In today's Internet age, the demand for online games continues to grow. Online computer game centers exist in many cities and towns throughout Asia. Facing the pressures of school and life, people tend to the virtual world, expecting a diversion from these problems. Too often, however, they can lead to problems and unhealthy addictions.

This is most clearly seen in the example of South Korea. The country has the world's highest percentage of high­speed Internet services. It also has a high number of online game players and related problems. It was once reported that a young man collapsed (突然晕倒) and died while playing online games. He had been playing almost nonstop for 86 hours at an Internet cafe. Another young man killed his sister after becoming confused between the online world and real life. A 12­year­old boy stole US $ 16000 from his father and ran away from home. He did this to continue his obsession  (着迷) with online game. Such problems, however, don't just happen in South Korea. They are spreading to other parts of Asia, as well.

What kinds of people develop online game addiction? What does the problem look like? Dr SueHuei Chen, a clinical psychologist, researches Internet addiction. She discovered some signs of at­risk individuals such as lack friendship and good social skills. Those problem individuals feel it so compulsive to play online games that they could sacrifice things such as school and family. They feel the need to spend more and more time online. And they become upset if anyone tries to limit their online game playing.

How many problem game players are there? In mainland China, the potential number of problem online gamers is alarming. Just in 2004, China has had 13.8 million online game players according to China Daily. Furthermore, it stated that 80 percent of these were under 25 and had signs of addiction. Such numbers point toward a growing problem among Chinese youth.

Make sure to keep control over your online game playing. If you don't control it, it can get control of you.

1.The underlined word “diversion” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.

A．solution           B．comfort           C．escape           D．support

2.The examples in the second paragraph tell us that ________.

A．the side effects are caused by high­speed Internet services

B．online game playing can even cause death

C．online games have caused much damage to young people

D．the teenage boy can't resist the temptation of the online games

3.According to Dr SueHuei Chen, what can we do to prevent game addiction?

A．Limit the speed of the Internet services.

B．Sacrifice things such as school and family.

C．Spend more and more time online.

D．Care much for the young and improve their ability to get along with others.

4.We can conclude from the passage that ________.

A．the demand for online services continues to grow

B．China is fighting a battle against online games

C．the problems caused by online games don't just exist in South Korea

D．in the year 2004 there were a total of 13.8 million Chinese visiting the Internet

5.What's the best title for the passage?

A．Internet Problem                       B．Addiction to online Game

C．Problem People in the World              D．Online Game Can Control People

The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world.

These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority. With the city’s population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, and official with the water authority, said Shanghai’s water consumption will not increase from its present amount.

Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, “Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions. They will not be easy to achieve.”

He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China’s economy.

Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city’s infrastructure（基础设施）costs by 10,000 Yuan. Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology.

 “The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages,” Chen said. “The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water.”

Shanghai lacks drinkable water. The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city’s drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion.

The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water.

Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used.

At present, the city has 600，000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush. These are to be renovated（整修）to use only 9 liters of water per flush.

The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households – at a cost of 40 Yuan each.

In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million Yuan every year in water conservation.

Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage（污水）to improve the water environment.

At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water. To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion Yuan.

1.People in Shanghai get their daily water mainly from         now.

A．the underground         B．the rain

C．the Yangtze River         D．the Huangpu River

2.According to the passage, some people have the wrong opinion of using water because      .

A．the renovating of family toilets will save plenty of water

B．about half of waste water has been treated already

C．advanced technology makes people use water as much as possible

D．there is plenty surface water and large amount of rain at present

3.The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households to          .

A．make people’s living more convenient

B．improve people’s living standards

C．ease employment pressure         

D．meet the total demand of water

4.Which group of measures are all mentioned in the passage to save water?

a．improve drinking water quality    b．change some industrial structure

c．introduce or use some new technology      

d．speed the economic development of Shanghai

e．renovate some family toilets        f．build more sewage treatment factories

A．a, b, c, d      B．b, c, e, f       C．b, c, d, e      D．a, b, e, f

5.We can infer from the passage that          .

A．the boom of economy will need a larger amount of water in the future

B．citizens today in Shanghai drink the best quality of water in the world

C．not everyone today in Shanghai is aware of water shortage

D．all the family toilets will be renovated to save water within 3 years

Rowena and Billy Wrangler are model high school students. They study hard and do extremely well on achievement tests. And next year，Rowena will be attending Harvard University．Billy，her younger brother，hopes to go to Cornell．What makes Rowena and Billy different from most students is that they don't go to school．In fact，they've never been to school．Since kindergarten，they've studied at home．Like many of more than one million people who receive home schooling in the United States, they feel as if they've gotten a good education．

The home-schooling trend began in the U.S．in the 1980s with parents keeping their children out of public schools so they could provide religious education at home. Today，as the home-schooling trend continues to grow，parents are more likely to consider home schooling as an option because they believe schools don't do a very good job of teaching and are occasionally dangerous places．But can parents really do a better job?

The answer in many cases is yes．In many studies，students taught at home ranked average or above average when compared to students who went to public schools．More importantly，these students were often more self-directed and have a greater depth of knowledge．They were well prepared for academic challenges．

One such student，Robert Conrad, now a sophomore at university, claims he really learned how to study and schedule his time during his eight years of home schooling．Still, not every student is as successful as Robert．“For every home-schooling success story，there are an equal number of failures．”states Henry Lipscomb，an educational researcher．“There are just so many disadvantages that students taught at home have to overcome．”For example，they have fewer chances to get in touch with others of their own age．Consequently，they sometimes lack the usual social skills．“No matter what，though，”states Lipscomb，“home-schooling is a growing trend．I think we'll be seeing more and more of this．”

1.Compared with other students, Rowena and Billy are most different in the fact that    .

2.．At first in the 1980s parents gave home-schooling to children for    .

3.．According to the article, what is NOT the advantage of being educated at home?

4.．The writer thinks    .

5.．The best title of this text might be    .

In a growing number of English classes, teachers are leaving the classic novels on the shelf and letting students select the books they read. Supporters say that the new approach, called reader’s workshop, helps develop a love for reading in students who are bored by classic literature. They argue that the best way to motivate students to read more is to offer them more choices.

Not all educators are on the same page, however. They worry that students who choose trendy, less challenging titles over the classics won’t be exposed to the great writing and key themes of important works of literature.

Student reporters Donald and Sarah express their ideas about this new approach.

Donald thinks that we should turn the page. Students should be allowed to select the books they read in English class. He says he and his classmates are allowed to pick their own books in class. That makes them more focused, and they look forward to class time. Tristin, a classmate of his at Clinton Middle School agrees. “I’m reading books that I want to read, which makes class more fun and interesting,” he says. Offering students a choice may also improve test scores. Studies by Professor John Guthrie of the University of Maryland found that students in grades 4 through 6 who had some choices in the books they read showed improved reading comprehension skills during testing. Giving students the chance to decide what they read helps build a lifelong love for reading. Isn’t that what we want for our students?

Sarah holds a different view. She thinks teachers know more about books than students do. When an English teacher assigns a book, he or she keeps in mind the reading level of most students in the class. Students who choose their own books might be cheating themselves by picking books that are not up to their reading level or that are too difficult. Furthermore, a whole class can discuss a book it reads together. That makes it easier for some kids to understand what they are reading. “The students wouldn’t be able to hold a meaningful conversation if they were all reading different books,” says Kristin, an English teacher at Fleetwood Area Middle School. “If they read the same book, their conversations would be more in-depth.”

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence “Not all educators are on the same page”?

A．Educators have different opinions.          B．Educators didn’t appear at the same time.

C．Educators wrote in different pages.          D．Educators didn’t agree with the author.

2.Donald thinks that the new approach could __________.

A．helped students be more focused in class

B．draw students to reading classic novels

C．make students less worried in English class

D．encourage students to red more challenging books

3.Sarah thinks that the new approach might __________.

A．help students improve reading comprehension skills

B．help students hold meaningful conversations in class

C．make some students read books not suitable for them

D．make some students ignore the important works of literature

4.Who has the same attitude towards the new approach with Kristin?

A．Donald.           B．Sarah.            C．Tristin.            D．John Guthrie.

5.The author develops the text mainly by __________.

A．listing cases                            B．making comparisons

C．following time order                     D．explaining causes and effects

I was 9 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1994, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday: “Kerrel, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”

AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 12, his condition worsened. My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.

We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage.

I did not share my burden (负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cold. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was too weak to feed himself.

I had known that he was going to die, but after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit National AIDS Support. That day, she kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. She saved my life.

I was 15 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn't want to call attention to AIDS. I do.

1.Which of the following statements about Kerrel’s father is true?

A．He had stayed in the hospital since he fell ill.

B．He depended on the nurses in his final days.

C．He told no one about his disease.

D．He worked hard to pay for his medication.

2.What can we learn from the underlined sentence?

A．Kerrel couldn't understand her teacher.

B．Kerrel had special difficulty in hearing.

C．Kerrel was too troubled to focus on the lesson.

D．Kerrel was too tired to hear her teacher's words.

3.Why did Kerrel keep her father's disease a secret?

A．She was afraid of being looked down upon.

B．She thought it was shameful to have AIDS.

C．She found no one willing to listen to her.

D．She wanted to obey her mother.

4.The purpose of the passage is ________.

A．To tell people about the sufferings of her father.

B．To show how little people knew about AIDS.

C．To remember her father.

D．To draw people's attention to AIDS.