As you climb into the hill country, the roads get dustier and rougher, and fewer cars can be seen.
Phonxay is one of the poorest districts of Laos, and many of its villages are only accessible by footpath.
Our destination this hot morning is a concrete water tank that can be found just off the road. A UK
organization helped to build it six years ago, and in the nearby village of Thapho, where clean drinking
water is scarce, it has made a big difference. The tank feeds six taps which in turn give water to over 800
people---it has improved things for almost every family, from schoolchildren to grannies.
But lately, we were told, the clean water supply has come under pressure from new arrivals, people
who have come down from the hill areas, and there are concerns that there will not be enough clean water to go round.
There are also serious worries about resources in Laos. The Chinese are building a 400km railway link, which could transform the landlocked country. About 150,000 Chinese workers will be involved. What
will this do to local clean water supplies? How will the workers be fed?
The vast majority of Laotians live on farms. But with foreign investors wanting to buy up land, local
people will have to be moved to make room for them. Heavily dependent on both foreign aid and foreign
investment, Laos still falls well behind its neighbours, although its economy has grown at about 6% a year
in the last decade. Its biggest economic problem is the lack of locally trained skilled workforce.
But there are reasons to be hopeful for the future. Laos is beautiful, and foreign tourism continues to grow: fortunately so far the fast-food chains and coffee bars common elsewhere are nowhere to be seen.
Although all local media are government-run, the Internet is not controlled and the BBC and CNN are
available to those with satellite dishes.
The government has also achieved impressive results in rural development, with communities benefiting not just from cleaner water but the construction of new schools and regular visits from medical teams.
Poverty will not be history in Laos within the next decade, but with small steps forward and a bit of outside help, the country could find itself out of the UN's least-developed category by 2020.
亮點激活精編提優(yōu)100分大試卷系列答案科目：高中英語 來源：英語教研室 題型：050
As a teenager in 1972, Bill Gates boasted that he would be a millionaire by the time he was 20. While he did not quite achieve that goal, only 15 years later, he was a millionaire. And by 1992, as head of the Microsoft company, he became the richest man in America with assets (資產(chǎn)) of approximately US $ 6. 3 billion.
Born in Seattle, Washington on 28, October, 1956, Gates was named William Henry after his father and grandfather. From the beginning, he was an extremely energetic and intelligent child. He had read the entire world book encyclopedia (百科全書) by the age of nine. His favorite subjects at school were science and math and his favorite pastime was “thinking”.
Gates first started to play with computers at the age of 13, when one was installed at his school. At that time, computers were large, awkward (笨重的) machines. Operators were required to learn complex (復雜的) computer languages before the machines could be used. Even then a great deal of time and effort was needed to perform the simplest functions. Before long Gates was an expert at working the school's computer. After his graduation from secondary school, Gates was accepted by the three top universities in the USA Princeton, Harvard and Yale. He chose Harvard and began classes there the next autumn, majoring math. But he was still obsessed (占據(jù)心思) with computers and spent as much time in the computer laboratories as he did in the lecture halls.
By 1975, Gates and a partner, Paul Allen, had developed a software program called BASIC. This was not the first program ever created, but its inventors were the first to decide that people who wanted to use it should pay for it.
BASIC was a success because until it came along, there had been no efficient way of getting computers to carry out instructions. Although he had not completed his degree, Gates left university and went to work full time for the new company he had formed called Microsoft.
His next project was the software program that made him famous and very rich. It was called DOS, short for Disk Operating System, and it was purchased (購買) by 113M in 1980. Today it is the operating system used in more than 14 million personal computers around the world.
As chief executive office of Microsoft, Gates is known as a bright man, but one who is not easily satisfied. He is quick to criticize (批評) his staff and hates to be questioned about decisions he has made. He was regarded as a loner and unfashionable boring computer nut until his marriage to Microsoft manager Melinda French on New Year's Day 1994. Yet to most people now, Gates is a person who is, in spite of his great wealth, humble (謙恭) and ordinary. He spends his money carefully. He eats in fast food restaurants and flies economy class. And when praised for Microsoft's great success, he has been heard to say. “All we do is put software in a box and if people see it in the stores and like it, they buy it. “
1．When he was a teenager, Bill Gates wanted to be a ________.
A. teacher
B. doctor
C. businessman
D. professor
2．When Gates went to Harvard, he ________.
A. was interested only in math
B. spent most of his time in computer laboratories
C. developed the first computer software program
D. divided his time between his math studies and the computer laboratories
3．Before the development of BASIC, ________.
A. no one was interested in computer software
B. software programs were not considered commercial projects
C. software programs were very expensive
D. no one wanted to pay for computer software
4．When the writer says, “Bill was regarded as an unfashionable boring computer nut”, he means ________.
A. Bill was so strong-minded that no one could change his mind
B. the only thing that could interests Bill on his life was computer
C. Bill was such a boring young man that nobody would like to talk to him
D. Bill couldn't work out the boring computer problems
5．Most people think Gates is ________.
A. a crazy person
B. a person obsessed with making money
C. someone who spends money freely
D. a quite common, normal person
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科目：高中英語 來源：訓練必修二英語北師版 北師版 題型：050
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科目：高中英語 來源：湖南省長郡中學09-10學年度高一下學期4月月考 題型：閱讀理解
B．閱讀理解：（30分）
A
Now we can see a man and his wife at the breakfast table. They are not speaking to each other.
They haven’t spoken to each other at the breakfast table for years. The husband is reading his newspaper. We can’t see his face. The wife looks very worried as she gets a cup of tea ready for him. Today she is using a new kind of tea for the first time. The husband picks up his cup. He isn’t interested. He tastes his tea. Suddenly he puts down his newspaper. Something is different! Can it be the tea? He takes another taste. It’s wonderful. He smiles. He looks at his wife and says in surprise, “Doris, when did you cut your hair?” Doris is pleased. She answers, “Two months ago.” Doris asks, “Herbie, when did your hair begin to become white?” He answers, “A long time ago.” Doris says, “We have been together for many years, but we never cared about each other.” Now they aren’t worried any longer. Breakfast is different. Has a new kind of tea changed their lives?
36. This story happens______________________.
A. before breakfast B. after breakfast
C. at home D. in a teahouse
37. In the passage, we can see ________________________.
A. Doris is drinking tea B. Herbie likes the new kind of tea
C. Doris is reading a newspaper D. Herbie is very young and good-looking
38. Herbie and Doris lived ______________ before this day.
A. a wonderful B. an unhappy
C. an enjoyable D. a friendly
39. Which of the following statements is true?
A. They are good friends. B. They have just got married.
C. They like to talk about their hair. D. They are no longer young.
40. From the passage, we think it may be ______________.
A. a radio programme B. a short film
C. a computer game D. a beautiful painting
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科目：高中英語 來源：浙江省富陽市場口中學2009-2010學年高一5月教學質(zhì)量檢測試題（英語） 題型：閱讀理解
三． 閱讀理解（30分）
Einstein, a great scientist of the age, was almost as strange as his Theory of Relativity.
Once, while riding a street car in Berlin, he told the conductor that he had not given him the right change. The conductor counted the change again and found it to be correct, so he handed it to Einstein, saying, “The trouble with you is that you don’t know your figures.”
Einstein said that there were only twelve people living who understood his Theory of Relativity although a good many books had been written to explain it.
He had nothing but contempt(蔑視) for the things most people set their hearts on --- for fame and riches(財富) and luxury(奢華).
He didn’t want money or praise. He made his own happiness out of such simple things as his work and playing the violin and sailing his boat. Einstein’s violin brought him more joy than anything else in life. He said that he often thought in music.
1．The conductor thought Einstein _____ ．
A． wasn’t good at maths B．had good memory
C． was either mad or strange D．liked to make trouble
2．Einstein meant that many people _____ ．
A. knew his Theory of Relativity well because they could explain it
B．had written to have grasped his theory correctly
C．pretended to have grasped his abstract theory
D．a(chǎn)dmired him very much
3．Which of the following statements is true?
A. Einstein care little for fame or wealth.
B. Einstein had nothing but enough fame and riches and luxury.
C. Einstein was eager for the things most people set their hearts to.
D. In the eyes of Einstein, most people had a strong wish to publish book on the theory.
4. The underline part “set their hearts on” means _____.
A. believe B. have C. love D. hate
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科目：高中英語 來源：浙江省富陽市2009-2010學年高一5月教學質(zhì)量檢測試題（英語） 題型：閱讀理解
三． 閱讀理解（30分）
Einstein, a great scientist of the age, was almost as strange as his Theory of Relativity.
Once, while riding a street car in Berlin, he told the conductor that he had not given him the right change. The conductor counted the change again and found it to be correct, so he handed it to Einstein, saying, “The trouble with you is that you don’t know your figures.”
Einstein said that there were only twelve people living who understood his Theory of Relativity although a good many books had been written to explain it.
He had nothing but contempt(蔑視) for the things most people set their hearts on --- for fame and riches(財富) and luxury(奢華).
He didn’t want money or praise. He made his own happiness out of such simple things as his work and playing the violin and sailing his boat. Einstein’s violin brought him more joy than anything else in life. He said that he often thought in music.
1．The conductor thought Einstein _____ ．
A． wasn’t good at maths B．had good memory
C． was either mad or strange D．liked to make trouble
2．Einstein meant that many people _____ ．
A. knew his Theory of Relativity well because they could explain it
B．had written to have grasped his theory correctly
C．pretended to have grasped his abstract theory
D．a(chǎn)dmired him very much
3．Which of the following statements is true?
A. Einstein care little for fame or wealth.
B. Einstein had nothing but enough fame and riches and luxury.
C. Einstein was eager for the things most people set their hearts to.
D. In the eyes of Einstein, most people had a strong wish to publish book on the theory.
4. The underline part “set their hearts on” means _____.
A. believe B. have C. love D. hate
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