This week, London will be full of celebrations to welcome the Year of the Rat. Every year, London’s Chinatown holds a great event to celebrate Chinese New Year, the largest event outside of Asia.

       This year in the UK, there seems to be a huge amount of interest in Chinese culture. For the third year running, the “China in London” season is being held. This extended event will run from February to April, ending in the Olympic torch relay, when the Olympic flame will pass through London on its way to the start of the Beijing Games.

       The “China in London” season will incorporate a huge number of events, ranging from art exhibitions to modern dance, film festivals to tea tastings, musical concerts to children’s half-term activities. In addition, another Chinese culture festival, “China Now” is launching at Chinese New Year.

       This is a nationwide season of events leading up to the Beijing Olympics. As well as cultural events, this programme includes an education programme for schools to develop relationships with China, and a Football Exchange, where the UK Football Association will be coaching children in China and offering a lucky few the chance to visit Britain on a football tour.

       The main Chinese New Year celebration will be held on Sunday 10th February, and is expected to attract around 300,000 visitors. It will showcase both traditional and contemporary Chinese arts, bringing together British-born and Chinese performers.

       The most important thing of the day is the grand parade(游行） through the streets of London, led by a traditional dragon dance, followed by musicians, acrobats, artists and children. There will be a large stage and screen in Trafalgar Square featuring(展现）martial arts, music and dance.

       It wouldn’t be Chinese New Year without fireworks and firecrackers, so Leicester Square will see displays on the hour all afternoon. Nearby theatres and arts centres will also be holding special New Year events, such as variety shows.

       Happy New Year to you, we hope you enjoy your celebrations as much as we will enjoy them in London.

71．What does the passage mainly talk about?

       A．The “China in London” season.

       B．A number of celebrations to welcome the New Year in London.

       C．The grand parade of London.

       D．Varieties of shows about Chinese culture.

72．The underlined word incorporate in the third paragraph means         .

       A．include                B．co operate         C．exist                   D．celebrate

73．We can learn from the passage that          .

       A．a great number of the children in China will have the chance to visit Britain on a football tour

       B．there won’t be fireworks or firecrackers during the celebrations in London

       C．London’s Chinatown holds an event to celebrate the Chinese new Year every year

       D．the main Chinese New Year celebration will be held on Saturday 10th February

74．The “China in London” season will include the following events except           .

       A．martial arts         B．film festivals       C．musical concert   D．art exhibitions

75．Where do you think this passage is taken from?

       A．a textbook.          B．a newspaper.       C．a guide book.       D．an official report.

This week, London will be full of celebrations to welcome the Year of the Rat. Every year, London’s Chinatown holds a great event to celebrate Chinese New Year, the largest event outside of Asia.

       This year in the UK, there seems to be a huge amount of interest in Chinese culture. For the third year running, the “China in London” season is being held. This extended event will run from February to April, ending in the Olympic torch relay, when the Olympic flame will pass through London on its way to the start of the Beijing Games.

       The “China in London” season will incorporate a huge number of events, ranging from art exhibitions to modern dance, film festivals to tea tastings, musical concerts to children’s half-term activities. In addition, another Chinese culture festival, “China Now” is launching at Chinese New Year.

       This is a nationwide season of events leading up to the Beijing Olympics. As well as cultural events, this programme includes an education programme for schools to develop relationships with China, and a Football Exchange, where the UK Football Association will be coaching children in China and offering a lucky few the chance to visit Britain on a football tour.

       The main Chinese New Year celebration will be held on Sunday 10th February, and is expected to attract around 300,000 visitors. It will showcase both traditional and contemporary Chinese arts, bringing together British-born and Chinese performers.

       The most important thing of the day is the grand parade(游行） through the streets of London, led by a traditional dragon dance, followed by musicians, acrobats, artists and children. There will be a large stage and screen in Trafalgar Square featuring(展现）martial arts, music and dance.

       It wouldn’t be Chinese New Year without fireworks and firecrackers, so Leicester Square will see displays on the hour all afternoon. Nearby theatres and arts centres will also be holding special New Year events, such as variety shows.

       Happy New Year to you, we hope you enjoy your celebrations as much as we will enjoy them in London.

1．What does the passage mainly talk about?

       A．The “China in London” season.

       B．A number of celebrations to welcome the New Year in London.

    C．The grand parade of London.

     D．Varieties of shows about Chinese culture.

2．The underlined word incorporate in the third paragraph means         .

       A．include                B．co – operate         C．exist                   D．celebrate

3．We can learn from the passage that          .

    A．a great number of the children in China will have the chance to visit Britain on a football tour

       B．there won’t be fireworks or firecrackers during the celebrations in London

       C．London’s Chinatown holds an event to celebrate the Chinese new Year every year

       D．the main Chinese New Year celebration will be held on Saturday 10th February

4．The “China in London” season will include the following events except           .

       A．martial arts         B．film festivals       C．musical concert   D．art exhibitions

5．Where do you think this passage is taken from?

       A．a textbook.       B．a newspaper.    C．a guide book.       D．an official report.

  A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension (理解), will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principle (原则) apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook—but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage (百分比) gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned (有关的) with.

  The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at four hundred words per minute, you night skim (浏览) through a newspaper at perhaps 650-700, while with difficult textbooks you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty.

  Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds are common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, U.S.A., for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy’s War and Peace in translation, at speeds of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim (自称) that after twelve half-hour lessons, once a week, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.　　　　

1．According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you　　   .

A. only in your reading of physics textbook

B. improve your understanding of an economics textbook

C. not only in your language study but also in other subjects

D. choose the suitable material to read

2．Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph?

A. Those beyond (超越) one’s reading comprehension.

B. Those concerned with common knowledge.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 

C. Those without the demand for specialized knowledge.

D. Those with the length of about five hundred words

3．The average speed of untrained native speakers in the University of Minnesota is　　   .

A. about three hundred words per minute

B. about two hundred and forty-five words per minute

C. about sixty words per minute

D. about five hundred words per minute

4．According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the University of Minnesota?

A. You can increase your reading speed by three times.

B. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.

C. You can increase your reading speed by four times.

D. You can double your reading speed.

5．Where do you think the passage is taken from?

A. The introduction to a book on fast reading.

B. A local newspaper for young people.

C. A school newspaper run by students.

D. The introduction to an English textbook.