In front of the big Shibuya train station in Tokyo, there is a life-size bronze (青铜) statue of a dog. Even though the statue is very small when compared to the huge neon (霓虹灯) signs flashing, it isn’t   21  to find. It has been used as   22  since 1934 and today you will find hundreds of people waiting there for their friends to   23 —just look for the crowds（人群）.
Hachiko, an Akita dog, was born in 1923 and brought to Tokyo in 1924. His owner, Professor Eisaburo Uyeno and he were close friends that cannot be   24  right from the start. Each day Hachiko would go with his owner, a professor at the Imperial University, to Shibuya train station when he left for work. When he came back, the professor would always find the dog   25  waiting for him.   26 , the professor died suddenly at work in 1925 before he could return home.
  27  Hachiko was still a young dog, the bond between him and his owner was very strong and he   28  to wait at the station every day. Sometimes, he would stay there for days at a time, though some believe that he kept returning because of the food he was given by street vendors. Over time he became a   29  sight to people going to and from work every day. In 1934, a statue of him was put   30  the station. In 1935, Hachiko died at the place he last saw his friend alive.

In front of the big Shibuya train station in Tokyo, there is a life-size bronze (青铜) statue of a dog. Even though the statue is very small when compared to the huge neon (霓虹灯) signs flashing, it isn’t   21  to find. It has been used as   22  since 1934 and today you will find hundreds of people waiting there for their friends to   23 —just look for the crowds（人群）.

Hachiko, an Akita dog, was born in 1923 and brought to Tokyo in 1924. His owner, Professor Eisaburo Uyeno and he were close friends that cannot be   24  right from the start. Each day Hachiko would go with his owner, a professor at the Imperial University, to Shibuya train station when he left for work. When he came back, the professor would always find the dog   25  waiting for him.   26 , the professor died suddenly at work in 1925 before he could return home.

  27  Hachiko was still a young dog, the bond between him and his owner was very strong and he   28  to wait at the station every day. Sometimes, he would stay there for days at a time, though some believe that he kept returning because of the food he was given by street vendors. Over time he became a   29  sight to people going to and from work every day. In 1934, a statue of him was put   30  the station. In 1935, Hachiko died at the place he last saw his friend alive.

1.                A．difficult         B．important       C．pleasant D．polite

2.                                  A．a parking place   B．a training center

C．a starting line                      D．a meeting point

3.                A．leave          B．arrive          C．die D．work

4.                A．touched        B．separated       C．reached D．moved

5.                A．nervously       B．disappointedly    C．patiently  D．carefully

6.                A．Sadly          B．Clearly          C．Luckily   D．Honestly

7.                A．Because        B．Since           C．Although  D．Unless

8.                A．decided        B．agreed         C．offered   D．continued

9.                A．familiar         B．strange         C．comfortable   D．funny

10.               A．inside          B．outside         C．behind    D．above

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This is one of life’s ______ questions and people have been debating about it for thousands of years. Now scientists believe they have solved this ______. Researchers from Sheffield and Warwick Universities in England discovered the answer ____. They used a super computer to observe the shell-making process while a new shell was ____. Then they found one protein called OC17 that is ______ for forming eggshell. This is only found inside a chicken’s body, which is proof that the ______ came first. The team was ______ looking at how animals and birds make eggshells but suddenly made their surprising ______. The big question now is where chickens came from. The ______ is from dinosaurs.

The research team said eggshells are one of nature’s most ______ creations. Professor John Harding from the team told reporters: “Understanding how chickens make eggshells is fascinating in itself, but it can also be _____ in designing new materials.” Eggshells are very lightweight but incredibly strong. Even the most up-to-date materials _____ by the world’s top engineers cannot produce anything as ______ as an eggshell. Professor Harding added that ______ eggshells could help to cure bone diseases and design materials for the construction industry. “Nature has found wonderful ways that ___ for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology — we can learn a lot from them.” he said.

1.A. strangest             B. best                C. oldest                               D. Closest

2.A. puzzle                  B. fact                 C. history                              D. opinion

3.A. on purpose        B. by chance     C. without hesitation          D. at work

4.A. breaking              B. changing        C. disappearing          D. Forming

5.A. necessary           B. easy                C. kind                         D. impossible

6.A. egg                       B. eggshell         C. chicken                            D. dinosaur

7.A. obviously            B. originally       C. thoughtfully                     D. surprisingly

8.A. invention            B. mistake          C. statement                        D. discovery

9.A. answer                B. research        C. road                                 D. egg

10.A. common           B. ridiculous      C. funny                               D. amazing

11.A. interesting        B. helpful           C. normal                             D. correct

12.A. bought              B. cut                  C. designed                          D. carried

13.A. brilliant        B. ordinary          C.1ight                                 D. small

14.A. finding               B. watching        C. studying                           D. making

15.A. happen             B. work               C. wait                          D. Look

A simple flower made headlines in the British press last week. How could that be?
British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies(罂粟花) in their buttonholes.
What’s wrong with that?
According to the Global Times, Chinese officials apparently had asked the UK delegation not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.
So what’s the significance of the poppy? It’s a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.
From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China’s humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade —including in the opium —which was made from poppies grown in India.
Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during Word War I. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.
So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons. And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other’s standpoint.
Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain’s Queen —a dull person with no interest in music. Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format and impossible to play on British DVD players.
Many countries have diplomats stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook the cultural significance of a small flower.
(   ) 【小题1】.  British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on         .

A simple flower made headlines in the British press last week. How could that be?

British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies(罂粟花) in their buttonholes.

What’s wrong with that?

According to the Global Times, Chinese officials apparently had asked the UK delegation not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.

So what’s the significance of the poppy? It’s a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.

From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China’s humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade —including in the opium —which was made from poppies grown in India.

Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during Word War I. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.

So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons. And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other’s standpoint.

Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain’s Queen —a dull person with no interest in music. Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format and impossible to play on British DVD players.

Many countries have diplomats stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook the cultural significance of a small flower.

(   ) 1..  British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on         .

    A. October 1            B. November 11      C. December 31      D. January 1

(   ) 2..  The poppy reminds the Chinese of         .

    A. the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century

    B. the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War I

    C. the Chinese soldiers killed during World War II

    D. the suffering caused by Britain during World War I

(   ) 3.. The diplomatic problem in Beijing is mainly caused by         .

    A. the translation mistake                      B. the language difference 

C. the cultural difference                          D. the different lifestyle

(   ) 4..  We can infer that         .

    A. Britain’s Queen is not interested in art

    B. Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him

    C. US President Barack Obama received a gift for music

    D. Britain’s Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her

(   ) 5..  What is the main idea of the 9th paragraph?

    A. Cultural difference can also be interesting and funny.

    B. Cultural differences can cause a big problem.

    C. US President Barack Obama likes to present gifts to other leaders.

    D. US leaders and British leaders get along well with each other.