Most of my earliest childhood memories are of the beach — in the hot sun, building sandcastles, burying Dad in the sand.
Now the coast has a pleasant and relaxing attraction beyond words. I look forward to a windy cliff-top walk or a rainy day rock-picking just as much as those rare moments when I get to a short sleep in the sun. But there’s nothing more pleasurable than turning up at a beach to find it deserted.
These are my favourite secret beaches — ones either not well known or take a bit of effort to get to. Most of those listed scored highly in the Marine Conservation Society Good Beach Guide 2009; the others are too secret even for them.
Sennen Clove is just a mile northeast of Land’s End, the westernmost point of mainland England. It’s a beautiful spot, with white sands, deep green sea and amazing sunsets over the Isles (群岛) of Scilly, 28 miles away.
The west-facing beach is popular with surfers, with bigger waves and winds often found at the Gwenver end. There’s a beach restaurant with good views of the bay and the sunsets.
The smallest of Isles of Scilly, Bryher is a mile long, half a mile wide — and a natural wilderness of unbelievable scenery. Walk along the narrow sandy roads to the eastern seaboard and you come to two quiet beaches.
Green Bay has views over to the palm trees of Tresco’s Abbey Gardens, and a little further south is Rushy Bay, a beautiful beach facing the deserted island of Samson.
On Bryher, farm shops sell locally grown produce, and they trust you to leave the money in the pot. It’s that kind of place.
【小题1】The best title for this passage is ________.

　　On Wednesday, the Chinese government, decided to increase its medical subsidies(补贴)  for farmers from 10 Yuan (US$1.23) to 20 Yuan (US$2.47) a head a year from 2006.
　　 As part of the country's healthcare reform programme, the co-operative rural （农村）medical system was first introduced in 2003 to set up self-help among farmers on a voluntary basis.  Due to insufficient government input to finance hospitals that are mostly State-owned, the country's healthcare reform has largely turned out to be a failure, adding hugely to the financial burden on the public.
While everyone complains about quickly-rising medical costs, rural residents are suffering more than their urban(城镇) cousins because of a lack of money, as well as not being able to enjoy high quality health services. At present, farmers earn on average only one-third of what urban residents make. Most of the country's medical resources are located in cities even though rural residents make up two-thirds of the population.
　　Poor health conditions make it more difficult to help farmers get out of poverty; and poverty, in turn, refuses farmers the chance to improve their health.　To end this vicious circle, policy-makers tried the co-operative medical system, with a small sum of central and local financial support for each rural participant. But the system has proved to be less than perfect. Due to the limited financial input, the programme still does not benefit the majority of farmers in a significant way. This has reduced many farmers' enthusiasm for participating. A high percentage of involvement is of course a precondition for such a system.
　　The central government intends to expand the programme into a national medical system by 2008. Increasing government subsidies is a necessary step to make the co-operative medical system more attractive to farmers. But an increase of 10 Yuan for each participant is surely far from enough to perfect the system. The total cost is not particularly heavy compared to the rapid growth in government revenue(财政).
　　 Clearly, policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware of how urgent the narrowing of the development gap between rural and urban areas really is. Besides economic policies to push the rural economy, large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education is badly needed.
1. Compared with that in 2006, what will be the rate of coming increase in China’s medical subsidies for farmers?
A. 100%               B. 50%                 C. 200%                      D. 150%
2. What is the reason for the failure in the country’s healthcare reform?
A. Bad management system.        
B. The government didn’t input enough money to support hospitals that are mostly
state-owned.
C. The health conditions in the country is too bad.
D. There are too many farmers that need medical care.
3. What is needed to narrow the development gap between rural and urban areas?
①. Large amount of government investment in economy.
②. Large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education.
③. Economic policies to push the rural economy
④. A high percentage of farmers’ involvement in the medical system
⑤. A better management system
A. ①②③ B. ②③④             C. ①②③④⑤          D. ②③
4. Why are many farmers not enthusiastic in joining the co-operative medical system?
A. It doesn’t benefit most of the farmers in an effective way.
B. They cannot spare the needed money to join the programme.
C. They don’t believe in the system.
D. They don’t think it necessary.
5. What can be inferred from the last but one paragraph?
A. An increase of 10 Yuan in medical subsidies for each person is not enough.
B. The government can afford to increase the medical subsidies for farmers.
C. The government will get farmers of the whole country involved in a medical system by 2008. 
D. If the government increase subsidies, more farmers are likely to join the medical system.

Most of my earliest childhood memories are of the beach — in the hot sun, building sandcastles, burying Dad in the sand.

Now the coast has a pleasant and relaxing attraction beyond words. I look forward to a windy cliff-top walk or a rainy day rock-picking just as much as those rare moments when I get to a short sleep in the sun. But there’s nothing more pleasurable than turning up at a beach to find it deserted.

These are my favourite secret beaches — ones either not well known or take a bit of effort to get to. Most of those listed scored highly in the Marine Conservation Society Good Beach Guide 2009; the others are too secret even for them.

Sennen Clove is just a mile northeast of Land’s End, the westernmost point of mainland England. It’s a beautiful spot, with white sands, deep green sea and amazing sunsets over the Isles (群岛) of Scilly, 28 miles away.

The west-facing beach is popular with surfers, with bigger waves and winds often found at the Gwenver end. There’s a beach restaurant with good views of the bay and the sunsets.

The smallest of Isles of Scilly, Bryher is a mile long, half a mile wide — and a natural wilderness of unbelievable scenery. Walk along the narrow sandy roads to the eastern seaboard and you come to two quiet beaches.

Green Bay has views over to the palm trees of Tresco’s Abbey Gardens, and a little further south is Rushy Bay, a beautiful beach facing the deserted island of Samson.

On Bryher, farm shops sell locally grown produce, and they trust you to leave the money in the pot. It’s that kind of place.

1.The best title for this passage is ________.

   A. The Beautiful British Isles                  

B. Secret Beaches on the British Isles

   C. The Most Pleasurable Place in Britain        

D. My Experience of Searching Beaches

2.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

   A. The author is a tourist guide in a tourist agency.

   B. The author likes walking on a rainy cliff-top most.

   C. The author wrote the article to advertise for the beaches.

   D. The author loves beaches that are not known to most people.

3.Which of the following maps can correctly describe the geography position?

   (LE=Land’s End    SC=Sennen Cove        IS=the Isles of Scilly)

4.In the author’s view, farmers on Bryher are ________.

A. sincere            B. selfish        C. courageous     D. mean

For the past year, the World Food Program has operated a project to prevent hunger in twenty-one countries in Africa. In the project, the United Nations agency works with small farmers to grow more and better produce.
The World Food Program buys the produce through local cooperative associations. Then it distributes the products within the country or area. The project works mainly with women. Sheila Sisulu from the World Food Program says the project aims to break a cycle that keeps people hungry. The situation is that farmers have to sell their produce at low prices after harvest, when supplies are greatest. Then they have to pay high prices to buy food for themselves during the "lean season," when supplies are limited.
But when farmers produce more food, they can sell more. And when they produce high-quality food, they can get higher prices. They can also store food for themselves, and have enough money to buy food if they need to during the lean season. Sheila Sisulu says the farmers are now starting to earn profits through the project.
The Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development help the farmers choose the best seeds and fertilizers. They also advise the farmers on the quality levels that the World Food Program requires to buy their produce.
Two other groups recently launched a separate effort to increase food security in Africa. The groups are the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. They say African governments have to increase their investment in agriculture in order to fight problems related to climate change. The groups want the governments to develop programs in seeds, soil health, policy and markets.
Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is the chairman of AGRA. The group's president, Namanga Ngongi, says many African governments are not meeting a target of spending ten percent of their national budgets on agriculture. But he says investment has risen from four percent of national budgets to probably five and a half percent today.
1. The underlined word “lean” in Paragraph 2 probably has the same meaning with ______.
A. He is a tall, lean and handsome boy, liked by many girls.
B. The changes made the company leaner and more competitive.
C. The company recovered well after going through several lean years.
D. The doctor told him that lean meat was healthier for his mother than fatty meat.
2. According to Sheila Sisulu, the project _____.
A. distributes the products within the whole world
B. has benefited few African farmers during the past year
C. enables the African farmers to sell their produce at low prices after harvest
D. can help the farmers to get away from the situation that keeps them hungry
3. The problem of hunger in Africa can possibly be relieved by ______.
A. United Nations chief
B. the World Food Program
C. African governments and farmers
D. the Food and Agriculture Organization
4. Which can be the best title?
A. Hunger, the most serious problem in Africa      
B. Two efforts seek to increase food security in Africa
C. A project to grow more and better produce in Africa
D. More investments in agriculture by African governments

For the past year, the World Food Program has operated a project to prevent hunger in twenty-one countries in Africa. In the project, the United Nations agency works with small farmers to grow more and better produce.

The World Food Program buys the produce through local cooperative associations. Then it distributes the products within the country or area. The project works mainly with women. Sheila Sisulu from the World Food Program says the project aims to break a cycle that keeps people hungry. The situation is that farmers have to sell their produce at low prices after harvest, when supplies are greatest. Then they have to pay high prices to buy food for themselves during the "lean season," when supplies are limited.

But when farmers produce more food, they can sell more. And when they produce high-quality food, they can get higher prices. They can also store food for themselves, and have enough money to buy food if they need to during the lean season. Sheila Sisulu says the farmers are now starting to earn profits through the project.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development help the farmers choose the best seeds and fertilizers. They also advise the farmers on the quality levels that the World Food Program requires to buy their produce.

Two other groups recently launched a separate effort to increase food security in Africa. The groups are the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. They say African governments have to increase their investment in agriculture in order to fight problems related to climate change. The groups want the governments to develop programs in seeds, soil health, policy and markets.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is the chairman of AGRA. The group's president, Namanga Ngongi, says many African governments are not meeting a target of spending ten percent of their national budgets on agriculture. But he says investment has risen from four percent of national budgets to probably five and a half percent today.

1. The underlined word “lean” in Paragraph 2 probably has the same meaning with ______.

A. He is a tall, lean and handsome boy, liked by many girls.

B. The changes made the company leaner and more competitive.

C. The company recovered well after going through several lean years.

D. The doctor told him that lean meat was healthier for his mother than fatty meat.

2. According to Sheila Sisulu, the project _____.

A. distributes the products within the whole world

B. has benefited few African farmers during the past year

C. enables the African farmers to sell their produce at low prices after harvest

D. can help the farmers to get away from the situation that keeps them hungry

3. The problem of hunger in Africa can possibly be relieved by ______.

A. United Nations chief

B. the World Food Program

C. African governments and farmers

D. the Food and Agriculture Organization

4. Which can be the best title?

A. Hunger, the most serious problem in Africa      

B. Two efforts seek to increase food security in Africa

C. A project to grow more and better produce in Africa

D. More investments in agriculture by African governments