When I was going home to India last year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from China．

When India had not opened up its markets to the world, I carried suitcase loads of dark glasses and jeans．Thankfully, we can get all these anywhere in India now．

Still, her answer surprised me: “Green tea．”

As long as I can remember she didn’t even drink Indian tea ．

I dutifully bought a big packet of Longjing and headed home to hear the story．My mother and her brother, both regular newspaper readers, believed that Chinese green tea was the wonder drug for all illnesses．

At the turn of the century, China was not really familiar to the average Indian．It was a strange country．

How things change! And how soon!

Now every town of any size seems to have a “China Market”．And everyone is talking about China．

The govemment of Indin has planned to send a team to China to see how things are done．A minister once said that India must open the doors for more foreign investment(投资)and such a step would “work wonders as it did for China”．

But it’s a two-way street．I just heard about a thousand Shenzhen office workers who have gone to Bangalore to train in software．Meanwhile, all the Indian IT majors are setting up a strong presence in China．

No wonder that trade, which was only in the millions just ten years ago, is expected to hit about US $15 billion for last year and US $20 billion by 2008, a goal set by both governments．

No wonder, my colleague wrote some weeks ago about this being the Sino-Indian(中印)century as the two countries started on January 1 the Sino-Indian Friendship Year．

But what is still a wonder to me is my mother drinking Chinese tea．

1．According to the passage, the author left _____ for ______．

     A．India; China             B．China; India     

       C．China; Longjing          D．India; Shenzhen

2．The reason why the writer’s mother asked for Chinese green tea is that_____．

     A．she had a son working in China          B．she believed it had a curing effect

     C．she enjoyed Chinese products      D．she was tired of Indian tea

3．The underlined part “it’s a two-way street” in Paragraph 10 probably means ____．

     A．The exchanges between Indian and China benefit both．

     B．China and India have different traffic rules．

     C．Tea trade works wonders in both India and China．

     D．Chinese produces are popular in both China and India．

4．It can be inferred from the passage that _______．

     A．the author was concerned for his mother’s health

     B．the author was in favor of drinking Chinese green tea

     C．the author was surprised at China’s recent development

     D．the author was curious about the growth of India’s IT industry

Harry Houdini was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.

    Of course, his secret was not magic or supernatural power. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.

    Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in clubs in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.

    It was the publicity (宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape from ankle chains. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks. She passed it quickly from her mouth to his.

    Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? Worldwide fame and a name remembered today.

1.According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on ______.

A. his special tricks and supernatural powers

B. his unusual ability and skeleton key

C. his magic tricks and supernatural powers

D. his wisdom and magic tricks

2. It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous ______ .

A. in 1894          B. before he married

C. at the age of 17     D. when he was 24

3.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?                          

A. Houdini was a famous American magician.  

B. Houdini was first recognized in Chicago.   

C. Houdini first entered the entertainment world together with his wife.   

D. Houdini was popular with people from Europe and America.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. A Skeleton Key      B. A Secret Prisoner

C. Worldwide Fame   D. Great Escapes

 

 

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.

Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?

People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.

Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.

The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.

Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter  —a person who made pots and pans.

The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.

Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.

Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.

1. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?

A. Places where people lived.      B. People’s characters.

C. Talents that people possessed.   D. People’s occupations.

2. According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.

A. owned or drove a cart          B. made things with metals

C. made kitchen tools or contains   D. built houses and furniture

3. Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.

A. Beatrice Smith          B. Leonard Carter

C. George Longstreet       D. Donald Greenwood

4. The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____

A. later generations          B. friends and relatives

C. colleagues and partners     D. later sponsors

 

Renee had been married for a long, long time. Her favorite part of being married was the weekend, when she was with her two horses. On the weekend, Renee was at the stables(养马场) from morning until dark. She fed, groomed, and rode her horses. She was an excellent rider. She would ride the horses bareback on Saturday, and then she would saddle（给马装鞍） them up on Sunday.

Renee loved parades. She used to say, “A parade isn’t a parade without a horse.” Renee loved parades almost as much as she loved her horses. She belonged to an email list of volunteers for parades. She regularly visited the state website list of parades to see if there were any new parades that she didn’t know about. All the state parades were organized in her computer. In the parades file, she listed the date, drive time and distance, parade time, contact people, and other details she felt were important.

She knew the parade director of every town within a four-hour drive. She never stayed overnight. She always left the parade in time to get her horses back to the stables before “bedtime”. She had to feed them before they turned in. Her horses seemed to like parades, too. They knew a few tricks that always impressed the children.

Renee was very generous with her time and her horses. But owning horses wasn’t cheap. You had to rent the stables, and there were always vet(兽医) and feed bills. Renee knew how to cope with expenses, though. Her vet always gave her a 10-percent discount for paying cash. She always bought the no-name, generic food for the horses. Her vet had told her it was just as healthful and tasty as the brand name material. She always bought economy gasoline. And on parade days, Renee always packed her own lunch and ate with her horses.

1.What did Renee regularly do on the weekend?

A．She visited the state website list of parades.

B．She took part in parades.

C．She fed, groomed, and rode her horses at the stables.

D．She spent with her family.

2.Which one did Renee like better,horses or parades?

A．She liked horses better than parades.

B．She liked parades better than horses.

C．She didn’t love her horses as much as she loved parades.

D．She loved her horses almost as much as she loved parades.

3.Renee never stayed overnight when she took part in parades because__________.

A．she didn’t like to sleep together with horses

B．she had to get her horses back to the stables before “bedtime” to be fed

C．her horses didn’t agree to stay overnight

D．she couldn’t sleep well outside

4.How did Renee cope with expenses of owning horses? The following ways were used except that __________.

A．she always bought the brand name food for the horses

B．she had a 10-percent discount for paying cash offered by her vet

C．she always packed her own lunch and ate with her horses on parade days

D．she always bought the no-name, generic food for the horses

5.Which of the following words can’t be used to describe Renee?

A．caring            B．money-saving      C．careful           D．mean

 

The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.

Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.

Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.

It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret  was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his.

Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wide fame and a name remembered today.

According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.

A. his special tricks and supernatural powers

B. his unusual ability and a skeleton key

C. his magic tricks and inhuman powers

D. his wisdom and magic tricks

In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.

A. his first prison escape                     B. the year 1898

C. the publicity                           D. Harry Houdini’s success

It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.

A. in 1894                                  B. before he married

C. at the age of 17                       D. when he was about 24

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. A Skeleton Key                       B. A Man of Many Secrets

C. World-wild Fame                   D. Great Escape