Bicycle rental companies in Beijing are going broke, because nobody wants to hire their services. Major rental operators have invested about 100 million yuan（$14.7 million） in almost 20,000 bicycles but are now struggling to survive.
A spokesman from the Bird of Freedom Bicycle Rental said the company has already sold most of the 400 bicycles. “This is a difficult business, especially when it is cold. The cold weather almost killed the business,” he said.
Bigger rental companies are also facing challenges. Beijing Bicycle Rental Co Ltd, which owns 8,000 bicycles, has invested more than 30 million yuan over the past year. Wang Yong, chairman of the group, said his company had not made a profit since it began in 2005.
Almost all bicycle rental companies in Beijing require deposits of 300 to 400 yuan and then customers need to pay 10 yuan or more per hour. “I don’t want to pay 400 yuan to rent a bike. It’s too dear,” said Zhang Yu, a student in Communication University of China, who does not own a bike and often takes motorized rickshaws. “If renting for one day will cost 20 yuan and I rent a bike for five days, I can use the money to buy a new one."
Although facing economic ruin, some enterprises are still hoping that conditions will improve.
BikeMedia, one of the biggest bicycle rental companies in China, also invested tens of millions yuan in Beijing and has more than 10,000 bicycles. Li Weiwei, general manager of BikeMedia Beijing, said his company has a policy of no deposit and no payment. He said the company tried to put advertisements on the bicycles and in this way, they could make profits. But they had not made a profit yet because of its small scale. However, customers must pay 20 yuan per card and also show proof of good personal credit.
In early July, the Beijing municipal government announced plans to develop a 50,000-bicycle rental operation across the city. “The bigger network we have, the more citizens will rent bikes,” Li said. “This will make rental easier to citizens and we strongly need help from the government.”
1.In which season is the bicycle rental business the most difficult in Beijing? (no more than 2 words)
2.List the reasons why Zhang Yu is not willing to rent a bike. (no more than 7 words)
3.How can bike Media possibly make a profit according to Li Weiwei? (no more than 6 words)
4.What is the main idea of the passage ?(no more than 10 words)
Children are used to the parties that consist of junk food, loud music and the like．However, today's environmental condition is serious, so to save our environment, we need to do our bit by making small changes in our activities like planning our kid's birthday parties in an eco-friendly manner．
The first idea for the "green" birthday party is selecting a "green" location．You can put some choices in front of your child like gardens, parks and farms and let him or her select one for the party．The benefit of choosing a natural outdoor location is that it doesn't require much decoration, which will save your money．Also, it'll bring your child close to nature．
Secondly, go "green" while you're listing out the required materials for the party． Use reusable and recyclable materials like cloth table covers instead of plastic．For decorations, avoid plastics by using natural things like plants, candles, etc．What's more, you can avoid using paper invitations and invite people by sending e-mail invitations to them．
Thirdly, plan the food according to the 'green theme．Serve delicious but healthy food to the guests．Fruits, vegetables and nuts can be the most appropriate parts in party food as they taste great, and are extremely healthy．Home-made cakes will also serve the purpose very well．
Lastly, conduct "green" activities．For giving children a learning experience, take them on a trip to the nearest farm and let them see the working system there．After the learning experience, let them play together in a park．Also children can make up stories which you can write down for them．These written pages will be colored by the kids and will be their return gifts．
Plan a unique but wonderful birthday party for your kid and enjoy．If we all contribute to this cause, soon we'll see our earth back in her green coat．
·Taking children to a farm or park to 80．_________
·Taking down stories created by children, which will be their return gifts after being colored
III．Benefits
Planning a unique but wonderful birthday party helps save the earth．
If you exhibit positive characteristics such as honesty and helpfulness, the chances are that you will be thought as a good-looking person, for a new study has found that the perception （认知） of physical attractiveness is influenced by a person's personality．
The study, which was led by Gary W．Lewandowski, has found that people who exhibit negative characteristics, such as unfairness and rudeness, appear to be less physically attractive to observers．In the study, the participants viewed photographs of opposite-sex individuals and rated them for attractiveness before and after being provided with information about their personalities．
After personality information was received, participants also rated the probability of each individual' s becoming a friend and a dating partner．Information on personality was found to significantly change the probability, showing that cognitive （认知的） processes modify （修改） judgments of attractiveness．
"Thinking a person as having a desirable personality makes the person more suitable in general as a close relationship partner of any kind," said Lewandowski．
The findings show that a positive personality leads to greater expectation of becoming friends, which leads to greater expectation of becoming romantic partners and, finally, to being viewed as more physically attractive．The findings remained consistent regardless of how "attractive" the individual was formerly thought to be or of the participants' current relationship status．
"This research provides a positive outcome by reminding people that personality goes a long way toward determining your attractiveness; it can even change people's impressions of how good-looking you are," said Lewandowski．
1.In the study the participants were required to _____．
A．try to make friends with each other
B．try to prove positive characters make people more attractive
C．exhibit negative characters such as unfairness and rudeness
D．rate one's attractiveness by photos before and after knowing her or his personality
2.What's the CORRECT order of how cognitive processes modify judgments of attractiveness?
a．find a person with a positive personality
b．view the person more physically attractive
c．want to make friends with the person
d．want to be his/ her romantic partner
A．a→c→d→b B．d→c→b→a C．c→b→a→d D．a→d→c→b
3.Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
A．The research reminds people to pay more attention to the personality．
B．Personality can change people's impressions of one's appearance．
C．The judgment of one's attractiveness always stays unchanged．
D．Positive personality may lead to more friends．
4.The passage is written in a（n） _____ tone．
A．subjective B．objective C．sceptical D．negative
5.Who are the intended readers of this passage?
A．People with positive characteristics．
B．Good-looking people．
C．People with negative characteristics．
D．General people．
Poetry Writing Classes Online
Consider it the caviar （鱼子酱） of literature: tiny eggs with wonderful taste． Poetry has inspired the human soul for thousands of years and there are those who still treasure its magnificence．If you hear mermaids singing or feel the wind or see the sun rising in ribbons then you are one of these happy few．Excellence in poetry is mysterious, but a quest（探索） worth pursuing．In our courses, you will learn to control sound, structure, line, word, theme etc．into well-crafted poems and you will improve your precision by experimenting with various time-honored forms．You will also learn how and where to market your work．
Level I
Poetry Writing 10-Week Workshop
Using a balance of lecture, exercise, and comment on work from the instructor and classmates, this course gives students a firm grounding in all the basics of poetry writing．
·Write two-six poems
·Lectures on basics of poetry craft
·Writing exercises
·Present work for critique （评论）（two times）
PoetryI is for beginners or anyone who wants to brush up on the fundamentals．
Online Classes
Registration Fee: $25．
Tuition: $395, Returning Students $365．
Each class strictly limited to 16 students, aged 18 and up
·You can still enroll in this class!
Advanced
Poetry Writing 10-Week Workshop
Focusing on developing projects and receiving comment from the instructor and classmates, this course helps students sharpen their skills and work toward completion of publishable work．Begin or refine two-six poems．
·Lectures that expand on basics of poetry craft
·Writing exercises
·Present work for in-depth critique （two times）
Online Classes
Registration Fee; $ 25．
Tuition: $395．Returning Students $365．
Each class strictly limited to 14 students, aged 18 and up．
·You can still enroll in this class!
1.You learn the following on Poetry Writing Classes Online EXCEPT _____
A．where you can sell your poems
B．why it's worth seeking excellence in poetry
C．how to write a well-crafted poem
D．how to sharpen your skills in poetry
2.If you rejoin the online poetry writing classes, you should pay _____．
A．$390 B．$410 C．$395 D．$365
3.If you are a beginner, you can start the courses from _____．
A．July 14 B．Aug 14 C．July 6 D．Oct 6
4.In Advanced Poetry Writing Class, you are asked to _____.
A．lay steady foundations for the basis of poetry writing
B．hand in your poems getting ready for publication
C．make comments on the work of your classmates
D．give some lectures on basics of poetry craft
5.The passage is most probably from a _____．
A．newspaper advertisement B．book review
C．scientific magazine D．news report
Bali is an Indonesia island that is rich in indigenous （本土的） culture．A lot of people say that Balinese culture is unique and that the people of Bali have always been contented with the "now"．If you ask a Balinese person what heaven is like, the probable answer will be "just like Bali"．This only goes to show that most Balinese people are happy to be where they are and never worry．
One factor that contributes to this laidback lifestyle is the culture of close family ties in Bali．In the Balinese culture, support is always available．Balinese extended families are so tightly knit that all members usually reside in the same complex．
Balinese culture is based on a form of this religion, which is called "Hindu Darma"．This religion reached the island during the eleventh century．Most of the family customs and
traditions as well as community lifestyles of the Balinese people are influenced by this．The religious influence even expands widely into the arts, which makes Bali distinct from the rest of Indonesia．
In spite of the fact that tourists flood to the island every year, Balinese people have managed to conserve their culture．Almost every native of Bali is an artist in some form or another．Parents and villagers have passed on their skills to their children, who all seem to have inclinations （爱好） either to music, dance, painting, and decor．
Another remarkable mark of the Balinese culture is the series of ceremonies and rituals known as the Manusa Yadnya．This marks the different stages of Balinese life．Cremation （火葬） is very popular on this island—and unlike in the West, death is a joyous and colorful event for the Balinese．
1.What do we know about Balinese according to the first two paragraphs?
A．They lead a very relaxing but unwealthy life．
B．They live in large families and are close to each other．
C．Their family members are distributed in different places．
D．Their extended families live too close together to get along well．
2.Bali is distinguished from the rest of Indonesia by _____．
A．people's tight family relationship
B．the family customs and traditions
C．people's great affection for religion
D．the influence of Hinduism on their culture
3.The underlined word "conserve" in Para．4 can be best replaced by "_____"．
A．preserve B．spread C．form D．expand
4.When a person dies in Bali, it is a common practice to _____．
A．express deep sorrow at his death
B．celebrate the death like a great event
C．sing and dance joyfully in his honor
D．remember what he did in his lifetime
5.What is the text mainly about?
A．Balinese religion． B．The lifestyle of Balinese．
C．Balinese culture． D．The tourism in Bali．
Vice-President Xi Jinping’s five-day official visit 48.________ the United States from Monday starts this year’s high-level interactions between China and the US.
49._______ countries have attached great importance to Xi’s visit, because it is meant to further advance their cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. The new tone for China-US ties was set by President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama 50._____ Hu paid 51._____ state visit to the US at the beginning of last year.
Xi is expected to settle the details of bilateral relations with US officials 52._____ that the two sides can fulfill the commitments they have made and expand 53._____ ties further.
China-US relations have progressed 54._____ imagination and the friendship between peoples of the two countries has deepened greatly since Xi’s last visit to the US 27 years ago. 55.______ the average one-day bilateral trade volume is more than $ 1.2 billion today is just one proof for that.
