The Banquet has been described as a loose adaptation(节选)of "Hamlet", featuring royal conflicts(冲突) and revenge（复仇）which is set in 10th century China. The new Emperor (Ge You) has usurped(篡夺) the throne（帝位）by murdering the previous Emperor. He marries the Empress (Zhang Ziyi), wife of the previous Emperor and stepmother to the Crown Prince (Daniel Wu).

At first, the Empress seeks only to protect herself, but as the new Emperor grows suspicious(疑心) of all those around him, she realizes that only by helping the Crown Prince kill him can she hope to survive. Together with the Chief Minister (Ma Jingwu)，she tries to carry out this plot, but when the Prince is destroyed by hesitation, she thinks out a new plan and seeks the throne for herself. As the plot move towards its climax(高潮), the Emperor calls for a plentiful royal banquet, where each will seek the end of their enemies.

The Banquet differs from Hamlet in that it does not focus on the prince, but examines the feelings of each character. According to director Feng Xiaogang: "If Hamlet is about a prince who must make a choice involving life and death, then The Banquet is about how each character must face a choice of life or death... All are motivated by desire, but as soon as they have begun their plans must grow more extreme, and they move step-by-step towards the abyss(深渊)... They do not intend evil, but turn to it out of self-preservation and ever-growing ambition（野心）."

1. As far as we can tell from the text, the Empress ________.

  A. She is just the wife of the new Emperor.    

B. She is the later mother of the Crown Prince.

  C. She helps her own son to kill the Emperor.   

D. She takes the place of the Emperor finally.

2. The author wants to tell us the following EXCEPT that _______.

  A. The new Emperor feels doubt about the affairs around him.

  B. The Empress does all she could to survive herself.

  C. The Crown Prince shows uncertainty in action.

  D. The new Emperor owns the authority all the way.

3. Feng Xiaogang’s words imply（暗示）that ___________.

  A. The Banquet is about royal conflicts.    

B. The Banquet’s characters are full of desire.

  C. The Banquet involves life and death.     

D. The Banquet is different from the Hamlet.

4. Which of the following is the best title for this text?

  A. The Banquet differs from the Hamlet.    

B. The main characters in the play.

  C. The plot（情节）of the Banquet.    

D. The ambition of each character.

On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and telephoned the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel ball before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles.”

Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India.

When he was 11, he read the book Ma-rco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years , he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true.

Robert Friedlander’s next destinations (目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan.

1.The best headline(标题) for this newspaper article would be________.

A．The Kingdom of Bicycles                  B．A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an

C．Marco Polo and the Silk Road              D．An American Achieving His Aims

2.The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because

A．he asked to see the manager

B．he entered the hall with a bike

C．the manager had to know about all foreign guests

D．the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him

3.Friedlander is visiting the three countries in the following order,       .

A．China, Pakistan, and India                 B．Pakistan, China, and India

C．India, China, and Pakistan                 D．China, India, and Pakistan

Evening Classes for the Autumn Term

Nancy wants to work as a secretary in a French company．She will attend courses on _______．

A．Monday and Thursday     

B．Wednesday and Thursday

C．Monday and Wednesday   

D．Tuesday and Thursday

After reading the advertisement, one will choose the course on Car Repairs mainly because 

_______．

A．it takes a short time       

B．it helps grasp good skills of repairing cars

C．it needs less money       

D．it can make savings on car repairs

What information can we get from the text？

A．Most courses will last two hours．k+s-5#u 

B．Successful students can learn French．

C．Teachers will have classes online．

D．Beginners can learn Spanish．

Where might the text come from?

A．A travel guide．         B．A newspaper．  

C．A personal diary．        D．A textbook．k+s-5#u 

Social networking isn't only for the under 40s. More than 25 percent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research.

"The latest data tells us that more and more social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50 plus," said Kevin Donnellan, the chief communications officer at AARP, which released the report.

Nearly a quarter of older Americans are on Facebook and 73 percent said they use it to stay in touch with relatives, but not just their children and grandchildren. "They are using the Internet to keep up with the world and the people who are important to them," said Jean Koppen, the author of the report. She added that older adults are also on Facebook to stay connected, not only with their family, but with their friends and peers. Almost 50 percent of older adults were introduced to the social networking sites by a family member, mainly a child or grandchild. "Just under one-fifth of adults aged 50 and older say they do not use the Internet," according to the report.

The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,863 adults. In addition to keeping up on Facebook and Twitter older adults are also aware of the latest technology. Eighty-three percent had heard about the Apple iPad and 11 percent intended to buy one.

1.What’s the main idea of the passage?             

A.        Social networking isn’t for the under 40s in the U.S.A.

B.        American old people’s way of life is quite fashionable.

C.        The Internet is also popular among the American over 50s.

D.        Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are hot websites in America.

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?    

A.                   Nearly 2000 adults took part in the survey on line.

B.                    The over 50s were introduced to the Internet by the young.

C.                    About 20% of adults aged 50 and older don’t like the Internet.

D.                   Many Americans 50 plus stay connected using the Internet.

3.What’s the underlined sentence used for?    

E.                    It’s used as a reason for the popularity of the Apple iPad in America.

F.                    It’s used as an example of the older adults’ awareness of the latest technology.

G.                   It’s used as a suggestion to the readers who are interested in the IT products.

H.                   It’s used as a choice for the Americans intending to use Social networking.

4.Where can we most probably read this passage?    

I.                      In an experiment introduction.

J.                     In a computer magazine.

K.                   In a product advertisement.

In a news report

The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin’s older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.

Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin’s Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed from will remain alive for long. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers(广告商)，readers, market value, and in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor(主编) of the Times said recently, “At places where they gather, editors ask one another, ‘How are you?’, as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case.” An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guandian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”

Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death. Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock(股票) drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock-holders sell off their Times stock. The Washington Post Company has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company’s income.

1.What can we learn about the New England Courant?

A. It is mainly about the stock market.

B. It marks the beginning of the American newspaper.

C. It remains a successful newspaper in America.

D. It carries articles by political leaders.

2.What can we infer about the newspaper editors?

A. They often accept readers’ suggestions.

B. They care a lot about each other’s health.

C. They stop doing business with advertisers.

D. They face great difficulties in their business.

3.Which of the following found a new way for its development?

A. The Washington Post.

B. The Guardian.

C. The New York Times.

D. New England Courant.

4.How does the author seem to feel about the future of newspapers?

A. Satisfied.

B. Hopeful.

C. Worried.

D. Surprised.