matter what

1. 1.

   What is the purpose of the letter?

   1. A.
      To complain about a broken toy.
   2. B.
      To oppose the advertising.
   3. C.
      To order a gift for Chrismas.
   4. D.
      To apply for a job in a toy company.
2. 2.

   Why does the writer of the letter that Electro-Robo is violent?

   1. A.
      It is controlled by radio water.
   2. B.
      It is expensive to buy.
   3. C.
      It is 80 centimeter tall.
   4. D.
      It bears arms.
3. 3.

   What dose “Enc.” at the end of the letter mean?

   1. A.
      Something attached to the letter.
   2. B.
      A complaint to the toy company.
   3. C.
      A hidden message
   4. D.
      An encouraging response.
4. 4.

   Electro-Robo can do all the following EXCEPT ______-.

   1. A.
      sitting down
   2. B.
      shaking hands
   3. C.
      talking
   4. D.
      walking

The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a looming（逼近） hunger crisis in poor countries and a looming energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices increases combined with soaring energy costs will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even undermine（破壞） political stability, as evidenced by the protest riots that have erupted in places like Haiti, Bangladesh and Burkina Faso. Practical solutions to these growing woes do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.
So, what should be done？Here are three steps to ease the current crisis and avert（防止, 避免） the potential for a global disaster. The first is to scale-up（按比例增加,擴(kuò)大） the dramatic success of Malawi, a famine-prone（遭遇饑荒） country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and high-yield seeds. Malawi's harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion in all.
Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of subsidizing（給補(bǔ)助金） the conversion of food into biofuels（生物燃料）.
Third, we urgently need to weatherproof（使防風(fēng)雨） the world's crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond--which collects rainwater to be used for emergency irrigation in a dry spell--can make the difference between a bountiful crop and a famine. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.
The food crisis provides not only a warning but also an opportunity. We need to invest vastly more in sustainable development in order to achieve true global security and economic growth.

1. 1.

   Which of the following is the best title?

   1. A.
      How to end the global food shortage
   2. B.
      How to end the global disaster
   3. C.
      How to help the farmers in the poor countries
   4. D.
      How to subsidize the farmers to increase food products
2. 2.

   The word “woes” in paragraph one is most likely to mean______.

   1. A.
      hunger
   2. B.
      things
   3. C.
      matters
   4. D.
      disasters
3. 3.

   What does the author think of the global food shortage?

   1. A.
      people in the world can do nothing.
   2. B.
      The global food crisis will continue.
   3. C.
      The food crisis provides not only a warning but also an opportunity.
   4. D.
      We don’ know.
4. 4.

   What measures should be taken to ease the current crisis and avert the potential for a global disaster?

   1. A.
      to scale-up the dramatic success of Malawi
   2. B.
      the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of subsidizing the conversion of food into biofuels
   3. C.
      to prevent the world's crops from being destroyed by weather as soon and as effectively as possible.
   4. D.
      All above .

CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) - Think twice before eating those dropped crumbs off your computer keyboard -- you might as well be eating off a toilet seat, according to a new study on the amount of germs on keyboards.
A study by British "Which? Computing" asked a microbiologist to examine for bugs on 33 keyboards in a typical London office, a toilet seat and a toilet door handle.
Four keyboards were judged potential health hazards and the microbiologist recommended the removal of one keyboard as it had 150 times the pass limit of bacteria -- five times filthier than the swabbed toilet seat.
"Most people don't give much thought to the grime that builds up on their PC, but if you don't clean your computer, you might as well eat your lunch off the toilet," said Sarah Kidner, the consumer magazine editor of "Which? Computing" in a statement.
The study found that eating lunch at desks is the main cause of a bug-infested keyboard. Dropped crumbs and food encourages the growth of millions of bacteria.
Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet, may also add to the dirtiness of keyboards.
But despite the health hazard of a dirty keyboard, a survey of 4,000 people by the magazine found one in 10 people ever cleaned their keyboard while another two in 10 never cleaned their mouse.
Almost half -- or 46 per cent -- cleaned their keyboard less than once a month.
To clear out bugs, the magazine recommends users unplug keyboards, turn them upside down and shake them.

1. 1.

   The purpose of the passage is______ .

   1. A.
      tell us something about the keyboards.
   2. B.
      warn people to clean the keyboards often.
   3. C.
      tell us how to clean the keyboard
   4. D.
      tell us the germs on keyboards
2. 2.

   What do you think the expression “Think twice before eating those dropped crumbs off your computer keyboard” stands for?

   1. A.
      Think several times before eating beside your computer
   2. B.
      Don’t drop foods onto the computer keyboard.
   3. C.
      Don’t eat foods dropped onto the computer keyboard.
   4. D.
      Be careful when you are eating by the computer.
3. 3.

   What are the main causes of a bug-infested keyboard?

   1. A.
      Dropped crumbs and food encourages the growth of millions of bacteria.
   2. B.
      Poor personal hygiene
   3. C.
      Much dirt on the computer keyboard.
   4. D.
      Dropped crumbs and food and Poor personal hygiene
4. 4.

   "Which? Computing" is probably a name of______.

   1. A.
      An organization
   2. B.
      a newspaper
   3. C.
      a report
   4. D.
      a magazine

Lee Humberg, district manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is the man in charge of figuring out how to remove the flocks (群) of 15,000 to 20,000 Canada geese(大雁) that could strike planes flying in and out of the New York area. The Port Authority, the agency that manages airport in New York and New Jersey, estimates that there have been as many as 315 bird strikes annually in the past 30 years.
Bird strikes have been a hot topic since a US Airways jet suffered a “double strike” and made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in January 2009. All 155 passengers were rescued safely and the flight was called “Miracle on the Hudson”. The plane finally ended up at the Carolinas Aviation Museum. The next major bird strike may not have such a happy ending.
To thin the flocks, Humberg and his team have tracked down goose nests and killed eggs with corn oil. They’ve also terrified the birds with dogs, remote-controlled boats and kites that look like eagles. But the only method that effectively decreases the goose population is the one that angers animal lovers the most: gassing hundreds at a time.
“If all you are doing is goose harassment (騷擾) every day, it’s very frustrating, because you are just playing Ping-Pong with the birds,” Humberg told New York magazine. “It’s basically an arms race to come up with the tools to deal with them.”
Now New York City plans to send the geese captured to Pennsylvania to be cooked and distributed at food banks as meals for the poor. That might just be a fate better than flying into a 747 engine.

1. 1.

   What can we learn form Humberg?

   1. A.
      He does research on geese’s living conditions.
   2. B.
      He makes efforts to protect wild birds.
   3. C.
      He deals with the danger of birds at airports.
   4. D.
      He tries to find newer and safer airlines.
2. 2.

   Why was the flight called “Miracle on the Hudson”?

   1. A.
      It suffered a “double strike”.
   2. B.
      It arrived at a plane museum.
   3. C.
      It only caused a few deaths.
   4. D.
      It succeeded in landing on a river.
3. 3.

   By saying “you are just playing Ping-Pong with the birds”, Humberg means ______.

   1. A.
      It’s interesting to fight with the birds
   2. B.
      It’s a skill-needed race against the birds
   3. C.
      you can’t defeat the bird in the end
   4. D.
      you should live with birds peacefully
4. 4.

   It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

   1. A.
      Canada geese can fly as high as planes
   2. B.
      New York airlines are in poor management
   3. C.
      bird strikes happen once a week on average
   4. D.
      the poor may also benefit from Humberg’s work

It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,” she said, “But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her.”
The Princess concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines”. And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.
But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as “very ill-informed” and a “l(fā)oose cannon (亂放炮的人).”
The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: “This is a distraction we do not need. All I’m trying to do is help.”
Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess’s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government’s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government.
To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, claimed that the Princess’s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards” a worldwide ban. The Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding”.
For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems

1. 1.

   Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997______

   1. A.
      to voice her support for a total ban of landmines
   2. B.
      to clarify the British government’s stand on landmines
   3. C.
      to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims
   4. D.
      to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims
2. 2.

   What did Diana mean when she said“…putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to
   me” (Para.1)?

   1. A.
      She just couldn’t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face
   2. B.
      The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home
   3. C.
      Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics
   4. D.
      Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation
3. 3.

   Some members of the British government criticized Diana because______

   1. A.
      she was ill-informed of the government’s policy
   2. B.
      they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola
   3. C.
      she had not consulted the government before the visit
   4. D.
      they were actually opposed to banning landmines
4. 4.

   How did Diana respond to the criticisms?

   1. A.
      She made more appearances on TV
   2. B.
      She paid no attention to them
   3. C.
      She met the 13-year-old girl as planned
   4. D.
      She rose to argue with her opponents
5. 5.

   What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?

   1. A.
      It had caused embarrassment to the British government
   2. B.
      It had brought her closer to the ordinary people
   3. C.
      It had greatly promoted her popularity
   4. D.
      It had affected her relations with the British government

[1] The health of our children and young people matters to us, and it matters to them. We should help them understand what makes and keeps them healthy and what to do when they have worries, are not feeling so good, or are simply ill.
[2] While health promotion, the process of enabling people to manage and improve their own health, plays a key role. a key significant and early point of private contact with health services for a teenager is their GP. While GPs continue to improve in terms of their confidence and ability to make a child patient feel comfortable, it is not yet a guaranteed good experience for teenagers—they may not always           while talking to a doctor and some express feeling embarrassed while seeking advice from their GP
[3] Thus, two changes are required  Firstly, better professional development. GPs do have some training in child development but it is not enough After all, learning how to talk to 12-18 year olds, and even more importantly, how to listen to what they have to say and encourage them to speak up; and to be confident that they understand what is said to them before they leave, takes time Secondly, we can include young people as the "teachers" here to help GPs learn how to interact effectively with their younger patients. GPs would benefit from feedback about their manners, the quality and simplicity of their communication and their way of explaining treatments and next steps - going beyond theory to learning by doing.
[4] In addition. children and young people are those with the time and energy to put into making our communities healthy. As enthusiastic learners, teenagers contribute through voluntary activities far more than adults and are deeply interested in the health services. And in doing so they are able to educate themselves in ways which can change lives.

1. 1.

   What's the author's purpose of writing this passage? (no more than 15 words )

2. 2.

   Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. (no more than 3 words)

3. 3.

   What's the meaning of the underlined word "interact" in Paragraph 3? (no more than 3 words)

4. 4.

   Complete the following statement according to Paragraph 4. (no more than 5 words)
   Young people can make contributions to the health services by___________.

5. 5.

   Du you think teenagers should participate in the health services? State your reasons.(no more than 20 words)

Our lives were supposed to be more flexible and family-friendly thanks to the technology at our fingertips. But in this age of BlackBerrys, recession pressures, working at home after hours and on weekends, family time may not be working out the way we thought.
Busy parents who expected more time with the kids are Finding that more work hours at home don't necessarily translate into quality time with them.
A new generation of parents needs to discover the meaning of "quality time," researchers say. “Personally, just given the life I lead, I think there is something to this idea of quality time- spending productive time with children vs. just being around,” says Peter Brandon, a professor at Carleton College. He says engaging or interacting with a child in activities such as reading or playing counts as quality time rather than "passive monitoring," such as washing the dishes while the child is watching TV.
“This time with children pays off,” Brandon says. He notes that good parent-child relationships result in children being happier and more successful, including at school.
As parents struggle to be more available to their kids, new research on work and family  schedules to be presented Friday at the meeting in Dallas includes a study that shows parents' availability is on the decline because more parents are in the workforce. Although parents today may be spending more time on child care, they are less available overall.
Working parents who spend less time with their children should try to make sure the time they do spend is communicating with them, vs. doing the dishes or spending more time on themselves, Brandon says “The trade-off is not necessarily taking away time from your kid,” he says "You're taking away time from other things”

1. 1.

   The first paragraph mainly intends to tell us that        .

   1. A.
      technology lets parents work at home
   2. B.
      parents are satisfied with their work
   3. C.
      technology makes our lives much easier
   4. D.
      the family time is not always satisfying
2. 2.

   We can learn from the third paragraph that        .

   1. A.
      some families are not experiencing quality time
   2. B.
      it's enough for parents to stay with their children
   3. C.
      parents enjoy engaging in work-at-home activities
   4. D.
      working hours at home can transform into quality time
3. 3.

   According to Brandon, the quality time means       .

   1. A.
      just, being around with children
   2. B.
      work time is separate from family time
   3. C.
      spending instructive time with children
   4. D.
      letting the children do whatever they want to do
4. 4.

   The underlined sentence “This time with children pays” off means        .

   1. A.
      the time with children is of little value
   2. B.
      the time with children costs quite a lot
   3. C.
      the time with children leads to good result
   4. D.
      the time with children has a bad effect on them
5. 5.

   What will the author most probably talk about in next part of the passage?

   1. A.
      How to spend more time at home
   2. B.
      How to do the dishes in a proper way.
   3. C.
      How to spend more time on working at home.
   4. D.
      How to take away time in a much proper way.

Now let's look ourselves as a species in relation to ecosystem balance.Modern scientists believe that humankind, like other animals, evolved(進(jìn)化) through millions of years of changes and adaptations to the environment and that our most direct evolutionary ancestor was probably an earlier species of the primate(monkey, ape) group. Despite this similarity with other creatures, however, the evolution of humankind differs from that of other species in one important and unique way.
In other species, evolution has led to specialization, both in the species abilities and in its place within the environmental structure. For example, the giraffe is much adapted to feeding on treetops, but it is also specialized and thus limited to feeding on trees and shrubs. Only with great difficulty can it bend down to graze on the ground. Similarly, the anteater is extremely well adapted to eating ants but is unable to catch or eat other animals. The same is true for countless other species.
For humankind it is opposite. Our evolution had led to a very generalized ability. Our highly developed intelligence and ability to make and handle tools mean that we can do almost anything. Humans evolved in such a way that we are able to move into every environment on Earth and even into space. No natural competitor offers great resistance, and other natural enemies such as disease have been controlled.
Said another way, we see in humankind a great imbalance between biological potential and environmental resistance. The result is the rapidly increasing world population, frequently referred to as the population explosion. Further, to support our growing population, natural ecosystems are being increasingly displaced by human habitations, agriculture, and other human supporting activities.

1. 1.

   From the passage we can infer that in the course of evolution _______.

   1. A.
      humankind is very important to earlier species, such as the primate group
   2. B.
      human beings are limited by the environment while animals are not
   3. C.
      human beings become more and more different from each other
   4. D.
      humankind has experienced a generalization rather than specialization in ability
2. 2.

   According to the passage, primate includes such animals as _______.

   1. A.
      monkeys and anteaters
   2. B.
      tigers and apes
   3. C.
      apes and monkeys
   4. D.
      monkeys and giraffes
3. 3.

   According to the passage, evolution has made it possible for humans to _______.

   1. A.
      increase the population
   2. B.
      resist natural offers
   3. C.
      go to the moon
   4. D.
      cure all diseases
4. 4.

   According to the author, imbalance between biological potential and environ mental resistance has resulted in _______.

   1. A.
      the population explosion
   2. B.
      the destruction of human habitations
   3. C.
      the growth of natural ecosystem
   4. D.
      the specialization of humans