President Barack Obama's speeches are proving a best-seller in Japan -- as an aid to learning English. An English-language textbook, "The Speeches of Barack Obama," has sold more than 400,000 copies in two months, a big hit in a country where few hit novels sell more than a million copies a year.

　　Japanese have a fervor for learning English and many bookstores have a corner dedicated (專門用于) to dozens of journals in the language, many of them now featuring the new U.S. leader's face.

"Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates(候選人) are excellent as listening tools to learn English. Obama's are especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as 'yes, we can,' 'change' and 'hope' that even Japanese people can memorize," said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.

　　Speeches by George W. Bush and former nominee(提名) John Kerry's four years ago did not have the same interest, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians. “We have to turn to a foreign president for someone in whom to place our hopes”, Yamamoto said.

　　The 95-page paperback features Obama's speeches in English from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and during the Democratic Party primaries(初選), in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. They are accompanied by Japanese translations.

　　The 1,050 yen ($12) book, which includes a CD of the speeches, tops the bestseller list on bookseller Amazon's Japanese Website, http://www.amazon.co.jp/. He said lawmakers from Japan's main opposition Democratic Party had bought the book to study Obama's speeches.

　　Following Obama's inauguration(就職典禮), Asahi Press plans to issue a sequel(續(xù)集) that includes his inaugural address, as well as President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech. It will also feature a reading of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address of 1863.

64. Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English because ________.

the speakers are all great

B. the speakers have high speech skills

C. the language is full of humor

D. the contents are good and the words are easy to catch

Why do Japanese place their hopes in a foreign president?

A. Because they don’t have politicians who have such a positive influence.

B. Because they have the same attitude as the foreign presidents.

C. Because they have never made a political speech.

D. Because they hope to have a foreigner as their leader.

Which is true about “The Speeches of Barack Obama”?

A. It contains all Obama’s speeches .

B. It has 1,050 pages with a CD.

C. It includes his inaugural address.

D. It is an especially popular book in Japan.

Which of the following can best describe the main idea of the passage?

A. Japan speaks highly of Obama president .

B. Japan learns English from Obama speeches textbook .

C. Obama gains his fame from his election speeches.

D. Obama gives Japanese speeches on how to learn English.

It is the first report that home-grown food has been contaminated by radioactivity, largely Iodine(碘)-131, since the ministry ordered radiation( powerful and harmful rays that are sent out from radioactive substances) tests on food and water at the end of March in 14 mainland regions including Beijing, Tianjin, and some coastal provinces.

Sample inspections conducted on Tuesday found low levels of radioactive iodine in spinach( a kind of green vegetables) planted in Beijing, Tianjin and Henan province --- about 1-3 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg), the statement said.

"The contamination level detected is too low to be harmful to public health," it said.

According to health experts, radioactive iodine can accumulate in humans once ingested in high concentrations and increases the risk of thyroid cancer. But it decays naturally within weeks.

Leafy vegetables grown in the open like spinach, lettuce and leek are among the first foods to be tainted by radioactive deposits.

Raw milk is also susceptible to radioactive contamination as livestock feed on grass.

Tests carried out in March showed spinach and milk taken from farms near Japan's nuclear-stricken area had exceeded(go beyond) government-set safety limits for radiation.

No cases of tainted water or milk have been reported in China but the ministry vowed to further strengthen monitoring.

Wang Zhongwen, a researcher at the China Institute of Atomic Energy's radiation safety department, told China Daily on Wednesday that currently China only had the means to conduct food radiation tests in a few regions.

The statement also said that recent rain in Beijing and Tianjin meant radioactive substances could have fallen on vegetables.

Chen Jicang, a vegetable dealer in Beijing, said on Wednesday that concerns are growing among consumers, businesses and governments across the world.

"We have yet to see any impact on our business from the radiation, but we will keep a close eye on how the issue develops," he said.

He added that most vegetables consumed in Beijing are produced locally, and he might switch to other varieties if spinach sales suffer.

Yang Guoshan, a researcher of radiation medical science at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, said people could safely eat products that contain low levels of Iodine-131.

"The radiation level is so low that residents don't need to spend any extra effort on cleaning them," he said.

Gao Jie, a 52-year-old resident in Tianjin said she is deeply worried because spinach is a staple part of her family's diet.

"If spinach is radioactive, is there any possibility that other types of vegetables are safe?"

Trace levels of radioactive isotope cesium-137 and -134 were detected in the air in 21 provinces and regions on Wednesday, up from 17 on Tuesday, according to China's National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee.

What does the underlined word mean in para 1?

A. protected  B. contained   C. polluted by dangerous substances   D. tested

Why are the spinach and milk taken from nuclear-stricken area not safe?

A. Because tests have been carried out there.

B. Raw milk is sensitive to radioactive contamination as livestock（家畜）feed on grass.

C. The amount of radioactive substances goes beyond the safe limits for radiation.

D. Japan is a nuclear-stricken area.

Where do you think this passage comes from?

A. a magazine   B. CCTV news  C. a journal   D. a novel

What is not mentioned in the passage?

A. Consumers became concerned about the safety of vegetables.

B. People need to clean vegetables completely before cooking because of radiation.

C. Food and water have to be tested since the end of March in 14 mainland regions

D. Low levels of radioactive iodine has been found in spinach in Tianjin

What do you think is mainly talked about in the passage?

A. How the radioactivity came into being

B. What we should do in face of radioactivity.

C. Radioactivity has no side effect on human being.

D. Home-grown food has been affected by radioactivity.

A young man was going to join the army and had to take a medical examination. The doctor was sitting at a desk when he went in. He said to the man. “Take your coat and shirt off, and sit on the chair.” The young man did so. The doctor looked at him for a moment without getting up from his chair and then said, “All right. Put on your clothes again.” “But you haven’t examined me at all!” the young man said in surprise. “There is no need to do so,” the doctor said with a smile. “When I told you to take your coat and shirt off, you heard me all right, so there is nothing wrong with your ears. You saw the chair, so your eyes are good. You could take your clothes off and sit on the chair, so you must be in good health. And you understand what I told you to do and did it without a mistake, so you must be clever enough for the army.”

The young man went to the doctor because __________.

A. he wanted to consult about his illness.

B. he had to have a medical check-up.

C. he did not want to join the army.

D. he did not feel well.

The doctor told the young man to take his coat and shirt off in order to______.

A. test his listening ability.

B. see whether his eyes were wrong with him.

C. see what was wrong with him.

D. examine him with no clothes.

The doctor thought that __________.

A. the young man would not be a good soldier.

B. the young man must not join the army.

C. The young man would not do something wrong in the army.

D. the young man could join the army.

At first the young man __________.

A. did not understand what the doctor mean

B. did not do as he was told to do

C. realized why the doctor told him to do something

D. understood what the doctor meant

Nick Campbell sat at the side of the road and wondered what to do next. He looked at the second-hand Harley Davidson he’d bought from a back-street garage back home in Miami at the beginning of his trip six weeks before.

For years he had dreams of crossing the United States from east to west by motorbike and he’d finally decided that it was now or never. He’d given up his job, sold his car and set off for the journey of his dreams. He’d been lucky, or so he thought, to find this old Harley Davidson and had bought it for a very reasonable price------it had cost him just $600. But five kilometers from Atlanta, he had run out of luck. The motorbike had broken down.

He pushed the bike into town and found a garage. The young mechanic told him to leave the bike overnight and come back the next day. The following morning, to his surprise, the man asked if the bike was for sale. “Certainly not,” he replied, paid his bill and hit the road.

When he got to Kansas the old machine ran out of steam again. This time Nick thought about selling it and buying something more reliable, but decided to carry on. When the bike was going well, he loved it.

However, in Denver, Colorado the bike broke down again so he decided to take it to a garage and offer it for sale. The mechanic told him to come back in the morning.

The next day, to his amazement, the man offered him $2,000. Realizing the man must be soft in the head, but clearly not short of money, Nick asked for $ 3,000. The man agreed and they signed the papers. Then the mechanic started laughing. In fact it was several minutes before he could speak and when he could he said, “That’s the worst deal you’ll ever make, boy."

     He removed the seat. On the underside was the inscription (銘文):

     'To Elvis, love James Dean. '

56. Harley Davidson here refers to a _________.

   A. car          B. truck         C. garage          D. motorbike

57. Which of the following did Nick value most?

A. Harley Davidson.   B. His job.    C. His dream to travel.   D. His car.

58. Nick was unwilling to sell his Harley Davidson because he thought it was

   A. lovely        B. valuable       C. reliable          D. old

59. The underlined word ~ hi the 6th paragraph is closest in meaning to

   A. clever        B. crazy          C. honest           D. kind

60. At the end of the story, Nick must have felt very __________.

   A. sorry          B. delighted        C. excited         D. moved

The public commonly associates steroid use with big-time athletics. But the drugs may be even more of a menace to teenagers. The synthetic hormones can stunt a young person’s growth by prematurely closing the ends of the long bones in the skeleton. That means a 1.7 metre, 15-year-old high school student who uses steroids “might get bigger but won’t get any taller”, according to a US doctor.

Nearly seven percent of boys in the US try steroids before the end of high school, according to a 1988 study by professors Charles Yesalis and William Buckley, of Penn State University. The estimate comes from a poll of 3,400 seniors in 46 public and private schools across the US.

“Abusers of Steroids did it to improve their appearance and to excel at sports,” Professor Yesalis said. “Parents, teachers and coaches make boys believe that to be an ideal male you need to have these. Then they say: ‘you can’t play games to have fun; you play games to win.’”

“Such attitudes put many high school athletes at high risk of becoming abusers of steroids,” said Mike Gimbel, director of Baltimore County Office of substance Abuse. “For these athletes, the pressure to perform is incredible,” he said. “It was inevitable that it would seep down to high school level.”

The word “big-time” in Paragraph 1 most nearly means “________”.

A. long time               B. good time            C. top rank               D. modern

Why are steroids even more of a threat to teenagers?

A. Because they make teenagers grow too tall.

B. Because they make teenagers get too big.

C. Because they prevent teenagers from getting taller and taller.

D. Because they give teenagers too much pressure.

Which of the following statements is implied but not mentioned?

A. School athletes have too much pressure.

B. Steroids can help people have lots of muscles.

C. The pressure chiefly comes from parents, teachers and coaches.

D. Girls are not interested in steroids.

Which of the following is a good title for this passage?

A. Drugs and Sports

B. The Pressure to School Boys are Too Much

C. School Boys are Interested in Drugs

D. School Athletes Risk Damage from Drugs