First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something evil (邪恶的) is happening underfoot. It’s not.
While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren’t. The problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say. More people are moving into big cities that happen to be built in quake zones, and they’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t withstand (经受) earthquakes, scientists believe. And around-the-clock news coverage (报道) and better earthquake monitoring(监测) make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present.
“I can definitely tell you that the world is not coming to an end,” said Bob Holdsworth, an expert in tectonics (筑造学) at Durharn University in the UK.
A 7.0 magnitude quake in January killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Last month, an 8.8 magnitude quake--- the fifth-strongest since 1900—killed more than 900 people in Chile. And two weeks ago, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people.
On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9, according to the US Geological Survey. This year is off to a fast start with 40 so far—more than in most years for that time period.
But that’s because the 8.8 quake in Chile generated a large number of strong aftershocks, and so many quakes early this year skews (扭曲) the picture, said Paul Earle, a US seismologist (地震学家).
Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their devastating impacts(破坏性的影响) that gain attention, with the death tolls (死亡人数) largely due to construction standards (building standard) and crowding, Earle added. “The standard mantra (咒语) is earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do, ” he said.
There have been more deaths over the past decades from earthquakes, said University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham. In an opinion column last month in the journal Nature, Bilham called for better construction standards in the world’s big cities.
Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are prone (倾向于) to earthquakes, Bilham said.
Developing nations, where populations are growing, don’t pay attention to earthquake preparedness, Bilham said.” If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes.”
Another reason quakes seem worse is that we’re paying attention more. The Haiti earthquake quickly followed by the 8.8 in Chile made everyone start to think.
But it won’t last, said US disaster researcher Deniis Mileti. “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’ve always lived on,” Mileti said.” Come back in another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again. ”
【小题1】What is the main idea of the article?

A．The number of earthquakes is increasing this year.

B．The reasons why earthquakes are so devastating.

C．The reasons why recent earthquakes have struck large cities.

D．Why earthquakes seem to be more serious this year.

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT a reason for the seeming increase in earthquakes this year，
according to the article?

A．Greater underground activity.

B．A larger number of buildings prone to damage during earthquakes.

C．Around-the-clock news coverage.

D．Better earthquake monitoring.

【小题3】According to the article, it is safe to say that ______.

A．there is an evil force beneath the world’s surface

B．large cities are always built in quake zones

C．enough attention has been paid to reducing the impact of earthquakes

D．the earthquake in Chili caused many aftershocks.

【小题4】According to the article, the greater damage of earthquakes this year can be mainly caused by ______.

A．the occurrence of larger earthquakes

B．not enough warnings about earthquakes

C．poor construction standards and overcrowding

D．an increase in large cities

Peggy Hilt wanted to be a good mother. But day after day, she got out of bed feeling like a failure. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t connect with Nina, the 2-year -old girl she’d adopted from Russia as an infant （幼儿). The preschooler （学龄前儿童）pulled away whenever Hilt tried to hug or kiss her. Nina was physically aggressive with her 4-year-old sister, who had been adopted from Ukraine, and had violent tantrums（发脾气). Whenever Hilt wasn’t watching, she destroyed the family’s furniture and possessions. “Every day with Nina had become a struggle,” she recalls now.
As the girl grew older, things got worse. Hilt fell into a deep depression. She started drinking heavily, something she’d never done before. Ashamed, she hid her problem from everyone, including her husband.
On the morning of July 1, 2005, Hilt was packing for a family vocation, all the while swallowing one beer after another and growing increasingly angry and impatient with Nina’s deeds. “Everything she did just got to me,” Hilt said. When Hilt caught her reaching into her diaper（尿布）and smearing feces（粪便）on the walls and furniture, “a year and a half of frustration came to a head,” Hilt says. “I snapped（崩溃). I felt this uncontrollable rage.”
Then Hilt did something unthinkable. She grabbed Nina around the neck, shook her and then dropped her to the floor, where she kicked her repeatedly before dragging her up to her room, punching her as they went. “I had never hit a child before,” she says. “I felt horrible and promised myself that this would never happen again.” But it was too late for that. Nina woke up with a fever, and then started throwing up. The next day she stopped breathing. By the time the ambulance got the child to the hospital, she was dead.
Hilt is now serving a 19-year sentence for second-degree murder in a Virginia prison. She and her husband divorced, and he is raising their other daughter. She realizes the horror of her crime and says she isn’t looking for sympathy. “There is no punishment severe enough for what I did,” she told NEWSWEEK in an interview at the prison.
【小题1】 This story mainly tells us __________.

A．a cruel mother who killed her daughter

B．a social problem of adoption

C．a family problem in Western countries

D．an unlucky child’s fortune

【小题2】How did Hilt let out her depression at the beginning?

A．By hitting her adopted girl.

B．By showing her more love.

C．By drinking heavily.

D．By hugging and kissing her.

【小题3】 What does the underlined sentence in Para.4 mean?

A．It was too late to hit the girl in order to make her good.

B．It was too late to save the girl’s life.

C．It was too late to regret hitting the girl.

D．It was too late to regret adopting the girl.

【小题4】“NEWSWEEK” in the last sentence of this text refers to a __________.

A．magazine

B．journalist

C．book

D．policeman

【小题5】 Why do some adoptions go so wrong？

A．It’s the kid’s fault.	B．It’s the mother’s fault.
C．It’s the fault of the society.	D．The writer doesn’t mention the reason.

An Australian man who has been donating his extremely rare kind of blood for 56 years has saved the lives of more than two million babies.
James Harrison has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease, a form of severe anaemia. He has enabled countless mothers to give birth to healthy babies, including his own daughter, Tracey, who had a healthy son thanks to her father's blood.
Mr. Harrison has been giving blood every few weeks since he was 18 years old and has now racked up a total of 984 donations. When he started donating, his blood was deemed so special that his life was insured for one million Australian dollars.
He was also nicknamed the “man with the golden arm” or the “man in two million”. He said: “I've never thought about stopping. Never.” He made a pledge to be a donor aged 14 after undergoing major chest surgery in which he needed 13 litres of blood. “I was in hospital for three months,” he said. “The blood I received saved my life so I made a pledge to give blood when I was 18.”
Just after he started donating he was found to have the rare and life-saving antibody in his blood. At the time, thousands of babies in Australia were dying each year of Rhesus disease. Other newborns suffered permanent brain damage because of the condition. The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood. It stems from one having Rh-positive blood and the other Rh-negative.
His blood has since led to the development of a vaccine called Anti-D. After his blood type was discovered, Mr. Harrison volunteered to undergo a series of tests to help develop the Anti-D vaccine. “They insured me for a million dollars so I knew my wife Barbara would be taken care of,” he said. “I wasn't scared. I was glad to help. I had to sign every form going and basically sign my life away.”
Mr. Harrison is Rh-negative and was given injections of Rh-positive blood. It was found his plasma could treat the condition and since then it has been given to hundreds of thousands of women. It has also been given to babies after they are born to stop them developing the disease.
It is estimated he has helped save 2.2 million babies so far. Mr. Harrison is still donating every few weeks now.
【小题1】How old is James Harrison？

A．56

B．70

C．74

D．78

【小题2】What does the underlined phrase “two million” refer to?

A．babies

B．mothers

C．dollars

D．all of the above

【小题3】   Why did James decide to donate his blood? Because _____.

A．his daughter asked him to help her son

B．he has a golden arm worth a million dollars

C．a vaccine called Anti-D is to be developed

D．someone else’s blood saved his life

【小题4】The sentence “The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood” (underlined in Paragraph 5) suggests that _____.

A．babies suffer permanent brain damage before born

B．the mother and the baby have different types of blood

C．Rhesus disease contributes to permanent brain damage

D．all the patients have a rare antibody in their blood

【小题5】   What can we infer from the sixth paragraph?

A．Some of the tests to develop the vaccine are dangerous.

B．His wife Barbara needed to be taken care of badly then.

C．Mr. Harrison was glad to help develop a new vaccine.

D．His blood type was accidentally discovered after tests.

              A middle-aged stranger visited us late on a dark rainy night when my father was working the night shift (a job for a period during the night). The stranger asked if he could wait under the eaves of our roof for the rain to stop. Then he disappeared, and we started hearing footsteps and creaking boards in the attic(the space or room at the top of a building, under the roof, often used for storing things). Was the stranger inside our house? My whole body couldn’t help but stiffen. In my mind’s eye, I could imagine the stranger pushing through the attic door and approaching us.
We immediately called Jerry, our neighbor, for help. He searched everywhere, but the visitor was nowhere to be found. As Jerry looked in the garage, he found the stranger lying underneath the car. Jerry exclaimed with fright, “You are not allowed to enter the house. Get off the property right now.”
We were determined to leave the house immediately. As we drove away, we saw the man blocking our way on the road and staring at us. We had to swerve to miss him. After that, I never saw the stranger again.
【小题1】The text is mainly about                .

A．the neighbor Jerry	B．a strange dream
C．a strange visitor	D．footsteps in the attic

【小题2】Based on the text, which of the following statements is true?

A．The family h it the stranger with their car.

B．The stranger pushed through the family’s door.

C．Jerry was hurrying back from the night shift.

D．The author’s father wasn’t at home that night.

【小题3】Why did the family leave their house on a late, dark night?

A．It was raining hard and the eaves of their roof were broken.

B．There was a ghost wandering around the house.

C．They did not feel safe in their house.

D．The stranger was still somewhere inside the house.

【小题4】The text was written in order of            .

A．time

B．space

C．importance

D．age of the family

Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16,1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices (偏见) of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously (匿名 ).
But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath’s many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, basically keeping its streets and public buildings in the original shape, just like what she described in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen’s Bath can be enhanced (增强)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen’s time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.
The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizs (小测验)  are offered to keep the children busy.
You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen’s Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.
【小题1】 Jane Austen paid two long visits to Bath________.

A．in her early twenties	B．in her early teens
C．in her late twenties	D．in her late teens

【小题2】What can we learn about Bath from the passage?

A．Bath has greatly changed since Jane Austen’s death.

B．The city has changed as much as Jane Austen knew it.

C．Bath remains almost the same as in Jane Austen’s time.

D．No changes have taken place in Bath since Jane Austen’s time.

【小题3】 The author writes this passage in order to________.

A．attract readers to visit the city of Bath

B．ask readers to buy Austen’s books

C．tell readers about Jane Austen’s experience

D．give a brief introduction to the Jane Austen Society

【小题4】It takes you about one and a half hours________.

A．to get to the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street

B．to buy Jane Austen related books, cards and gifts

C．to find a guide to take you to the Centre

D．to look around the city of Bath on foot

O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the readers’ surprise.
【小题1】   In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York.
b. Worked in a bank.
c. Traveled to Texas.
d. Was put in prison.
e. Had a newspaper job.
f. Learned to write stories.

A．e, c, f, b, d, a	B．c, b, e, d, a, f
C．e, b, d, c, a, f	D．c, e, b, d, f, a

【小题2】People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because _____.

A．they had surprise endings	B．they were easy to understand
C．they showed his love for the poor	D．they were about New York City

【小题3】What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?

A．He was well-educated.

B．He was very good at learning.

C．He was devoted to the poor.

D．He was not serious about his work.

【小题4】   Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?

A．His life inside the prison.	B．The newspaper articles he wrote.
C．The city and people of New York.	D．His exciting early life as a boy.

Clarissa looked out of the taxi window at the wet road. It was still raining. She was looking forward to getting home after a busy and tiring week in Italy.
The taxi stopped outside the terminal and Clarissa got out. While she was finding some money in her purse, the driver took out her luggage. She picked up her suitcase and entered the terminal building. The British airways check—in desk was near the entrance. After checking in her luggage, she went to buy some magazines. Then she went through passport control and the security check.
After waiting in line with other passengers, Clarissa walked down the corridor and onto the plane. Her seat was next to the window. While the plane was taking off, she closed her eyes, but when the plane was in the air, she began to relax. She pressed the button at the side of the seat, lay back and opened her eyes again.
Pin! The sound of the bell woke Clarissa from her dreams. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching Heathrow. Will you fasten your seatbelts and extinguish all your cigarettes.”
When the plane landed and came to a standstill, Clarissa saw that outside the sun was shining and the sky was clear. It was going to be a perfect day.
【小题1】 When in Italy Clarissa was ______.

A．airsick

B．sick

C．seasick

D．homesick

【小题2】 Choose the right order when Clarissa went back home.
a. She waited in line for a while.   b. She passed through the airport control.
c. She took a taxi to catch her plane.
d. She bought some magazines to read in the plane.
e. She went through the check - in desk. 
f. she went through the security-check door.  g. She went aboard the plane.

A．c,e,d,b,f,a,g

B．c,f,d,e,a,b,g

C．d,e,f,b,g,e,a

D．a,c,d,e,b,f,g

【小题3】When the plane took off or before the plane was in the air, Clarissa was probably __  .
A. glad         Ｂ. anxious         C. nervous         D. relaxed
【小题4】 We know from the text ______.

A．before the plane took off, smoking was not allowed.

B．just before landing, people were asked not to smoke.

C．when the plane took off and landed, smoking was not allowed.

D．smoking was not allowed all the way to Heathrow.

  Ed Jocelyn and Andy McEwen might have appeared to be a bit mad---the two set off on their own “Long March” through the remotest regions of China on October 16. The idea was to take a year to retrace one of the epic movements of modern military history.
The two British men in their mid-30s were working as editors in Beijing when they decided to reexperience the tales of the original marches. “We hold these people in such respect,” McEwen says.
They plan to keep diaries but will not share the contents during the trip. “When we get to the end we’ll put our heads together and try and come up with a book,” Jocelyn said.
Their trip has had some auspicious beginning, they have already met two Long March veterans(老战士) in less than a month of travel.
In this modern version, the pair are aided by high-tech equipment including a satellite phone, mini-computer, video camera and solar panels to recharge batteries. A mountain tent and portable stove will help them in the remoter stretches.
They plan to average 35-40 kilometers a day, and rest about every third day. Ed admitted that their trip would be very tough.
If they succeed, they will be the first foreigners to complete the entire Long March route since Otto Braun, the German military advisor who accompanied the Red Army on the Long March.
【小题1】 This text is mainly about          .

A．high-tech equipment helpful to the Long March

B．first foreigners to walk the Long March

C．British recall of the Long March spirit

D．British editors’ adventure original in China

【小题2】 The underlined word “auspicious” most probably means          .

A．friendly

B．favourable

C．strange

D．surprising

【小题3】 Which of the following statements is NOT true about the two foreigners?

A．They will use anything modern on the way.

B．They will do some cooking by themselves.

C．They’re planning to have a book published one year later.

D．They will send off news about what happens day by day.

While I was in 9th grade, I built a circuit (电路装置) for the traffic system of our city. After getting the first prize, I got this valuable advice from my father: “Do whatever interests you, and don’t let the work challenge you, make sure you are challenging that work.” 
I have always preferred the projects which are challenging and related to real life problems. I clearly remember building a shipping program several years ago. I divided the whole project into several small sections. When I understood it clearly, I used my brainstorming skill on it, and gave some basic ideas. Then I asked my professor for help before jumping into coding (编码). At first, I did not know how to ask questions correctly and always asked the question “How do I do it?” As I kept working and discussed with my professor, I became more comfortable and those “how” questions soon turned into “what if I do this and that” types of questions.
It took me four days to write the code. The desire to solve the problem kept me sleepless all nights brainstorming in even greater details. Every time I saw my program running smoothly, I exploded with joy. I still remember the last day of my work. I was getting some problem and didn’t know what to do. At that moment, a man came in to clean. He had headphones, and he was dancing while cleaning the room. Seeing this, I burst out laughing. That moment calmed me. I regained energy and interest and started to work again, and soon I fixed the problem.　
My success in the project proved that breaking up a large problem into small parts could help find a possible solution. Discussing the problem with others was also very beneficial. Now I have gained the confidence to attempt any kind of project.　
【小题1】According to the passage, the writer was interested in ______.

A．developing traffic systems	B．doing challenging projects
C．winning great prizes	D．writing different codes

【小题2】 The writer asked the question “how do I do it” at first because ______.

A．he had no clear idea about his program	B．he was too shy to express himself
C．he wanted to be understood easily	D．he preferred this kind of question

【小题3】 We learn from the passage that the writer’s shipping program ______.

A．would benefit people a lot	B．was done together with others
C．was difficult and needed patience	D．cost much money and energy

【小题4】 What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Do It Yourself	B．No Pains, No Gains
C．Learning with Interest	D．Practice Makes Perfect

If a person tells you that something is “the real McCoy”，he is telling you it is the real thing，not a copy or replacement．There is nothing false about “the real McCoy”．It is the best that can be found．
There are different ideas on how the expression came into common use．Perhaps the most popular story is about a famous boxer，Charles Kid McCoy，a one-time world famous welter-weigh champion．One day，McCoy was having a drink in a bar with a lady friend．A man came up and began to talk to her．He was not a nice man．
McCoy wanted no trouble．He asked the man to leave．He said．“I'm Kid McCoy．”McCoy thought his name was so well-known that he didn’t need to say more．But the man did not believe him．“Oh，yeah?” he said．“Well，if you are Kid McCoy，then I am George Washington!” And he continued to speak to the prize-fighter’s friend in all unpleasant way．
McCoy hit the man with a fist－not hard－actually it was really a light touch．But the man fell to the ground，unconscious．Ten minutes later，when he came to sense，he called out. “That was the real McCoy!” And so，as told by kid McCoy，that was how the expression “the real McCoy” got started．
There are other versions，however．One is that the expression goes back to the days of prohibition（禁止）when it was illegal in the United States to sell whiskey．Although whiskey was against the law，many sold it．And many sold bad whiskey．They were not afraid to do so，because there was so little that anybody could do about it．Buying whiskey，good or had，was as illegal as selling it．
But there was one whiskey dealer who was honest．His name was McCoy．He refused to sell bad whiskey．He sold  only the best imported whiskey．His product became recognized as the best．It was called “the real McCoy”．
The expression survived prohibition days and soon became a general term．One way or another，no matter how the expression began，“the real McCoy” is an expression that everyone understands．It means the one and only—the best one．They are indeed words of special praise．
【小题1】What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．It is about the exact meaning of the version．

B．It tells how a person gets his name．

C．It shows how to tell the real from the false．

D．It explains how to find the best．

【小题2】In the third paragraph，“the prize-fighter” refers to______．

A．a champion	B．George Washington
C．a fellow	D．McCoy

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE about the days prohibition?

A．A national law forbade the sale of alcoholic drinks．

B．Bad whiskey was not allowed to sell．

C．People at that time preferred nothing but whiskey．

D．The days of prohibition resulted in MeCoy’s selling wine．

【小题4】What is the main idea of the whole passage?

A．The story of a famous boxer．

B．The general use of the version．

C．The expression and its story．

D．The friendship between an athlete and a seller．