B
Brazil is a federation that consists of twenty-six states and one federal district. The biggest majority of Brazil’s population belongs to the Christian religion and almost all of them are Catholics. This is something Brazil inherited(继承) being Portugal’s colony(殖民地).
Historically, the country was a colony claimed by people from Portugal and this made Portuguese the official language. The Portuguese reached Brazil in 1500 and until that moment it was inhabited by semi-nomadic(半游牧的) people. The Portuguese changed Brazil into a country of slaves until 1800, when Maria I of Portugal came to live to Brazil. The Queen did not stay long in Brazil, but during the 20 years of royal presence a lot of changes occurred: commercial ports to United Kingdom were opened; Brazil stopped being isolated(孤立) from other countries. So at the moment of getting the independence on the 7th of September, 1822, Brazil already had the potential to develop. The Brazilian Empire, Pedro I, abolished slavery in 1888 in the face of Princess Isabel. A lot of European people started coming to Brazil and the industry of the country started working. In the 19th and the 20th century as it has been said above foreign people immigrated(移民) to Brazil and basically 5 million European and Japanese people became the residents of Brazil. The beginning of the 20th century was especially marked by the immigration of a lot of Asian people: Japanese, Korean and Chinese immigrants. As a matter of fact Japanese people do not immigrate a lot, and the fact that the Brazilian-Japanese people are the largest Japanese minority in the world does astonish greatly.
The majority of the cultural inherits of Brazil are actually Portuguese, due to the fact that Brazil was Portugal’s colony for a very long time. The southern states mainly consist of European population and the north and the northeast consist of a mixed population including Africans, Amerindians and Europeans. Most of this population is Roman Catholic. No other country in the world has the same amount of Catholics. The modern tendency of Brazil is the growing number of people calling themselves Protestants. Around 7.4% of the population don’t believe any god. Some Brazilians, especially in the northern states are mixed Africans who prefer following the traditional African religions. Only 1.8% of the population chose Buddhism, Islam or Judaism.
Though Brazil always tried to maintain democracy, it was failed several times by the dictatorship（独裁） of Getulo Vargas. This fact could not affect the political situation in the country.
61. Brazil was ruled by Portuguese about ______.
A. 22 years        B. 300 years      C. 322 years       D. 328 years
62.Who might block the development of Brazil?
A. Maria I     B. Pedro I     C. immigrants    D. Getulo Vargas
63. The writer mainly tells us the ______ of Brazil in the passage.
A. religion     B. history     C. culture    D. political situation
64．Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Brazil was isolated from other countries when Maria I stayed there.
B. The industry of the country started working in 1888.
C. Brazil has the largest population of Catholics in the world.
D. Some people in Brazil don’t believe any god.
65. It can be inferred that Brazil is a country with ________.
A. western culture B. modern culture   C. traditional culture   D. mixed culture

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　B

In the hit film The bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman meet in hospital in California after they have been diagnosed with cancer. Between them they cook up a “bucket list” – a to-do list of all they want to do before they kick the bucket. The movie makes you wonder what would be on your bucket list. So let’s pack up some and see what it would cost to go out and have a little fun.

THE PYRAMIDS, GIZA, EGYPT

On to the pyramids, surely on anyone’s bucket list. Exotik Tours can take you there on a variety of trips, including their popular Egypt Express which includes three nights in Cairo and a three-night Nile Cruise(乘船游览). From $1,384, including four-and five-star accommodation, 12 meals and a ton of sightseeing.

www.exotiktours.com  416-646-3347

TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, INDIA

One of the world’s most fascinating images, India’s Taj Mahal makes even Nicholson and Freeman look calm. Toronto’s Goway Travel has many suggestions for India, including a three-day independent visit to Agra. Stay at the attractive Oberoi AmarVilas overlooking the Taj. Include two breakfasts, touring and airport transfer from $1,420.

www.gowaytravel.com   416-322-1034

THE GREAT WALL, CHINA

If the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, check into Tour East Holiday’s four-day Amazing Beijing Tour for $580 per person, four-star accommodation, sightseeing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, breakfasts and two lunches, transportation and guide.

www.toureastholidays.com    416-929-0888

THE HIMALAYAS, NEPAL

And on to the Himalayas. Talk about “something truly majestic(壮丽的). See the top of the world on GAP Adventures’ Everest Adventure tour, a 15-day exploration including Everest Base Camp, teahouse lodge stays, and walking through Sherpa villages. Incredibly affordable at just $665 plus local payment of $250. GAP Adventures warns that this is a physically demanding trip.

www.gapadventures.com     416-260-0999

1.The underlined phrase “kick the bucket” in Paragraph 1 means ______.

2. If you take on the Everest Adventure tour, you should be aware that ____.

3.According to the passage, where can you enjoy a view of the whole Taj Mahal?

4.Which of the following websites may offer you more information about Agra?

In the hit film The bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman meet in hospital in California after they have been diagnosed with cancer. Between them they cook up a “bucket list” ------ a to-do list of all they want to do before they kick the bucket. The movie makes you wonder what would be on your bucket list. So let’s pack up some and see what it would cost to go out and have a little fun.

THE PYRAMIDS, GIZA, EGYPT

On to the pyramids, surely on anyone’s bucket list. Exotik Tours can take you there on a variety of trips, including their popular Egypt Express which includes three nights in Cairo and a three-night Nile Cruise (乘船游览). From $1,384, including four-and five-star accommodation, 12 meals and a ton of sightseeing.

www.exotiktours.com   416-646-3347

TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, INDIA

One of the world’s most fascinating images, India’s Taj Mahal makes even Nicholson and Freeman look calm. Toronto’s Goway Travel has many suggestions for India, including a three-day independent visit to Agra. Stay at the attractive Oberoi AmarVilas overlooking the Taj. Include two breakfasts, touring and airport transfer from $1,420.

www.gowaytravel.com    416-322-1034

THE GREAT WALL, CHINA

If the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, check into Tour East Holiday’s four-day Amazing Beijing Tour for $580 per person, four-star accommodation, sightseeing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, breakfasts and two lunches, transportation and guide.

www.toureastholidays.com    416-929-0888

THE HIMALAYAS, NEPAL

And on to the Himalayas. Talk about something truly majestic (壮丽的). See the top of the world on GAP Adventures’ Everest Adventure tour, a 15-day exploration including Everest Base Camp, teahouse lodge stays, and walking through Sherpa villages. Incredibly affordable at just $665 plus local payment of $250. GAP Adventures warns that this is a physically demanding trip.

www.gapadventures.com     416-260-0999

1.The underlined phrase “kick the bucket” in Paragraph 1 means ____.

A. come to life                  B. play a game

C. list interesting places        D. pass away

2.According to the passage, where can you enjoy a view of the whole Taj Mahal?

A. In Sherpa village.      B. Near the Forbidden City

C. At Oberoi AmarVilas     D. Through Egypt Express

3.If you take on the Everest Adventure tour, you should be aware that ____.

A. it is a tiring trip

B. the sights may not be so good.

C. you may not be used to the food there

D. it is an expensive trip

4.Which of the following websites may offer you more information about Agra?

A. www.exotiktours.com       B. www.gowaytravel.com

C. www.gapadventures.com           D. www.toureastholidays.com

Steve Fossett did not really look like an adventurer, but he reached some of the most difficult goals in sailing and flying.
Fossett was most proud of being the first person to fly around the world alone in a hot-air balloon. To make a trip around the world alone, it was necessary to have an improved autopilot (自动驾驶仪) device. Fossett had one of his team members develop a more advanced balloon autopilot that would allow him to sleep and do other tasks while flying safely.
Steve Fossett attempted the hot-air balloon trip around the world six times. This was not easy to do. He flew in the balloon’s capsule (密封舱) that was too small to stand upright. During his fourth attempt in 1998, he was almost killed during a storm off the coast of Australia. He fell 9,000 meters into the Coral Sea with his balloon’s capsule on fire. He was later rescued at sea.
Fossett successfully made the trip in 2002. The trip started and ended in Australia. He traveled more than 33,000 kilometers for more than 14 days. On this flight, Fossett set other records including a speed record of 322 kilometers per hour. One main problem with earlier balloon flights was the threat of dangerous storms. A team of weather experts e-mailed and talked to Fossett by a satellite telephone to help him avoid such weather.   
Steve Fossett’s hot-air balloon is now at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  It is there as an example for other people to try and succeed in doing something important to them.
【小题1】What did Steve Fossett specially prepare for the trip around the world?

MOSCOW, Sept. 4 (Xinhuanet)--- At least 335 people including 155 children, were killed in the three---day hostage crisis (人质危机) in a southern Russian school, Russia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky said on Saturday.
“We are still identifying the bodies. We have recovered 322 bodies, and 155 of them are children,” Fridinsky was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
The prosecutor said the death toll would probably grow as the clean-up operation is continuing at the site, but it will not rise considerably.
Emergency workers pulled the bodies out of the school on Saturday, after Russian special forces rescued more than 400 children and adults hostages in a special operation that has suppressed (平定)the hostage -taking standoff by Friday night.
Valery Andreyev, regional chief of the Federal Security Service (FSS), said Friday that over 30 armed militants took part in the hostage-taking crisis and Russian troops captured three of them alive on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency.
He said people of Russian origin and foreign nationals were among the killed hostage-takers. Earlier official information showed that ten Arab militants were killed in Friday’s raid (突袭).
Andreyev said a large amount of explosives (爆炸物)and mines planted by hostage-takers in the school have been found.
Rusian Presidnet Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit early Saturday to the southern Russian town of Beslan where commandos (突击队) stormed the school to end the hostage crisis. He accused the attackers of trying to spark an racial conflict that would engulf (卷入)Russia’s troubled Caucasus Mountains region.
63. It can be inferred that the Russian hostage crisis began on ________.
A. Wednesday    B. Monday     C. Friday            D. Saturday
64. The passage suggests that the terrorists _________.
A. hadn’t got any preparation before the attack
B. had informed the government to attack the school
C. had made a sudden attack to the school without any preparation
D. had prepared for the attack in advance
65. The underlined word “spark” in the last paragraph refers to _______.
A. speak out                B. lead to   C. start                       D. make
66. The last sentence of the passage indirectly states _______.
A. the purpose of the attackers’ taking over the   hostage
B. the fighting between attackers and special forces was very fierce
C. Russian President was very sad about the hostage
D. there were many attackers in Caucasus Mountains region