The Hawaiian Islands are in the Pacific Ocean almost 4,000, kilometres west of California. Tourism is very important to Hawaii. The tropical weather and beaches bring people from all over the world. But Hawaii is also experiencing problems from the downturn(经济衰退).

Last year was the first year since 2004 that Hawaii has had fewer than seven million visitors. The state had 6,800,000 arrivals in 2008. That was a decrease of 10% from the year before. State officials expect a decrease this year of another 2%. And they expect no growth in the economy through most of the year.

The Hawaiian Islands were formed millions of years ago by hot liquid rock flowing from undersea volcanoes. Visitors can still watch the process take place on the largest island, which like the state is named Hawaii. People usually just call it the Big Island.

Experts say Polynesian people first sailed to Hawaii about 2,000 years ago. A king ruled the islands when the 18th century British explorer James Cook arrived. At first, Hawaiians treated Captain Cook like a god. But in the end, he was killed on the Big Island in 1779.

Britain gave the islands their independence in 1843. Then, fifty years later, a group of American businessmen ousted the ruler and founded the Republic of Hawaii. It became an American territory in 1900.

That was three years after the United States set up a naval base at Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, which served as the command base for American operations in the Pacific during World War Two.

After the war, most Hawaiians required that Hawaii should be an independent state. In Congress(国会), though, there was resistance from southern states because of Hawaii’s non-white native population. But Congress passed the Hawaii Statehood Bill in 1959. Hawaiians accepted it, and on August 21st, President Eisenhower declared Hawaii the fiftieth state.

1..The number of visitors to Hawaii in 2009 is expected to be about _________.

A. 5,984,000           B. 6,664,000       C. 6,800,000       D. 6,936,000

2..When did the US set up a naval base at Pearl Harbor?

A. In 1893.            B. In 1897.        C. In 1900.        D. In 1959.

3..What does the underlined word “ousted” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A. Forced out.         B. Picked out.     C. Elected.        D. Became.

4..Which of the following is the correct order in the history of Hawaii?

  a. It was ruled by a Polynesian king.   b. It became an American territory.

  c. The Republic of Hawaii was founded.  d. It was under the rule of the British.

  e. It became independent in 1843.       f. It joined the United States.

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

Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.
Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.
However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.
They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.
When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.
Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues.
【小题1】What is the main idea of the article?

E
In 1789 the US. government passed a law which said that the land of the American Indians could never be taken from them without their agreement. One hundred years later, however, the Indians only had a very small part of the land that originally belonged to them. How did this great injustice occur?
After 1812 white settlers began to move west across North America. At first, the settlers and the Indians lived in peace. However, the number of settlers increased greatly every year, and slowly the Indians began to see the white settlers as a danger to their survival. To feed themselves, the settlers killed more and more wild animals. The Indians, who depended on these animals for food, had to struggle against starvation. The settlers also brought with them many diseases which were common in white society, but which were new for the Indians. Great numbers of Indians became sick and died. Between 1843 and 1854 the Indian population in one area of the country went down from 100,000 to 30,000.
More land was needed for the increasing number of white settlers. In Washington, the old respect for the rights of the Indians disappeared. The old promises to the Indians were broken; the government began to move groups of Indians from their original homelands to other poorer parts of the country. Some Indians reacted angrily and violently to this treatment. They began to attack white settlers, and the Indian war began. For 30 years, until the late 1880s, different groups of Indians fought against the injustices of the white man. They had a few famous successes, but the result of the struggle was never in doubt. There were too many white soldiers, and they were too powerful. Many Indians were killed; the survivors were moved from their homelands to different areas of the country. It was a terrible chapter in the history of a country that promised freedom and equality to everyone.
72．It can be inferred from the passage that______.
A．in the US there were many laws that provided to the rights of American Indians
B．the law which was passed in 1789 by the US government was not successfully carried out
C．in the 19th century no injustices were done against the Indians by the US government
D．the majority of white settlers were openly opposed to the law passed in 1789
73．According to the passage which of the following is true?
A．The Indians believed that killing too many wild animals had disturbed the balance of nature.
B．The government began to have a better understanding of the Indians in the 1850s.
C．Between 1843 and 1854 about 70,000 Indians were killed in the battle.
D．The whites carried serious diseases into where the Indians lived.
74．It is implied in the passage that______.
A．the Indians had many great successes in the Indians war
B．the Indians had no doubt that they would win the war
C．after the war the Indians stayed where they were before
D．the Indians were too weak to win the struggle
75．The last sentence of the passage______.
A．serves as the author's comment on the historical event described above
B．gives the reader the impression that injustice is everywhere in the US
C．makes a conclusion that such events talked above will never happen again
D．brings about the topic that how the US government will deal with the problem

“Colour” and “color”, “favourite” and “favorite”···Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a “u”? Is it because they are lazy?
Of course not. In fact, the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster (1758—1843). He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger. Linguists（语言学家） celebrated his 250^th birthday on October 16. After the Revolutionary War(1775—1783), Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary, rather than rely on British versions（版本）. He dropped the British “u” in some words. And he changed “centre” into “center” for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded.
Webster wasn’t shy about expressing his opinions. In defining（定义） preposterous, he wrote: “A republican government in the hands of females is preposterous.”
Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings. He also added local words. His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom.
“He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity,” said Joshua Kendall, who is working on a biography（传记） about Webster. “He at last bonded（联合） us through our language.”
【小题1】          According to the passage, when he worked on his dictionary, Noah Webster did all of the following EXCEPT______.

Noah Webster, born on October 16, 1758 , is known for The American Dictionary of the English Language. He has been called the " Father of American Scholarship and Education. " His " Blue-Backed Speller" books were used to teach spelling and reading to five generations of American children. But how much .do you know about him beyond that?

   At the age of 16, Noah Webster began attending ,Yale College. Unfortunately, he spent his four years at Yale during the American Revolutionary War, and, because of food shortages, many of his college classes were held in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Later, he served in the army.

Having graduated from Yale in 1778, Webster wanted to continue his education in order to earn his law degree. He had to teach school in order to pay for his education. He set up many small schools that didn't survive, but he was a good teacher because instead of forcing his students to learn, like most teachers did, he rewarded them. He earned his law degree in 1781, but did not practice law until 1789. Once he started he found the law was not to his liking.

   Webster did not have much money. In 1793 , Alexander Hamilton lent him $ 1500 to move to New York City to edit a newspaper. In December, he founded New York ' s first daily newspaper, American Minerva, and edited it for four years. For decades, he published . textbooks, political essays, a report on some diseases, and newspaper articles for his party, He wrote so much that a modern list of his published works required 655 pages .Noah Webster died on May 28, 1843 and was buried in the Grove Street Cemetery.

1.What's the main idea of Paragraph l?

A.  Webster's famous dictionarie .

B. Webster's daily routines.

C.  Webster's main achievements.

D. Webster's college education.

2.Which of the following best describes Webster's life at Yale?

A. Tough.     B. Smooth.     C. Normal.     D. Tiring.

3.What did Noah want to be after graduation from Yale?

A. A teacher.     B. A lawyer.      C. A headmaster.    D. A scholar.

4.Why was Webster a good teacher?

A. Because he set up many small schools.

B. Because he graduated from Yale College,

C. Because he forced his students to learn.

D. Because he often rewarded his students.

5.What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A. Webster was a most productive author.

B. Webster led a miserable life in New York City.

C. Webster's books added up to 655 pages.

D. Webster didn't write any polifical works.