New Zealand

What can you see?   Mountains, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, forests, beaches. Both islands are mountainous. In fact, only 30% of New Zealand is flat.

The Maoris

When the Maoris first arrived in New Zealand, they lived in villages and were excellent fishermen, hunters and farmers. About 50 years ago many Maoris started to live and work in the large cities and took jobs in government, industries, medicine and education. They are proud of their culture and are determined to keep many of the customs which are part of their way of life.

Who can you meet?  Most people live on North Island. Eighty-five percent of New Zealanders are “pakeha” (“white men”), which means their “great grandfathers” came from Europe. Ten percent are Maoris. The Maoris came to New Zealand from the Polynesian islands probably around the tenth century. The “pakeha” started to arrive in New Zealand from Europe about 200 years ago as farmers and traders.                                                                    

Fact box: New Zealand

Position: South of the Equator ;      Nearest neighbour: Australia, 1600 km away.

Size: Two main islands — North Island and South Island: together they are 268.680           sq. km.

Population: 4 million

Capital: Wellington

Languages: English and Maori   

46. Which of the following is a fact about New Zealand?

  A. 20% of the population being Maoris.

  B. Four million white people.

  C. About 1600 km south of the Equator.

  D. Nearly 1/3 of the country being plains.

47. The country’s population is mainly made up of  _________.

  A. the white people and the Polynesians

  B. the white people and the “pakeha”

  C. the Maoris and the white people

  D. the Maoris and the Polynesians

48. When did the white people begin to live in New Zealand?

  A. 1000 years ago.                   B. 200 years ago.

  C. 85 years ago.                     D. 50 years ago.

49. What do the Maoris value most in life?

  A. Living in small villages.     B. Developing farming skills.

  C. Keeping their own culture.   D. Taking up government jobs.

Scientists say they have found key clues（线索）into how long we will live. One of them is a firm __21___. British researchers believe a firm strong handshake is not just a __22___ of confidence but also an indicator of a long life. Lead author Dr Rachel Cooper of University College London said her study looked __23___ 33 different reports on the __24___ of handshakes. The research involved more than 50,000 men and women and __25___ 40 years. Dr Cooper concluded that __26___ with weaker handshakes were 70 per cent more likely to die earlier than those with the __27___ handshakes. She concludes that people with a firm strong handshake __28___ from a happy childhood that __29___ a healthy diet and __30___ of exercise.

The new study, __31___ in the British Medical Journal, also found other signs of living a longer life. These 'measures of __32___ capability' include walking at a faster pace, getting out of a chair quickly, and being able to __33___ on one leg. The study showed that slow walkers were almost three times __34___ to die at a younger age than those who walked quickly and actively. Those who __35___ to get up from their armchairs were twice as likely to die earlier than those who sprang __36___ their chairs. Dr Cooper believes there __37___ more research into the link  __38___ physical capability and a long life. “Research that helps people to __39___ a long and healthy life is ever more important to help provide for an ageing __40___.” she said.

A．childhood      B. relationship      C．hardship               D．handshake

A．sign              B.    symbol          C．trip              D．sigh

A．at           B.    into            C．to              D．on

A．strength     B.    length         C．likeliness       D．confidence

A．last           B.    past            C．lasted            D．passed

A．women     B.    they           C．those             D．men

A．weaker     B. strongest              C．weakest         D．strong

A. must benefit   B.could have lived   C. should come      D. may have benefited

A．concluded     B.    consisted       C．included             D．including

A．plentiful      B.    plenty           C．a number          D．the number

A．published     B.    being published  C．publishing      D．having publishedA．physician  B.       physics          C．physiology        D．physical

A．stand      B.    balance          C．live               D．shake

A．likely          B.    likelier          C．likelihood          D．liking

A．wanted       B.    hoped         C．struggled           D．were dying    

A．out of      B.    in front of      C．ahead of         D．away from   

A．needs to be  B.    need to be      C．ought to be       D．must be

A．from        B.    among           C．between                 D．beneath

A．benefit    B.     involve        C．make              D．enjoy

A．popularity  B.    pollution       C．population         D．publication

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to find one more person in our world who is kind and caring. It was about 11:00 p.m.   16   my telephone rang. The caller ID showed the number of a Best Western Hotel.   17  , I would ignore this type of call. For some reason,   18  , I went ahead and answered.

The man on the other end asked if I knew Samual K. I   19  , as he is my 91 – year – old grandfather. Still not   20   why I was the one that had been called, the caller went on to tell me that I was the only   21   listed in the phone book. He said his name was Mason and that he was the   22   at the Best Western Hotel. The   23   was that grandpa had no money with him, and that he couldn’t   24   any phone numbers, so Mason called all over the state trying to get help.

Grandpa told me that he just wanted me to tell Mason that he is a (n)   25   guy and would pay the money once he got home. But the man in charge there was   26   because my grandfather seemed to be   27  . He had been going somewhere else when he got on the wrong bus and   28   100 miles from home.

Not wanting to turn him away and not wanting the police to   29   him to the police station, Mason,   30   any normal duty, not only took the time to   31   me, but also charged just $ 39 so that grandpa could   32   safely and comfortably overnight. (The rooms normally rent for about $ 140!) Besides, he had the staff of that hotel all   33   him until my uncle was able to drive the 100 miles to pick him up!

So, it’s just one more piece of   34   that proves that there are still good people out there; wherever you go, there is always one who   35  .

16．A．while       B．when C．after        D．before

17．A．Obviously B．Personally C．Actually   D．Generally

18．A．however   B．besides     C．otherwise  D．therefore

19．A．was   B．did    C．had   D．would

20．A．admitting  B．accepting  C．understanding   D．recognizing

21．A．neighbor   B．relative     C．colleague  D．friend

22．A．manager   B．waiter       C．mayor      D．guest

23．A．disadvantage    B．question    C．problem    D．pity

24．A．write B．remember C．repeat       D．keep

15．A．easy – going    B．generous   C．forgettable       D．okay

26．A．concerned B．disappointed     C．convinced D．surprised

27．A．hurt  B．moved      C．annoyed    D．lost

28．A．went up    B．added up   C．ended up   D．sent up

29．A．take  B．bring C．invite       D．carry

30．A．except      B．against      C．beyond     D．from

31．A．contact     B．persuade   C．warn D．approach

32．A．leave B．live   C．adapt D．stay

33．A．look for    B．watch over       C．care about D．adjust to

34．A．news B．information      C．advice      D．evidence

35．A．minds       B．cares C．sees   D．matters

Never _______ forget the days when _______  together with you．

  A．shall I；I lived              B．shall I；did I live

  C．I shall；I lived              D．I shall；did I live

The website FarmersOnly.com calls itself an online dating and friendship finder. The idea started in the mind of a man, Jerry Miller in Ohio. He wondered how farmers could meet new people who understand the life of a farmer. Jerry Miller is not a farmer but he represents a lot of farmers.

As he tells it, the idea for the site was planted when a farmer told him one day that she was recently divorced and would like to date. But someone would invite her to meet for coffee at nine o’clock at night, when she had to start her day at five the next morning.

So, in 2005, Jerry Miller launched his website. “You don’t have to be a farmer to be on FarmersOnly.com, but you do have to have the good old-fashioned traditional values of America’s Heartland.” 

You also have to live in the United States or Canada to be a member of the site. Some services are free, but a full membership costs fifty dollars for a year. As of last week the site listed more than 58,000 members. Many of them are farmers in the United States. Others are students or workers involved in some way with agriculture. Jerry Miller tells us about thirty marriages in the last year have resulted from his website.

Some farmers have also found love through a group, Singles in Agriculture, which was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1986. It organizes gatherings that usually end with a dance, but is not a dating service. The purpose is to support educational and social activities that offer people a chance for friendship. Its website, singlesinag.org, says there are more than 1,000 members across the nation and as far away as France.

Jerry Miller started singlesinag.org in order to     .

A. help farmers                                         B. support traditions

C. understand farmers                                D. represent farmers

What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate?

A. She dislikes city lifestyle.

B. She prefers late night coffee

C. Country life isn’t well understood.

D. It’s tiring to get up early.

Which of the following is true of singlesinag.org?

A. Its services are free.

B. It provides dating services.

C. Only farmers can become its members.

D. Farmers in France can’t benefit from it.

The author of the text intends to     .

A. advertise for the two websites

B. introduce two websites

C. encourage social activities

D. urge readers to help farmers

It can be inferred from the text that     .

A. all farmers desire marriage

B. farmers are easy to meet new people

C. more farmers get divorced in the USA

D. the Internet helps improve farmers’ social life