1.                doesn，t make much difference. ( abroad)

他是否出过国并没有大大的影响。

Magdalen Nabb，a British author who wrote interesting crime novels about a smart Italian detective (侦探).has passed away. She was 60 years old. On Saturday Ms. Nabb died of a stroke in Florence, Italy, where she had lived and worked since 1975 ，said Diogenes Verlag AG,her publisher.

Ms. Nabb's most popular novels featured the Sicilian-born police detective Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia, described by Publishers Weekly as an unusual main character for a crime novel.

She published 13 books in the series，the most recent being The Innocent in 2005. Her publisher said she had recently presented the 14th book titled Vita Nuova,which is to be published next year.

Ms. Nabb said she started writing when the Belgian author Georges Simenon stopped writing his wonderful novels about a French detective Jules Maigret in 1972. She wanted to continue his dream. They kept on writing to each other until Georges Simenon died in 1989. Ms. Nabb、s publisher said the first copy of each of her books went to him,and "she couldn't write as fast as Simenon read" because he asked her after each new novel where the next one was.

Ms. Nabb,born in a village in northwest England, studied art and pottery(陶艺)and later taught at an English art school. She came up with the idea for the character Marshal Guarnaccia while working in a pottery studio in Italy. Ms. Nabb also published 13 books for children and young adults.

(   ) 8. Why did Magdalen Nabb begin to write detective novels in 1972?

A.  She got tired of teaching.

B.  Her favorite detective novel writer asked her to do that.

C.  She was short of money.

D.  Her favorite detective novel writer stopped writing.

(   ) 9. According to the underlined part in the fourth paragraph，we can infer that .

A.   Simenon was good at speed reading

B.   Simenon liked Ms. Nabb's detective stories very much

C.   Simenon was not satisfied with Nabb's new stories

D.   Simenon didn't read novels carefully

(   ) 10, Most of Ms. Nabb's popular novels are about        .

A. children    B. young adults C. a detective    D. pottery lovers

(   ) 11. When Ms. Nabb first created the character Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia,she was

working in a( n)        .

A. pottery studio in Italy    B. English art school as a teacher

C. village in northwest England    D. publishing house in Italy as an editor

(   ) 12. Which of the following is true according to this passage?

A.   Georges Simenon helped Magdalen Nabb publish her books.

B.   Georges Simenon stopped writing when he noticed Magdalen Nabb's great talent for writing.

C.   Magdalen Nabb had published altogether 13 books about a Sicilian-born police detective by 2005.

D.   Magdalen Nabb published 28 novels in total before she died.

The January fashion show,called Future Fashion, gave an example of how far green design has come. Organized by the New York-based nonprofit Earth Pledge, the show inspired many top designers to work with organic fabrics(织物)for the first time. 

The designers who carry out green fashion still face many challenges. Scott Hahn,cofounder  with Gregory of Rogan and Loom state, which uses all-organic cotton, says high-quality sustainable materials can still be difficult to find. "Most designers are finding there aren't comparable fabrics that can j ust replace what you' re doing and what your customers are used to，" he says. For example, some popular synthetics,like stretch nylon (尼龙)，still have few eco-friendly replacement.

Those who do make the switch are finding they have more support. Last year the influential trade show Designers & Agents stopped charging its participation fee for young green entrepreneurs (企业家)who attended its two springtime shows in Los Angeles and New York and gave special recognition to designers whose collections are at least 25% sustainable. This week Wal-Mart is set to announce a major plan aimed at helping cotton farmers go organic：it will buy transitional (过渡型的)cotton at higher prices,thus helping to expand the supply of a key sustainable material. "Mainstream is about to occur," says Hahn.

Some analysts are less sure. Among consumers, only 18% are even aware that ecofashion exists,up from 6% four years ago. When asked if she owned any sustainable clothes, Natalie Hor-milla,a fashion writer,replied: "Not that I'm aware of." Like most consumers, she finds little time to shop，and when she does, she, s on the hunt for "cute stuff that isn' t too expensive". She admitted that green just isn't yet on her mind. But thanks to the combined efforts of designers, retailers and suppliers, one day it will be.

(   ) 4. What is said about Future Fashion?

A.  It inspired many leading designers to start going green.

B.  It helped designers using organic fabrics to sell their products.

C.  It served as an example of how fashion shows should be organized.

D.  It told the public that fashionable clothes should be made to use for a long time.

(   ) 5. According to Scott Hahn,one big challenge to designers who will go organic is that

A.  much more time is needed to finish a dress using organic materials

B.  they have to create new brands for clothes made of organic materials

C.  customers have difficulty telling organic from non-organic materials

D.  quality organic fabrics are not easy to get

(   ) 6. We learn from paragraph 3 that designers who carry out green fashion                   .

A.   can attend various trade shows for free

B.   are gaining more and more support

C.   can buy organic cotton at favorable prices

D.   are readily recognized by the fashion world

(   ) 7. Which of the following words best describes Natalie Hormilla，s attitude toward ecofashion?
A. Critical. B. Doubtful. C. Indifferent. D. Positive.

Boys, schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art,dance and music.

Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic ac?tivities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness,rather than feeling they had to obey the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man". 

Tony Little,headmaster of Eton,warned that boys were being faded by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.

The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better in speaking and reading skills.

But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys' learning style，letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom，wrote the study, s author,Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.

Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision,learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around. "Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的)and prefer the modern genre(类型)in which violence and sexism are major themes," James wrote.

Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to obey the traditional idea that men should be "masterful and in charge" in relationships. "In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported.

(   ) 1. The author believes that a single-sex school would        .

A.   force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men"

B.   encourage boys to express their emotions more freely

C.   help to improve speaking and reading skills

D.   naturally strengthen the traditional image of a man in boys

(   ) 2. What does Tony Little say about the British education system?

A.  It fails more boys than girls in knowledge.

B.  It focuses more on mixed school education.

C.  It fails to give boys the attention they need.

D.  It places more pressure on boys than on girls.

(   ) 3. According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is       .

A.  teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys

B.  boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted

C.  boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in

D.  teaching can be designed to promote boys' team spirit

10. The father as well as his three children         on the frozen river every winter, (go)

爸爸和三个孩子每年冬天都到结冰的河上溜水 

9. I didn' t hear the telephone ring last night. I        at that time. (asleep)

昨晚我没有听到电话铃声。我那个时候一定是睡着了。

8. The news that you told me the other day needs             (confirm)

前几天你告诉我的新闻需要证实。

7. The fact          the English Channel excited everyone who  came to watch the event. (manage)

他设法横渡了英吉利海峡的事实令前来观看赛事的每个人都很兴奋。

6. During holidays I'd like to just stay at home and rest                (rather)

在假期里我喜欢待在家里休息而不是去任何地方。

5. Li Yuchun            music since she was quite young. (gift)

李宇春小时候就对音乐有天赋。