8、A 24-year-old Los Angeles man was taken to a hospital and then to county prison after leading police on a one-hour freeway chase （追赶） in a stolen SUV. The chase  1   in downtown Los Angeles in front of the Spring Hotel. Most of the chase was  2   , except for an empty   3    of wine that the driver threw at one police vehicle.

When the driver got into downtown,  4    started to happen. He ran over a fire hydrant（水龙头）. The water poured out of the hydrant,  5    all the books in several carts （手推车） that a seller had put outside to   6    customers into his bookstore. The driver   7    turned west onto Grand Avenue and managed to knock into three   8    cars on one side of that street and two cars on the other side. The driver also tried to run over   9   , who was standing in the   10    ordering him to stop.

Turning north, the driver caused a bus to hit its   11   to avoid a crash. The bus was empty, and the bus driver was uninjured．  12   , two police cars that were chasing the SUV   13    different directions were not so   14   . One of them ran into the front of the bus, and the other into the back.  15    the drivers had braked early enough, the damage to their cars was   16   . Both officers continued the chase.

They only went two   17    north to find that the SUV had come to a full stop because it had   8    into a newspaper stand in front of the Spring Hotel. The driver   19    heavily behind the steering wheel（方向盘）. The police   20   the driver with failure to give in to a police officer.

1．A．began                   B．happened             C．ended                  D．resulted

2．A．pleasant                B．common              C．surprising            D．unusual

3．A．tank                      B．box                     C．case                    D．bottle

4．A．things                  B．objects                C．fights                  D．kills

5．A．ruining                 B．separating            C．softening             D．boring

6．A．please                   B．attract                 C．fill                      D．admit

7．A．slowly                  B．carefully              C．hurriedly             D．suddenly

8．A．hidden                  B．broken                C．passing               D．parked

9．A．another driver        B．a passer-by          C．the seller             D．a police officer

10．A．crosswalk           B．police box            C．shop nearby         D．police vehicle

11．A．lights                   B．brakes                 C．engines               D．wheels

12．A．Besides               B．Instead                C．However             D．Therefore

13．A．from                  B．into                     C．under                  D．toward

14．A．proud                  B．lucky                  C．regretful              D．sorry

15．A．Before                 B．Although             C．Because              D．When

16．A．effective              B．serious                C．normal                D．slight

17．A．steps                   B．shops                  C．meters                D．blocks

18．A．rushed                B．entered                C．came                  D．backed

19．A．flew                    B．fell                      C．flowed                D．fled

20．A．provided              B．impressed            C．charged               D．marked

7、In the middle of the first term of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was not in school, but in the woods.

One day, Miss White’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve!! Pay attention!”. Steve turned to look at her, fixing his eyes on Miss White, as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.

“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, her eyes searching his face. “...The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!” She just stared at Steve. Steve dropped his eyes.

After that, it was war!! Steve still wouldn’t do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn.

“Just try it! ONE WEEK!” He was unmoved.

 “You’re smart enough! You’ll see a change!” Nothing touched him.

“Give yourself a chance! Don’t give up on your life!” Nothing.

“Steve! Please! I care about you!”

Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it!! Someone cared about him? Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, both parents were out. He, quickly, gathered up a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and this time...his schoolbooks.

   The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and he waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all smiles! God, she was beautiful!

Miss White, immediately, gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried through the test and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss White took his paper. Obviously puzzled, she began to look it over. Miss White’s face was in total shock! The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just passed his first test!

From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same, but life still changed．He discovered that not only could he learn, but he was good at it!

He discovered that he could understand knowledge and translate the things he learned into his own life. Steve began to go ahead!

1．Steve used to be bad at his lessons because___________.

     A．the teacher blamed him from time to time

     B．he was not a smart boy in his class

     C．the test for the seventh grade challenged his confidence

     D．he hadn’t put his heart into his studies

2．The underlined word “stubborn” in the passage probably refers to “_______”.

    A．severely punished                 B．completely unchanged

    C．careless with the homework         D．lost in the test

3．It was the ______that made Steve begin to work hard at his lessons later.

    A．teacher’s encouragement           B．help from his classmates

    C．care from the teacher              D．failure in the test for the seventh grade

4．Which of the following descriptions is TRUE according to the passage?

      A．Steve often helped his parents work in the woods instead of going to school.

    B．The teacher punished Steve for his failure in the test for the seventh grade.

    C．Steve not only made progress but finally became a good student of the class.

    D．Steve was actually a clever boy, but Miss White hadn’t realized it at first.

6、Rock and roll music first became popular in the 1950s. There were many popular rock and roll singers during that time, but only a few of those singers are still popular. Most people today are familiar with the singer named Elvis Presley.

Elvis Presley sang different types of music．He sang country and blues music． He also sang music that you might hear in church, but it was rock and roll music that made Elvis very popular. In fact, the songs of Elvis became so famous that people gave the singer a special name. Everyone started to call him “the King of Rock and Roll.” Today many people still call him “the king” for short.

Other famous singers have also been given special names. Not everyone always agrees with their names, but many newspapers and magazines use the names. For example, in the 1980s pop music became famous, and Michael Jackson was the most popular singer. People thought that the pop music was really just one kind of rock and roll music, so they did not want to call Michael Jackson “King.” Elvis was still the king. As a result, Michael Jackson was given the name “the Prince of Pop.” However, Michael Jackson was not the only famous pop singer in the 1980s. Madonna was also very popular. She was given the name “the Queen of Pop.” More than one woman has been called “the Princess of Pop.” Two of the most famous “Pop Princesses” are Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera．

It is interesting that no woman was ever named “the queen of rock and roll.” There was a Queen of Disco and a Queen of Country music, but never a Queen of Rock. Maybe in the years to come, a woman who is singing now will get that special name.

1．This passage is mainly about _________.

A．how to make country music

B．special names for famous singers

C．a king who enjoyed playing music

D．a queen who was fond of singing songs

2．How many famous singers are mentioned in this passage?

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

3．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Rock and roll was popular in the 1940s.

B．There have been two queens of rock and roll.

C．It is certain that a woman singing now will be named “Queen of rock”.

D．Many people once thought pop was one type of rock and roll music．

4．From this passage we can learn that _________.

A．people always agree on titles for these famous musicians

B．there has been only one princess of pop

C．there were many rock and roll singers in the 1950s

D．there has never been a Queen of Country music so far

5、Tell our story, make your mark

Havering is one of London’s largest towns. It is a place of contrasts, from the shopping and nightlife of Romford to the cultural quarter of Hornchurch; from the industrial Thames riverside in Rainham to the ambitious regeneration（复兴） project in Harold Hill. The London Borough of Havering has a great story to tell, and we’re looking for the right people to tell it.

Campaigns and Marketing Manager

A creative strategist（战略家） is needed to plan and deliver campaigns that change behavior across the town and form Havering’s reputation beyond its borders.

Media Manager

An experienced professional is required, who fully understands how the news media works and works well under pressure. You will manage a team of three, as well as our media message.

Communications Business Manager

As a senior member of the communications team, you will be part salesperson and part business strategist, with wide-ranging power to increase our commercial potential as much as possible and save taxpayers’ money.

Senior Media Officers

Two experienced persons are needed to turn the stories that we talk about into the stories that everyone is talking about.

Community Newspaper Journalist （12month contract at the beginning）

Our community newspaper, Living, is being expanded as an energetic publication once every two weeks. We need an editor and a journalist or writer who produces brilliant copy, even against the tightest deadlines.

Pay & grading award are yet to be decided for all posts.

Full details are available on our website. For an informal conversation about these positions, please contact Mark Leech, Head of Communications, by calling 01708 434373.

Any disabled applicants, meeting the necessary standards set out in the profile（简介） for a job, will be guaranteed an interview.

Please apply online via the Council's website at www.havering.gov.uk or contact the Recruitment Team at 01708 433039.

Closing date for completed applications is Friday, 18th April 2008.

Interviews will be scheduled for the week beginning 28th April 2008.

1．Havering is in need of high-level personnel ________.  

      A．to tell stories                         B．to make it known  

      C．to understand how news media works     D．to plan and deliver campaigns

2．The underlined word “contrasts” in the first paragraph means_______.

       A．differences        B．similarities      C．interests         D．achievement

3． _________ has to be a salesperson, drawing business plans at the same time.

      A．Community Newspaper Journalist        B．Senior Media Officers

      C．Campaigns and Marketing Manager       D．Communications Business Manager

4．We can learn from the passage that _________.

      A．disabled applicants will be guaranteed an interview

      B．all the applicants will be interviewed on 28th April 2008

      C．applicants should hand in the application forms before 28th April 2008

      D．applicants can talk with Mark Leech about the position on the website

4、Saturday, January 30, 2009 ---- A week-long heat-wave has caused disaster in southern Australia, where bushfires have destroyed up to ten homes, weather records have been broken, and up to 19 people, many elderly, have died during high temperatures averaging over 40°C （104F）.

In what is described as "Black Friday", bushfires are burning across the east of the southern state of Victoria, which today rises to a high of 45.1C, its record-breaking third continuous day above 43°C．

The bushfires ----- two blazes that combined after wiping out a plantation at the town of Boolarra in the Latrobe Valley to the east of Melbourne ----- have so far destroyed a reported ten homes and burned through more than 2,260 hectares.

Five hundred firefighters have tried to hold back the blazes over the past 24 hours but they are still burning.

One woman in Boolarra, named Laura, has lost her home and told the Australian Broadcasting that Melbourne and Adelaide were disrupted（混乱）by power blackouts as millions of overheated people switched on air conditioners, and people faced lengthy transport delays as train and streetcar lines buckled（扭曲）in the heat.

In Adelaide nineteen, mainly elderly, people are reported to have died during the heat-wave, a higher than average daily figure of sudden deaths. Only two sudden deaths were recorded last Friday.

John Hill, the South Australian Health Minister, would not confirm whether the deaths were heat-related, but acknowledged that the increase was high.

Even the tennis players at the Australian Open couldn’t escape the heat. On Tuesday Novak Djokovic, the men’s No 3 seed, retired ill from a game after heat-related complaints and the retractable （可伸缩的）roofs on Rod Laver Arena have been closed for part of the past three days.

The heat-wave has also affected Tasmania, traditionally Australia’s coolest state, which reached 42.2℃ at Scamander ---- an all-time record for the island．

1．  What was the probable temperature in southern Australia when the bushfires broke out?

A．under 40℃            B．42.2℃            C．45.1℃          D．above 43℃

2．The bushfires caused by high temperature have led to the result that________.

   A．ten homes were destroyed in Boolarra

B．Melbourne and Adelaide were out of order

C．Tennis Australian Open had to be put off three days

D．electrical equipment and traffic lines were damaged in Adelaide

3．The last paragraph implies that ___________.

   A．Tasmania is an island state of Australia

   B．the coolest day in Tasmania is recorded 42.2°C

   C．Scamander is the hottest place during the heat-wave

   D．the heat-wave has changed the climate in Tasmania

4．Which of the following is the best title for the piece of news?

A．High Temperatures Causing Bushfires in Southern Australia

B．Some Old People Killed in Bushfires in Southern Australia

C．Heat-wave Bringing about Disaster to Southern Australia

D．Bushfires Burning Lots of Forests in Southern Australia

3、Criminals have come up with a new fraud （欺诈） targeting the chip and PIN cards used by shop and petrol station customers across the country. They are stealing card-reading machines, taking them apart and installing （安装） devices which record card numbers and PIN’s, before returning them to the store. The installed devices are so hi-tech that they can transmit customers’ card details to a mobile phone. Cards are then cloned and used abroad in countries including the United States, Italy and Australia where cash machines do not have to read the unique microchip in British cards.

    Police have issued a warning about the fraud after arresting two men at a card-faking factory in Birmingham. A search of a house found stolen chip and PIN terminals, card account numbers, card readers and fake magnetic stripe cards.

 The criminals targeted shops by forcing staff to give them the card machines or getting a job there themselves. In some cases, they posed as engineers and took the machine away for an “upgrade.”

    Card fraud abroad has increased by 77 percent— and cost ￡207.6 million—in the past year. While fraudsters used to put pinhole cameras above the chip and PIN device to get hold of the number, they now use the chip and PIN terminal to get that basic data．They are getting hold of the PIN from inside the reader. Police said the Birmingham factory had stolen card machines from 30 shops, supermarkets and petrol stations across the country. These arrests are a significant development in the fight against the organized criminal gangs responsible for this type of fraud．

1．The criminals mentioned in the passage are most probably from ________.

A．Britain          B．America            C．China               D．Italy

2．According to the passage the criminals get money from the banks by ___________.

      A．stealing credit cards from petrol station customers

      B．installing devices inside the card machines

      C．cloning cards with customers’ card details 

      D．taking away card machines with PIN numbers

3．From the passage we can infer that______________.

      A．the fraud is mostly taking place in Birmingham

      B．the criminals withdraw money from banks in Britain

      C．the credit cards made by the criminals cannot be discovered 

      D．criminals cannot make exactly the same cards as real ones

4．The passage is mainly about ____________.

      A．the fighting against credit card fraud

      B．criminals and their new fraud

      C．a new fraud to be discovered

      D．police and smart criminals

1、大陆赠送给台湾的熊猫团团和圆圆在春节期间受到了台湾民众的热捧。假设你是陈力，你的英国朋友Jim想知道具体情况，请你根据以下要点向Jim做个简要介绍。

1．  团团圆圆的名字的寓意；

2．  他们去年12月份到达台湾后的反响（如：春节期间每天有将近2万人参观……）；

3．  你对团团圆圆的祝福。

注意：

1．  要准确使用语法和词汇；使用一定的句型、词汇，清楚、连贯地表达自己的意思；

2．  词数：120左右。开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Jim,

Thanks for the letter. Now let me tell you something about the two pandas.               

_______________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________  __________

Yours，

                                                                     Chen Li