Australia －a huge island continent that lies to the south of Asia. Australia－more than two hundred years old, a nation that is still growing.

Its big cities lie on the southeast coast, this is where most Australians live. Australians prefer to own their own houses, though some live in apartments. Australians are a suburban（郊区的） people. The suburbs surround the cities for many miles, and so efficient transport is of great importance. As the economy grows, so do its industries- a higher level of production, a wider range of products.

   The Australian works hard, but he likes his leisure. The climate makes outdoor activities the most popular.

   Canberra, the capital of Australia, is a planned modern city located inland. Australia is governed by a parliamentary democracy(议会民主). The representatives of other countries have their embassies here. Australia wants to strengthen relations with her neighbors.

Australia is a strange land, a land of vast expanses- fertile valleys, snow fields and deserts- also a land with unique animal, many that can not be found on any other continent in the world today.

Much of the continent is dry, but man has utilized the land, made it productive, with its tools, with its technology. This is the driest continent of all, and water is a precious possession, more precious than all other natural resources. Large dams are built to collect the water, there to irrigate the fields of pastures（牧场） and crops.

But Australia is changing. The land of wool and wheat is now a land of large-scale industry and mining. The costs of developing the new mineral discoveries are enormous, but the rewards are great too.

Australia — a young and developing nation. Australia — a nation that wants to communicate with its neighbors. .w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#om.

Australia is an island located ______ of Asia and its big cities lie ____ of the coast.

A. to the south; on the southeast         B. to the north; on the southwest

C. to the east; on the northeast             D. to the east; on the southwest

We can infer from the passage that the Australian likes outdoor activities for the _____ climate.

A. dull and wet      B. fine and shiny  C. gloomy and rainy           D. wet and cold

____ is the most precious source in Australia.

A. Mineral resource                     B. Animal         C. Desert             D. Water

Which of the following statements about Australia is wrong?

A. Australians are a suburban people

B. Australia is governed by a parliamentary democracy.

C. Australia prefers to live in the downtown of big cities.

D. Wool and wheat used to be the main products of Australia. .w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#om.

34．It took the early settlers more than 150 years to build up ___________is now a modern city．

Five years ago, Wang Baoqiang was a nobody to most Chinese people. However, he is now a household film star in China.

Wang is the youngest child of a poor family in Hebei province . Dreaming of becoming an actor, he left home at the age of 8 to study kung fu at Shaolin Temple, since kung-fu actors seemed to appear most often on the big screen.

At 14, he moved to Beijing for his acting career for the first time, with little money in his pocket. He worked at a construction site（建筑工地）for 20 to 25 yuan per day, and spent his free time standing in front of the Beijing Film Studio, eager to be chosen as temporary（临时的）actors.

This was the most difficult time for the boy. His opportunity finally came one day after he went for a role in the movie “Blind Shaft”. He was chosen to play a young coal miner. The movie won him three prizes in Thailand, France and Taiwan. But his success didn’t make any difference to his life.

That year, he went home for the Spring Festival. He gave his family his earnings from the movie, around US$250 and then returned to Beijing with 500 yuan, the same amount he had when he first set foot in the city. His life was as simple as before.

Though “nanometer”（纳米） is now a fashionable term all over the world, few people know

exactly what it is. It has become a new favorite of manufacturers and sellers in recent years.Many “high-tech” products bearing the name “nano” have entered the market,bringing more mysterious feeling to surprised consumers.

Nanometer is a very small length unit of measure,and is very small.One millimeter is 1000 micrometers,and one micrometer is 1000 nanometers.That is,one nanometer is one billionth of a meter.Nano materials are solid materials composed of particles（粒子）or crystallites（晶体） of less than 100 nanometer in size.Then,is a cup made of nano material really any different from an ordinary cup in function as far as how it works?

Are nano cups really so wonderful?A reporter went to the Institute of Nanomedicine,which is the first such institute of such a sort in the world and the only one in China,specializing in researching the investigation  of the application of nano technology into medicine.

A water molecule（分子） is composed of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom.It can be changed only by special manipulation of the atoms. The material constituting the cup can have ananometer particles . But it cannot change the chemical and physical properties of the water contained in it.The water in the cup is still water. When people drink it,it will produce no special effect on human body.

Professor Ji who worked in the Instiute of Nanomedicine told the reporter, so far, the investigation of nano materials is still limited in the laboratory. No commercial micro products can be produced yet. With the present level of science and technology, the time of everyday goods made of nanometer materials is still years away.

The products labeled with nano marks in the market now are only traditional products coated with a thin layer of nanometer material, which makes them more abrasion resistant（耐磨）, much easier to be cleaned, or oil resisting or moth proof（防蛀）.

Professor Ji explained that nano cup is a real up. It can also be included in the list of nano products in a certain sense. But the nano up has not changed its property and function as a cup. It is not a magical medicine for curing and health care.

72．Which of the following shows the right relationship?

A．nanometer<millimeter<micrometer<meter

B．micrometer<millimeter<nanometer<meter

C．nanometer<micrometer<millimeter<meter

D．millimeter<micrometer<nanometer<meter

73．It can be inferred from the passage that       .

A．nano materials have been put into use in daily goods

B．real nano products haven’t become available for people

C．the nano cup is very effective in curing and health care

D．real nano products are being produced by some companies

74．The underlined word “properties” in the fourth paragraph probably means        .

A．possessions      B．qualities    C．reactions   D．symbols

75．What would be the best title for the passage?

A．High-tech Products  B．Nano Cups

C．Nano Materials        D．High-teach Research

C
There is a place where Christmas lives all year long. It is called Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The family-owned business calls itself the world’s largest Christmas store. The late Wally Bronner started the business in 1945.
Wayne Bronner, Wally’s son, is president and CEO of what is now a multi-million dollar corporation. He learned the business from an early age. Some of his best memories are traveling to other countries with his father to find new products for the store.
Bronner’s sells more than fifty thousand holiday products from seventy nations. Half of the products cost less than ten dollars. Wayne Bronner says demand for small objects to hang on Christmas trees has expanded over the years. People spend more time, effort and money into decorating their homes with these ornaments(装饰品), lights and religious scenes. Bronner’s is famous for its nativity scenes which show the birth of Jesus Christ.
Michigan has the nation’s highest unemployment rate. Bronner’s has been affected by the financial crisis, too. But not in reduced sales.
Wayne Bronner said, “Even though people are spending less, we’re having more people visit here. And as a result we’ve actually had a sales increase.” Bronner’s success is also linked to community co-operation and investment. Frankenmuth is a town of five thousand people in eastern Michigan’s farm country. The town was settled by Bavarian Germans in the 1800s. It has kept its traditions alive in buildings and restaurants.
Bavarian cultural themes and Bronner’s huge store bring three million visitors a year. The town is the most popular place for tourists in the state. Bronner’s business is aimed at a single day of the year. But that is not too different from other businesses.
“About half of our business is done in the last quarter of the year, in the last three months. And actually when you compare that with most retailers(零售商), that follows the same pattern.” Wayne Bronner says the family’s long-term planning and willingness to reinvest profits has grown the company into what it is today. Still, it does not hurt to build a business on a holiday which is celebrated worldwide. Currently, about only two percent of sales are overseas. But Wayne Bronner sees room for growth, especially through the Internet.
51. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is probably ______.
A. a private business            B. a state-run business
C. the world’s largest store       D. a nationalized corporation
52. Bronner’s mainly sells ______.
A. festival ornaments made by themselves
B. holiday products imported from foreign countries
C. festival ornaments during the summer and winter holidays
D. holiday products to tourists from foreign countries
53. We can learn from the passage that ________.
　 A. most of Bronner’s products are expensive
B. people are spending less money on small objects
C. Frankenmuth is a modern town popular with tourists
D. Wally Bronner, founder of Bronner’s, has passed away
54. In what way has the financial crisis affected Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland?
A. Many of its staff have lost their jobs.
B. Only two percent of sales are overseas.
C. The corporation has had an increased sale.
D. People are spending less in Bronner’s.
55. Bronner’s success lies in the following EXCEPT ________.
A. aiming its business at a single day of the year
B. community co-operation and investment
C. the family’s long-term planning
D. the willingness to reinvest profits