Ed Jocelyn and Andy McEwen might have appeared to be a bit mad－the two set off on their own“Long March”through the remotest regions of China on October 16．The idea was to take a year to retrace one of the epic movements of modern military history．
The two British men in their mid-30s were working as editors in Beijing when they decided to reexperience the tales of the original marches．“We hold these people in such respect,”McEwen says．
They plan to keep diaries but will not share the contents during the trip．“When we get to the end we'll put our heads together and try and come up with a book,”Jocelyn said．
Their trip has had some auspicious beginning, they have already met two Long March veterans(老战士)in less than a month of travel．
In this modern version, the pair are aided by high-tech equipment including a satellite phone, mini-computer, video camera and solar panels to recharge batteries．A mountain tent and portable stove will help them in the remoter stretches．
They plan to average 35-40 kilometers a day, and rest about every third day．Ed admitted that their trip would be very tough．
If they succeed, they will be the first foreigners to complete the entire Long March route since Otto Braun, the German military advisor who accompanied the Red Army on the Long March．
(1)
This text is mainly about ________．
[ ]
A．
high-tech equipment helpful to the Long March
B．
first foreigners to walk the Long March
C．
British recall of the Long March spirit
D．
British editors' adventure original in China
(2)
The underlined word“auspicious”most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
friendly
B．
favourable
C．
strange
D．
surprising
(3)
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the two foreigners?
[ ]
A．
They will use anything modern on the way．
B．
They will do some cooking by themselves．
C．
They're planning to have a book published one year later．
D．
They will send off news about what happens day by day．
Phys ed(physical education)is making a comeback as a part of the school core curriculum(核心课程), but with a difference．While group sports are still part of the curriculum, the new way is to teach skills that are useful beyond gym class．Instead of learning how to climb a rope, children are taught to lift weights, balance their diets and build physical endurance(忍耐力)．In this way, kids are given the tools and skills and experiences so they can lead a physically active life the rest of their life．
Considering that 15 percent of American children 6 to l8 are overweight, supporters say more money and thought must be put into phys ed curriculum．In many cases, that may mean not just replacing the old gym-class model with fitness programs but also starting up phys ed programs because school boards often“put P.E.on the chopping block(砧板), cutting it entirely or decreasing its teachers or the days it is offered,”says Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, the executive director of Action for Health Kids．The difference in phys ed programs is partly due to the lack of a national standard．“Physical education needs to be part of the core curriculum,”she added．The wisdom of the new approach has some scientific support．Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have showed how effective the fit-for-life model of gym class can be．They observed how 50 overweight children lost more weight when they cycled and skied cross-country(越野)than when they played sports．The researchers also found that teaching sports like football resulted in less overall movement, partly because some reluctant students were able to sit on the bench．
Another problem with simply teaching group sports in gym class is that only a small percentage of students continue playing them after graduating from high school．The new method teaches skills that translate to adulthood．
(1)
According to the passage, what is usually taught in the old gym class?
[ ]
A．
Lift weights
B．
Climb a rope
C．
Cycle
D．
Have a balanced diet
(2)
What does Alicia Moag-Stahlberg mean by saying“some school boards put P.E.on the chopping block”?
[ ]
A．
Schools do not pay enough attention to P.E.．
B．
Schools welcome P.E.but do not have time for it．
C．
Schools put P.E.in the first place．
D．
Schools cut down other subjects' time for P.E.．
(3)
Which is NOT the reason to carry out phys ed programs according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
More teenagers are overweight．
B．
Traditional group sports teaching is not effective．
C．
Students need to learn some skills to help them lead a physically active life．
D．
Phys ed programs need less money to support．
(4)
How many problems are mentioned in the passage with simply teaching group sports?
[ ]
A．
Two
B．
Three
C．
Four
D．
One
(5)
What's the difference between the come-back phys ed and the ordinary gym-class model?
[ ]
A．
The Phys ed teaches group sports．
B．
The Phys ed provides more fitness programs．
C．
The Phys ed teaches tools and skills which could be used in the future life．
D．
The Phys ed has more support from the government．
阅读理解
The country of Chile is struggling to recover from one of the most powerful earthquakes in history．The quake struck the South American nation early Saturday morning．It registered 8．8 on the Richter scale．Ex-perts say the earthquake in Chile is among the five most powerful earthquakes ever recorded．
The epicenter of the earthquake is about 70 miles north of the city of Concepci6n．The area has been rocked by dozens of aftershocks since the big quake hit on Saturday morning．
On Sunday, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet updated reports on the toll the earthquake has taken．“It’s an enormous catastrophe,” she said．Countless buildings and roadways have been destroyed or badly damaged．Rescuers continued to work around the clock to find survivors who may be trapped under the rub-ble of fallen buildings．Government officials estimate more than 2 million people have lost their homes．
Bachelet assured people that food and medical aid were on the way．Ten thousand members of the Chil-ean military have been dispatched to help in the relief and recovery efforts．Many of the country’s major gro-cery stores have started giving away basic food and supplies to people in the affected areas．Secretary-Gener-al of the United Nations spoke to President Bachelet by telephone．He assured her that the United Nations“stands ready to assist the Chilean government’s rescue and recovery efforts ”．
The earthquake in Chile comes less than two months after the 7．0 magnitude earthquake that Haiti suf-fered in January．Although the earthquake in Chile was more powerful than the one in Haiti，the damage is unlikely to be as severe．Earthquakes are more common in Chile，and many buildings and homes there are constructed to withstand tremors better．Also，the area of Chile most affected by this earthquake is not asheavily populated as Port-au-Prince, where the epicenter of the Haitian quake was located．Furthermore, Chile is one of South America’s richest, best-organized countries．Its government has more supplies and people available to effectively respond to national emergencies．
The energy released by the quake caused shock waves to roll across the Pacific Ocean in the form of tsu-namis(海啸)that have the potential to do great damage to coastal areas．Some of these waves struck the Chilean coast，causing major damage to seaside towns．Coastal communities in Russia，Japan，and the Unit-ed States were concerned，too，but there were no reports of severe damage from the waves that eventually reached the countries’shores．
(1)
Who is leading the earthquake relief efforts in Chile?
[ ]
A．
The Chilean government and military．
B．
Geologists and other scientists．
C．
The United Nations peacekeeping forces．
D．
Secretary-General of the United Nations．
(2)
The damage from Chile’s earthquake is not expected to be as severe as the damage from Haiti’s quake．Which could not be the reason for it?
[ ]
A．
Chile is one of the richest，best-organized countries in South America．
B．
Chile has constructed many buildings for the people．
C．
Chile knows how to respond to a national emergency．
D．
The epicenter area of the Chile earthquake is less heavily populated than that of the Haiti’s quake．
(3)
One result of the earthquake in Chile was ________．
[ ]
A．
severe storms in Russia and Japan
B．
massive waves in the pacific Ocean
C．
a lack of food supplies in coastal communities
D．
a social confusion across the globe
(4)
What’s the best title for this news report?
[ ]
A．
Major Earthquake Hits Chile
B．
The Most Powerful Earthquake in History
C．
Rescue and Recovery Efforts
D．
Face to Face with the Natural Disaster
阅读理解
Phys ed(physical education)is making a comeback as a part of the school core curriculum(核心课程)，but with a difference．While group sports are still part of the curriculum, the new way is to teach skills that are useful beyond gym class．Instead of learning how to climb a rope, children are taught to lift weights, balance their diets and build physical endurance(忍耐力)．In this way，kids are given the tools and skills and experiences so they can lead a physically active life for the rest of their life．
Considering that 15 percent of American children aged 6 to 18 are overweight, supporters say more money and thought must be put into phys ed curriculum．In many cases, that may mean not just replacing the old gym-class model with fitness programs but also starting up phys ed programs because school boards often "put P．E．on the chopping block(砧板), cutting it entirely or decreasing its teachers or the days it is offered，" says Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, the executive director of Action for Health Kids．The difference in phys ed programs is partly due to the lack of a national standard．"Physical education needs to be part of the core curriculum，" she added．
The wisdom of the new approach has some scientific support．Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have showed how effective the fit-for-life model of gym class can be．They observed how 50 overweight children lost more weight when they cycled and skied cross-country(越野)than when they played sports．The researchers also found that teaching sports like football resulted in less overall movement, partly because some reluctant(不情愿的)students were able to sit on the bench．
Another problem with simply teaching group sports in gym class is that only a small percentage of students continue playing them after graduating from high school．The new method teaches skills that translate to adulthood．
(1)
According to the passage, what is usually taught in the old gym class?
[ ]
A．
Lift weights
B．
Climb a rope
C．
Cycle
D．
Have a balanced diet
(2)
What does Alicia Moag-Stahlberg mean by saying “some school boards put P．E．on the chopping block”?
[ ]
A．
Schools do not pay enough attention to P．E．．
B．
Schools welcome P．E．but do not have time for it．
C．
Schools put P．E．in the first place．
D．
Schools cut down other subjects’ time for P．E．．
(3)
Which is NOT the reason to carry out phys ed programs according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
More teenagers are overweight．
B．
Traditional group sports teaching is not effective．
C．
Students need to learn some skills to help them lead a physically active life．
D．
Phys ed programs need less money to support．
(4)
How many problems are mentioned in the passage with simply teaching group sports?
[ ]
A．
Two
B．
Three
C．
Four
D．
One
(5)
What’s the difference between the come-back phys ed and the ordinary gym-class model?
[ ]
A．
The Phys ed teaches group sports．
B．
The Phys ed provides more fitness programs．
C．
The Phys ed teaches tools and skills which could be used in the future life．
D．
The Phys ed has more support from the government．
阅读理解
I had to knock on the taxi to get his attention．Finally, the driver, a man about 60, looked up from behind the wheel and apologized, “I'm sorry, but I was reading a letter．” He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough．
Since I was in no hurry, I told him to finish his letter．He shook his head, explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart．Curious, I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild．“This isn't family,” he replied．“though he might just as well have been a regular member of the family．Old Ed and I grew up together．”
They were always friends．But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago, it'd generally just been postcards at Christmas time between them．A couple of weeks ago, Ed died．“I should have kept in touch．” He repeated this, more to himself than to me．To comfort him, I said sometimes we just didn't seem to find the time．“But we used to find the time,” he said．“Take a look．” He handed the letter over to me．
The first sentence “I've been meaning to write for some time, but I've always delayed it．” reminded me of myself．It went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together．When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me, more than I can say because I'm not good at saying things like that”, I found myself nodding in agreement．
We had gone several kilometers and were almost at my hotel, so I read the last paragraph：“So I thought you'd like to know that I was thinking of you．” And it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom．”
“I thought your friend's name was Ed,” I said．
“I'm Tom,” he explained．“It's a letter I wrote to Ed before I knew he'd died．I never put it in the mailbox．I guess I should have written it sooner．” His face was pale as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief．
When I got to my hotel room I didn't unpack right away．I had to write a letter and post it．
(1)
Who wrote the letter?
[ ]
A．
Tom．
B．
Old Ed．
C．
The author．
D．
The driver's grandchild．
(2)
It can be inferred from the passage that the driver regretted________．
[ ]
A．
missing Ed's funeral
B．
moving away from his neighborhood
C．
forgetting to send Ed Christmas cards
D．
not being able to keep in touch with Ed
(3)
From Paragraph 4, we learn that the author of the passage________．
[ ]
A．
often fails to write to his friends
B．
had no intention to write to his friends
C．
had many great moments with his friends
D．
was good at expressing feelings to his friends
(4)
What message does the passage probably try to convey？
[ ]
A．
Comfort your friends when they are feeling down．
B．
Life is unpredictable so live each day as if it were your last．
C．
Remember to always mail your letters after expressing your words．
D．
Always make time to value and experience your lasting friendships．
