When Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, apologized for the recalls that have harmed Toyota’s reputation, he talked not just about his company’s fate, but also his nation’s.
“I hope to return Toyota to profit and contribute to the revitalization of Japan,” he said.
Once a leading symbol of Japan’s rise to global economic might, Toyota has become one of the most obvious signs of its decline. And even before the recalls, Japan’s rivals(竞争对手) from South Korea and China had started overtaking Japan in key industries from semi－conductors to flat-panel televisions. And Toyota on Tuesday issued another damaging recall, this time of its popular Prius car.
“At this rate, Japan will sink into the sea,” said Masatomo Tanaka, a professor at the Institute of Technologists. “If Toyota is not healthy, then Japan is not healthy.”
Many economists and business leaders say they hope that Toyota’s trouble will be the wake – up call that Japan needs to understand that its reliance on manufacturing(制造业) and industrial exports, which served the country so well after World War II, is no longer wise.
Yukio Noguchi, a professor of finance at Waseda University in Tokyo, said Japan must finally step into a post - industrial, service-based economy — a painful shift that the United States and Great Britain underwent in the 1980s. Others said Japan should focus on high-end, high-profit products, like robots and fuel cells, rather than mass-produced goods subject to quality-control issues.
“Even Toyota can fail. Even Lexus, even Prius,” said Mr. Noguchi. “Our world-leading manufacturing industry may no longer world-leading. This has a strong impact on the national psyche.”
According to the Cabinet Office, manufacturing accounted for 22% of Japan’s entire economic output in 2008, down from 28% in 1990. however, manufacturing’s share of the economy still remains far above the level of 12% in the US. And few economists or journalists here advocate abrupt shifting. Rather, the feeling is that Japan needs to find a new balance by replacing its traditional industries with more information technology and software industries in which it is weak.
Yet this shift will be hard for Japan, where many policy makers and experts still seem to cling to the old model of heavy industries and consumer goods. If Japan can pull it off, it could serve as a model for other export – dependent Asian nations, which will also eventually face the same choice.
“I hope that Toyota will change our way of looking at our economy,” Mr Noguchi said. “We cannot survive if we continue to stick to the old type of industries.”
67．Since the Second World War,          have been contributing much to Japan’s economy.
A．high – end and high – profit products like robots and fuel cells
B．manufacturing and industrial exports
C．information technology and software industries
D．industries from semi – conductors to panel – televisions
68．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage above?
A．Few Japanese economists advocate a rapid shift into a service – based economy.
B．Most journalists in Japan advocate an abrupt change into a post – industrial economy.
C．Many economists hold that it is too early for Japan to shift into a service – based economy.
D．No Japanese reporters think it high time for Japan to step into a post – industrial economy.
69．The underlined part “cling to” probably means         in the passage.
A．hold on to       B．keep up with    C．turn to      D．pick up
70．From the passage we know the way out for Japan to get itself free from its decline consists in
.
A．keeping up its reliance on manufacturing
B．continuing to focus on its industrial export
C．speeding up its shift into a post – industrial economy
D．increasing its manufacturing

阅读文章后，从第55至58题所给A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案

       America’s No.1 health problem？A report published by the American Institute of Stress claims the biggest threat to health today is neither cancer nor AIDS．The report says：“it has been estimated that 75-90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related problems．’’

       It is no exaggeration（夸张）to say that people today are being attacked by stress．According to the National Consumers League，“Work is the top source of stress for adults who have problems and stress in their lives（39％）．Other sources include health（10％），concern about the economy（9％）and concern about international conflict and terrorism（4％）”

       However, stress is hardly unique to the United States A British survey in 2005 estimated that ‘‘over half a million individuals in Britain believed in 2004 that they were experiencing work-related stress at a level that was making them ill”．As a result of“work-related stress,depression or anxiety”, there are“an estimated thirteen and a half million reported lost working days per year in Britain”

       The picture is no less bleak in mainland Europe. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work．“work-related stress has been shown to affect millions of European workers across all types of employment sectors’’ One survey revealed that there are “about 41 million workers affected by work-related stress each year．”

       What about Asia？A report issued by a conference held in Tokyo concluded，“Job stress is a common concern among many countries in the world，both developing and industrialized countries”．The report observed that“several countries in East Asia，including China and Korea, have rapidly industrialized and economically grown”．These countries now have a lot of concerns on job stress and its harmful effects on workers’ health.

Which of the followings is NOT true？

       A．Cancer and AIDS are not so threatening as health problems caused by stress．

       B．Stress is always from working and living pressure.

       C．More than one third of adults suffer from stress problems in America．

       D．Stress has become a world-wide problem.

What does the sentence“The picture is no less bleak in mainland Europe’’ probably mean？

       A．There is no hope for mainland Europe.

       B．There is no working stress in mainland Europe．

       C．The picture in mainland Europe is very beautiful.

       D．The stress situation in mainland Europe is serious too．

We can infer from the last paragraph that       ．

       A．Asian people lead a better life

       B．industry and economy have grown rapidly in China

       C．some Asians have health problems from employment stress

       D．the rapid economical development is the main reason for stress

What would be the best title for the text？

      A．Attacked by Stress       B．Attention to Health

      C．Effects of Stress            D．Health Report

English is spoken as a first language by most people in the USA, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. However, English is spoken all over the world. It is the main language in over 60 countries, such as India, Singapore and in many of the Caribbean and Pacific islands. In those places English is often a second language.

English is also as an important international language in many other countries, like China and Japan. People in these countries use it for business, and travelers to these countries use English when they get there. Other people may learn English because they enjoy reading books in English, listening to British or American music or watching American films.

English has changed a lot these years and still goes on changing. It is no longer right to talk about British English or American English if the speaker doesn’t come from those countries. People in Japan or Korea, for example, may use the American spelling but may not sound like Americans.

English will be the most widely used language in the world in the 21^st century. This language no longer belongs to British, American or Australian speakers. It belongs to anyone who can use this language. After you leave school, you will almost certainly need it.

1.In how many countries is English spoken as a first language in the world?

2.In which other countries is English spoken as a main language?

3.People from other countries learn English for         .

4.If people in Japan or Korea use the American spelling, they         .

5.Which topic is the best for the passage?

Over the past few months, PSY’s funny video for “Gangnam Style” has become a YouTube sensation, resulting in over 112,000,000 views since July 15. It’s also been Tweeted more than 780,000 times and received over 260, 000 likes on Facebook, reports Mashable.com.

With the rapper(说唱歌手) making an appearance at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, here’s what you need to know about the break-out artist.

His real name is Park Jae-Sang. The 35-year-old Korean pop rapper is known for his comedic music videos and performances. The video for “Gangnam Style” is no exception. When his first album PSY—From the Psycho World! was released in 2001, he was nicknamed “PSY” because of his unusual dress, special lyrics(歌词) and funny dance movies.

Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首尔). Gangnam may only be 15 square miles, but the district in Seoul, South Korea, is home to the headquarters of some of the country’s most influential companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The region also makes up 7% of South Korea’s GDP. 41% of students at Seoul University, a very famous college, come from Gangnam. The lyrics of PSY’s song describe the personality of a girl and a guy.

He studied in the U.S. Born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, PSY attended Banpo Elementary School, Banpo Middle School and Eva High Sch ool. But when it came time to achieve a college degree, the rapper attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music in the U.S.

“Gangnam Style” is giving K-pop international fame. “Gangnam Style” is currently No.1 on the iTunes music video chart. The video has surpassed Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”; Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”; and Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. This is the first time a Korean artist has ranked this high on iTunes.

1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The success of “Gangnam Style”.

B．The origin of “Gangnam Style”.

C．The result of the Music Award.

D．The childhood of PSY.

2.According to the text, PSY              .

A．is already in his forties now

B．made his first album in 2003

C．danced only in his “Gangnam Style”

D．has developed his special comedic style

3.Which of the following about Gangnam is TRUE?

A．It is the capital of South Korea.

B．It is rich and better developed.

C．Seoul University lies in it.

D．It covers about 90 square miles.

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．“Gangnarn Style” isn’t popular in English-speaking countries.

B．PSY will be given another big prize for music in the future.

C．iTunes is the No.1 music company on the internet.

D．“Gangnam Style” has won the most worldwide popularity.

Nuclear­powered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia.

The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclear­powered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel(柴油)­powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military (军事的) cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in military alliance (同盟) moves.

It will be the first time that a nuclear­powered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War Ⅱ at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclear­powered weapons are based.

“A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage，” said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier.

The 44­year­old Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned(使退役) in 2008. The new carrier, yet to be unveiled, will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology.

Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the US­Japan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region.

“There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense，” said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed.

1.With such a fearful weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens ________.

A．are aware of its benefits to the country

B．are anxious about its potential danger

C．are curious about the advanced technology

D．are against where the carrier will be based

2.The replacement of the aircraft carrier is intended to________.

A．set up a kind of base in Japan

B．strengthen the US­Japan military alliance

C．show Japan's greater military capability

D．get rid of the dated marine weapon

3.From the story, we learn that________.

A．no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers

B．Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons

C．Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier

D．Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclear­powered aircraft carrier

4.The underlined word “unveiled” in the fifth paragraph probably means________.

A．perfected                             B．discussed about

C．produced                             D．brought to view