There is no other city in the world that has such a strong connection with the Olympic Games. Athens, the____1____city of the first modern Olympics in 1896, ____2____ into the limelight (焦点) again on March 30,2008 ____3____ the flame for that year’s Olympic Games was ____4____ over to the Beijing Organizing Committee. The Olympic flame was ____5____ on March 24,2008 in Olympia, a place in southwestern Greece. In the ritual (仪式), actresses ____6____ as ancient Greek priestesses (女祭司) used a ____7____ to light the flame. The flame then was carried to the site of public ceremony and handed to the first ____8____, Greek taekwondo(跆拳道) athlete Alexandros Nikolaidis. He carried the flame to the ____9____ of the monument of Baron de Courbertin, the ____10____ of the modern Olympic Games.

Athens was named ____11____ Athena, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology (神话). It is also one of the world’s oldest cities with a history ____12____ at least 3,000 years. Athens was the ____13____ of arts, learning and philosophy in ancient times and is widely ____14____ to as the cradle (摇篮) of Western civilization.

The heritage of history is ____15____ evident in the city, represented by a number of ancient monuments and works of art. The Acropolis (卫城) is the city’s key ____16____. It overlooks the ____17____ city and dominates the skyline (天际). The main temple of the goddess Athena, ____18____ on the Acropolis, was Parthenon (帕台农神庙). And the National Archaeological Museum, the ____19____ important museum in Greece, holds a priceless ____20____ of treasure, with artifacts (古器物) of almost every culture, which flourished (繁荣) in the Mediterranean (地中海).

1. A. host                     B. traveled             C. ancient              D. oldest

2. A. made             B. got                    C. came                D. became

3. A. where            B. when                C. as                    D. that

4. A. carried           B. gave                  C. handed              D. passed

5. A. fired              B. lit               C. burned                     D. started

6. A. worn             B. acted                C. performed         D. dressed

7. A. mirror           B. reflection           C. cup                  D. pan

8. A. priestesses     B. founder             C. runner               D. player

9. A. foot               B. top                    C. front                 D. back

10. A. founder        B. inventor             C. discoverer         D. finder

11. A. by               B. after                       C. on                    D. in

12. A. dating          B. spanning           C. crossing            D. covering

13. A. center          B. city                   C. place                 D. site

14. A. regarded      B. mentioned          C. referred             D. considered

15. A. yet                     B. however            C. therefore           D. still

16. A. attraction     B. scene                C. entrance            D. platform

17. A. complete      B. whole               C. full                   D. total

18. A. set               B. lay                    C. built                  D. laid

19. A. most            B. more                 C. least                  D. less

20. A. gathering      B. storage              C. jewel                 D. collection

改正下面短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在答题卡该行右边横线上画一个勾（√），请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

      2.原行没有错的不要改。

Last winter vacation, some of my classmates decide to                1.           

travel with their friends, while I chose to take par-time job          2.           

to gain experience and earn some money. I learned from my       3.           

 teacher that a nearby company was looking after students        4.           

 with good handwriting to write address on envelope. The       5.           

 pay were 10 cent per envelope. I headed for the company,       6.           

 feeling sure I would easy finish 300 envelops in five hours and       7.           

 to earn the money. Actually, I only finished 200. Now, I         8.           

fully understand how hard is to earn money. Getting out        9.           

of the classroom is indeed necessary for we all.                10.           

The United States is trying to improve an edueation system that produces millions of citizens who cannot read, write, or add—let alone finding their country on a map.

In his first State of Union message since taking office a year ago, President George Bush promised to wipe out illiteracy(文盲) in the next decade and declared that“by the year 2008, U.S students must be first in the world in math and science achievements. ” They have a long way to go. American students were placed 14th in a recent general science test conducted in 16 countries. In a separate survey of chemistry students, the United States came 12 out of 14. In a mathematics test, they were last. According to Bush, there are 17 million illiterates in this country of 245 million people. Other estimates put the number as high as 23 million. In percentage terms, that ranks the United States alongside Niearague and below Cuba. “This nation,”Bush said in his State of the Union address, “will not accept anything but excellent in education.” Bush, who has declared himself “Education president”, and senior officals of his administration are warning that the United States will be unable to compete in the world without an educated workforce.

How to increase educational standards is a matter of debate in a country whose schools have no uniform national curriculum and are subject to a confusing variety of state and local controls. Most experts think that the problem lies at the elementary and high school'levels rather than with universities-but even their graduates show huge gaps in general knowledge. Among the root causes most frequently mentioned in education debates is the low respect in which U.S. society holds teachers-in contrast to Japan and Germany. In Japan teaching is a profession of high prestige(威望) and high pay. In the United States teachers are near the bottom of the society.

5.By“the United States came 12 out of 14”(Para. 2), the author means .      

A.the United States ranked 12th not 14th in the chemistry test

B.the United States ranked 12th in the chemistry test conducted by 14 countries

C.the United States progressed from 14th to 12th in the chemistry test

D.the United States ranked 12th in chemistry test and 14th in general science test

6.The cause of low educational level in America include the following EXCEPT that .      

A.some problems exist in primary and secondary education

B.society keeps teachers in low respect

C.America pays more attention to economy instead of education

D.America has no uniform national courses

7.Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?

A.President Bush carried out his promise made in his first State of Union message.

B.The education in Japan and Germany is in higher level.

C.According to Bush, the number of illiterates accounts for 9% of the total.

D.Teachers in the United States enjoy good treatment and great respect.

8.Which of the following is the right order of the least-first of the percent of illiterates?

A.Germany, Cuba, Nicaragua.         B.Germany, Nicaragua, Cuba.

C.Nicaragua, Japan, Cuba.            D.Cuba, Japan, Nicaragua.

The British isles is made up of two large islands: One is called Ireland and the other __1__. Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of these two islands, and it is __2__ into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England.

The United Kingdom is that __3__ of the British isles ruled over by the Queen. It is made up of Scotland, Wales and England, that is, the __4__ of Britain, and also about one sixth of Ireland, the Northern part. The __5__ of Ireland is self governing(治理). The __6__ name of the United Kingdom is __7__ “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”．

__8__ is larger and richer than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and has the most __9__ of the United Kingdom, so people often use the __10__ “England” and “English” when they __11__ “Britain” and “British”. This sometimes makes the Scots and the Welsh a little __12__. The Scots in particular are very __13__ of their separate nationality(民族). The Welsh too do not regard __14__ as English, and have a culture and even a __15__ of their own.

Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, but for forty years the “Irish __16__ ” was the greatest headache of the United Kingdom. __17__， Ireland is divided into two: Northern Ireland still __18__ to the United Kingdom, and in 1922 the rest of Ireland __19__ to found an Irish Free State, later called Eire and now the Republic of Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland does not regard itself as part of Britain, and is not now even a supporter of the Commonwealth of Nations(英联邦). Unlike the major Commonwealth countries it did not lift a finger to __20__ British in the Second World War and now wants the whole of Ireland to be a republic.

1. A. Wales　　B. Britain　　C. England　　D. Scotland

2. A. divided    B. cut      C. broken    D. separated

3. A. piece     B. island    C. country   D. part

4. A. south     B. north    C. part      D. whole

5. A. smaller   B. larger    C. rest      D. island

6. A. correct     B. true    C. full     D. complete

7. A. also      B. therefore  C. likely  D. perhaps

8. A. The UK       B. The British isles

C. Great Britain   D. England

9. A. colleges    B. officials      C. cities      D. population

10. A. words        B. names

C. spellings       D. pronunciations

11. A. call        B. forget       C. speak       D. write

12. A. angry      B. difficult      C. tired        D. lonely

13. A. proud      B. fond         C. full         D. kind

14. A. it         B. Wales        C. them       D. themselves

15. A. capital     B. language     C. history       D. programmes

16. A. Country    B. Question       C. Disease          D. Republic

17. A. At last     B. So             C. Meanwhile        D. Also

18. A. returns    B. belongs        C. gets             D. speaks

19. A. hoped      B. refused        C. broke away       D. used

20. A. feel       B. touch          C. fight            D. help

—Panasonic plans to lay off 35,000 employees globally within 2 years．

    —The cuts _____ 9% of the company's staff．

    A．make up              B．take over         

    C．hold back            D．come out