Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening. 

One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own. 

Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night. 

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true? 

2.One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.

3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

4.People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London. 

5.The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.

6.C。推断题。根据其上文：这些人偶尔去公园散散步后去海边度两周假；本句接着说：其余的就留给那些每天晚上喜欢离开伦敦的人，那么，“其余的”显然指“其余的乡村”。从而可推知题

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.
Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.
Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.
What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”
【小题1】Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

In the current economic downturn, many American schools are adding a new subject to the curriculum（课程）; financial literacy. One program in Virginia even gets students out of the classroom for a day to learn how far their money will go in the real world.
What looks like a shopping mall is actually an educational field trip experience for a group of young people. Finance Park is a special facility where students apply what they have been taught in class about money management.
“They become, essentially, adults for the day,” says Alice Reilly, social studies coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools. “They are asked to develop a budget for 18 line items that you and I might have in our budget; things like utilities, insurance, groceries, housing.”
Each budget item is represented by a storefront where students collect an option sheet. Students must refer to a card that shows their income and their family size, when they choose what to buy. There’s also a stock ticker so students can keep track of shares in their portfolios（投资组合）.
The facility opened last year in Fairfax, Virginia. It is the fifteenth Finance Park built in the last decade by Junior Achievement USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing young people for financial success.
“Since the financial crisis, the demand for Finance Parks around the country has grown exponentially," says Ed Grenier, president of the Washington, DC chapter. "We have a number under way in the planning and building stages.”
Financial literacy has only recently become part of the regular curriculum in Fairfax County.“Some students, some teachers, some schools did it, but now it is much more systematic," Reilly says, "and it is much more consistent to ensure that all students get this background information.”
That is why every eighth grade student in Fairfax County will eventually spend a day here.Thirteen-year-old Sam says she has learned an important life lesson. “I didn’t know how expensive everything would be.”
Anthony, also 13, is looking forward to telling his parents what he learned. “I’ll probably tell them I want to stay a kid a little longer and take my time to become an adult.”
This isn’t the end of financial studies for Anthony and the other students here. Virginia is one of 13 states which requires students to take a financial education in high school in order to graduate.
【小题1】What is the aim of this Finance Park?
A . To raise enough money for the secondary schools in Virginia.        
B. To enable students to apply money management knowledge to   practice.        
C. To provide students in Virginia with special chances for Advanced Placement.         
D. To direct students in Washington,D.C. to learn more about money management.
【小题2】Who is expected to spend a whole day in the Finance Park?
A .Young people all over Virginia.        
B. Junior students in Washington,D.C.       
C. Eighth graders in Fairfax County.      
D. Eighth graders' parents in Virginia.
【小题3】What can we learn from this passage?
A . Extra curriculum is necessary in secondary schools.       
B. Fairfax County Public Schools set a good example.
C. An organization helps youth in U.S. for financial success.        
D. Financial Literacy is very popular in Washington,D.C.
【小题4】It can be inferred from the passage that _________________.
A . Alice Reilly developed a budget for 18 items in the Finance Park.       
B. ED Grenier was against building more finance parks in U.S.A.        
C. Sam did quite well in  managing his budge in the Finance Park.        
D. Anthony came to know that adult life wasn't as good as expected.

What do you usually expect from a pop star’s concert? Dazzling stage design, mysterious guest singers or sensational costumes? The answer is yes for most singers. But no when it comes to David Tao’s concerts. “ I won’t invite guests to perform. I won’t dance, take off my clothes or dress up like a peacock to attract attention,” Tao said.Tao insisted a concert should offer nothing more than music.
Tao has been on the music scene since 1997. Quality is the word that can best describe his works. With six albums in 10 years, the 38-year-old singer is not prolific(多产的 ), but he has achieved much more than other Chinese singers who have produced 10 or more albums in a short time.
Tao is called the “ Godfather of R&B” in China and has been a trendsetter(创新者) in China’s music industry. His albums have won various awards in Asia for his socially conscious lyrics, simple rhythms and creative mix of traditional sounds, like Peking Opera and traditional Chinese musical instruments.
Tao’s parents were famous entertainers in Taiwan. Tao spent some of his childhood in Hong Kong. His father was an actor, singer and composer, while his mother was a Peking Opera artist. His parents once moved to the United States and his father worked for Walt Disney. Later his parents returned to Taiwan where his father began his singing career, leaving David to finish his education in the United States. Tao met Taiwanese producer, Wang Zhi Ping, who offered him a job. So Tao went back to Taiwan to write and produce songs for many singers. In 1997 with the help of Wang and another Taiwanese producer, Jim Lee, Tao released his first album which set a record in Taiwan as the first album from a new singer. Tao won two awards, Best Newcomer and Best Producer, becoming the first new comer/singer to also win a Best Producer award during the 9th GMA (金曲奖). Later, Tao released his second album. In this album Tao tried many musical styles including his favorite rock music; in fact each song is different in their style and music arrangement.
“I grew up listening to the most fashionably mixed types of music with my father playing Elvis Presley’s songs in one room and my mother singing Peking Opera in another,” Tao said jokingly.
Tao said he will release a new album after the tour and then he will switch roles to become a film director. Preparation for the movie has already begun and it will be released in 2011. “ After the concert, I will switch my focus to that. I hope I can make it one thing after another.”
【小题1】To pop star Tao, what is the most important thing to a concert?