New media has been growing fast and influencing people’s lives in ways few things have done before. In 2010, China’s new media industry witnessed explosive development. But with “new” comes uncertainties and challenges. The following are brief reviews on the development of China’s new media and outlooks on its future.

Micro-blogging (微博)   

Short and convenient, micro-blogs also experienced “a big bang” in China last year, with the number of micro-bloggers at China’s popular portal(门户网站) sina.com.cn almost doubling in less than six months. Afterwards, the other three major web portals, including sohu.com, qq.com and 163.com, each set up their own micro-blogging services. With more government officials and entities(实体) registering, China’s micro-blogging services are expected to play a more important role in connecting the public and the governments in 2011.

Search Engines

Baidu’s position in the search engine market would face fierce challenges from sohu.com,

Microsoft’s Bing and goso.cn from the People’s Daily. Xinhua is also preparing to start its search engine together with China Mobile, a leading company in mobile networks. Goso and Xinhua both have the advantage of providing content, while Bing has a big edge in technology and funds. They are expected to pose threats(威胁) to Baidu in 2011.

Internet of Things

IoT refers to a network of real-world objects linked by the Internet and interacting through on-line services. China set up its first IoT research center in Shanghai in March 2010.Within the same week, Premier Wen Jiabao stated in the annual government report that it would “accelerate the research and development, as well as application of the Internet of Things. ”

    However, some experts say China’s IoT is still in an early stage, and it’ll take a long time for it to let the public enjoy its full functions. 

40. What is the text mainly about?

    A. Some major media in China.

B. China’s new media and its future.

C. The development of China’s on-line services.

D. China’s early-stage IoT and its major functions.

How many web portals are mentioned in Paragraph 2?

    A. Two.        B. Three.          C. Four.            D. Five.

Which of the following will be Xinhua’ s partner to start a search engine? 

A. Baidu.       B. Sohu.com.        C. Goso.cn.         D. China Mobile.  

What does the underlined part “a big bang” in Paragraph 2 probably mean? 

   A. a deafening sound                     B. an explosive development

C. a terrible damage                        D. a demanding challenge 

In 1901, H. G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers (探险者) landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why?” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”

H. G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.

Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Chunnel”, a tunnel (隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.

But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities.” The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome (太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.

Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H. G. Wells “moon people” would agree. Would you?

5. The explorers in H. G. Wells’ story were surprised to find that the “moon people”      .

  A. knew so much about the earth

  B. understood their language

  C. lived in so many underground cities

  D. were ahead of them in space technology

6. What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) refer to?

  A. Discovering the moon’s inner space.

  B. Using the earth’s inner space.

  C. Meeting the “moon people” again.

  D. Traveling to outer space.

7. What sort of underground systems are already here with us?

  A. Offices, shopping areas, power stations.

  B. Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.

  C. Gardens, car parks, power stations.

  D. Tunnels, gardens, offices.

8. What would be the best title for the text?

  A. Alice Cities—cities of the future

  B. Space travel with H. G. Wells

  C. Enjoy living underground

  D. Building down, not up