32、In the United States, there are three kinds of taxes(税).

The first tax is for the federal(联邦的)government. American people who have a salary(薪水) of more than four to five thousand dollars a year must pay a certain rate(比率)of their salary to the federal government. The rate is different from person to person. If depends on his or her salary. If a person has a salary of less than $17,850 a year, he or she should pay 15% of his or her salary to the federal government. If a person has a salary of more than $17,850 a year, he or she should pay 28% of his or her salary to the federal government.

The second tax is for the state government: New York, California, North Dakota, or any of the other forty-seven states. Some states have the same tax as that of the federal government. Of course, the rate for the state tax is lower. Other states have a sales tax, for example, a person might want to buy a radio for twenty-five dollars. If there is a sales tax of 8% in that state, then the cost of the radio is twenty-seven dollars.

The third tax is for the city. This tax comes in two forms: property(财产)tax(people who own a house have to pay taxes on it)and excise tax(消费税). The cities use the tax money for education, police and some other public matters.

Since Americans pay such high taxes, they feel that the United States has the worst taxes in the world, because they have to work one day each week just to pay their taxes.

1.People in the United States should pay taxes to      .

      A.the federal government                               B.the city

      C.the state government  D.all of the above

2.If an American's salary is $20,000 year, how much should he pay to the federal government?

      A.$3,000.                     B.$5,600.                  C.$1,600.                D.$1,000.

3.If there is a sales tax of 8% in the state and an American wants to buy a car for $12,000, how much sales tax should he pay to the state government?

      A.$1,200.                     B.$1,800.                  C.$960.                   D.$3,400.

4.What taxes are paid to the city?

      A.Property tax and sales tax.                          B.Excise tax and sales tax.

      C.Sales tax and salary tax.                             D.Property tax and excise tax.

5.What do Americans think of their taxes?

      A.If is too much.           B.It is acceptable.      C.It is just so-so.          D.It is too little.

31、Everybody is afraid of quicksand(流沙). In the films, people fall into quicksand. They are pulled down and down. They disappear! No one sees them again!

What is quicksand? Can it really pull things down? No. It cannot. Quicksand cannot pull things into it. Quicksand is really loose(松散的)sand and a lot of water. The water makes the quicksand. It is different from the sand on the beach. A person can walk on the beach. A person cannot walk on quicksand. It is too loose.

Falling into quicksand does not hurt. It is almost like falling into water! Your body will go down. But then it will come up. People can float(漂浮)in quicksand. But they must not fight the sand. That would make them go down. They should move slowty until they float.

Quicksand is found in many places. It is found near the mouths of large rivers. The mouth of a river is where the river meets the ocean or the sea. Quicksand is also found on land. In some places the water stays on the land. It does not drain(排放)or dry up. If there is sand around, the sand gets very wet. Then it becomes quicksand.

Will you go down in quicksand? Yes, but not all the way. You will float. But you should float in clean water. Quicksand is too dirty!

1.If you fall into quicksand,      .

      A.you should move fast and try your best to get out

      B.you will be gone and no one will see you again

      C.it is nothing serious and don't be afraid

      D.you will be pulled down and down and then die quickly

2.A person cannot walk on quicksand because      .

      A.it is dangerous                                       B.it is too loose

      C.it will hurt him                                       D.it will pull him down

3.You can find quicksand      .

      A.in a river                                               B.in the ocean       

      C.in the sea                                               D.at the ends of large rivers

4.It is difficult to find quicksand in      .

      A.dry countries           B.China                    C.America             D.wet countries

5.People don't like to float in quicksand because it is      .

      A.hot                         B.cold                      C.dirty                  D.soft

30、News 1 Have you ever thought of being able to fly around the world in a few hours though it is about 40,000 kilometers? One day, maybe you can. In November 2004, the American X-43A airplane made its first flight. It reached a speed of 8,000 kilometres an hour. This makes it the fastest plane in the world. The X-43A is only three to four metres long, but it's very heavy: it weights 1,270 kilogrammes.

News 2 Have you ever got angry at books that are full of mistakes? Don't worry, things will get better soon. Last week, China started checking textbooks, dictionaries and children's books all over the country. The government said the results of the checking would come out at the end of June.

News 3 There will be a new “star”in the sky soon. China plans to send a satellite into space by December 2006. It will stay in space for one year. It will go around the moon and take pictures. It must be very expensive, right? That's for sure-1.4 billion yuan!

News 4 Floods(洪水)across the northern Mexican state of Coahuila killed at least 32 people and left 100 more missing. It was reported on Monday. The heavy rain hit the state all night last Friday, so some banks of the river were broken. Along the river about 3,000 families were seriously affected(受影响).

1.News 1 talks about      .

      A.people can't go around the world in a few hours

      B.the American X-43A airplane travelled around the earth in a few hours

      C.the American X-43A airplane is the fastest one in the world

      D.only American can make such a fast plane

2.If the X-43A goes around the earth, it will take about       hours to finish the trip?

      A.3                        B.5                              C.8                            D.12

3.Which of the following about New 2 is TRUE?

      A.There are many mistakes in most of the textbooks, dictionaries and children's books.

      B.All the students have to use the books full of mistakes till the end of June.

      C.After the checking books will become better and better.

      D.A few mistakes are not serious for children.

4.Which of the following about the new “star”is NOT true?

      A.It will help us know more about the moon.

      B.It will go around the earth for one year.

      C.It will cost 1.4 billion yuan.

      D.It will be sent up by the year 2006.

5.Many families were affected by the flood because of      .

      A.the heavy rain on Monday                        B.the broken banks of the river

      C.the floods across Mexico                         D.the death of 132 people

28、My uncle is       honest man. He works in       university. He is good at playing       violin.

A.a; an; the     B.a; a; /   C.an; a; the     D.a; the; /

27、There are fifteen       in our class.

A.girl students   B.girls student   C.girls students    D.girl student

26、In our school several       students are able to search the Internet for useful information now.

A.hundred of    B.hundreds for   C.hundred      D.hundreds

25、Hi, boys, please don't go back home       the rain stops, or you'll get wet.

A.because       B.since    C.but      D.until

24、They were made       day and night those days.

A.work   B.worked           C.to work       D.makes

23、Oh, this is really a big shop. Do you know when it      ?

A.built     B.was built     C.has built      D.has been built