China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported.

   Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.

The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?

   At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered.

What is the average housing price per square meter in China?

A. 8,000 yuan    B. 10,000 yuan     C. 7,000 yuan    D. It’s not mentioned here

Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?

A. Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality,

environment and supporting facilities.

B. American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people.

C. The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property

developers do when they sell their houses.

D. There are more people who need houses in China.

What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it.

B. There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market

C. The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States

D. Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public.

How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high

housing prices?

A. Four    B. Three    C. Five    D. Two

Researchers at Yale, Texas A&M and Boston University predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by more than 463,000 square miles, or l．2 million square kilometers． That is equal to 20,000 American football fields becoming urban every day for the first three decades of this century．

The growth in urban areas will go with the construction of roads and buildings, water and sanitation facilities, and energy and transport systems that will transform land cover and cities globally． Recent estimates suggest that between $25 trillion（万亿） and $30 trillion will be spent on infrastructure（基础设施） worldwide by 2030, with $100 billion a year in China alone．

"Considering the long life and near unavoidability of infrastructure investments, it will be critical for current urbanization-related policies to consider their lasting impacts," said Karen Seto, lead author of the study． "We have a huge opportunity to shape how cities develop and their environmental  impacts．"

Nearly half of the increase in high-probability ----defined as greater than 75 percent ---- urban expansion is forecasted to occur in Asia, with China and India absorbing 55 percent of the regional total． In China, urban- expansion is expected to create a l,l00-mile coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Shenyang． In India, urban expansion will be gathered around seven state capital cities, with large areas of low-probability growth forecasted for the Himalaya region where many small villages and towns currently exist．

Africa's urban land cover will grow the fastest, at 590 percent above the 2000 level of 16,000 square miles． Urban expansion win be concentrated in that continent's five regions: the Nile River in Egypt; the coast of West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea; the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda and extending into Rwanda and Burundi; the Kano region in northern Nigeria; and greater Addis Ababa, Ethiopia．

"Urban expansion is concentrated in． only a few areas where there are large cities and industry," said Seto． "From the northern shore of Lake Victoria down to Rwanda is also a major hotspot of urban expansion．"

In North America, where 78 percent of the total population lives in urban areas, urban land cover will nearly double by 96,000 square miles by 2030．The study also forecasts that 48 of the 221 countries in the study will experience insignificant amounts of urban expansion． "

1.As for China, the expansion of urban area means          ．

A．$ 100 billion will be spent on infrastructure a year

B．creating a coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Qingdao

C．it will become the fastest developing country in the next decade

D．it will make up 55% of the increase in urban expansion in Asia

2.According to the passage infrastructure doesn't include          ．

A．construction of roads                    B．sanitation facilities

C．energy systems                         D．land cover transformation

3.In paragraph three the underlined word “their lasting impacts” refers to the impacts of           .

A．the development of cities                 B．urbanization-related policies

C．infrastructure in vestments                D．China’s expansion of urban area

4.The best title for this passage should be                  .

A．The limitation of urban expansion

B．More investment on infrastructure

C．The fast development of the third world

D．The future urban expansion of the world

PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION (30分)

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

A

The Wuhan to Guangzhou MU(动车组) Train route will start to operate on the 26th of this month. The train is the fastest in the world. All the construction and preparations for the route's operation are in the final stages. Our reporter Li Dong has the details.

In a trial operation, the speed of the MU Train reached 394 kilometers per hour, the highest in the world. Though the speed during normal operation may be at 350 kilometers per hour, but this newly built high speed railway may still reduce the travel time of Wuhan to Guangzhou from more than 10 to 3 hours.

The total length of Wuhan—Guangzhou high speed railway is more than 1068 kilometers. The railway connects Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong. The total investment is more than 116 billion yuan.

Protection facilities like bars and surveillance cameras are installed along the whole railway. Zhang Shuguang, director of transport bureau of the Ministry of Railway says the safety system of the train and the route is also state of the art.

"The break distance of the train is 5 kilometers. But the MU Train can respond to any emergency situations within 32 kilometers. It's very safe."

The shortened travel distance is good news for many people. However some passengers also hope the service can be upgraded.

"The dinning and entertainment service can be better. I hope I can watch TV on the train."

"The weariness during travel can be eased if I can use internet on the train. I can feel more comfortable."

Jing Libin is the MU Train driver of the Wuhan—Guangzhou high speed railway. As a MU Train engineer who witnessed China's high speed railway development. Jing Libin says: It's a way faster!

"The development of China's railway is so fast. In the beginning of the year, the speed is only 160 kilometers per hour. Soon, the speed reached 250 kilometers. And now, it's 350 kilometers! As a driver, I am very impressed."

China plans to increase the railway operation length from the current 80 thousand kilometers to 110 thousand kilometers, which includes 18 thousand kilometers of high speed passenger railways by 2012.

Within 3 years, China plans to build an "8 Hour, High Speed Transportation Circle", which means, passengers may reach nearly all the provincial capital cities in China in about 8 hours by high speed railway. With the development of the railway, China’s economy will also continue her highest development. In the near future, China will be really powerful in the world.

56. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Fastest Train in the World

C. High Speed Railway Construction

B. Trial Operation of the MU Train

D. Newly Typed Train in the World.

57. Surveillance cameras are used for________.

A. art   B. speed   C. safety    D. research

58. How much time would be needed from Wuhan to Guangzhou if the train travelled at its top speed?

A. a little more than three hours           C. more than four hours

B. less than three hours                  D. less than seven hours

59. What can we learn from the passage?

A. There will be no problems on the new train.

B. Passengers are completely satisfied with the new train.

C. Jing Libin is very proud of the development of China’s railway.

D. China has 110 thousand kilometers ofthe railway operation length now.

60. What can we infer according to the author?

A. Nobody expected China would have such a fast train.

B. China will build more high speed railways.

C. The service of the train is hard to be improved.

D. China’s economy would slow down if her transport couldn’t be improved.

第三部分读写任务(共l小题，满分25分)

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

　　Years ago it was very difficult to travel from one place to another. The journeys were often long, tiring and dangerous. Today the picture has changed. Science has improved transportation and communication facilities a great deal. Traveling has become safer, more enjoyable and above all, more economical.

　　Traveling — whether within one’s country or abroad — brings many invaluable benefits. People travel for pleasure, business or for education and knowledge. In the world of yesterday most people were only able to read about strange and fascinating places across the mountains and seas. Later, with the coming of the cinema and television, man’s curiosity about faraway places with strange sounding names was further stirred up. Today man’s curiosity can be satisfied in luxurious comfort. There are first-class ships and airplanes to take him where his dreams lie.

　　We travel to increase our knowledge of the world in which we live. Knowledge obtained from books alone is not enough. New knowledge of different land and peoples enriches our mind and soul. Books generally do not give us a very true picture of lands beyond our shores. Some of them are even misleading.

[写作内容]                  

1. 以约30个词概括短文的要点；

2. 然后以约120个词就“交通的发展给我们带来什么”这个主题发表你的看法，并包括以下要点：       1)          简述从古到今交通方式的变化；       2) 现代交通给我们带来的好处， 如快捷性、舒适性、经济性及帮助我们扩大视野等；

3)   现代交通给我们带来的一些负面影响；  4)   你如何评价现代交通？

[写作要求]                  

1.可以使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中的句子；2. 标题自定；3. 答案请写在答题卷的相应位置上。

[评分标准]           概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。

What Does Modern Transportation Bring Us?

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你所在的班级将要举办一次主题为“What Can We Do for Our School?”的英语演讲比赛。请写一篇英语演讲稿，要求从以下四方面中任选一至二个进行阐述，并举例加以说明。

1.关心他人；    2.美化校园；    3.受护学校设施；     4.营造良好的学习氛围。

注意：

1.不要在书面表达中出现所在学校的校名和本人姓名，否则本节判为零分；

2.词数：100左右；

3.参考词汇：

爱心——love and care;校园——campus; 设施——facilities; 氛围——environment

4.开头和结尾已经写好，且不记入词数。

Hello, everyone. It’s nice to speak about what we can do for our school, and I think each of us can do something.

Thank you for listening!