“Someday, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game. “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao.”

To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market. Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds (搶籃板球) and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This is one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. “Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese.”

Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA, but Yao’s combination of modesty and skills makes him a favorite back home.

1.What’s the direct reason for Xing Tao to join the school basketball team?

A. He watched an NBA game.                   

B. He liked basketball.

C. He hoped to play for NBA.

D. He had a dream that he would become a basketball star.

2.How many points did Yao Ming win in his first game in NBA?

A. 0.                            B. 2.              C. 29.                          D. 10.

3.What does the underlined word “l(fā)etdown” in the second paragraph mean?

A. failure       B. surprise            C. disappointment         D. sadness

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. Middle school students want to play basketball.

B. Yao Ming makes NBA closer to China.

C. There’ll be no Americans left in the NBA.

D. There are many new stars from China in the NBA.

 

“Someday, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game. “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao.”

To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market. Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds (搶籃板球) and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This is one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. “Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese.”

Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA, but Yao’s combination of modesty and skills makes him a favorite back home.

What’s the direct reason for Xing Tao to join the school basketball team?

A. He watched an NBA game.                   

B. He liked basketball.

C. He hoped to play for NBA.

D. He had a dream that he would become a basketball star.

How many points did Yao Ming win in his first game in NBA?

A. 0.                            B. 2.              C. 29.                          D. 10.

What does the underlined word “l(fā)etdown” in the second paragraph mean?

A. failure       B. surprise            C. disappointment         D. sadness

What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. Middle school students want to play basketball.

B. Yao Ming makes NBA closer to China.

C. There’ll be no Americans left in the NBA.

D. There are many new stars from China in the NBA.

Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own — their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings.

Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable (可自由使用的) family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.

The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government’s poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11, 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.

1.What does the majority of the Americans have in terms of wealth?

A．Their income and savings.

B．Their house, cars and small amounts of savings.

C．Everything they own in their homes.

D．Actually, they have no wealth at all.

2.What is the percentage of wealth that is in the hands of most Americans?

    A．Less than 25%.                       B．More than 25%. 

    C．More than 75%.                       D．Less than 20%.

3.Why is economic inequality still great in the US in spite of the economic growth?

    A．Because the economic growth has widened the gap of the family income between the rich and the poor.

    B．Because income in the US is still concentrated in the hands of the richest 10% of American families.

    C．Because the proportion of income received by the rich and the poor remains almost the same as in 1917.

    D．Because some Americans made great fortunes during the Second World War.

4.What can we learn from comparison of the two poverty lines in the last paragraph?

    A. The poverty line of 1918 is more favorable to the poor than that of 1981.

    B. The 1981 line didn’t leave much to the poor.

    C. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1918 line.

    D. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1981 line.

5.From the last two sentences we can see that 1981 government’s poverty line _______.

    A．was of no good for the poor          B．was officially approved

    C．was not helpful to the poor             D．was not put into operation then

 

Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own — their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings.

Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable (可自由使用的) family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.

The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government’s poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.

1. What does the majority of the Americans have in terms of wealth?

A. Their income and savings.

B. Everything they own in their homes.

C. Actually, they have no wealth at all.

D. Their house, cars and small amounts of savings.

2. What is the percentage of wealth that is in the hands of most Americans?

A. More than 25%.               B. Less than 25%.

C. More than 75%.         D. Less than 20%.

3. Why is economic inequality still great in the US in spite of the economic growth?

A. Because the proportion of income received by the rich and the poor remains almost the same as in 1917.

B. Because the economic growth has widened the gap of the family income between the rich and the poor.

C. Because income in the US is still concentrated in the hands of the richest 10% of American families.

D. Because some Americans made great fortunes during the Second World War.

4. What can we learn from comparison of the two poverty lines in the last paragraph?

A. The poverty line of 1918 is more favorable to the poor than that of 1981.

B. The 1981 line didn’t leave much to the poor.

C. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1981 line.

D. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1918 line.

5. From the last two sentences we can see that 1981 government’s poverty line _______.

A. was of no good for the poor     B. was not put into operation then

C. was officially approved           D. was not helpful to the poor

Visiting London can be an expensive trip, so establishing a budget and finding bargains when you arrive will help you get around London on the cheap. The following steps can help you find cheaper alternatives for transport for your London trip.
l Familiarize yourself with the city’s boroughs and specifically the area where you will be staying. You can use a street map, or an online map search engine, to establish where in the city you will be staying and the distance you are from the major tourist attractions you want to visit.
l Find a local provider of Transport for London tickets or travel cards, since your first bargain purchase will be an Oyster Card. Traveling around London with an Oyster Card will give you access to the cheapest option of transportation methods and the Oyster Card is accepted citywide on buses, boats and the London Underground, known by the locals as “the tube”.
l Seek out your nearest Tube Station. The Tube is the cheapest and most reliable form of transportation and runs from around 6 a.m. until around 1 a.m. ..., depending on the line or the station.
There are 287 tube stations in London that accept the Oyster Card, with a high concentration in central London. If you are staying anywhere in central London, there will be a tube station less than 10 minutes away.
The Transport for London website offers a tube station search facility to find the nearest subway station to any location in the city. When you find a tube station, you can easily locate the closest bus stop by using the comparison bus-tube maps at the station’s entrance.
l Follow the Transport for London Tube Guide to your destinations and always plan ahead. Making a plan for transport will save you unnecessary expenses, wasted trips on the tube and doubling back on your journey .
【小題1】What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To introduce the public transport system in London.

B．To show readers how to use the Oyster Card.

C．To prove the subway in London is easy to use.

D．To offer tips for saving transport costs in London.

【小題2】Which of the following can help a traveler spend the least money on transport?

A．Trying different transportation methods.

B．Taking buses as much as possible.

C．Traveling with an Oyster Card.

D．Making a plan before your journey.

【小題3】By visiting the Transport for London website, people can ________.

A．identify their own location	B．locate the nearest bus station
C．find the nearest subway station	D．use an online map to avoid getting lost

【小題4】We can conclude from the passage that ________.

A．the subway is the cheapest means of transport in London.

B．only Tube stations in Central London accept Oyster Card.

C．subway lines in London run no less than 19 hours a day.

D．the transfer from subway to bus is very convenient.