BEIJING——China will further open its financial sector in “an active and safe” way, the country’s central bank vowed on Friday.
“China will gradually broaden the chance for the participation of foreign capital in the domestic financial market,” said the People’s Bank of China in a report. “We will strengthen the connections between China’s financial market and international ones by attracting more foreign capital in Renminbi-denominated financial products,” the report said.
Meanwhile, channels will also be expanded to allow Chinese investment in foreign financial markets.
The bank said it would ease restrictions on enterprises and individuals possessing and using foreign currencies and increase the number of qualified foreign institutional investors and the value of their investment quotas(份额). “We will make use of the financial market to achieve balanced international payments,” said the bank.
Last year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) raised the annual quota for individuals buying foreign currency from US $ 20,000 to US $ 50,000.
“China will work hard for a more efficient and vigorous financial market that can better serve international needs,” the bank said.
The country will adjust its financial market rules so they are accepted around the world, encourage reforms and promote more flexible, diversified ways of trading, according to the bank.
China fully opened its financial market to foreign capital on December 11 last year, ending a five-year transitional (过渡的) period after entering WTO.
1.The passage is
A. a piece of news B. an advertisement C. a poster D. an explanation
2.China is working hard to
A. reduce the interest rate of foreign currencies B. increase the interest rate of foreign currencies
C. bring in more foreign investment by promising to further open its financial sector
D. adjust its financial markets to resist the invasion of foreign investment
3.To further open financial sector, China has taken many measures EXCEPT
A. Giving more chances to the participation of foreign capital
B. Strengthening the connections between China and other countries by the leaders’ paying visits to each other’s countries
C. Broadening the quotas of enterprises and individuals possessing and using foreign currencies
D. Opening its domestic financial market step by step
4.We can draw a conclusion that
A. China’s financial market will be conquered by foreign one
B. China will create a more active and various way of trading and its market will become stronger
C. China will end the transitional period of opening financial sector in five years
D. China will be blind to the foreign investment
Cellphone feels like a part of your body? A global survey has found that most people can’t live without their mobiles, never leave home without them and, if given a choice, would rather lose their wallet.
Calling mobile phones the “remote control” for life, market research firm Synovate’s poll said cell phones are so ubiquitous that by last year more humans owned one than did not.
Three-quarters of the more than 8,000 respondents polled online in 11 countries said they take their phone with them everywhere, which Russians and Singaporeans the most attached.
More than a third also said they couldn’t live without their phone, topped by Taiwanese and again Singaporeans, while one in four would find it harder to replace the mobile than their purse.
Some two thirds of respondents go to bed with their phones nearby and can’t switch them off, even though they want to, because they’re afraid they’ll miss something.
Mobiles have changed the nature of relationships, with the survey finding a fifth of all respondents set up first dates via text and almost the same number use the same method to end a love affair.
Apart from the obvious calling and SMS-ing, the top three features people use regularly on their mobile phones globally are the alarm clock, the camera and the games.
As for email and Internet access, 17 percent of respondents said they checked their inboxes or surfed the Web on their phones, led by those in the United States and Britain.
One in 10 respondents log onto(注册) social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace regularly via mobile, again led by Britain and the United States.
Not everyone is tech savvy(科技通), however,37 percent of respondents said they don’t know how to use all the functions on their phone.
1.How many people of all respondents end a love affair via text?
A. About 4,800. B. About 3,600 C. About 2,400. D. About 1,600.
2.According to the survey, like surfing the Internet with a cellphone most.
A. Singaporeans B. Russians C. Americans D. Chinese
3.Which of the following functions of cellphones is the least used?
A. Calling. B. Playing games. C. Taking photos. D. Surfing the Internet.
4.Which would be the best title of the passage?
A. People can live better without the cellphone.
B. People would rather lose their wallet than their cellphone.
C. Different uses of the cellphone. D. New functions of the cellphone.
Are you a problem shopper? The answer is “Yes”, if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping. In other words, do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping? If people have regrets later about their shopping, or have an “out-of-control” feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use, they may be considered to be problem shoppers.
Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem — addictive shopping. Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money. They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a “rush” during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity.
Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety, pain and shame are common ones. When we feel bad inside, we often do something to make ourselves feel better. In this case, we often go shopping.
A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness. For some people, the motivation is a desire for status, power, beauty or success. Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants. Others shop simply because it makes them forget, at least temporarily, tension, fear or unhappiness in their life.
Besides, shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping. For instance, there are some malls where you can’t see clocks displaying the time because they don’t want you to become too aware of the time you spend there. What’s more, food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided, so you don’t have to leave the mall because of your physical needs.
Therefore, once you become aware of how market forces work, you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior. For example, how much time you will spend and what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend. Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it. That is vital for gaining self-control.
1.Which of the following people may not be problem shoppers?
A. Those who cannot control the amount of credit they use.
B. Those who just walk around the shopping malls.
C. Those who are occupied in too much shopping.
D. Those who feel sorry for their shopping.
2.According to the passage, what may not result in addictive shopping?
A. The awareness of how market forces work.
B. The desire for status, power, beauty or success.
C. Boredom, emptiness, tension, fear or unhappiness in people’s life.
D. Long-time bad feelings of anxiety, pain and shame.
3.What does the author suggest to control our shopping behaviour?
A. Never going to the shopping malls because there are many tricks.
B. Applying for a credit card before we go shopping.
C. Making the shopping time as short as possible. D. Making a shopping list before we go shopping.
4.The author writes this passage to _______.
A. inform the shopping malls how to attract more shoppers
B. provide solutions to the problem shopping
C. scold the problem shoppers
D. tell a shopping story
With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills(泄露) on people, nature, and the environment.
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil. Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea.
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious. Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material. In the end, it breaks down naturally. There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term.
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible. In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean. If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened.
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage. Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil. Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power(太阳能), electricity, hydrogen, and so on. Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal.
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient(高效的) — and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year. If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too.
1.What is the passage mainly talking about?
A. Oil spills pollution. B. What oil pollution is.
C. Oil tanker accidents. D. How to reduce oil pollution.
2.How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
A. By giving a description. B. By making an argument.
C. By giving an example. D. By drawing a diagram.
3.What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. Transportation depending more on oil. B. Poisonous oil breaking down naturally.
C. Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea. D. More environmental damage being caused.
4.Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
A. We should build safer oil tankers in the near future.
B. We should develop new technologies to cut oil use.
C. Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines.
D. Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea.
The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer (拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house—something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were astonished when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”
“A pillow,” he replied.
“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.
“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to my eyes as my father handed Eric the pillow.
“Oh…that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”
We know exactly what he means.
1.The writer’s first volunteer project was ______.
A. working on a poor trailer B. helping a poor family
C. donating beds and bedding D. dealing with a housing problem
2.On hearing Josh’s answer, the writer was shocked because ______.
A. the family lived in a trailer B. he expected to get some toys
C. he didn’t know what a bed was D. the boys had no bed to sleep in
3.From the passage, we can learn that Eric had never seen ______ before.
A. a trailer B. a truck C. a pillow D. a house
4.By saying “Do you have a pillow?”, the writer’s father means that ______.
A. what they want to get may be unnecessary
B. they should not waste money on small things
C. they should do more volunteer work for the poor
D. what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow
One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet 21 of the splendid artwork.
A young 22 viewing the paintings ahead of me 23 nonstop between themselves. I watched them a moment and decided the lady was doing all the talking. I admired the man’s 24 for putting up with her 25 stream of words. 26 by their noise, I moved on.
I met them several times as I moved 27 the various rooms of art. Each time I heard her continuous flow of words, I moved away 28 .
I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a 29 when the couple approached the 30 . Before they left, the man 31 into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He 32 it into a long stick and then 33 his way into the coatroom to get his wife’s jacket.
“He’s a 34 man,” the clerk at the counter said. “Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a promise his life wouldn’t change. So, as before, he and his wife come in 35 there is a new art show.”
“But what does he get out of the art?” I asked. “He can’t see.”
“Can’t see! You’re 36 . He sees a lot. More than you and I do,” the clerk said. “His wife 37 each painting so he can see it in his head.”
I learned something about patience, 38 and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without 39 and the courage of a husband who would not 40 blindness to change his life. And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away, their arms intertwined.
1.A. view B. touch C. wander D. stare
2.A. lady B. couple C. man D. clerk
3.A. yelled B. argued C. screamed D. chatted
4.A. attempt B. independence C. patience D. wisdom
5.A. constant B. vivid C. casual D. vague
6.A. Adopted B. Adapted C. Disturbed D. Conducted
7.A. from B. to C. towards D. through
8.A. anxiously B. quickly C. urgently D. sensibly
9.A. comment B. purchase C. decision D. profit
10.A. exit B. entrance C. front D. queue
11.A. plugged B. reached C. held D. bent
12.A. lengthened B. made C. brought D. broadened
13.A. led B. found C. tapped D. forced
14.A. generous B. rough C. smart D. brave
15.A. wherever B. whatever C. whenever D. whichever
16.A. unique B. silly C. equal D. wrong
17.A. decorates B. draws C. shows D. describes
18.A. kindness B. pride C. courage D. enthusiasm
19.A. sight B. support C. expectation D. confidence
20.A. get B. allow C. hope D. cause
