With the start of the new semester students around the country exchange their fun and fashionable clothes for boring school uniforms.

"The uniform makes us look like a bunch of clones, especially when we are doing morning exercises in the playground, "said Qing, a Senior 2 from a high school in Shanghai. "But we are not exactly the same from the top to the bottom. The boys wear different sport shoes and girls have different decorations ( 装饰品 )in their hair. These are the areas where you can express yourself" said Qing.

Although it might be strange for boys to talk about fashion, they do care about what they wear in school, especially shoes, according to Qing.

"Nike and Adidas basketball shoes, although they are still the must for many of my friends ,are becoming out-of-date,” added. He explained, "Since Liu Xiang ran so fast in Athens, running shoes are becoming popular in this autumn."

"Still in fashion are the various baseball caps and American-style T-shirts with random English words printed on them, "said Qing. "The accuracy ( 准确性 )of the written message isn't important. Often, the words are misspelt . Sometimes they do not even make sense “ Qing said with a smile.

Besides sports shoes and T-shirts, styles and colours of school bags are another opportunity for students to express their taste in fashion. Some bags are made more eye-catching by decorating them with small hanging dolls. Other fashionable items are the colourful drink contains which are now popular among girls this semester.

As in China, the new semester in the US also brings new fashion trends: shirts printed with Chinese words, necklaces with Hebrew ( 希伯莱 )or Hindi ( 印度的 )characters, and Brazilian jewelry, are all common in schools in Florida, according to Carmen Domingues, a high school student.

What does "a bunch of  clones”( Paragraph 2)mean?

       A．All of the clothes are the same.          B．All of the exercises are the same.

       C．All of the clothes are different.          D．All of the exercises are different.

How do the students express themselves in school?

       A．The girls wear different sport shoes.     

       B．All the students wear school uniforms.

      C．The girls have different decorations in their hair.

       D．The boys drink water from colourful drinks containers.

Why are Nike and Adidas basketball shoes becoming out-of-date?

              A．Because the shoes are not eye-catching.

       B．Because running shoes become more popular.

       C．Because the shoes have been popular for a long time.

       D．Because they have changed their opinions for Liu Xiang.

Which of the following is NOT the new fashion trends in the US?

       A．Necklace with Hebrew or Hindi characters.

       B．Baseball caps and American-style T-shirts.

       C．Shirts printed with Chinese words.

       D．Brazilian jewelry.

With the start of the new semester students around the country exchange their fun and fashionable clothes for boring school uniforms.
"The uniform makes us look like a bunch of clones, especially when we are doing morning exercises in the playground, "said Qing, a Senior 2 from a high school in Shanghai. "But we are not exactly the same from the top to the bottom. The boys wear different sport shoes and girls have different decorations ( 装饰品 )in their hair. These are the areas where you can express yourself" said Qing.
Although it might be strange for boys to talk about fashion, they do care about what they wear in school, especially shoes, according to Qing.
"Nike and Adidas basketball shoes, although they are still the must for many of my friends ,are becoming out-of-date,” added. He explained, "Since Liu Xiang ran so fast in Athens, running shoes are becoming popular in this autumn."
"Still in fashion are the various baseball caps and American-style T-shirts with random English words printed on them, "said Qing. "The accuracy ( 准确性 )of the written message isn't important. Often, the words are misspelt . Sometimes they do not even make sense “ Qing said with a smile.
Besides sports shoes and T-shirts, styles and colours of school bags are another opportunity for students to express their taste in fashion. Some bags are made more eye-catching by decorating them with small hanging dolls. Other fashionable items are the colourful drink contains which are now popular among girls this semester.
As in China, the new semester in the US also brings new fashion trends: shirts printed with Chinese words, necklaces with Hebrew ( 希伯莱 )or Hindi ( 印度的 )characters, and Brazilian jewelry, are all common in schools in Florida, according to Carmen Domingues, a high school student.

1. 1.

   What does "a bunch of  clones”( Paragraph 2)mean?

   1. A.
      All of the clothes are the same.
   2. B.
      All of the exercises are the same.
   3. C.
      All of the clothes are different.
   4. D.
      All of the exercises are different.
2. 2.

   How do the students express themselves in school?

   1. A.
      The girls wear different sport shoes.
   2. B.
      All the students wear school uniforms.
   3. C.
      The girls have different decorations in their hair.
   4. D.
      The boys drink water from colourful drinks containers.
3. 3.

   Why are Nike and Adidas basketball shoes becoming out-of-date?

   1. A.
      Because the shoes are not eye-catching.
   2. B.
      Because running shoes become more popular.
   3. C.
      Because the shoes have been popular for a long time.
   4. D.
      Because they have changed their opinions for Liu Xiang.
4. 4.

   Which of the following is NOT the new fashion trends in the US?

   1. A.
      Necklace with Hebrew or Hindi characters.
   2. B.
      Baseball caps and American-style T-shirts.
   3. C.
      Shirts printed with Chinese words.
   4. D.
      Brazilian jewelry.

 Fill in the blanks with the given words in their proper forms. There are two extra. (10 points)

1.I tried every possible means to persuade him to give up the plan with little succes, and finally my patience _________.

2. He had no choice but _________ to his wife when a quarrel broke out between them because he is a responsible and gentle man who loves his wife so much.

3. As a science student, I’d like to choose a career which _________ engineering after graduation from college.

4.____________ his mother who was born into a very poor family, the boy also formed a habit of saving.

5.While teaching how to write a formal letter, the teacher _____________ the conventions, content as well as the details including the vocabulary, grammar and accuracy of the language.

6.The Three Gorges Dam was completed in 2002, ___________ the danger of flooding .

7.Since Chairman Xi Jinpin came to power, many local governments in China ___________ the cost of all kinds of meetings greatly.

8.____________the 11th century, the old buildings of Paris including the palaces, castles and churches have attracted masses of visitors.

9.If you ___________ a monster which only existed in fictional novels or movies on the road, would you feel so frightened as to freeze?

10.From my perspective, it is poor air quality that __________ an increasing number of people getting ill.

Does anyone want to buy a weather forecaster? With Liam Fox overseeing（监管）the Ministry of Defence and promising to make cuts “cruelly and without mercy”, it is becoming ever harder to believe our national forecasting service will survive much beyond this glorious - dare I say it, - summer．

The trouble is, the Met Office（英国气象局） is a soft target．We are more sceptical about scientists’ ability to predict the weather than we are about an octopus’s （章鱼）ability to predict the outcome of a football match．This is largely to do with our own fear of complexity．

Few of us get enough information to judge the quality of the forecast．As I write, one forecast says the overview for the day is “a good scattering of showers mixed in with brighter weather for many of us”．Snow or hail would be a shock; beyond that, the words are fairly meaningless．

But, in fact, we don't want our forecasters to be more specific．The most scientifically accurate statements that a forecaster can make involve probabilities, but probabilities leave us in difficulty．A study in the United States, for example, showed that most people thought “a 50 percent chance of rain” meant that the forecasters hadn't a clue whether it would rain or not．

What it really means is that, in a given set of conditions, it rains half of the time．But who has time to think about when Newsnight is about to start? It's far easier just to let something concrete settle in our minds and, when the next day rolls around and it doesn't happen, complain that the forecast was wrong．But the World Meteorological Organisation thinks we have something worth holding on to: it consistently rates the Met Office as one of the world's top two （Japan is also blessed with accurate forecasters）．

Perhaps that praise alone should make us think twice about selling off the Met Office．To me, however, there is an even more convincing reason．

For most of us, the weather doesn't matter much - generally, we do what we do, come rain or shine．Accurately forecasting and monitoring climate change, on the other hand matters to everybody．The idea of making that function a slave to market forces sends a cold front down my back．

1．The underlined words “a soft target” mean that the Met Office is_________________．

      A．deliberately chosen to survive the summer．

      B．easily chosen to be done away with．

      C．difficultly chosen to continue the forecasts．

      D．roughly chosen to be bought．

2．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

      A．It is easy to get enough information to judge the quality of the forecast．

      B．The octopus’s prediction of a football match is more accurate than that of the weather．

      C．50 percent chance of climate change leaves people in trouble in their life．

      D．Japan is only the world’s top country in accurate forecasts．

3．The forecasts have received a number of complaints about _______________．

      A．the accuracy of the weather forecasts

      B．the management of the weather bureau（局）

      C．the organization of the weather agencies．

      D．the timing of the weather forecasts．

4．The author thinks that selling off the Met Office is ____________．

      A．unreasonable                          B．acceptable

      C．unavoidable                           D．legal