India is traditionally a tea-drinking country. But, it is now gaining a new taste for coffee. This has led international coffee companies to consider opening businesses in the huge market. Local business people are also hoping to profit from the country’s tea-drinking habits. They want to open new stores that offer tea.
It is ten thirty in the morning in India. Two cafes are within meters of each other, near a college in New Delhi. And they are selling a lot of tea. Their main customers are undergraduate students.
“We have a lot of break between classes, so whenever we get time, we just go and we enjoy ourselves. It’s a lot of fun , especially when you are with people you enjoy spending time with.”
In the past ten years , cafes have become increasingly popular in India. The country’s huge young population have quickly taken to the coffee culture.
Coffee stores have spread from major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to smaller towns. Coffee use has doubled in the last ten years . It is the success of this market that has gained the attention of companies like the American-based coffee chain Starbucks. The company will open its first store in India later this year. Other companies like Lavazza and Costa Coffee are already there.
Yet, the growth of coffee will not reduce the popularity of tea. Indians drink eight times more tea than coffee. They have been drinking tea for more than one hundred and fifty years. India is one of the world’s biggest producers of tea, which is known locally as “chai”. Outside homes and offices, it is mostly sold by small businesses on the street.
【小题1】Why do international coffee companies consider opening businesses in India?

A．India consumes very little coffee.	B．India has a large population.
C．People in India now prefer coffee to tea.	D．Indians come to like the taste of coffee.

【小题2】Which one is correct about undergraduate students?

A．They only have tea in the cafes.

B．They are the main customers in the cafes.

C．They like enjoying coffee with friends in cafes.

D．They like to go to the cafes to escape lessons.

【小题3】What can we learn about coffee in India?

A．Coffee is consumed more than tea in India now.

B．Coffee is much more welcomed by young Indians than tea.

C．Coffee consumed today doubles that of ten years ago.

D．The growth of coffee will reduce the consumption.

【小题4】Which statement is wrong according to the passage?

A．Coffee stores have spread to small towns in India.

B．Some foreign coffee companies are trying to open Indian coffee market.

C．Local people worry about losing profit on tea.

D．Indians drink eight times more tea than coffee.

【小题5】What is the text mainly about?

A．Undergraduate students are main coffee consumers in India.

B．Indians mainly consume both tea and coffee.

C．India is traditionally a tea-drinking country.

D．India is becoming a big new coffee consuming country.

ROME: The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is covered in mystery: How did he die? Are the remains buried in a French castle really those of the master? Was the "Mona Lisa" a self-portrait in disguise (伪装)?
A group of Italian scientists believe the key to solving those puzzles lies with the remains, and they say they are seeking permission to dig up the body to conduct carbon and DNA testing.
If the skull is undamaged, the scientists can go to the heart of a question that has fascinated scholars and the public for centuries: the identity of the "Mona Lisa." Recreating a virtual and then physical reconstruction of Leonardo's face, they can compare it with the smiling face in the painting.
"We don't know what we'll find if the tomb is opened. We could even just find grains and dust," says Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist who is participating in the project. "But if the remains are well kept, they are a biological record of events in a person's life, and sometimes in their death." Silvano Vinceti, the leader of the group, said that he plans to press his case with the French officials in charge of the said burial site at Amboise Castle early next week.
Leonardo moved to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who named him "first painter to the king." He spent the last three years of his life there, and died in 1519 at age 67. The artist's original burial place, the palace church of Saint Florentine, was destroyed during the French Revolution and remains that are believed to be his were eventually reburied in the Saint-Hubert Chapel near the castle.
"The Amboise tomb is a symbolic tomb; it's a big question mark," said Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of a museum dedicated to Leonardo in his hometown of Vinci. Vezzosi said that investigating the tomb could help identify the artist's bones with certainty and solve other questions, such as the cause of his death. He said he asked to open the tomb in 2004 to study the remains, but the Amboise Castle turned him down.
The group of 100 experts involved in the project, called the National Committee for Historical and Artistic Heritage, was created in 2003 with the aim of "solving the great mysteries of the past," said Vinceti, who has written books on art and literature.
Arguably the world's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where it drew some 8.5 million visitors last year. Mystery has surrounded the identity of the painting's subject for centuries, with opinions ranging from the wife of a Florentine merchant to Leonardo's own mother.
That Leonardo intended the "Mona Lisa" as a self-portrait in disguise is a possibility that has interested and divided scholars. Theories have existed: Some think that Leonardo's taste for tricks and riddles might have led him to hide his own identity behind that puzzling smile; others have guessed that the painting hid an androgynous lover.
If granted access to the grave site, the Italian experts plan to use a tiny camera and radar to confirm the presence of bones. The scientists would then exhume (挖掘) the remains and attempt to date the bones with carbon testing.
At the heart of the proposed study is the effort to discover whether the remains are actually Leonardo's, including with DNA testing.
Vezzosi questions the DNA comparison, saying he is unaware of any direct descendants (后代) of Leonardo or of tombs that could be attributed with certainty to the artist's close relatives.
Gruppioni said that DNA from the bones could also eventually be compared to DNA found elsewhere. For example, Leonardo is thought to have rubbed colors on the canvas with his thumb, possibly using saliva (唾液), meaning DNA might be found on his paintings.
Even in the absence of DNA testing, other tests could provide useful information, including whether the bones belonged to a man or a woman, and whether the person died young or old.
Even within the committee, experts are divided over the identity of the "Mona Lisa."
Vinceti believes that a tradition of considering the self-portrait to be not just a faithful imitation of one's features but a representation of one's spiritual identity may have resonated (共鸣) with Leonardo.
Vezzosi, the museum director, dismissed as "baseless and senseless" the idea that the "Mona Lisa" could be a self-portrait of Leonardo. He said most researchers believe the woman may have been either a wife of the artist's sponsor, the Florentine nobleman Giuliano de Medici, or Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. The traditional view is that the name "Mona Lisa" comes from the silk merchant's wife, as well as its Italian name: "La Gioconda."  
【小题1】Why does the author ask a couple of questions in the beginning?

A．To arouse the interest of readers	B．To puzzle Italian scientists
C．To answer the questions himself	D．To make fun of French officials

【小题2】The best title of this story might be “_____”

A．What Is the Purpose of an Investigation?

B．How Did Leonardo da Vinci Die in France?

C．Are the Remains Really Those of the Master?

D．Did Leonardo Paint Himself as 'Mona Lisa'?

【小题3】The sentence “he plans to press his case with the French officials” (underlined in Paragraph 4) suggests that Vinceti intends to _____

A．press the French officials to participate in their project

B．urge the French officials to open the tomb early next week

C．persuade the French officials to allow opening the tomb

D．record events in a person’s life with the French officials

【小题4】Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Scholars have the same opinion on DNA testing

B．Scientists doubt if the remains are those of da Vinci

C．The identity of “Mona Lisa” has already been proved

D．Alessandro Vezzosi got permission to open the tomb

【小题5】We can infer from the last two paragraphs that _____?

A．“Mona Lisa” is the name of the wife of a silk merchant

B．the “Mona Lisa” is a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

C．experts divided the committee into several groups

D．opinions differ of the identity of the “Mona Lisa”

The Ice Hotel
Are you going into skiing? Is winter your favorite time of year? If you like snow and ice, maybe you should stay at Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. But, you can only check in at this hotel during the winter. Why ? Because this hotel is built every December. It has 32 rooms and 80 people can stay there each night. The hotel even has a movie theatre, art gallery, and church. Of course, all of these parts of the hotel are made of ice. In fact, all the furniture, art, lights, and even plates and drinking glasses are made out of ice.
Because this hotel is so unusual, it is becoming very popular. People from all over the world come to the Ice Hotel to look at the fantastic ice art, drink and eat from designed ice dishes and experience the unique atmosphere (独特的气氛). Some couples have even got married in the hotel's ice church. But all these guests keep their winter coats on! Because of all the ice, the temperature inside the hotel is always between - 2ºC and - 5ºC. Surprisingly, sleeping is not a problem in the freezing cold hotel rooms. Every guest gets a special cold-weather sleeping bag and some fur blankets. These keep the room cozy and warm until morning.
【小题1】What is the main idea of this reading?

A．How the Ice Hotel is built

B．What makes the Ice Hotel special

C．Why the Ice Hotel is made of ice

D．The services of the Ice Hotel

【小题2】Why is sleeping NOT a problem in the hotel?

A．the rooms are warm	B．the temperature is -2ºC
C．the sleeping bags are warm	D．the furniture is warm

【小题3】In which part of the hotel would you probably find "plates"?

A．the church

B．the restaurant

C．the rooms

D．the art gallery

The lower East Side is neither rich nor beautiful, but it can be a good place to shop.
On Sundays, its streets are crowded with visitors and shoppers like these. They are trying to find a coat or a pair of shoes at a good price.
Most people prefer to shop in the big department stores like Macy’s, Gimbel’s, or Bloomingdale’s because there they can find clothing, furniture, toys, and food in one store.
Some people like the smaller stores of Greenwich Village or other areas when they are looking for an unusual present.
Some streets have only one kind of stores. Bracelets (手镯) and rings shine in the windows of Canal Street, and wedding dresses fill the stores of Grant Street. There are streets for furs(皮大衣), and, in one area, there are 600 shops for antiques (古玩)! Fifth Avenue is the most famous place to shop, and it is usually the most expensive. There you can find the latest styles from Paris, Italy, or New York. You can spend thousands of dollars on Fifth Avenue, or you can just window shop and admire the sights for free.
【小题1】How many kinds of shops or stores on the lower East Side are mentioned in the passage?

A．Four.

B．Five.

C．Six.

D．Seven.

【小题2】If you want to buy something fashionable to wear, you’d better go to       .

A．Grant Street

B．the big department stores

C．Fifth Avenue

D．the smaller stores of Greenwich Village

【小题3】Why does the writer say that the lower East Side can be a good place to shop?

A．Because its streets are crowded with visitors.

B．Because there are latest style from Paris, Italy, or New York.

C．Because there are different goods in different stores they can meet the needs of the visitors and shoppers.

D．Because women want very much to go there and buy bracelets and rings.

【小题4】The underlined words window shop in the sentence means “      ”.

A．put all one’s goods in the shop-window

B．look at goods displayed in shop-windows

C．not only look at goods displayed in shop-window but also want to buy something

D．take much interest in the goods and have the idea of buying something

【小题5】The last five words “admire the sights for free” of the passage means “      ”.

A．get pleasure from the sight at no cost

B．buy and sell goods freely

C．look at the sights as much as you like

D．look at the sight with pleasure and buy something as you like

Customs are social habits. They have been handed down through generations (代) among groups, social classes, etc. Customs can be described as ways of doing things. They are particularly (特别) strong in social practices on the occasions (场合) of births, marriages and deaths.
In China, these days, some people in cities are learning from Western customs. For example, some brides dress in the long white dress that is usual bridal wear in many Western countries.
Every people (民族) has special customs for New Year. The Han people have many interesting Spring Festival customs. And now, quite a number of people living in the cities have followed the Western customs of sending New Year greeting cards for January 1st.
One interesting custom in China is that mothers wrap (包) up their babies tightly (紧紧的).This is not the custom in Western countries, where babies are usually dressed in loose garments.
【小题1】It is true that customs      .

A．have been formed during a short time

B．have been formed little by little

C．have been quickly formed and changed

D．have never been changed

【小题2】In this passage, the word “garment” is      .

A．a kind of food	B．a bed
C．a sort of clothes	D．a room

【小题3】How do the Chinese young people learn from Western countries at their marriages?

A．The brides（新娘）have on the white clothes.

B．Men wear the white coats.

C．Their parents all have attended their marriages.

D．Their marriages are only held in the men’s homes.

【小题4】From this passage we know      .

A．the people all over China spend New Year in the same way

B．people in the villages and cities send New Year greeting cards to each other

C．each people has his special custom for New Year

D．most of Chinese people take Spring Festival seriously

【小题5】The difference about clothing between Chinese and Western babies is that      .

A．Chinese babies are usually dressed in new clothes

B．Chinese mothers are used to dressing their babies in colourful clothes

C．Western babies are dressed in bigger clothes while Chinese babies are usually wrapped

D．Western babies have more clothes than Chinese babies

In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The fattened (压平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots. During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.
The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain - usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.
At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmer had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks(痕迹), and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.
Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circle to communicate with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.
Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles - the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.
【小题1】In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that __________.

A．some of his wheat had been damaged

B．his grain was growing up in circles.

C．his grain was moved into several circles

D．some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground.

【小题2】According to the text, the underlined part “hoax” (in the 3^rd paragraph) probably means __________.

A．an attempt made to fool people

B．a special way to plant crops

C．a research on the force of winds

D．an experiment for the protection of crops.

【小题3】Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man?

A．The farmer couldn’t step out of the field.

B．The farmers couldn’t make the circles round.

C．The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints.

D．The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up.

【小题4】A proper title for this passage is ___________.

A．An Unsolved Mystery

B．Strange Flying Objects

C．The Power of Natural Forces

D．The discovery of Strange Circles

It seems that all your friends’ names on MSN have added a little green “I’m” symbol overnight. If you ask what is going on, someone will tell you it’s a charity activity.
Though this charity program has not yet officially begun for Chinese users, this little green symbol has proven popular among Chinese Windows Live Messenger users.
Windows Live Messenger’s official blog announced on March 1 that Microsoft was beginning an “I’m” program in the United States. Every time someone starts a conversation using “I’m”, Microsoft shares a part of the program’s advertising income with nine organizations devoted to social causes. With every instant message a user sends, it helps deal with things one feels most interested in, including poverty, child protection, disease and worsening environment.
One only has to add a certain code next to one’s name for the organization one would like to support. “*red’u” is for the American Red Cross, “*bgca” is for Boys & Girls Clubs of America and “*unicef” stands for the American branch of UNICEF.
After a Chinese blogger named “hung” introduced this program on his blog on March 2, “I’m” entered the Internet in China with no actual support from Microsoft.
Beijing-based Youth Weekend reported that famous IT blogger Keso regarded this program’s rapid spread as a successful virus marketing case. He thinks that the success of the “I’m” program is because it’s spread by users without being a bother to others. This answers why “I’m” has spread so rapidly across the Internet like a virus with almost no advertisement.
However, Feng Jinhu from the press center for Microsoft China told Youth Weekend that the “I’m” project is only for Messenger users in the United States. Instant messages sent by Chinese users would not count.
This has not affected Chinese Messenger users’ interest in the little green symbol. These users hope their instant messages will actually contribute to charitable organizations someday.
【小题1】What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?

A．The detail information about the “I’m” program.

B．Microsoft announced the beginning of the program.

C．The main purpose of the program.

D．How to take part in the program in China.

【小题2】What is the reason for the success of the “I’m” program according to Keso?

A．It doesn’t bring other users trouble.	B．It is popular with the poor people.
C．It is supported by Microsoft.	D．It is advertised through the Internet.

【小题3】The following descriptions about the “I’m” program are correct EXCEPT _________.

A．it became popular in China in a short time

B．Microsoft will support the charity activity for free

C．US MSN users who take part in the “I’m” program contribute to charity

D．it covers social problems such as poverty, child protection, etc.

【小题4】What should you do to take part in the “I’m” program?

A．Send an email to Microsoft.

B．Add a little green “I’m” symbol before your MSN name.

C．Add the code of the organization you support next to your MSN name.

D．Fill in an application form in advance.

【小题5】From the passage, we can come to a conclusion that _________.

A．“I’m” is a computer virus that will not be easily removed

B．Microsoft is active in advertising the program in China

C．modern technology is being used to raise money for charity

D．Chinese MSN users have no interest in the program

Beijing opera or Peking opera （Pinyin: Jīngjù） is a form of Chinese opera which arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century．The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China．Major performance troupes （剧团，戏班子） are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north，and Shanghai in the south．The art form is also enjoyed in Taiwan，and has spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.
Beijing opera features four main types of performers．Performing troupes often have several of each variety，as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers．With their elaborate （认真的，精心的） and colorful costumes，performers are the only focal points on Beijing opera's characteristically small stage．They make use of the skills of speech，song，dance，and combat in movements that are symbolic and suggestive，rather than realistic．Above all else，the skill of performers is evaluated according to the beauty of their movements．Performers also hold a variety of stylistic conventions that help audiences navigate the plot of the production．The layers of meaning within each movement must be expressed in time with music．The music of Beijing opera can be divided into the Xipi and Erhuang styles．Melodies include arias （唱腔），fixed-tune melodies，and percussion patterns．The repertoire of Beijing opera includes over 1,400 works，which are based on Chinese history，folklore，and，increasingly，contemporary life.
In recent years，Beijing opera has attempted numerous reforms in response to sagging audience numbers．These reforms，which include improving performance quality，adapting new performance elements，and performing new and original plays，have met with mixed success．Some Western works have been adopted as new plays，but a lack of funding and an adverse political climate have left Beijing opera's fate uncertain as the form enters the 21st century．
【小题1】How long has Beijing Opera become a popular art form?

A．About one and a half centuries.

B．More than two centuries.

C．More than one century.

D．About half a century.

【小题2】How many art forms of Beijing Opera at present?

A．Two including Beijing and Tianjin，and Shanghai in the south.

B．Two including Beijing and Tianjin in the north.

C．Three including Beijing and Tianjin，and Shanghai in the south and Taiwan.

D．Five including Beijing and Tianjin，and Shanghai in the south，Taiwan，US and

【小题3】What are the features of the performers’ movements of Beijing Opera?

A．Elaborate.	B．Colourful.
C．Realistic .	D．Representative.

【小题4】Which of the followings is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Performers can take different stylistic traditions in the plays.

B．The standard to estimate a performer is the amount of his/her movements.

C．It’s necessary to keep movements along the music in time.

D．The content of Beijing Opera is plentiful but much fixed.

【小题5】What will be the future of the Beijing Opera?

A．Very bright.	B．Certainly good.
C．Much uncertain.	D．More popular.

News that Microsoft was making a $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo was greeted with heated discussion by many Internet users on Friday. Here are some responses:
Mark Galeassi of Kansas City, Missouri
This is the best move for both parties. Yahoo has the ideas and Microsoft has the money to finally market these ideas correctly. Microsoft and Yahoo are a perfect fit and the deal will be good for consumers.
Scott G of New Jersey
I was a Yahoo user for years along with Hotmail from Microsoft. Then Google came along: Google Earth, Google Toolbar and Gmail. Google is so innovative (创新的) with everything they do. Yahoo and Microsoft... same old story... I don’t think the merger (合并) will do anything for either company except improve the Yahoo shareholders’ bank accounts.
Michael Glosser of Estero, Florida
Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they’ll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo’s formerly non-priced features. Microsoft’s greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is.
Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights, California
Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet!
Antonio Simmons of Parkville, Maryland
Microsoft purchasing Yahoo would be nothing more than an attempt from Microsoft to further impose upon the users their poor-quality software and obtain more wealth for the company. In my opinion, they will never be able to compete with Google because Yahoo and Microsoft’s current search engines are too inferior (差的) to compete. Even if combined, they still lack.
【小题1】Who is in favor of the merger of Microsoft and Yahoo?

A．Antonio Simmons.	B．Michael Grosser.
C．Scott G.	D．Mark Galeassi.

【小题2】In the opinion of Scott G , _______.

A．the merger will contribute to Microsoft

B．Yahoo and Microsoft are lacking in innovation

C．Google is getting short of management experience

D．the merger will allow Microsoft to overtake Google

【小题3】Michael Grosser is afraid that _______.

A．the merger will cost Yahoo’s free features

B．the merger will lead to Microsoft’s defeating Yahoo

C．the increased competition will force Google out of the game

D．Internet users will have to buy Microsoft’s expensive software

【小题4】What is Antonio Simmons’ attitude towards Google?

A．Doubtful.

B．Disapproval.

C．Positive.

D．Negative.

Sport is very popular in England. In other words lots of English people like the idea of sport． A lot watch sport on TV． But the number who take part in（参加）sport is quite small． On the whole English people prefer to be fat rather than thin．
The most popular sport in England is football． Football is played on Saturday afternoon in most towns and the supporters（球迷）of a certain team will travel from one end of the country to the other to see their team play． There are four divisions（级别）of the football league．Not surprisingly the best teams are in the first division． But the best supporters are often in the fourth division． You have to be a good supporter to watch the fourth division football!
Many other sports are also played in England, such as golf, in which you try to knock a ball into a hole; basketball, in which you try to got a ball through a net（篮筐）; tennis, in which you try to hit a ball so that your opponent（对手）can not hit it． As you see, if the ball had not been invented, there would have been no sport．
　　Actually（其实）, that is not quite true． Athletics（田径）isn’t played with a ball; nor horseracing（赛马）． Perhaps that is why they are not so popular as football!
【小题1】________ is the most popular sport in England．

A．Basketball

B．Football

C．Golf

D．Tennis

【小题2】You have to be a good supporter to watch ______division football．

A．the first

B．the second

C．the third

D．the fourth

【小题3】Why do many English people not take part in sport?

A．They are too busy．

B．They like watching sport on TV．

C．They would like to be fat．

D．They prefer to be thin．

【小题4】Why are English people interested in sport?

A．They have their football team．

B．The sport games are played on Saturday afternoon．

C．They like the idea of sport．

D．They like the famous players．