Macao is only forty miles from Hong Kong and it is easy to reach. You can get there by sea. It is an interesting place and it had a long history. Macao is part of China and most people living there are Chinese.

The first Europeans to go to Macao came from Portugal. More than four hundred years ago the Portuguese went there to trade with China. Some settled and made their homes there. They built strong forts to guard the city and the harbor. They also built churches, schools, hospitals and other places. Slowly the city grew. People from many countries came to live and work in Macao.

Today many people visit Macao. Some only go there to watch dog-racing or motor-racing or to gamble with their money. But Macao is a quiet and peaceful place. It is pleasant just to walk around and look at old buildings and forts. You feel you are back in the old days. Of course, some of the buildings are now in ruins. The Church of St. Paul has only the front wall with many steps leading up to it. But it is still interesting to see.

When you are hot and tired, there are small cool gardens to rest in. When you are hungry, there are good restaurants with many kinds of food. Nearby there are some islands, which are also nice and are easy to get to. There is certainly a lot to do in Macao.

56. You feel in Macao you are back in the old days because_________.

A. most of the buildings are now in ruins

B. you can watch dog-racing or motor-racing

C. you can go about to see the old buildings and forts

D. it is a peaceful place

57. Where will you have a break when you feel worn out?

A. In good restaurants.                                       B. In small cool gardens.

C. On some islands.                                                        D. In beautiful parks.

58. The main idea of this passage seems to be that_________.

A. people from many countries came to live and work in Macao

B. Portuguese were willing to do business in China

C. people in Macao serve good food

D. Macao is a quiet and peaceful place with a lot to see and to do

Wednesday, October 29,2008.

The United States federal government had two young men in the state of Tennessee arrested on October 22 on unknown charges.

In court documents published on Monday, it came to light that the men had discussed attacking an African – American school and killing 14 of them.

Another crime was about planning to murder Presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to their affidavits (口供), the suspects’ “final act of violence” would be like this: when they attacked Obama they would wear white suits and top hats and drive “their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows.”

The two suspects are Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee. According to the court papers, they met last month over the Internet through a friend. Schlesselman and Cowart are believed to share “very strong views” about White Power.

Schlesselman listed “being racist” as his occupation on his MySpace page. He further wrote: “I'm white. I'm proud. I get angry. I like guns.”

Cowart also had a MySpace page on which photos of guns were presented under a heading of “My Guns”. On his page he wrote, “Better to die quick fighting on your feet than to live forever begging on your knees.”

Some have questioned the pair's ability to carry out the charged plan, but authorities have been very concerned about Obama as the first black presidential candidate from a major party.

“We honestly don't know if they had the ability or the skill to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about.” said Malcolm Wiley, of the United Satates Secret Service in an interview with The New York Times. “But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is.”

Cowart and Schlesselman are scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursady.

The passage is mainly about____________.

 A．Americans’ attitudes towards Barack Obarma        B．two young men planning to commit violence

 C．the violence in the United States                   D．the disadvantages of the Internet

From the passage, we can know that the two young men_________.

 A．shot 14 students in an African – American school     B．came from the state of Tennessee

 C．were proud of Barack Obama                     D．have not been sentenced yet

Which of the following shows the right order of the events?

 a．The two suspects were arrested.

 b．The two suspects will be tried in the court.

 c．Cowart set up his MySpace page on the Internet.

 d．Malcolm Wiley was interviewed by The New York Times.

 A．a; b; c; d      B．d; c; b; a        C．c; a; d; b        D．c; a; b; d

What can we infer from the news?

   A．Most of the white people in the United States don’t like Barack Obama.

  B．The two young men planned to shoot President Barack Obama.

  C．The two young men were innocent in fact.

D．The two young men strongly believed that the president should be a white man

根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
A 7．0 magnitude（级）earthquake killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti．Then an 8．8 magnitude quake killed more than 900 people in Chile．And few weeks later, a 6．0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people．
The earthquakes kept coming hard and fast． 【小题1】  It’s not．The problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say．
【小题2】  They’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t stand up to earth quakes, scientists believe．
And news reports and better earthquake monitoring make it seem as if earth quakes are increasing all the time．
On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6．0 and 6．9．So far this year there have been 40 earthquakes—more than in most years for that time period．But that’s because the 8．8 quake in Chile caused a large number of strong aftershocks．
Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their destructive effects that gain attention．The death is largely due to building standards,  【小题3】   Paul Earle, a US seismologist, called for better building standards in the world’s big cities．
Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than I million, more than half are likely to be hit by earthquakes． 【小题4】 “If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes,” said Paul．
The earthquakes made everyone start to think 【小题5】  “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’re always living on．Come back an another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again,” said US disaster researcher Dennis Mileti．

Many famous painters worked in Antwerp during the city’s period of greatest power but Peter Paul Rubens is undoubtedly the most famous one of them. Known as Rubens House, the palace-like residence(大宅) and studio where Rubens worked and lived from 1616 until his death in 1640 is now one of Antwerp’s most visited museums.

Almost all of the works Rubens and his students created in the Rubens House have been dispersed (分散) over major museums across the whole world, but there is still an impressive collection well worth the visit. Besides paintings form the master himself you will find other works of art and furniture of the 17th century as well as paintings from his students, including works by Jacob Jordaens and Anthony Van Dyck.

The Rubens House was not only a studio but also a meeting place for the rich and famous. His clients(委托人) included wealthy merchants, diplomats, and there were also many noblemen who often visited his studio to see how work progressed. The Rubens House even had a special viewing area which allowed visitors to see the artists at work.

Ruben bought the house at the beginning of the 17th century after his eight-year-long stay in Italy. Influenced by Italian architecture, he rebuilt the building into an Italian-styled palace with a beautiful garden and moved in the house in 1616.

After his death the building was sold. New owners modified the building greatly and by 1937, when the building was purchased by the city of Antwerp, it hardly resembled the original structure.

The impressive entrance hall, which connected the studio and the residence, is one of the few parts that survived. Other parts have been carefully restored and reconstructed after original plans and paintings of the house.

1.As a museum, the Rubens House is popular because ________.

A. it lies in the famous city of Antwerp

B. it holds all the works by Rubens and his students

C. there are many people who enjoy visiting it

D. Rubens, a great artist, lived and worked there

2.We can learn from the third paragraph that ________.

A. the Rubens House was popular with upper-class people

B. the Rubens House was the best studio in its time

C. Rubens’s students included noblemen and diplomats

D. people were not allowed to view the artists working

3.What can be inferred from the text?

A. Thanks to its great painters, Antwerp became a rich city.

B. Ruben possibly showed strong interest in Italian buildings.

C. Antwerp must be a historical city in Italy.

D. The Rubens House was completely rebuilt before 1937.

4.Which of the following is TRUE, according to the text?

A. Rubens created his works by working with his students.

B. A beautiful garden was added to the Rubens House by new owners.

C. Today’s Rubens House looks like its original structure.

 D. The Rubens House is decorated with furniture of the 17th century.

Macao is only forty miles from Hong Kong and it is easy to reach. You can get there by sea. It is an interesting place and it had a long history. Macao is part of China and most people living there are Chinese.

The first Europeans to go to Macao came from Portugal. More than four hundred years ago the Portuguese went there to trade with China. Some settled and made their homes there. They built strong forts to guard the city and the harbor. They also built churches, schools, hospitals and other places. Slowly the city grew. People from many countries came to live and work in Macao.

Today many people visit Macao. Some only go there to watch dog-racing or motor-racing or to gamble with their money. But Macao is a quiet and peaceful place. It is pleasant just to walk around and look at old buildings and forts. You feel you are back in the old days. Of course, some of the buildings are now in ruins. The Church of St. Paul has only the front wall with many steps leading up to it. But it is still interesting to see.

When you are hot and tired, there are small cool gardens to rest in. when you are hungry, there are good restaurants with many kinds of food. Nearby there are some islands, which are also nice and are easy to get to. There is certainly a lot to do in Macao.

Macao is easy to get to because_________.

A. it is part of China and most people there are Chinese

B. it is an interesting place

C. it is very fast and cheap by sea

D. it is not far away from Hong Kong

You feel in Macao you are back in the old days because_________.

A. most of the buildings are now in ruins

B. you can watch dog-racing or motor-racing

C. you can go about to see the old buildings and forts

D. it is a peaceful place

Where will you have a break when you feel worn out?

A. In good restaurants.   B. In small cool gardens.

C. On some islands.           D. In beautiful parks.

The writer’ s idea seems to be that_________.

A. people from many countries came to live and work in Macao

B. Portuguese were willing to do business in China

C. people in Macao serve good food

D. Macao is a quiet and peaceful place with a lot to see and to do