In the modern world more and more people meet the problem of identity．The most interesting example is that of a so – called “banana”, which refers to an American who has an Asian face but holds Western values．
In Shanghai, there now live a group of people from abroad．They look no different from the locals and speak fluent Chinese or even Shanghai dialect, but when it comes to writing Chinese characters, they are almost illiterate（文盲）．Jack is such an example．He never learned to read or write Chinese characters, which he finds mysterious and difficult．From time to time, he files to the US as he does not feel Shanghai is where he comes from．“But when I am in the States, I feel that’s not my home either,” he said．
At De Gaulle Airport in France, there is a Swiss man who has been living in the waiting – room for a long time because he lost h is passport during his travels．He was refused entry into several countries．But when he was eventually allowed to return to Swizerland, he refused to leave the airport．His reason was very simple—“I am sure who I am．I need no acknowledgement from others,” he said during an interview．For th is reason  he was honored by the Western media as “the Hero of identity．”
As the Internet becomes more and more popular, the problem of identity becomes more serious．In a virtual world, people can have different addresses registered with different names．In the Internet chat room, even one’s gender（性別） is hard to determine．It seems that in the glohal village, people are saying hello every day to each other without knowing whom they are talking to．
What will be the next crisis（危機(jī)） of identity? With the development of cloning technology, it might be: who is the real “I”?
【小題1】What does the passage mainly talk about?

In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the middle of complete damage and disorder, a father rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be,   36   that the building was   37  .

After the unforeseeable shock, he   38   the promise he had made to his son: “No matter   39  , I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to   40   his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins , it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his   41  to his son. He rushed there and started   42   through the ruins.

As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived,   43  : “It’s too late! They’re all dead!

  44  , face the reality, there’s nothing you can do!” To each parent he responded with   45  : “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped. And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.

Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know   46  : “Is my boy   47   or is he dead?” He dug for 8 hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, in   48  hour, he pulled back a large stone and heard his son’s   49  . He creamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you’d   50  me and   51  you saved me, they’d he saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”

“What’s going on in there?” the father asked.

“There are 14 of us   52     53   33, Dad. We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here.  When the building collapsed, it made   54  , and it saved us.”

“Come, out, boy!”

“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first,   55   I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”

A．only discovering                      B．only to discover      

            C．only realizing                        D．only to realize

A．a(chǎn)s flat as a pancake                   B．a(chǎn)s high as a mountain

            C．a(chǎn)s strong as an ox                      D．a(chǎn)s weak as a kitten

A．memorized    B．forgot               C．kept            D．remembered

A．what          B．what happen         C．which           D．who

A．fill            B．fill in               C．come           D．burst

A．picture        B．promise             C．present         D．encourage

A．digging        B．digging through       C．digging out      D．digging into

A．to say         B．said                C．a(chǎn)nd saying      D．saying

A．Come out      B．Come again          C．Come on       D．Come off

A．one word      B．one sound         C．one row        D．one line

A．for himself    B．of himself           C．by himself      D．to himself

A．live               B．living               C．a(chǎn)live            D．lively

A．38            B．the 38               C．38 th         D．the 38 th

A．sound         B．voice               C．noise           D．tone

A．will save       B．would save           C．save            D．would have saved

A．when          B．because             C．even if          D．thought

A．remained       B．missing             C．left            D．gone

A．for            B．behind              C．out of           D．over

A．a(chǎn) promise      B．space             C．room          D．a(chǎn) triangle

A．because        B．though              C．when           D．even though

The royal family is a part of British history and cultural identity.
Up until the 17th century, people believed that the British king or queen had a “divine(天賜的)right” to rule. This was the idea that God chose the king or queen and that he or she was therefore above the law. However, this idea was challenged during the English Civil War, when King Charles the First was put in prison and then killed in 1649.
So what role does the British royal family have today?
The Queen is head of the UK and the Commonwealth. She has important formal duties that go with her different titles. As Head of State, for example, she represents the UK on visits abroad and invites other world leaders to visit the UK；as Head of the Armed Forces in name, only she can declare when the UK is at war or when a war is over. She has to sign many government and Commonwealth documents every day.
Although the royal family does the work for the UK, there are British people called“anti-monarchists(反君主制者)”who do not believe there should be a royal family. One criticism(批評(píng)意見)is that the British people should not have to pay for the royal family with their taxes(稅).
Today, the royal family works hard to be relevant(相關(guān)的)in the modern world. The Queen still gives a speech to the nation on television at Christmas, but it gets less and less formal every year；now it is even available as a podcast(播客).
In 2005, after graduating from university, Prince William spent time teaching English in Uruguay, the sort of work many ordinary young British people do in their gap years.
【小題1】What can be concluded from the first two paragraphs?

How old is “old”?  The answer has changed over the years. Two hundred years ago，you were old at 35.At the beginning of the 20 th century，the average life span（平均壽命）was 45. In 1950，70-year-olds were really old.Today，a healthy 70-year-old is still thought young.
So，how old is old? The answer is one you’ve heard many times，from all kinds of people.“You are as old（or young）as you feel.”Your age simply tells you how many years you have lived.Your body tells you how well you’ve lived.
“Nobody grows old by living a number of years.” wrote a writer.“People grow old when they don’t have their ideas.”
People shouldn’t have the wrong ideas about aging.Sometimes，older minds can be as bright as young minds.Alice Brophy once said，“It makes me unhappy when people say，‘You look young for your age�！� What does that mean?You know you can die old at 30 and live young at 80. ”
【小題1】In 1950, the average life span was       .

How old is “old”?  The answer has changed over the years. Two hundred years ago，you were old at 35.At the beginning of the 20 th century，the average life span（平均壽命）was 45. In 1950，70-year-olds were really old.Today，a healthy 70-year-old is still thought young.
So，how old is old? The answer is one you’ve heard many times，from all kinds of people.“You are as old（or young）as you feel.”Your age simply tells you how many years you have lived.Your body tells you how well you’ve lived.
“Nobody grows old by living a number of years.” wrote a writer.“People grow old when they don’t have their ideals.”
People shouldn’t have the wrong ideas about aging.Sometimes，older minds can be as bright as young minds.Alice Brophy once said，“It makes me unhappy when people say，‘You look young for your age。’ What does that mean?
You know you can die old at 30 and live young at 80. ”
53.The meaning of the underlined word “aging” is “        ”
A．growing old      B. staying young    C. keeping healthy      D. feeling unhappy
54.Which question is NOT answered in the passage?
A. Can older people be as bright as young people?
B. What tells you how well you’ve lived?
C. How old is “old”?                     
D. what is the average life span today?
55.The passage is mainly about __________ .
A. the average life span                     B. aging
C. the 20th century                         D. older people and young people