The price of rice changes during the year.
     It is useful for rice farmers to know how the price changes, then they can sell their rice when the price is
high.
     Last year, the price of rice was very low in November. This was a bad time for farmers to sell their rice.
November, December, and January were all bad months.
     The best month for farmers to sell rice last year was April. July and August were also good times to sell rice.
     Between August and November, the price of rice went down every month. During other parts of the year,
the price went up and down.
     It was hard for farmers to guess how the price would change from month to month.

1. The underlined word "changes" in Paragraph 2 means _____.

A. becomes smaller
B. gets more
C. goes up and down
D. stays the same

2. The price of rice was the lowest in _____ last year.

A. January
B. April
C. July
D. November

3. In which months did the price of rice stay the same last year?

A. April and May
B. July and August
C. February and December
D. March and November

4. When could farmers probably guess the change in price during the year?

A. Spring
B. Summer
C. Fall
D. Winter

5. Which is the best title (题目) of the reading?

A. Seasons
B. Changing in Price of Rice
C. Months
D. Buying and Selling

     China is a large country and has a population of about 1. 3 billion. But most people live in the east and the
living standard (水平) is much higher than in the west. Recently, the Chinese government has decided to
promote (促进) development in central and western China. The part includes 11 provinces (省) and
autonomous regions (自治区) with a population of 285 million and an area of 5. 4 million square-kilometers.
The rich nature resources in western China is one of the advantages for development. According to the plan,
the government will focus on improving transportation. Highways and railways will be built. To protect nature,
farmers will turn farmland back into forest.
     Since the western part is developing fast, all kinds of talents are badly needed. In June, 2003, several
thousand college students chose to start their career in the west. They worked as volunteers. Some people
even give up the chance of working in big companies in China' coastal (沿海的) cities. For example, Wang
Fei was a student from Qinghua University. Before June, he had received a job offer in Shanghai. However,
he turned down the offer. Instead, he became one of the "Go West" volunteers. Since 2003, tens of thousands
of college students have gone to the west. They are trying their best to make the west become more and more
beautiful. We are sure that the development will be a great success. China will be richer and stronger.

1. According to this passage, we know that ________.

A. eastern China is developing faster than western China
B. China is the richest in the world
C. eastern China has a population of 285 million
D. There are more people in the west than in the east

2. Now, what does western China need most?

A. Forest
B. Highways and railways
C. skilled talents
D. Resources

3. Why do college students go to the west?

A. They want to make contributions (贡献) to the development of western China
B. Western China is more beautiful than eastern China
C. They want to get more money
D. They hate working in coastal cities

4. What does the phrase turn down mean in the second paragraph?

A. Return
B. Refuse to accept
C. Make something less
D. Review

5. What's the best title for this passage?

A. Volunteers
B. China's development
C. The bright future in western China
D. Western China needs development

     It began with one red paper clip (回形针) and ended with a house. Kyle MacDonald, a 26-year-old
Canadian, got a three-bedroomed house through 14 trades (交换) that started with a single red paper clip.
     Encouraged by Kyle's successful experience, now more and more young people around the world
are starting their own trading activities. They set up websites where people can trade things they do not
usually use with other people. A website called Peerflix allows people to trade their used DVDs. These
traders usually prefer face-to-face tracing, which means they don't have to worry about who is going to
pay for the delivery (递送).
     Last year, a young girl in Beijing decided to follow the example of Kyle. She started with a paper clip
and hoped to get a house in the end. After several trades she now has a piano which is worth more than
10,000 yuan. But she may still have a long way to go.
     You may be puzzled about why people are doing this. In fact, everyone in the trade activities gets things
that are useful to them. Just as Kyle said, "What's more important to a man dying of thirst in the desert-one
million dollars or a glass of water?" Kyle's words probably show why these trades are popular among young
people.

1. What did Kyle get in the end through 14 trades?
    __________________________________________________________
2. Where can people trade things they do not usually use? 
    __________________________________________________________
3. Why do these traders usually prefer face-to-face trading? 
    __________________________________________________________
4. How can the Chinese girl's dream come true? 
    __________________________________________________________
5. Why are the trade activities popular among young people? 
    __________________________________________________________

     Singapore, July 12------Many people enjoy chewing gum, but in 1992 Singapore decided to make it against
the law. The government said that people were not careful about throwing away used gum. Instead, they
dropped it on sidewalks and on the street where it made a big mess. Chewing gum also got stuck (粘贴) in
the doors of the underground trains so that the doors didn't close properly. This meant the trains did not run
on time. Singapore said that people had to give up chewing gum or pay a lot of money to the government.
During the time without chewing gum, the streets and underground trains of Singapore were clean.
     Now the government of Singapore is changing the rules a little. Some dentists say that chewing sugarless
gum can help take care of people's teeth. Now the government says that people will be able to buy special
kinds of gum at drugstores for health reasons. Other kinds of gum are still not allowed.

1. The text is probably taken from _______.

A. a story book
B. a newspaper
C. a guide book
D. a letter

2. What problem was Singapore facing before 1992?

A. Chewing gum made the city dirty.
B. People kept chewing gum.
C. The underground train did not run.
D. People must pay a lot of money.

3. What happened in Singapore during the time without chewing gum?

A. The doors of underground trains didn't close properly.
B. People began stopping to throw away used gum.
C. The streets and underground trains were clean.
D. The government had to pay a lot of money for it.

4. Where can people buy special kinds of gum for health reasons?

A. From underground trains.
B. In the street nearby.
C. At the dentist's.
D. At drugstores.

     Nowadays more and more people care about the exploitation (开采) of the natural resources, such as oil.
Though there're many kinds of resources, with the fast increase of population and the appearance of many
more factories, the more we use, the fewer there will be left for the future, Oil is getting less and less year
after year. It's said that oil can last for only 50 years. Natural gas perhaps will last about 38 years.
     Oil can be used in many ways and it's difficult to imagine what the modern world will be like without oil.
But oil isn't easy to find and get out of the earth. Men must study the rocks. When they think the rocks in a
certain place may have oil, a metal tower is built, A machine in the tower cuts a hole down into the ground.
At the same time, a steel pipe is pushed down to stop the sides from falling in and to keep out water. At last
if the men are right, usually the oil rushes up the sides with great force by the pressure of the gas in the top
of the rock, and it rushes high into the air. If the oil catches a light, there will be a terrible fire. So a kind of
cover is fixed on the top of the pipe, and the oil can run out through taps.
     If we make a well near the middle of the oil field, we can also get gas. Such gas is sent through pipes to
towns far away and used in houses and factories like coal gas.
     Today oil is under pressure as never before. The price of oil keeps rising all the time. In many countries,
the governments encourage people to save oil as much as possible.

1. In the second paragraph, the word "it" refers to _____.

A. gas
B. oil
C. rock
D. water

2. Which is the right order of the exploitation of oil?
    a. Push down a steel pipe.
    b. Study the rocks.
    c. Build a metal tower.
    d. Oil rushes up.

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

3. Which of the following can be true according to the passage?

A. Coal gas can't be used in houses and factories.
B. Oil is very important in the modern world.
C. Many governments encourage people to waste oil as much as possible.
D. Today oil is under pressure as before.

4. According to the passage, the right picture to show the tendency (趋势) to the amount of oil on the earth
    is _____.

A.           B.
C.       D.

5. The best title for the passage is _____.

A. The loss of Oil
B. The Use of Oil
C. The Price of Oil
D. The Exploitation of Oil.

     China has three economic (经济的) areas: eastern China, central China and western China. Shanxi, Gansu,
Qingdao, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou and Tibet are in western China. It covers
5,385,700 square kilometers, making up 56.4% of Chinese territory (疆土) and is home to 230 million people.
It is 23% of China's population. 　　
    The western area rich in mineral (矿物的) and energy (能量) resources (资源) (water, coal, sun energy and wind power). It also has large grassland, ice and snow resources waiting to be developed. It is home to many
wild animals and plants, and it gives us with important medicinal resources. 　　
     The Chinese leaders have decided to develop the western area. Jiang Zemin said,"Without the development
of the western area, how can we modernize the whole country, and how can China become an economic
power?" 　　
     Since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, it is not the first time for China to develop
its western part, China will make its western area a long-term base for economic development and use its rich
resources to develop economic power.

1. 判断正误，对的写“T”，错的写“F”。
    (     )The western area have large Greenland waiting to be developed. 
2. 翻译文中画线的句子：
     ____________________________________________________
3. Does China have three economic areas?
     ____________________________________________________
4. What's the population of the western China? 
     ____________________________________________________
5. Why did the Chinese leaders decide to develop the western area? 
     ____________________________________________________