Crosstalk(相声),a traditional form of comic storytelling,is making a comeback in China’s tea houses and theaters.

   Audiences can laugh the night away every Saturday at the Qianxiangyi Teahouse in Tianjin,entertained by the apprentices(学徒)of Hou Baolin,Ma Sanli or Yin Shoushan—all leading crosstalk artists of years past—for only 20 yuan($2.40).

   The success in Tianjin has also caused the rejuvenation(复活) of crosstalk in Beijing and other places.

   Although the art form originated in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911),Tianjin became a place where rising stars formed their styles and new pieces were tried out.The city was well—known nationwide for the quality of its crosstalk performances.

Known in Chinese as xiangsheng(1iterally,“face and voice”),crosstalk was the predominant(支配的)form of comedy throughout most of the 20th century.In the old days in Tianjin and elsewhere,temple fairs and markets were the main places for crosstalkers to perform,although they occasionally also appeared in teahouses or theaters.

    Crosstalk pieces draw on every aspect of Chinese culture,from history and folk tales to social issues of the time.Although there’re hundreds of traditional pieces,they’re constantly rewritten to suit the times and the audience, while new works are written as well.It’s one of the features that have made crosstalk a

 public art form throughout its history.

    “Crosstalk was in the doldrums(萎靡不振)with competition from other art forms,especially TV,”said Wang Xiaochun,headmaster of the Northern Storytelling Arts School of China(NSAS).“But it has regained its status with crosstalk fans,especially young people,growing aware of its rare qualities.”

    “More and more students are coming to NSAS to study crosstalk,including some girl students,”said Wang, “They’re sure that crosstalk will have a strong market.”

Crosstalk means“__________ ”in Chinese.

   A.storytelling    B.face and voice    C.folk tale  D.dialogue

According to the text, crosstalk is so popular throughout its history because____________.

  A.it is constantly changed and renewed    B.it is often performed at temple fairs

  C.it is different from other arts           D.it is comic and humourous

Crosstalk makes a comeback mainly because__________.

  A.it is a popular traditional art after all

  B.the pieces contain some famous folk tales

  C.the crosstalkers make it return to teahouses

  D.the pieces are made to suit the times and the audience

We can learn that the future of crosstalk first lies in ____________.

  A.setting up more storytelling art schools     B.beating TV and other arts

  C.young people’s awareness of its value      D.a strong market

China has input several billion yuan of money to stop the dirty water waste on the upper and middle area of the Pearl River from polluting the lower reaches of the river, especially the Macao Spe??cial Administrative Region.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the upper and middle reaches of the Pearl River has been rapidly urbanized(城市化)and industrialized in recent years, leading to a rise in the amount of urban rubbish to the damage of the land, rivers and atmosphere.

Refuse dumps and special plants in most cities treat rubbish to make it harmless, with 5,800 tons of wastes being burnt, buried or made into fertilizers on a daily basis.

He Suping, a woman engineer with the water re??sources department in Guangxi said, it is imperative for the autonomous region to treat sewage wastes to protect the area’s Karst terrain(喀斯特地形)and rain water which brings contact between groundwater and surface water, making groundwater more easily polluted.

The Xijiang River, a branch of the Pearl River which runs from Guangxi to neighboring Guangdong Province, provides fresh water for a number of river??side cities such as Macao, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Zhaoqing, so Guangxi must begin to treat rubbish quickly to protect the water sources, said Liu Chen, a senior engineer with the Ministry of Water Resources.

The government 2001—2006 plan to spend bil??lions of yuan to turn wastes harmless has been mainly provided by national debt payments and overseas in??vestment.So far wastes treatment projects have re??ceived a total of 400 million yuan(48 million US dol??lars)from national debts and 60 million yuan(7.22 million US dollars)from overseas loans(贷款).

The main idea of the passage is __     

       A.A large number of waterways have been polluted in China up to now.

       B.Guangxi and Guangdong have taken the lead in making water clean.

       C.China's rivers are badly in need of improve??ment.

       D.China is making efforts to reduce pollution of the rivers.

The main idea of the last paragraph is __

       A.The government has no ability to afford the expenses of treating wastes.

       B.The government has a long-term plan to treat wastes.

       C.National debt payments and overseas investment are taking an important part in developing China's economy.

       D.A great deal of money is needed in dealing with wastes.

The basic reason why the amount of urban rubbish rises in Guangxi lies in _____.

       A.the improvement of people’s living standard

       B.people’s wasting too much

       C.urbanization and industrialization

       D.too many tourists’ coming

The word “imperative” here probably means _______.

       A.unnecessary          B.important            C.easy          D.unbelievable

With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.

Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.

It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.

This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.

The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.

“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.

“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”

The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.

A. make efforts to clone the endangered pandas

B. save endangered animals from dying out

C. collect DNA of endangered animals to study

D. transfer the nuclear of one animal to another

According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.

A. available panda eggs                B. host animals

C. qualified researchers                D. enough money

The best title for the passage may be _______.

A. China’s Success in Pandas Cloning   

B. The First Cloned Panda in the World

 C. Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas

 D. China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever

From the passage we know that _______.

A. Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog

 B. scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit

 C. Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches

 D. about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century


Wen Jiabao arrived in Singapore yesterday for an official visit to the country. It is the first visit by a Chinese premier to Singapore in eight years. In the arrival statement, When said he is looking forward to the meeting with Singing pore on ways to deepen East Asian cooperation between two nations so as to contribute to the building of a peaceful, harmonious relationship.
Premier Wen Jiabao and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong agreed to jointly develop an environmentally friendly city in northeastern China. The city will be a model for sustainable development, a Singapore government statement said.The”Sino-Singapore Tjanjin Eco—city” will be developed by a joint venture formed by Chinese and Singapore companies.”This eco-city, to be built in Tianjin, well become another highlight in our relations,” When said after signing an agreement with Lee, who agreed,“On the Singapore side, on all levels,we’ll  give this project our full support.”
The two sides will share expertise and experiences in urban planning, environmental protection, resources conservation,recyeling,use of renewable resources and wastewater re-use. China’s  economil planning agency issued a set of guidelines earlier this month welcoming foreign investment in environmentally friendly areas such as recycling,”clean”industries and environmental protection.
Bilateral relations between China and Singapore have seen big progress even though the two countries established diplomatic ties only 17 years ago, When said during his talks with Lee.
China and Singapore have also kept close contact and coordination on regional issues, he added. When said China and Singapore are both important Asian countries that share common interests in many areas.
Title: Wen’s visit to Singapore

Main points
contexts
General   【小题1】   of Wen’visit
To   【小题2】   with Singapore
To   【小题3】  
Agreements 【小题4】  in the visit
Another 【小题5】 friendly city to be built in Tianjin.
Co-operation in city planning, environment protection, recycling and so on for  【小题6】 
Co-operation in   【小题7】  for a  【小题8】  Asia.
Guidelines 【小题9】 by China
China’s  【小题10】  for clean industries and environmental protection.

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