Decreasing grain prices along with growing costs of production means Chinese farmers are unlikely to see a significant rise in income next year.
China’s economic planning chief Ma Kai expressed the concern as the government undertakes an ambitious program to improve rural people’s lives.
Grain prices have been dropping since April; and prices of wheat, corn and rice fell 5 per cent from August to October compared with the same period last year, Ma, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told an annual meeting on development and reform held over the weekend.
Meanwhile, prices of production materials rose 9.1 per cent year on year during the first 10 months.
The situation makes it difficult to achieve a “new socialist countryside,” which was last week highlighted（引起注意）as a new concept and “common action” of the whole Party and nation.
Vice-Minister of Agriculture Yin Chengjie also said China’s entry to the World Trade Organization also creates hurdles for income rises for the country’s 780 million farmers.
Farmers’ income is expected to increase by 5 per cent this year, hitting the target set by the central government at the beginning of this year.
Last year, per capita net income（个人平均纯收入）of Chinese farmers reached 2,936 yuan (US$362), up 6.8 per cent year on year, and the highest increase since 1997.
Ma also said China would continue to seek fast, steady economic growth in 2012 but more efforts will be made to deal with the challenges brought about by overheating in some industrial sectors (区域).
(from China Daily, December 5, 2011)
1.The writer thinks it difficult to achieve a “new socialist countryside” because _____.
A. grain prices decrease and production costs grow
B. “new socialist countryside” is a new concept
C. prices of production materials rose 9.1 percent
D. many farmers are working in industrial sectors
2.The underlined word “hurdles” in Paragraph 6 means _____ .
A. promotion B. fear
C. difficulties D. possibility
3.From1997 to 2011, the highest increase in farmers’ income was achieved in _____.
A. 2009 B. 2010 C. 2011 D. 2008
Removing the sleeve (封套), you will find a book that is entirely white,except for the names of its author and subject in elegant black type on the cover. It is the perfect design for the biography of a man who insisted that even the insides of his products be perfectly constructed, and that his factory walls flash in the whitest white.
The cover was the only part of the book Steve Jobs wanted to control,writes Isaacson in his introduction.Though Mr. Jobs pushed the biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin to write in his own way, generously allowing the writer more than 40 interviews, this book offers quite a different view of Mr. Jobs, who won much praise from his fans after his death on October 5th at the age of 56.
As a biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Isaacson knows how to celebrate longdead genius, but he claimed that Steve Jobs would not be entirely praiseful words.The picture he paints, particularly in the first half of this book, is not nice. Mr. Jobs emerges as a controlling and often coldblooded character. A child of the 1960s counterculture (反主流文化)，he hated materialism and lived in simply furnished houses (in part because he was too particular about furniture),But when Apple went public in 1980, he refused to give any share to Daniel Kottke, a longtime supporter and soul mate from college. “He has to abandon the people he is close to”, observes Andy Hertzfeld, an early Apple engineer.
Mr. Jobs was undoubtedly possessing an extraordinary ability to attract others and inspire a kind of faith that could not be questioned. But also he could be cold and cruel. If he disapproved of an employee’s work，he often shamed him.“This is who I am,” he once said after being challenged,“and you can’t expect me to be someone I’m not.” This disgusting personality wasn’t always helpful, but it served a purpose, writes Mr. Isaacson, many would “end their chain of horror stories by saying that he got them to do things they never dreamed possible”．
Mr. Isaacson treats Steve Jobs as the biography of record,which means that it is a strange book to read so soon after its subject’s death.
1.The biography for Jobs is believed to have the perfect design because________.
A. it follows Jobs’ style
B. its cover is entirely white
C. black and white are his favorite
D. it is designed by a famous biographer
2.The picture of Jobs that Isaacson paints in his book is________.
①cruel ②humorous ③particular ④generous
A. ①③ B. ②③ C. ①④ D. ③④
3.It can be safely concluded that________.
A. Jobs is highly spoken of in the book
B. Isaacson doesn’t think Jobs a good man
C. Jobs didn’t care about the design of the book
D. all descriptions of Jobs are not nice in the book
4.This passage can be classified as________.
A. a personal diary B. a book review
C. a news report D. a TV interview
Here are some traditional German beer games.
Beer Boot Pass
A very, very popular game played in Germany is the beer boot pass ( Bier Boot ), which has gained popularity all over the world. The game is usually played to pin the next round of beer on a person. In this, a full glass of beer is passed around in the group—there are some rules for this—it has to be tipped every time before it is passed and not a drop of beer must be spilled. The second-to-last person who finishes the beer must pay for the next round. The game then becomes all about judgment because either you drink the entire beer or have a sip and pass it on. You never know who the second to last person will be , so the uncertainty and excitement makes the game a favorite.
Beer Crate-Running
This is a traditional game that is extremely popular in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, more popularly referred to as Kastenlauf. The game is similar to running a race, where a route is marked, ranging from anywhere between 5-12 km. Each participant brings a crate of beer ( the size and quantity will be specified ). The first person who successfully finishes the entire crate of beer before getting to the finish line wins.
Flunkyball
This outdoor game is played with one team being matched against another, with equal numbers in both. The teams stand on opposite sides of the ground in a line, with their beers lined before them. An empty bottle or a tin can is placed in the center and another object ( used as an aim ) is brought in, something like a tennis ball. The first team ( A ) hits the ball onto the target to tumble（打翻）it. Once the bottle has tumbled, team A will start drinking their beers. Meanwhile, team B must run to the center, place the bottle upright, find the ball, and cross back into the line before yelling‘Stop’ . Team A then stops drinking and team B starts to throw the ball at the bottle and carrying forward the game. The game continues till one team has finished all their beer and they are declared winners .
Drinking Relay
Divide the group of people into two teams and get them to stand in a line with beer placed in front of each member . At the blow of the whistle, the first person lifts the glass and starts drinking the beer. After he is done, he has to turn the glass over to show that there is no more beer in the glass. Then , the next person starts drinking and so on. The next in line can only drink when the first person has emptied his glass. The team whose last member empties the glass ahead of others wins.
Herman the German
Even though this game seems simple, it is a lot of fun. It runs on the lines of ‘Who stole the cookie’. A person is chosen as‘Herman the German’ ( HTG ) and he has to get the game running. The other members sit in a random manner and are given names, better if they are confusing names like China Port No.1, Rum Master Blaster etc. The game starts with HTG saying – “HTG dropped a missile on China Port No.1, sir ” and China Port No. 1 has to reply with – “It wasn’t me, sir.” Then HTG replies – “Who then, sir” and it goes on. The sentence has to end with ‘sir’ and if it doesn’t, then the player has to down a beer. Similarly, if at any point the players fumble, they have to do the same. The tension makes the players forget things and there’s a whole lot of beer flowing as a result.
1.Which two games have something to do with running ?
A. Beer Boot Pass and Beer Crate-Running
B. Flunkyball and Drinking Relay
C. Beer Crate-Running and Flunkyball
D. Drinking Relay and Herman the German
2.The loser will have to buy beers for others in the game __________ .
A. Beer Boot Pass
B. Beer Crate-Running
C. Flunkyball
D. Drinking Relay
3.A person with a good memory may have an advantage in playing __________ .
A. Beer Boot Pass
B. Flunkyball
C. Drinking Relay
D. Herman the German
4.Which of the following statements is listed as a rule of the games ?
A. Every person has to sip the beer when playing Beer Boot Pass.
B. The person who replies to HTG with “sir”at the end will be punished.
C. The team can start drinking their beers as soon as they throw the ball in Flunkyball.
D. The team members have to drink their beers in turn when playing Drinking Relay.
I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving , unconditionly.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “ I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”
1.From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.
A. with his family B. with Evelyn
C. alone D. with his children
2.During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.
A. he was determined to be a good husband
B. he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm
C. she looked lovely in her new clothes
D. the doctor said his wife was seriously ill
3.The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?
A. He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.
B. She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.
C. He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.
D. He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.
4.By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that ______.
A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life
B. he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband
C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change
D. he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before
假定你是李华，你的外教Mr. Pick回国前向你推荐了American School Life网站，希望你借此提高英语水平。请你用英语给他写一封电子邮件，告诉他你的收获，要点如下：
1. 表达思念；
2. 上网收获；
3. 表示感激。
注意：1. 词数100词左右；
2. 可适当发挥，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Pick,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
短文中共有10处语言错误，每行中最多两处错误。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在此处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出增加的词; 删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉;
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从十一处起）不计分。
My parents decided try a new Western restaurant last weekend, so I went with them. The evening started well and the menu looks good. I had soup with my starter but the waiter didn't bring a spoon so it was getting a bit cold after I could eat it. Then, for our main course, I had a piece of beef. Besides, I couldn't cut the beef because of my knife wasn't very good. For my dessert I had a apple pie but I didn't have a fork or a spoon so I ate them with my fingers! What a terribly experience!
