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(说唱歌手) 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(歌词) and funny dance movies.
Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首尔). 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.
【小题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.

【小题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

【小题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.

【小题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.

The Cambodian government says more than 378 people died and hundreds more were injured in a stampede (踩踏) during the celebrations of the annual Water Festival late Monday in Phnom Penh.
Less than 24 hours after the tragedy(悲剧), Cambodia's most serious loss of life in decades(十年), the government founded an organization to investigate(调查) how so many died on what was meant to be one of the nation's most joyous occasions.
Most of the victims(牺牲品) were young people in their teens and twenties. They were some of the estimated(估计) two million who had flooded to Phnom Penh for the Water Festival, which marks the end of the rainy season.
Most suffocated on the bridge, which thousands of people were using to leave Diamond Island, an entertainment(娱乐) area in the middle of the river. Others drowned(溺水) after jumping from the bridge into the water.
Buot Panha, 19, said shortly after 9:30 on Monday evening he ended up trapped(围困) with his friends in the middle of the bridge, fighting to breathe while terrified people struggled all around him.
Being tall saved his life, since he could stretch(伸出) his neck to take in oxygen(氧气). Shorter people were unable to do that, he says, which may be why two-thirds of the victims were women.
He tried to help a woman who was trapped with two children near him. She was screaming for people to help. Being tall, Buot Panha grabbed(抓住) one child and pushed him above the crowd to help him breathe.
But then some of the young men were told to jump off the bridge into the river to make room. So he handed back the child, squirmed his way to the edge, and jumped.
Some like Buot Panha were fortunate, jumping into the river below and swimming for the shore. But many simply could not move, and died where they lay.
Buot Panha says his first Water Festival will be his last. He vows(发誓) never to come back.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about ________.

A．Water Festival celebrations	B．a stampede in Cambodia
C．a teenager, Buot Panha	D．a woman and her children

【小题2】What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?

A．It is the biggest tragedy in decades in Cambodia.

B．It is the most serious loss of life in decades in Cambodia.

C．The government ordered an investigation.

D．Water Festival is Cambodia’s most joyous occasion.

【小题3】The underlined word “suffocated” (in Paragraph 4) probably means ________.

A．breathed in	B．felt uncomfortable
C．died from too little oxygen	D．left in a hurry

【小题4】Most of the deaths were caused as a result of _________.

A．being unable to breathe	B．being drowned
C．violence	D．the rainy season

【小题5】Which of the following is TRUE about Buot Panha according to the passage?

A．His being tall saved him in the river.

B．He struggled through the crowd to save one child.

C．It was his first time to attend the Water Festival alone.

D．He will never come back to Phnom Penh for the Water Festival.

Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese New year by heading for the ski resorts (滑雪场). Never mind that Beijing’s dry weather seldom produces snow. It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital. And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed the basis for this new craze(热潮).     
Since Beijing’s first ski resort was opened ten years ago, the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase. There are now more than a dozen resorts. Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections. Mr. Wei, a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing, sees the growth of an industry that could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe. In recent years, ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China. But many are in faraway areas of the country and can’t really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe.
Beijing’s skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private (私有的) cars. This has led to the growth of a leisure industry in the capital’s suburbs (郊区), which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people. According to Mr. Wei, about 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools, businesses or government offices.  
The problem is making money. Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money; hiring land from the local government, preparing the hills, buying snow machines, making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them, and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers.
The ski resort where Mr. Wei works cost nearly $4 million to set up. And as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others rush in and price wars break out. Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world, though with most people rather new to the sport, expecting a few more doing the same job.
【小题1】What does this text mainly talk about?

A．Convenience for skiers brought about by private cars.

B．Skiing as a new way of enjoying one's spare time.

C．Things to be considered when starting a ski resort.

D．A sudden increase of ski training classes in Beijing.

【小题2】Why are some Chinese likely to go skiing in Europe?

A．To visit more ski areas.

B．To ski on natural snow.

C．For a large collection of ski suits.

D．For better services and equipment.

【小题3】The underlined words “leisure industry” in Paragraph 3 refer to         

A．transport to ski resorts

B．production of family cars

C．business of providing spare time enjoyments

D．part-time work for people living in the suburbs

【小题4】What is the main problem in running a ski resort?

A．Difficulty in hiring land．

B．Lack of business experience．

C．Price wars with other ski resorts

D．Shortage of water and electricity.

Glynis Davis:
I first piled on the pounds when I was in the family way and I couldn’t lose them afterwards. Then I joined a slimming club. My target was 140 pounds and I lost 30 pounds in six months. I felt great and people kept saying how good I looked. But Christmas came and I started to slip back into my old eating habits. I told myself I’d lose the weight at slimming classes in the new year… but it didn’t happen. Instead of losing the pounds, I put them on. I’d lost willpower and tried to believe that the old bag of fish and chips didn’t make any difference — but the scales don’t lie.
Roz Juma:
To be honest, I never weigh myself any more. I’ve learnt to be happy with myself. It seemed to me that I would feel sorry about every spoonful of tasty food that passed my lips. My idea is simple. You shouldn’t be too much thinking about food and dieting. Instead, you should get on with life and stop dreaming of a super thin body. This is obviously the size I’m meant to be and, most of all, I’m happy with it.
Lesley Codwin:
I was very happy at winning Young Slimmer of the year. I’d look in the mirror unable to believe this slim lady was me! That might have been my problem — perhaps from then on I didn’t pay any attention to myself. Winning a national competition makes everything worse, though. Because you feel the eyes of the world are fixed upon you. I feel a complete failure because I’ve put on weight again.
Ros Langfod:
Before moving in with my husband Gavin, I’d always been about 110 pounds, but the pleasant housework went straight to my waist and I put on 15 pounds in a year. Every so often I try to go on a diet… I’m really good in a few days, then end up having the children’s leftovers or eating happily chocolate — my weakness. I’d like to be slim, but right now my duty is the children and home. I might take more exercise when my kids are older.
【小题1】What do you think the four women were talking about?

A．Different diets they prefer.

B．Their life after marriage.

C．Tex books for students.

D．Their own slimming matter.

【小题2】Where are these short passages most likely to be taken from?

A．Talks on the air.

B．Advertisements on the wall.

C．Books in a library.

D．Magazines for children.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “scales” possibly mean?

A．The coach in the slimming club.

B．Some tool to measure weight.

C．Glynis Davis’ dear husband.

D．The salesperson in a food shop.

【小题4】Which of the following best describes each of the four women’s attitudes towards slimming?
① Glynis Davis        a. I put on weight soon after I got married.
② Roz Juma            b. Frame doesn’t necessarily mean success.
③ Lesley Codwin       c. Facts speak much louder than words.
④ Ros Langfod         d. I like myself as I am, and to be what you are.

A．①-a; ②-d; ③-b; ④-c	B．①-c; ②-b; ③-d; ④-a
C．①-c; ②-d; ③-b; ④-a	D．①-a; ②-b; ③-c; ④-d

Switzerland is the best place to be born in the world in 2013，and the US is just 16th. A new study made by the Economist Intelligence Unit says American babies will have a dimmer（暗淡）future than those born in Hong Kong，Ireland and even Canada. The EIU，a sister company of The Economist，tried to measure how well countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy，safe and prosperous life in years to come.
People born in Switzerland will tend to be the happiest and have the best quality of life in terms of wealth，health and trust in public institutions，according to the analysis. The Scandinavian countries of Norway，Sweden and Denmark also all make the top five in a‘quality-of-lif e’index(指数）where it is best to be born next year.
One of the most important factors is being rich，but other factors come into play including crime，trust in public institutions and the health of family life. In total，the index takes into account 11 factors. These include fixed factors such as geography，others that change slowly over time such as demography (人口学) social and cultural characteristics, and the state of the world economy. The index also looks at income per head in 2030，which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. Small economies take up the top 10 countries，with Australia coming second and New Zealand and the Netherlands not too far behind.
Half of the top 10 countries are European，but only one，the Netherlands，is from the eurozone. The crisis-ridden south of Europe，including Greece，Portugal and Spain，falls behind despite the advantage of a favourable climate. Interestingly，the largest European economies-Germany，France and Britain-do not do particularly well. Nigeria has the unenviable(不值得羡慕的)title of being the worst country for a baby to enter the world in 2013.
【小题1】According to the passage，the happiest people live in      ·

A．Denmark

B．Switzerland

C．Germany

D．Nigeria

【小题2】The factors of telling the best place to be born don’t include      ．

A．economy	B．geography
C．trust in public institutions	D．pollution

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text？

A．The Economist Intelligence Unit is a company.

B．The Economist attempted to measure the best place to live.

C．The Scandinavian countries are hardly at the top of the list.

D．Half of the top 10 countries are from the eurozone.

【小题4】The purpose of the text is to show people      ．

A．the best place to be born in 2013

B．a new study made by the EIU

C．the worst country to be born in 2013

D．the factors of measuring the best place to be born

Going to Disneyland is a dream vacation for kids. You may have been to the Disneyland in Hong Kong or in other places. Soon you will be able to enjoy a Disney Park in Shanghai. Shanghai Disneyland started building on April 8, 2011.There will be many Chinese characters in Shanghai Disneyland. It is different from the others. There is a 10-kilometer-long river. It goes around the whole park. Shanghai Disneyland will cost 24. 4 billion yuan to build. It will open in five years.

 

In order to keep the road safe, European Commission (欧盟) says that buses and taxis can be fitted (安装) with “black boxes.” The black boxes can help the police to find what happened after an accident.

 

The Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway was put into operation at the end of June, 2011.Now the journey can take about five hours. The train can reach the speed of up to 380 kilometers an hour. The passenger volume (容量) can reach 160 million a year, marking a great step in China’s Railway development.

 

On the evening of May 8th, 2012,a middle school teacher Zhang Lili from Jiamusi , Heilongjiang Province , saved her students in a terrible accident. She was badly hurt and lost her legs. Her brave deed moved the people around China deeply. She is called “the most beautiful teacher.” The whole society is trying to save her life. As a young teacher, her bravery sets a good example to us all. We all hope she will get better soon.

【小题1】The Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway was put into operation at the end of __, 2011.

A．June

B．July

C．August

D．September

【小题2】Shanghai Disneyland will open ___________.

A．on April 8, 2011	B．in 2012
C．on May 8, 2012	D．in 2016

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE about Shanghai Disneyland?

A．A 10-kilometer-long river goes in the middle of the park.

B．There will be many Chinese characters.

C．It is the same as the others.

D．It opened 5 years ago.

【小题4】In order to keep the road safe, European Commission wants to

A．make buses and taxis go slowly.

B．fit buses and taxis with "black boxes".

C．make the police find out what happened.

D．find out what "black boxes" can do.

【小题5】According to the news, we can learn___________

A．Now we are able to enjoy a Disney Park in Shanghai.

B．The black boxes can help the police predict what will happen.

C．The passenger volume can reach 380 million a year.

D．“The most beautiful teacher” Zhang Lili is our good example.

Self-employed private physicians who charge a fee for each patient visit are the foundation of medical practice in the United States. Most physicians have a contract relationship with one or more hospitals in the community. They send their patients to this hospital, which usually charges patients according to the number of days they stay and the facilities (operating room, tests, medicines that they use). Some hospitals belong to a city, a state or, in the case of veteran's hospitals, a federal government agency. Others are operated by religious orders(教会) or other non-profit groups.
Some medical doctors are on salary. Salaried physicians may work as hospital staff members, or residents, who are often still in training. They may teach in medical schools, be hired by corporations to care for their workers or work for the federal government’s Public Health Service.
Physicians are among the best paid professionals in the United States. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for medical doctors to earn incomes of more than $ 100,000 a year. Specialists, particularly surgeons, might earn several times that amount. Physicians list many reasons why they deserve to be so well rewarded for their work. One reason is the long and expensive preparation required to become a physician in the United States. Most would-be physicians first attend college for four years, which can cost nearly $ 20,000 a year at one of the best private institutions. Prospective physicians then attend medical school for four years. Tuition alone can exceed $ 10,000 a year. By the time they have obtained their medical degrees, many young physicians are deeply in debt. They still face three to five years of residency(实习阶段) in a hospital, the first year as an apprentice physician. The hours are long and the pay is relatively low.
Setting up a medical practice is expensive, too. Sometimes several physicians will decide to establish a group practice, so they can share the expense of maintaining an office and buying equipment. These physicians also take care of each other’s patients in emergencies.
Physicians work long hours and must accept a great deal of responsibility. Many medical procedures, even quite routine ones, involve risk. It is understandable that physicians want to be well rewarded for making decisions which can mean the difference between life and death.
【小题1】According to the passage, it is very unlikely that an American hospital is owned by ______.

A．a church

B．a corporation

C．a city

D．a state

【小题2】The expenses for becoming a doctor are spent on _______.

A．schooling and retraining

B．practice in a hospital

C．facilities he or she uses

D．education he or she receives

【小题3】According to the passage, how long does it take for a would-be physician to become an independent physician in the USA?

A．About seven year.	B．Eight years.
C．Ten years.	D．About twelve years.

【小题4】Sometimes several physicians set up a group medical practice mainly because _______.

A．there are so many patients that it is difficult for one physician to take care all of them

B．they can take turns to work long hours

C．facilities may be too much of a burden for one physician to shoulder

D．no one wants to assume too much responsibility

【小题5】Which of the following statements could fully express the author’s view towards physicians’ payment in the USA?

A．For their expensive education and their responsibility, they deserve a handsome pay.

B．It is reasonable for physicians to have a large income because their work is very dangerous.

C．Physicians should be better paid because they work long hours under bad conditions.

D．Physicians have great responsibility, so it is understandable that they should be well rewarded.

This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers  (young people aged from13~19)from all over the world will spend about ten months in U.S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected—much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize(批评)American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”
【小题1】This year ________teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.

A．twenty-three hundred	B．thirteen hundred
C．over three thousand	D．less than two thousand

【小题2】The whole exchange programme is mainly to__________.

A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America

B．send students in America to travel in Germany

C．let students learn something about other countries

D．have teenagers learn new languages

【小题3】Fred and Mike agree that__________.

A．America food tasted better than German food

B．German schools were harder than American schools

C．Americans and Germans were both friendly

D．There were more cars on the streets in America

【小题4】What is particular in American schools is that________.

A．there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings

B．there are a lot of after-school activities

C．students usually take fourteen subjects in all

D．students go out side to enjoy themselves in a car

Roger Conner is a modern­-day Horatio Alger hero. Roger started out as an unpaid worker in a small flower shop. He has become the owner of a florist company whose sales are well over $100 000 a year.
One day when Roger was only twelve, he stopped at a local flower shop. He asked the owner if he could work for him, without pay, in order to learn the business. Roger started working every day after school and on weekends. After two years on the job, he finally asked for a small salary. The owners told him he “wasn't good enough to be paid.” So he quit, and found a paying job at another local flower shop. He worked hard there, but after six months they laid him off because business was slow.
Not discouraged, Roger decided to do it alone and started his own flower store in a basement in his town. He started his business with only sixty­-five dollars. He bought old refrigerators at garage sales and knocked the shelves out. This turned them into coolers for his fresh­-cut flowers. His business grew rapidly as he built up a reputation for top quality and fine service.
In 1977, Roger bought out the flower store where he had worked without pay for over two years. The people who said he “wasn’t good enough to be paid” were astonished to find that they were being taken over by a teenager. He had plans to renovate (振兴) the whole store.
One of the reasons the owners sold out to Roger was that the store wasn't doing well. But after Roger took over ownership and redid the store, business started booming. In fact, business was so good that after one year, he celebrated by buying out the other store where he had worked. Roger then combined both stores and moved to a location in the center of his town.
The new store has 2 000 square feet and seven employees. And he did it all before he reached the age of twenty.
【小题1】The author is wants to show us that people who want to succeed in business should ________.

A．work without pay

B．own a flower shop

C．work hard and never give up

D．work as teenagers

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．He worked for two years without pay.

B．He needed luck to be successful.

C．He opened his first flower business in a basement.

D．He became successful before the age of twenty.

【小题3】The passage may be a ________.

A．newspaper report	B．humorous story
C．television play	D．scientific story

【小题4】The underlined part in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.

A．employed him

B．didn’t let him work there

C．paid him money

D．were proud of him

【小题5】From the passage, a “Horatio Alger hero” may be the kind of person who________.

A．works hard in the flower business

B．was born into a rich family

C．starts out poor and becomes rich

D．becomes famous as a result of good luck

Electronic books have changed the way many people read for pleasure. Now online textbooks are changing the way some students learn and some teachers teach.
More than one hundred seventy-five thousand students attend the public schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside Washington. Last year, the school system used digital books in fifteen schools. This school year, middle schools and high schools changed from printed to electronic textbooks in their social studies classes.
Luke Rosa is a history teacher at Falls Church High School. His students work on laptop computers at school. He explains the idea to them this way. “I mean, it’s just like a regular textbook, except it’s got it all online.”
Peter Noonan, an assistant superintendent (助理监督) of schools, said, “The world’s changing. And the online textbooks can change right along with the events that are happening.” Digital books also cost less than printed textbooks, he said.
A student named Melanie Reuter said, “I don’t have to carry a textbook around, so that’s nice.”
But another student said, “I don’t like it because the Internet sometimes doesn’t work.”
Students also need access to the Internet when they are not at school. About ten percent of students in Fairfax Country do not have a computer or online access at home. Public libraries in the country have free Internet. There are also after-school computer labs as well as computer clubhouse supported by the country. Middle school student Slieman Hakim is happy about that. He said, “My family only has one computer; my sister and I both do our homework on it. So I come here to do my homework. It’s good.”
Other school systems in the area are also considering online textbooks.
【小题1】Which of the following is /are NOT used when students have social studies classes?

A．Paper textbooks.	B．The Internet.
C．Computers.	D．Electronic textbooks.

【小题2】According to the passage, one of the disadvantages of digital textbooks is that_________.

A．they are more expensive

B．they can’t be used if the computer is offline

C．they’re soon out of date

D．reading online does harm to the students’ eyes

【小题3】Why does Slieman Hakim feel happy?

A．He is offered a free computer to do his homework.

B．He doesn’t have to do his homework at home.

C．He has access to the Internet to study at any place.

D．He needn’t share a computer with his sister to do homework.

【小题4】What can we learn from the passage?

A．The lessons online are completely different from those in paper textbooks.

B．Digital textbooks are more beautiful than paper textbooks.

C．All students like digital textbooks because they are new.

D．Students can do their homework in the computer clubhouses.

【小题5】The passage aims to ________.

A．report the use of electronic textbooks in school

B．show how to use electronic textbooks

C．encourage more schools to use electronic textbooks

D．tell readers electronic textbooks will replace regular textbooks