The Sauna World Championships (世界桑拿锦标赛) ended in tragedy at the weekend when one of the two finalists collapsed and died. Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, a Russian amateur wrestler in his 60s, suffered severe burns in the bizarre(怪诞的) annual event in the southern Finnish town of Heinola. He was pronounced dead late on Saturday after he collapsed alongside reigning (卫冕) champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland roughly six minutes into the final round. The “sport” calls on participants to sit in a 230-degree (110 Celsius) room as water was tossed onto a searing stove, officials and witnesses said. Medical workers pulled both men out of the sauna in front of nearly 1,000 horrified spectators.

Both were shaking and bleeding from what appeared to be severe burns, said Hakon Eikesdal, a photographer with the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. Kaukonen, about 40, was in hospital in stable condition Sunday, contest spokesman Ossi Arvela said. The event, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999. It will never be held again, Arvela said. A pint of water is added to the stove every 30 seconds and the last person to remain at the sauna is the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things” Arvela said. He declined to provide details. Arvela said Kaukonen — the defending world champion — had refused to leave the sauna despite getting sick. Sauna bathing is a popular past-time in Finland, which has an estimated 1.6 million saunas for a population of 5 million.

Temperatures are normally kept around 158 to 176 degrees (70~80 degrees Celsius). “I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit,” Arvela said. “It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.” Arvela said all rules in Saturday’s competition were followed and the temperatures and times were similar to those in previous years.

1.Which of the following is True of Paragraph 1?

A．Only the Russian amateur wrestler suffered severe burns in the Sauna World Championships.

B．Timo Kaukonen won a world sauna championship though he was badly burned.

C．In the Sauna World Championships Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy was badly burned and then died.

D．Both of the finalists were pulled out of the sauna, then they were horrified to death.

2.The underlined word “searing” means “__________”.

A．burning           B．comfortable        C．warm             D．extinct

3.What can we conclude from the situation after the tragedy?

A．There was no prize other than “some small things”, which the world champion would refuse to accept.

B．Ossi Arvela suggested there were great risks in the sauna contest and it never be held in the future.

C．The contest would be continued in which the temperatures were kept around 158 to 176 degrees.

D．It was unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna and it was hard to understand to some people outside.

4.We can infer from the news that ___________.

A．sauna is so popular that there are often competitions on weekdays in Finland.

B．the temperatures in usual saunas are too high for most people to stand in Finland.

C．the sauna contest is much too horrible even for the spectators in Finland.

D．there is a sauna for more than three people on average in Finland.

 

Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature. Ms. Müller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987. She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Günter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901. She is the 12th woman to gain the literature prize. But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul, Ms. Müller is unknown inside of literary circles in Germany.

“I am very surprised and still cannot believe it,” Ms. Muller said in a statement released by her publisher in Germany. “I can’t say anything more at the moment.”

She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment.”

At a news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms. Müller, wearing all black, appeared overwhelmed(不知所措) by all the cameras in her face.

When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich B??ll, Ms. Müller remained philosophical(达观的). “I am now nothing better and I’m nothing worse,” she said, adding: “My inner thing is writing. That’s what I can hold on to.”

Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms. Müller was honored for her “very, very distinct special language” and because “she has really a story to tell about…and growing up as a stranger in your own family.

.we can learn from the passage that Ms. Muller is_______.

  A. the 1st writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature since 1999

  B. the 12th winner for the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901

  C. the 13th woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature

  D. a German citizen since she moved to German in 1987

 Ms. Müller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because ____.

A. she was born a Romanian person      

B. she had failed many times in winning it

C. she had never wanted to win the prize   

D. she  was only an unknown writer

 The underlined expression “in the same breath” is the nearest in meaning to ____.

A. instead of    B. at the same moment   

C. in a breath    D. under the same roof

 We can infer according to the passage that ____.

A. her  honored works are based on her own experience

B. most of Ms. Müller’s novels are unsuccessful works 

C. Ms. Müller is feeling much better after she becomes the award winner

D. Ms. Müller was honored because she’s described the Germans’ life vividly

Blue Collar

Graduates from China's " blue-collar " vocational schools have an employment rate of 95. 6 percent, but many lose their jobs because of unrealistic expectations, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Education(MOE).

MOE figures show a total of 3. 64 million students graduated from vocational schools last year, of whom 3. 48 million found jobs. The employment rate for these students was 95. 6 percent.

"The employment rate for blue-collar workers has stayed high since 1999 and above 90 percent since 2002," Wang Jiping, the MOE's deputy head of vocational education section, said on Wednesday. "However, the figure is not the cause for optimism because it only indicates that people get employed. "

He said many students find jobs, but are unable to stay in the posts for reasons such as overly high expectations for salaries or poor performance.

Wang said vocational school graduates needed more guidance to find jobs that could use their skills and meet "rational" demands for wages (工资), so that they can stay in the posts.

"The government is to set up a national information platform to better show market demand for blue collar talents", he said.

MOE figures show 73. 23 percent of the 3. 64 million graduates from vocational middle schools found jobs in companies and factories, 10 percent started their own businesses, and 16. 37 percent went on to further study.

Wang said the demand for highly skilled workers boosted the development of vocational education. _____________ , the MOE called for vocational schools to set up more market-oriented training courses with which students could easily find jobs.

55. Many vocational school graduates lose their jobs for the following reasons EXCEPT _________according to the text.

A. their high expectations for salaries          B. their poor performance

C. their lack of working experience                  D. their unrealistic expectations

56. The underlined word boosted in the last paragraph can be replaced by _______.

A. improved         B. prevented              C. ended         D. started

57. Among the vocational school graduates last year about ________took up their own business.

A.540,000             B360,000                          C.150,000             D.70,000

58. Which of the following is the best sentence to be put into the blank of the last paragraph?

A. To develop vocational education                   B. To build up graduates' own business

C. To offer graduates more jobs                         D. To meet the demand

 

从下面两组短语中选出适当的形式填空，其中有几项是多余的。

take place  turn up   as though   day and night get away with    cut down    keep one’s word

1.Tom had thought he could ______________ cheating in the exam, but he was wrong.

2.We are working _______________ to complete the task ahead of time.

3.He had said that he would take me along to Beijing, but he didn’t ___________.

4.Great change__________ in my hometown since 1999.

5.She promised to come to my birthday party，but she hasn't________ yet.

in memory of     earn one’s living   dress up   win back hold one’s breath  look forward to   have fun with Hear of    come about   die out      die of     dry up

6.They ____________ and went to the dancing hall together.

7.He ______________ while the results were announced.

8.John hoped to ______________ his father’s trust.

9.When life was difficult in the past, she ______________by singing in a club.

10.The musuem was built ________________ the famous artist.

 

 

TOUR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS IN COMFORT WITH OZ TRAILS

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         In 2000 this area was added to the “World Heritage List” of UNESCO as it has: deep valleys, impressive waterfalls, excellent bushes and rich plants and animals．

         The Blue Mountains covers about 10,000 km and extends 220 km．

         The Blue Mountains area contains eight conservation areas, six Aboriginal language groups ．It is also home to 127 kinds of rare or threatened plants and 52 kinds of rare or threatened animals．

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         Oz Trails has been in operation since 1999 and has shown the Blue Mountains to thousands of travelers from all over the world．

         OZ TRAILS is recommended by the "LONELY PLANET" and "LET'S GO" travel guides, both of which are popular travel books in Australia．

         We also offer special tours in and around Sydney．Taking small groups only, we pride ourselves on customer service．We offer travelers individual attention that is not available on other

large tours．

         All the tours are also available at charter rates （包租费） whether you wish to bring a whole group or have the tour just for yourself．We can make a tour to meet your special needs．

6 REASONS TO TOUR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS WITH OZ TRAILS

1．Small groups only （max 24 passengers in each bus）．

2．Free hotel pickup anywhere in city centre （and also in Coogee, Bondi and Manly） by arrangement in advance．

3．Perfect guides with a broad knowledge．

4．We are able to take you to see all the famous places in Australia．

5．Our tours are both affordable and satisfying．

6．Comfortable—air-conditioned buses．

1．The author wrote this passage to________．

         A．introduce famous scenic sports around Sydney

         B．attract tourists to the Blue Mountains

         C．advertise a tour agency named Oz Trails

         D．give advice on how to choose a tour company

2．Which of the following does Oz Trails offer?

         A．Small group tours with not more than 24 tourists．

         B．Buses without air conditioners．

         C．Charter rates for groups of 24．

         D．One-to-one service at a low price．

3．We can learn from the passage that________．

         A．Coogee and Bondi are located in the city center

         B．travelers need to book their pickup in advance

         C．OZ TRAILS can take you to foreign countries

         D．“Lonely Planet” is a famous travel company

4．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

         A．The price of the tour service．

         B．The services the agency can offer．

         C．Some of the features of the Blue Mountains．

         D．A brief introduction to Oz Trails．