Look! There are thousands of people waiting to buy tickets home in the railway station. Each time when
Spring Festival comes, buying tickets of train trip would be very hard. And things seem to be getting worse
and worse, although we have greatly increased the mileage of railway network and speeded up trains. Why?
It's because too many people want to go back home to spend Spring Festival with their family. Many people
become angry with the Ministry (部) of Railways.
     They wonder why it is hopeless for them to get the tickets from the railway station (火车站) Instead,
they sometimes can only buy them from ticket scalpers (票贩) at much higher price.
     The Ministry of Railways estimated (估计) that about 188 million passengers would travel by train during
the 40-day peak (高峰) period surrounding the 2009 Spring Festival holiday. The number of travelers will be
8％ higher than that of 2008. This problem even drew the President Hu Jintao's attention. He wrote a note to
Liu Zhijun,Minister of the Ministry of Railways, asking him to take action to improve passenger convenience.
Afterward, officials from the Ministry of Railways said they would try their best not to let any ticket-buyers
spend Spring Festival at the railway station.

1. Many people can't buy the tickets from the railway station, and they sometimes can only buy them
    from the scalpers ________.

A. expensively
B. happily
C. dangerously
D. hardly

2. How many people took the train trip during the peak period surrounding the 2008 Spring Festival holiday?

A. About 203 million.
B. About 188 million.
C. About 180 million.
D. About 174 million.

3. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A. People go home much more easily during the Spring Festival.
B. It is very hard to buy tickets in the railway station during the Spring Festival.
C. President Hu Jintao cares about the railway building problem.
D. The Ministry of Railways felt sorry about the problem.

     When I was 13 years old, I became a vegetarian and quickly realized that I would have to learn how
to cook for myself. The first thing I ever asked my mom to teach me how to make was bean soup."Oh,
that's easy!" She told me. She started by explaining: "Almost every soup starts with onions and carrots."
     My mom is a chef who is able to cook delicious meals. She also told me that the very first thing she
had learned in cooking school was to make soup stock (拼盘)----followed by soup. Her teacher had told
the class: "If you learn anything here, it should be soup."
    In the US, soup isn't so much a part of a meal as a meal in itself. Soups are often made from the
leftovers (剩菜) of last night's dinner----a baked chicken or turkey can easily be made into a new meal by
adding broth (肉汤) and some vegetables. Soups are accompanied (伴随) by bread and topped with cheese.
    It was easy to impress my college roommates with my mom's great soup recipes (菜谱). Bean soup,
vegetable noodle soup, mushroom soup… For only a few dollars, three or four of us could eat well from
the same pot of soup for a whole week. Add a loaf of bread and some cheese, and our soup became a proper
feast (盛宴).
    I'm not a vegetarian any more, but I still make bean soup. It fills the house with lovely smells and reminds
me of my mom, and my home.

1. The first thing that the writer learnt to make was _______.

A. bean soup
B. vegetable noodle soup
C. mushroom soup
D. beef soup

2. What is the writer's mother's job?

A. teacher
B. officer
C. chef
D. secretary

3. According to the writer's mother, almost every soup has _______.

A. onions and carrots
B. celery (芹菜) and chili (辣椒)
C. carrots and mushroom
D. bread and cheese

4. Which of the statements is TRUE?

A. Soup is as important as a meal in America.
B. Americans don't like to make soup from leftovers.
C. Americans think it is difficult to make soup.
D. Americans like to add cheese to soup.

5. From this passage, we can learn that _______.

A. in the US, soup isn't part of every meal
B. you can't make soup with a baked chicken or turkey
C. the writer often made different kinds of soup at home with her roommates
D. the writer doesn't make bean soup any more because she isn't a vegetarian

     You may have heard of snipers (狙击手), or seen snipers in movies and computer games. They are
people who can shoot and kill from a long distance. But do you know that we have real snipers in our
police?
     Early this month, a man kidnapped a little girl with a knife in Beijing. Police came to talk to him, but he
didn't let the girl go and was hurting the girl. A sniper shot him dead.
     In Beijing, there are over 300 police snipers. They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to protect
the capital.
    How do snipers get trained? What are their lives like? An expert (专家) with the Beijing sniper team shares
some of the team's secrets with us.
    Q: How do you choose snipers?
    A: We choose snipers from the Beijing police. There are no strict rules about the height and weight of our
snipers, but they must have very good eyesight. The weapon (武器) they use is around 3.5kg. Sometimes
snipers need to hold it for hours. So, snipers need to have a strong body. They also need to pass written
psychology (心理) tests.
    Q: What is the most important quality of a sniper?
    A: A good state of mind. Snipers need to be calm all the time. Sometimes, they may get ready for shooting
for a whole day. They cannot talk, eat or drink during that time.
    Q: What kind of training do snipers usually get?
    A: The practice they often get is 100 meters distance shooting. They practice shooting in all kinds of
weather, including windy and snowy days. 
    Q: Is it possible that a sniper may miss his target (目标)?
    A: That is not possible. The only standard (标准) for being a sniper is to take a life with one bullet (子弹).
    However, snipers are not killers. They only pull the trigger (扣动扳机) when they have to.

1. Which of the following is NOT true about the snipers?

A. They are professional (专业的) killers.
B. They can shoot very far.
C. They protect our country.
D. They are in our police force.

2. A good sniper should have the following except _______.

A. a strong body
B. good eyesight
C. a certain height
D. good state of mind

3. The underlined word "quality" means _______.

A. 质量
B. 品质
C. 性格
D. 性质

4. The most practice the snipers get is _______.

A. holding the gun for a whole day
B. doing push-ups and sit-ups
C. 100m distance shooting
D. jumping over high walls

5. The snipers' work is _______.

A. hard and important
B. interesting and exciting
C. boring but comfortable
D. funny but unimportant

     Birth, marriage and death, they are the greatest events of human life. ① In our life, many events good
or bad may happen to us. But there are three days which are usually marked by some kinds of special
ceremony (仪式): the day we are born, the day we get married, and the day we die. These are the three
main events in life. We only have a choice in the second on the three: we can only choose to or not to marry.
②We have no choice in birth and death. Almost all human beings----______ the most primitive (原始的)
______ the most civilized (文明的)---are affected by these three events. The only thing that differs in each
society is the way these things are celebrated. In fact, all societies (社会) share some common characteristics.
Birth is a joyful event. The proud parents receive congratulations and presents from their relatives and friends
because of the new-born. Marriage is also a delightful event. The young couple (夫妇) go through a special
wedding ceremony; receive presents and set up their new home.
    Death causes much sorrow and is marked by a special ceremony and mourning. The dates of all these
three things are usually remembered.

1. 将①句译成汉语。 
    _______________________________________________________________
2. 在②句的空白处分别填入一个适当的单词使句意完整、上下文通顺。
    _________________ __________________.
3. 回答问题：
    Why do the proud parents receive congratulations and presents from their relatives and friends? 
    _______________________________________________________________
4. 找出文中与下列句子意思相近的句子。
   We don't choose the day we are born and the day we die.
   _______________________________________________________________
5. 找出或写出文中最能表达短文主题的句子。
   _______________________________________________________________

     Have you ever wanted to find a new world, make new friends and have an adventure? Well, (1) f_______
Alice to Wonderland and you'll find everything you need.
     Alice in Wonderland, a new Disney movie, opened in Chinese cinemas on March 26. It's based on English
writer Lewis Carroll's beloved 1865 story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
     In the movie, Alice grows up. She is 19 years old. One day, she goes to a party and learns that a rich man
wants to (2) m_______ her. She doesn't like him, so she follows the White Rabbit and (3) r_______ away.
She falls (4) i_______ a deep hole and arrives at Wonderland, a place she (5) v_______ many years before.
    Alice has no idea why she is in Wonderland. She can't (6)r_______ anything about her last visit. The
White Rabbit tells her that Wonderland is (7) u_______ control of the evil (邪恶的) Red Queen. And Alice is
the (8) o_______ one who can save Wonderland!
    Will Alice be (9) a_______ to do it? Go to the (10) t_______ and see the movie. The new movie mixes live
action and 3D technology to create beautiful and exciting scenes. What's more, you will go on an adventure
of self-discovery with Alice and her Wonderland friends.

     An office meeting starts at 10 a.m.. Hans, a German, is already waiting at 9:55. Nathan, an American,
arrives right at 10 o'clock. In the next five minutes a few others hurry in. But Raul, the visitor from Brazil,
walks in at 10:30. He doesn't even think he's late. How different the understanding of time is around the world! Germans like arriving early. Americans plan to arrive just on time. Brazilians think it OK to be half an hour late.
     In 1884, a clock in Greenwich, England, set the standard (标准的) time around the world, which is known
as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). But it couldn't standardize (使标准化) when people will arrive for a 10 a.m. meeting.
     As people have different understanding of time, all cultures (文化) can be put into one of the two groups:
time-oriented (导向的) and event-oriented. Time goes first in time-orient cultures. In event-orient culture,
what happens is more important than when. Such knowledge is important for today's world travelers.
     Not understanding these different ideas about time can sometimes bring trouble. For example, American
students often quickly exchange "how are you?" and "fine" as they rush to make class on time. But event-orient
students see this exchange as impolite. Before they can say anything more than "fine", the American student
has already hurried past them.
     What can the world traveler do to avoid (避免) such time-related trouble? Follow the age-old rule: When
in Rome, do as the Romans do.

1. If the school starts at 8:30 a.m., what time does your German friend probably arrive?

A. Around 8:25 a.m.
B. Right at 8:30 a.m.
C. Around 9:00 a.m.
D. After 9:00 a.m.

2. Which of the following does not belong to the time-oriented culture?

A. People care about time more than anything else.
B. People don't really mind whether they are late.
C. People often hurry past you with short greetings.
D. Everything usually takes place at the planned time.

3. What does the underlined sentence "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." mean in this passage?

A. You should do everything as the Romans do when you go to Rome.
B. You should do what the Romans tell you to if you are in Rome.
C. You should know the time-idea of the local people and do as they do.
D. You should do everything as the local people do when you are in a new place.

4. Which of the following is true?

A. People from different cultures have the same idea about time.
B. It's quite usual for a time-oriented person to be late.
C. Different understandings of time never bring any trouble.
D. An event-oriented person may feel uncomfortable in the USA.

5. Which of the following is the best title?

A. Greenwich Mean Time
B. How to Avoid Time-related Trouble
C. Different Cultures, Different Understandings of Time
D. Time-oriented Culture

     "Oxfam" is the short form for the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (全国饥荒救济委员会). It is an
international organization to help the poor all over the world. It was started in 1942 in England during the
Second World War to provide relief to war victims in Europe. When the war was over, Oxfam continued its
work, sending materials and money to the poor throughout Europe. Since then, Oxfams have been founded in
12 countries, such as Oxfam America, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Hong Kong and so on.
     Twenty-eight years later, a group of volunteers started Oxfam America. It was first in Washington, DC,
then in 1973 Oxfam America moved to Boston. In England, Oxfam organizes many charity activities every
year to raise money. It also runs many charity shops. The shops receive things donated by people and sell
them to those who need them. The money from the sales will be used to help the homeless and the poor in
different parts of the world.
     Oxfam Hong Kong is a member of Oxfam International. Every year Oxfam Hong Kong organizes
Trailwalker to collect money for the poor in Hong Kong and some other areas in the world.

1. Why was Oxfam first started in England in 1942?

A. Because World War II happened there.
B. Because there were too many people.
C. Because Oxfam America moved to Boston.
D. Because Oxfam Hong Kong was started.

2. What does the underlined word "founded" mean in Chinese?

A. 找到
B. 成立
C. 赞助
D. 施与

3. When was Oxfam America set up in the USA?

A. In 1941.
B. In 1942.
C. In 1970.
D. In 1973.

4. In England, Oxfam does the following to help the poor except ______.

A. Organizing many charity activities
B. Running many charity shops
C. Organizing Trailwalker once a year
D. Helping the poor with the money from the sales

5. The best title of this passage is ______.

A. Oxfam America
B. Oxfam Canada
C. Oxfam Hong Kong
D. Oxfam's history

     Have you ever had problems in your life and don't know how to be happy? If so, you will find Being a
Happy Teenager written by an Australian writer Andrew Matthews useful. In his book, Matthews tells us
how to have a happy life and answers the questions of teenagers.
     There are many subjects, such as parents and friends, and the book says we should stop being angry and
learn to forgive. ①The book tells us some useful skills, such as how to put what you have learned into pictures of your mind to make your memory better.
     Many teenagers think that ②______ comes from a good exam result ③______ praise (表扬) from other
people. But you can still be happy when there are no such "good" things. Success comes from a good attitude,
you learn from thinking about things in a positive way. If you are tall, people notice you and you can get a
better view at the movie; if you are short, your clothes and shoes take less room in your bedroom! This is
Matthews' most important lesson: you choose to be happy!

1. 将画线部分①处译成汉语。
    _____________________________________________________________________
2. Why can you still be happy when there are no such “good” things? 
    _____________________________________________________________________
3. 在②和③处填入适当的单词，使句子完整。 
   ___________  ___________ 
4. 在文中找出与“We should learn to get on well with others instead of being angry”意思相同的句子。 
    _____________________________________________________________________
5. 在文中找出能表达主题的句子。
   _____________________________________________________________________ 

     It is very important to have good friends. 1)拥有许多朋友的一种生活是有趣且丰富多彩的. A life
without a friend is a life without a sun.2)Having good ______ can ______ us in lots of different ways. People
with a lot of friends usually feel happier than people with no friends. Everything we do will be more fun if we
have friends with us to share our adventures (经历). When we are feeling sad or worried, our friends will give
us advice and help us out of difficulties.
    We should not only have good friends but also be good friends. We need our friends as much as they need
us. We should be willing to help friends when they need help.

1. 回答下面问题
    What will friends do when we are feeling sad or worried? 
    _____________________________________________________________________
2. 在2)句的空白处填入适当的词使句意完整、上下文通顺： 
    _____________________________________________________________________
3. 将1)句译成英语：
    _____________________________________________________________________
4. 写出文中与下列句子意思相近的句子：
    If friends need our help, we should be glad to help them.
    _____________________________________________________________________
5. 找出文中最能表达该短文主题的句子：
    _____________________________________________________________________