D

Life has changed in Mexico City．Streets normally filled with people are empty．One of the most popular professional soccer teams recently played a game in an empty stadium that can seat more than100,000 people．It's swine （猪）flu that has made life in Mexico City grind to a halt （慢慢停了下来）．

Seemingly out of nowhere, swine flu has caused confirmed deaths in 12 countries as of April 30．It has sent a wave of alarm around the world．Governments are trying to find ways to prevent further out-breaks．The World Health Organization has raised its swine flu global threat level to five out of six．

People may be familiar with bird flu, but they know little about swine flu．Swine flu is a contagious（传染性） respiratory（呼吸的）disease in pigs．It is caused by a type-A influenza virus．

Humans can also catch swine flu．The virus causes regular outbreaks in pigs, but people usually do not catch it．However, there have been cases of the virus spreading to people, and then from one person to another．

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the common flu．They include fever, lethargy （无精打采）, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea（恶心）, and vomiting （呕吐）．The high proportion of young adults among the deaths is one of several mysteries about this virus．Most of the dead had lung damage．What caused it is not yet known．

The virus spreads the same way the common flu does．When an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person, the latter is put at risk．People can get the disease by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes．

There are medicines to treat swine flu．Doctors suggest using anti - viral drugs．They keep the virus from reproducing inside the body．

And there are vaccines for it now, several everyday steps can also help prevent the spread of the virus: washing hands frequently; avoiding close contact with people who are sick; and avoiding touching surfaces that might have the virus on it．

People may worry that they will get swine flu from eating or preparing pork．In fact, you cannot catch the virus from pork products if they have been properly prepared and cooked．Cooking food at temperatures of 71℃ kills the virus．

69．What is the main idea of the passage?

       A．It mainly tells us how swine flu broke out in Mexico City．

       B．It presents the reader with some information concerning swine flu．

       C．It tells us the differences between swine flu and bird flu．

       D．It mainly tells readers the dangers caused by swine flu．

70．The following tips can protect us from swine flu EXCEPT _________．

       A．keeping us away from other people

       B．washing hands frequently

       C．avoiding close contact with sick people

       D．avoiding touching surfaces that might have the virus on them

71．What's the main idea of the first paragraph?

       A．Mexico City is really a place of horror now．

       B．People in Mexico City like staying at home．

       C．People in Mexico City don't like soccer．

       D．Swine flu has seriously affected people's life in Mexico City．

72．What can we infer from the passage?

       A．At present there still aren't effective vaccines for swine flu．

       B．Swine flu is preventable，controllable and curable．

       C．From now on, people can't eat pork if they want to be safe．

       D．All of the dead killed by swine flu had lung damage．

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

I don’t buy it.

I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.

51. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.

D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.

52. People working together in an office used to ____________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another's handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

53. The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.

A. to both his family and his staff

B. to his family in small letters

C. to his family on the fridge

D. to his staff on the desk

54. According to the author，handwritten notes _______.

A. are harder to teach in schools

B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends

D. carry more message

55. We can learn from the passage that the author __________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. puts the blame on the computer

D. does not agree with Florey

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

  I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

  It was a very important event in the computerization of life---a sign that the informal, friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters and we recognized one another’s handwriting the way we know voices or faces.

As a child, visiting my father’s office, I was pleased to recognize, in little notes on the desk of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge---except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW’.

  All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

  I don’t buy it.

  I don’t want to see anyone cut off from expressive, personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

  What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16^th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand---as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems.

Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was so beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was so terrible.

D. He still had a lot of work to do.

People working together in an office used to __________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another’s handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

According to the author, handwritten notes ___________.

A. are harder to teach in schools       B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends      D. carry more message

We can learn from the passage that the author _____________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. does not agree with Florey

D. puts the blame on the computer

    A few years ago I had an“aha!”moment regarding handwriting．

    I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task．It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be．I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point．

    It was a very important event in the computerization of life―a sign that the informal．friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails．There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces．

    As a child visiting my father’s office，I was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge― except that those notes were signed“dad”instead of“RFW”．

    All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey．She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen．

    I don’t buy it．

    I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does．For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting．

    What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th―century Italy．That may sound impossibly grand―as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings．However，they have worked in many school systems．

51．Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

    A．He had worked with his colleague long enough．

    B．His colleague’s handwriting was so beautiful．

    C．His colleague’s handwriting was so terrible．

    D．He still had a lot of work to do．

52．People working together in an office used to ____________．

    A．talk more about handwriting

    B．take more notes on workdays

    C．know better one another's handwriting

    D．communicate better with one another

53．The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________．

    A．to both his family and his staff

    B．to his family in small letters

    C．to his family on the fridge

    D．to his staff on the desk

54．According to the author，handwritten notes _______．

    A．are harder to teach in schools

    B．attract more attention

    C．are used only between friends

    D．carry more message

55．We can learn from the passage that the author __________．

    A．thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

    B．does not want to lose handwriting

    C．puts the blame on the computer

    D．does not agree with Florey

A simple flower made headlines (头条新闻)in the British press last week. How could that be? British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies (罂粟花) in their buttonholes.

What's wrong with that?

According to the Global Times, Chinese officials clearly had asked the UK delegation（代表团） not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.

So what's the importance of the poppy? It's a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.

From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China's humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade — including in the opium — which was made from poppies grown in India.

Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during World War Ⅰ. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11 ) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.

So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons.And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other's standpoint(立场).

Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain's Queen — a dull person with no interest in music.  Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format （模式）and impossible to play on British DVD players.

Many countries have diplomats（外交官） stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook （忽视）the cultural importance of a small flower.

64．British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on ________.

A．October 1   B．November 11    C．December 31   D．January 1

65．The poppy reminds the Chinese of________.

A．the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century

B．the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War Ⅰ

C．the Chinese soldiers killed during World War Ⅱ

D．the suffering caused by Britain during World War Ⅰ

66．The diplomatic（外交的）problem in Beijing is mainly caused by ________.

A．the translation mistake      B．the language difference

C．the cultural difference       D．the different lifestyle

67．We can infer that ________.

A．Britain's Queen is not interested in art

B．Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him

C．US President Barack Obama received a gift for music

D．Britain's Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her