Do you know star anise? It has a Chinese name “bajiao”(八角). You can find this spice(调味料) in almost all Chinese kitchens. Suddenly people around the world need the small fruit from which the spice is made, because of bird flu(禽流感).

Bird flu has made tens of millions of birds die and killed at least 60 people in Asia. Scientists say if flu changes to spread from person to person, it could kill millions!

A medicine called Tamiflu(达菲) is supposed to fight bird flu in humans. Roche, a Swiss company, developed it. But Roche says it hasn’t enough raw material(原料) to make lots of Tamiflu. The material is the Chinese spice star anise.

About 90% of the world’s star anise is produced in South China. The fruit is harvested(丰收) between March and May. Besides spice, people also use it as medicine.

People afraid of bird flu have begun to buy star anise and cook chicken and other meat with it more. But so far, no scientists say the spice could give protection(保护). Some scientists say that eating the fruit itself won’t help against bird flu.

1.Most world’s star anise is produced in         .

A. SwissB. AfricaC. AsiaD. South China 

2.According to the passage, the underlined word “supposed” probably means         .

A. thoughtB. should        C. feltD. ought

3.Star anise is harvested          .

A. for one monthB. for half a year  

C. for almost three monthsD. All year round

4.What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. The introduction of star anise. 

B. The influence of bird flu.

C. The introduction of Tamiflu.   

D. Star anise is used to make medicine to help fight bird flu.

5.Which one is NOT right according to the passage?

A. Star anise is a kind of spice.

B. Most star anise is produced in China.

C. Bird flu is dangerous for people.

D. Scientists say spice can help against bird flu.

Good afternoon, everyone. My talk for today is “Early Money”. I’m going to tell you something about money used in the early days. To tell you the truth, we know little about how early people came to use money, but we do know   some of the things which have been used as money. In early times in some   European countries, salt was very difficult to get, so it was used as money. In  some places of Asia, tea was used as money. The American Indians used nuts and other things. Perhaps the most common money of all was an animal of some kind. In some places today, cows are still used as a kind of money. So you see, things highly valued by everyday may serve as money. The Chinese were the first people to use coins as money. Oh, here are some coins of past. You can come over and have a look.

1.We know         about the development of “Early Money”.

A. muchB. littleC. fewD. a bit

2.Which is NOT referred to in the passage that was probably used in the past?

A. cowsB. nutsC. teaD. silk

3.Why was salt used in Europe?

A. It was used every day.B. It was cheap.

C. It was common.D. It was difficult to get.

4.Which one is still used as money nowadays?

A. nutsB. saltC. cowsD. tea

5.This passage may be a        .

A. newsB. messageC. speechD. notice

Nelson Mandela, the first black President of South Africa, passed away at his home. He is one of the greatest people in the 20th century. The whole world mourned the father of new South Africa. His life is full of stories.

1.Nelson is the first          president of South Africa.

A. whiteB. AsianC. womanD. black

2.Nelson was born in a          family.

A. poorB. richC. kindD. white

3.How long was Nelson in prison?

A. nearly 28 yearsB. 18 yearsC. over 30 yearsD. 20 years

4.Nelson won the Nobel Prize for        in 1993.

A. PhysicsB. MedicineC. ChemistryD. Peace

5.Nelson has been dead for about          .

A. one yearB. 5 monthsC. 4 monthsD. 7 months

Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell. This may sound like someone would say today. But in fact,       unknown person who lived in Rome in AD(公元) 53 wrote it.

     We all love inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?

     You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ         from your friend       on the screen, the        from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer breaks      and you lose all your homework. Now you have to    up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?

     Inventions have speeded up our lives    much that people often feel stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far      from noisy cities, who have no telephones, cars, even electricity(电) often      to be happy? Perhaps         they live simpler lives.

     One family in the UK “went back in time” to see      life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents,       their daughter and grandsons Tom, 10 and Jim, 7, spent 8 weeks in a 1940s house. They had no      machine, fridge, computer or mobile phones.

     The grandmother, Linda said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably because there was      to fight for, such as their computer. And they noticed that their grandmother had changed from      fashionable to one who liked cooking things.

1.A. aB. anC. the     D. /

2.A. noticeB. messageC. newsD. information

3.A. comesB. appearsC. goesD. leaves

4.A. noiseB. voiceC. soundD. hearing

5.A. upB. intoC. downD. out

6.A. wakeB. stayC. giveD. get

7.A. very    B. tooC. soD. such

8.A. awayB. upC. downD. over

9.A. look    B. seemC. watchD. find

10.A. becauseB. sinceC. andD. or

11.A. whoseB. whichC. whatD. how

12.A. withB. betweenC. togetherD. along

13.A. shoppingB. sleepingC. writingD. washing

14.A. moreB. lessC. fewerD. worse

15.A. likingB. beingC. seeingD. running

—Could you tell me                  ?

   – In more than 5 months.

A. how soon the Hangzhou Road Bridge will be built

B. how long the Hangzhou Road Bridge will be built

C. how long will the Hangzhou Road Bridge be built

D. how soon will the Hangzhou Road Bridge be built

  President Xi Jinping says Chinese government will do what it can        against terrorism(恐怖主义).

A. fightB. fightingC. to fightD. fights

—Your mother         be over forty! She looks so young!

   — Thanks. She will be happy.

A. mustn’tB. may notC. can’tD. needn’t

— Oh, you are here.         ?

   — To the toilet.

A. Where have you goneB. Where have you been

C. Where are you goingD. Where will you go

— Now more and more people have realized that drugs do great harm to people’s health and their families.

   — Quite true, so everyone should         them.

A. throw awayB .keep away from C. put awayD. give away

—         . Hope is always around you.  — Thank you, Miss Gao.

A. Don’t thank goodness        B. Don’t be late

C. Never show offD. Never give up