(   ) 1. The long absence of rain       led to a serious drought in the southwest of China the

year before last,which drew the concern of the whole country.

A. immediately    B. accidentally C. gradually    D. undoubtedly

The Greeks had long kept certain more or less formal relations with the people of Macedonia (馬其頓） Now it happened，just when Sparta and Athens had finished their disastrous war，that Macedonia was ruled by an extraordinarily clever man named Philip. He admired the Greek spirit but he looked down on their lack of self-control in political affairs. It angered him to see a perfectly good people waste its men and money upon fruitless quarrels. So he settled the difficulty by making himself the master of all Greece and then he asked his new subjects to join him on a voyage which he meant to pay to Persia in return for the visit which Xerxes had paid the Greeks 150 years before.  

Unfortunately Philip was murdered before he could start this well-prepared expedition(遠(yuǎn)征). The task of avenging(報仇)the destruction of Athens was left to Philip's son Alexander,the beloved pupil of Aristotle，wisest of all Greek teachers.

Alexander left Europe in the spring of334 BC. Seven years later he reached India. In the meantime he had destroyed Phoenicia(腓尼基，地中海古國），the old rival of the Greek merchants. He had con?quered Egypt and had been worshipped by the people of the Nile valley as the son and heir of the Pharaohs(法老). He had defeated the last Persian king，he had overthrown the Persian Empire，he had given orders to rebuild Babylon，he had led his troops into the heart of the Himalayan mountains and had made the entire world a Macedonian province and dependency. Then he stopped and announced even more ambitious plans.

The newly formed Empire must be brought under the influence of the Greek mind. The people must be taught the Greek language~~they must live in cities built after a Greek model. The Alexandrian soldier now turned school-master. The military camps of yesterday became the peaceful centres of the newly imported Greek civilisation. Higher and higher did the flood of Greek manners and Greek customs rise，when suddenly Alexander was stricken with a fever and died in the old palace of King Hammurabi of Babylon in the year 323 BC.

His Empire did not long survive him. A number of ambitious generals divided the territory among themselves. But they too remained faithful to the dream of a great world brotherhood of Greek and Asiatic ideas and knowledge. They maintained their independence until the Romans came.

(   ) 8. The first 3 paragraphs are aimed at telling readers about      

A.  the Greece's relationship with Macedonia

B.  Alexander's father's achievements

C.  Greek's lack of communication with the outside

D.  the background of Alexander's expedition

(   ) 9. The underlined word "subjects" can be replaced with      

A. targets    B. programs C. citizens    D. themes

(   ) 10. It can be implied that Philip organized a voyage to Persia      

A. to pay a return visit    B. to avenge the destruction of Athens

C. to start a well-prepared expedition D. to spread Greek culture

(   ) 11. What happened as a result of Alexander' s expedition?

A.   India became an independent part of Macedonia.

B.   Phoenicia was destroyed by Greek merchants.

C.   Egypt was conquered by the Pharaohs.

D.   The Persian Empire was overturned.

(   ) 12. We can guess that Alexander's most ambitious plan after 327 BC was       

A.  to bring the newly formed Empire under the Greek influence

B.  to distribute the territory among the generals

C.  to turn the soldiers into school teachers

D.  to build prosperous cities for Greeks

Red squirrels have been wiped out from a large area of northern Italy，threatening a further biodiversity crisis for the species similar to its near extinction in the British Isles..

There are now no red squirrels left in an area of more than 1 ，150 square kilometres in Piedmont， according to research from the universities of Turin, Genoa and Varese. On the edge of this large region, the species is also under threat from the invasions of grey squirrels.

If the spread of the grey squirrel continues uncontrolled，the species could spread as far as France， the scientists fear. They are calling for more research and control and conservation measures aimed at preserving the remaining red squirrel populations and containing the spread of the greys.

Grey squirrels were introduced into Italy relatively recently, in 1948. They were a gift from the US ambassador and kept in Turin，but escaped into the wild and rapidly colonized the surrounding area despite warnings from the UK，where importing grey squirrels was forbidden from before the Second World War,when the destructive effects of having imported greys in the 1880s had become clear.

Grey squirrels are not only more aggressive than the native European red squirrel，which causes   them to invade red-dominated areas and take over,but they also carry a deadly virus,the squirrel pox. While greys are largely immune to the virus,it is deadly to red squirrels, which typically die within one or two weeks of being infected.

From only four animals in 1948, at Stupinigi near Turin,the greys spread rapidly in recent years. Until 1970 the distribution of greys was limited to the Stupinigi woods, occupying an area of about 12 sq km. By 1990 this area had expanded to more than 200 sq km，stretching mainly southwards into the Cuneo province.

By 2000 ，grey squirrels occupied 900 sq km and this year，fresh research from the three universities shows that their distribution now extends to more than 2 ，000 sq km. In more than half of that area,the native reds have been entirely wiped out,and in the remainder they are under severe threat.

(   ) 4. The best title for this passage should be      

A.   Red Squirrels and Grey Squirrels Struggle Hard

B.   Red Squirrels and Grey Squirrels Are Distributed Unequally

C.    The Invasion of Foreign Species Has a Deep Influence

D.   Red Squirrel Populations Are Wiped Out in Northern Italy

(   ) 5. Red squirrels are nearly extinct in northern Italy as a result of .

A.  the biodiversity crisis

B.  the invasion of grey squirrels

C.  being weaker than other animals

D.  the similar extinction in the British Isles
(   ) 6. Grey squirrels      

A.  were set free to the wild by people in Turin

B.  were found to have destructive effects in the 1880s

C.  were brought to Italy as a gift to the US ambassador

D.  were forbidden to be imported to the UK from before the Second World War

(   ) 7. Which of the following about red squirrels is WRONG?

A.   They could spread as far as France.

B.   They die out in an area of more than 1 ，150 sq km in Piedmont.

C.   They call for more research and control and conservation.

D.   They often die of a virus that is introduced by grey squirrels.

For new countries joining the European Union,and the older ones getting used to their burgundy passports, becoming "Europeans" is a bit like marrying into a large, eccentric (古怪的) family. Europeans have a lot in common, but it is their differences,not their similarities,which attract the attention of sociologists(社會學(xué)家)and market researchers, that are more interesting.

35% of Germans live alone;but only 9% of Spaniards. Perhaps this explains why Spaniards lead Europe in the habit of going out for a drink.

The British attend more adult evening classes than anyone else in Europe, and the Belgians least. So it can't just be the dark evenings. There are no figures on how many Britons go for a drink afterwards. If there were，they might be up at the top with Spain！

The British think black cats are lucky. Every other European country regards them unlucky.

The Dutch and Germans are the greatest caravanners(活動房居住者），but the Germans like big?ger beds in their caravans.

The French are the most athletic Europeans. Next come the Dutch. But the Belgians, just over the border,play fewest sports.

The Germans spend twice as much on heating as the Spaniards. Well，of course they do; it's colder.  

Dutch husbands do the household shopping a lot more often than Italians or Spaniards.

The French are the champion public transport commuters(用月票者）of Europe. If you hate commuting,go and live in the Netherlands，where journeys to work are shorter than anywhere else.

The amount of direct eye-contact between strangers is three times greater among Spaniards than it is among the British or Swedish. Sharing a lift is torture (折磨)for both the British and the Swedish.

No European countries really agree with any other about how to make good coffee. All of them are different.

There are exceptions to all these rules. My 8-year-old daughter thinks，"If you don't understand
each other's language, you just laugh a lot,and eat,and point at things."
(   ) 1. If you work or live in Belgium，you      

A.   will have to change your living places often

B.   will seldom see people playing sports

C.   will not get used to its cold weather

D.   will be invited to go for a drink frequently

(   ) 2. What does "Sharing a lift is torture for both the British and the Swedish" mean?

A.  The British and the Swedish care about their safety most.

B.  The British and the Swedish like to appear gentle and smart.

C.  The British and the Swedish hate to look at each other face to face. .

D.  The British and the Swedish enjoy a richer life than others.

(   ) 3. In the last paragraph, the author wants to express his idea that      

A.  his daughter knows well how to understand foreigners in unfamiliar situations

B.  Europeans actually share the same culture even if they have different languages

C.  being a European,you will have no living trouble at all in the European Union

D.  there are differences between European countries, but don't take it too seriously

10. According to a new law,people      in the public places will be punished severely. (put)

9.______________________________ for the job，the manager felt a stone on his mind. (mind)

因心中沒有合適人選去做那份工作，經(jīng)理心情非常沉重。

8. He only wanted to acquire an experience,____________________________________ . (care)

賺不賺錢他都不太在意，他只想獲得一種體驗(yàn)。

7. Due to the fact that the air-conditioning was out of order,we teachers all found the office too hot for us      .(bend)

因空調(diào)壞了 ，我們老師都發(fā)現(xiàn)辦公室太熱了，不宜專心工作。

6. We want to wear casual clothes，but the school insists________________________ • (dress)

我們想穿休閑服，但學(xué)校硬要我們穿校服。

5. Once      ，water will become gas. (heat)

一旦加熱到足夠高的溫度，水會變成氣體。