On the 36th day after they had voted, Americans finally learned Wednesday who would be their next president: Governor George W. Bush of Texas.

Vice President Al Gore, his last realistic avenue for legal challenge closed by a U. S. Supreme Court decision late Tuesday, planned to end the contest formally in a televised evening speech of perhaps 10 minutes, advisers said.

They said that Senator Joseph Lieberman, his vice presidential running mate, would first make brief comments. The men would speak from a ceremonial chamber of the Old Executive office Building, to the west of the White House.

The dozens of political workers and lawyers who had helped lead Mr. Gore’s unprecedented fight to claw a come-from-behind electoral victory in the pivotal state of Florida were thanked Wednesday and asked to stand down.

“The vice president has directed the recount committee to suspend activities,” William Daley, the Gore campaign chairman, said in a written statement.

Mr. Gore authorized that statement after meeting with his wife, Tipper, and with top advisers including Mr. Daley.

He was expected to telephone Mr. Bush during the day. The Bush campaign kept a low profile and moved gingerly, as if to leave space for Mr. Gore to contemplate his next steps.

Yet, at the end of a trying and tumultuous process that had focused world attention on sleepless vote counters across Florida, and on courtrooms form Miami to Tallahassee to Atlanta to Washington the Texas governor was set to become the 43d U. S. president.

The news of Mr. Gore’s plans followed the longest and most rancorous dispute over a U. S. presidential election in more than a century, one certain to leave scars in a badly divided country.

It was a bitter ending for Mr. Gore, who had outpolled Mr. Bush nationwide by some 300000 votes, but, without Florida, fell short in the Electoral College by 271votes to 267—the narrowest Electoral College victory since the turbulent election of 1876.

Mr. Gore was said to be distressed by what he and many Democratic activists felt was a partisan decision from the nation’s highest court.

The 5-to –4 decision of the Supreme Court held, in essence, that while a vote recount in Florida could be conducted in legal and constitutional fashion, as Mr. Gore had sought, this could not be done by the Dec. 12 deadline for states to select their presidential electors.

James Baker 3rd, the former secretary of state who represented Mr. Bush in the Florida dispute, issued a short statement after the U. S. high court ruling, saying that the governor was “very pleased and gratified.”

Mr. Bush was planning a nationwide speech aimed at trying to begin to heal the country’s deep, aching and varied divisions. He then was expected to meet with congressional leaders, including Democrats. Dick Cheney, Mr. Bush’s ruing mate, was meeting with congressmen Wednesday in Washington.

When Mr. Bush, who is 54, is sworn into office on Jan.20, he will be only the second son of  a president to follow his father to the White House, after John Adams and John Quincy Adams in the early 19th century.

Mr. Gore, in his speech, was expected to thank his supporters, defend his hive-week battle as an effort to ensure, as a matter of principle, that every vote be counted, and call for the nation to join behind the new president. He was described by an aide as “resolved and resigned.”

While some constitutional experts had said they believed states could present electors as late as Dec. 18, the U. S. high court made clear that it saw no such leeway.

The U.S. high court sent back “for revision” to the Florida court its order allowing recounts but made clear that for all practical purposes the election was over.

In its unsigned main opinion, the court declared, “The recount process, in its features here described, is inconsistent with the minimum procedures necessary to protect the fundamental right of each voter.”

That decision, by a court fractured along philosophical lines, left one liberal justice charging that the high court’s proceedings bore a political taint.

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in an angry dissent:” Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the law.”

But at the end of five seemingly endless weeks, during which the physical, legal and constitutional machines of the U. S. election were pressed and sorely tested in ways unseen in more than a century, the system finally produced a result, and one most Americans appeared to be willing at lease provisionally to support.

The Bush team welcomed the news with an outward show of restraint and aplomb. The governor’s hopes had risen and fallen so many times since Election night, and the legal warriors of each side suffered through so many dramatic reversals, that there was little energy left for celebration.

The main idea of this passage is

[A]. Bush’s victory in presidential election bore a political taint.

[B]. The process of the American presidential election.

[C]. The Supreme Court plays a very important part in the presidential election.

[D]. Gore is distressed.

     What does the sentence “as if to leave space for Mr. Gore to contemplate his next step” mean

[A]. Bush hopes Gore to join his administration.

[B]. Bush hopes Gore to concede defeat and to support him.

[C]. Bush hopes Gore to congraduate him.

[D]. Bush hopes Gore go on fighting with him.

     Why couldn’t Mr. Gore win the presidential election after he outpolled Mr. Bush in the popular vote? Because

[A]. the American president is decided by the supreme court’s decision.

[B]. people can’t directly elect their president.

[C]. the American president is elected by a slate of presidential electors.

[D]. the people of each state support Mr. Bush.

     What was the result of the 5—4 decision of the supreme court?

[A]. It was in fact for the vote recount.

[B]. It had nothing to do with the presidential election.

[C]. It decided the fate of the winner.

[D]. It was in essence against the vote recount.

     What did the “turbulent election of 1876” imply?

[A]. The process of presidential election of 2000 was the same as that.

[B]. There were great similarities between the two presidential elections (2000 and 1876).

[C]. It was compared to presidential election of 2000.

[D]. It was given an example.

第一节  短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误.对标题号的每一行做出判断：如无错误，在该行右边的横线上划（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

此行多一个词：把多余的词用（\）斜线划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

I received your letter dated April 16 the day before    76．       

yesterday. Every of our family are greatly delighted to       77．       

learn whether you are getting along very well with your    78．       

lessons. Time passes quickly. In dozens of day, you’ll        79．       

finish middle school. What please us most is that you        80．       

do very good to make up your mind to enter for the college       81．       

entrance examination this summer. What wonderful   82．       

it is! Dad, as well as Mom and I, are with you. We     83．       

wish you to make better use your time. The fuller preparations 84．       

if you make, the surer of success you’ll certainly be. 85．       

Poor families in some countries spend as much as eighty percent of their money on food. Rising prices in recent months have created the worst food crisis(危机) in more than thirty years. The United Nations World Food Program says high food prices could push one hundred million people into hunger.

Nathan Childs is an expert on rice markets. He notes that the harvest for the latest growing season was the largest on record. But India, Vietnam and others have restricted exports(限制出口) to keep prices down at home and protect supplies.

Thailand’s agriculture minister says his country will never restrict rice exports. He told the Reuters news agency Thursday that Thailand has enough supplies to meet demand at home and for export.

Thailand is the world’s largest rice exporter. Recent signs of an increase in supplies have helped ease record prices for Thai rice. Prices rose last week above one thousand dollars a ton.

Vietnam, the second biggest exporter, has banned(禁止) exports until June. And Vietnamese officials have now warned that non-food traders who buy rice for speculation(投机活动)will be severely punished.

Some experts say speculation is a necessary part of market activity. But the head of the U.N. Environment Program blames it for the high food prices. “We have enough food on this planet today to feed everyone.” Achim Steiner told the Associated Press.

Earlier, a member of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission didn’t accept the idea that speculators are the main cause. Bart Chilton blamed reduced harvests and grain supplies and the falling value of the dollar.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called heads of major international agencies to a meeting this week in the Swiss capital, Bern. He says high food prices could harm world trade, economic growth, social progress and political security.

1.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Vietnam has banned rice exports to other countries.

B．Thailand is the largest rice exporter in the world.

C．Some families are too poor to afford enough food.

D．Rising prices of food have led to the world food crisis.

2.Which country restricted food exports according to the passage?

A. Thailand.    B. Switzerland.    C. Vietnam.    D. The USA.

3.All of the following are the results of rising prices of food EXCEPT ____.

A．the worst food crisis

B．reduced harvests and grain supplies

C．people spending more money on food

D．pushing one hundred million people into hunger

4.What is the reason for the speculation according to the head of the U.N. Environment Program?

A．High food prices.

B．The falling value of the dollar.

C．Enough rice supplies in some countries.

D．Restricted food exports in some countries.

Taiwanese fishing boats that sailed to the Diaoyu Islands to protest Japan's "purchase" of part of the islands completed their voyage Tuesday morning and have set sail for home.
Local media reported that the boats finished their protest at 9:15 a.m. and are expected to return to a port in northeast Taiwan's Yilan county at noon Wednesday.
Although the boats originally numbered 75，they were joined at sea by other boats from different parts of Taiwan, raising the total number to about 100 vessels. Organizers said the voyage was made to protect Taiwanese fishing rights in nearby waters and to protest Japan's "purchase" of part of the Diaoyu Islands.
The Japanese government announced a plan to "purchase" part of the islands earlier this month despite repeated protests from the Chinese government. The action aroused demonstrations across China as well as consumers' boycott of Japanese products in recent weeks. Local authorities in Taiwan have also protested the move.
"Japan's purchase and nationalization of China's Diaoyu Islands are putting China-Japan economic and trade ties at risk due to man-made factors." An official spokesman from Beijing warned .
China-Japan economic and trade relations was back on track in 1952 when the two countries signed their first non-governmental trade agreement. Currently, China has been Japan's largest trade partner since 2007 while Japan is China’s fourth largest trade partner, after the EU, U.S. and the ASEAN. Meanwhile, China is the biggest destination for Japanese exports and biggest source of imports. In the first half of 2012, Japan's exports to China totaled 73.54 billion U.S. dollars, down 6.2 percent from the same period last year, while its import from China was 91.29 billion U.S. dollars, up 7 percent from the same period last year.
Now, China-Japan economic and trade relations are at a crossroads. Negotiation could be the way out of the rift.
【小题1】Why are China-Japan economic and trade relations at a crossroads?

A small town in southwest Britain is banning(禁止) plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste—a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe.

Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1500,agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday.They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead.

Last month,San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags.Internationally,laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland,where governments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out.Bangladesh already bans them,and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.

Modbury,about 225 miles southwest of London,has also declared a bag amnesty(宽限期),allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home.They will be sent for traveling.

The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking,who saw the effect of bags on marine life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman.She said response(反应) in the town so far had been “really positive”.

“Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway,”Hosking told Sky News Television.

The Worldwatch Institute,an environmental research agency,states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone.More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.

What was Rebecca Hosking?

A.A lawyer.                                                     B.An environmentalist.

C.A sailor.                                                       D.A photographer.

The underlined word “disposable” in the passage probably means _______.

A.acceptable                                                    B.valuable

C.throw-away                                                  D.long-lasting

It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A.most of the people in Modbury continue to use plastic bags

B.fewer and fewer plastic bags will be used in the world

C.San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic bags in the world

D.most countries in the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags

Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A.Environmental Protection

B.Big Cities Banning Plastic Bags

C.Effect of Plastic Bags on Sea Animals

D.British Town Banning Plastic Bags