Many boys love reading about the legends of old pirates (海盗) and dreaming of their own wild adventures. But modern pirates are not a thing of the past. Last month Somali pirates did their boldest hijacking (劫持) to date. They seized the Saudi supertanker (超大型油轮) Sirius Star carrying crude oil worth about $100 million. They demanded $15 million to free the ship and its crew.

The pirates have kept hitting the headlines this year: 92 attacks have been attempted, with 36 successful hijackings and 268 crew members taken hostage (人质). The Chinese fishing ship Tianyu 8, with 17 Chinese and 8 foreigners on board, has been in their hands since November 14.

Of course piracy (海盗行为) is nothing new. Even since there has been water and ships there have been pirates. The earliest documented history of pirates dates back to the 13^th century in the Mediterranean Sea. Even the famous Roman emperor Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates.

Piracy reached its peak in the mid-1700s. It was during this time in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa that men like “Blackbeard the Pirate” made this profession attractive. But with the creation of stronger national Navies piracy became less popular around the world.

In the mid-20^th century, most pirates were petty (小规模的) thieves. They used hooks to sneak (偷偷摸摸) on board ships at anchor, and grabbed all that they could find. These pirates were more likely to flee than fight if faced by the crew.

However, nowadays piracy has become a multi-million-dollar business at tracting many in poor countries. Pirates are treated like heroes among local fishermen.

They use satellite phones and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Once they spot their target, they swarm the ship with fast boats and shoot it by firing AK-47s or even rocket-propelled grenades (火箭榴弹炮). Then they hold the ship and its crews for money.

“The world should take forceful actions together to fight piracy,” said leaders at the Asian and Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.

“However, putting in anti-piracy army can only be half of the solution. We have to protect the fair chance of Somali fishermen to get a good living and keep them from the lure of easy money,” said Peter Lehr, a lecturer in terrorism studies.

When did piracy reach its peak?

A. In the 13^th century.                 B. In the mid-1700s.

C. In the mid-20^th century.          D. November 14, 2008.

What does the underlined sentence probably mean?

A. Pirates were very bold at first.      B. Pirates were very popular then.

C. Pirates were very attractive then.    D. Pirates were not so bold at that time.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The pirates have committed 92 crimes successfully this year.

B. Piracy became more and more popular as the national Navies became powerful.

C. Nowadays, pirates are learning to use modern weapons to commit crimes at sea.

D. On November 18, a Chinese ship was attacked by a suspected pirate ship.

Many boys love reading about the legends of old pirates (海盗) and dreaming of their own wild adventures. But modern pirates are not a thing of the past. Last month Somali pirates did their boldest hijacking (劫持) to date. They seized the Saudi supertanker (超大型油轮) Sirius Star carrying crude oil worth about $100 million. They demanded $15 million to free the ship and its crew.
The pirates have kept hitting the headlines this year: 92 attacks have been attempted, with 36 successful hijackings and 268 crew members taken hostage (人质). The Chinese fishing ship Tianyu 8, with 17 Chinese and 8 foreigners on board, has been in their hands since November 14.
Of course piracy (海盗行为) is nothing new. Even since there has been water and ships there have been pirates. The earliest documented history of pirates dates back to the 13^th century in the Mediterranean Sea. Even the famous Roman emperor Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates.
Piracy reached its peak in the mid-1700s. It was during this time in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa that men like “Blackbeard the Pirate” made this profession attractive. But with the creation of stronger national Navies piracy became less popular around the world.
In the mid-20^th century, most pirates were petty (小规模的) thieves. They used hooks to sneak (偷偷摸摸) on board ships at anchor, and grabbed all that they could find. These pirates were more likely to flee than fight if faced by the crew.
However, nowadays piracy has become a multi-million-dollar business at tracting many in poor countries. Pirates are treated like heroes among local fishermen.
They use satellite phones and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Once they spot their target, they swarm the ship with fast boats and shoot it by firing AK-47s or even rocket-propelled grenades (火箭榴弹炮). Then they hold the ship and its crews for money.
“The world should take forceful actions together to fight piracy,” said leaders at the Asian and Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.
“However, putting in anti-piracy army can only be half of the solution. We have to protect the fair chance of Somali fishermen to get a good living and keep them from the lure of easy money,” said Peter Lehr, a lecturer in terrorism studies.
【小题1】 When did piracy reach its peak?

A．In the 13th century.	B．In the mid-1700s.
C．In the mid-20th century.	D．November 14, 2008.

【小题2】What does the underlined sentence probably mean?

A．Pirates were very bold at first.	B．Pirates were very popular then.
C．Pirates were very attractive then.	D．Pirates were not so bold at that time.

【小题3】According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The pirates have committed 92 crimes successfully this year.

B．Piracy became more and more popular as the national Navies became powerful.

C．Nowadays, pirates are learning to use modern weapons to commit crimes at sea.

D．On November 18, a Chinese ship was attacked by a suspected pirate ship.

At 227 billion yuan ($33 billion) for 2008, Guangdong's cultural industries accounted for 6.4 percent of its GDP and experienced a growth rate of 13.8 percent.  But Lai admits that size does not equal weight. "Our businesses are mostly small, financing difficult and brands few."

One local brand that has made it big is Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf, also translated as Happy Sheep and Gray Wolf, China's most popular cartoon series currently being aired. But Liu Manyi, general manager of Creative Power Entertaining Inc, the firm behind the hit show, is not laughing to the bank. Instead she is bitter: "Pirate discs were all over the streets before our first movie hit the screen. Their images appear on all kinds of products. All this has no proper licensing."

In case you don't know, China produces the largest amount of animated(动画的) programming in the world. But quantity is not quality. Behind every Pleasant Goat there are tens of thousands of flops. The best way for the government to promote the country's creative industries is to crack down on piracy (盗版). Hollywood often raises its voice about being victimized (受害) in China. Truth be told, Hollywood is probably the least affected since there is a quota system for China's importation of Hollywood films.

Many Chinese producers are taking baby steps and the domestic market is all they have. If their rights in the home market are not protected, they will never see the day their products find a foreign audience.

The sudden closure(关闭) of BT websites where copyrighted materials used to flow freely suggests a determination on the part of the government to take intellectual property rights seriously. This kind of websites is bad for us, so we should ban them.

Much of the news coming out of the 2009 International Cultural Industries Forum was encouraging. China's film industry is expected to get 6 billion yuan ($879 million) in box office receipts this year. A decade from now, this number may go up to 30 billion, according to some forecasts.

If the government takes serious action against online and offline pirates, China's creative industries may well have a bright future.

51. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 mean?

A. Fast as the development of Guangdong's cultural industries is, they don’t have a big challenge in the world.

B. Guangdong's cultural industries can make a big profit although they are just the small companies.

C. Guangdong's cultural industries make a big contribution to its GDP because of their strong economic power.

D. The development of Guangdong's cultural industries cannot catch up with any other  

industries.

52. What does Liu Manyi think about Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf?

A. It is a failure since it is a local brand.

B. It is a success but cannot get the expected profit.

C. Its profit from the images has been shared legally.

D. Pirate discs make it more popular among the children.

53. Hollywood films are mentioned to tell us that __________.

A. Hollywood films make our creative industries have less space to survive

B. it is piracy that makes it possible for Hollywood films to get less influenced

C. our creative industries need enough protection to have a bright future

D. foreign films have taken up more market in China than the local ones

54. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Chinese creative industries are more advanced than foreign ones.

B. The domestic market is of little significance to the survival of Chinese creative  

industries.

C. BT websites stand in the way of the development of Chinese creative industries.

D. The growth of China's film industry is always slow and needs more support.

55. In which column of a newspaper will you probably read this passage?

A. Regional    B. Economic     C. Sports    D. Cartoon

 

At 227 billion yuan ($33 billion) for 2008, Guangdong's cultural industries accounted for 6.4 percent of its GDP and experienced a growth rate of 13.8 percent.  But Lai admits that size does not equal weight. "Our businesses are mostly small, financing difficult and brands few."

One local brand that has made it big is Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf, also translated as Happy Sheep and Gray Wolf, China's most popular cartoon series currently being aired. But Liu Manyi, general manager of Creative Power Entertaining Inc, the firm behind the hit show, is not laughing to the bank. Instead she is bitter: "Pirate discs were all over the streets before our first movie hit the screen. Their images appear on all kinds of products. All this has no proper licensing."

In case you don't know, China produces the largest amount of animated(动画的) programming in the world. But quantity is not quality. Behind every Pleasant Goat there are tens of thousands of flops. The best way for the government to promote the country's creative industries is to crack down on piracy (盗版). Hollywood often raises its voice about being victimized (受害) in China. Truth be told, Hollywood is probably the least affected since there is a quota system for China's importation of Hollywood films.

Many Chinese producers are taking baby steps and the domestic market is all they have. If their rights in the home market are not protected, they will never see the day their products find a foreign audience.

The sudden closure(关闭) of BT websites where copyrighted materials used to flow freely suggests a determination on the part of the government to take intellectual property rights seriously. This kind of websites is bad for us, so we should ban them.

Much of the news coming out of the 2009 International Cultural Industries Forum was encouraging. China's film industry is expected to get 6 billion yuan ($879 million) in box office receipts this year. A decade from now, this number may go up to 30 billion, according to some forecasts.

If the government takes serious action against online and offline pirates, China's creative industries may well have a bright future.

1.What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 mean?

A. Fast as the development of Guangdong's cultural industries is, they don’t have a big challenge in the world.

B. Guangdong's cultural industries can make a big profit although they are just the small companies.

C. Guangdong's cultural industries make a big contribution to its GDP because of their strong economic power.

   D. The development of Guangdong's cultural industries cannot catch up with any other industries.

2.What does Liu Manyi think about Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf?

A. It is a failure since it is a local brand.

B. It is a success but cannot get the expected profit.

C. Its profit from the images has been shared legally.

D. Pirate discs make it more popular among the children.

3. Hollywood films are mentioned to tell us that __________.

A. Hollywood films make our creative industries have less space to survive

B. it is piracy that makes it possible for Hollywood films to get less influenced

C. our creative industries need enough protection to have a bright future

D. foreign films have taken up more market in China than the local ones

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Chinese creative industries are more advanced than foreign ones.

B. The domestic market is of little significance to the survival of Chinese creative industries.

C. BT websites stand in the way of the development of Chinese creative industries.

D. The growth of China's film industry is always slow and needs more support.

5.In which column of a newspaper will you probably read this passage?

A. Regional    B. Economic     C. Sports    D. Education

 

At 227 billion yuan ($33 billion) for 2008, Guangdong's cultural industries accounted for 6.4 percent of its GDP and experienced a growth rate of 13.8 percent.  But Lai admits that size does not equal weight. "Our businesses are mostly small, financing difficult and brands few."

One local brand that has made it big is Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf, also translated as Happy Sheep and Gray Wolf, China's most popular cartoon series currently being aired. But Liu Manyi, general manager of Creative Power Entertaining Inc, the firm behind the hit show, is not laughing to the bank. Instead she is bitter: "Pirate discs were all over the streets before our first movie hit the screen. Their images appear on all kinds of products. All this has no proper licensing."

In case you don't know, China produces the largest amount of animated(动画的) programming in the world. But quantity is not quality. Behind every Pleasant Goat there are tens of thousands of flops. The best way for the government to promote the country's creative industries is to crack down on piracy (盗版). Hollywood often raises its voice about being victimized (受害) in China. Truth be told, Hollywood is probably the least affected since there is a quota system for China's importation of Hollywood films.

Many Chinese producers are taking baby steps and the domestic market is all they have. If their rights in the home market are not protected, they will never see the day their products find a foreign audience.

The sudden closure(关闭) of BT websites where copyrighted materials used to flow freely suggests a determination on the part of the government to take intellectual property rights seriously. This kind of websites is bad for us, so we should ban them.

Much of the news coming out of the 2009 International Cultural Industries Forum was encouraging. China's film industry is expected to get 6 billion yuan ($879 million) in box office receipts this year. A decade from now, this number may go up to 30 billion, according to some forecasts.

If the government takes serious action against online and offline pirates, China's creative industries may well have a bright future.

51. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 mean?

A. Fast as the development of Guangdong's cultural industries is, they don’t have a big challenge in the world.

B. Guangdong's cultural industries can make a big profit although they are just the small companies.

C. Guangdong's cultural industries make a big contribution to its GDP because of their strong economic power.

       D. The development of Guangdong's cultural industries cannot catch up with any other industries.

52. What does Liu Manyi think about Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf?

A. It is a failure since it is a local brand.

B. It is a success but cannot get the expected profit.

C. Its profit from the images has been shared legally.

D. Pirate discs make it more popular among the children.

53. Hollywood films are mentioned to tell us that __________.

A. Hollywood films make our creative industries have less space to survive

B. it is piracy that makes it possible for Hollywood films to get less influenced

C. our creative industries need enough protection to have a bright future

D. foreign films have taken up more market in China than the local ones

54. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Chinese creative industries are more advanced than foreign ones.

B. The domestic market is of little significance to the survival of Chinese creative industries.

C. BT websites stand in the way of the development of Chinese creative industries.

D. The growth of China's film industry is always slow and needs more support.

55. In which column of a newspaper will you probably read this passage?

A. Regional    B. Economic     C. Sports    D. Cartoon