C

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is  our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.

Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.

64. The disadvantages of  our books are the following except_______.

A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B. many of  our books are of the same

C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.

D.  Our authors never know what 七彩教育网our children need.

65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.

A. it has no sense of teaching

B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C. it is only written in children’s language

D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.

66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B. He is also attracted by the book

C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about  our books.

D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.

67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s  our own Harry Potter”?

A. We are short of books for children

B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.

C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D.  Our authors are hoped to make the market of  our books for children take off

 

C

    The French submarine is called Le Triomphant, meaning“the winner”．The name of the British submarine is Vanguard，meaning“the leading position in an army”．It’s clear from the submarines’names that they were made for victory．  

    However，it was an accident，rather than a victory，that led these two submarines to recently make news headlines across the world．

    On February 16，Britain and France admitted that two of their nuclear—armed submarines，HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant，collided while deep in the Atlantic in early February．Both submarines were on secret patrols(巡逻)and carrying nuclear arms when they collided．

    Le Triomphant had no idea that it had run into HMS Vanguard until several days later．The French navy at first believed that Le Triomphant had hit an“object，probably a container(集装箱)”．

    Investigations have begun to work out how such a collision could have happened．Both submarines are equipped with state-of～the—art(最先进的)technology that is supposed to find other submarines．Yet，neither submarine saw the other until it was too late．

    One idea being considered was that their anti-sonar(抗声纳)equipment，which hides submarines，was just too effective in hiding one from the other．  

    Submarines use sonar to sense what is in the sea near them．Sonar is a submarine’s ear．Many sea animals use sonar as well．Dolphins produce high-pitched(声调高的)clicks．when these clicks hit an object，some of the sound will echo(发出回声)back to the“sender”．By listening to the echo and working out the time it took before the echo came back，the dolphin can work out how far away the object is．

    There are two kinds of sonar：active sonar，which sends out signals，and passive sonar，which listens for signals with extremely sensitive microphones．

The two submarines were designed to be very quiet and as hidden as possible．because a submarine’s job description(工作职责)is not to be found．Many modern submarines do not use active sonar，only passive sonar．This makes it very difficult for a submarine to“hear”if another submarine is near．  

    Britain’s Ministry of Defense(国防部) has said the collision did not lead to any radioactive leaks(放射物泄漏)．The chance of a full nuclear explosion was almost impossible．However，experts say that if the walls of the submarines had broken，or a fire had been started，there could have been a major disaster．

    A senior British Navy source told The Sun newspaper that the possible consequences of such a collision were“unthinkable”．

    “It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion．But a radioactive leak was a possibilitv．That would have been a national disaster．”he said．

64、What has made HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant well known recently?  

  A、l heir names carried very positive meanings．．

  B、They collided in the Atlantic this February．

  C、They are both equipped with advanced technology．

  D、They are both nuclear—armed submarines．

65、What’s the probable reason for the accident?

  A、The two submarines were moving at a high speed．

  B、Their anti—sonar equipment was too effective．

  C、They were not equipped with active sonar．．

  D、The submarines were designed to be too quiet．  

66、Which of the following is the right order in which the dolphin senses the object’s position?

   a、The sound hitting the object．

   b、Producing high—pitched sound．

   c、The sound echoing back．

   d、Working out the time to come back．

   e、Receiving the sound．

  A、b一a—c—d—e   B、d—a—e—c—b   C、b—c—d—a—e   D、b—a—c—e—d

67、Which of the following is NOT true about the passage?  

A、Both of the submarines carried nuclear arms when they collided．

B、Many modern submarines do not use passive sonar so as to be as hidden as possible．

C、The collision may have caused a disaster if a fire had been started．

D、There would have been a nuclear explosion if the two submarines had collided harder． 

D

The thing is, my luck’s always been ruined. Just look at my name: Jean. Not Jean Marie, or Jeanine, or Jeanette, or even Jeanne. Just Jean. Did you know in France, they name boys Jean? It’s French for John. And okay, I don’t live in France. But still, I’m basically a girl named John. If I lived in France, anyway.

This is the kind of luck I’ve had since before Mom even filled out my birth certificate. So it wasn’t any big surprise to me when the cab driver didn’t help me with my suitcase. I’d already had to tolerate arriving at the airport to find no one there to greet me, and then got no answer to my many phone calls, asking where my aunt and uncle were. Did they not want me after all? Had they changed their minds? Had they heard about my bad luck—all the way from Iowa—and decided they didn’t want any of it to rub off on them?

So when the cab driver, instead of getting out and helping me with my bags, just pushed a little button so that the trunk (汽车后备箱) popped open a few inches, it wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to me. It wasn’t even the worst thing that had happened to me that day.

According to my mom, most brownstones in New York City were originally single-family homes when they were built way back in the 1800s. But now they’ve been divided up into apartments, so that there’s one—or sometimes even two or more families—per floor.

Not Mom’s sister Evelyn’s brownstone, though. Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted Gardiner own all four floors of their brownstone. That’s practically one floor per person, since Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted only have three kids, my cousins Tory, Teddy, and Alice.

Back home, we just have two floors, but there are seven people living on them. And only one bathroom. Not that I’m complaining. Still, ever since my sister Courtney discovered blow-outs, it’s been pretty frightful at home.

But as tall as my aunt and uncle’s house was, it was really narrow—just three windows across. Still, it was a very pretty townhouse, painted gray. The door was a bright, cheerful yellow. There were yellow flower boxes along the base of each window, flower boxes from which bright red—and obviously newly planted, since it was only the middle of April, and not quite warm enough for them.

It was nice to know that, even in a sophisticated (世故的) city like New York, people still realized how homey and welcoming a box of flowers could be. The sight of those flowers cheered me up a little.

Like maybe Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted just forgot I was arriving today, and hadn’t deliberately failed to meet me at the airport because they’d changed their minds about letting me come to stay.

Like everything was going to be all right, after all.

Yeah. With my luck, probably not.

I started up the steps to the front door of 326 East Sixty-Ninth Street, then realized I couldn’t make it with both bags and my violin. Leaving one bag on the sidewalk, I dragged the other up the steps with me. Maybe I took the steps a little too fast, since I nearly tripped and fell flat on my face on the sidewalk. I managed to catch myself at the last moment by grabbing some of the fence the gardeners had put up…

67. Why did the author go to New York?

A. She intended to go sightseeing there.

B. She meant to stay with her aunt’s family.

C. She was homeless and adopted by her aunt.

D. She wanted to try her luck and find a job there.

68. According to the author, some facts account for her bad luck EXCEPT that ________.

A. she was given a boy’s name in French

B. the cab driver didn’t help her with her bags

C. her sister Courtney discovered blow-outs  

D. nobody had come to meet her at the airport

69. The underlined phrase “rub off on” in Paragraph 3 probably means _________.

A. have an effect on    B. play tricks on     C. put pressure on       D. throw doubt on

70. From the passage, we can know that _________.

A. the author left home without informing her mother

B. the author arrived in New York in a very warm season

C. her aunt’s family lived a much better life than her own

D. her aunt and uncle were likely to forget about her arrival

C

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is  our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.

Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.

64. The disadvantages of  our books are the following except_______.

A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B. many of  our books are of the same

C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.

D.  Our authors never know what our children need.

65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.

A. it has no sense of teaching

B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C. it is only written in children’s language

D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.

66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B. He is also attracted by the book

C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about  our books.

D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.

67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s  our own Harry Potter”?

A. We are short of books for children

B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.

C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D.  Our authors are hoped to make the market of  our books for children take off

A Smashing tradition: MIT Students Drop Piano

One of the highlights of the school year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology only lasts a few seconds but has a big influence. Residents of an MIT dormitory dropped an upright piano from their roof on 26^th April to celebrate the last day students can drop classes without having them appear on their college report.

About 200 onlookers watched as the piano crashed into a second piano，a baby grand，positioned on the ground six stories below for a better smash. People scrambled (争先恐后) for souvenir pieces-keys，hammers，strings and splinters. The tradition began in 1972 at the Baker House dormitory and has been observed irregularly until 2006 when it became an annual event.

Crafton Family Comes Back Home after 7 Years at Sea

While most of us will love to go on a vacation for a week or two on a small private sailboat，without doubt，spending seven precious years on sea is something most of us will never imagine or dare to do. However，that is what an American family has done. Tom Crafton and Kathy Crafton along with their three children have traveled across the world on their 43-foot sailboat named Nueva Vida. Over the past seven years the family had sailed 30，000 miles and visited more than 20 different countries. The family has recently come back to their homeland.

                                           

Living in the limelight（聚光灯）can be difficult but as these splendid pictures show for one bear the tourist train never stops. This arctic animal loves nothing more than an audience and will even climb out of his snowy bed to give the crowd a wave. The funny poses(姿态) of the friendly polar bear were caught on camera by Swedish photographer，Hams Strand.

64. Which of the following is true about the first incident?

A. The typical style of celebration has been kept alive every year since1972.

B. Another small piano on the ground is meant to hold the falling one.

C. The students dropped the piano in celebration of their graduation.

D. The tradition became an annual event for MIT students in 2006.

65. The writer thinks Crafton family’s seven-year sailing is          .

A. unusual               B. strange                     C. common                  D. doubtful

66. What would be the best subtitle(小标题) for the third incident?

A. The Limelight Makes Polar Bear Live Hard

B. Splendid Pictures of Polar Bear Attract Tourists

C. The Tourist Train Would Stop without Polar Bear

D. Polar Bear Says Hello to Tourists with a Friendly Wave

67. The passage is probably taken out of ______.

A. a novel                B. a magazine                C. a diary                            D. a report