题目内容
In Egypt, smoke-filled offices are common along with taxi drivers who light one cigarette after another while stuck in Cairo’s heavy traffic. Non-smoking sections in restaurants are unheard of and water pipes which fill cafes often overflow onto sidewalks, leaving the sweet smell of fruit-flavored tobacco lingeringon the streets.
But some doctors and lawmakers here want to change this culture of Egypt’s. The country’s parliament recently passed laws banning smoking in some public places including government buildings, schools and hospitals. It also calls for health warnings to be put on cigarette packs and allows the government to increase the price of tobacco, according to parliament member Hamdiel-Sayyed, who proposed the new laws. If individuals break the law, they could be fined up to $17. Tobacco factories can be forced to pay about $3,500, if they don’t follow the law and advertise their products.
Egypt’s laws are modest compared to other countries including Britain and some American cities where smoking in all indoor public places is banned. But they are a start, especially for a country where 80 billion cigarettes are smoked a year. “Part of the objective is to keep children and young people from becoming smoking addicts,” said el-Sayyed.
But in a country burdened by poverty and high unemployment, will the laws be able to force people not to smoke?
Mustafa Ahmed, 25, said laws to ban smoking are a good idea in principle but are not realistic. “Smoking is popular in Egypt. There is a lot of pressure on people here, especially because the economy is bad. People smoke because they think it will relax them.”
Sherif Omar, a parliament member, also has his doubts about the new laws. “Laws by themselves don’t work well unless you have education in schools and in the media,” he said.
59. What does the underlined part “this culture” in the second paragraph refer to?
A. Heavy traffic — a big headache for drivers. B. No non-smoking areas in buildings.
C. The wide-spread smoking habit in Egypt.
D. No effective measures taken to stop smoking.
60. Which of the following is NOT a part of the new laws passed by the parliament?
A. Not allowing tobacco advertising. B. Warning people of the danger of smoking.
C. Allowing the government to increase the price of tobacco.
D. People who break the law will be fined up to $3,500.
61. Compared with Britain, Egypt’s laws _______.
A. will be more effective in reducing smoking B. set stricter limits on smoking
C. do not set very strict limits on smoking D. will not be effective
62. According to Sherif Omar, the new laws are hard to carry out because _______.
A. Egyptians face high work pressure B. Egyptians are addicted to smoking
C. many people are strongly against these laws
D. people don’t receive anti-smoking education
63. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. Egypt starts to ban smoking everywhere.
B. Egypt attempts to control smoking in public places.
C. Egypt’s laws increase people’s sense of health.
D. Egypt’s laws aren’t supported by the common people.
59---63 CDCDB
New archaeological discoveries suggest that trade between E
urope and Asia along the Silk Road probably began in some form many centuries earlier than once thought. The findings, coupled with a widening range of scientific and historical research could add a fascinating new page to the epic (史诗) of the Silk Road.
The most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.
The official origin of East-West trade along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission(使命)across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthian for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury (奢侈品) markets in Rome.
But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.
【小题1】The word “coupled” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by .
| A.combined | B.contributed | C.doubled | D.produced |
| A.Egyptians had probably travelled to China to buy silk |
| B.new light can now be thrown on ancient trading pr |
| C.historical research often achieves fascinating results |
| D.trade along the Silk Road began earlier than once thought |
| A.began a million years ago |
| B.primarily benefited the Egyptians |
| C.originated in the 2nd century BC |
| D.extended human migration into eastern Asia |
| A.he discovered the Silk Road |
| B.he helped establish East-West trade |
| C.he travelled as far as Afghanistan |
| D.he brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor |
Egypt: Bridging the Gap between School English and Real English
Teaching English in Egypt in general and in my town Damietta in particular, is mainly directed towards helping students to pass their final exams. Unfortunately, most teachers do not adopt a long -term approach that guarantees that their students will be able to use English outside the classroom. So students only concentrate on one skill which is writing. Thus their listening and speaking skills are disabled. What is important to them is to pass the exam which is primarily based on writing .Teachers are not only concentrated with providing their students with questions that are similar to those of the final exam, particularly General Secondary Education Certificate (GSEC) Examination, so students spend most of their time answering typical exam questions.
Most students' scores are high; a lot of students get full marks. However, few students are able to communicate in English because their role plays. As a result, a lot of students complain that they are unable to understand and talk fluently with native speakers of English.
To enable students to communicate freely and spontaneously(自然地) in English, I bring features of real communication into language practice, I always ask students about their own experiences, and suggest groups of students practice what they have learned outside the classroom. This helps lower-achieving students absorb language. Furthermore, role play is a very effective way to improve speaking skills particularly if it is connected to the experience of the students.
【小题1】Who probably write this passage?
| A.a teacher | B.a governor | C.a student | D.a reporter |
| A.listening skill | B.speaking skill | C.reading skill | D.writing skill |
| A.what they learn in the class |
| B.What their parents expect |
| C.The questions that are similar to those of GSEC |
| D.The ability that will be used outside the classroom |
| A.Most of the students can't get high marks but can communicate with the native speakers of English. |
| B. Communicating skill is more important than writing skill. |
| C.Role play connected to the speaker's experience is more effective in improving his skill. |
| D.The lower--achieving students can do better in speaking skill than the upper achieving students. |
| A.Their parents | B.The students | C.The school | D.The education sys tem |