When I was 8 years old, I once decided to run from home. With my suitcase __36__ and some sandwiches in a bag, I started for the front door and said to Mom,  “ I’m leaving.”

  “if you want to ___37___, that’s all right.” she said. “But you came into this home without anything and you can leave the same way.” I __38___ my suitcase and sandwiches on the floor heavily and started for the door again.

  “ Wait a minute,” Mom said. “ I want your ___39 ___ back. You didn’t wear anything when you arrived.” This really angered me. I tore my clothes off ----shoes, socks, underwear and all---and___40___. “Can I go now?” “Yes,” Mom answered. “but once you close that door, don’t expect to come back.”

  I was so ___41___ that I slammed(砰的关上) the door and stepped out on the front porch. ___42___ I realized that I was outside, with nothing on. Then I noticed that down the street, two neighbor girls were walking toward our house. I ran to __43__ behind a big tree in our yard at once. After a while, I was __44__ the girls had passed by. I dashed to the front door and banged on it loudly. 

  “Who’s there?” I heard.

  “It’s Billy! Let me in!”

  The voice behind the ___45___ answered, “ Billy doesn’t live here anymore, he ran away from home.”  Glancing behind me to see if anyone else was coming. I begged “Aw, o’mon, Mom! I’m ___46___ your son. Let me in!”

  The door inched open and Mom’s smiling face appeared. “ Did you change your __ 47__ about running away?” she asked.

  “ What’s for supper?” I answered.

About 90 percent of Chinese believe the polarization(分化) between the rich and poor is “serious” in China, according to a survey conducted by China Youth Daily. And more than 80 percent of the respondents(对象) surveyed said something must be done to narrow the expanding gap between the rich and poor, while 14.1 percent said it was necessary.

The polarization has aroused wide concern among the public in recent years. The State Development and Reform Commission(国家发改委) said the Gini Coefficient had reached 0.47 for China, up from o.29 two decades ago. Usually, a country with a number above 0.4 is warned to pay attention to the income inequality problem.

To find out the people’s view, the survey covered 10,250 respondents, between the ages of 20 and 30 with a college education and a monthly salary between 1,000 and 3,000 yuan. Surprisingly, most disagreed with the view of experts who claim the urban-rural difference is causing the widening gap. More than 70 percent of the respondents believed that “ the group of special interests” is the prime reason for the polarization, followed by “people in power” 68 percent, and “bosses” 50 percent.

Another unexpected finding is that almost all agreed that a good educational background and knowledge were not the decisive factors in gaining wealth. About 95 percent said rich people are not necessarily those who are able to speak English or have a college education.

Today in China, rich people , accounting for 10 percent of the population, control 45 percent of the total social fortune, and poor people, also 10 percent of the population, only control 1.5 percent, according to an investigation published by the National Bureau of Statistics last June.

It can be inferred that the Gini Coefficient ( in paragraph 2) would probably be _____.

   A. the unit used in advanced mathematics

   B. the degree of a country’s development

   C. the level of the citizen’s living standard

   D. a measure of income inequality

Experts hold the view that the main reason for the polarization is _____.

   A. the urban-rural difference             B. the group of special interests

   C. the people in power                  D. the bosses

Which of the following can show the correct proportion(比例) of the social fortune among population?

What’s the best title of the passage?

   A. Close the Gap between the Rich and Poor

   B. Surveys conducted by China Youth Daily

   C. Higher education, Higher pay

   D. Rich-Poor Divide Serious, Study Finds

B
Yes. It’s really happening. This is the last weekend that Washington D.C.’s beloved giant panda, Tai Shan (aka Butterstick), has resided at the National Zoo. Born in Washtington D.C. four and a half years ago, Tai Shan is leaving for China on February 4 to become part of a breeding(培育) program that will help support panda populations in the wild. We’ve known it was coming: He’s the property of China and his departure was part of an agreement made long before he stole our hearts. And while acknowledging that he will be helping the breed (there are only about 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild), we can’t help but be sad to see him go. He’s been an international concern from the moment he was born on July 9, 2005, thanks in part to the popularity of the PandaCam, which cameraed his every roly-poly(不倒翁似的) move.
The National Zoo is hosting a huge send-off celebration this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to say goodbye to Tai Shan, gathering their team of vets, nutritionists, reproduction specialists, and other scientists to share their knowledge about pandas. The Chinese Embassy will present dance and music presentations, kids will be able to write cards for Tai Shan, and in the most brilliant display we’ve seen in a while, Land O’Lakes will host a photo gallery of favorite images of Tai Shan from the past few years. “When Tai Shan was born,” the Zoo explains in its press release, “...he was about the size of a stick of butter. This earned him the affectionate nickname ‘Butterstick.’” .
Happily, Tai Shan will be departing in style. According to the Washington Post, FedEx has offered to donate the transportation and he’ll be leaving in a 777 FedEx aircraft next week that’s fitted with his own logo on the side. There’ll be “only eight people on board, including a doctor, as well as a panda member of the opposite sex...and more than 50 pounds of his favorite food available on demand,” says the Post. Not a bad way to travel 8,642 miles, even if it is in a crate(板条箱).
So goodbye, Butterstick, safe travels, and may you lead a long and fruitful life in China!
46. We can infer from the passage that the author most probably is ________.
A. an American    B. a Chinese     C. a foreign tourist  D. a young writer
47. Why must the National Zoo send Tai Shan to China on February 4?
A. Because he’s the property of China.
B. Because his mother was stolen from China.
C. Because it’s the first part of a breeding program.
D. Because it’s bound and required by the agreement.
48. By saying “long before he stole our hearts” (in paragraph 1), the author means “long before______”.
A. he made us heartbroken     B. he made us lose heart
C. we fell in love with him      D. we felt disappointed with him
49. The send-off celebration will include the following activities except ______.
A. sharing knowledge about pandas       B. dance and music presentations
C. a photo gallery of images of Tai Shan    D. collecting nicknames for Tai Shan
50. Which of the following statements is True?
A. The number of pandas in the world is now sharply decreasing.
B. FedEx will fly Tai Shan to China in a Boeing 777 aircraft for free.
C. Washington Post is a branch company of FedEx’s in the US.
D. Tai Shan is to be accompanied on board only by eight people.

It’s a goal for millions and millions of families every year——keep the Christmas spending within a certain amount, but can still afford the gifts that your loved ones will enjoy. Never has this concern been greater in recent years than right now. Even so, there are several things that you can do to help.

Hit the sales.

No one wants to get up at four o’clock in the morning and fight to get the best deal on Black Friday, and it’s surely very tough to pick up the courage and get out there in the cold for a good deal, but sometimes——it can be well worth. Many retailers(零售商) offer specials all through the day——and some even offer online Black Friday specials, so you may still be able to get a great deal on Black Friday.

Pay close attention to advertisements.

Once the Christmas shopping season is coming, retailers hungry for business will do just about whatever to get you in the store. Pay very close attention to weekly advertisements of sales among the major retailers and you may be lucky enough to find different prices for the same thing in different shops.

Shop online.

Some of us don’t like running from store to store in order to get the best price on the perfect gift, and some of us don’t like to go out in the cold at all——thankfully for us, we can do online shopping.

The world of online shopping lets people visit all the major retailers as well as some specialty stores that could only be found on the Internet. Customers can find exactly what they are looking for, at the best possible price without ever having to leave the house. With traditional Christmas shopping consumers are sometimes limited to what’s left in stock if they wait too long to get to a particular store.

The first paragraph implies that ______.

       A. nowadays not many people can afford expensive gifts

       B. recently many people don’t want to spend money on gifts

       C. Christmas is a time to make our loved ones enjoy their gifts

       D. Christmas is a time to make us feel free to buy our loved ones gifts

In the writer’s opinion, it is rewarding on Black Friday _____.

       A. if the weather is not very cold         B. if we don’t have to fight for the best deals

       C. if we don’t have to get up early           D. If we get what we want at a good price

The underlined word “specials” means_______.

       A. some experts in shopping             

       B. certain things for especially low price

       C. some kind of help for a certain customer

       D. things that can only be found on Friday

We can have more choices _____.

       A. on Black Friday               B. in a particular store

       C. on the Internet                 D. from retailers

It’s a goal for millions and millions of families every year——keep the Christmas spending within a certain amount, but can still afford the gifts that your loved ones will enjoy. Never has this concern been greater in recent years than right now. Even so, there are several things that you can do to help.

       Hit the sales.

No one wants to get up at four o’clock in the morning and fight to get the best deal on Black Friday, and it’s surely very tough to pick up the courage and get out there in the cold for a good deal, but sometimes——it can be well worth. Many retailers(零售商) offer specials all through the day——and some even offer online Black Friday specials, so you may still be able to get a great deal on Black Friday.

       Pay close attention to advertisements.

Once the Christmas shopping season is coming, retailers hungry for business will do just about whatever to get you in the store. Pay very close attention to weekly advertisements of sales among the major retailers and you may be lucky enough to find different prices for the same thing in different shops.

       Shop online.

Some of us don’t like running from store to store in order to get the best price on the perfect gift, and some of us don’t like to go out in the cold at all——thankfully for us, we can do online shopping.

       The world of online shopping lets people visit all the major retailers as well as some specialty stores that could only be found on the Internet. Customers can find exactly what they are looking for, at the best possible price without ever having to leave the house. With traditional Christmas shopping consumers are sometimes limited to what’s left in stock if they wait too long to get to a particular store.

The first paragraph implies that ______.

       A. nowadays not many people can afford expensive gifts

       B. recently many people don’t want to spend money on gifts

       C. Christmas is a time to make our loved ones enjoy their gifts

       D. Christmas is a time to make us feel free to buy our loved ones gifts

In the writer’s opinion, it is rewarding on Black Friday _____.

       A. if the weather is not very cold                B. if we don’t have to fight for the best deals

       C. if we don’t have to get up early                     D. If we get what we want at a good price

The underlined word “specials” means_______.

       A. some experts in shopping                       B. certain things for especially low price

       C. some kind of help for a certain customer D. things that can only be found on Friday

We can have more choices _____.

       A. on Black Friday                                    B. in a particular store

       C. on the Internet                                      D. from retailers

In this passage the writer means ______.

       A. to tell us the best way to do shopping

B. to attract more readers to do wise shopping

       C. to show us how hard it is to do Christmas shopping

       D. to give us advice on how to get a good deal at Christmas time