TAIBEI － Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island’s “China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．

    According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate（研究生）programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available,” Netbig.Com said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year.

    The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland college and universities．“Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market, Net．Com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,” said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shih Shin University．Chang plans to go on to get a master’s degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies.

    A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”．“They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies．A Netbig.Com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou．The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine.

    At present, Chinese Taibei doesn’t recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there．But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates（证书）from selected universities.

1.More Taiwanese students study on the Chinese mainland because ___________.

      A．Taiwan will reunite with the mainland sooner or later

      B．the fees asked for are lower than those of Taiwan

      C．what they have learned on the mainland will bring them a bright future

      D．there are many famous universities for them to choose

2.Some business executives were sending their children to study in the Chinese mainland so that their children ___________.

      A．could receive better education            

       B．could learn more about the policy there

      C．could do well in the business operations    

       D．could make more friends there

3.The underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refers to __________．

A．Netbig.Com                         B．a Chinese education on the mainland

C．the Chinese job market                        D．the university

4.The author wrote the article to tell us ______________.

      A．more Taiwanese students are studying on the mainland

      B．the number of Taiwanese students going to universities on the mainland had been increasing year after year

      C．education on the mainland is more attractive compared with that of Taiwan

      D．Taiwan and the mainland should cooperate with each other in every field.

5.Which is true according to the passage?

      A．Chinese Taibei recognizes diplomas earned on the Chinese mainland

      B．The number of Taiwanese students going to study on the mainland will surely be increasing in the next few years.

      C．Chinese Taibei doesn’t help with any inquiries about Taiwanese studying in the mainland

      D．Education of Taiwan is far behind the mainland.

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? 

    A．People who like country things prefer to live outside the city．

    B．People who work in London prefer to live in the country．

    C．Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London, some people who work in London prefer to live inside London．

    D．Because of certain advantages of living outside London, many people who work in London prefer to live outside London．

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

    A．getting a small flat with a garden                                          

    B．having a small flat with a garden

    C．renting a small flat without a garden       

    D．buying a small flat without a garden

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

    A．who live in the country                                                                                      

    B．who have spent time working in the garden

    C．who have a garden of their own                                                                   

    D．who have been digging, planting and watering

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

    A．their life was meaningless                    B．their life was invaluable

    C．they didn’t deserve a happy life             D．they were not worthy of their happy life

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

A．the rest time                                                                                                              B．the rest people

C．the rest of the country                                                                                         D．the rest of the parks and of the sea

   If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say, “Hey, Butterfly Man,” his face would break into a smile．The title suits him．And he loves it.

Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, once thought to have died out．Today the butterfly is coming back — thanks to him．But years ago if you’d told him this was what he’d be doing someday, he would have laughed, “You’re crazy.” As a boy, he used to be “a little tough guy on the streets”．At age thirteen, he was caught by police stealing．At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man.

“I knew it had hurt my mom,” Bonner said after he got out of prison．“So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again.”

One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat for an endangered butterfly called El Segundo blue.

“I saw the sign ‘Butterfly Habitat’ and asked, ‘How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?’” Bonner recalls．“Dr．Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass (放大镜）, ‘Look at the leaves.’ I could see all these caterpillars(蝴蝶的幼虫） on the plant．Dr Mattoni explained, ‘Without the plant, there are no butterflies.’”

Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr．Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly which needed help．That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue．Since then he’s been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back．He grows astragals, the only plant the butterfly eats．He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs．Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat．

The butterfly’s population, once almost zero, is now up to 900．For their work, Bonner and Dr．Mattoni received lots of awards．But for Bonner, he earned something more: he turned his life around．

For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison．While he’s bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too.

1.When he was young, Arthur Bonner _______.

  A．broke the law and ended up in prison

  B．was fond of shooting and hurt his mom

     C．often laughed at people on the streets

     D．often caught butterflies and took them home

2.Bonner came to know the Palos Verdes blue after he _______.

  A．found the butterfly had died out       

  B．won many prizes from his professor

  C．met Dr．Mattoni, a professor of biology  

  D．collected butterflies and put them into a lab

3.From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has ________.

  A．made Bonner famous                 B．changed Bonner’s life

  C．brought Bonner wealth               D．enriched Bonner’s knowledge

4.What does the underlined phrase “put through” mean in the 3rd paragraph?

  A．hurt                    B．recall                   C．remember            D．experience

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

  A．A Promise to Mom                   B．A Man Saved by Butterflies

  C．A Story of Butterflies                 D．A Job Offered by Dr．Mattoni

       阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡的相应位置上。

Although it could not compete with the speed of email today, the 1800’s experienced a revolution in communication that played an important role in creating the tradition of the Christmas greeting card．__1.__(help） by the new railway system, the public postal service made corresponding a popular past time．In England, Sir Henry Cole recognized the advantage of __2.__more efficient mail service and initiated (开始） the practice of sending Christmas greeting cards __3.__ friends．

The first card __4.__ (design） by J.C．Horsley as a commercial endeavor(尝试,努力）．One thousand copies were sold in London, __5.__ soon others followed suit．An English __6._ (art）, William Egley, produced a popular card in 1849．Louis Prang, a German born printer, working from _7.__ shop in Massachusetts, printed his first American cards in 1875．Even more __8.__ (importance） than his printing was the fact __9._ he did more than anyone else to popularize the cards by instituting nationwide contests for the best Christmas designs, __10._ were awarded cash prizes．

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意．然后从各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

If you find out that your best friend is developing feeling for you and the feelings are in no way mutual (共通的）, the sooner you communicate this the better ．

   Sometimes having to be the person who does the rejecting is __1__ than being rejected, ___2___ the person you have to hurt is your dearest friend．The key is to be gentle, but not so gentle that he or she doesn’t get it．If you ___3__ it before he says anything , it is possible you can __4_  him some of the humiliation(羞辱）．You can just happen to mention that you are so happy that you don’t have to___5__ the ups and downs of romance with him．“Aren’t we lucky to have such a close friendship without having to worry about?” If he brings it up to you, just remember ___6___ kind to his heart．So many things you could say have become a cliché(老生常谈）, such as “ I don’t want to risk losing what we have now.” Of course, if that is how you feel then say it anyway．The most reassuring thing you can do for him is to__7__ not to let his admission hurt the friendship．Even though the first response will be to the “rejection” later, he or she will worry about the friendship __8___．If you want to show the ultimate respect, keep it ___9__ the two of you．Resist the temptation to tell others．Otherwise, this will only hurt your friend__10__．

    __11__, if the feelings between the two of you are__12___, then this can be a very happy moment．Don’t let your fears ruin it．Yes, it is _13_ to venture into new territory with someone you have been close with as a friend．But the good news is you already know each other well and you like each other．There is always a risk of losing the friendship when and if you _14__, but if you both agree you aren’t going to let that happen, the risk factor _15__ .

1.A．better                B．worse             C．wiser                 D．nicer

2.A．even if               B．especially if        C．especially          D．if 

3.A．hear about            B．share                                             C．spare               D．reduced

4.A．go away with         B．go through        C．go by              D．go over

5.A. harmed                    B. share                   C. reduced                D.spare

6.A．being                 B．to be               C．be                 D．to have been

7.A．keep                    B．promise            C．avoid              D．permit

8.A．as well                 B．either               C．finally              D．ultimately

9.A．in                       B．among            C．between         D．away from

10.A．a little                  B．even better        C．much less        D．even more

11.A．Whatever              B．Whenever         C．At the same time  D．However

12.A．active                  B．mutual             C．affected           D．sensible

13.A．scary                  B．enjoyable            C．funny             D．lucky

14.A．break down           B．break up            C． break out        D．break off

15.A．increases              B．decreases           C．remains           D．exists

       假如你是李华，是一名高三学生，升入高三以来，你班不少同学感到学习压力与日俱增。为了缓解学生的紧张情绪，英语老师鼓励你们在博客上告诉父母自己的心里话。内容包括：

       1．感谢父母的养育之恩；

       2．对未来大学生活的向往；

       3．打算怎么努力实现自己的目标。

       注意：

       词数：120左右

       可适当发挥，以使行文连贯通顺。

       阅读下面的短文，根据以下提示：1）汉语提示；2）首字母提示；3）语境提示,在每个空格内填入一个适当的英语单词并将该词完整地写在右边相对应的横线上。所填单词要求意义准确，拼写正确。

       Last weekend, our school organized a social activity．We are required

to find out how much the countryside has changed．

       The countryside takes          a new look both in living environment         1.

and metal outlook．Hills are c            with trees and gardens are filled           2.

with flowers．Rivers are clean with bridges            them, which are             3.

very             （方便）．Farmers are living in the beautiful houses which     4.

are equipped with fine             （家具）．What impressed us most is       5.

farmers are paying special attention to their cultural life．                                   6.

they have much money and less physical burden, they have                                7.

more time for leisure．People look____________ energetic and younger than       8.

their age．This activity was _________（确实） a big surprise for us．What we        9.

saw in the countryside was far better than we  e                              10.

       The oldest forms of medicine are enjoying a comeback．Modern holistic medicine（整体医学） is an approach that treats the whole patient, not just the disease．It is a way to maintain good health rather than cure illness．The most important influences on today’s holistic medicine are ancient Chinese medicine and Indian Ayurvedic medicine, both of which promoted whole body health．

    Holistic medicine usually combines diet, physical exercise and meditation, together with other alternative techniques such as massage（按摩）and acupuncture（针炙）．Herbal treatment, a practice of treating illness by using plants, is influenced by the writings of Culpeper as well as Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine．Homeopathy（顺势疗法）is one of the forms of holistic medicine which is widely practiced in Europe and the US                A．Homeopathy began in Germany in the early 1800s, when Samuel Hahnemann bescribed how very tiny doses（剂量）of a drug had an effect on his patients．According to Hahnemann, the more the drug was diluted（稀释）, the stronger its effects．The substance selected would produce similar effects to the disease itself if given in large doses．In the UK homeopathy is regarded as a non-traditional but just about acceptable treatment．

    Meditation and contemplation have an important role in holistic medicine．They were brought to Europe by Indian teachers who combined Indian Ayurvedic medicine with Western beliefs．Transcendental meditation（超脱静坐）is one of the best known of these techniques．People repeat words inside their head to reach a state of deep relaxation．

    The holistic movement has made many doctors look at the whole patient, not just the disease．Life-style, emotional problems and diet are just some of the factors that can affect a person’s health．Holistic medicine emphasizes good diet, exercise and fresh air, all of which contribute to health．Some clinics now offer holistic medicine along with traditional treatments, so that their patients can choose a combination of treatments that suits them．One problem with holistic medicine is that it is difficult for people to be sure a doctor is reliable．To solve this, many countries want alternative doctors to form professional bodies．

1.Modern holistic medicine centers upon ____________ ．

      A．curing a disease                       B．herbal treatment

     C．continuous development                D．keeping patients healthy

2.Which of the following does NOT belong to holistic medicine?

     A．massage                                       B．meditation    

       C．a balanced diet                                D．a knee operation

3.The principle of homeopathy is that ___________．

      A．the large doses of medicine that will not be harmful will take better effect

     B．the disease will be cured sooner by taking larger doses of medicine

     C．a small thinner dose of medicine will be more effective

      D．the doses of medicine depend on how serious the illness is

4.Which is the best title of the passage?

     A．Holistic Medicine                      B．Traditional Medicine Returns

       C．History of Medicine                   D．Combination of Treatments Works

5.What can we infer from the passage?

      A．Relaxation is the key of holistic treatment．

      B．Holistic medicine needs to become more trustworthy．

       C．Holistic treatment is more beneficial than traditional treatments．

     D．Holistic medicine will become the most welcome treatment soon．

Wednesday, October 29,2008．

       The United States federal government had two young men in the state of Tennessee arrested on October 22 on unknown charges．

       In court documents published on Monday, it came to light that the men had discussed attacking an African – American school and killing 14 of them．

       Another crime was about planning to murder Presidential candidate Barack Obama．According to their affidavits （口供）, the suspects’ “final act of violence” would be like this: when they attacked Obama they would wear white suits and top hats and drive “their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows．”

       The two suspects are Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee．According to the court papers, they met last month over the Internet through a friend．Schlesselman and Cowart are believed to share “very strong views” about White Power．

       Schlesselman listed “being racist” as his occupation on his MySpace page．He further wrote: “I'm white．I'm proud．I get angry．I like guns．”

       Cowart also had a MySpace page on which photos of guns were presented under a heading of “My Guns”．On his page he wrote, “Better to die quick fighting on your feet than to live forever begging on your knees．”

       Some have questioned the pair's ability to carry out the charged plan, but authorities have been very concerned about Obama as the first black presidential candidate from a major party．

      “We honestly don't know if they had the ability or the skill to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about．” said Malcolm Wiley, of the United Satates Secret Service in an interview with The New York Times．“But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is．”

       Cowart and Schlesselman are scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursady．

1.The passage is mainly about____________．

       A．Americans’ attitudes towards Barack Obarma       

       B．two young men planning to commit violence

       C．the violence in the United States                   

       D．the disadvantages of the Internet

2.From the passage, we can know that the two young men_________．

       A．shot 14 students in an African – American school     

       B．came from the state of Tennessee

       C．were proud of Barack Obama                     

       D．have not been sentenced yet

3.Which of the following shows the right order of the events?

       a．The two suspects were arrested．

b．The two suspects will be tried in the court．

       c．Cowart set up his MySpace page on the Internet．

       d．Malcolm Wiley was interviewed by The New York Times．

       A．a; b; c; d         B．d; c; b; a                                        C．c; a; d; b               D．c; a; b; d

4.What can we infer from the news?

       A．Most of the white people in the United States don’t like Barack Obama．

       B．The two young men planned to shoot President Barack Obama．

       C．The two young men were innocent in fact．

       D．The two young men strongly believed that the president should be a white man

       Many different tribes live in the Ituri rain forest of Africa, but the Pygmies are the most unusual．Most of the men are not much more than four feet tall．They weigh only about eighty pounds．The women are even smaller and thinner．But in spite of the fact that they are small, these people are perfectly formed men and women．

       It is an exciting experience to visit a Pygmy encampment for the first time．Before you go, you must send word ahead that you are coming．Some friendly native or trader must take the message to the Tiki-Tikis．Otherwise the whole tribe will disappear into the depths of the jungle long before you have come close enough to be welcomed．

       The great Ituri rain forest seems cut off from the rest of the earth．There are living, dead, and dying trees on every side．Except where a clearing has been burned and chopped out, a man may live his whole life in the Ituri and never see farther than twenty yards．

       It takes sharp eyes to discover the almost hidden path to the Pygmy camp．The path is no wider than a small man’s foot．No sound breaks the silence in this part of the forest．There are no signs of people．

       The stranger must walk carefully．What appears to be a bent branch may prove to be a deadly snake．A spotted gold patch of sunlight may be a crouching leopard（豹）．

       Even the Pygmy camp comes as a surprise．The leafy shelters in which the little people live are hardly three feet high．They look so much like the surrounding undergrowth that they might easily be passed by．These houses contain no furniture of any sort．The beds are merely plantain leaves spread out on the earth floor．There are no cooking pots: food is eaten raw or smoked over a fire．Spears, bows and arrows are the only possessions of these people．When the tribe moves to a new camp there is nothing to carry except these weapons and babies too small to walk．

1.According to the passage, we can conclude _____．

       A．the Pygmies are the shortest tribe worldwide

       B．the Pygmies are short but normal in mentality

       C．most of the Pygmy men are more than four feet

       D．the Pygmies live in the forest of America

2.Paragraph 2 mainly suggests that the Pygmies ______．

       A．are unwilling to communicate with people outside

       B．are very cruel and they will kill you with the spears

       C．are friendly to the tourists visiting them for the first time

       D．move so fast and often that can’t be caught up with easily

3.Which of the following word can describe the life of Pygmy?

       A．Quiet．              B．Active．              C．Hard．               D．Busy．

4.Which of the following is TRUE of the Pygmy?

       A．Their houses can’t be easily found in the hurt rain forest．

       B．Their houses, which are three feet high, are made of wood．

       C．Weapons and cooking pots are their most valuable possessions．

       D．They are living in harmony with dangerous animals around．