As everyone knows, there are many 　16　 of transportation in the world, like bicycles, buses, ships, trains and 　17　 .

If you are in big  18　like Shanghai or Beijing, maybe you get to school   19  a subway or you have to 　20　 to school because you live in a mountain village. Here I am just trying to say something about　21　 .

Ten years　22　, bicycles were very　23　in most villages.  24　 family had one or two of bicycles. Children got to school by bicycle; 　25　 rode bicycles to go shopping. Then motorcycles (摩托车)   26  to become popular. People no longer rode bicycles because motorcycles ran   27  faster.  But now, in some countries，bicycles are highly suggested

  28  the main means of transportation. They think buses, cars and motorcycles pollute(污染) the air but bicycles   29  . So, to live a low-carbon life,   30  a bike is a good way.

Tokyo, March 11, 2011

Could it have been worse?

More than a minute before the earth under their feet began to shake, many millions of Japanese people got cell phone alerts; TV networks interrupted (打断,中断) their broadcasts and turned to the latest announcement of Japanese government; loud speakers started suddenly to warn people of the coming tsunami; bullet trains came to a stop. The earthquake on March 11 was the first test of the nation’s earthquake early-warning technology (地震预警技术). However, in the fight of Man vs Nature, Nature won again. Hundreds, if not thousands of people, lost their lives in Japan. Scientists believe it is the fifth-strongest quake in the world since 1900 and the most powerful on record ever to hit Japan.

Lin tells of calm survivors

When the office began to shake, his friends were calm and still working. But the shaking became stronger. People shouted at him: “Run out of the building, now!” This was Lin Jia’s first experience of an earthquake. Lin, 26, has been in Japan for three months, working as a software engineer in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Lin stayed with others in a bus station all afternoon. Buildings were shaken by a series(系列) of aftershocks. He was nervous, but the people around him were so calm and organized that he gradually (逐渐) calmed down.

1. What does the underlined word “alert” mean?

A. 闹钟          B. 警报             C. 短信            D. 铃声

2. How many ways of earthquake early-warning are mentioned in the passage?

A. 2             B. 3                 C. 4               D. 5

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Lin Jia has never met with an earthquake in Japan.

B. There have been five earthquakes in Japan since 1900.

C. The earthquake is the most powerful on record ever to hit Japan.

D. The local government warned people of the coming earthquake in some ways.

4. What is the most important after an earthquake according to the article?

A. Keep away from the nuclear power plants.

B. Running out of the building. 

C. Keep calm and organized.    

D. Get the cell phone alerts

5. Where does this article probably come from?

A. a newspaper      B. an advertisement     C. a diary          D. a novel

Here are some facts about homes in the United States and the people who live in them. In the early 1990s, about 50% of the Americans owned their homes and the rest rented (租) their homes. The rented homes were usually apartments (公寓).
74% of the people in the US make their homes in or around cities. 26% live in the country. Dogs live in about 40% of all homes in the US. About half that number have cats.
Families in the US are becoming smaller. On the average (平均), 2.64 people lived at home in early 1990s. In 1960, the average was 3.5.
Half of the teenagers in the US have their own bedrooms.
An American moves, on the average, twelve times in his or her life. In Japan a person moves about five times, and in England a person moves eight times.
【小题1】Most Americans live ________, according to the passage.