Indians are the world’s biggest bookworms, reading on average 10.7 hours a week, twice as long as Americans, according to a new survey.

    The NOP World Culture Score Index surveyed 30,000 people in 30 countries from December 2004 to February 2005.

    Analysts said self-help and desirable reading could explain India’s high figures.

    Time spent on reading meant fewer hours watching TV and listening to the radio—India came fourth last in both.

    The NOP survey of 30,000 consumers aged over 13 saw China and the Philippines take second and third place respectively in average hours a week spent reading books, newspapers and magazines.

    Britons and Americans scored about half the Indians’ hours and Japanese and Koreans were even lower—at 4.1 and 3.1 hours respectively.

    R. Sriram, chief executive officer of Crosswords Bookstores, a chain of 26 bookshops around India, says Indians are extremely entrepreneurial (有开创精神的) and reading “is a fundamental part of their being”.

    “They place a great deal of emphasis on reading. That’s the reason why they do well in education at home and in universities abroad,” he said.

    “People educate themselves and deal with change throughout their lives. And the way to do that is to update themselves with books.”

    Mr. Sriram says social changes have also made a difference: “Earlier people could turn to their parents and grandparents for advice．Now they turn to books.”

1. According to the time spent on reading, which of the following answers is right?

A. Indians>Americans>Chinese>Koreans

B. Americans>Chinese>Philippines>Japanese

C. Chinese>Indians>Americans>Philippines

D. Indians>Chinese>Philippines>Americans

2. The sentence “India came fourth last in both.” in paragraph four means_____.

   A. Indians have no time to watch TV and listen to the radio

   B. Indians are busy with their work every day

   C. Indians spent more time on reading so that they have fewer hours watching TV and listening to the radio

   D. People in other countries spent more time watching TV and listening to the radio

3. The time that Chinese spent on reading may be______ a week.

   A. 5.35 hours                               B. less than 10.7 hours but more than 5.35 hours        

C. more than 10.7 hours           D. 10.7 hours

4. The Indians do well in education and universities abroad because_____.

A. they have excellent teachers in every school

B. they have qualities that are needed to succeed

C. they put much emphasis on reading

D. they live in a developed country

5. Which of the following is not mentioned in this passage?

   A. Indians live a very rich life in their homeland.

   B. Indians are those who spend much time on reading or studying.

   C. Indians are those who spend fewer hours watching TV and listening to the radio.

D. Now the Indians turn to books for advice.

Did you get a flu shot this year? For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US is recommending that all children ages 6 months through 18 years receive the flu vaccine.

Vaccines battle diseases caused by bacteria and viruses. A weakened form of the germ is introduced into the body. The body makes special substances called antibodies to fight the germs. If the actual germs were to attack, the antibodies would fight them.

Because there are many kinds of flu viruses, scientists must create a new vaccine formula (配方) each year. Researchers must make a prediction.

“The flu vaccine is not as effective as the polio (小儿麻痹症) vaccine or the measles(麻疹) vaccine,” says Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“It’s not a great vaccine, but it is quite a good vaccine.”

But a flu vaccine doesn’t work for everyone. There are certain people who should be careful about taking it. Because the vaccine is produced from eggs, those who are allergic (过敏的) to eggs should not take it. If you have a fever, you should wait until you recover.

Some people are afraid that they might get the flu from the flu shot. Scientist say that it is not possible, because the viruses in the flu shot are inactivated (灭活的). But some minor side effects such as low-grade fever and body aches could occur. If they do, they begin soon after the shot and usually last only one to two days.

60. What is an antibody?

A. An antibody is a vaccine formula

B. An antibody is a germ that is introduced into the body

C. An antibody is a vaccine that fights diseases.

D. An antibody is a special substance to fight germs.

61. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Not everyone is suitable for the flu vaccine.

B. The flu vaccine is not so effective as the measles vaccine

C. Flu viruses create new vaccine formulas each year.

D. People can’t take the flu vaccine at anytime.

62. It can be inferred from the text that _____.

A. scientists should change the vaccine formula each year

B. vaccines can battle diseases caused by bacteria and viruses

C. all children ages 6 months through 18 years can receive the flu vaccine

D. scientists are responsible for the side effects of the flu vaccine

63. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. The flu vaccine        B. Side effects of the flu vaccine

C. How to prevent the flu  D. Not everyone can get the flu shot

Photographs are everywhere. They decorate the walls of homes and are used in stores for sales of different goods. The news is filled with pictures of fires, floods, and special events. Photos record the beauties of nature. They can also bring things close that are far away. Through photos, people can see wild animals, cities in foreign lands, and even the stars in outer space. Photos also tell stories.

Reporting the news through photos is called photojournalism. At times photojournalists tell their stories through a single picture. At other times, they use a group of pictures to tell a story. Each picture is like a chapter in a book, which can do more than record the facts. It can also be a strong force for social change.

Jacob Riis was among the first photojournalists. He took pictures of parts of New York City where the poor lived. Riis believed that poverty caused crime, and he used photos to help him prove his point. A few years later, the photos of small children working in factories by Lewis Hine shocked the public. Hine’s pictures helped bring about laws to protect such children.

Hundreds of pictures may have to be taken in order to get one or two really good photos. It takes science to have the photo come out clearly and art to make a photo that has a good design and expresses feeling. Photojournalists make an actual record of what they see. A photo, however, can be both a work of art and an actual record. It can record an important event as a beautiful or exciting picture.

As historical and artistic documents(文献), photos can become more important over time. Today photojournalists still have their pictures appear in newspapers and magazines. They also publish them in books and on the Internet.

1.The underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refers to         .

A. beauties       B. photos      C. goods       D. events

2.The photos of the small children by Hine show us that photos           .

A. are also works of art         B. are popular ways of reporting news

C. often shock the public        D. can serve as a force for social change

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. News with pictures is encouraging.     

B. Photos help people improve their life.

C. News photos mean history in a sense.   

D. People prefer reading news with pictures.

4.The text is mainly about       .

A. telling the story through picture    B. decorating the walls of homes

C. publishing historical papers         D. expressing feeling through pictures

Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.

In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all whether rich or poor, clever or stupid, one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough: we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees; they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we would get terrible diseases in our towns.

In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we are educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability, and secondly, that we realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.

52. The writer of this passage thinks that________.

A. free education can solve all of the world’s problems

B. free education for all probably leads to a perfect world

C. free education won’t help to solve social problems

D. all the social problems can’t be solved by free education

53. The writer wants to prove that___________.

A. our society needs all kinds of jobs      

B. our society needs free education for all

C. a farmer is more important than a professor

D. people with university degrees earn more money

54. According to the passage, ____________.

A. work with hands is dirty and shameful    

B. work with hands is low work

C. work with hands is the most important   

D. we can’t regard work with hands as low work

55. The purpose of education is ___________

A. to choose a system of education         

B. to let everyone receive education

C. to prepare children for their future life 

D. to prepare children for well-paid jobs

She was known to millions as the "Queen of Crime" or the "Duchess (女公爵) of death". But surprisingly, she hated violence and blood, and knew nothing of the weapons most often used in murder. "I don't think I dare look at a really horrible and damaged body." Agatha Christie once said.

But her pen dared travel where her eyes would not. In a 50-year writing career, Christie's murder stories made her the world's best-known mystery writer. She is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

Her works have been turned into films and TV series, and a line of computer games is to be released over the next six years.

"My grandmother liked to use new ways to reach people who wanted to enjoy her work," said Christie's grandson, Mathew Pritchard. "Turning her stories into PC games allows us to introduce classic mysteries to new audiences."

Born in 1890 in England, Christie was educated at home and began her writing career while working as a nurse during World War I. She went on to produce 79 novels and numerous short stories, dying at the age of 86.

"With her knowledge of murder, Christie could have been a teacher at police academies," said one fan.

By saying "her pen dared travel where her eyes would not", the writer means         

A. she would like to make a trip with her pen rather than other things

B. she couldn't live without her pen

C. she could describe anything with her pen that she would not like to face

D. she made up stories with her pen

By which means can't we learn the works of Christie?

A. Watching TV.   B. Going to the cinema. C. Reading novels.   D. Playing computer games.

Mathew Prichard's words suggest that      _

A. Christie had been trying to write different stories in different styles

B. Christie was fond of changing styles while writing

C. Christie's works are short of audiences

D. People began to lose interest in Christie's works

The fifth paragraph mainly  

A. tells us Christie is a productive writer                 B. gives us a brief introduction of Christie

C. tells us when Christie took up writing                 D. tells us why Christie was popular