OTTAWA — Canada’s western city of Calgary is the world’s best city when it comes to healthy living, local press reported Monday.

       According to an international survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, a London-based consulting firm, Calgary was put at the top of a list of 144 cities. It scored 121 points, just above Honolulu’s score of 120. Helsinki（赫尔辛基，芬兰首都） and Ottawa followed at 119.5 and 118.5 respectively.

       Three other Canadian cities came in the top 20. Montreal and Vancouver tied for ninth and Toronto came in at 18th.

       The scores are based on air pollution levels, availability and quality of hospitals and medical supplies, as well as the efficiency of waste removal and sewage systems.

       In America, the lowest scoring city was Atlanta, which was ranked 76th. Athens was the lowest scoring city in Western Europe, ranking 120th because of its air pollution. London was ranked 59th.

1. How many Canadian cities are in the top 20?

A. 3.              B. 4.      C. 5.         D. 6.

2. Which of the following is NOT taken into account when the cities were scored?

A. Weather conditions. B. Air quality.  

C. Waste removal.         D. Medical supplies.

3. Among the following cities, which is the lowest scoring one?

A. Atlanta.         B. Athens.       C. London.    D. Helsinki.

Female Chinese space pioneers?

CHINA plans to recruit(招募) women astronauts thanks to the lobbying(游说) of the leading women’s organization. Gu Xiulian, president of the All-China Women’s Federation(ACWF) (全国妇联), said on Saturday that she put forward a proposal that women be trained for space missions after the manned space flight last October. And it was accepted by the central authorities, local media reported. But the plan to recruit female astronauts has yet to be worked out, according to sources close to the astronaut-training programme.

Beijing needs mental health care

MORE than 1,000 people committed suicide(自杀) in Beijing last year, and experts have been encouraging the capital to set up a mental health care system as soon as possible, local media reported last week. About 20 percent of the people of Beijing live in unhealthy conditions, with 3 percent of these suffering from affective disorder and 5 percent reporting symptoms of depression, according to the Beijing Mental Health Service Center.

No need to fear your licence plate

CAR licence plates in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, will not have the number “four” from this month on ---a move that has led to heated discussion among officials, schools and residents. The word for “four” sounds like “death” in Cantonese. The number has been cleared away from the computer data banks that generate the six-digit licence numbers for local cars. Some say that, for the first time, a public agency service has considered local customs and bans. Others worry it will encourage superstitious(迷信的) beliefs.

1．We can infer from the news that ____.

     A．there are several female astronauts in China now

     B．people in Guangdong province hate number “four”

     C．the mental disorder concerns everybody all over the country

     D．the city government of Beijing has promised to set up a mental health care system

2．The underlined sentence in the third news means that __    __.

     A．there is no number “four” in the computers in Shenzhen

     B．computer is used to print six-digit car licence numbers

     C．local cars will be protected to use six-digit car licence numbers

     D．number “four” will no longer appear in the six-digit car licence numbers

3．What is the message of the first news?

     A．China only needs male astronauts.

     B．Gu Xiulian wants to be the first space woman.

     C．Society doesn’t discriminate(歧视) against women in China.

    D．The  proposal of female astronaut training hasn’t been approved.

4．Which word has the same meaning as the underlined word “symptoms”?

     A．symbol         B．signs            C．sorts       D．shocks

 That was the first time I _______ there and I was impressed by the friendly people very much

A. go          B. was going      C. had gone      D. have gone

Companies can increase the money with which they run their business in a number of ways. One way is borrowing money, and another way is buying things with the agreement that payment would be made later. There are also other processes for providing money for use by a company. Two of these processes are described here.

One process the company may use is to issue bonds(债券). Bonds are a special kind of promissory note. They are issued in different values, in the forms of money used in different countries, such as the pound in England or the euro in Europe. These bonds can easily be sold again to other people or to other companies. The company that issues the bonds promises to pay a particular amount of money as interest regularly for a certain period of time. This continues until when the company has to pay back the principal(本金) of the bond. Payments of principal and interest must be made on time whether the company has been earning money or not. If these payments are not made on time, it means that the company has not done what it agreed to do and can be sued(控告，起诉).

Another process companies may use is to issue other forms of promissory notes called stocks(股票). Bonds and stocks are opposite methods of providing money for a company. The people who buy stocks provide money that is earned and take part in deciding how the company will conduct its business. They must also take part in the losses. The people who own stocks receive dividends only after the company has paid all of its debts to the people who own bonds. On the other hand, the persons who own bonds have no right, according to the law, to help decide how the company will handle its business, unless it is bankrupt or in danger of becoming so.

1. Which of the following statement is not the way for companies to increase their capital?

A. Borrowing money.                                    B. Buying materials without paying.

C. Issuing bonds                                        D. Issuing stocks

2 As to bonds, we know from the passage that ________.

A. they are cheques like bank notes                    

B. the company only pays back the principal

C. they are issued in the forms of money   

D. if a company is bankrupt, it needn’t pay back the interest

3. According to this passage, who have the legal control over the decisions of the business?

A. Stockholders                                            B. Bondholders     

C. The government                                        D. The workers in the company

4. It can be inferred from this passage that ________.

A. to issue bonds is a better way than to issue stocks

B. stockholders can sue the company when it is bankrupt

C. bondholders have the same rights as stockholders

D. investing in stocks has more risk than in bonds   

      I have a friend who lives by a three-word philosophy: seize the moment. Just possibly, she may be the wisest woman on this planet. Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven’t thought about it, don’t have it on their schedule, didn’t know it was coming or are too strict to depart from their routine.

       I can’t count the times I called my sister and said, “How about going to lunch in half an hour?” She would gasp and stammer (结结巴巴地说), “ I can’t . I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday. I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain.” And my personal favorite response: “It’s just Monday.” She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together. From then on, I’ve tried to be a little more flexible.

       Life has a way of going faster as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises made to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awake, and all have to show for our lives is repetition of “I’m going to”, “I plan on” and “someday”, when things are settled down bit.

       When anyone calls my “seize the moment” friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you’re ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungle cord.

       My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now…go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to…not something on your SHOULD DO list.

1. The example of the writer’s sister serves as ____.

       A. an argument      B. an introduction  C. a support           D. a conclusion

2. The writer thinks that the underlined excuse “It’s just Monday.” is acceptable,

because ____.

A.it is still likely that they can have lunch together some time later

B.it sounds most reasonable of all the excuses

C.it shows respect for the writer’s suggestion

D.it indicates the time when they can have lunch together

3. The underlined word “contagious” in the fourth paragraph means “______”.

       A. appropriate        B. influential                C. practical            D. evident

4. What did the purpose of the writer by writing this passage?

       A. To suggest how time flies.                B. To persuade busy people to relax.

       C. to advise people to keep their promise.

       D. To convince readers to be flexible on their schedule for practical joy.  

 --- What about ___ book? 

--- It’s too difficult ___ book for beginners.

A. the; the          B. a; a              C. a; the          D. the; a

 -- I am strongly against the plan.

   -- No matter what you think of, I’m_______it.

       A. in face of     B. in search of     C. in honour of          D. in favour of

I spoke to him kindly  ________  him .

 A．not to frighten   B．in order to not frighten  

 C．for not frightening  D．so as not to frighten

In this park , sparrows often fly down from trees to eat from visitors’hands. They are used to         in this way .

       A. be fed        B. feed       C. having fed         D. being fed

Please be sure to telephone me next time you         to our city .

       A. will come          B. come                C. came                 D. are coming