Imagine, one day, getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours, and then, after a full day of work, going back home to Beijing and having dinner there.

Sounds unusual, doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic, with the development of China’s high-speed railway system. And that’s not all. China has an even greater high-speed railway plan— to connect the country with Southeast Asia, and eventually Eastern Europe.

China is negotiating to extend its own high-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 10 to 15 years, eventually reaching London and Singapore.

China has proposed three such projects. The first would possibly connect Kunming with Singapore via Vietnam and Malaysia. Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and possibly to Germany. The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe.

If China’s plan for the high-speed railway goes forward, people could zip over from London to Beijing in under two days.

The new system would still follow China’s high-speed railway standard. And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as some airplanes.

China’s bullet train (高速客车), the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou, already has the world’s fastest average speed. It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours.

Of course, there are some technical challenges to overcome. There are so many issues that need to be settled, such as safety, rail gauge (轨距), maintenance of railway tracks. So, it’s important to pay attention to every detail.

But the key issue is really money. China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic railway expansion.

China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment. Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development.

It’ll be a win-win project. For other countries, the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business, tourism and so on, not to mention the better communication among those countries.

For China, such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources, but would also help develop China’s far west. We foresee that in the coming decades, millions of people will migrate to the western regions, where the land is empty and resources unused. With high-speed trains, people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all. And they’ll trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries.

1.China’s new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because _______.

A．China will get much-needed resources and develop its western regions

B．China and the countries involved will benefit from the project in various ways

C．China will develop its railway system and communication with other countries

D．the foreign countries involved will develop their railway transportation, business and tourism

2.According to the passage, the greatest challenge to the new high-speed railway plan is _______.

A．technical issues                         B．safety of the system

C．financial problems                       D．maintenance of railway tracks

3.Which of the following words best describes the author’s attitude towards China’s high-speed railway plan?

A．Critical.           B．Reserved.         C．Doubtful          D．Positive.

BEIJING （Associated Press美联社）—China  has a growing middle class, a tradition（传统） of expecting education and 21 million new babies every year．Selling educational toys should be easy．
While China may be the worlds biggest toy maker, many of the best are exported．Department stores here do not have enough high quality toys．It is said that the demand for educational toys is low．
A US company, BabyCare, is trying to change that with a new way to sell toys in China．
BabyCare works basically together with doctors in Beijing hospitals． People who join the company’s "mother club" can get lectures and newsletters on baby and child development at no extra cost, if they agree to spend 18 dollars a month on the company’s educational toys and child care books．
"We want to build a seven-year relationship with those people," said Matthew J．Estes, BabyCare’s president．"It starts during pregnancy （孕期）, when the anxiety and needs are highest．" BabyCare works on a one to one basis．Doctors, nurses, and teachers paid by BabyCare advise parents, explain toys that are designed for children at each stage （阶段） of development to age six．
BabyCare opened its first store in China last June in a shopping center in central Beijing and another near Beijing Zoo．It plans to have 80 stores in China within six years．
It is a new model for China and develops a market in young children’s education and health that no other companies are in．
【小题1】What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?

_______ successful docking of Shenzhou VIII with Tiangong-I means that China has managed to take ________ first important step to establish its own space station.

   A. /; /          B. A; a            C. The, a         D. The; the

In the past ten years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.

    When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters（花名册） will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stem happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.

The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.

“Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,^” said Stem. The strategy (战略，策略)in China is television. ^“We^’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. The NBA knows that it needs a global market to condensate for tough times on home soil.

 “It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout（寻找，觅得） internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers. Others, such as the Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming — number one draft pick in 2002 — and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic — number two overall in this year’s draft — are icons（偶像）in-waiting. It is the ultimate（最后的，根本的） revolution — the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball.

1.According to the report,                 .

A. Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA

B. the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great

C. Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA

D. European countries will host the 2004 NBA games

2.The underlined phrase “take China by storm” has the meaning of      _______ ___.

A. NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”

B. NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China

C. there’ll be a big storm when NBA comes to China to play against the Sacramento Kings

D. the NBA’s live basket games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China

3.What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?

A. NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the league.

B. China’s rapid development in sports affects NBA.

C. Yao Ming has taken the place of Michael Jordan.

D. The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball.

4.When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to        _        _.

A. farms in the States         B. native Americans

C. the NBA training center     D. the USA

5.Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

A. The Non-American Basketball Players

B. NBA Is Coming to China

C. The Foreign Ties That Bind the NBA

D. NBA Is Making Big Progress

A

BEUING (Associated Press 美联社) —China has a growing middle class, a tradition of expecting education and 21 million new babies every year. Selling educational toys should be easy.

    While China may be the world’s biggest toy maker, many of the best are exported. Department stores here do not have enough toys of high quality. It is said that the demand for educational toys is low.

A US company, Baby Care, is trying to change that with a new way to sell toys in China.

    Baby Care works basically together with doctors in Beijing hospitals.  People who join the company’s "mother club" can get lectures and newsletters on baby and child development at no extra cost, if they agree to spend 18 dollars a month on the company’s educational toys and child-care books.

"We want to build a seven year relationship with those people," said Matthew J. Estes, Baby Care’s president. "It starts during pregnancy (孕期), when the anxiety and needs are highest." Baby Care works on a one-to-one basis. Doctors, nurses, and teachers paid by Baby Care advise parents and explain toys that are designed for children at each stage of development to age six.

Baby Care opened its first store in China last June in a shopping center in central Beijing and another near Beijing Zoo. It plans to have 80 stores in China within six years.

It is a new model for China and develops a market in young children’s education and health that no other companies are in.

What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?

A. Educational toys and foreign toy markets.

  B. Problems with China’s toy market and education.

  C. Reasons for pushing sales of educational toys in China.

  D. Baby population and various kinds of toys made in China.

Which of the following is a fact according to the passage?

  A. Club members buy Baby Care products for free child care advice.

  B. Doctors in Beijing help in making Baby Care products.

  C. Parents are encouraged to pay $ 18 for club activities.

  D. Baby Care trains Chinese doctors at no extra cost.

Baby Care is developing its business in China by ___________.

A. opening stores in Beijing hospitals

B. offering 18 month courses on child care

C. setting up children’s education centers

D. forming close relationships with parents

Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

  A. Mother’s Club in China.               B. Baby Care and Doctors.

  C. American Company Model.            D. Educational Toys in China.