This Christmas, maybe different from previous years, a strong desire drives me to make my own Christmas gifts. Honestly speaking, I’ve promised myself this more than once. As a crafter (工匠), I’ve frequently thought I am supposed to turn it into action. However, this year I really plan to stick to it. It’s partly because I run short of money. More importantly, I’ve recently returned from an inspiring trip around Britain, collecting some information about crafting for BBC’s Newsnight.

    Actually I planned the trip couples of months ago. The idea of traveling the country — making things as I went, meeting artists and craftspeople — sounded perfect to spend the summer. I’d pack a tent and a sewing machine and I’d set off. But by the time I determined my plans and hit the road, leaves made a sighing sound under foot. It seemed crazy to camp with winter on the way; Luckily, Newsnight viewers offered me accommodations in return for help with a craft task.

My tasks ranged from sewing worn-out clothes to making trousers. Textile students in Harpenden offered to pay for my petrol in return for a talk about hats. In Derby, Amy needed help to change an old pair of curtains.

I was really struck by people’s increasing enthusiasm for making things. When I asked some people if they could sew, only a few raised their hands. But when I asked who wanted to learn, nearly everyone responded positively, hoping to learn something practical.

Craft is definitely popular at the moment. But besides fashion, we’re learning to appreciate effort and quality again. Perhaps once people rediscover the pleasure to be gained from making something unique, it may stick.

Sue is director of quilts at the V&A, where next spring she’ll be putting on the museum’s first major quilting exhibition. Sue believes the return to crafting is related to how we rethink ourselves. “People, especially women, are beginning to think about the way they live their lives. It’s 40 years since the first women’s liberation(解放) conference was held in Oxford. Since then we’ve been in the workplace, and we’ve had the opportunity of choice. Now we’re carefully choosing to go back into the home.”

Whether you agree with that or not, there’s something about Christmas that brings out the artistic flavor(气息) in everyone. Whether it’s baking bread or pies or decorating the halls or rooms, we’re all prepared to have a try at any time. So if you fancy having a different and joyful party or holiday and making a few presents, try these really simple ideas, each inspired by my recent journey there. They make small and interesting gifts, and take no longer than 30 minutes each. Enjoy Christmas songs and settle down with a cup of hot cocoa, and the cold is gone. You’ll save yourself a small quantity of money and spread a little bit of love, too!

1.Why did the author promise to make herself a Christmas gift this year?

A. She wanted to enjoy a different Christmas.

B. She wanted to make more money.

C. She was inspired by her trip for a BBC TV program.

D. She hoped to present herself with a surprise.

2.The author had her plans carried out and set out for Britain in ______.

A. spring                      B. summer                            C. fall                            D. winter

3.What happened during the author’s trip to Britain?

A. She met many artists and craftspeople on her way to Britain.

B. She spent a whole summer in Britain making crafts.

C. She was asked to sew clothes, and curtains and made much money.

D. Many people showed great interest in making things themselves.

4.According to the passage, people learn to ______ through crafting.

A. be grateful to what they have gained

B. keep up with fashion

C. stick to something interesting

D. know more information about craft

5.What is the author’s opinion on homemade Christmas presents?

A. Making Christmas presents can only convey a bit of your love.

B. People can find their artistic talent in making Christmas presents.

C. A cup of hot cocoa can inspire you to make a creative present.

D. It would take a long time to prepare a homemade Christmas present.

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答卷标号为16-25的相应位置上。
When China’s astronaut ZhaiZhigang carried out the spacewalk on September 27, he was wearing a spacesuit developed by Chinese scientists. Being worth more than 30 million yuan, the Feitian(飞天) spacesuit is not __16__ ordinary one.
__17__ took Chinese scientists four years to develop it. But what is special about the suit? First Let’s take a look at __18__ astronauts need to wear spacesuits.
When you visit a world with little or no atmosphere, not __19__ (wear) a spacesuit, the following things would happen:
You would become unconscious within 15 seconds because there is no oxygen.
Your blood and body fluids(液体) would “boil” and then “freeze” __20__ there is little or no air pressure.
Your would receive various types of radiation.
You could __21__ (hit) by dust or rock that moves at high speeds.
So , to protect you __22__ these dangers, a spacesuit must:
*Have a pressurized atmosphere;
*Give you oxygen;
*Keep a(n) __23__ (comfort) temperature;
*Let you see clearly and move easily.
The Feitian suit did all that and __24__ it did made it like a mini-spaceship in __25__ the astronaut stayed alive in outer space and carried out tasks.

At 227 billion yuan ($33 billion) for 2008, Guangdong's cultural industries accounted for 6.4 percent of its GDP and experienced a growth rate of 13.8 percent.  But Lai admits that size does not equal weight. "Our businesses are mostly small, financing difficult and brands few."

One local brand that has made it big is Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf, also translated as Happy Sheep and Gray Wolf, China's most popular cartoon series currently being aired. But Liu Manyi, general manager of Creative Power Entertaining Inc, the firm behind the hit show, is not laughing to the bank. Instead she is bitter: "Pirate discs were all over the streets before our first movie hit the screen. Their images appear on all kinds of products. All this has no proper licensing."

In case you don't know, China produces the largest amount of animated(动画的) programming in the world. But quantity is not quality. Behind every Pleasant Goat there are tens of thousands of flops. The best way for the government to promote the country's creative industries is to crack down on piracy (盗版). Hollywood often raises its voice about being victimized (受害) in China. Truth be told, Hollywood is probably the least affected since there is a quota system for China's importation of Hollywood films.

Many Chinese producers are taking baby steps and the domestic market is all they have. If their rights in the home market are not protected, they will never see the day their products find a foreign audience.

The sudden closure(关闭) of BT websites where copyrighted materials used to flow freely suggests a determination on the part of the government to take intellectual property rights seriously. This kind of websites is bad for us, so we should ban them.

Much of the news coming out of the 2009 International Cultural Industries Forum was encouraging. China's film industry is expected to get 6 billion yuan ($879 million) in box office receipts this year. A decade from now, this number may go up to 30 billion, according to some forecasts.

If the government takes serious action against online and offline pirates, China's creative industries may well have a bright future.

51. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 mean?

A. Fast as the development of Guangdong's cultural industries is, they don’t have a big challenge in the world.

B. Guangdong's cultural industries can make a big profit although they are just the small companies.

C. Guangdong's cultural industries make a big contribution to its GDP because of their strong economic power.

D. The development of Guangdong's cultural industries cannot catch up with any other  

industries.

52. What does Liu Manyi think about Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf?

A. It is a failure since it is a local brand.

B. It is a success but cannot get the expected profit.

C. Its profit from the images has been shared legally.

D. Pirate discs make it more popular among the children.

53. Hollywood films are mentioned to tell us that __________.

A. Hollywood films make our creative industries have less space to survive

B. it is piracy that makes it possible for Hollywood films to get less influenced

C. our creative industries need enough protection to have a bright future

D. foreign films have taken up more market in China than the local ones

54. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Chinese creative industries are more advanced than foreign ones.

B. The domestic market is of little significance to the survival of Chinese creative  

industries.

C. BT websites stand in the way of the development of Chinese creative industries.

D. The growth of China's film industry is always slow and needs more support.

55. In which column of a newspaper will you probably read this passage?

A. Regional    B. Economic     C. Sports    D. Cartoon

Henry found work in a bookstore after he finished middle school. He wouldn’t do anything but wanted to get rich. Mr. King thought he was too lazy and was going to send him away. Henry was afraid and had to work hard.

It was a cold morning. It was snowing and there was thin ice on the streets. Few people went to buy the books and the young man had nothing to do. He hated to read, so he watched the traffic. Suddenly he saw a bag fall off a truck and it landed by the other side of the street.

“It must be full of expensive things,” Henry said to himself. “I have to get it, or others will take it away. ”

He went out of the shop and ran across the street. A driver saw him and began to whistle (鸣笛), but he didn’t hear it and went on running. The man drove aside, hit a big tree and was hurt in the accident. Two weeks later Henry was taken to court (法庭). A judge asked if he heard the whistle when he was running across the street. He said that something was wrong with his ears and he could hear nothing.

“But you’ve heard me this time.” said the judge.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Now I can hear with one ear.”

“Cover the ear with your hand and listen to me with your deaf (聋的)one. Well, can you hear me? ”

“No, I can’t, Sir.”

1.What was Mr. King?

A．a driver                               B．a doctor

C．a policeman                           D．a shopkeeper

2.Why did Mr. King want to send Henry away?

A．Because Henry was too lazy.

B．Because Henry hoped to be rich.

C．Because Henry finished middle school.

D．Because Henry sold few books.

3.What did a driver do when he saw Henry run across the street?

A．He drove aside and hit a big tree.

B．He began to whistle to him.

C．He went out of the bookstore.

D．He shouted at him.

4.Why did Henry say that he was deaf?

A．He wanted to have a joke with the judge.

B．He wanted to get the judge’s help

C．He wanted to find another piece of work

D．He didn’t want to pay for the accident.

More than half of parents in the United States are helping , or have helped their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and stagnant（无变化的）wages, according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so - called boomerang children, to return.

    “Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, the president and CEO of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).

    About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they are helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially, providing housing and living expenses.

    For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two - thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one - third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to earn money than for their children.

    Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern, and because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices to help their adult children should be cautious about their own finances.

    “If you are taking on extra debt or delaying retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger.” Beck warned.

    Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and ten percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed that 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning.

1.The underlined words “boomerang children” in the first paragraph likely means ________.

A. adult children visiting parents often

B. married adult children

C. adult children depending on parents for financial support

D. adult children independent and successful in life

2.What is Ted Beck’s suggestion to the parents?

A. Asking their children to help with the housework.

B. Leaving their children to struggle to live.

C. Being careful when helping their children financially.

D. Putting off their time of retirement.

3.According to the survey, we can know that ________.

A. about 50% of parents give money to their adult children to cover the daily cost

B. two - thirds of adult children are faced with financial problems in school

C. one - third of adult children earn money more easily than their parents

D. one in ten parents has delayed retirement

4.What is the main idea of the whole text?

A. Adult children are less independent.

B. Parents help support adult children.

C. Bad conditions affect children a lot.

D. Adult children like living with parents.