Chinese reports say the country’s vast pool of cheap labor is getting smaller, which could hurt an economy that heavily depends on labor-intensive manufacturing.
The academy’s research shows that China’s rural labor surplus, the source of migrant workers for the country’s factories, is about 50 million people—far less than the previously estimated 150 to 200 million.
Jonathan Unger, director of the Contemporary China Center at the Australian National University, says fewer rural residents are willing to leave their farms today. This is partly because there are more employment opportunities in rural areas, and because agricultural prices have gone up.
“And at the same time taxes in the countryside, fees in the countryside have gone down because of new sets of government policies,” he explained. “So people are not eagerly forced in the way they were five, six years ago to leave the farm in order to earn enough money for their families.”
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says another reason for the reduced labor pool is the country’s population policy, which allows city residents to have just one child, and farmers up to two if the first one is a girl.
A UN study predicts that China’s workforce will reach its top in 2015 and then gradually drop. Some of China’s major manufacturing areas, such as Guangdong Province, already face labor shortages.
Some economists think these shortages are, at least for now, a regional rather than a national problem. Sun Mingchun, an economist with investment bank Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong, points out that there are still millions of people in China who can not find work.
57. According to the academy’s research, China’ rural labor surplus today is about _______.
A. 150 million      B. 50 million      C. 200 million      D. 175 million
58. The reason why many rural residents don’t leave their farms today is ________.
A. the farmers are older than before.
B. the farmers are lazier than before
C. the farmers have much more money
D. there are more employment opportunities and agricultural prices have gone up
59. Which of the following is TURE according to the passage?
A. A study of UN estimates China’s workforce will come to the top in 2015.
B. No a study shows millions of people can’t find work in China.
C. The country’s population policy isn’t a reason for the reduced labor.
D. Five years ago, few farmers left their homes to earn money for supporting their families.
60. According to some economists, the shortage of Chinese workforce __________.
A. is a national problem                     B. is a regional problem
C. is not a problem                         D. can be solved easily

My dad was never the kind to offer many words of love or encouragement. But we knew he loved us... he just had his own way of showing it.

    When I was a teen, we were seasonal campers at a family campground almost an hour outside the city where we lived. Each family had their own campsite with water and electric, and you basically parked your camper there from May through October. Most "Seasonals" visited them every weekend during those months, with the occasional weeklong stay. There were plenty of other kids who camped seasonally each weekend, and they came to be some of my closest friends. Of course, many of them were boys.

    We kids paired up with our little boyfriends or girlfriends, and we'd hold hands as we'd walk around the campground. We'd play ping-pong, have some snacks, and play songs. Most weekends were pretty similar, but the couples would change. You'd see so-and-so with a different so-and-so than they were with the weekend before. You know how it is when you're a teen — a three-week relationship is a really long time.

    So, needless to say, my teen years were spent with quite a few different boys. But every single one of them had something in common... they'd all received The Evil Eye.

    The Evil Eye was a magical sort of thing. One simple look from my dad, and the boy immediately knew not to mess with me. It was as if he could send his warnings through invisible laser（激光）beams that shot directly from his eyes to the boys' brains.

    "You will not put your hands on my daughter... You will not kiss my daughter... You will not even whisper sweet nothings into my daughter's ear."

    I remember one night in particular, walking with a boy around the campground after dark. We came from one direction, and my dad from the other. The boy and my dad locked eyes for a brief second, then the boy dropped my hand like a hot potato and turned away, giving me a quick, "See ya later."

    Yes, the Evil Eye. Best way ever to keep wandering teen boy hands away from your daughters.  

1.The Evil Eye in the passage implies that _____.

A. Dad gets angry easily                    B. Dad’s eyes are like evil’s

C. Dad’s eyes are ugly-looking              D. Dad’s eyes are protective to his daughter

2. The underlined words “mess with” in paragraph 5 most probably means _____.

A. make untidy          B. cause trouble            C. get married to       D. talk to

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. As teenagers, we went camping every weekend.

B. We made lots of friends during the seasonal camping.

C. We had regular boyfriends or girlfriends and enjoyed ourselves.

D. The boy dropped my hand and turned away because he loved The Evil Eye.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author _____.

A. is a teenage girl who loves her father

B. is a teenage boy who hates his father

C. is now an adult who has come to understand her father’s love

D. used to be a naughty boy who changed girlfriends now and then

The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today.

Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

As she walked slowly to the elevator, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she said with the happiness of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…just wait.”

    “That doesn’t matter,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It’s how I arranged my mind. I have already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account. You take what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank.” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones.”

Mrs. Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108.

We can infer from the passage that the author________.

A. is one of Mrs. Jones’ children       B. is a relative of Mrs. Jones

C. works in the nursing home         D. is the owner of the nursing home

The room in which the old lady will live________.

A. is very comfortable                       B. is fairly big

C. isn’t well equipped               D. is equipped with new furniture

Mrs. Jones was very happy when told about her room because she________.

A. couldn’t see what her room was like

B. thought the nursing home was her home

C. would have to live in the nursing home

D. had already made up her mind to be happy

Which of the following words can best describe Mrs. Jones?

A. Proud.          B. Cheerful.          C. Determined       D. Honest

Greece declared a national state of emergency on Saturday as scores of forest fires that have killed at least 46 people continued to burn out of control, leaving some villages trapped within walls of flames, cut off from firefighters.

Although most of the fires have been on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, some broke out on the outskirts of Athens on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of homes and closing a major road linking the capital to the main airport for several hours. The national fire brigade said that by evening it had brought those blazes under control, including one that came within about six miles of the city.

The country has been vulnerable to fire this summer because of drought and three consecutive heat waves that sent temperatures soaring over 100 degrees. More than 3,000 forest fires have destroyed thousands of acres of wooded areas since June; the earlier fires killed nine people. The latest spate of fires on the peninsula started Friday. Strong, hot winds have spread the flames.

Firefighters expect the death toll to rise, because they have not yet been able to search some areas that had been overrun by flames.

Hardest hit by the fires were a dozen small villages t around the town of Zaharo in the western peninsula, where at least 12 people, including some who may have been trying to flee by car, were killed. Scores of other residents, including elderly and disabled people, remained trapped in their homes, phoning in to local television and radio stations, crying for help.

Late Saturday, Mr. Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece appeared on national television and declared that he was mobilizing all of the country’s resources to control the fire. Mr. Karamanlis also suggested that the recent fires might have been purposely set. “So many fires sparked simultaneously in so many regions is no coincidence,” he said, “We will get to the bottom of this and punish those responsible.”

The overstretched national fire services are being helped by an estimated 6,000 soldiers mobilized for the operation. A fleet of water-dumping aircraft was expected from France, Germany and Norway, after Greece appealed to the European Union for “urgent assistance.”

51.The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______ in the passage.

A. firefighters battles fearlessly in Greece to control the fire

B. constant fires in Greece have caused great life and wealth lose

C. Greece is facing great danger as forest fires continue to break out

D. Greek government is investigating the cause of recent forest fires

52. We can know from the passage that ______.

A. Athens, capital of Greece was not threatened in the fire

B. Greek government did not take effective measures to control the fire

C. many people had to leave their homes to avoid fire

D. all people endangered by the fire have already got immediate and proper help

53. According to the passage, which of the following might not contribute to the recent forest fires in Greek?

A. Storm thunders in summer

B. Lack of rainfall

C. Extremely hot weather this summer

D. Hot and strong wind

54. We can learn from the passage that ______.

A. now the fire crisis in Greece has come to an end

B. assistance from EU members is expected to come to help Greece

C. firefighters in Greece so far can still manage the situation

D. the number of people who die in the fire is expected not to rise any more

55. Mr. Karamanlis believes the forest fires in Greece _______.

A. is a happening by chance                              B. is a natural disaster

C. might be caused by human       on purpose             D. is a punishment of nature

They say that first impressions are very important. My first impression of Mrs Li was 31___ she was nervous and 32____. I think perhaps she was, 33_____ it was her first lesson 34_____ us. But now, after 35______, the class really likes 36______ with her. She is kind and 37_______, and she 38________ English so 39_____ that  40______ I can understand it! --- She avoids 41______ you feel stupid. I’ve always hated making mistakes or 42______ a word incorrectly when I speak English, but Mrs Li just smiles, 43_____ you don’t feel completely stupid! I think maybe she goes _44___ too slowly for the faster students, but for me it’s wonderful！I feel I’m going to make progress 45_____ her.

A. it               B. that

A. shy             B. relax

A. as              B. is

A. after            B. with

A. two week        B. two weeks

A. working         B. work

A. patience         B. patient

A. explains         B. explain

A. clear            B. clearly

A. even            B. every

A. to make         B. making

A. to pronounce     B. pronouncing

A. so that          B. that

A. a bit            B. bit

A. with            B. to