By the logic(逻辑)of geography, the continent of Australia should have been populated with Asians. Instead, by an accident of history, Australia has been mainly populated with Westerners.

Sadly, no major Australian newspaper or expert commented. This made me aware that Australians are reluctant to face Australia's painful new geopolitical realities.

Against this background, the release of the Asian Century White Paper is timely. It should provide a sharp wake-up call to the Australian population that Australia's destiny(命运)is now firmly tied to Asia. Julia Gillard is right in saying, "The transformation of the Asian region into the economic powerhouse of the world is not only unstoppable, it is gathering pace."

One truly impressive part of the paper is the data it provides on Asia's rise. It notes, for example, that "in the past 20 years, China and India have almost tripled(增三倍)their share of the global economy and increased their economic size almost six times over. By 2025, the region as a whole will account for almost half the world's output."

In this Asian century, as Western power gets weak steadily, Australia will be left "beached" alone as the only Western country (together with New Zealand) in Asia. Twenty-two million Australians will have to learn to deal with 3.5 billion Asians with great care and sensitivity.

Ignorance(无知)about Asia could prove to be fatal(致命的)for Australia's long-term future. This is why the report is right in focusing on Australian misunderstanding of Asia.

Sadly, this kind of terrible ignorance may be a result of Australian education. The report says, “Only a small proportion of Year 12 students study anything about Asia in the subjects of history, literature, geography, economics, politics and the arts under existing state-based curriculums." Worse, only 5 per cent of each Australian groups study any kind of Asian language.

Learning Asian languages would open windows to Asian cultural and political sensitivities. The time for Australians to think deeply about their Asian destiny has arrived. The sooner Australia adjusts to its new Asian destiny, the less painful the adjustment will prove to be.

Title: It's (71)            to accept our place in Asian region    

(72)      

(73)      speaking, Australia is close to Asia, yet few Australians are willing to face Australia's new geopolitical (74)                 

Release of the white

paper  

Aim: To tell Australians that their (75)       definitely has much to do with Asia.

Cause: Asia has (76)         the economic powerhouse of the world.

(77)     : China and India have tripled their share of the global economy and the region will account for half the world's output by 2025. 

Writer's opinions

Australians will be lonely if they don't learn to deal with 3.5 billion Asians.

Australian (78)         , in part, is responsible for their ignorance about Asia. 

It's right for the paper to (79)         on Australian misunderstanding of Asia.   

It's high time that Asia languages were (80)          to Australian children.    

Mahjong, that favorite pastime of “old folks” in Shanghai, is finding a new audience among younger players, and many university students are becoming mad about this traditional Chinese game. Students at Fudan University have even formed a Mahjong club.

This resurgence of the game, however, is not without its critics. Some people still associate the game with gambling and for many years Mahjong was banned in China. One critic, surnamed Meng, was quoted as saying, “Mahjong is a bad custom that will distract students from studies.” But Yu Guangyuan, former vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(中国社会科学院), says Mahjong is a “healthy, scientific, friendly mind game.”

Mr. Yu’s opinion seems to be shared by the majority of Chinese. They see the game as an activity that requires great concentration and intellectual skill. They also see the game as an important part of Chinese culture and a pastime that brings family and friends closer together. This Spring Festival many families will no doubt spend hours around the Mahjong table getting reacquainted with each other. For them, playing Mahjong is a way of spending quality family time. No one knows who invented Mahjong. Some say it was Confucius, others say the current form of the game was developed right here in Shanghai in the late19th century. It is certainly because of Shanghai that the game enjoys its worldwide popularity. It was brought to America in the 1920s and has since spread throughout Europe and other parts of Asia. There is now a World Championship of Mahjong which is held every year. This year’s championship was held in Chongqing and attracted players from America, Europe and Russia, as well as students from Peking University, Tshinghua University and Nankai University. There was no prize money, but the players delighted in using their wits and their understanding of statistics and probability theory(概率论)to defeat their clever opponents.

Of course, Mahjong doesn’t have to always be that intense. For young people it can be a way to relax and to socialize, a chance to get away from their computers and talk to other people face to face. So, this Spring Festival, why not get out the “old folks” tiles: it’s good to be mad about Mahjong!

67. Why do young people in China like Mahjong so much?

A. It’s an activity that requires great concentration and intellectual skill

B. It’s an important part of Chinese culture and a pastime that brings family and friends closer together.

C. It’s a way to relax and to socialize, a chance to stay away from their computers and have face-to-face communication with other people.

D. It’s a healthy, scientific, friendly mind game.

68. Who invented Mahjong?

A. Confucius   B. People of Shanghai    C. People of Chongqing  D. Unsure

69. Why do students from Peking University, Tshinghua University and Nankai University take part in the World Championship of Mahjong?

  A. Because they can happily use their wisdom and what they have learned to defeat their clever opponents.

B. Because they can win a large amount of prize money.

C. They want to make more friends through Mahjong.

D. Because it’s a thrilling game.

70. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Mad About Mahjong     B. World Championship of Mahjong

C. The History of Mahjong D. The Favorite Pastime of “Old Folks”

Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.

Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud(积云). How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."

The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?

"First of all, the water isn't in elephant sized particles(微粒), it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.

So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.

Now, ratchet up the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive. "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.

The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet.

64. The weight of      is NOT mentioned in the passage.

A. a cumulus cloud     B. a tornado              C. a hurricane               D. a storm cloud

65. How did Peggy LeMone feel about the result of her calculations?

A. She found it not convincing.                    B. She thought it needed further calculations.

C. She was quite surprised at it.                    D. She considered the calculations inaccurate.

66. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. A storm cloud weighs about 200,000 elephants.

B. The water in a hurricane weighs more than that in any other kind of cloud.

C. There are less than forty million elephants living on the earth.

D. The water in the cloud is in very tiny partials.

We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles (肌肉) of your neck, or because an unexpected twist(扭曲)has made your neck ache. The slightest move makes you jump with pain. Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck.

That is why we use the phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling. We have all met such people.

One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands—often at the wrong time—during a performance in the theater. He keeps you from hearing the actors.

Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and the play begins. They come hurrying down to your row of seats. You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap. You must stand up to let them pass. You are proud of yourself-control after they have settled into their seats…Well, what now…God, one of them is up again. He forgot to go to the men’s room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass. Now, that is “a pain in the neck”.

Another, well—known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies. His mouth is full of popcorn (爆米花); he is chewing(嚼)loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him. None of them remain still. Up and down, back and forth, they go—for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink.

Then, there is the man sitting next to you at lunch, smoking. He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth.

We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway and sits down next to you, just as close as you will let him. You are reading the newspaper and he gets closer so that he can read the paper with you. He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it.

We also call such a person a “rubber neck”, always getting close to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors. They enjoy learning about your personal business. People have a strong dislike for “rubber necks”. They hate being watched secretly.

60. According to the passage, how do you feel when late comers walk back and forth in front of you in a cinema?

A. disturbed.             B. bored.               C. ignored.              D. relaxed.

61. A “rubber neck” often __________________ .

A. says bad words behind people.            B. quarrels face to face with neighbors.

C. bargains with salespeople over the price     D. asks about other people’s business

62. Which of the following persons CANNOT be described as a “pain in the neck”?

A. Someone who often claps at the wrong time during a performance.

B. Someone who feels ache in his neck due to a cold in the muscles.

C. Someone who sits next to you smoking, which you never enjoy.

D. Someone who keeps eating or talking all through the movies.

63. What is the main purpose of the author?

A. To tell people what might be bad manners in public.

B. To criticize (批评) the people who might be a “pain in the neck”

C. To show anger to those who are described as a “pain in the neck”.

D. To tell people how to stop the pain in the neck.

Every time Lionel Messi breaks a record, it seems appropriate to compare him to the legends that came before him.

In 2012, he rewrote soccer history on multiple occasions, and his latest record came when he scored his 86th goal of the calendar year, breaking Gerd Muller’s previous mark, before wrapping up the year with 91 goals.

All statistics indicate that Messi is currently the best player in the world, and that he will go down in history as the top footballer of his generation. But when he is judged against all-time greats like Pele and Diego Maradona, he still has work to do.

We don’t know whether the Barcelona striker will have another year in which he records more than 90 goals, but he must still sustain(维持)a similar level of production for the next several seasons.

Messi has already taken part in three of Barcelona’s victorious Champions League(冠军联赛)campaigns, and he played an important role in two of them. In order to firmly establish himself as the greatest club football player in history, he must win the tournament a few more times.

Most importantly, the Argentine(阿根廷人)needs to win on the international stage. Regardless of what Messi does for Barcelona, his legacy will be incomplete if he cannot win the World Cup with Argentina.

Both Pele and Maradona led their countries to the top of international soccer during their careers, and Messi’s performances for his country have been severely disappointing.

While he was still a teenager in 2006 —and his lackluster(平淡的)showing is excusable due to his youth—he cannot brush off the disappointment that characterized Argentina’s performance in 2010.

But the 4-0 loss to Germany in the 2010 World Cup Quarter Final seems to have sparked Messi. He scored 12 times for Argentina last year, and the next World Cup could finally be Messi’s breakout performance in blue and white stripes.

Due to all of his accomplishments, it is easy to forget that the extraordinary footballer is just 25 years old. If he can avoid injury or lengthy slumps(低潮状态)until his speed and skills start to decline due to age, he may continue to break records and win trophies.

56. What will Messi have to do in order to be complete in his soccer career?

A. He must win the World Cup with Argentina.

B. He must win the tournament a few more times.

C. He must defeat Pele and Maradona.

D. He must avoid injury or lengthy slumps.

57. How was Messi’s performance in 2010 World cup?

A. Excellent    B. Inspiring     C. Disappointing   D. Normal.

58. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Messi has firmly established himself as the greatest club soccer player in history.

B. Messi will try his best to win the next World Cup with Argentina.

C. Messi can avoid injury and lengthy slumps to break records and win trophies.

D. Pele and Maradona led their countries to the top of international soccer during their careers.

59. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Lionel Messi, the Best Soccer Player of All Time ?

B. Lionel Messi, the Greatest Soccer Player in History.

C. Barcelona and Lionel Messi.

D. World Cup and Lionel Messi.

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