You have heard of Batman and Spiderman, but did you know there's another super hero called Iron Man?
He's also a character from a popular US comic book. This summer, he's on the big screen.
     Iron Man was an ordinary person before he got his powers. He is Tony Stark, CEO of a company that
makes weapons for the US army. Tony got the company after his father died.
     Tony lives the life of a hard-drinking, rich playboy, but he is also brilliant at his job. He has invented many
high-tech weapons for this company. One day, he flies to Afghanistan (阿富汗) to test new weapons for the
US Air Force (空军). On his way back to his plane, terrorists (恐怖分子) attack him, and wound him.
     The terrorists put Tony in a cave with Yinsen, a doctor. Yinsen treats Tony and saves his life.
     The terrorists ask Tony to produce weapons for them. But instead, Tony builds a suit of armor with
Yinsen's help. The suit helps Tony escape the terrorists.
     Back in the US,Tony builds a better suit of armor. It gives him superhuman strength and the ability to fly.
He vows. (发誓) to protect the world as Iron Man.
     If you are interested in exciting action scenes and special effects, you might enjoy this movie. It's in
theatres now.

1. Iron Man is _______.

A. a terrorist
B. a character from a comic book
C. a Spiderman
D. a Batman

2. When Tony was an ordinary person, he is _______.

A. CEO of a company
B. a rich playboy
C. brilliant at his job
D. A, B and C

3. A better suit of armor _______.

A. gives him superhuman strength and the ability to fly
B. vows to protect the world as Iron Man
C. makes weapons for the US army
D. helps Tony escape the terrorists

                                                                   Happy New Years!
     Today is March 17th. About two and a half months ago, I said "Happy New Year!" to many of my friends.
About fifty days ago, I said the same thing to some other friends. In about four days, I'll say the same wishes
to yet another group of friends. I'll do the same thing in July and also in September. "How can that be?" you
might ask (if you 're from Western Europe or the Americas). "Everyone knows that New Year's Day is in
January!"
     In fact, the date of New Year's Day depends on the calendar (日历)-and I have friends who use one or
more of five different calendars to keep track of at least part of their lives:
●January 1st: New Year's Day on the Western/international calendar
●In January or February (in 2006, January 29th): New Year's Day on the Chinese calendar (China, Korea, and
a few other places)
●March 21st: New Year's Day on the traditional Persian (波斯)calendar
●Mid-July (usually the 16th): New Year's Day on the Islamic (穆斯林) calendar
●September: New Year's Day on most Eastern Orthodox Church (东正教) calendars (Central and Eastern
Europe) and, usually, on the Jewish calendar.
     And these are just the New Year's Days that I know about! As a matter of fact, there are probably even
more!

1. The first time the writer said, "Happy New Year!" was about January 1st. The second time was on or
    after _____.

A. February 28th
B. the middle of March
C. January 29th
D. March 21st

2. The writer will say "Happy New Year" around March 21st to some friends.

A. Chinese
B. Korean
C. Persian
D. Eastern Orthodox

3. According to the passage, we can infer that the exact (准确的) dates for the two New Year's Days in
    September are _____.

A. probably different
B. not always in September
C. probably the same
D. after September

4. The meaning of "keep track of" is _____.

A. understand
B. choose
C. manage
D. forget

5. The Chinese calendar is used _____.

A. only in China B. in several different places
C. only in China and Korea
D. all over the world

6. The word "Years" in the title of this article _____.

A. means that January 1st is at different times on different calendars
B. is a mistake and should be "Year"
C. is used because New Year's Day is at different times on different calendars
D. means that the writer was polite

     Most English people have three names: a first name, a middle name and a family name. For example, my
full name is Ann Allan Green. Green is my family name. Ann and Allan are my given names. People don't use
their middle names very much. So we can say Ann Green. We can say Miss Green or Mrs Green. But we
can't say Miss Ann or Mrs Ann. It's different from (与…不同) Chinese names. In China the first name is the
family name and the last name is the given name.

1. In China, the first name is the  _______.

A. given name
B. family name
C. middle name
D. full name

2. In English-speaking countries (讲英语的国家), the first name is the  _______.

A. given name
B. family name
C. middle name
D. full name

3. In English, the last name is the _______.

A. given name
B. family name
C. middle name
D. full name

4. The teacher's name is Mary Joan Read. You can say  _______.

A. Miss Read
B. Miss Mary
C. Miss Joan
D. Mr Read

     Peter is a teacher in a middle school in Shanghai. He (1)t_______ English. He is (2)f_______ America. His
parents aren't in China. They (3)a_______ in America.
     Shanghai is very nice and Peter likes it very (4)m_______His school is very nice, (5)t_______. The other
teachers and the students are (6)a_______ very friendly. On Sundays Peter often (7)g_______ to the parks
with some Chinese friends. Peter can (8)s_______ much Chinese. He often (9)t_______ with Chinese people.
He is very (10)h_______ in China.

     Dragon Boat Festival is a funny Chinese holiday. Usually, it's around June or July. Both children and adults
like this holiday.
     First, there are dragon boat races. Dragon boats are very long. They are painted in bright colours. In each
boat, there are many people rowing. There's also somebody beating a drum (击鼓). The winners of the races
can get a lot of money.
     During Dragon Boat Festival, people also eat a special kind of rice dumplings. To make one of these rice
dumplings, people prepare meat, vegetables and other things. Then they can make different flavors of
dumplings. Some are sweet, and some are salty (咸的). They all taste good. People give them to friends.
     On the evening of the holiday, families have a big meal together. Dragon Boat Festival is a great time for
everybody.

1. When is Dragon Boat Festival? 

A. Every June fifth.
B. Twice a year.
C. It's around June or July.
D. In winter.

2. How do Chinese people celebrate the festival?

A. Eating mooncakes.
B. Eating rice dumplings.
C. Holding dragon boat races.
D. Both B and C.

3. Which of the following about dragon boats is TRUE?

A. They are very long.
B. They have many flowers.
C. They are full of flags.
D. Babies often row them.

4. The meaning of the word "flavors" in Chinese is _________.

A. 风情
B. 情趣
C. 味道
D. 特点

5. Which is NOT the way (方式) to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival?

A. Having a big meal together.
B. Eating jiaozi and wonton (馄饨).
C. In memory of (纪念) Qu Yuan.
D. Holding dragon boat races.

     People call the Winter Olympics the White Olympics. At this time, they publish (发行) many stamps to
mark (标志) the great games. The first stamps came out on January 25th, 1932 in the United States for the
3rd White Olympics. From then on (从那时起), publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule.
     During the 4th Winter Olympics, people published a group of stamps in November 1936. They drew five
rings of Olympics. It was the first time that the rings appeared (出现) on the stamps of the White Olympics.?
     In the 1950s,the stamps of this kind became more colorful. When the White Olympics came, the host
countries as well as non-host countries published stamps to mark those games. China also published four
stamps in February 1980 when the Chinese sportsmen began to take part in the White Olympics.
     In Asia, Japan was the only country to hold the White Olympics. They sold 14,500 million stamps during
the Olympics.
     People drew different kinds of sports on these small stamps, and they enjoyed the wonderful sports and
some excellent players.

1. The White Olympics and the Winter Olympics ____.

A. are the same thing
B. are different games
C. are not held in winter
D. are held in summer

2. The world made it a rule to publish stamps to mark the great world games ____.

A. after the year 1936
B. after the 3rd White Olympics
C. before the 3rd White Olympics
D. before the year 1932

3. The Winter Olympics is held (被举行) once ____. 

A. every two years
B. every three years
C. every four years
D. every five years

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Only the host countries can publish stamps to mark those games.
B. Only the non-host countries can publish stamps to mark those games.
C. All the countries can publish stamps to mark those games.
D. Japan can't publish stamps to mark those games.

5. What may appear (出现) on the stamps of the White Olympics?

A. Basketball.
B. Table tennis.
C. Football.
D. Skating.

     In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games (现代奥运会) were on in Athens, Greece (希腊). After it,
many countries successfully had the Olympics, like England, France, Germany, Canada, the USA, Spain and
Australia. After more than one hundred years, the Games got back to their home----Athens, the year 2004.
     When people have the Olympic Games, they always make an emblem (会徽). The emblem of the Athens
Olympic Games the year is a white circle of Oliver branches (橄榄枝) in the sky. It means "Peace" (和平).
     This year the Olympic Games will be on in China. And China had already made a red seal (印章) as the
emblem of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. It means "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing (中国印. 舞动的北京)". It is
also like a runner or a dancer. Below it, there are the words" Beijing 2008". The running emblem shows the
spirit (精神) of the Olympic----faster, higher and stronger.

1. Which country had the 1st modern Olympic Games?

A. Greece
B. China
C. Australia
D. France

2. What do people always make when they have the Olympic Games?

A. A picture
B. An emblem
C. A seal
D. A map

3. What did the Athens Olympic Games want to give the world?

A. Luck
B. Illness
C. Safety
D. Peace

4. How long did it take Athens to wait for the Olympic Games for the second time?

A. 100 years
B. 108 years
C. 4 years
D. 2008 years

5. What does the red seal look like above the emblem?

A. A runer
B. A danncer
C. A runner or a dancer
D. A runner and a dancer

6. The spirit of the Olympic Games in Beijing is _________.

A. history and problems
B. faster, higher and stronger
C. running and dancing
D. peace and friendship

     For most people, the word "fashion" means "clothes". But people ask question, "What clothes are
fashion?" And they use the adjective (形容词) "fashionable" in the same way: "she was wearing a fashionable
coat." "His shirt was really a fashionable color."
      But of course there are fashions in many things, not only in clothes. There are fashions in holidays,
in restaurants, in films and books. There are even fashions in school subjects, jobs and in languages.
     Fashions change as time goes. If you look at pictures of people or things from the past, you will feel
that fashions have always changed. An English house of 1750 was different from one of 1650. A
fashionable man in 1780 looked very different from his grandson in 1860.
     Today fashions change very quickly. Some of this is natural (自然的). We hear about things much more
quickly than in the past. Newspapers, radios, telephones and television send information from one country
to another in a few hours.
      New fashions mean that people will buy new things, so you see there is money in fashion.

1. From this passage we know that "fashion" means _____.

A. clothes
B. many things
C. most of the popular things
D. everything

2. Which of the following things is fashionable today?

A. Surfing on the Interact.
B. Having a family dinner on New Year's Day.
C. Learning to sing songs on the radio.
D. Doing rooming exercises at school.

3. Today fashions change very quickly because _____.

A. people read newspapers every day
B. radios send information from one country to another
C. new things that people like are often shown on TV
D. people quickly learn what is happening in the world

4. "There is money in fashion"  in the last sentence means _____.

A. clothes are expensive
B. money comes from fashion
C. people like new things
D. there are no fashions without money

     We are all busy talking about and using the Internet (互联网), but how many of us know the history of
the Internet? 　　
     Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time,
computers were large and expensive. Computer networks (网络) didn't work well. If one computer in the
network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should
be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information
could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time. 　　      At first the Internet was only used by the government, but, in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and
banks were allowed to use it too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult
to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed
software that made 'surfing' (浏览) the Internet more convenient. 　　
     Today it is easy to get on-line (上网) and it is said that millions of people use the Internet everyday. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students. 　　
     The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people's life.

(     )l. The Internet has a history of less than thirty years.                               
(     )2. In the 1960s computer networks went wrong easily.                                   
(     )3. Computers become cheaper so that many hospitals and banks were allowed to use them  
(     )4. People didn't have enough software to get on-line conveniently until the early 1990s.
(     )5. The Internet has now become one of the most unimportant parts of people's life.