Raymond Schneider politely elbowed his way through crowds of customers as he made for the candy bins at Dylan’s Candy Bar in Manhattan. Since he was laid off in December, Mr. Schneider, a 33-year-old designer, says he has become a “gummy junkie,” buying a lot of sweets every time he shops for groceries.
“Sugar is comforting,” he said. “There’s nothing more stressful than growing financial insecurity everywhere.”
The recession (经济衰退) seems to have a sweet tooth. As unemployment has risen, Americans, particularly adults, have been consuming growing amounts of candy, say candy makers, store owners and industry experts.
Theories vary on exactly why. For many, sugar lifts spirits dragged low by the economy. For others, candy also provides a reminder of better times. And not insignificantly, it is relatively cheap.
At Candyality, a store in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, business has jumped by nearly 80 percent compared with this time last year, and the owner, Terese McDonald, said she was struggling to keep up with the demand for Bit-O-Honeys, Swedish Fish and Sour Balls.
“They put candy in their actual budget,” she said.
Many big candy makers are also reporting rising sales and surprising profits.
“Candy companies are relatively recession-proof,” said Peter Liebhold, chairman of the Smithsonian Institution’s work and industry division. “During the Great Depression, candy companies stayed in business.”
【小题1】Raymond Schneider was set as an example to show ________.

A．many Americans were laid off in the recession

B．lots of Americans like candies

C．many Americans in the recession like sweets which are comforting

D．Americans are suffering much in the recession.

【小题2】 What does the underlined sentence “The recession seems to have a sweet tooth” mean?

A．Candy consuming rises while people are suffering bad effects of the recession.

B．The recession doesn’t have any bad effect on Americans.

C．Americans are optimistic even though they are out of employment.

D．Candy companies stayed in business during the Great Depression.

【小题3】Which is NOT the reason why people in the recession like sugar?

A．It is relatively cheap.

B．It is comforting and can make a lot of profits.

C．It raises people’s spirits up.

D．It calls up people’s good memories.

【小题4】 The best title of the passage is ________.

A．Sugar Is Comforting

B．Candy Companies Stay In Business

C．Americans Have A Sweet Tooth

D．Sugar Sales Rise In The Recession

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词，并请将答案写在答题纸上。
In a memory – based competition between you and a chimp (猩猩); who do you think would win? If you put yourself on top, you might want to guess again.
In a test that challenged participants to remember numbers, a young chimp performed better than Japanese college students.
Here's how the test worked. At Kyoto University in Japan, human students and chimpanzee participants sat in front of a computer. Five numbers, ranging from 1 to 9, were combined with one another and then, they appeared at random places on the screen.
The numbers stayed on the screen for less than a second. In the first test, for example, participants saw the numbers for 650 milliseconds (about two- thirds of a second).
Then, each number disappeared and they saw a white square instead. Participants had to touch the squares in numerical order, based on the numbers that had been there a moment before.
In this test, the students touched the boxes in the correct order about 80 percent of the time. A young chimp named Ayumu performed equally well.
During a harder test, participants were only able to see the numbers for 210 milliseconds.
This time, students only succeeded in putting the boxes in the correct order about 40 percent of the time. But Ayumu still could select the boxes in the right order nearly 80 percent of the time.    
Some people have what's called a "photographic memory", which allows them to remember a surprising number of details after just a quick look at something. Ayumu's memory might work in a similar way, says lead researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa.
The chimp's young age might have something to do with his impressive performance, too. In previous tests, the Japanese researchers found that young chimps performed better than their mothers.
The scientists are interested to see whether Ayumu loses his strong memory as he arrows older. They already know that young children sometimes have sharp memories when offered something photographical, but they lose this ability over time.

Topic	A memory-based competition between human beings and chimps
(【小题1】) _______	To judge whose memory is better
The (【小题2】)       of the first test	◆A chimp and some Japanese students participated in the (【小题3】) _____ and sat before a computer. ◆Different combinations of five numbers appeared on the screen. ◆Each of the number was (【小题4】)        by a white square.
The results of the second test	◆Students (【小题5】)        to put the boxes in the right order about 40% of the time. ◆Ayumu got the right order (【小题6】)       the time of the students
Conclusion	◆Some people have “photographic memory”, (【小题7】)       some people to remember numbers after they 【小题8】)         at something quickly. ◆The chimps have the similar (【小题9】)       to human beings’. ◆Young children, just like chimps, have strong memory but they’ll lose it when they (【小题10】)       .

 

BEIJING - The country's top health officials state that an international charity's decisions not to give millions of dollars to Chinese organizations that fight AIDS and other diseases will not bring about the end of those organizations. 

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced on Monday that it will withhold $95 million from the $270 million in grants(补助金) it had planned to give China. That decision came as the result of months of discussion between the charity and Chinese officials. 

On the mainland, a large number of programs meant to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS have received money from the Global Fund. Many observers now fear that the announced cut will undermine those organizations' work. 

Chen Zhu, the minister of health, said officials have found a way to limit the harm. “In the coming five years, the Chinese government will constantly increase its financial support of social organizations, particularly those that work to control and prevent HIV/AIDS.” Chen said while addressing the 6th Experience Exchange Conference of International Cooperation Program on HIV/AIDS in China on Monday. 

In a recent survey of more than 200 organizations taking part in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the mainland, nearly 80 percent of them said they had received grants from the Global Fund. About 83 percent of them said they will find it difficult to continue operating without financial support from abroad, it said. Official statistics showed the Global Fund has given China $548 million in grants since 2003. 

Xia Jing, leader of a Beijing-based grassroots organization dedicated to controlling AIDS, said: “We were like children fostered by foreign milk. As foreign money began to be withdrawn from China, we were faced with serious financial hardships.” Han Mengjie, executive director of Global Fund China Programs, said the Chinese government has fully recognized the important role social organizations play in controlling diseases. “The work done and efforts made by such organizations must be sustained for a long time to supplement the government's intervention work,”he said, “We have to face the truth that international money for AIDS control will gradually leave China and to prepare ourselves to deal with that.” 

1.Which sentence is the closest to the title of the passage?

A．China will have to fight against AIDS alone, though facing financial hardship.

B．Chinese organizations of fighting against AIDS and other diseases won’t receive money from international charity.

C．The fight against AIDS won’t be stopped by the withdraw of money from charity in China.

D．Chinese organizations of fighting against AIDS and other diseases will be reduced to despair.

2.According to Han Mengjie, which of the following is the most possible action to be taken?

A．Chinese government is expected to seek help from social organization to control diseases

B．Chinese government shouldn’t rely too much on social organizations

C．Social organizations’ work and efforts won’t make much difference to the fight against AID

D．We Chinese are well prepared for the international money’s withdraw from China

3.How much money will China have received from Global Fund by the end of this year ?

A．$818             B．$548             C．$ 270            D．$723

4.What implication can we get from the passage？

A．Many people are not optimistic about the control of AIDS.

B．Chinese government will take an active part in AIDS control.

C．International charity are treating China unfairly.

D．Most organization related with AIDS control had received money from the Global Fund before this announcement on Monday.

 

WHAT’S ON

STAGE

Russian dances: The famous “Little White Birth” Dance Troupe will travel from Russia to present performances in Beijing.

   The troupe, founded in 1948, is famous for their combination of Russian folk dances and classical dancing art.

   It has been invited by the Beijing Foreign Culture Exchange Co. in order to give four performances in Beijing.

   Tickets are available through ticket hotlines and website such as www. paio. com. cn, www. Chinaticket. com and www. ticket. elong. com.

* Time: 7: 30 pm, January 18 - 21

* Place: Beizhan Theatre, 135, Xiwai Dajie,

Xicheng District

* Tel: 6606-4258

EXHIBITIONS

Kite show: All together 81 kites collected by the China National Art Museum is on show in the Yanhuang Art Museum.

   Kong Xiangze, an expert on Chinese kites, published a book on kites, explaining the origins of the kite-making process. The exhibited kites are made in a traditional Chinese style.

* Time: 9 am-5 pm until February 11

* Place: 9 Huizhong Lu

* Tel: 6491-2902       CONCERTS

Folk music: A concert of classics of Chinese folk music will greet audiences on the first day of the Year of Snake at the Beijing Concert Hall.

   The China Song and Dance Ensemble will perform dozens of traditional instrumental pieces, such as “Full of Joy”, “Colourful Cloud Chasing the Moon” and “Spring Festival Suite”.

* Time: 7: 30 pm, January 24   

* Place: 1, Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District

* Tel: 6559-8285

EVENTS

Flower festival: The Beijing Botanical Garden is bringing people a blooming festival with the beautiful flowers in its tropical plants greenhouse.

   The garden has introduced nearly 80 kinds of flowers abroad for the exhibition.

   There is also an exhibition of potted narcissus (水仙) landscapes (盆景). More than 300 mini landscapes involving imported narcissus will be displayed, people can get a preview of the show by visiting www.beijingbd.com, the garden’s website.

* Time: 8:30 am-5 pm until January 28

* Place: Wofosi Lu near the Fragant Hills

* Tel: 8259-5547

1. Suppose you are too far away from Beijing or you can’t spare time to go there in person, which of the following shows can you enjoy all the same?

A. Russian dances.          B. Kite show                     C. Folk music                    D. Flower festival

2.The phrase “get a preview of” used in the passage means ______.

A. watch in advance                                          B. see more clearly

C. get good position of                                        D. get a general idea of

3.f you and your classmates have a free evening to spend on the 19th of January, which is a useful number to call?

A. 6606-4258         B. 6491-2902                 C. 6559-8285        D. 8259-5547

 

BEIJING—Seven prestigious universities in China announced Sunday that they would begin using the same independent exam —besides the national one —to test students hoping to gain entrance to them in 2011.
The seven are Peking University, Beihang University, Beijing Normal University, Nankai University, Fudan University, Xiamen University and Hong Kong University.
Students who want to gain entrance to any of the seven universities will only have to sit one independent exam, according to the joint announcement.
“This will help lighten the students’ load, otherwise they must take several exams for different universities ,”said the announcement.
Passing the exam could result in more than one interview chance, giving the students more opportunities to choose their favorite universities.
China’ s college entrance exam system is undergoing reform as universities aim to select students based on independent criteria rather than just using the results of the national exam.
In 2003, Peking University and another 21 universities were allowed to pilot (试用) the reform by using their own criteria to independently select five percent of their students.
Now nearly 80 universities across the country have the right to select talented students based on their own exams.
Education experts regard universities selecting students according to independent examinations as conducive (有助的) to better understanding where the students’ talents lie.
Although this may be the case, it has also created problems as students may sit many different exams as they often apply for a number of universities.
To relieve students from such pressures, the national education outline (2010—2020) released in July this year encourages high-level universities to group together to use the same exams.
【小题1】If students want to be admitted to the seven prestigious universities, they can______.

A．only pass the interview.

B．only take the national exam.

C．only take the independent exam.

D．either take the national exam or take the independent exam.

【小题2】What’s the purpose of students sitting one independent exam to gain entrance to the seven universities?

A．It can reduce students’ load to take several exams.

B．The universities will have the same standard to test students.

C．There will be less trouble marking students’ test papers.

D．It can avoid fierce competition among these universities.

【小题3】If students pass the independent exam, they will ______.

A．take the national exam.

B．have one or more interview chances.

C．be admitted to one of the universities.

D．he trained to be adapted to universities life and studies.

【小题4】What is the advantage of universities selecting students according to independent examinations?

A．Students needn’t take the national exam.

B．Students ’education cost can be lowered.

C．Students’ abilities and talents can be better found.

D．It can encourage middle schools to recommend more qualified students.