A major earthquake rocked Haiti at 4:53 pm local time on Jan.12, 2010, killing possibly thousands of people but no official figure has been released so far.

The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks. In the space of a minute, numerous buildings fell down. A five-story U.N. building was also brought down by the 7.3 magnitude quake, the most powerful to hit Haiti in more than 200 years according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

As night fell, the whole city is in total darkness. You can see thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. There are people running, crying, screaming. Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti’s president said the cost of the damage could run into billions.

Haiti became the first independent Caribbean state in the early 19th century. Haiti's location, history and attracting climate once made it a tourist hot place. However, decades of poverty, environmental pollution and violence have left it as the poorest nation in the Americas. It has suffered a lot, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.

The great earthquake happened to the _______ of the capital city.

   A. south-west          B. north-west           C. south-east     D. north-east

What can we infer from the underlined sentence?

A. People in Port-au-Prince don’t like to light on.

B. The earthquake happened in the evening.

C. Electricity in the city was cut off that night.

D. There are no lights at all in Port-au-Prince.

What’s the meaning of the word in bald “catastrophe”?

A. chance.         B. joke.                   C. illness.                D. disaster.

Which statement about Haiti is NOT true?

A. Haiti became an independent state in the early 19th century.

B. Haiti belongs to Americas, just like Canada, America and so on.

C. At one time, tourism was important to the economy of Haiti.

D. Haiti is a country where such strong quacks often take place.

Bill Clinton was born on Aug.19,1946.Three months before his birth,his father had died when driving home to his pregnant wife,Virginia,he went off a high way,was thrown from the car and drowned in a river.

When Bill was 4,his mother remarried Roger Clinton.And there were always troubles:a sometimes voilent,alcoholic stepfather and a half-brother.Only one year after the marriage,the drunken stepfather fired a shotgun at the ceiling to keep his bride and stepson from leaving the house.Virginia was very much frightened.So Roger Clinton beat Virginia from time to time.But teenager Clinton played a role of protector of his mother bravely.The stepfater never laid another band on Virginia.

In high school,he was very good at Latin and maths.He also played saxophone in the hand.At age 16,as a member of a youth group,Clinton met President John F.Kennedy at the White House,it led him to the life of public service.Once he set his mind to do something,he did not give up.He was elected governor of Arkansas at the age of 32.

Clinton has said he ran for president to make the country a better place for people like Chelsea,his daughter.He did win.At the age of 46,he became the third youngest president in the nation's history.

When this passage was published,Clinton was_________.

A.governor of Arkansas                                    B.a famous professor

C.President of U.S.A.                                       D.President of a university

Clinton's own father died_________.

A.before Clinton was born

B.after Clinton was born

C.from drinking too much brandy

D.when Clinton's mother was giving birth

Clinton protected his mother by_________.

A.fighting against his stepfather

B.beating his stepfather

C.having long talks with his stepfather

D.the means we don't know

The word “it” in “It led him to the life of public service”refers to_________.

A.Clinton's high school education

B.becoming a member of a youth group

C.Clinton's visiting President Kennedy

D.doing public service

Dear all,

Please read Professor Hume's email about his next lecture on Rosa Parks.

Susan Miller 

Secretary

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊Dear Susan,

Please forward this message to students of my history class.

Besides the life story of Rosa Parks in the textbook, the students are also required to read the passage below and some related stories that can be borrowed from the school library.

Ted Humew*

The early experiences of Rosa Parks(1913-2005), long known as the “mother of the civil rights movement,” were not different from those of many African-Americans at that time. The black woman, however, turned the course of American history in December 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. “By sitting down,” remarked John Lewis, “she was standing up for all Americans.”

Among the numerous awards Parks received in her life were the Presidential Medal of Freedom(1996) and the Congressional Gold Medal(1999).

Parks died on Oct. 24, 2005. At St. Paul A. M. E. Church in Montgomery, a large crowd including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice celebrated her life. Rice said she and others, who grew up when the political activities of Parks held public attention, might not have realized her impact(影响) on their lives, “but I can honestly say that without Mrs. Parks, I probably would not be standing here as Secretary of State.”

After her casket(灵柩) was placed at the Capitol, U. S. President Bush, members of Congress and ordinary Americans paid their respects. In American history Parks is the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol, a very high regard usually reserved for Presidents of the United States.

1. What is the main purpose of Susan’s email?

A. To make arrangements for Professor Hume's class.

B. To introduce to the students Rosa Parks.

C. To help the students organize a lecture

D. To answer Professor Hume's last email.

2. What does the underlined word “forward” mean?

A. Explain.           B. Send.               C. Take.                D. Read.

3. The political impact of Rosa Parks lies in the fact that she ______.

A. helped Condoleezza Rice achieve political success

B. joined the civil rights movement at a young age

C. made racial equality a common value in American society

D. set a good example in her early life for other black Americans

4. How was Rosa Parks treated after her death?

A. She was named “mother of the civil rights movement. “

B. She was received by President Bush at the Capitol.

C. She was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

D. She was honored to lie in state at the Capitol.

5. Which of the following statements about Rosa Parks is wrong？

A. Rosa Parks was once forced to give up her seat to a white man on a bus.

B. Parks received numerous awards in her life, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

C. Parks died at the age of 92.

D. Rosa Parks won respects both ordinary Americans and members of Congress.

A small town in southwest Britain is banning(禁止) plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste—a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe.

Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1500,agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday.They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead.

Last month,San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags.Internationally,laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland,where governments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out.Bangladesh already bans them,and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.

Modbury,about 225 miles southwest of London,has also declared a bag amnesty(宽限期),allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home.They will be sent for traveling.

The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking,who saw the effect of bags on marine life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman.She said response(反应) in the town so far had been “really positive”.

“Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway,”Hosking told Sky News Television.

The Worldwatch Institute,an environmental research agency,states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone.More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.

What was Rebecca Hosking?

A.A lawyer.                                                     B.An environmentalist.

C.A sailor.                                                       D.A photographer.

The underlined word “disposable” in the passage probably means _______.

A.acceptable                                                    B.valuable

C.throw-away                                                  D.long-lasting

It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A.most of the people in Modbury continue to use plastic bags

B.fewer and fewer plastic bags will be used in the world

C.San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic bags in the world

D.most countries in the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags

Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A.Environmental Protection

B.Big Cities Banning Plastic Bags

C.Effect of Plastic Bags on Sea Animals

D.British Town Banning Plastic Bags

Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook from scratch (从头开始 )? Have you been doing internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can't you be bothered to do?

A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of adults are so idle they'd catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.

Just over 2000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain's largest health charity. The results were surprising.

About one in six people surveyed said if their remote control was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up.

More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus. Worryingly, of the 654 respondents (回答者) with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them.

This led the report to conclude that it's no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classified as obese (肥胖) before they start school. 

    Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said: "People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends and obviously their pets too.

"If we don't start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most basic of tasks."

And Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, was shamed as the laziest city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.

The results pose (对... 提出) serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year.

1.For the interest of country people should         .    

A. continue watching the same channel rather than get up to get the remote control

B. carry out even the most basic of tasks

C. get enough exercise to get fitter

D. admit they do not get enough exercise

2.Which of the following statements agrees with British people?  

A. They are fond of climbing the stairs.

B. They are willing to accompany their children.

C. They like sports and get enough exercise.

D. They are suffering from obesity-related illnesses.

3.What does the word "idle" in paragraph 2 mostly probably mean?   

A. active               B. lazy              C. optimistic      D. pessimistic

4.Which country is the writer most likely to come from?

A. America              B. China             C. U.K             D. France 

5. What's the main idea of the passage?   

A. UK is taking measures to get over laziness.

B. How lazy British people are.

C. British people are suffering from laziness.

D. Challenges for the National Health Service.