Difficult times often bring out the best in people．And this was the case for basketball star Yao Ming, who hosted a television show in Shanghai that raised US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS．Fundraising, or charity, is an act of goodwill towards others．Charities in the West have more flexible ways．Look at a typical day for Ruth, a wealthy woman in the UK, for example．Ruth wakes up in the morning and collects her post．There’s a letter addressed to her with a picture of a half-dead, beaten horse．It’s from a charity asking Ruth to donate money to save the animals．The door bell rings and there, on Ruth’s doorstep, is an old woman asking for money to help the aged．She turns on the television, hears sad music and sees a picture of a wide-eyed child dying of hunger in Africa with an appeal for money to help the child．Ruth then goes shopping for a dress to wear to that evening’s large party for the rich and famous．The ticket cost her a small fortune, but she doesn’t mind because most of the money is going to a charity that fights AIDS． She feels good about going because she’s helping the sick．Within five minutes of walking down the street, Ruth has passed a charity shop．She doesn’t stop because she doesn’t think she’d find a suitable dress there—it’s full of old, secondhand clothes．But, many other people enter and but all sorts of bargains．Edna, a little old lady, looks after the shop． Any profit it has made goes to a cancer charity．Now that she has retired, she has plenty of spare time to offer her services for free．

For people like Yao Ming, Ruth and Edna, charity is a virtue that holds the same importance in life as faith and hope． “As you look back on your life, the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others,” said Scottish author Henry Drummond．

1．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the story as a way of fundraising?

   A．Charity party                                                B．Charity post

   C．Charity TV program                                     D．Charity for beggars．

2．What does the word “raise” in the first paragraph mean?

   A．Collect together                                            B．Donate

   C．Increase                                                      D．Bring to someone’s attention．

3．We can infer from the passage that       ．

   A．Yao Ming donated US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS

   B．Edna may not be a rich lady but she is willing to do something for others

   C．Ruth leads a busy life and she feels very tired

   D．Ruth is angry because so many people ask her for money every day

4．What’s the writer’s attitude towards charity?

   A．The writer thinks it’s something only people like Ruth can afford to do

   B．The writer just wants to inform us of the different ways to practice charity

   C．The writer thinks it’s a virtue and admires the people who practice it

   D．The writer doesn’t make it clear in the story

5．The underlined part in the last paragraph probably means that      ．

   A．when you look back sometimes, you need stand out

   B．when you want to do something for others, you need stand out

   C．the moment you stand out, you can do something for others

   D． what impresses people deeply is what they have done for others

Difficult times often bring out the best in people. And this was the case for basketball star Yao Ming, who hosted a television show in Shanghai that raised US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS. Fundraising, or charity, is an act of goodwill towards others. Charities in the West have more flexible ways. Look at a typical day for Ruth, a wealthy woman in the UK, for example. Ruth wakes up in the morning and collects her post. There’s a letter addressed to her with a picture of a half-dead, beaten horse. It’s from a charity asking Ruth to donate money to save the animals. The door bell rings and there, on Ruth’s doorstep, is an old woman asking for money to help the aged.She turns on the television, hears sad music and sees a picture of a wide-eyed child dying of hunger in Africa with an appeal for money to help the child. Ruth then goes shopping for a dress to wear to that evening’s large party for the rich and famous. The ticket cost her a small fortune, but she doesn’t mind because most of the money is going to a charity that fights AIDS. She feels good about going because she’s helping the sick. Within five minutes of walking down the street, Ruth has passed a charity shop. She doesn’t stop because she doesn’t think she’d find a suitable dress there—it’s full of old, secondhand clothes. But, many other people enter and but all sorts of bargains. Edna, a little old lady, looks after the shop. Any profit it has made goes to a cancer charity. Now that she has retired, she has plenty of spare time to offer her services for free.

For people like Yao Ming, Ruth and Edna, charity is a virtue that holds the same importance in life as faith and hope. “As you look back on your life, the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others,” said Scottish author Henry Drummond.

1．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the story as a way of fundraising?

   A．Charity party                                        B．Charity post

   C．Charity TV program                             D．Charity for beggars.

2．What does the word “raise” in the first paragraph mean?

   A．Collect together                                    B．Donate

   C．Increase                                              D．Bring to someone’s attention.

3．What’s the writer’s attitude towards charity?

   A．The writer thinks it’s something only people like Ruth can afford to do

   B．The writer just wants to inform us of the different ways to practice charity

   C．The writer thinks it’s a virtue and admires the people who practice it

   D．The writer doesn’t make it clear in the story

4．The underlined part in the last paragraph probably means that .

   A．when you look back sometimes, you need stand out

   B．when you want to do something for others, you need stand out

   C．the moment you stand out, you can do something for others

   D．what impresses people deeply is what they have done for others

In the computer age, most of us take a broadband Internet connection for granted. Whether cable or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files download much faster than ten years ago. And the files are much bigger too.
There’s a catch, of course. You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don’t, it’s slow dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all.
Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations. In cities and suburbs, it’s relatively easy to provide access for everyone. It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries. Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely(稀疏地) populated areas. The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense.
But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere. Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables(光纤电缆) promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users.
Still, the “last mile” problem remains hard to deal with. There will always be somewhere that doesn’t have an affordable broadband connection. But someday that might not matter. If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication(迹象), it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go.
【小题1】The underlined part “ a catch” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “________”.

In some countries in which there is very little rain at any time, the farmers have to irrigate their fields. Irrigation is easy enough if there is a great river near the crops, and if there is plenty of water in it. Canals carry the river water to the fields when necessary. In some seasons there may be too much water in the river, and the water may flood all the land near it. At other times the river water may not be enough for all the farmers, and then it will be difficult to irrigate the fields.
To prevent these difficulties, a dam may be built across the river. This will store water for dry seasons, and in wet seasons it will prevent the flooding of the land. A great lake will, no doubt, be formed behind the dam, and this may mean that houses and fields will be covered with water. Most people will accept that and will be ready to move to other places. Then the country can have the right amount of water at all times; more crops will be grown, there will be more food for everyone, and there will be no more floods.
Dams have been built for centuries in different parts of the world. Modern dame are usually built of concrete（混凝土）but earth dams were used in India and Sri Lanka about 2500 years ago. There was another across the River Tigris very long ago, and large numbers of irrigation canals were made in Iraq to irrigate the land. The Romans were great dam-builders and there was also a famous dam at Ma’ rubin Arabia.
We cannot use sea water for irrigation; the salt will not allow the crops to grow. Fresh water is always needed, and it is very difficult and costly to make fresh water from sea water. This is done in a few countries, but the fresh water is for drinking. There is not enough at present for irrigation. Perhaps a scientist will one day invent a cheaper way of producing fresh water from the sea.
【小题1】The first paragraph mainly talks about         .

In the computer age, most of us take a broadband（宽带）Internet connection for granted. Whether cable or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files download much faster than ten years ago. And the files are much bigger too.
There’s a catch, of course: You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don’t, it’s slow dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all.
Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations. In cities and suburbs, it’s relatively easy to provide access for everyone. It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries. Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely (稀疏地) populated areas. The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense.
But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere.
Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables (光纤电缆) promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users.
Still, the “last mile” problem remains hard to deal with. There will always be somewhere that doesn’t have an affordable broadband connection. But someday that might not matter. If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication (迹象), it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go.
【小题1】The underlined part “a catch” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “_____”.