Fans of the British royal family around the world are making plans for April 29th, 2011. That’s the date that Prince William and Catherine Middleton are to tie the knot at Westminster Abbey in London.
A royal wedding is a rare and unique event in Britain so for many it’s something worth celebrating, particularly if you are in the business of making memorabilia (收藏品).
Producers of these souvenirs are wasting no time in manufacturing key rings, mugs, teapots and tea towels, mostly with the faces of the happy couple emblazoned on the front. These are the must buy items that royal followers want to get their hands on.
Some people may argue the royal wedding is a huge public cost but production and sale of memorabilia is good for business. Former politician, Lord Archer, has commented that, “In this age when we are trying to balance the books, the royal family are a great benefit to Great Britain Limited.”
A porcelain-making company, called Royal Crown Derby, is already manufacturing souvenir pottery. Louise Adams from the company says “we started designing, truly, about two years ago.” It is big business for China too, where much of the merchandise that marks the big event is made.
But why are people so keen to get their hands on a commemorative mug, so much so that one British supermarket has already seen them flying off the shelves?
Obviously, we like to remember an event like this and maybe it makes us feel as though we are part of the occasion. However their monetary value is likely to be low. Eric Knowles from the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow claims, “The vast majority of it will be worthless.”
Modern day souvenirs tend to be mass-produced making them cheap and easy to find. However limited edition or high-end items tend to keep their value and could be a better investment for the future.
But there is one thing we can guarantee that won’t be mass-produced and cheap. That’s the wedding dress for Princess Catherine, as Catherine Middleton will be known.
(   ) 【小题1】. From the first three paragraphs we can learn that         .

Directions: Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one word that best fits
the context.
On the first day of classes at a Los Angeles high school, several American boys came up to a Chinese boy and said: “Hi, what’s up?”   48   hearing their greeting, the boy,   49    had just moved to the US with his parents, raised his head and looked at the sky.
This is a story told by David Chen,  50  31-year-old actor in Taiwan who recently launched a Sina mini-blog, on which he teaches easy English expressions.
“   51  me, the mini-blog is like a mirror．When I read the comments, I see myself more clearly.”
Chen made a breakthrough last year    52  he had a double-eyelid surgery．“I like making changes and I think it’s necessary,” he said．“I know many fans like my pretty boy image．But now I’m growing up, I want to look rougher and  53 mature.”
“When you have a new haircut, you do not need to explain it．__54___ is just like changing your mood to do so–if you feel happy, that’s great,” said Chen．“Young people should realize    
that sometimes you can just do what you want to do．You will eventually get support from others if you dare to be   55  .”
PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: read the following three passages．Each passages is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked with A, B, C and D．choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

Throughout this long, tense election, everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America. Rightly so. But selfishly, I’m more fascinated by Michelle Obama and what she might be able to do, not just for this country, but for me as an African-American woman. As the potential First Lady, she would have the world’s attention. And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African woman they so rarely see.
Usually, the lives of black women go largely unexamined. The widespread theory seems to be that we’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man. Even in the world of make-believe, black women still can’t escape the stereotype (模式化的形象) of being eye-rolling, oversexed females raised by our never-married, alcoholic mothers.
These images have helped define the way all black women are viewed, including Michelle Obama. Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause, charity or foundation as First Lady, her most urgent and perhaps most complicated duty may be simply to be herself.
It won’t be easy. Because few mainstream publications (出版物) have done in-depth features on regular African-American women, little is known about who we are, what we think and what we face on a regular basis. For better or worse, Michelle will represent us all.
Just as she will have her critics, she will have millions of fans who usually have little interest in the First Lady. Many African-American blogs have written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House — mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family. Michelle will have to work to please everyone — an impossible task. But for many African-American women like me, just a little of her poise (沉着), confidence and intelligence will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around far too long.
【小题1】Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author?

It is football time again．Currently, the qualifying rounds are being played to decide which countries will send teams to the next World Cup．Some Soccer is becoming more and more popular on a worldwide scale and these qualifying legs are causing much excitement．

The game is popular at club level as well．Many fans go every week to support their teams, whether the event is a home or away one, hoping to get a result．They all hope an attacking game, with a lot of goals being scored．Obviously, they do not want to see a boring, defensive match where the players are aimlessly passing the ball to each other．

Sadly, not all the action always takes place on the ground．All too frequently, there is action in the stands, too．Football supporters, most of whom declare their loyalty , by wearing their team colors, in the form of shirts, are not known for their quiet behavior．They are often very noisy, shouting noisy encouragement to their team and singing deafening songs．

There is much rivalry between supporters．Mostly, this is good-natured, but trouble can easily arise．Fans get angry if they feel that a referee has made a wrong decision, perhaps giving one of their team a red or yellow card unfairly, or perhaps failing to notice a foul committed by a member of the other team．

When trouble breaks out in a football crowd, it can be difficult to control．Stadium officials often seat the opposing fans in separate parts of the ground as a precaution against fighting． However, preventing trouble is more difficult outside the ground．In the worst cases, riot （暴乱）police have to be called in．

Unfortunately, there are some fans who enjoy this violent aspect of football．These football hooligans （流氓） really enjoy a running battle with the police, and call up other people to throw stones and bottles at them．They regard football not only as a sport, but as an excuse for trouble makings．Inevitably, their behavior spoils the reputation of the game．

1.The qualifying rounds are played to ______．

    A．make the game more exciting      B．attract soccer fans at club level

    C．raise funds for the organization D．select the teams for the next rounds

2.What do football fans hope to see?

    A．A home game．                        B．A defensive game．

    C．An exciting game．                  D．An evenly matched game．

3.Riot police are called in ______．

    A．to stop lighting occurring outside the ground

    B．to separate the opposing fans inside the ground

    C．as a precaution against trouble inside the ground

    D．as a precaution against lighting outside the ground

4.It is implied in the last paragraph that ______．

    A．football has a poor reputation

    B．football hooligans are crazy about the games

    C．football fans enjoy spoiling games

    D．football can be an excuse for troublemaking

This is the VOA Special English News Report．
Single--handed(独自的)
Zhou Yang，18，China
Against three strong Republic of Korea competitors，Zhou single—handed took the l，500一meter short speed skating gold to become China’s youngest winter Olympics gold medalisi．According to Coach Li Yan，Zhou，who is usually a gentle girl，took some risks and skated fiercely to take the gold．This is the third gold the Chinese have won at the Vancouver Olympics．
Unobtrusive(不显眼的)
Liu Xiang，26，China   
The Olympic gold medalist said on Friday that he’s not the same old him，after setting his worst record in years——8．08 seconds for 60一meter hurdles．Liu said he still had some way to go before he’s back to his best．Many fans have been expecting his taking--off in the 2010 Doha，but Liu said unobtrusively“Robles is still the best in the 60一meter and 1l0—meter hurdles．
I’m no match now”．He added the performances of Terrence Trammell(US)and Robles would be the highlight of the Doha meet．
Coveted(令人垂涎的)
Michael Jackson，1958—2009，US
Thanks to a whopping(庞大的) $350，000 bid，Michael Jackson’s rhinestone—encrusted(镶满人造钻石的) glove has gone to a Macao company．Jackson wore the sparking glove when he did his first“moonwalk” dance in 1983，so it was a really coveted piece of equipment．The pre—auction estimate put its value at $40，000～60，000，but that wasn’t even close . The glove and nine other items from the auction will be on display in a Macao hotel.
1．From the first news we can learn that Zhou Yang __________
A. likes taking chances in the competitions
B．won three  gold medaIs at the olympics．
C．is not a gentle but a fierce girl
D．is a hard--working and strong--minded girl
2．From the above news，we can infer Liu Xiang__________
A．is not popular with his fans any longer
B．is still out of condition at present
C．is feeling discouraged and depressed
D. is sure of the highlight of the Doha meet
3．The underlined part“but that wash’t even close”probably means __________
A．the pre--auction estimate may be totally wrong
B．the actual price may be far higher than the estimate
C．the glove is not worth the pre--auction estimate
D．the pre—auction estimate is probably correct
4．Where can we probably learn the passage?
A．Broadcast    B.  Announcement    C．Advertisement   D．Newspaper