．I have called the station and they told me the next train for Da Lian _____ at 3:10．

I HEAR America beeping(嘟嘟响)．

 Beep，says my cellophane when it gets a text message．

  Beep，says my microwave oven when my sandwich  is warmed up． 

 Sometimes  I long for a natural sound：a bird singing，dog barking，children laughing， anything to drown out  the maddening beeps that have become the soundtrack(配乐)to modern life．

  My cellophane? It isn’t enough that its ring tone offerings seem to stretch from  “annoymg” toextremely “annoying”． It also has to beep whenever someone texts messages me． 

The microwave? A bell rings when it's finished heating my food．But is that enough? No．If I don’t rush to it right away, it starts beeping，like an impatient child tugging(用力拉) at my sleeve(袖子)．

 The smoke detector(探测器) is the worst offender．When its batteries are in need of replacement，it 1ets out a series of chirps．The things that don’t beep buzz(嗡嗡响)．And for some reason，beeping and buzzing is beneath them，they clear their throats and perform a symphony． Like my TV, each time I turn it on, it performs an aria(咏叹调)：La di da di dum．Salutions! Here I am! Same thing when I turn it off: La di da di dum．Good bye, kind sir! Until the next time

But at 1east I know where each of these sounds is coming from．That isn’t always the case．For weeks, my wife and I were awoken in the night by a beeping．There，in the stillness， we went through the possible suspects．Could we have a text message? Could it be any of the devices(装置)able to make a sound? Curling iron, rice cooker, smoke detector, TV set，clock radio．．．

The only way to tell was to chase the sound down ，but no sooner  would we pull on our bathrobes than the beeping would stop. We didn’t hear it every night but often enough that we would climb into bed wondering whether our sleep  would be interrupted by that maddening sound，that beep．

  Finally,early one morning，my wife found it：in the study,under a desk，a big plastic cube that was plugged into the wall．It was an uninterruptible power supply that we’d inherited(继承)from my wife’s mother．We’d never known it was capable of speech． 

I think it just wanted someone to talk to.

14．What does the writer truly mean by saying“I hear America beeping”?

A．American people like devices that beep．

B．Americans are crazy about sending text messages．

C．In modern society people are dependant on technology．

D．The soundtrack to modern life is no longer natural．

15．Why couldn’t the author and his wife find the source of the noise in their house in the beginning?

A．There were too many devices for them to check．

B．They were unwilling to get up at midnight．

C．They had never known that thing could beep too．

D．The noise didn’t come every day．

16．After reading this passage，we can probably tell the author    ．

   A．enjoys being surrounded by beeps  B．has a touch of humor in his writing

C．tries to avoid using anything that beeps

D．understands the beeping is designed to be user-friendly

I have called the station and they told me the next train for Da Lian _____ at 3:10．

1. A.
   will leave
2. B.
   left
3. C.
   has left
4. D.
   leaves

阅读下列回函:
Reply letter A
Thank you for your valuable suggestions. We have decided to show the Chinese character along with the Hanyu Pinyin for names of Chinese personages, places and specific things as from the next issue.
Reply letter B
Thank you for your suggestions. Next year will be the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. One of our staff reporters has just returned from Xinjiang and written a long article about her trip. Next year, we will have even more coverage of Xinjiang.
Reply letter C
Other readers have asked us for similar information and we have so far answered them individually. In this issue, we will print an open reply. We discovered after making a survey that there are few books to be found on China printed in English. Most are published by the Foreign Languages Press and China International press, from where it is possible to buy books directly.
Reply letter D
A majority of Chinese tourists travel abroad in order to see different landscapes and various cultures, to appreciate an exotic atmosphere and to get to know local customs. Some Chinese tourists nevertheless go to China towns, because they can eat Chinese food there. For those who don’t know English or the native language of the country they visit, it is convenient to go shopping or find entertainment in a Chinatown.
Reply letter E
We have taken on your suggestions to start a column on personalities. There are kinds of reports, such as movie stars, directors, businessmen, singers and so on. Our reports not only introduce their achievements, but also report their inner world. We hope you will enjoy it.
Reply letter F
Thanks for your appreciation of our magazine. We have mailed your letter and your e-mail address to Tingting. Since both of her two letters were sent by ordinary mail and did not give her e-mail address or telephone number. We could not get in touch with her any other way.
阅读下列信函,然后匹配相关信息:
Letter A
I have just started reading your magazine regularly and enjoy the articles very much. I have one comment to make. Can you include the Chinese characters for the names of people, places, etc that you mention with the Hanyu Pinyin of Romanized phonetic system that you use? For example, what is “Emei” or “Qitaihe”or “Shaoxing” in Chinese? It’s also helpful for those of us who are learning Chinese.
Letter B.
It was interesting to read the magazine. I wonder if you could start a column which introduces the Chinese elites of art, business, sports, politics, especially directors, actors, anchors(主持人)and singers. I believe readers will also appreciate a livelier style.
Letter C
I am a civil servant in Xinjiang, a region relatively underdeveloped in comparison with other provinces. But this does not mean it belong to another world. Xinjiang could benefit from overseas exchanges as well as contact with people living in other regions. Could you include articles about Xinjiang and its people? I suggest magazines report more about the western regions, especially exotic and charming Xinjiang.
Letter D
I am an avid(热衷的)reader of your magazine and it has helped me to introduce China to foreign friends. Thank you for great efforts to bring New China to the world. Next month, I may get the opportunity to go to Nigeria, so I must learn more about China’s history and culture. Could you kindly recommend a suitable book in English?
Letter E
It was interesting to read “Chinese Travelers Step out”. It seems a large percentage of Chinese tourists visit the West. In Indonesia, Chinese New Year is an official holiday. How would you assess the level of interest Chinese tourists have in Indonesia? Would they like to visit Chinatowns or other unique attractions in Indonesia?
信函                                         回函
【小题1】LetterA                                  A. Reply letter A
【小题2】LetterB                                  B. Reply letter B
【小题3】LetterC                                  C. reply letter C
【小题4】LetterD                                   D. Reply letter D
【小题5】LetterE                                  E. Reply letter E

Food prices have risen sharply over the past few years. The good news is that the rate of increase has slowed. The bad news is that prices will not go down anytime soon.

Also，the rate of global agricultural production is slowing. Yet it needs to increase 60% over the next 40 years to feed a growing world population.

These are among the findings from the OECDFAO(the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development & the Food and Agriculture Organization)Agricultural Outlook(展望)2012－2021.

FAO Director­General Jose Graziano da Silva spoke at a news conference in Rome when the report was released. Mr.Da Silva said that，not surprisingly，the world's poorest people will feel the greatest effects of higher prices.

“For the millions and millions of extremely poor people， the effects of high food prices are clear—they might have to change their diets，usually to ones with poorer nutrition quality， ”he said.

In middle­income countries， people are gaining weight as they eat fewer fruits and vegetables and more of the cheaper but less nutritious foods.

The report also shows that farmers in poorer countries will be leading efforts to feed an expected 9,000,000,000 people by 2050.The outlook predicts that farmers in Latin America，the Caribbean and sub­Saharan Africa will drive agricultural production in the future.

Angel Gurria，Secretary­General of the OECD，said：“We can feed 9,000,000,000 people by 2050 on this planet. But we have to organize ourselves better.” But there are plenty of challenges.One­fourth of all agricultural land is damaged. Many countries face water shortages(短缺)．And experts believe climate change is driving increasingly unusual weather patterns.

The report says farmers need to use more growing methods that can't cause damage to the environment.At the same time，it says governments should end economically harmful supports and spend more money to increase agricultural production.Mr.Gurria says rich and poor nations need to treat agriculture more like a business.

“In many cases，agriculture is related in people's minds to the poorest. It's related to aid. It's related to very poor living conditions，etc. We have got to shake that image away，”he said.

1.Why are people gaining weight in countries with average incomes?

A．They eat more food.                               B．They eat less nutritious foods.

C．They eat cheaper fruits.                         D．They eat cheaper vegetables.

2.It can be inferred from the text that poorer countries ______.

A．are damaging a great part of their agricultural land

B．will play a great role in feeding the growing world population

C．are spending lots of money increasing agricultural production

D．will not be so seriously affected by food prices as rich nations

3.What can be done to deal with the slow agricultural production?

A．Improving the growing methods.

B．Finding more agricultural land.

C．Preventing governments' involvement.

D．Improving farmers' living conditions.

4.Which of the following might Angel Gurria agree with?

A．Agriculture means difficulty and sadness.

B．Food prices will go down in the near future.

C．It's almost impossible to feed 9,000,000,000 people by 2050.

D．Both rich and poor countries should take agriculture seriously.