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　　Japan escaped the world's most powerful earthquake in two and half years on Friday with only 400 injuries, most of them minor.

　　Damage from the pre-dawn quake－measuring 8 on the Richter scale－was relatively light, not only because it struck deep under the ocean but because Japan's population was prepared for such an event.

　　Power and water supplies were cut off for several hours after the event. There were no reports at 4:50 am (local time). Two fishermen are still missing, though. Police suspect they have been swept away by the tsunami (huge ocean wave) that followed the earthquake.

　　A wide area of the island suffered damage: roads were blocked, fishing boats sunk, and part of the ceiling of Kushiro airport, 900 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, caved in. Kushiro, a city of 190,000 people, was believed to be the hardest hit.

　　In the nearby city of Tomakomai, black smoke and flames rose into the sky from an oil tank fire. There were no injuries though, and the fire was contained within hours. Officials said 188,700 barrels of crude oil were lost.

　　Residents were shaken by the event, but stayed calm despite some 25 aftershocks－at least one registering 7.1 on the Richter scale.

　　The quake was the strongest worldwide since the 8.4-magnitude quake of June 23, 2001. That, near the coast of Peru(秘鲁), killed 74 people.

　　Takeshi Matsumura, a Hokkaido government official, said 455 people were confirmed injured by late Friday.

　　Only 28 were seriously hurt, mostly suffering from broken bones. Located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

(Sunday, Sep. 30,2003)

1．According to the news, Japan was struck by the 8-magnitude earthquake on ________.

[　　]

2．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．The 2003 earthquake that hit Japan recently was the strongest worldwide quake in this century.

B．A great part of the country was damaged because the Japanese were not prepared.

C．No people were killed in the earthquake but two fishermen disappeared.

D．Power and water supplies were cut off for only a few days.

3．What happened to the city of Tomakomai in the earthquake?

[　　]

A．It suffered a harder hit than the city of Kushiro.

B．Part of the ceiling of Tomakomai airport caved in.

C．A fire burned for only a few hours before it was controlled but some people were injured.

D．An oil tank caught fire and black smoke and flames shot into the sky.

4．The word “minor” in the first paragraph means ________.

[　　]

5．Which description about the quake of June 23, 2001 is true?

[　　]

A．It happened not far away from the coast of Peru, killing 74 people.

B．455 people were killed in the earthquake.

C．There were 25 aftershocks after the 8.4-magnitude quake.

D．It was the second strongest earthquake in this century.

Dog Translation Products Coming to U. S.

A Japanese toy maker declares that they have developed a gadget that translates dog barks into human language and plans to begin selling the gadget——under the name of Bowlingual——in U. S. pet stores and gift shops this summer.

Tokyo-based Takara Co. Ltd. says about 300, 000 of the dog translator gadgets have been sold since it was on sale in Japan late last year. It is forecasting far bigger sales once an English language translation for dogs comes to America in August. The United States is home to about 67 million dogs, more than six times the number in Japan.

"We know that the Americans love their dogs so much, so we don't think they will mind spending $ 120 on this product," the Takara marketing manager said during an interview at a recent pet products conference in Atlanta.

Regarded as one of the coolest inventions of 2002 by Time magazine, Bowlingual is made up of a 3 - inch long wireless microphone that is fastened to a dog collar and sends out sounds to a small console (控制台) that is connected to a database (数据库). The console divides each bark into six emotional types——happiness, sadness, disappointment, anger, threat and desire——and shows common phrases, such as "You're ticking me off," that fit the dog's emotional state.

Takara says it has spent millions of dollars developing the gadget in cooperation with famous sound experts and animal behaviorists.

One thing that does appear certain is that the markets for animal translation products will likely remain a dog's world since Takara has no plans to develop a similar gadget for cats. "They are too unpredictable (反复无常) , " the marketing manager said.

1.This passage mainly tells us that Bowlingual ___________.

A. was invented in Japan 　　　　　　　 B. has developed quickly

C. will be sold in America 　　　　　　 D. sells well for its price

2.The underlined word "they" in the last paragraph refers to ___________.

A. markets 　　　B. products 　　　 C. plans 　　 　　D. cats

3.When was this passage most probably published?

A. In the winter of 2002. 　　　　　　B. In the spring of 2003.

C. In the summer of 2002. 　　　　　 D. In the autumn of 2003.

4.From the passage, we can see that Takara Co. Ltd. is ___________ the sale of its new product.

A. proud of 　　　　　 　　　　　　B. satisfied with

C. confident of 　　　　　　　　　　D. worried about

 

Paula Radcliffe, chasing a third London marathon title, says she has became a stronger person after her terrible experience at the 2004 Athens Games.

Radcliffe, who failed to complete the Olympic marathon and the 10,000m last August, said: "Athens made me a stronger person and it made me care less about criticism"

"In the past I wanted to please everyone, but now I am going to listen even more to the people around me."

She didn't care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz McColgan, who felt Radcliffe should have rested and let her body recover after her failure in Athens.

"Liz is someone I look up to but she hasn't spoken to me since last year and if she really cared for me, I'm sure she would have contacted me."

Instead Radcliffe won the New York City marathon just 11 weeks after Athens.

"In New York I wasn't in my best state but I did know I was good enough to win the race."

Radcliffe insisted her only goal in Sunday's race would be winning a third title and not chasing world records.

However, Radcliffe has not ruled out in the future chasing her "final" world record time and questioned sayings that marathon runners have the ability in their career to produce only four or five world-class times.

"I don't think that ——although I can't put a number on it," said. Radcliffe. "That changes from person to person."

Radcliffe is sure she can better her winning London 2003 performance at some point in the future. Following a successful three-month training period in the United States, the 31-year-old will chase a third title on Sunday after her first victory in 2002 and again 12 months later.

Radcliffe clocked a time of 2:18:56 in her first 42.2-kilometre race three years ago.

Afterwards she set a "mixed course" mark of 2:17:18 five months later in Chicago before lowering that to a time of 2:15:25 in the 2003 London event.

1.Radcliffe’s failure in Athens made her___________.?

A. develop respect for Liz?   B. love people around her more?

C. rest for five months?      D. face criticism calmly?

2.Which of the following is true according to the passage??

A. Radcliffe broke the world record in the New York City marathon.?

B. Radcliffe didn’t fully recover before the New York City marathon.?

C. Radcliffe won her first marathon title in the New York City marathon.?

D. Radcliffe had a 3-month training before the New York City marathon.?

3. By saying “I can’t put a number on it,” Radcliffe means she’s not sure ___________.?

A. if she has the ability to set a new world record?

B. if she can win another race though she has won many times?

C. how many times a marathon runner can set the world record?

D. if she has the ability to produce four or five world-class times?

4. According to the text, Radcliffe has won ___________ London marathon title(s).?

A. one　　　　　B. two?             C. three          D. four

5.What can we learn from Radcliffe’s story??

A. Practice makes perfect.?            B. Well begun is half done.?

C. Where there is a will, there is a way.?  D. A friend in need is a fried indeed.

 

 

 　　On Wednesday, the Chinese government, decided to increase its medical subsidies(补贴)  for farmers from 10 Yuan (US$1.23) to 20 Yuan (US$2.47) a head a year from 2006.

　　 As part of the country's healthcare reform programme, the co-operative rural （农村）medical system was first introduced in 2003 to set up self-help among farmers on a voluntary basis.  Due to insufficient government input to finance hospitals that are mostly State-owned, the country's healthcare reform has largely turned out to be a failure, adding hugely to the financial burden on the public.

While everyone complains about quickly-rising medical costs, rural residents are suffering more than their urban(城镇) cousins because of a lack of money, as well as not being able to enjoy high quality health services. At present, farmers earn on average only one-third of what urban residents make. Most of the country's medical resources are located in cities even though rural residents make up two-thirds of the population.

　　Poor health conditions make it more difficult to help farmers get out of poverty; and poverty, in turn, refuses farmers the chance to improve their health.　To end this vicious circle, policy-makers tried the co-operative medical system, with a small sum of central and local financial support for each rural participant. But the system has proved to be less than perfect. Due to the limited financial input, the programme still does not benefit the majority of farmers in a significant way. This has reduced many farmers' enthusiasm for participating. A high percentage of involvement is of course a precondition for such a system.

　　The central government intends to expand the programme into a national medical system by 2008. Increasing government subsidies is a necessary step to make the co-operative medical system more attractive to farmers. But an increase of 10 Yuan for each participant is surely far from enough to perfect the system. The total cost is not particularly heavy compared to the rapid growth in government revenue(财政).

　　 Clearly, policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware of how urgent the narrowing of the development gap between rural and urban areas really is. Besides economic policies to push the rural economy, large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education is badly needed.

1. Compared with that in 2006, what will be the rate of coming increase in China’s medical subsidies for farmers?

         A. 100%                      B. 50%                        C. 200%                     D. 150%

2. What is the reason for the failure in the country’s healthcare reform?

         A. Bad management system.          

         B. The government didn’t input enough money to support hospitals that are mostly

state-owned.

         C. The health conditions in the country is too bad.

         D. There are too many farmers that need medical care.

3. What is needed to narrow the development gap between rural and urban areas?

         ①. Large amount of government investment in economy.

         ②. Large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education.

         ③. Economic policies to push the rural economy

④. A high percentage of farmers’ involvement in the medical system

⑤. A better management system

A. ①②③    B.  ②③④                   C. ①②③④⑤          D. ②③

4. Why are many farmers not enthusiastic in joining the co-operative medical system?

         A. It doesn’t benefit most of the farmers in an effective way.

         B. They cannot spare the needed money to join the programme.

         C. They don’t believe in the system.

         D. They don’t think it necessary.

5. What can be inferred from the last but one paragraph?

         A. An increase of 10 Yuan in medical subsidies for each person is not enough.

         B. The government can afford to increase the medical subsidies for farmers.

         C. The government will get farmers of the whole country involved in a medical system by 2008. 

         D. If the government increase subsidies, more farmers are likely to join the medical system.