It is "one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy," says Zeng Ming． He is talking about e-commerce． Mr Zeng, the chief strategy officer for Alibaba, a giant Chinese Internet firm, predicts that digital transactions on his firm's platforms will top l trillion yuan （$159 billion） this year-more than Amazon's and eBay's combined． That is a bold claim, but consider what happened on Singles Sunday．

Invented a few years ago by students and seized upon by digital marketers, this festival for lonely hearts falls annually on the  llth day of the llth month （since l is the loneliest number）．It is like St Valentine's Day, only worse． Singletons shower each other with tender gifts: a barrage of pearls; a storm of sweets．

This November llth they spent a surprising 19 billion yuan on Alibaba's online platforms-a fourfold increase on a year ago, and more than double what Americans spent online last Cyber Monday （the Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers urge Americans to shop online）． About 100m purchases were logged, accounting for 80% of the packages shipped that day． Couriers（怏递员） were buried in parcels．

So life is good for China's e-tailers, then? Not exactly． The number of digital marketers is increasing and online sales are booming． Consumers are enjoying lower prices, better service and more variety． The problem? The pressure on profits in Chinese e-commerce is worse than in America, reckons Elinor Leung of CLSA, a broker． "Almost no one makes money," she says．

The fiercest battles are being fought between online retailers and their bricks-and-mortar（实体的） rivals．Dangdang, a firm． that resembles Amazon,．and 360buy, another online retailer, have cut prices fiercely． Tencent, a cash-rich online giant known for its instant-messaging software, is splashing out to win market share． 360buy has also just raised $400m from investors to do the same． But it is unclear how much longer such firms can burn through capital．

1.What's the best title of this passage?

A．The Ambition of Alibaba

B．Fierce Competition between Retailers

C．A Newly Sprung Festival for the Singles

D．Chinese Booming and Developing E-commerce

2.According to Zeng Ming, this year Alibaba will        ．

A．outweigh Amazon and eBay in worldwide influence

B．rank top among all the Internet firms

C．have more than 159 billion dollars' sale

D．create another sales miracle just like the one on Singles Day

3.How many packages were shipped on November ll th from Alibaba's online platforms?

A．About 80 million．                      B．About 100 million．

C．About 125 million．                     D．About 180 million．

4.What's the author's attitude towards online retailers in China?

A．Optimistic．                           B．Concerned．

C．Sympathetic．                         D．Indifferent．

Researchers at Yale, Texas A&M and Boston University predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by more than 463,000 square miles, or l．2 million square kilometers． That is equal to 20,000 American football fields becoming urban every day for the first three decades of this century．

The growth in urban areas will go with the construction of roads and buildings, water and sanitation facilities, and energy and transport systems that will transform land cover and cities globally． Recent estimates suggest that between $25 trillion（万亿） and $30 trillion will be spent on infrastructure（基础设施） worldwide by 2030, with $100 billion a year in China alone．

"Considering the long life and near unavoidability of infrastructure investments, it will be critical for current urbanization-related policies to consider their lasting impacts," said Karen Seto, lead author of the study． "We have a huge opportunity to shape how cities develop and their environmental  impacts．"

Nearly half of the increase in high-probability ----defined as greater than 75 percent ---- urban expansion is forecasted to occur in Asia, with China and India absorbing 55 percent of the regional total． In China, urban- expansion is expected to create a l,l00-mile coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Shenyang． In India, urban expansion will be gathered around seven state capital cities, with large areas of low-probability growth forecasted for the Himalaya region where many small villages and towns currently exist．

Africa's urban land cover will grow the fastest, at 590 percent above the 2000 level of 16,000 square miles． Urban expansion win be concentrated in that continent's five regions: the Nile River in Egypt; the coast of West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea; the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda and extending into Rwanda and Burundi; the Kano region in northern Nigeria; and greater Addis Ababa, Ethiopia．

"Urban expansion is concentrated in． only a few areas where there are large cities and industry," said Seto． "From the northern shore of Lake Victoria down to Rwanda is also a major hotspot of urban expansion．"

In North America, where 78 percent of the total population lives in urban areas, urban land cover will nearly double by 96,000 square miles by 2030．The study also forecasts that 48 of the 221 countries in the study will experience insignificant amounts of urban expansion． "

1.As for China, the expansion of urban area means          ．

A．$ 100 billion will be spent on infrastructure a year

B．creating a coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Qingdao

C．it will become the fastest developing country in the next decade

D．it will make up 55% of the increase in urban expansion in Asia

2.According to the passage infrastructure doesn't include          ．

A．construction of roads                    B．sanitation facilities

C．energy systems                         D．land cover transformation

3.In paragraph three the underlined word “their lasting impacts” refers to the impacts of           .

A．the development of cities                 B．urbanization-related policies

C．infrastructure in vestments                D．China’s expansion of urban area

4.The best title for this passage should be                  .

A．The limitation of urban expansion

B．More investment on infrastructure

C．The fast development of the third world

D．The future urban expansion of the world

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all． It was, of course, a miserable childhood． The happy childhood is hardly worth your while． "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood． And worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood．" That was Frank McCourt reading the opening lines of his book Angela's Ashes, released in nineteen ninety-six．

This Irish American author best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography Angela's Ashes that recorded his poor upbringing, died of cancer on Sunday, The New York Times reported． He was 78．

Born in New York City, he was the eldest of seven children born to Irish immigrant parents． Angela's Ashes was a memoir that captured an irresponsible, drunkard father with a gift for story-telling． When not drunk, his father was absent, turning his back on a family so poor, McCourt wrote, that they were reduced to burning the furniture in their rented hut to keep warm． His mother struggled to raise her many children after his father left the family．

Already struggling when the Great Depression hit, the family moved back to Limerick, where they slipped ever deeper into poverty in the  1930s．

Three of McCourt's siblings died of diseases worsened by hunger and the wretchedness of their surroundings． McCourt himself almost died of typhoid（伤寒的） fever as  a child．

In Angela's Ashes, he wrote of hunger, a home flooded with rainwater and the unbearable humiliation of seeking handouts from charities in the Irish city． But he told the story in a way that is expressive, warm and light-hearted．

Frank McCourt left Ireland at the age of nineteen to return to New York City where he was born． He earned a degree in- English education and taught creative writing for nearly thirty years． After retiring in nineteen eighty-seven, he decided to write about his childhood． "Angela's Ashes" became a huge success and brought McCourt a 1997 Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and other honors． Millions of copies of the book were sold worldwide and it was adapted into a 1999 movie starring Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle．

1.What's the text mainly about?

A．A brief introduction to Frank McCourt and one of his works．

B．A literary review on Frank McCourt's book Angela's Ashes．

C．An account of Frank McCourt's miserable childhood.

D．A comment on Frank McCourt's life experience．

2.By saying "The happy childhood is hardly worth your while", the writer really means that      ．

A．a lot of readers don't deserve happy childhood

B．his childhood is not worth of others' sympathy

C．his childhood is mixed with happiness and misery

D．smooth childhood surely will not draw readers' attention

3.From the passage, we know Frank McCourt's father is        ．

A．humorous and trustworthy                B．alcohol-addicted but loves his family

C．poor but warm-hearted                   D．irresponsible but gifted in telling stories

4.What does the underlined word "handouts" mean in the 6th paragraph?

A．Reliefs．                              B．Compensations．

C．Leaflets．                             D．Teaching materials．

A policeman was questioning 3 blondes who were training to become detectives． To test their skills in recognizing a suspect, he shows the first blonde a picture for5 seconds and then hides it．

“This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"

The first blonde answers, "That's easy, we'll catch him fast because he only has one eye!" The policeman says, "Well．．．uh．．．that's because the picture shows his profile．"

Slightly confused by this ridiculous response, he flashes the picture for 5 seconds at the second blonde and asks her, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"

The second blonde giggles, flips her hair and says, "Ha! He'd be too easy to catch because he only has one ear!"

The policeman angrily responds, "What's the matter with you two? Of course only one eye and one ear are SHOWING because it's a picture of his profile!! Is that the best answer you can come up with?"

Extremely frustrated at this point, he shows the picture to the third blonde and in a very testy voice asks "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?" He quickly adds, "Think hard before giving me a stupid answer．"

The blonde looks at the picture intently for a moment and says, "Hmmmm…the suspect wears contact lenses．"

The policeman is surprised and speechless because he really doesn't know himself if the suspect wears contacts or not． "Well, that's an interesting answer．．．wait here for a few minutes while I check his file and I’ll get back to you on that．" He leaves the room and goes to his ．office, checks the suspect's file in his computer, and comes back with a beaming smile on his face． "Wow!  I can't believe it．．．it's TRUE! The suspect does in fact wear contact lenses． Good work! How were you able to make such an acute observation?"

"That's easy," the blonde replied． "He can't wear regular glasses because he only has one eye and one ear．"

1.Why did the policeman show a picture to the three blondes?

A．To inquire about their relationship with the suspect．

B．To test their potential of being detectives．

C．To train them as qualified police officers．

D．To show the skills in recognizing a suspect．

2.What's the policeman's attitude towards the first blonde's answer?

A．Angry．          B．Puzzled．         C．Embarrassed．     D．Satisfied．

3.What did the second blonde think of the task?

A．Demanding．      B．Easy．            C．Ridiculous．       D．Confusing．

4.How did the third blonde know that the suspect wore contact lenses?

A．By coincidence．

B．By random guess．

C．By logical and reasonable analysis．

D．By checking the file in the computer．

I was a publishing director and was looking forward to embracing a new day of work, as always，that morning．

I would always turn to the crossword, but that day it didn't  31  I'd been doing it for 30 odd years, but trying to read this one was like treading through syrup（糖浆）: 32  slow and hard． I thought I must be tired． I said to my assistant． The 33  colleague contacted my wife, Beth, and she drove me straight to hospital． There, confirmation came that I'd had a stroke in the part of my brain that 34 communication． I was now in a condition that means it's difficult or 35 to receive and produce language． It was the only time I 36 ．

I was back at home a week later, and my goal was to get better and  37  Work in a couple of months． The way to  38  my language ability was rough． I'd look at simple pictures and try to describe them as my mind  39  round and round in the darkness, looking for words．

As the months passed it became  40  that I wasn't going to be able to go back to my old job． For 25 years, I had  41  myself as a publisher． I was used to a busy day of meetings． I enjoyed colleagues and the 42 I'd had． I didn’t feel ready to say goodbye to my old self． There were times when I felt incredibly  43 ．

In the darkest months, I devoted myself to  44 ． I couldn't manage novels or newspapers,  45  I tried reading poetry, and found the shorter lines less overwhelming． My speech came back, and I learned how to read again, though much more slowly． I also learned the  46  to keep up． I allowed myself to slow down, and started to enjoy it．

47  , I rid of my old skin． I grieved the past, its passing and its absence, and started to 48  it． Now,  10 years  later,  I look after my grandson a day a week, and my relationship with my family is deeper than ever． If you'd asked me 15 years ago to  49  the importance of the things in my life I might have said work, but now I'm no longer a high-achieving publisher． I'm a  50         man． 

1.                A．wear off        B．make any sense   C．count up  D．pay off

2.                A．temporarily     B．scarcely        C．incredibly D．savagely

3.                A．curious         B．reserved        C．rigid D．concerned

4.                A．calls for        B．deals with       C．suffers from   D．responds to

5.                A．practical        B．absurd         C．impossible D．innocent

6.                A．prayed         B．cried           C．failed D．withdrew

7.                A．contribute to    B．agree to        C．return to  D．appeal to

8.                A．obtaining       B．rebuilding       C．revealing D．improving

9.                A．slipped         B．doubted        C．wandered D．reckoned

10.               A．messy          B．flexible         C．straightforward D．self-evident

11.               A．informed       B．estimated       C．reflected  D．defined

12.               A．extinction       B．reward         C．agenda    D．status

13.               A．angry          B．acute          C．prejudiced D．merciless

14.               A．speaking        B．trying          C．writing    D．managing

15.               A．since          B．until           C．SO   D．as

16.               A．favor          B．patience        C．coincidence    D．comfort

17.               A．Gradually       B．Hopefully       C．Narrowly D．Annually

18.               A．keep up with    B．come to terms with    C．get around to   D．live up to

19.               A．arrange        B．compare        C．rank  D．declare

20.               A．genius         B．community      C．dignity    D．family

It should be       that the civil servant should be dismissed for the drunk driving． 

A．out of control      B．out of practice      C．out of place        D．out of question

What I want to     to teenagers is that being addicted to the Internet will to some extent do harm to both mental and physical health．

A．get off            B．get through        C．get across         D．get down

If someone has to     an action or policy, they are responsible for it, and may be  required to explain it to other people or be punished if it fails．

A．account for        B．make up          C．focus on          D．pay off

One way to       species under' threat of extinction - whatever the cause - is to remove them to zoos and parks and breed them there．

A．betray            B．resist             C．preserve          D．dispute

Having heard wolves howling in the forest, Lala       her walk up the path to the caves fearing that there might be wild beasts lying in wait for her．

A．accumulated       B．circulated         C．accelerated        D．calculated