Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese  New year by heading for the ski resorts (滑雪场). Never mind that Beijing's dry weather seldom produces snow. It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital. And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed the basis for this new craze(热潮）     

Since Beijing's first ski resort was opened ten years ago, the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase. There are now more than a dozen resorts. Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections. Mr. Wei, a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing, sees the growth of an industry that could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe, In recent years ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China. But many are in faraway areas of the country and can't really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe.

Beijing's skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private (私有的) cars. This has led to the growth of a leisure industry in the capital's suburbs (郊区), which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people, According to Mr. Wei, about 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools, businesses or government offices.  

The problem is making money. Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money; hiring land from the local government, preparing the hills, buying snow machines, making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them, and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers.

   The ski resort where Mr. Wei works cost nearly $4 million to set up. And. as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others rush in and price wars break out. Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world, though with most people rather new to the sport, expecting a few more doing the same job.

What does this text mainly talk about?

A. Convenience for skiers brought about by private cars.

B. Skiing as a new way of enjoying one's spare time.

C. Things to be considered when starting a ski resort.

D. A sudden increase of ski training classes in Beijing.

Why are some Chinese likely to go skiing in Europe?

 A. To visit more ski areas.              B. To ski on natural snow.

 C. For a large collection of ski suits.      D. For better services and equipment.

The underlined words "leisure industry" in Paragraph 3 refer to ----

 A. transport to ski resorts                    B. production of family cars

 C. business of providing spare time enjoyments  D part-time work for people living in the suburbs

What is the main problem in running a ski resort?

A. Difficulty in hiring land.            B. Lack of business experience.

C. Price wars with other ski resorts,      D. Shortage of water and electricity,

Recent studies show that only one out of three people have strong and healthy self-confidence. That  36 two out of every three people simply don’t know the 37 they already have to be successful when it’s  38  there in their hands!  39 if you want others to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself first. Remember: “No one can make you feel inferior (差的) unless you  40 them.” A successful businessman says, “You can’t push anyone up a ladder  41 he knows he can climb himself.”

Many of us have an image  42 , the image（形象）we have of ourselves.  43 one guy put it: “You can’t win a horse race if you think you look  44 on a horse.” To succeed, the first person you have to  45 is yourself! So stop believing your own lies about yourself. Just  46 your mind and you’ll change your life.

One of the most harmful weapons that can kill your success in life is the two little words: “47 ”. You know that people used to   48 that if human beings traveled faster than 30 miles an hour it would  49  our circulation（循环）of blood and kill us? Thank goodness a few people didn’t believe that  50 thinking, or we wouldn’t be riding in cars, buses, and flying in airplanes today. You’ll never know until you  51  .

Roger Bannister was the first human being to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. But  52 he did it, most people in the world didn’t think it was even   53  Yet only weeks after Bannister did it, suddenly  54 all over the world began running a mile in less than 4 minutes! If we believe something can be done, we’ll  55  do it.

1.                A．reflects         B．means          C．reads D．explains

2.                A．chance         B．strength        C．reason   D．ability

3.                A．immediately     B．properly        C．right D．accurately

4.                A．But            B．Because        C．What D．While

5.                A．challenge       B．let             C．admit D．help

6.                A．if             B．except         C．unless    D．until

7.                A．quiz           B．question        C．mystery  D．problem

8.                A．As             B．When          C．While    D．Since

9.                A．curious         B．good-looking     C．funny    D．serious

10.               A．knock          B．beat           C．strike D．defend

11.               A．settle          B．bend          C．fix   D．change

12.               A．I failed         B．Not me.        C．I can’t   D．Can I?

13.               A．think          B．imagine        C．expect    D．doubt

14.               A．start           B．help           C．close D．stop

15.               A．empty         B．silly            C．reasonable D．terrible

16.               A．realize         B．try            C．understand D．judge

17.               A．before         B．after           C．since D．because

18.               A．likely          B．unbelievable    C．impossible D．possible

19.               A．runners        B．workers        C．competitors    D．players

20.               A．simply         B．seldom         C．usually    D．never

When was the last time someone unexpectedly did something nice for you ? Not someone you knew, but a total stranger? It’s happened to me a few times, but two instances really stand out.

A few years ago, I was dining in a restaurant with a friend who kept talking about himself, completely not aware of the fact that I was sitting there in misery. It wasn’t my friend’s talks that made me suffer. I was recovering from a broken heart, and just sitting down to dinner reminded me of my last relationship. I could have burst into tears right there at the table.

When we picked up the check, the waitress said, “ Your meal was already paid for .” My friend and I didn’t have a clue how it happened. Then I remembered a man I saw out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in mostly white, sat down at the bar, had a beer, and stayed for maybe ten minutes. The waitress said, “Yes, the gentleman in white paid for you .” It felt like an angel was saying “I see you, honey. It’s going to be okay.”

Just last year, I was running a half-marathon. With just 1 mile to go, I was out of gas. Runners call it “hitting the wall”. I thought I couldn’t move another inch. Out of nowhere, a stranger came up to me and said, “What’s your name, sweetie? Jennifer? Okay, Jennifer, let’s go! Come on! It’s just around the corner! You can do it!” And he ran with me until I picked up my pace. I found him at the finish line to thank him for the encouragement only to learn he wasn’t even supposed to be in the race that day.

 I still shake my head when I think of these momentary angels that came to me at my point of need. Do you have any experiences like these?

1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. The kindness of strangers.              B. Valuable friendship .

C. Two special experiences .               D. Helping others is worthwhile

2.Why did the author suffer when dining out with a friend?

A. Because she didn’t like the dishes.

B. Because she quarreled with her friend

C. Because her friend only talked about himself.

D. Because she was sad for her last relationship.

3.The underlined expression in the passage means “______”.

A. being hurt by the wall              B. winning the game

C. taking a deep breath              D. running out of energy

完形填空 （共20小题，每小题1. 5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从下列 各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

As a teenager, I felt I was always letting people down. I was rebellious (反叛的) on the outside,   31   on the inside, I wanted people to   32   me.

Once I left home to hitchhike (搭便车) to California with my friend Penelope. The trip wasn’t   33  , and there were many times I didn’t feel safe. One situation in particular   34   me grateful to still be alive When I returned home, I was different, not so outwardly sure of myself.

I was happy to be home. But then I noticed that Penelope, who was   35   with us, was wearing my clothes. And my   36   seemed to like her better than me. I wondered if I would be 37   if I weren’t there. I told my mom, and she explained that   38   Penelope was a lovely girl, no one could   39   me. I pointed out, “ She is more patient and is neater than I have ever been. ” My mom said these were wonderful   40  ,but I was the only person who could fill my 41  , She made me realize that even with my   42   — and there were many —I was a loved member of the family who couldn’t be replaced.

I became a searcher, wanting to   43   who I was and what made me unique. My  44   of myself was changing. I wanted a solid base to start from. . I started to resist  pressure to   45   in ways that I didn’t like any more, and I was   46   by who I really was. I came to feel much more   47   that no one can ever take my place.

Each of us   48   a unique  place in the world．You are special, no matter what others say or what you may think. So   49   about being replaced．You   50   be.

A. and         B. but          C. as               D. for

A. leave          B. respect       C. admire          D. like

A. easy            B. hard         C. fun              D. long

A. succeeded       B. kept         C. managed      D. remained

A. playing    B. eating            C. staying          D. running

A. family          B. friends      C. relatives        D. class

A. loved           B. mentioned    C. cared            D. missed

A. before         B. after           C. though            D. unless

A. scold          B. compare      C. replace          D. match

A. qualities       B. girls           C. people            D. times

A. character      B. role        C. task              D. job

A. faults          B. advantage    C. manners      D. pities

A. look for      B. look back     C. find out         D. give up

A. picture         B. view         C. sense            D. drawing

A. think          B. learn            C. change           D. act

A. thankful     B. delighted     C. disappointed    D. hopeful

A. sure           B. doubtful     C. happy            D. lonely

A. carries        B. catches       C. seizes           D. holds

A. talk            B. forget       C. care             D. argue

A. mustn’t       B. shouldn’t       C. can’t           D. needn’t

How the iron of tomorrow can change your lifestyle today.

(the first Self Cleaning Iron)

General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where a iron gets dirty. Because it cleans itself each time you empty it. How? With a push of a magic blue button.

The magic blue button

The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked "Self Clean". Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits(沉淀物) that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.

Less chance of brown spots

Sure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.

Steams better longer

Common sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams better longer. That’s another joy of ow??ning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.

What does it mean to you

Today you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids. You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better housekeeper, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from Gener??al Electric.

Lifestyle. We’ re with yours. GENERAL ELECTRIC

This passage is ________.

A. an introduction to General Electric

B. an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron

C. an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron

D. a description of the change of lifestyle

This iron can clean itself by ________.

A. emptying itself                       B. washing out mineral deposits

C. blocking up mineral deposits                 D. giving off more steam

according to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?

A. It is made by General Electric.

B. The iron will not produce mineral deposits.

C. There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.

D. Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.

Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because________.

A. you can run your house better

B. you don’t have to run after the kids

C. you can use it while you are working

D. we want you to be a better housekeeper