Imagine,one day,getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours,and then,after a full day of work,going back home to Beijing and having dinner there.
Sounds unusual,doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic,with the development of China’s high—speed railway system.And that’s not a11.China has an even greater high—speed railway plan—to connect the country with Southeast Asia,and eventually Eastern Europe.
China is negotiating to extend its own high·-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 1 0 to 15 years,eventually reaching London and Singapore.
China has proposed three such projects.The first would possibly connect Kunming with Singapore via Vietnam and Malaysia.Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,and possibly to Germany.The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe.
If China’s plan for the high-speed railway goes forward,people could zip over from London to Beiling in under two days.
The new system would still follow China’s high—speed railway standard.And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour,almost as fast as some airplanes.
China’s bullet train(高速客车),the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou,already has the World’s fastest average speed.It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours.
Of course,there are some technical challenges to overcome.There are so many issues that need to be settled,such as safety,rail gauge(轨距),maintenance of railway tracks.So,it’s important to pay attention to every detail.
But the key issue is really money.China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic railway expansion.
China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment.Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development.
It’11 be a win-win project. For other countries,the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business,tourism and so on,not to mention the better communication among those countnes.
For China,such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources,but would also help develop China’s far west.We foresee that in the coming decades,millions of people will migrate to the western regions,where the land is empty and resources unused.With high-speed trains,people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for a11.And they’11 trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries.
1.China’s new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because .
A.China will get much-needed resources and develop its western regions
B.China and the countries involved will benefit from the project in various ways
C.China will develop its railway system and communication with other countries
D. the foreign countries involved will develop their railway transportation,business and tourism
2.According to the passage,the greatest challenge to the new high-speed railway plan is .
A.technical issues
B.safety of the system C.financial problems
D.maintenance of railway tracks
3.Which of the following words best describes the author’s attitude towards China’s high-speed railway plan?
A.Critical. B.Reserved. C.Doubtful D. Positive.
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A.New Railway Standards
B.Big Railway Dreams
C.High—speed Bullet Trains
D.International Railway Network
BORDER CROSSINGS While there are no restrictions on zhe amount of money that you can bring across the border.you must report to both the US and Canadian border services amounts equal to or greater than $10.000. PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS(免税)ON PURCHASES AMERICANS RETURNING TO THE US Less than 48 hours: $ 200 US 48 hours or more: $ 800 US duty-free personal exemption. next $ 1.000 US at 3% Including up to 100 cigars and 100 cigarettes. CANADIANS RETURNING TO CANADA Less than 24 hours: $ 50 CAN 48 hours or more: $ 400 CAN Including up to 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes. 7 days or more: $ 750 CAN Including up to 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes. DOCUMENTATION NEEDED FOR BORDER CROSSING LAND OR SEA TO THE US(INCLUDING FERRIES) A valid passport or passport card, or a NEXUS card. (A NEXUS card is a Trusted Traveler Program that provides quick travel for pre-approved,low risk travelers through special lanes.) A recent Washington State, New York or BC driver’s license. Note: Children 15 years of age and younger require only a birth certificate or copy.(Certified copies are not required but are advised.) AIR TRAVEL TO THE US A valid passport, an Air NEXUS card, or a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document.
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1.If a Canadian who is on a 7-day trip to New York buys $ 800 CAN worth of goods,how much should he pay tax on when returning home?
A. $ 800 CAN B. $750 CAN C.$ 400 CAN D. $ 50 CAN
2.For an American citizen on a 2-day tour of Canada,how much tax does he have to pay on $ 1.600 US worth of purchases when returning to the US?
A. $ 24 US B. $ 48 US C. $52 US D. $ 200 US
3.What documentation should a couple with a 7-year-old child carry when they drive a car from Canada to America? A. A BC driver’s license, an Air NEXUS card, and a birth certificate.
B. An Air NEXUS card, a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document, and a birth certificate.
C.Two vaild passport crads and a certified copy of a birth certificate.
D. A NEXUS card, a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document.,and a certified copy of a birth certificate.
It is reported that conservation groups in North America have been arguing about the benefits and dangers of wolves. Some groups believe wolves should be killed. Other people believe wolves must be protected so that they will not disappear from the wilderndss(荒野)
For Killing Wolves
In Alaska,the wolf almost disappeared a few years ago,because hunters were killing hundreds 0f them forsport .However.1aws were established to protect the wolves from sportsmen and people who catch the animals for their fur.So the woIf population has greatly increased. Now there are so many wolves that they are destroying their own food supply.
A wolf naturally eats animals in the deer family. People in the wilderness also hunt deer for food.Many of the animals have been destroyed by the very cold winters recently and by changes in the wilderness plant life.When the deer can’t find enough food,they die.
If the wolves continue to kill large numbers of deer,their prey(猎物)will disappear some day.And the wolves will.too.So we must change the cycle of life in the wilderness to balance the ecology.If we killed more wolves,we would save them and their prey from dying out.We’d also save some farm animals.
In another northern state,wolves attack cows and chickens for food.Farmers want the government to send biologists to study the problem.They believe it necessary to kill wolves in some areas and to protect them in places where there is a small woIf population.
Against Killing Wolves
If you had lived long ago,you would have heard many different stories about the dangerous wolf.According to most stories,hungry wolves often kill people for food.Even today,the stories of the“big bad woIf'"will not disappear.
But the fact is wolves are afraid of people.and they seldom travel in areas where there is a human smell.When wolves eat other animals,they usually kill the very young.or the sick and injured .The strongest survive .No kind of animal would have survived through the centuries if the weak members had lived.And has always been a law of nature.
Although some people say it is good sense to kill wolves,we say it is nonsense!Researchers have found wolves and their prey living in balance.The wolves keep the deer population from becoming too large,and that keeps a balance in the wilderness plant life.
The real problem is that the areas where wolves can live are being used bv people.Even if wilderness land is not used directly for human needs.the wolves can’t always find enough food .So they travel to the nearest source,which is often a farm.Then there is danger.The“big bad wolf”has arrived! And everyone knows what happens next.
1.According to the passage,some people in North America favor killing wolves for all the following reasons EXCET that . A.there are too many wolves
B.they kill large numbers deer
C.they attack cows and chickens for food
D.they destroy the wilderness plant life
2.Some people are against killing wolves because .
A.wolves help to keep the ecological balance in the wildemess
B.there is too small a wolf population in the wilderness
C.there are too many deer in the wilderness
D.wolves are afraid of people and never attack people
3.According to those against killing wolves,when wolves eat other animals, .
A.they never eat strong and healthy ones B.they always go against the law of nature
C.they might help this kind of animals survive in nature
D.they disturb the ecological balance in the wilderness
4.The last sentence“And everyone knows what happens next”implies that in such cases .
A.farm animals will be in danger and have to be shipped away
B.woIves will kill people and people will in turn kill them
C.wolves wilI find enough food sources on famls
D.people will leave the areas where wolves can live
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪);someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter —a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.
1.Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover? A. Places where people lived.
B. People’s characters.
C. Talents that people possessed.
D. People’s occupations.
2.According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.
A. owned or drove a cart
B. made things with metals
C. made kitchen tools or contains
D. built houses and furniture
3.Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.
A. Beatrice Smith
B. Leonard Carter
C. George Longstreet
D. Donald Greenwood
4.The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____. A. later generations
B. friends and relatives
C. colleagues and partners
D. later sponsors
请认真阅读下面短文,从短文后个题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Another person’s enthusiasm was what set me moving toward the success I have achieved.That person was my stepmother.
I was nine years old when she enterd our home in rural Virginia. My father__1__me to her with these words:“I would like you to meet the fellow who is___2for being the worst boy in this county and will probably start throwing rocks at you no ___3than tomorrow morning.”
My stepmother walked over to me, ___4my head slightly upward,and looked me right in the eye.Then she looked at my father and replied,“You are ___5.This is not the worst boy at all, ___6the smartest one who hasn’t yet found an outlet(释放的途径)for his enthusiasm.”
That statement began a(n) ___7between us.No one had ever called me smart,My family and neighbors had built me up in my ___8as a bad boy . My stepmother changed all that.
She changed many things.She ___9my father to go to a dental school,from which he graduated with honors.She moved our family into the county srat,where my father’s career could be more ___10and my brother and I could be better___11.
When I turned fourteen,she bought me a secondhand___12and told me that she believed that I could become a writer.I knew her ernthusiasm,I___13
it had alreadly improved our lives.I accepted her ___14and began to write for local newspapers.I was doing the same kind of___15that great day I went to interview Andrew Carnegie and received the task which became my life’s work later.I wasn’t the ___16beneficiary (受益者).My father became the ___17man in town.My brother and stepbrthers became a physician,a dentist,a lawyer,and a college president.
What power __18has!When that power is released to support the certainty of one’s purpose and is ___19strengthened by faith,it becomes an irresistible(不可抗拒的)force which poverty and temporary defeat can never ___20.
You can communicate that power to anyone who needs it.This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm.
1.A.rushed B.sent C.carried D.introduced 2.A.distinguished B.favored C.mistaken D.rewarded
3.A.sooner B.later C.longer D.earlier
4.A.dragged B.shook C.raised D.bent
5.A.perfect B.right C.wrong D.impolite
6.A.but B.so C.and D.or
7.A.ageement B.friendship C.gap D.relationship
8.A.opinion B.image C.espectation D.mind
9.A.begged B.persuaded C.ordered D.invited
10.A.successful B.meaningful C.helpful D.useful
11.A.treared B.entertained C.educated D.respected
12.A.cemera B.radio C.bicycle D.typewriter
13.A.considered B.suspected C.ignored D.appreciated
14.A.belief B.request C.criticism D.description
15.A.teahing B.writing C.studying D.reading
16.A.next B.same C.only D.real
17.A.cleverest B.wealthiest C.strongest D.bealthiest
18.A.ebthusiasm B.sympathy C.fortune D.confidence
19.A.deliberately B.happily C.traditionally D.constantly
20.A.win B.match C.reach D.doubt
—I prefer shutting myself in and listening to music all day on Sundays.
—That’s_______I don’t agree .You should have a more active life.
A.where B.how C.when D.what