Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their wandering hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started that farming process.
The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation (发酵) process by chance. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment.
The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, meaning “to drink”, and the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.
A vitamin-rich porridge, used daily, beer is reported to have increased health and longevity and reduced disease and malnutrition (营养不良). The self-medicating properties of alcohol-rich beer also eased the tensions and stresses of daily living in a hostile world. The use of yeast (酵母) was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air.
Considerable scientific research took place in breweries (酿酒厂) in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was Studies Concerning Beer where he revealed his knowledge of micro-organisms. By establishing that yeast is a living microorganism, Pasteur opened the gates for accurately controlling the conversion (转换) of sugar to alcohol.
Another discovery in beer brewing was the work of Christian Hansen, a Danish scientist, who successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the resulting yeast multiplication (繁殖) methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved.
【小题1】According to the passage, who was the first to brew beer?

Ticket price increases at HK Disney
Source：Xinhua | 02—05—2009 11：39
Hong Kong Disneyland announced on Tuesday it will raise weekday admission prices for mainland and overseas tourists by about 19 percent．But Hong Kong residents and tourists who purchase tickets through travel agents can still enjoy the old prices until June 30．　 　　　
A one-day admission will cost HK $350($45)for adults and HK $250 for children aged up to 11 from Monday, the previous charges for weekends．Adults were previously admitted for HK $295 and children HK $210．
A Hong Kong Disneyland spokesman said the park does not expect the new pricing structure to have an immediate impact on attendances, as research shows guests choose when to visit the attraction based on time available rather than ticket prices．But the hikes(the rise of prices)drew immediate criticism from the industry．The greater tourism industry fears it may harm mainlanders willingness to visit Hong Kong．　 　　　
Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the decision was unwise in the current financial climate．He also urged the company to rethink its decision, during an interview with Southern Metropolis Daily．　 　　　
【小题1】On September 10 of 2009(weekday), 　Hong Kong　 residents and tourists will have to spend        buying three children tickets．

A．Joseph Tung Yao-chung disagreed about the ticket price increase at HK Disney．

B．Hong Kong Disneyland will make a lot of money by raising weekday admission prices for mainland tourists．

C．The Hong Kong Disneyland spokesman didn't like the new pricing structure．

D．Only tourists from mainland visit Hong Kong Disneyland．

第三部分：阅读理解(共20小题．每小题3分，满分60分) 　　　　　　

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项( A, B，C，和D)中，进出最佳答案．并将答案写在答题卡上。

A　　

Ticket price increases at HK Disney

Source：Xinhua | 02—05—2009 11：39

Hong Kong Disneyland announced on Tuesday it will raise weekday admission prices for mainland and overseas tourists by about 19 percent．But Hong Kong residents and tourists who purchase tickets through travel agents can still enjoy the old prices until June 30．　　　　

A one-day admission will cost HK $350($45)for adults and HK $250 for children aged up to 11 from Monday, the previous charges for weekends．Adults were previously admitted for HK $295 and children HK $210．

A Hong Kong Disneyland spokesman said the park does not expect the new pricing structure to have an immediate impact on attendances, as research shows guests choose when to visit the attraction based on time available rather than ticket prices．But the hikes(the rise of prices)drew immediate criticism from the industry．The greater tourism industry fears it may harm mainlanders willingness to visit Hong Kong．　　　　

Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the decision was unwise in the current financial climate．He also urged the company to rethink its decision, during an interview with Southern Metropolis Daily．　　　　

56．On September 10 of 2009(weekday), 　Hong Kong　 residents and tourists will have to spend__________buying three children tickets．

A．HK $360    B．$　360    C　．HK $750  D．HK $885　　　　

57．There is a family with five people, John，his father，mother，grandfather and grandmother．They are from America, John is eleven years old．If they visit the place on June 30 2009(weekday)，they will spend about________in total．

A．$212   B．$　1650    C　．HK $1400  D．$1390　　　　

58．What can we infer from the passage?

A．Joseph Tung Yao-chung disagreed about the ticket price increase at HK Disney．

B．Hong Kong Disneyland will make a lot of money by raising weekday admission prices for mainland tourists．　　　　

C．The Hong Kong Disneyland spokesman didn't like the new pricing structure．

D．Only tourists from mainland visit Hong Kong Disneyland．　

I prefer the stories about the swimmers at the Beijing Olympics，one of which is about Zakia Nassar. She's a 21-year-old Palestinian __21__ Bethlehem studying dentistry in Jenin. Having had neither a __22__ nor a chance to an Olympic-sized pool in the past year, she had no choice but to __23__ on her own at a 12m public pool.

There is a 50-meter __24__ in nearby Nazareth, but the Israeli government did not __25__ her to use it.

Nassar was __26__ to training only when she returned to her parents' home in Bethlehem, __27__ she did so only about every two months for two days or so. __28__ the pool is only 12 meters long.

“My parents and friends always __29__ me, reminding me that I had to keep training if I __30  wanted to go to the Olympics,” she said.

It was only when Nassar __31__ China a month ago that she finally got the opportunity to swim in a 50m pool and enjoyed the __32__ of having a coach.

When she at last took part in the Games, she swam the 50m in 31.97 seconds, a(n) __33__ of seven seconds on her personal __34__. Nassar said it was the most beautiful moment of her life.

She will not __35__ on the cover of Time magazine or __36__ millions of dollars in endorsements（捐款）, but she can always say she won a race at the Olympics. For her, it wasn’t about __37__ the other swimmers or winning a prize, but about __38__ her own goal, __39__ difficult. When I think things are too difficult or I get those “I-just-can’t-do-it,” I think of her. Then I realize how __40__ the task before me really is.

The government-run command post in Tunis is staffed around the clock by military personnel, meteorologists and civilians. On the wall are maps, crisscrossed with brightly colors arrows that painstakingly track the fearsome path of the enemy.
　　What kind of invader gives rise to such high-level monitoring? Not man, not beast, but the lowly desert locust(蝗虫). In recent months, billions of the 3-inch-long winged warriors have descended on Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, blackening the sky and eating up crops and vegetation. The insect invasion, the worst in 30 years, is already creating great destruction in the Middle East and is now treating southern Europe. The current crisis began in late 1985 near the Red Sea. Unusually rainy weather moistened the sands of the Sudan, making them ideal seedbed for the locust, which lays its eggs in the earth. The insect onslaught threatens to create yet another African famine. Each locust can eat its weight (not quite a tenth of an ounce) in vegetation every 24 hours. A good-size swarm of 50 billion insects eats up 100,000 tons of grass, trees and crops in a single night.
　　All ﹩150 million may be needed this year. The U.S. has provided two spraying planes and about 50,000 gal. of pesticide. The European Community has donated ﹩3.8 million in aid and the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan and China have provided chemical-spraying aircraft to help wipe out the pests. But relief efforts are hampered by the relative mildness of approved pesticides, which quickly lose their deadly punch and require frequent replications. The most effective locust killer dieldrin has been linked to cancer and is banned by many Western countries and some of the affected African nations. More than 5 million acres have been dusted with locust-killing chemicals; another 5 million will be treated by the end of June.
　　On May 30, representatives of Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania will meet in Algiers to discuss tactics to wipe out the ravenous swarms. The move is an important step, but whatever plan is devised, the locust plague promised to get worse before the insects can be brought under control.
【小题1】The main idea of the first sentence in the passage is that ______.

A．to devise anti-locust plans.

B．to wipe out the swarms in two years.

C．to call out for additional financial aid from other nations.

D．to bring the insects under control before the plague gets worse.