Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs （金砖四国）? If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker-BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach’s famous marketing device（策略）,the BRICs, should really be the BICs.

“Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?” asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreigh Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of “The Russian Balance Sheet”, thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes:

“The country’s economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas. ”

Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing

far better than Russia.

But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock（股票）market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three.

At very least, however, Russia’s economic underperformance and stock market outperfoumance does suggest it is indeed one of the group.

1.According to the passage, which country will enjoy the biggest increase in 2009?

2.According to Aslund, Russia shouldn’t be a BRIC partly because_______.

3.From the passage we know that ________.

4.The author seems to ________.

根据首字母或中文提示，补全单词。（20分）
【小题1】That kind of electronic dictionaries is well designed, and it is especially s______ for high school students learning English.
【小题2】“Are famous film stars always getting leading roles in movies?” “Not n________.”
【小题3】With the development of economy, a lot of companies have s______up in the industrial area.
【小题4】Going the shopping mall, you will see T-shirts in a wide v______ of colors intended for all kinds of people.
【小题5】The electric products produced in our company have good quality and usually a three-year g________.
【小题6】Professor Tudor is leaving for New York to attend an important international medical c________ next week.
【小题7】At the exhibition we saw a kind of record player, which had to be w________ up by hand and could only play for two minutes.
【小题8】This small electronic device is used to control an e_______ current passing through the machine.
【小题9】I’ve got two tickets for tonight’s concert given by the Russian artists. Would you like to a__________ me to go and enjoy it, Amy?
【小题10】I have total f_______in my best friends and believe that they are honest in this case.
【小题11】Their company bought the __________（专利） and applied the technology to create the new type of car.
【小题12】It is considered that digital TV is ___________(优越的) to satellite TV because it allows the same services to be delivered with clearer pictures.
【小题13】All of them said they didn’t like the design, but p________(就个人而言 ) I thought it was very fashionable.
【小题14】Five years after the International standards for digital TV were established ________（消费者）could have access to more than 200 channels in the USA.
【小题15】The Chinese __________（电信） industry is huge, and the amount of profit involved is unbelievably enormous.
【小题16】The boy tried to work out the maths problem by drawing a __________（平行线） between the two sides.
【小题17】I don’t think this program is practical and capable of calculating your_______（预算） for the year.
【小题18】By that time, digital TV ________（信号）had been received by 55 percent of households in the European country.
【小题19】With interactive TV programming, you can play along with game shows, respond to ________________（问卷） and chat to other viewers.
【小题20】These measures to be taken soon will all bring great _________________（方便） and delight to the citizens’ lives.

There are lots of attractions in St.Petersburg.If you’re short of time to visit all of them,or if you just want to make sure to hit the highlights(最精彩的部分),the following are the top must- see sights in St.Petersburg.

1.The Hermitage Museum

The Hermitage Museum is one of the most important sights to see for any visitor to St.Petersburg.There you can see lots of different paintings painted by the old masters.Prepare to come face to face with many of the western classical artists.

2.Kizhi Island

Kizhi Island is an open-air museum of wooden buildings from the Karelia region of Russia. These impressive structures are made without any nails(钉子).Can you imagine how the wood fits together? Come and see for yourself!

3.Peterhof

Peterhof is as beautiful as it is fun.You’ll be charged for admission(门票),but if you go to Peterhof when the fountains(喷泉) are working—during the day in summer—the admison will be worth it.

4.Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Love it or hate it,Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St.Petersburg is a real must-see sight.This beautiful building will truly surprise you,and the paintings inside the church will make you say“Wow!”

5.The Bronze Horseman Statue

The so-called Bronze Horseman is a part of Russian culture and is a symbol of St. Petersburg.Made famous by Alexander Pushkin,this statue of Peter the Great sitting on his horse truly shows Peter the Great’s influence on the Russian idea of greatness.

1.If you are interested in paintings,you’d better go to _________.

  A.The Hermitage Museum and Kizhi Island

  B.The Bronze Horseman Statue and Kizhi Island

  C.Kizhi Island and Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

  D.The Hermitage Museum and Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

2.What can we learn about Kizhi Island?

  A.Kizhi Island is an indoor museum.

  B.Visitors can find nails in the structures there.

  C.The buildings on Kizhi Island are made of wood.

  D.The wooden buildings are connected with wires.

3.We can learn from the text that        .

  A.visitors can visit Peterhof free of charge

  B.The Hermitage Museum has lots of modern western arts

  C.the fountains in Peterhof can be seen by visitors all year round

  D.The Bronze Horseman Statue is a symbol of St.Petersburg

4.The author wrote the text to_________.

  A.attract tourists to visit St.Petersburg

  B.show the wonderful history of Russia

  C.persuade artists to go to St.Petersburg

  D.introduce the famous buildings of Russia

1996 Production of the United States

Director: Charles Russell

Major Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger (As John Kruger)

Vanessa Williams (As Lee Cullen)

James Caan (As Robert Deguerin)

After Last Action Hero, Junior and True Lies have been warmly received by the whole world, the best known film actor Arnold Schwarzenegger once again stars as an unbeatable and witty tough man. Together with the pop star Vanessa Williams, he has made it among the 1996’s best movies as well as The Rock and Mission : Impossible. John Kruger, an agent for the Federal Witness Protection Program, is to protect Lee Cullen, an employee of the Cyrez Corporation. Cyrez is supposed to be developing technology for US defense, but they are secretly selling it to the Russian Mafia. Cullen has two computer disks as proof and she is willing to testify (作证). However the disks she gives to the Feds have disappeared and she herself is in danger. Kruger hides her in New York’s Chinatown. Robert Deguerin, Kruger’s director, turns out to be a spy for the Cyrez Corporation. He tries to cheat Kruger into taking www..comthem to Cullen. Kruger gets on the plane with Deguerin but gives him the wrong address. A gun battle is started and Kruger parachutes (跳伞) out of the plane. Kruger is reported to be a spy! He is forced to escape and finds Johnny and asks for his help. The three of them break into the Cyrez Corporation to read the disk. Deguerin and the others are waiting, but are outsmarted. In a shipyard of Baltimore, Deguerin and Kruger battle it out. The shipment is stopped and Kruger clears his name.

The film is directed by _____.

   A. Michael Bay    B. Brian De Palma    C. Charles Russell    D. Robert Deguerin

According to the introduction, Arnold Schwarzenegger once took an important part in the film _________.

   A. The Rock    B. True Lies    C. Mission: Impossible    D. All the above

The Cyrez Corporation is unlawful because ______.

it is developing technology for US defence.

It is secretly selling some disks to the Russian Mafia.

It is selling technology for US defence to others.

It is to protect witness for the Feds.

Kruger, Johnny and Cullen break into the Cyrez Corporation in order to ______.

steal the lost disk

find out where Deguerin is

stop the shipment

find some necessary information from the disk

What does the underlined word “outsmart” mean?

   A. fool    B. kill    C. catch    D. find

Before astronauts can go into space, they have to have the right suit. That’s why NASA（美国国家航天和航空局）scientists are developing a new kind of space suit——lighter and more flexible than before. These new space suits will have lots of mobility(灵活性) for the astronauts, but will not need much maintenance. NASA wants the suits to include new technology that can help astronauts be safe in outer space.
Right now, the American space suit weighs about 275 pounds and is big and massive. But the suit is also easy to work in for long periods of time. The Russian space suit is less complicated, but is used only a few times and then gets thrown away.
“Finding the right balance is always going to be a challenge,” said a long-time astronaut Jeff Williams. Williams has worn both types of suits. Space suits protect astronauts from both extreme heat and freezing temperatures. They carry life-packs with oxygen for the astronauts. They also shield astronauts from radiation, or particles that send out harmful rays.
Scientists are using computers to design the new suits. This allows them to change the design again and again, and to even test the design out before actually making anything. “There’s a lot more capable tools and technology to get the job done——a lot more knowledge, as well,” said Joe Kosmo. Kosmo helped design, develop, and test suits during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and shuttle periods.
These new space suits will be much lighter and use a new kind of complex material. They also will have a smaller life support backpack, thanks to tiny electronics. NASA hopes to have the first prototypes(原型) in development by 2010 and certify(证明) the suit by 2012. This will be in time for the launch of the Orion spaceship in 2014.
【小题1】 What characteristic does the new space suit have?