In the Netherlands，cycling isn't seen as eccrfriendly exercise; it's part of everyday life, as it's people's top choice to school and work. There are more bicycles than residents in the Netherlands. In cities like Amsterdam and The Hague, up to 70 percent of all journeys are made by bike.

    So how did cycling become such a popular means of transportation in the European country?

    In the 1970s, the Dutch government began to improve its cycling infrastructure（基础设施）due to both a social movement demanding safer cycling condition for children and the oil crisis in the Middle East, when oil producing countries stopped their exports to Western Europe.

    To make cycling safer and more appealing, the Dutch have built the widest cycling net- work in the world. The country has over 40，000 kilometers of bicycle lanes and paths，which are clearly marked. They have smooth surfaces，separate signs and lights for those on two wheels. The lanes are wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and passing.

    In many cities the bike lanes are completely segregated（隔离的）from motorized traffic. And in many traffic situations cyclists are given priority（优先权）over drivers. Sometimes， where space is limited and both must share, you can see signs showing an image of a cyclist with a car behind accompanied by the words "Bike Street：Cars are guests".

    As young people aren't allowed to drive alone until they are 18，cycling offers Dutch teen- agers an alternative form of freedom. The government also makes cycling training lessons a compulsory part of the Dutch school curriculum（课程）．

    Bike parking facilities are ubiquitous in the country. Cyclists are accommodated in the way motorists are elsewhere. Take Groningen, a city in the northeastern part of the Netherlands，for example. The city's central train station has underground parking for 10，000 bikes.

1.We can conclude that in the Netherlands cycling is____．

A. regarded as eco-friendly exercise

B. thought of as part of people's life

C. looked on as a way to lose weight

D. considered as a way to entertain

2.What can we learn about the Netherlands from the first paragraph?

A. Most vehicles the Dutch use are buses.

B. The native people cycle the best in the world.

C. Everyone has one bike on average in the Netherlands.

D. The number of bikes is larger than the population there.

3.Which of the following made the government improve the cycling infrastructure?

A. A large number of bikes.

B. Hope for healthy life style.

C. People's preference to bikes.

D. Children's safety demand and lack of oil.

4.The underlined word "ubiquitous" in the last paragraph means“＿，，．

A. high quality B. unique C. very common D. special

5.What does the Dutch government do about teenagers cycling?

A. It makes cycling covered by school education.

B. It encourages teenagers to cycle alone.

C. It will watch over teenagers who ride bikes.

D. It suggests teenagers cycling before driving.

 

The run-up to the launch of China's first lunar orbiter at the end of this month has caught the country's imagination, with more than two thirds of the nation hoping to see the launch live on TV, according to a survey.                              

According to the survey by China Youth Daily and www.qq.com, almost the entire nation hopes to catch images of the event at some point, with 99 percent of the 10358 respondents saying they expected to witness the satellite launch and 68.9 percent said they were certain to watch the live broadcast of the launch. On www.qq.com and www.sina.com, two popular web portals in the country, internet users have contributed some 2,000 poems and 5000 drawings on the theme of Chang'e I.

"The satellite launch means much more than just saying 'hello' to the moon. Maybe in the future we could also send some people to accompany sister 'Chang'e'," said a college student in the survey.

Remarkably, many people expect to visit the moon one day, with 93.4 percent of respondents saying they expected to do so.

Chang'e I is named after Chang'e, a famous character from Chinese mythology. She ascended from earth to live on the moon as a celestial being after drinking an elixir.

There is also another connection between the moon and China. In the 1970s, a crater on the moon was named after a Chinese stargazer, Wan Hu, who is said to be the first astronaut in human history.

Legend says about 600 years ago, around the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Wan Hu, a local government official, tried to fly into space with the help of a chair, two big kites and 47 self-made gunpowder-filled rockets. According to the legend after the rockets were lit there was a huge bang and lots of smoke. When the smoke cleared Wan was nowhere to be found.

China's first astronaut flew into space in 2003 with the launch of the Chinese-made spaceship Shenzhou V. China became the third country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to carry out manned space missions.

Which is true according to the passage?

 A. According to a survey, two thirds of the nation are hoping to see the launch live on TV,

 B. The internet users have drawn some 5000 pictures of ‘Chang’e’.

C. Wan Hu, a Chinese stargazer(n. 看星星的人,占星师,天文学家) , was dead after the huge bang and a lot of smoke.

 D. China’s first astronaut flew into space in 2003 in the spaceship Shenzhou VI.

What’s the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 5?

A. a kind of medicine for long life. B. a kind of medicine to make you light enough to fly in the air.

C. a kind of wine               D. a kind of alcohol.

Why was Wan Hu said to be the first astronaut in human history?

 A. Because a crater on the moon was named after his name.

 B. Because he was the first to go to the moon in his own “spaceship”.

 C. Because of his courage for scientific experiment to the moon.

 D. Because he made the first rocket in human history. 

In Japan, “what’s your type?” is much more than small talk; it can be a more important question in everything from matchmaking to getting a job. By type, the Japanese mean blood type, and no amount of scientific debunking (揭穿) can kill a widely held belief that blood tells all.

In the year that just ended, four of Japan’s top 10 best-sellers were about how blood type determines personality, according to Japan’s largest book distributor, Tohan Co. Taku Kabeya, chief editor at Bungeisha, thinks the appeal comes from having one’s self-image confirmed; readers discover the definition of their blood type and “It’s like ‘Yes, that’s me!’“

As defined by the books, type As are sensitive perfectionists but overanxious; type Bs am cheerful but weird and selfish; Os are curious, generous but stubborn; and Abs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable. All that may sound like a horoscope(占星), but the public doesn’t seem to care. Nowadays matchmaking agencies provide blood-type compatibility (兼容性) tests, and some companies make decisions about assignments based on employees’ blood types. Children at some kindergartens are divided up by blood type, and the women’s softball team that won gold at the Beijing Olympics used the theory to customize each player’s training.

Blood types, determined by the proteins in the blood, have nothing to do with personality, said Satoru Kikuchi, associate professor of psychology at Shinshu University. “It’s simply false science, “he said, “The idea encourages people to judge others by the blood types, without trying to understand them as human beings. It’s like racism.” This use of blood-typing has disreputable (名声不好的) roots. The theory was imported from Nazi race ideologues (空谈家) and adopted by Japan’s militarist government in the 1930s to breed better soldiers. The idea was abandoned years later and the craze faded. It resurfaced in the 1970s, however, as Masahiko Nomi, a supporter with no medical background, gave the theory mass appeal. His son, Toshitaka now promotes it through a private group, the Human Science ABO Center, saying it’s not intended to rank or judge people but to smooth relationships and help make the best of one’s talents.

1. That many Japan’s best-sellers were about blood type implies ____________.

A. this topic is used by many people in small talks

B. Japanese attach great importance to blood type

C. people don’t want to have confirmed self-image

D. the definition of blood type leads to arguments

2. According to the passage, ________ may face more pressure while performing a task.

A. type As   B. type Bs    C. type Os    D. type ABs

3. Kikuchi compared blood type determinism to racism because ______________.

A. both blood type and race are determined by the proteins in the blood

B. neither blood type nor race is related to our character and personality

C. both of them judge people without considering their individualities

D. blood type determinism believes human abilities are decided by race

4. Who introduced the blood type theory to Japan?

A. Nazis from Germany.                                  B. Japan’s militarist government.

C. A supporter called Masahiko Nomi.         D. Human Science ABO Center.

 

When I was a child, my parents taught me the difference between good and bad behavior by showing me specific examples. My mother told me that you don’t   36   other kids because you would not like    37   if they hit you. That makes   38   . But, if my mother told me to be “nice” to someone, it was too vague for me to   39  . But if she said that being nice               40    delivering daffodils to a next door neighbor, that I could understand.

I believe that doing practical things can  41    the world a better place. When I was in my twenties I thought a lot about the meaning of life. At the time, I was getting started in my  42     of designing more humane facilities for animals at big farms and slaughterhouses(屠宰场). Many people would think that to even work at a slauterhouse would be inhumane, but they   43   that every human and animal   44   dies. In my mind, I had a(n)   45    of a way to make tht dying as   46   as possible.

Back in the 1970s, I went to fifty different feedlots and big farms in Arizona and Texas and       47   them work cattle. I cataloged the parts of each facility that ­  48   effectively. I took the best loading ramps, and other components and  49     them into an ideal new system. I get great   50   when a farmer tells me that my corral (畜栏)  51   helps cattle move through it quietly and   52  . When cattle stay calm, it means they are not scared. And that makes me feel I’ve    53   something important.

Some people might think if I could snap my   54   I’d choose to be “normal”. But, I wouldn’t want to give up my    55    to see in beautiful, precise pictures. I believe in them.

1.A. knock                            B. hit                                      C. beat                                  D. strike

2.A. this                       B. which                                C. it                                        D. that

3.A. sense                      B. difference        C. sail                       D. way

4.A. recognize            B. realize                              C. know                                 D. understand

5.A. meant                           B. minded                   C. missed                              D. admitted

6.A. give                      B. turn                                   C. make                                 D. take

7.A. job                                 B. career                              C. trade                                 D. industry

8.A. regret                           B. remember                       C. forgive                    D. forget

9.A. constantly           B. eventually                        C. immediately           D. directly

10.A. description                B. scene                                C. picture                             D. image

11.A. peaceful           B. calm                                  C. quiet                                 D.silent

12.A. required                    B. asked                                C. promised                         D. helped

13.A. solved                         B. worked                   C. acted                                D. conducted

14.A. collected          B. gathered                          C. assembled                       D. met

15.A. satisfaction                B. expectation                     C. explanation                     D. presentation

16.A. aim                     B. intention                          C. plan                                   D. design

17.A. hardly                         B. difficultly                          C. easily                                D. happily

18.A. reached                     B. accomplished                  C. adapted                            D. polished

19.A. fingers                        B. hands                                C. arms                                  D. feet

20.A. skill                    B. possibility                         C. talent                                D. ability

 

Being a mother is apparently not like it was in the good old days.

　　Today’s parents yearn for the golden age that their own mothers enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers found. Mothers have less time to themselves and feel under greater pressure to handle work and family life than the previous generation. As a result, 88 per cent said they felt guilty about the lack of time they spent with their children.

The survey of 1,000 mothers also found that more than a third said they had less time to themselves than their mothers did – just three hours a week or 26 minutes a day. And 64 per cent said this was because they felt they ‘had’ to go out to work, while nearly a third (29 per cent) said they were under constant pressure to be the ‘perfect mother’, the report found.

Other findings showed social networking and parenting websites, as well as technology such as Skype, were important in providing help and support among female communities. Kate Fox, a member of the Social Issues Research Centre, which conducted the survey for Procter & Gamble, said: ‘With increasing pressure on mothers to work a “double shift” — to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner — support networks are more important than ever.

It comes as a separate report examining childcare in the leading industrialised nations found that working mothers in Britain spend just 81 minutes a day caring for their children as a ‘primary activity’. Mothers who stay at home, on the other hand, manage twice as much time – more than two and a half hours – looking after their offspring, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

　　Critics say the pressure on women to work long hours, and leave their offspring in the hands of nurseries or childminders, is putting the well-being of their children at risk.

　　The study also reveals that, despite the fact that more and more modern mothers go out to work, the burden of childcare still falls on them - even if their husband is not in work. A father who is not in work tends to spend just 63 minutes a day looking after his child - 18 minutes less than a mother who goes out to work. Working fathers spare less than three quarters of an hour with their children.

1.. What does the passage mainly talk about?

   A. The good old days of mothers in the 1970s and 1980s.

   B. The great sufferings of today’s children.

   C. The statistics of working mothers and full-time mothers.

   D. The big problems that today’s working mothers face.

2.. What does the underlined phrase “yearn for” probably means ___________.

A. hate            B. miss           C. abandon         D. control

3. Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Today’s mothers have less time left for their children and themselves.

B. The working mothers can hardly strike the balance between work and family.

C. Most of the mothers can not control their husbands nowadays.

D. Modern fathers do not spend enough time with their children.

4. From para. 4, we can infer that ___________.

   A. working mothers can seek help on line

   B. Skype is a very famous expert in studying social issues

   C. working mothers’ double shift is to be a wife and a mother

   D. Kate Fox has opened a website offering help to working mothers

5.. What critics say means that _____________.

   A. it is wise for working mothers to put their kids in nurseries or childminders

   B. too much time in nurseries or childminders is bad for kids’ mental and physical health

   C. nurseries or childminders are dangerous places for children

   D. children do not like nurseries or childminders at all