Building after building under water．Refugees in shelters．Thousands of others unsure where to go．Bodies in streets．This is what one of America's historic cities was reduced to this week by a powerful storm, Katrina（卡特里娜）．The mayor of New Orleans says thousands may be dead．Hurricane Katrina also caused death and destruction in parts of Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico．

New Orleans is famous for its wild Mardi Gras celebrations．New Orleans is also a major port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．Yet the city of nearly five hundred thousand people was built below sea level．New Orleans has depended on levees to control floods from the Mississippi River．Katrina struck on Monday．New Orleans avoided a direct hit．But two of the levees failed the next day．Most of the city was flooded．Helicopters dropped huge sandbags to fill the breaks．But the water had no place to go．Pumping stations had no power．

America faces one of the worst natural events in its history．President Bush says the recovery will take years．People were told to leave the path of the storm．But some would not or could not．Many of those worst affected by Katrina are poor and black．African-American leaders and others were angry that government aid did not arrive faster．President Bush visited some of the damaged areas on Friday．He said the way officials reacted to the crisis was unacceptable．

Which is true of the following details about New Orleans?

       A．New Orleans is a newly－built city of America

       B．There were no black people in New Orleans．

       C．This is the first time that hurricane has stricken it．

       D．New Orleans is a major port for foreign oil and other shipping trade．

What does the underlined word “levees”(in the second paragraph) mean?

       A．trees      B．dams      C．ports      D．ships

Which is right about the Hurricane Katrina?

       A．It also caused the destruction in parts of Mississippi．

       B．A lot of people died in this disaster．

       C．It cut off the electricity supply of the city．

       D．All of the above is right．

What can we learn from the text?

       A．President Bush was not concerned about this disaster．

       B．The recovery of the city will take a few days．

       C．In this disaster the government aid didn’t arrive in time．

       D．In this city there were no pump stations．

Building a house costs quite a lot of money. Your first __16___  will be to find a 17   piece of land. Your   18   will depend on many different things. You will probably try to find a sunny place, with   19   surroundings near shops and bus stops, not too far from your friends and the place where you work. 20   you will find an excellent   21   , and together with the builder you will work out a   22  . The builder will draw the plan. It will   23   the number of rooms, their position and 24  , and other    25    which  must be  noticed,   26 windows, doors, and electric outlets. The builder will work out how much money is   27   to build your house. He will work out the   28   of the wood, bricks, the glass, and   29   else that must be used in building the house. Later on, when he starts to build,  this estimate must be corrected and revised. His estimate is based on   30   price, but prices of such things may change, and many  other things may happen   31    the time when he makes the   32   and the time when he builds the house.

When the builder gives his estimate, you may wish to change your plan. You may also wish to change your builder, if his estimate is too   33  ! You may find that some of the features you wanted at first cost too much, or that you can spend a little more and    34   something to your plan. The builder's estimate depends on the plan,  35   the final plan depends on the builder's estimate.

Building a new school is one thing, while keeping it running smoothly is quite_______.

BUILDING up a close bond (关系) with friends is important in all cultures. But different cultures have different ways of socializing.
The Chinese love going to restaurants. Family, friends and colleagues all go out to eat as a way of relaxing. So Chinese restaurants are much louder and noisier places compared with those in the Western world.
Although British people do socialize by going out for dinner, most people meet in pubs. They go there in the evening and sometimes during the day. Most people order wine or beer.
Going for a drink with colleagues after work is a particularly important British tradition. A recent survey of office workers found three-quarters of people regard the after-work drink as the key to building positive relationships with colleagues.
But for the French, the preferred place to socialize is in cafés. They are a central part of daily life in France and its culture. People will go to cafes at all times during the day.
In the morning, people may go there to buy a newspaper and a cup of coffee. At lunch they may go there for something to eat. Then when it's evening they may return to enjoy a glass of wine.
While the meeting place is different from culture to culture, "Essentially (本质上) they serve the same purpose, which is that humans need a place to come together to meet," said Aidan Saunders, a professor of social history at the University College London. "We are sociable animals."
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?      

Building a new school is one thing, while keeping it running smoothly is quite_______.