Giving life and hope

    Orphans(孤儿)whose parents died of AIDS in Henan Province have been given new hope．Last week the provincial government answered the children's cries by promising 60 million yuan to improve schools，orphanages(孤儿院)and living conditions．But without the efforts of Dr．Gao Yaojie，these cries may never have been heard．

    “I’m a doctor and it’s my duty to cure diseases and save lives，”said the 77-year-old grandmother．Gao was named one of the 2003 People of Year on February 20 by CCTV after millions of people took part in an online poll. But in 1996，when she started to promote AIDS awareness，using money from her own pocket，her actions were widely misunderstood．

    “Although some of the children were born with born with HIV，90 percent of them were not infected(被感染)，”Gao said．“But people still reject(排斥)them．Many orphans change their names after finding a foster family(领养家庭)．”

    The horror of Henan's AIDS problem became known in 1996．Frequent and unsafe blood-selling by poor farmers in the late 1980s and early 1990s had caused HIV to spread through dirty needles and infected blood use．As a doctor，Gao believed she should help：over the last eight years she has visited over 1000 AIDS and HIV patients and published thousands of pamphlets on AIDS awareness．With her help，hundreds of orphans have returned to school or found foster families．

    “It's a disaster for the whole nation，not only for those innocent(无辜的)patients and their families，”she explained．Gao is delighted that so many childless families offer to foster orphans．But there is still much that can be done to support these children．“I hope that warm-hearted high school students will also reach out and offer a helping hand，”she said．

    Comprehension question：

    In what way has Dr．Gao Yaojie helped the orphans with AIDS?

A

　　Michael Jackson has been on the road of performing since he was five years old. For anyone who wants to know,the road to fame and fortune is a long,hard way to travel.

　　Michael remembers those early years when he was young. “My father was a machine oporator. ”he explained, “and he worked at a steel plant. My mother worked as Sears,a big department store. But they were both musicians. ”

　　Mr. Jackson realized that his sons had a lot of talent,and he knew he could train them to become fine musicians. In those days there were plenty of music groups and some of them were very good. He knew if his sons were to stand out,they would have to be the best.

　　Ptactice makes perfect. And the Jackson boys practised!Gradually the group took shape. When the Jacksons took their first professional job,their total pay was only five dollars!They kept on working. They played at parties. They entered bigger contests(比赛). They worked at clubs. Then word of this group began to get around. All of a sudden,the Jackson Five became popular in the country；their first album(歌曲集)sold a million copies!Michael,11 years old then,was the star. It just didn’t seem possible that so much talent could come from such a young performer.

　　Then Michael got a chance to do some solo songs. For the following years Michael has always been on the top. One million records of his was sold in New Zealand,which has only a total population of three million!

　　When Michael was eighteen,he entered another field of his career：acting. “I plan to stair in movies. ”he told his friends, “but of course,my first love is music. ”

　　Michael wrote a lot of his own songs. “Songs came about in the strangest ways,”he said, “I’ll just wake up from sleeping and there is a whole song coming into my head. And then I put it down on the paper. ”Whatever he is doing,it works!

　　Still,with all his success,Michael manages to keep his head calm. “I just do a different job from other people,”he said, “but it doesn’t make me think I’m better than other people. ”

　　To be quite honest,his fans just love to hear and watch him !

　　1．Michael Jackson began performing with________.

　　A．his father

　　B．his mother

　　C．his parents

　　D．his brothers

　　2．Mr. Jackson knew only when his sons were the best musicians could they________.

　　A．make a lot of money

　　B．go out of their hometown

　　C．be famous

　　D．support themselves

　　3．Which of the following is not mentioned in this passage?

　　A．When the group began to go round the world.

　　B．The songs sung by this group were very popular.

　　C．The Jacksons shocked the country.

　　D．People could hardly believe that young Michael was so talented.

　　4．Michacl Jackson wants to be________.

　　A．a solo singer and musician rather than a film star and actor

　　B．not only a film star and actor but a solo singer and musician

　　C．a solo singer as well as a musician

　　D．a film star as well as an actor

　　5．Michael means that he does something different from others,________.

　　A．so he is different from others

　　B．so he is better than others

　　C．still he is no better than others

　　D．he is as well as others

B

　　Body and Food

　　Your body,which has close relations with the food you eat,is the most important thing you own,so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment(营养). The old saying“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C．Many people take extra vitamins in pill form,believing that these will make them healthy.

　　But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins,so why waste money on them?

　　In the modern western world,many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw anything into their stomaehs,eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frighrening.

　　1.“Your body has close relations with the food you eat.”It teally means that________. 

　　A．all kinds of food you eat can be made into your body

　　B．your body is made up of the food you eat

　　C．what you eat has great effect on your health

　　D．the more you cat,the fitter you will feel

　　2．The old saying referred to in the passage tells us that________.

　　A．eating apples regularly does lots of good to our health

　　B．the apple is the best among all kinds of fruits

　　C．apples can take the place of doctors

　　D．an apple is a sure cure for illness

　　3．In the second paragraph,the writer tries to let us know________.

　　A．our bodies need food or we can’t live

　　B．often eating apples is a good habit

　　C．taking extra vitamin pills is completely useless  D．a good diet is of great importance for our health

　　4．In the modern western countries________.

　　A．people don’t want to pay more attention to their eating

　　B．lots of people’s illnesses are caused or made worse by bad eating habits

　　C．people throw everything into their stomachs without chewing

　　D．people are only too busy to cook meals for themselves

　　5．From the passage we can draw a conclusion that if we want to keep healthy,we should________.

　　A．only eat an apple a day

　　B．eat properly

　　C．take as many vitamin pills as possible

　　D．throw something into our stomachs slowly and carefully

A

　　Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s. The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach to make himself strong. People watched him,and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before!  Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some childten who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.

　　Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong,but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetables.

People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s,a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong,and everyone accepted it.

　　Today,we know that the little iron there is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However,spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid.

　　It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along.

　　1．A good title for this reading passage is________.

　　A．Popeye the Sailor

　　B．The Truth about Spinach

　　C．A Mistake with Numbers

　　D．Folic Acid Makes You Strong

　　2．Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?

　　A．They thought spinach made them strong.

　　B．They thought Popeye was funny.

　　C．Spinach had a lot of iron.

　　D．People liked folic acid.

　　3．A research group told people that spinach________.

　　A．made Popeye strong

　　B．was a green vegetable

　　C．had less iron than other green vegetables

　　D．had more iron than other green vegetables

　　4．The reading passage says that perhaps Popeye got his strength from________.

　　A．iron 

　　B．folic acid

　　C．spinach 

　　D．exercise

　　5．Folic acid is________.

　　A．something in food

　　B．a vegetable

　　C．dangerous

　　D．a certain kind of spinach

    My husband, Michael, and I were at a restaurant with his boss, a rather stern(严厉的)elderly man. When Michael began a story I was sure he had told before, I gave him a kick under the table. There was no response(反应), so I gave him another kick. Still the story went on. Suddenly he stopped and said with a smile, “Oh, but I’ve told you this before, haven’t I?” We all chuckled(抿嘴笑)and changed the subject.

    Later, on the dance floor, I asked my husband why it had taken him so long to get my message. “What do you mean?” he asked, “I put off the story as soon as you kicked me.”

    “But I kicked you twice, and it still took you a while to stop!”

    Suddenly we realized what had happened and returned to our table. The boss smiled and said, “Don’t worry. After the second one I thought it wasn’t for me, so I passed it along.”

1. The writer kicked her husband because_______________.

A. she didn’t like him

B. she didn’t like the story

C, the story told by Michael was not interesting

D. her husband was telling a story that he had told before

2. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The writer kicked the boss.　　　　　　    B. The boss kicked Michael.

C. The boss was kicked twice.　　　　　　   D. Michael was kicked twice.

3. They all chuckled because_________________.

A. they kicked each other

B. they were all satisfied with the dinner

C. they all thought each of them had done an interesting thing

D. they changed the subject in the end

4. It took Michael so long to stop his story because_______________.

A. he wanted to finish the whole story

B. he didn’t understand at once why he was kicked

C. the two light kicks given by his wife couldn’t stop him

D. he got a kick only after a long while

　　　　　　　　 Outdoor Survival Provides Adventure Worldwide

Although there are no state controlled survival courses (生存课程) in Britain or the United States, there are various independent organizations offering similar activities.

Students can take part in outdoor training courses through university clubs and societies. Anyone can register (登记) with such groups, which then organize courses, training and trips for all members.

One of the most popular outdoor training progammes in both the US and Britain, is Outward Bound (户外训练). It was founded in 1941 in Wales and attracts hundreds of thousands of adventurous types each year.

The courses are intended to broaden minds through experiences that build confidence, self-esteem (自尊) and character. As well as specialist courses such as canoeing, leadership skills and sailing, participants(参加者) can take part in week long adventure training camps which include a host of sports and survival training education skills.

Michael Williams, an American student, took part in an Outward Bound course last year. He said: “We learned lots of first aid skills, lots of natural history, lots of environmental facts, and participated in a wildlife preservation(保护野生动物) programme. Beyond that, my favorite skills learned were sailing and rock climbing.”

Courses can last up to 40 days and are open to anyone over the age of 14. Students must be in general good health, but do not need to be experienced in outdoor-sports. There is no selection process; everyone is welcome, although new participants are advised to pick a course matching their physical capacity.

According to the leaders, such adventures are “an awaking, and exploration into the unknown.” Outward Bound believes that participants will “use mind and body traveling some of the Earth’s roughest wilderness area.”

1. The advantage of the training courses is that participants can ____.

A. make friends with each other   B. visit some places of interest

C. experience different adventures  D. learn how wonderful nature is

2. In an Outward Bound course last year, the most exciting experience Michael Williams had was _____.

A. learning first aid skills　　　　 B. collecting facts of environment

C. rock climbing and sailing　　  　　   D. preserving wildlife

3. What’s the writer’s purpose to write this passage?

A. To persuade readers to take part in the training courses.

B. To tell readers the danger of this training courses.

C. To describe the wonders of the world for readers.

D. To introduce the training course to readers.

Looking for a good children’s book? Internet users can find hundreds of them. These books are from around the world. And they are free of charge. The project is called the International Children’s Digital (数字) Library.

The goal is to offer electronic(电子的) versions of more than 10,000 children’s books in at least 100 languages.

Project developers have been working with children to design easy ways to search the collection and read the books. An image of each page appears on the computer. Users can also print copies on paper.

Officials say the project has been designed for two main groups of users. The first is children between the ages of three and thirteen, along with their teachers and parents.

The second group is researchers in the area of children’s literature. The books chosen for the collection are meant to help children understand the world in which they live.

Literature is one way to teach young people about new ideas. The idea behind the collection is that an interesting story not only helps children understand who they are, but may also influences their desire to explore the world.

Project organizers say they have chosen books that show the similarities and differences in ways of life around the world. The aim is to create a greater understanding of other people’s cultures and beliefs. The International Children’s Digital Library is also an attempt to use technology to strengthen libraries around the world.

The digital library is a project of the University of Maryland and the Internet Archive(档案馆). The Internet Archive is building an electronic library of Internet sites and other digital collections as a cultural record.

The Children’s Library project is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Library of Congress and other organizations are also involved. The first materials appeared in 2002.

The goal is to have all 10,000 books online in 2007. So far, the collection contains more than 500 books.

1. What might be the most suitable title of the text?

A. International Children’s Digital Library.

B. How to Find Children’s Books on Internet

C. Aims of International Children’s Digital Library.

D. Organizers of International Children’s Digital Library.

2. The underlined word “charge” in the first paragraph means ___.

A. a spoken or written statement　　 B. the price asked for a service

C. a rushing forceful attack　　　　 D. a person or thing for which is responsible

3. The purpose of setting up the International Children’s Digital Library is to ___.

A. improve children’s grades

B. offer children electronic books

C. teach children how to find information through computers

D. help children learn foreign languages themselves

4. How many books can you find in the International Children’s Digital Library so far?

A. 10,000    B. less than 500　　 C. 1,000　　  D. more than 500

Water goes around and around the Earth in a never-ending journey called the water cycle. The sun heats up lakes, oceans, and other wet places on the Earth. When the water gets warm enough, it changes into a vapor. Plants also give off lots of water vapor. Some of this water vapor cools off high in the sky and forms clouds. Then it falls back to the Earth in a new place as rain, or snow. This cycle happens over and over again.

The ground can soak up water like a sponge. If you could see this groundwater, it wouldn’t look like a lake or river. The groundwater is mixed with the rocks and sand that lie in layers below the Earth’s surface.

Groundwater moves along in very slow motion. How slow? Maybe 1.5 kilometers in one century. Some of this water has been underground for thousands of years. And once groundwater is pumped out of the ground, it may take hundreds of years for other water to take its place.

1. In which order does water go around the earth?

a. Fall down as rain or snow

b. Heated up by the sun on lakes, oceans and other wet places

c. Cool off high in the sky

d. From clouds

e. Change into a vapor

A. d,a,c,b,e　　　　 B. b,e,c,d,a　　　　　　　　　　　　  C. c,a,e,b,d　　　　 D. b,c,e,d,a

2. The phrase soak up in the second paragraph means__________.

A. draw in　　　　  B. throw in　　　　　　　　　　　　  C. keep up　　　　 D. set up

3. The underground seems to __________.

A. to be just below the Earth’s surface

B. to be pure water like that in a lake or river

C. to exist in rocks and sand

D. to flow along like rivers or streams

How can we get rid of garbage? Do we have enough energy sources to meet our future energy needs?

These are two important questions that many people are asking today. Some people think that men might be able to solve both problems at the same time. They suggest using garbage as an energy source.

For a long time people buried garbage or dumped it on empty land. Now, empty land is scarce. But more and more garbage is produced each year. But garbage can be a good fuel to use. The things in garbage do not look like coal, petroleum, or natural gas, but they are chemically similar to these fossil fuels. As we use up our fossil—fuel supplies, we might be able to use garbage as an energy source.

Burning garbage is not a new idea. Some cities in Europe and the US have been burning garbage for years. The heat that is produced by burning garbage is used to boil water. The steam that is produced is used to make electricity or to heat nearby buildings. In Paris, France, some power plants burn almost 2 million metric tons of the city’s garbage each year. The amount of energy produced is about the same as would be produced by burning almost a half million barrels of oil.

But there are problems in using garbage as a fuel. Garbage that burns easily, such as food scrapes and paper, must be separated from metals, glass, and other materials that do not burn easily. This separation process is normally costly. Another problem is that burning garbage can pollute the air.

Our fossil fuel supplies are limited. Burning garbage might be one kind of energy source that we can use to help meet our energy needs. This method could also reduce the amount of garbage piling up on the earth.

1. What two problems can be solved by burning garbage?

A. The shortage of energy; Air pollution.

B. The shortage of energy; The shortage of empty land for holding garbage.

C. Air pollution; The shortage of empty land for holding garbage.

D. Air pollution; The garbage of fossil fuel.

2. Which of the following is NOT a result of burning garbage?

A. The heat produced is used to boil water.

B. The steam produced is used to make electricity.

C. The garbage burned is turned into fossil fuels.

D. The steam produced is used to heat buildings.

3. According to the passage, which of the following four groups of garbage is ready for burning?

A. Food scraps and metals. 　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. Paper and glass.

C. Metals and glass.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　        D. Food scraps and paper.

4. Which of the following methods of exposition is not used in the passage?

A. Questions and answers.　　　　　　　　　　   B. Figures.

C. Examples.　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 D. Analogy.

Let’s go together to the western end of Mediterranean Sea. Here two continents almost meet. The lands of Africa and Europe are both sides of the sea. There is only a small water-way for ship to come in and go out.

On the northern shore, a big rock comes straight up from the ground. It is called the rock of Gibraltar. It has been standing there for a very long time. Armies have fought battles to take it. Storms at sea never washed it away. The rock of Gibraltar has not changed. But its name has changed.

The Greeks took the rock a long time ago. They called it Calpe. By A.D. 711 Spain had the rock for herself. Spain used it to guard the entrance to her country.

Next came the Arabs with an army of 12 000 soldiers. Their leader was Tarik Ibn Zaid. He took his army across North Africa to the rock. There his soldiers fought for three days and nights. At last they won the battle and took Calpe for themselves.

Tarik and his men were very happy, Tarik ordered a castle to be built at the top of the rock. It was completed in the 742. From there he could see the beautiful land and water below. His soldiers guarded the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

The rock was almost as high as a mountain. So the Arabian soldiers decided to call it the Mountain of Tarik. They wanted to honor their brave leader. Now the Arabic word for Mountain is Jabal. So the place was called Jabal Tarik.

In Arabic it is called by his name, but it has been changed in many other languages. The English name is now Gibraltar. If you say both Arabic and English words you will hear some of the same sound.

Many nations and armies have taken Gibraltar since Tarik. But its name today still honors that great Arab leaser Tarik Ibn Zaid.

1. This story is about__________.

A. the Mediterranean Sea　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. the Rock of Gibraltar

C. how the Arabs got the rock 　　　　　　　　　　   D. brave man called Tarik Ibn Zaid

2. Tarik Ibn Zaid was __________.

A. the king of Spain　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. the commander of the Arabian army

C. a Greek general　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. a brave Arabian soldier

3. How did Arabian army get to the rock?

A. They went across North Africa.　　　　　　　　  B. They got there through Europe.

C. They climbed the Alps.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. They sailed the Mediterranean Sea.

4. Tarik took the rock__________.

A. from the Spaniards　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. from the Arabs

C. from the Greeks　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. from the Englishmen

5. Tarik ordered castles to be built__________.

A. so that he could see the beautiful land and water below

B. to celebrate their victory

C. so that ships from far away could see it

D. to guard the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea