Imagine being the only person in the Forbidden City. You could stay there all day without swarms of people crowding around. You'd be able to look at the ancient treasures without worrying about other visitors pushing you for a better view. Well, in two years time you'll be able to have such an experience, just like the former emperors used to. The only difference is that your Forbidden City fun will be online.

Thanks to new technology, a virtual tour of the Forbidden City will be available online by 2008. The project － jointly driven by the Palace Museum and computer company IBM － aims to help teenagers around the world become more interested in Chinese culture. The project will offer an interactive, three-dimensional view of the palace. The virtual tour will provide images from all over the 780,000-square-metre palace.

"The Palace Museum is a big book; there are always places you haven't read about," said Hu Chui from the museum. There are many rooms closed for protection. But the virtual platform breaks the boundaries of time and space, meaning visitors can see whatever they want. "The interaction and games content in the virtual tour will attract more young people to understand and love our cultural heritage," added Hu.

In the virtual tour, historical figures will actually talk to visitors and answer their questions. The stories behind the buildings and treasures will also be told. "The online environment, presented in both Chinese and English, enables visitors to experience the culture and stories of the museum," said James Yeh, an IBM official.

If you visit the Forbidden City now, which of the following won’t be the case you’ll have?

A. It is crowed with a lot of visitors.   B. Visitors are pushing you for a better view.

C. You are the only person in it.           D. You can see some ancient treasures in it.

Which of the following is not the advantage of the virtual tour of the Forbidden City?

A. Visitors can see whatever they want.

B. Visitor can ask and talk to historical figures.

C. Visitors can get to know the cultural heritage by playing games.

D. Visitors can walk around the Forbidden City with your family.

The “project” underlined in paragraph 2 refers to ______.

A. a virtual tour of the Forbidden City

B. a new “Forbidden City” to be built by the Palace Museum and IBM computer company

C. an Internet cafe to be built in the Palace Museum

D. a big book to be published to introduce Chinese culture

What attracts teenagers most to the virtual tour is _____.

A. the visible pictures in the place

B. the interaction and game playing

C. the online environment presented in English

D. the platform without the boundaries of time and space

第二部分：閱讀理解(共25小題，第一節(jié)每小題2分，第二節(jié)每小題1分；滿分45分)

第一節(jié)：閱讀下面的短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C、D)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。                              A

Endless sea, sand and sunshine on a tiny island--everyone' s idea of heaven. Who wouldn' t want to live in such a place.?

One person who certainly does is Ben Southall, from the UK. The 34-year-old was one of more　than 34,000 people who applied for the post of "caretaker" on Hamilton Island, Australia, which　the local government called "the best job in the world". The position starts in July and runs for six months. The salary is 150,000 Australian dollars(780,639 yuan).

Why Southall? Well, first let's take a look at the criteria(標(biāo)準(zhǔn)) for the job: "We're looking for applicants who like to have adventures, have a great love of the outdoors and have good commu-nication skills. "

On his application video, Southall expressed a love of adventure and included photographs of himself riding an ostrich(鴕鳥 ), running a marathon, diving, and kissing a giraffe. "From the time he was announced in the Top 50, and then the Top 16, Southall did a great job by showing true ex-citement about Queensland," Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said in a statement.

"His ideas for how he will make the role his own.., as well as his ability to rise to a challenge impressed the judges and helped him to win his place in the top job," Lawlor said.

Southall was born in Coventry, UK and used his parents' home as a base for his adventures. He had an old Land Rover that he used for a charity-fund-raising trek(跋涉) across Africa which in-volved joining in five marathons( a 42.16 km race) and climbing five mountains.

"It was sometimes hard work to make him get his head down and do his work because he always wanted to be outside," his mother said about his early years.

"He wanted to go surfing in South Africa, so he got a job house-sitting to pay for it. We regu-larly ask him when he is going to get a proper job, but he is confident and has a strong set of friends and is a great social animal. Now he has got the perfect job for his skills," said his father.

So, you see? No matter what type of person you are, there's always the possibility of getting a dream job. How' s that? Just read the job descriptions carefully and think about how your skills and qualities fit with the ones needed for the job. That' s what Southall did to get his job.

41. The post of "caretaker" on Hamilton Island is said-to be the best job in the world mainly because of_____

A. a beautiful landscape                          B. a short working time

C. great pay for a fun job                          D. very good weather

42. According to Lawlor, what wasn' t the reason that helped Southall win the job?

A. His outstanding application video

B. His passion for the job and ability to face up to challenges

C. His great love of adventures

D. His true excitement about the Austrilian lifestyle

43. Which of the following statements about Southall is true?

A. He did a poor job in school when he was young.

B. He worked as a house-sitter to raise charity funds.

C. He has won five marathons.

D. He is good at communicating with others.

44. We can leam from Southall that_____

A. the world offers opportunities for everyone    

B. setbacks will only make you stronger

C. all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy  

D. where there is a will, there is a way

 

Over the past few months, PSY’s funny video for “Gangnam Style” has become a YouTube sensation, resulting in over 112,000,000 views since July 15. It’s also been Tweeted more than 780,000 times and received over 260, 000 likes on Facebook, reports Mashable.com.
With the rapper(說唱歌手) making an appearance at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, here’s what you need to know about the break-out artist.
His real name is Park Jae-Sang. The 35-year-old Korean pop rapper is known for his comedic music videos and performances. The video for “Gangnam Style” is no exception. When his first album PSY—From the Psycho World! was released in 2001, he was nicknamed “PSY” because of his unusual dress, special lyrics(歌詞) and funny dance movies.
Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首爾). Gangnam may only be 15 square miles, but the district in Seoul, South Korea, is home to the headquarters of some of the country’s most influential companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The region also makes up 7% of South Korea’s GDP. 41% of students at Seoul University, a very famous college, come from Gangnam. The lyrics of PSY’s song describe the personality of a girl and a guy.
He studied in the U.S. Born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, PSY attended Banpo Elementary School, Banpo Middle School and Eva High Sch ool. But when it came time to achieve a college degree, the rapper attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music in the U.S.
“Gangnam Style” is giving K-pop international fame. “Gangnam Style” is currently No.1 on the iTunes music video chart. The video has surpassed Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”; Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”; and Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. This is the first time a Korean artist has ranked this high on iTunes.
【小題1】What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The success of “Gangnam Style”.

B．The origin of “Gangnam Style”.

C．The result of the Music Award.

D．The childhood of PSY.

【小題2】According to the text, PSY              .

A．is already in his forties now

B．made his first album in 2003

C．danced only in his “Gangnam Style”

D．has developed his special comedic style

【小題3】Which of the following about Gangnam is TRUE?

A．It is the capital of South Korea.

B．It is rich and better developed.

C．Seoul University lies in it.

D．It covers about 90 square miles.

【小題4】What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．“Gangnarn Style” isn’t popular in English-speaking countries.

B．PSY will be given another big prize for music in the future.

C．iTunes is the No.1 music company on the internet.

D．“Gangnam Style” has won the most worldwide popularity.

Over the past few months, PSY’s funny video for “Gangnam Style” has become a YouTube sensation, resulting in over 112,000,000 views since July 15. It’s also been Tweeted more than 780,000 times and received over 260, 000 likes on Facebook, reports Mashable.com.

With the rapper(說唱歌手) making an appearance at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, here’s what you need to know about the break-out artist.

His real name is Park Jae-Sang. The 35-year-old Korean pop rapper is known for his comedic music videos and performances. The video for “Gangnam Style” is no exception. When his first album PSY—From the Psycho World! was released in 2001, he was nicknamed “PSY” because of his unusual dress, special lyrics(歌詞) and funny dance movies.

Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首爾). Gangnam may only be 15 square miles, but the district in Seoul, South Korea, is home to the headquarters of some of the country’s most influential companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The region also makes up 7% of South Korea’s GDP. 41% of students at Seoul University, a very famous college, come from Gangnam. The lyrics of PSY’s song describe the personality of a girl and a guy.

He studied in the U.S. Born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, PSY attended Banpo Elementary School, Banpo Middle School and Eva High Sch ool. But when it came time to achieve a college degree, the rapper attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music in the U.S.

“Gangnam Style” is giving K-pop international fame. “Gangnam Style” is currently No.1 on the iTunes music video chart. The video has surpassed Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”; Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”; and Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. This is the first time a Korean artist has ranked this high on iTunes.

1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The success of “Gangnam Style”.

B．The origin of “Gangnam Style”.

C．The result of the Music Award.

D．The childhood of PSY.

2.According to the text, PSY              .

A．is already in his forties now

B．made his first album in 2003

C．danced only in his “Gangnam Style”

D．has developed his special comedic style

3.Which of the following about Gangnam is TRUE?

A．It is the capital of South Korea.

B．It is rich and better developed.

C．Seoul University lies in it.

D．It covers about 90 square miles.

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．“Gangnarn Style” isn’t popular in English-speaking countries.

B．PSY will be given another big prize for music in the future.

C．iTunes is the No.1 music company on the internet.

D．“Gangnam Style” has won the most worldwide popularity.

 

Imagine being the only person in the Forbidden City. You could stay there all day without swarms of people crowding around. You'd be able to look at the ancient treasures without worrying about other visitors pushing you for a better view. Well, in two years time you'll be able to have such an experience, just like the former emperors used to. The only difference is that your Forbidden City fun will be online.

Thanks to new technology, a virtual tour of the Forbidden City will be available online by 2008. The project － jointly driven by the Palace Museum and computer company IBM － aims to help teenagers around the world become more interested in Chinese culture. The project will offer an interactive, three-dimensional view of the palace. The virtual tour will provide images from all over the 780,000-square-metre palace.

"The Palace Museum is a big book; there are always places you haven't read about," said Hu Chui from the museum. There are many rooms closed for protection. But the virtual platform breaks the boundaries of time and space, meaning visitors can see whatever they want. "The interaction and games content in the virtual tour will attract more young people to understand and love our cultural heritage," added Hu.

In the virtual tour, historical figures will actually talk to visitors and answer their questions. The stories behind the buildings and treasures will also be told. "The online environment, presented in both Chinese and English, enables visitors to experience the culture and stories of the museum," said James Yeh, an IBM official.

If you visit the Forbidden City now, which of the following won’t be the case you’ll have?

A. It is crowed with a lot of visitors.   B. Visitors are pushing you for a better view.

C. You are the only person in it.           D. You can see some ancient treasures in it.

Which of the following is not the advantage of the virtual tour of the Forbidden City?

A. Visitors can see whatever they want.

B. Visitor can ask and talk to historical figures.

C. Visitors can get to know the cultural heritage by playing games.

D. Visitors can walk around the Forbidden City with your family.

The “project” underlined in paragraph 2 refers to ______.

A. a virtual tour of the Forbidden City

B. a new “Forbidden City” to be built by the Palace Museum and IBM computer company

C. an Internet cafe to be built in the Palace Museum

D. a big book to be published to introduce Chinese culture

What attracts teenagers most to the virtual tour is _____.

A. the visible pictures in the place

B. the interaction and game playing

C. the online environment presented in English

D. the platform without the boundaries of time and space