WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday announced a new

plan to renew and expand the nation's roads, railways and runways, in a bid (努力) to restart the sluggish economy and to help create jobs.

Obama announced the billion-dollar infrastructure(基础设施) spending program at an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, marking the Labor Day holiday in the United States.

The proposal calls for investments over six years, including rebuilding and modernizing 150,000 miles (241,350 kilometers) of roads, 4,000 miles (6,430 kilometers) of railways and 150 miles ( 241 kilometers) of runways.

"It sets up an Infrastructure Bank to leverage(杠杆;利用) federal dollars and focus on the smartest investment. All of this will not only create jobs now, but will make our economy run better over the long haul," Obama said.

"This is a plan that will be fully paid for and will not add to the deficit over time," said Obama.

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in August, reflecting business reluctance to hire among uncertain economic prospects, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday.

The president admitted that new jobs "have not been coming fast enough" in the United States.

"These years would be some of the most difficult in our history. The problems facing working families are nothing new, but they are more serious than ever. And that makes our cause more urgent than ever," he added.

What does the underlined word “sluggish” probably mean?

A. 繁荣的                   B. 崩溃的                   C. 疲软的                   D. 行动迅速的

What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. The US president launched a new program aiming at improving the nation’s infrastructure.

B. The US unemployment rate rose according to the Labor Department.

C. These years will be the most difficult in the American history.

D. More roads, railways and runways will be rebuilt and modernized.

Which of the following will be changed most in length?

A. Roads.                    B. Railways.              C. Runways.                D. Highways.

Have you ever wondered what you’d do in a moment of danger and how you’d  36  to a terrorist on the plane or a guy wearing a mask and waving a gun while you’re standing  37  at the bank?
Stephanie Davies  38 .
The 21-year-old girl  39  such a moment last week in a  40  in Aurora, Colo., where she went to a late night showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” with her  41  , Allie. All of a sudden, a gas can flew by close to the two girls.  42  , Allie stood up and was shot in the  43  by a gunman. Stephanie saw Allie fell down in the aisle(过道), blood pouring out of her neck.  44  she moved on her knees to her friend, pulled her out of the aisle and pressed the wound with her fingers  45  the gunman moved around, firing into the  46  crowd. When the gunman again walked past the aisle, they played dead until he  47  .
Heroic? Well, clearly heroic.
“  48  Stephanie’s timely actions, I just talked with Allie, who is going to be fine,” said President Barack Obama after meeting the two girls in the hospital.
And Stephanie wasn’t the  49  hero in the theater that dark night in Aurora. Three young men---Jon,26, Matt,27 and Alex, 24---used their own  50  to protect their respective(各自的) girlfriends from the gunman’s bullets. Jon took a bullet for his girlfriend. The stories were  51  for Matt and Alex. The three men were among the 12 who didn’t come out of the theater alive.
“The  52  actions of these young Americans,” President Obama said, “represent what’s best in us, and they  53  us that out of this darkness a brighter day is going to come. I have the greatest  54  for people like Stephanie, Jon, Matt and Alex who don’t  55  to do what the situation demands, bringing heroic light to the darkest of dark nights.”

【小题1】
A.referB.respondC.adaptD.talk
【小题2】
A.in turnB.in silence C.in time D.in line
【小题3】
A.knows B.appears C.wondersD.imagines
【小题4】
A.missed B.facedC.expectedD.enjoyed
【小题5】
A.streetB.restaurantC.theaterD.stadium
【小题6】
A.friendB.sisterC.auntD.cousin
【小题7】
A.Tired B.Annoyed C.Frightened D.Puzzled
【小题8】
A.legB.wrist C.armD.neck
【小题9】
A.Madly B.Suddenly C.Secretly D.Hurriedly
【小题10】
A.sinceB.asC.untilD.because
【小题11】
A.waiting B.chattingC.staring D.screaming
【小题12】
A.passedB.stoppedC.hidD.escaped
【小题13】
A.In spite of B.Regardless of C.Because of D.In terms of
【小题14】
A.typical B.unique C.usualD.only
【小题15】
A.methods B.bodies C.toolsD.hands
【小题16】
A.common B.strange C.similarD.different
【小题17】
A.braveB.immediate C.generousD.active
【小题18】
A.warnB.showC.promiseD.inform
【小题19】
A.hopeB.concernC.pityD.respect
【小题20】
A.hesitateB.regretC.pretendD.refuse

Thousands of people have been killed in a massive(大规模的) earthquake in Japan. The quake -- the most powerful to hit Japan in more than 100 years -- caused massive damage and many people are missing and feared dead.

The 8.9 magnitude quake struck Friday(March 11) off Japan's eastern coast, and prompted(引发) tsunami warnings(海啸警报)across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast. Several days after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting 10-meter-high tsunami devastated the coastline. The United States Geological Survey says it was the fifth largest earthquake since 1900. The largest, with a 9.5 magnitude, shook Chile(智利) in 1960.

  In Japan, the tsunami swept away boats, cars and hundreds of houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo. The quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital and caused several fires. All train and subway traffic in Tokyo has been stopped, and thousands of people there were unable to get back home. People are just trying to find clean water. Food supplies are running out. In the convenience stores, there are no rice balls left. There is no bottled water left. People are facing a really serious situation in the days ahead for these people that are living in areas that were only moderately(普通的) damaged. The final death toll could range from the thousands to tens of thousands, depending on how many of these communities are gone.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do everything it can to minimize(使降到最低) the effects of the disaster. And in Washington, President Obama said the United States is ready to help the people of Japan.

1.The underline word damage means_____________ in the article.

A.illness

B.disaster

C.terror

D.danger

2.Which is true according to the passage?

A.Thousands of people have been killed in a massive earthquake in Japan.

B.Only people in areas that were only moderately damaged are facing a really serious situation in the days.

C.The tsunami devastatednot only the coastline in Japan, but also the areas across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast.

D.The massive earthquake caused the tsunami.

3.According to the passage, which earthquake is the largest one since 1990 ?

A.the one happened in Japan on March 11, 2011

B.the one in Chile in 1960

C.the fifth largest earthquake since 1900

D.We don't know.

4.If you're in Tokyo these days, what you can't get from the convenience store?

A.newspapers and magazines

B.some medicine

C.paper napkins and toothpastes

D.rice balls and bottled water

5.The passage can't be in/on __________.

A.March 10th newspapers

B.TV

C. Internet

D. Radios

 

Steve Jobs made technology fun.The co-founder of Apple died last Wednesday at the age of fifty-six He had fought for years against cancer.Mourners gathered outside his house in Palo Alto, California, and Apple stores around the world.
Tim Bajarin, president of a high-tech research and consulting company, said "If you actually look at a tech leader, they're really happy if they have one hit in their life.Steve Jobs has the Apple II, the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and Pixar."
Steve Jobs was a college dropout.He was adopted by a machinist and his wife, an accountant.They supported his early interest in electronics.
He and his friend Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer—now just called Apple—in nineteen seventy-six.They stayed at the company until nineteen eighty-five.That year, Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs left in a dispute(分歧)with the chief executive.
Mr.Jobs then formed his own company, called NeXT Computer.He rejoined Apple in nineteen ninety-seven after it bought NeXT.He helped remake Apple from a business that was in bad shape then to one of the most valuable companies in the world today.
Steve Wozniak, speaking on CNN, remembered his longtime friend as a "great visionary and leader'' and a "marketing genius(天才)".
President Obama said in a statement: "By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity.By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun."
David Carroll is a professor at Parsons School of Design in New York City.He says Steve Jobs not only revolutionized technology, he also revolutionized American business.
"The fact that he was able to redesign American commerce top to bottom and across is really stunning (令人惊奇的).He probably will be considered an industrial giant on the scale of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, so one of the great[s] of all time." David Carroll said.
Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's chief executive in August because of his health.He died a day after the company released a new iPhone version that met with limited excitement.Apple's new chief, Tim Cook, will also have to deal with the new Kindle Fire tablet computer from Amazon.com.It costs less than half as much as an iPad but also does less.

  1. 1.

    Why did people all over the world mourn Steve Jobs?

    1. A.
      He was very courageous in the face of cancer.
    2. B.
      He became very rich though dropping out college.
    3. C.
      He released a new iPhone version before death.
    4. D.
      He revolutionized technology and made it enjoyable.
  2. 2.

    Which of the following can easily prove that Jobs is a "marketing genius"?

    1. A.
      After Apple, he founded NeXT Computer.
    2. B.
      He made Apple very valuable once again in the world.
    3. C.
      He developed a series of Apple products.
    4. D.
      He was considered the greatest industrial figure of all time.
  3. 3.

    What does the underlined part in Paragraph 7 mean?

    1. A.
      Jobs was a typical example of American spirit of creation.
    2. B.
      Jobs enriched the American spirit of science and freedom.
    3. C.
      Jobs eventually realized his American dream.
    4. D.
      American people are good at inventing things.
  4. 4.

    Which of the following is true according to the text?

    1. A.
      Jobs's parents discouraged him from working on electronics
    2. B.
      Jobs stayed in Apple as chief executive for about 24 years.
    3. C.
      Jobs started his career in his family garage.
    4. D.
      Run unsuccessfully, Apple was sold to NeXT Computer.

Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don' t do it in front of my lads.I don ?t do it in front of my family.I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said.
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important.The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up.What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said.
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.

  1. 1.

    The new law makes life difficult for             .

    1. A.
      Obama
    2. B.
      tobacco industry
    3. C.
      White House
    4. D.
      US Food and Drug Administration
  2. 2.

    What do we know about Obama?

    1. A.
      He no longer smokes.
    2. B.
      He still smokes as usual.
    3. C.
      He began to smoke at eighteen.
    4. D.
      He is trying hard to give up smoking.
  3. 3.

    According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about           .

    1. A.
      children
    2. B.
      officials
    3. C.
      his family
    4. D.
      Businessmen

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