Countries all over the world hold elections for various political offices every year. Even in countries where kings and queens hold the highest position of power, people may still have a voice in electing people into lower political offices. These elections may be limited to one city or area of a country, or the election may be a large national one. One of the largest elections in history happened in India in 1989. In this election, 543 seats in the Lower House of India's national government were up for election. It was reported that 65 percent of the 500 million people who were able to vote did vote in the election. Many people were needed to help with the voting and watch out for any problems. Voters were able to vote at any of the 593,000 assigned voting places, which employed 3.5 million workers. The result of this election led to the start of a new government.

The most obvious illegal election in history took place in Liberia in 1927. In this election, after all of the voting was over, it was announced that President Charles King won the reelection by a vote of 234,000 over the man who was running for office against him. The problem with this election was that there were only 15,096 voters in Liberia who were legally able to vote at the time of the election. However, the number of people who voted for Mr. King was much higher than this. President King won a number of votes 15 times greater than the number of people who were able to vote in the whole country!

1. In some countries where kings and queens control the power of the nation, few people may have a voice in electing people into lower political offices.(　　  )

2. The largest elections in history happened in India in 1989 and the most obvious illegal election in history took place in Liberia in 1927. (　　  )

3. The result of Liberia’s election led to the start of a new government. (　　  )

4. President Charles King won the reelection by a vote of 15,096 over the man who was running for office against him. (　　  )

Jackson and the Battle in New Orleans

    On January 8,1815, American forces under Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the battle of New Orleans (新奥尔良). The victory made Jackson a national hero and helped him to be elected president in 1828 and 1832.

    New Orleans was the battle of the war of1812; as a matter of fact, the war had been over for more than two weeks when the battle was fought. U.S. and British officials meeting in Ghent (根特), Belgium, signed a treaty (条约) on Dec．24, 1814, but the news didn’t cross the Atlantic until seven weeks later. Had news of the treaty arrived before the British attacked, there would never have been a battle of New Orleans and Jackson might never have been elected president of the United States. There were those, however, who did not think highly of Jackson’s victory. On March 31, 1815, a judge of the United States District Court of the city of New Orleans fined (罚款) Jackson $1,000 for contempt(轻视) because he had declared martial law(宣布军管) during his defense. Twenty - nine years later, on Jan. 8, 1844, the House of Representatives decided to return the money to Jackson with interest at 6%.

    根据短文判断正(T)误 (F):

1. Andrew Jackson became famous for his victory in the battle of New Orleans.

2. Because they were defeated in the New Orleans, the British signed a treaty with the U. S. and surrendered.

3. The U.S. people admired Jackson so much that he was twice elected president.

4. The war wouldn’t have come to an end if there had not been the battle in New Orleans.

5. The two sides decided to make peace and signed a treaty. But three weeks later, the battle of New Orleans broke out.

阅读理解

　　In 1812, in a village near Paris, France, a little boy had a terrible accident. He hit himself in the eye with one of his father's sharp tools, and became blind. His name was Louis Braille, and he was only four years old.

　　He was a clever little boy, and he soon learned to “see” without his eyes. He touched things, or smelled them, or tasted them. His family described things to him. Although he couldn't see people's faces, he learned to recognize their voices.

　　After his seventh birthday, Louis went to the little school in the village. But there weren't any books for him. His classmates read his lessons to him and his sisters helped him with his homework. He learned his lessons well, but he couldn't learn to read or write.

　　In 1819, the village priest told Louis Braille's story to the director of a famous school for blind boys. At this school, boys learned math, grammar, geography, history, and music. And they learned to read!

　　Louis went to the school in Paris in February, 1819. He loved his classes and received high grades. He learned to play the piano and to knit hats and sweaters. And he learned to read with his fingers!

　　The raised print letters in the books at school stood up from the surface of the paper. Louis could feel them with his fingers. He was able to recognize some of them easily, but some of them were more difficult. The letters had to be very large, and sometimes there were only a few letters on a page. The books were huge and heavy. And they were expensive. There were only fourteen books in the school library!

　　Louis read the three or four books for his class again and again. He tried to think of a better way to make books for blind people. He experimented with new alphabets.

After about three years, Louis invented a system of raised dots. The other students thought Louis's system was wonderful. They were able to read it easily, and they learned to write, too.

　　Today, there are thousands of Braille books for blind people.

　　Louis Braille was only fifteen years old when he invented his wonderful system!

根据文章内容判断正误

1．It happened to Louis Braille that he became blind after he hit himself in the eye at the age of 4.

2．Though he was blind, he soon learned to “see” without his eyes.

3．The raised print letters in the books were easy to recognize before he invented a system of raised dots.

4．When he went to the little village school, he found it difficult that there weren't any books for him to learn, to read and write.

American magician David Blaine left the glass box in which he has lived for 44 days without food on October 19. Hundreds of people came to watch the end of his starvation experiment, which has become one of London’s main tourist attractions.

    Looking thinner and darker, 30 year-old Blaine was taken out of his box over the River Thames and immediately went to hospital. He was then slowly reintroduced to food, a process doctors say could be life threatening. He had been drinking only water since September 5.

    A native of Brooklyn, New York, Blaine first became known as a street magician in the early 1990s. He soon found himself doing magic tricks in bars for the likes of American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his super model friends.

    Over the last decade Blaine has become famous with a combination of breathtaking magic and clever tricks aimed at getting a lot of attention.

    In 1999, he was buried in a coffin for one week and, in 2000, he spent 62 hours in a giant block of ice. Last year he stood on top of a 25-meter pillar in the center of New York for 35 hours before jumping into a pile of boxes.

    “I think a lot of people are unable to accept that they’re able to do what they can do,” he said. “They don’t realize we can survive. The human being is an amazing creation.”

    But he seems to have suffered from spending so long in the glass box. He said that at times he was unable to see, had serious back pains and loot his sense of taste.

    1. It is ________ for David Blaine to eat food after such a long starvation.

    A. pleasant　　　　　　 B. delicious　　　　    C. dangerous　　　　 D. important

    2. Which of the following can best describe David Blaine?

    A. Serious　　　　　　 B. Adventurous　　  C. Mad　　　　　　　　  D. Crazy

    3. Which of the following is not true of David Blaine?

    A. Blaine immediately went to hospital after he was taken out of his box because he was in dangerous condition.

    B. Blaine was born and brought up in England.

    C. In Blaine’s opinion, people can create a wonder.

D. Blaine didn’t have any food for 44 days.

Have you ever imagined what it would have been like to go on an old - time western cattle drive?

The early cattle drives were long and hard—and sometimes even dangerous. They took place because Texas ranchers wanted to get their beef cattle to people in northern cities. Railroads used for carrying the cattle did not go all the way into Texas at that time, however. The ranchers decided to solve their problem by hiring workers, called cowhands, to take the cattle to the railroad stops in Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado.

The long cattle drives ended when the railroad lines were extended into Texas and other western lands.

l. The best title is________.

    A. Cowhands 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. How to Drive Cattle

    C. The Texas Cattle Drives 　　　　　　    D. The Texas Ranchers

2. Ranchers wanted to sell their cattle to people________.

    A. in the North 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. in Missouri

    C. in the South 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. on the plains

3. The workers who rode with the cattle were called________.

    A. railroad workers 　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. ranchers

    C. cowhands 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. horseback riders

4. The story suggests that cattle drives________.

    A. were exciting 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. took a few days

    C. covered many miles 　　　　　　　　　　  D. are still common

5. The word “extended” in line eleven means________.

    A. broken up 　　    B. made longer　　   C. torn apart   　　 D. straightened out

Do you have bright ideas? Ideas or inventions that change society or, at least, make life easier for somebody? Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don’t often make the idea a reality. Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called British Designers for Tomorrow. The competition encourages young people to carry out their bright ideas. There were two groups in the contest: Group One was for schoolchildren under 16;Group Two was for schoolchildren over 16. And there were eleven prizewinners altogether.

Neil Hunt, one of the prize-winners, was called “Sunshine Superman(超人)” . It’s important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately. We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is. Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight. Neil's is more accurate(精确的)and this is very important for research into the way of using solar(太阳的)power.

You can do so much with animated cartoon. Look at Simon West’s idea for animated road signs. He uses pictures which appear to move as you go nearer to or farther from them. This isn’t a new idea. But it is new to use these pictures on road signs. “We found that people were more likely to see moving signs,” said Simon. So now, you can really see rocks falling, trains moving, horses running or a car falling over the edge of a cliff(悬崖). Quite a warning !

The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised that British industry doesn’t ask more schoolchildren for suggestions. Perhaps this will be the start of “pupil power” !

1. The writer holds that people seldom________.

    A. have bright ideas 　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. turn their bright ideas into reality

    C. make their life easier 　　　　　　　　　　 D. think of inventing something

2. The organizers of the competition hoped the schoolchildren who took part in it would______.

    A. become good designers for future Britain

    B. invent something for immediate use.

    C. design something useful for the next day

    D. win as many prizes as they could

3. Neil Hunt’s design would finally lead to the improvement of the way of________.

    A. recording direct sunshine 　　　　　　　　　　 B. recording the hours of sunshine

    C. using the energy of the sun 　　　　    D. knowing how strong sunlight is

4. What’s the use of Simon West’s animated road signs?

    A. To warn people to be careful while working.

    B. To warn people on the roads of the danger ahead.

    C. To add to the beauty of a city.

    D. To help make a car trip more exciting.

5. The writer seems to be encouraging the British industry to________.

    A. take better care of schoolchildren

    B. help schoolchildren in their studies

    C. stop asking schoolchildren for suggestions

    D. pay more attention to schoolchildren’s inventive power

People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred languages in the world. Each contains(包括)many thousands of words. But we do not need all these. To read short stories, you need to know only about two thousand words. Before you leave school, you will learn only one thousand more.

The words you know are called your vocabulary(词汇). You should try to make your vocabulary bigger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy English for you to read. You will enjoy them. When you meet a new word, find it in your dictionary. Your dictionary is your most useful book. Choose the correct answer.

1. The number of different languages spoken is about________.

    A. 150 　　　　　　　　 B. 1500 　　　　　　   C. 500 　　　　　　　　 D. 15000

2. Before you leave your school, you’ll learn________.

A. only about two thousand words　　　　　　  B. five hundred thousand words

    C. three or four thousand words       D. only one thousand more words

3. Each language usually contains________.

    A. two thousand words 　　　　　　　　　　  　　 B. hundreds of words

C, different kinds of words    　　　　    D. many thousands of words

4. To make your vocabulary bigger, you must________.

    A. read as many books as possible 　　  B. get as many dictionaries as you can

    C. buy plenty of books 　　　　　　   　　D. have a very large English dictionary

5. You will enjoy________.

    A. your vocabulary 　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. the books written in easy English

    C. your dictionary 　　　　　　　　　　  　　D. finding new words in a dictionary

In this game you are in a tank and the screen show your view of the landscape outside. You gain points by shoot enemy tanks, super tanks, missiles and saucers.

Experts gain scores of around 150, 000 points at this game. To get a high score you have to destroy twenty tanks as quickly as possible. After this the super tanks, missiles and saucers appear. These are worth far more points than the ordinary tanks. (The number of tanks you have to destroy before the super tanks appear varies on different machines. )

Try to approach an enemy tank from the side or the back, so it cannot shoot at you. Then, when you get close, turn and face it, line it up in your sights and fire before it turns to shoot at you. If you miss, quickly escape by moving out of the enemy’s line of fire, you can then move around the enemy and come in from another side.

When a super tank appears, try to destroy it. Then wait safely behind an obstacle for a missile or flying saucer. The cubes are useful objects to hide behind as you can fire over them without exposing yourself to danger. The missiles will fly straight at you, but they are difficult to hit, so do not shoot at them until they are quite close. The saucers are much easier to hit, but do not chase them as you will be open to attack from enemy tanks.

1. This information refers to________.

    A. an underwater game. 　　　　　　　　    B. a computer game

    C. a board game 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. a ball game

2. To get a high score you must first________.

    A. capture a number of tanks 　　　　　　 B. shoot down some explosive weapons

    C. destroy some more vehicles 　　　　   D. eliminate twenty super tanks

3. A good plan when attacking an enemy tank is to________.

    A. move it to the side 　　　　　　　　　　    B. get behind it

    C. shoot it in the back 　　　　　　　　　　   D. move out of its range

4. If you hide behind the cubes during an attack you can________.

A. fire through them 　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. shoot from behind them

C. be certain of hitting your target      D. let them shoot over you

5. You are likely to be attacked if you________.

    A. fire straight at missiles 　　　　　　　　  B. hit a flying saucer

    C. pursue a flying target 　　　　　　　　    D. chase enemy tanks

Why don't birds get lest on their long flights from one place to another？Scientists have puzzled over this question for many years. Now they are beginning to fill in the blanks. Not long ago. Experiments showed that birds rely on the sun to guide them during daylight hours. But what about birds that fly at night? Tests with artificial stars have proved that certain night flying birds are able to follow the stars in their long-distance flights.

A dove had spent its lifetime in a cage and never flown under a natural sky. Yet it showed an inborn ability to use the stars for guidance. The bird’s cage was placed under an artificial star-filled sky. The bird tried to fly in the same direction as that taken by his outdoor cousin. Any change in the position of the stars caused a change in the direction of his flight.

Scientists think that doves, when flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance. But the stars are apparently their principle means of navigation (领航). What do they do when the stars are hidden by clouds？Apparently, they find their way by such land marks as mountain ranges, coastlines, and river courses. But when it's too dark to see these, the doves circle helplessly, unable to get their bearings (方位)

1. The reason why birds don’t get loot on their long flights________.

A. has been known to scientists for years

B. is known by everyone

C. still remains a question

D. has been discovered recently

2. The experiment with the dove indicated that________.

    A. a bird having spent its lifetime in a cage has to be thought to navigate

    B. a bird that has been caged will not fly long distances

    C. some birds seem to follow the stars when they fly at night

    D. birds can fly in the same direction as that taken by their cousins

3. Under artificial stars, the bird in the cage________.

    A. tried to fly in the same direction as birds not caged

    B. changed the direction when the position of the stars was changed

    C. would not fly well

    D. both A and B

4. In total darkness, doves________.

A. use landmarks 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. circle helplessly

C. depend on the mountain ranges     D. fly in all directions

The recent death of the world's most famous sheep－Dolly the clone—has not dampened the enthusiasm (热情)of Chinese scientists, who are working hard to make more breakthroughs in clone technology.

“It is hard to say whether Dolly died at a relatively young age or died from defects (缺陷) in reproduction,” Du Miao, a researcher with the Biology and Growth Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China Daily in Beijing yesterday. “But Dolly's case reminds us that both Chinese and foreign scientists should put more efforts into improving clone technology as well as disease treatment techniques in the field of cloning animals.” He said his institute, in co-operation (合作) with Yangzhou University in Eastern China's Jiangsu Province, had cloned more than 10 sheep since 1999 and the oldest is nearly five. They are all still alive.

Li Ning, deputy director of the National Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Biological Technology, who is also a professor with the Beijing-based China Agriculture University, said, “Clone technology is actually progressing well. Dolly is the first cloned sheep after all. Like driving cars, new drivers meet with accidents more easily, but the more you drive, the easier and safer you feel. In the future, the death rate of cloned animals will be reduced with technological developments.”

“Official reports show seven locally cloned sheep are still alive. Clone technology in China is gradually approaching (接近)a level of commercialization (商业化),” Li added. But Wang Yu, deputy director of the Biological Technology Centre under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the commercialization of clone technology depends on market demand.

1. From Dolly's death, some of the Chinese scientists________.

    A. think it has dampened their enthusiasm

    B. believe it died from defects in reproduction

    C. think they should improve not only disease treatment techniques but also clone technology

    D. are satisfied with their successes in clone

2. Li Ning took driving cars for example to show________.

  A. the difficulty with clone technology

    B. anything is difficult in the beginning

    C. clone technology is difficult in the beginning and has a bright future

    D. clone technology will be more difficult in the future

3. According to Li Ning, the Chinese clone technology is________.

    A. behind some other countries

    B. progressing badly

    C. among the developed countries

    D. actually developing well

4. What is the best title for the passage?

    A. Learning Lessons from Dolly

    B. Chinese Scientists’ Clone Enthusiasm

    C. Clone Technology like Driving Cars

D. Chinese Clone Technology Well Developed