In Memory of Princess Diana

The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund is one of the charities to benefit（获益） from the Diana Concert on 1 July. Princes William and Harry chose the Fund because it supports their mother’s favorite organizations.

The Memorial Fund welcomed the news. “We are very happy that Princes William and Harry want to help the Fund. We hope the concert is a great success.”

The Memorial Fund was set up within days of the Princess’s death in 1997 because so many people wanted to donate money. In her life Diana did a lot of work for charities. The Memorial Fund is a way of making sure that this work continued after Diana’s death.

During the first year the Fund gave money to the organizations Diana supported during her life. She was well-known for her work with poor and disabled people in the UK and in Africa. The Fund continued this work by helping poor people all over the world.

In the last ten years the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund has raised millions of pounds. The Fund gave out £70 million to 350 organizations around the world. The Diana Concert takes place on 1 July 2007. The concert has been organized by Princes William and Harry to celebrate their mother’s life. 1 July is Princess Diana’s birthday and the Princes hope the concert is the “best birthday present she ever had”!

                                    ---Adapted from Thames Daily （选自《泰晤士河日报》）

(    ) 54. The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was set up ________.

         A. in 1997                 B. in 1998              C. in 2005             D. in 2007

(    ) 55. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

         A. Princess Diana died in 1997.

         B. Princess Diana was born on 1 July.

         C. The Princess Concert took place on 1 July, 1997.

         D. The Fund helps poor people in the UK and in Africa.

(    ) 56. From this passage we can infer（推断）that________.

         A. all the money of the Memorial Fund is used for the concert

         B. Princes William and Harry love their mother very much

         C. only the Memorial Fund benefits from the concert

         D. the Memorial Fund helps the disabled all over the world

The owner of a missing cat is asking for help. “My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly,” said Mrs. Brown, a 56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown lives by herself in a trailer park near Clovis. She said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn’t come home for dinner more than a month ago. The next morning he didn’t appear for breakfast either. After Clyde missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.

When the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had all his teeth but was missing half of his left ear, and was seven years old and completely white. She then told the officer that Clyde was about a foot high.

A bell went off. “Is Clyde your child or your pet?” the officer suspiciously asked. “Well, he’s my cat, of course,” Mrs. Brown replied. “Lady, you’re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS,” said the sppeadeotoned policeman. “Well, who can I report this to?” she asked. “You can’t. You have to ask around your neighborhood or put up flyers,” replied the officer.

Mrs. Brown figured that a billboard would work a lot better than an 8”x11” piece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the interstate（州际公路） highway. The billboard had a phone number on it. She called that number, and they told her they could blow up a picture of Clyde (from Mrs. Brown’s family album) and put it on the billboard for all to see.

“But how can people see it when they whiz（快速移动） by on the interstate?” she asked. “Oh, don’t worry, ma’am, they only whiz by between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is so full of commuters that no one moves.” They told her it would cost only $3,000 a month. So she took most of the money out of her savings account and rented the billboard for a month.

The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper to see if anyone could help her rent the billboard for just one more month. She is waiting but, so far, no one has stepped forward.

1.How long has the cat been missing?

A．More than a month                      B．More than two months

C．More than three months                  D．It’s been back.

2.Who did the old lady finally turn to for help?

A．A billboard company                     B．The police

C．The phone company                     D．The interstate telephone line

3.How is the old lady like?

A．Stupid            B．Loving            C．Smart            D．Decisive(有决断力的)

4.The underlined word was mistyped（打错了）. But we can still guess it’s most probable meaning:____________.

A．angry            B．surprised          C．happy            D．excited

5.What’s the best title for this passage?

A．An advertisement                       B．A missing cat

C．A pet’s story                          D．Life without cat

The owner of a missing cat is asking for help. “My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly,” said Mrs. Brown, a 56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown lives by herself in a trailer park near Clovis. She said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn’t come home for dinner more than a month ago. The next morning he didn’t appear for breakfast either. After Clyde missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.
When the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had all his teeth but was missing half of his left ear, and was seven years old and completely white. She then told the officer that Clyde was about a foot high.
A bell went off. “Is Clyde your child or your pet?” the officer suspiciously asked. “Well, he’s my cat, of course,” Mrs. Brown replied. “Lady, you’re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS,” said the sppeadeotoned policeman. “Well, who can I report this to?” she asked. “You can’t. You have to ask around your neighborhood or put up flyers,” replied the officer.
Mrs. Brown figured that a billboard would work a lot better than an 8”x11” piece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the interstate（州际公路） highway. The billboard had a phone number on it. She called that number, and they told her they could blow up a picture of Clyde (from Mrs. Brown’s family album) and put it on the billboard for all to see.
“But how can people see it when they whiz（快速移动） by on the interstate?” she asked. “Oh, don’t worry, ma’am, they only whiz by between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is so full of commuters that no one moves.” They told her it would cost only $3,000 a month. So she took most of the money out of her savings account and rented the billboard for a month.
The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper to see if anyone could help her rent the billboard for just one more month. She is waiting but, so far, no one has stepped forward.
【小题1】How long has the cat been missing?

What’s the meaning of “dark horse”? It’s someone who wins when no one expects it. Han Xiao’peng took China’s first gold on snow. He became an Olympic “dark horse” last Thursday by winning the gold medal in men’s freestyle aerial skiing(自由式滑雪空中技巧) at Turin in Italy. He made two almost perfect jumps for the highest score. Han had never won a world gold medal before, let alone(更不用说) in the Olympics!

“I never thought this would happen,” said the 23-year-old. “I feel like I’m in a dream.” It’s China’s second gold medal at the Turin Olympics. But more important, Han’s gold was the country’s first ever in a snow sport. In 2002, China’s Yang Yang won the gold for speed skating at the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, US. Just because Han’s win was unexpected doesn’t mean that he didn’t work hard.

Han grew up in Jiangsu Province. Before he started his training on snow, he used to be an acrobat(杂技演员) at a circus. In 1995, a coach found his talent(才能). The coach, Yang Er’qi, said Han had the agility(灵活性) and courage to be a ski jumper. When Yang first took the 12-year-old to northern China, the boy couldn’t swim, skate or ski. But he wasn’t afraid of the high platform(跳台) and kept on training.

Han almost left the sport after hurting his knee months before the Salt Lake Games. In that Olympics he only got 24th. “I was hopeless at that time, but my family and the coach stood firmly(坚强地) behind me, helping me through,” he recalled.

    Han Xiaopeng worked so hard that he won the gold medal in the Olympics at last. Because of his success, more and more people in China are becoming interested in skiing. We are proud of him and we hope he will have another big success in the next winter Olympics.

56. What does ‘dark horse’ mean? It means _____________.

   A. a horse which is dark                               B. someone who is expected to win

   C. a horse which likes living in the dark                   D. someone whose win is unexpected

57. Where did Han Xiaopeng take China’s first gold on snow?

   A. In China   .    B. In Italy.      C. In America.    D. In Australia.

58. What made the coach, Yang Er’qi, choose Han Xiaopeng to be a ski jumper?

   A. He had the agility and wasn’t afraid of the high platform.

   B. He was good at skiing though he was only 12 years old.

   C. He was born in the north of China and liked sports on snow.

   D. He had the talent and he had won a world gold medal before.

59. Which of the following sentences is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

   A. He was 23 when he won the gold medal at the winter Olympics.

   B. He made two almost perfect jumps and got the highest score.

   C. No one had won the gold before Han Xiaopeng at the winter Olympics.

   D. He never gave up even though he had faced many difficulties.

60. What is the best title for this passage?

   A. A Dark Horse at the Winter Olympics           B. A Wonderful Match

   C. A Hopeless Snow Game                     D. An Exciting Horse Race

If someone asks me: “Do you like music?” I’m sure I will answer him or her: “Of course, I do.” Because I think music is an important part of our life.

Different people have different ideas about music. For me, I like rock music because it’s so exciting. And my favorite rock band, the “Foxy Ladies”(酷妹) is one of the most famous rock bands in the world. I also like pop music. My classmate Li Lan loves dance music, because she enjoys dancing. My best friend, Jane, likes jazz music. She thinks jazz is really cool.

“I like dance music and rock very much,” says my brother, “because they are amazing.”

But my mother thinks rock is boring.” I like some relaxing music,” she says. That’s why she likes country music, I think.

56. The writer likes music because he thinks _______.

A. it’s an exciting part of our lives           B. it’s an amazing part of our lives

C. it’s an important part of our lives         D. it’s a relaxing part of our lives

57. What kind of music does the writer like?

A. Rock and pop music.                    B. Rock and dance music.

C. Jazz and country music.                 D. Dance and pop music.

58. Who likes dancing?

A. The writer.           B. Li Lan.           C. Jane.          D Mother.

59. The writer’s mother thinks that country music is ______.

A. amazing             B. boring            C. relaxing        D. exciting

60. How many people’s ideas about music are talked about in this passage?

A. 4.                   B.5.                 C. 6.             D. 7.