CHENGDU—After flying for five minutes over Wenchuan，Li Xiang finally found a landing place for his helicopter（直升机）on a hill near the earthquake-hit county．

Li，an officer of the Aviation Regiment（陆航团）of the Chengdu Military Area Command，then made a soft landing and waited as his team got off food and medicine while the people around cried，“Thank you，soldiers! Finally，we have hope．”

After the quake，Li's regiment was the first to fly into the counties and towns such as Wenchuan，Maoxian，Yingxiu and Beichuan．

After struggling with all difficulties，the regiment provided a lifeline from the sky for the people who they would have been unable to get to in any other way．

At 2:28 pm on May 12．a heavy shake woke up the pilots who were taking a rest．At 2:48 pm，they were told to fly to the quake-hit area．And Li's regiment started the largest rescue（营救）operation in its history．

By Wednesday，the regiment had carried more than 304 tons of food，medicine and water．It had also flown 959 injured（受伤的）people out of the quake-hit areas and carried 1,232 rescuers and medical workers into the areas．

Since May 12，the regiment has made 815 flights into the quake-hit areas，with a total flying time of 758 hours．

The pilots also risked their lives for foreigners trapped in the high mountains for four days．On May 15，two helicopters transported 35 foreign tourists from Wolong village to Chengdu．The tourists，mainly from the US，the UK and France，could finally put an end to their panda-viewing trip．

1．According to the passage，                   ．

A．the helicopters got to the trapped people easily

B．no one flew to the area before Li’s regiment did

C．the regiment had not gone to any rescue before

D．the helicopters were used as they could land anywhere

2．It can be inferred from the passage that         were among the most needed soon after the quake happened．

A．tents，food and clothes                               B．food，medicine and water

C．food，water and clothes                             D．tents，water and medicine

3．Which of the following may NOT be included in the regiment’s tasks?

A．To carry medicine to the quake-hit areas．

B．To carry rescuers to the quake-hit areas．

C．To take injured people out of the quake-hit areas．

D．To take buried（被埋的）people out of the rubble（瓦砾）．

4．The foreign tourists who were rescued                ．

A．came from Europe，America and Oceania（大洋洲）

B．had been trapped in the mountains for 5 days

C．went to Sichuan to have a look at pandas

D．would continue their journey to Wolong

5．The proper title for the passage is “        ”．

A．They carry a lifeline through the air                     B．They carry things to quake-hit areas

C．They send love to people in danger               D．They bring trapped people to safety

News 1

Yuan Longping，the father of hybrid rice（杂交水稻），won the World Food Prize on Monday．Yuan developed the world first popular and Widely known hybrid rice．Hybrid rice plants can make more rice than common ones．

News 2

Liu Xiang won China's first gold medal in the world championships（锦标赛）in 12.95 seconds．

“Everybody wants to win a world title．I was nervous before the race．But I dealt with it so I'm very happy，” Liu said with a smile after the race．

Some reporters noticed that at the star，Liu Xiang was crying．He said that is his way of letting off pressure．“My start wasn't good，maybe because I was nervous or because I was a bit slow．” he said．

Liu will Fun next at the Shanghai Grand Prix（大奖赛）meeting at the end of September．He is confident（自信的）after winning the gold medal．“I want people to know how fast I am，” he said．“This is number one speed．There's nothing I can't do．”

News 3

Have you ever got angry at books that are full of mistakes? Don't worry，things will get better soon．Last week，China started checking textbooks，dictionaries and children's books all over the country．The government said the results of the check would come out at the end of June．

News 4

Last Wednesday Medvedev（梅德韦杰夫）took over from Vladimir Putin（普京）．At the age of 42，he becomes the youngest president of modern Russia．

Medvedev was born to a family of teachers．He read a lot from a young age．After university，the soft-spoken young man went on to teach law at university and became very popular with his students．

In 2005，Medvedev became the first deputy prime minister（第一副总理）．But he was as friendly as before．“He has not changed．He invited me to his home，”said Vera Smirnova，Medvedev's first teacher．“In Russia，only two politicians（政治家）have invited their first teachers to their homes，Medvedev and Putin．”

1．Yuan Longping won the World Food Prize because he                ．

A．is the father of his children                          B．likes to eat hybrid rice

C．developed hybrid rice                                  D．spent a long time to research hybrid rice

2．Why was Liu Xiang crying at the start?

A．He wanted to reduce pressure．                B．He was nervous．

C．He was a bit slow．                                    D．He was excited．

3．Checking textbooks，dictionaries and children's books will                ．

A．make sure the books are not too expensive    B．make the children unhappy

C．make sure there are few mistakes in them     D．make the government lots of money

4．According to News 4，Medvedev is now                   ．

A．a lawyer                                                 B．a teacher

C．the first deputy prime minister                     D．the youngest president of modern Russia

5．What Medvedev's first teacher said shows                  ．

A．Medvedev is as friendly as before

B．Medvedev and Putin were her students

C．Medvedev has changed

D．Medvedev and Putin invited her to their homes