JIUQUAN, China—China’s Shenzhou-9 spacecraft blasted off(點火升空)at 6:37 pm Saturday, from a remote desert in western China, sending a crew of three, including the country’s first female astronaut, into space.
The successful launch, powered by a Long March 2F rocket, was shown live on state television Saturday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in western China.
The Chinese astronauts will complete the country’s first manned space docking mission(載入太空對接任務(wù)), an important step in Beijing’s ambitious plan to build a permanent space station by 2020. Possible future missions could include sending a man to the moon.
The crew is expected to spend more than 10 days in space and dock with the Tiangong-1 space lab module, which China launched in September 2011. Two of them will live and work inside the module to test its life-support systems, while the third will remain in the capsule to deal with any unexpected emergencies.
China first launched a man into space in 2003, followed by a two-man mission in 2005 and a three-man trip in 2008 that featured the country’s first spacewalk. In November 2011, the unmanned Shenzhou-8 successfully docked twice with Tiangong-1 by remote control. The manned docking would be considered a milestone for China’s space program.
China is hoping to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit(軌道). It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on their own.
The program is a source of enormous national pride for China, reflecting its rapid economic and technological progress and ambition to rank among the world’s leading nations.
【小題1】From the passage, we know that       .

A．China plans to build a permanent space station on the moon in the near future

B．the Shenzhou-9 will dock with Tiangong-1 for the third time

C．the success launch of Shenzhou-9 is a milestone for China’s space program

D．plenty of people had the opportunity to watch the live broadcast o the launch on TV

【小題2】In space, the three astronauts will complete the following tasks EXCEPT______.

A．handling some emergencies	B．testing the life-support system
C．walking in space	D．docking with a space lab module

【小題3】What can be concluded according to the passage?

A．More and more manned space stations will be sent into space from China.

B．The docking of Shenzhou-9 will be more successful than that of Shenzhou-8.

C．There are only three countries which sent space station into space.

D．The rapid development of China’s economy and technology has contributed a lot to the success of Shenzhou-9 program.

【小題4】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．China sent its first woman into outer space.

B．Shenzhou-9 sent three astronauts, including a female, into space.

C．China’s advanced space technology amazed the world.

D．Three Chinese astronauts began their space voyage.

A public high school in the rural town of Boonsboro，Maryland，offers a special program recently. Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single－sex classes for math，science，English and social studies.
The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart. Rebecca Brown chooses the students for what Boonsboro High School calls the Academy. “What we really want to do is take that top group of kids and take them to the very highest level they can achieve here，so that they’re prepared for college，” she said. They need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations. They also need to be involved in activities.
Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High School for twenty years and directs the Academy. His ninth－grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting. “The novels they’re reading now，are very manly novels. They’re novels that deal with the arrogance(傲慢)of man and the pride of man.” One of those books，for example，is “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London. This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush.
On this day，the students are working in small groups. Vincent and Logan explain why they’re drawing pictures that relate to the story. Vincent said，“The main character，Buck，gets abducted(綁架),? and they send him off to the Yukon in a train. So I’m drawing part of the story where he’s in the train. It gets you to visualize the setting of the story and gets you to think more about what’s going on in the story，the important events of the story.”“ Instead of just doing work sheets about it，this is a lot more fun，” Logan added happily.
Morgan Van Fleet likes being in the Academy. She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom. “To me，it almost seems like it’s hindering(妨礙)? your chances at developing yourself because you’re more focused on ‘Oh，I wish they’d shut up. Oh，what do they think of me？’ instead of focusing on what’s the homework or what’s going on in this class，what’s the lesson.”
【小題1】What is the purpose of the text?

A．To educate.

B．To persuade.

C．To instruct.

D．To introduce.

【小題2】In Rebecca Brown’s opinion，________.

A．a(chǎn)ny student in Boonsboro High School can take part in the program

B．students in the program are expected to get well prepared for college

C．students can all achieve their highest levels in the program

D．students don’t have to join in the activities.

【小題3】The underlined word “visualize” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”．

A．form a picture of	B．pay a visit to
C．take a look at	D．have a gift for

【小題4】What can we conclude from the text?____________.

A．Michael Bair considers it unsuitable for boys to read the book “The Call of the Wild”．

B．Vincent thinks that his drawings can help understand the novel better.

C．Jack London is a main character in the book “The Call of the Wild”．

D．Morgan Van Fleet thinks the program does no good to her.

【小題5】The text is probably taken from________.

A．a(chǎn) school’s introduction	B．a(chǎn) teacher’s diary
C．a(chǎn) headmaster’s speech	D．a(chǎn) news report

“I stepped out and was flabbergasted,” local journalist Bahram Baloch told the BBC. “I could see this gray, dome-shaped (圓頂形的) body in the distance, like a giant whale swimming near the surface. Hundreds of people had gathered to watch it in disbelief.”
This island has become a global curiosity. How was it formed in just a few minutes?
As you might already know, many islands in the sea are formed by volcanoes. There are numerous volcanoes under the sea. As the hot lava erupts and cools down, it piles up and forms the shape of a mountain. When the mountain “grows” to higher than the sea level, the part that’s above the water is what we call an “island”.
This is how the island was formed after the Pakistan earthquake, except that instead of a regular volcano, it was a “mud volcano” that brought about this island. Lava is not the only thing that’s locked under the Earth’s crust — there is also gas. When an earthquake happens and breaks part of the crust, the gas is released at an extremely high speed, pushing mud up to the surface, according to National Geographic.
But only earthquakes that are extremely powerful can cause mud volcanoes to push up enough mud to produce islands — and this 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan was strong enough. The island is about 20 meters high, up to about 90 meters wide and 30 meters long, nearly the size of a soccer field.
In fact, mud volcano islands aren’t new. This is the fourth island of this kind in the region since 1945. But those islands usually didn’t last long.
“It will probably be gone within a couple of months,” said Bill Barnhart, a researcher with the US Geological Survey. After all, “it’s just a big pile of mud that was on the seafloor that got pushed up”.
【小題1】What is the article mainly about?

A．The disastrous effects of coastal earthquakes.

B．The difference between mud volcanoes and regular volcanoes.

C．How islands are formed by mud volcanoes.

D．The great natural wonders of Pakistan.

【小題2】The underlined word “flabbergasted” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to __________.

A．surprised

B．disappointed

C．worried

D．curious

【小題3】We can infer from the article that __________.

A．the new island near the coast of Pakistan actually took a few months to form

B．scientists still know little about different types of volcanoes

C．a(chǎn)nother earthquake is likely to happen in Pakistan within a couple of months

D．not all volcanoes change the geological appearance of the Earth

【小題4】According to the article, islands formed by mud volcanoes __________.

A．a(chǎn)re quite difficult to locate

B．usually disappear after a short period of time

C．a(chǎn)re formed by hot lava from volcanoes

D．used to be part of the Earth’s crust

The bus driver and his passengers were being hailed （擁戴） as heroes last night after rescuing a woman from her burning car following a crash on the Bluff Highway. The 60-year-old woman was taken by ambulance to Southland Hospital after firefighters battled for 30 minutes to cut her from her car.
Acting Senior Sergeant Brock Davis of Invercargill, said emergency services were called to the scene of the crash at the crossroads of Motorimu Rd and State Highway I shortly before 5：00 p.m. yesterday.
Mr. Davis said a Mitsubishi car driven by a 30-year-old man traveling north on the highway and the woman’s southbound （南行的） Suzuki Alto collided （碰撞）. The man suffered slight injuries in the crash, he said.
Invercargill Passenger Transport Ltd driver Bill McDermott and his passengers—New Zealand Aluminum Smelters Ltd workers were first on the scene and alerted emergency services. The scene at the spot was disordered, Mr. McDermott said.
“There was a car on its side and a guy wandering around who was quite excited,” he said. “We stopped, got out and found a lady trapped in her car …… then we noticed flames in the engine bay and the smell of petrol.” Mr. McDermott took a fire extinguisher（滅火器） from the bus, doused （潑灑） the flames, and several other workers controlled traffic.
However, he said his actions were “no big deal”. He was not willing to take any credit for helping the woman.
“The praise goes to all the guys that jumped off that bus.” Invercargill Senior Station officer Alan Goldsworthy, who was an officer in charge at the scene, said there was a possibility the car could have burst into flames if Mr. McDermott and the smelter workers had not helped. “They should acquire a good pat on the back.” he said.
【小題1】It can be known from the passage that the car accident happened _______.

A．a(chǎn)t noon

B．in the afternoon

C．in the morning

D．a(chǎn)t night

【小題2】Who should get the biggest praise according to the reporter?__

A．Brock Davis.

B．Bill McDermott.

C．Allan Goldsworthy.

D．The firefighters.

【小題3】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage？______

A．The first witnesses of the accident were passers-by.

B．The woman driver was driving north before the accident.

C．The firefighters spent half an hour helping the woman out.

D．With the bus driver and his passengers’ help, the woman’s car didn‘t burst into flames.

【小題4】The underlined sentence “They should acquire a good pat on the back” in the last paragraph really means ________.

A．the government should give each of the heroes a gold medal of honor

B．the saved woman should offer as much money to the heroes as she can

C．the good deeds of the heroes are well worthy of great appreciation

D．everybody there should pat the heroes on the back gently and thankfully

China Daily: As China comes down from a travel rush during the seven-day holiday for National Day, people called for a return of the Labor Day Golden Week holiday as a way to ease(緩解) the travel peak.
By Friday, 79 million passengers were expected to have used the railways up about 8 percent over last year. Waterways had shipped around 2 million, a rise of about 17 percent on last year, www. cntv. cn, the website of China Central Television, said on Saturday.
As large numbers of tourists swarmed scenic spots around China, it caused huge crowds and many complaints.
The Forbidden City in Beijing has long been a big draw for travelers. On Tuesday alone, the museum reported, it received more than 180,000 visitors, about six times higher than a regular day.
According to China Central Television, restless visitors demanded their money back from the tourism committee, and police were sent to help deal with the problem.
The Beijing-HongKong-Macao expressway, the Shanghai-Kunming expressway and the route from Beijing to Kunming saw large increases in traffic on Saturday, according to www. cntv. cn.
“As there are only two long holidays in the country and paid leave is not well carried out by employers（雇主）, people have limited chances for travel”, Dai Bin, the director of China Tourism Academy, said in a report by Beijing Times on Saturday.
“The travel rush during the ‘Golden Week’ holidays happens because people do not take long journeys during shorter holidays”, said Liu Simin, a researcher with the China Academy of Social Sciences, in a report by Beijing Times on Saturday.
Liu said that now the most important task is to ease the pressure from the huge numbers of tourists. When the Labor Day Golden Week holiday came to an end in 2007, a chance to travel was reduced.
In 2008, the government shortened the Labor Day Golden Week holiday, usually lasting from May 1 to May 7, to three days and added three other short vacations to the list.
【小題1】The Labor Day Golden Week holiday was shortened to __________________.

A．one day

B．two days

C．three days

D．four days

【小題2】The underlined word “swarmed” in the third paragraph probably means “_______”.

A．crowded into

B．left

C．escaped from

D．planned to go to

【小題3】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．People called for a return of the Labor Day Golden Week holiday.

B．The museum reported it received more than 180,000 visitors during the holiday.

C．Now the most important task is to ease the pressure from the huge numbers of tourists.

D．There are only two long holidays in the country.

【小題4】What is the passage mainly about?

A．Seven-day Golden Week Holiday sees huge crowds on popular tourists spots

B．The problem during the seven-day Golden Week Holiday.

C．Travel complaints.

D．The pressure from the huge numbers of tourists.

The earthquake that shook Japan with historic strength on March 11th, 2011 created a tsunami wave ten meters high. The water washed away boats, cars and houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo. It also led to tsunami warnings across the Pacific.
Scientists recorded the magnitude(震級) of the earthquake at 8.9.The United States Geological Survey says it was the fifth largest earthquake since nineteen hundred. The largest, with a 9.5 magnitude, shook Chile in nineteen sixty.
The quake struck near the east coast of Honshu, Japan's main island. It was centered under the sea about one hundred thirty kilometers east of Sendai.The tsunami washed away whole neighborhoods in Sendai.
So far (April 4th), the tsunami has taken 12, 0009 people's life away.
Now Japanese are all trying to rebuild their hometown, but there are too many difficulties.
The first, Japan is the world's third largest importer(進口商)of oil. The shortage of oil makes it almost impossible to carry the food, medicine and water to the quake area by cars.
The second, the Fukushima nuclear(核) power station was damaged by the March eleventh earthquake and tsunami. The extent of the problems is still not clear. Japan’s nuclear crisis(危機) may mean greater need of imported food.
【小題1】The underlined word in Paragraph 1 means______ in Chinese.

A．地震

B．核輻射

C．海浪

D．海嘯

【小題2】The largest earthquake happened in ______.

A．Tokyo

B．the United States

C．Chile

D．Japan

【小題3】Japanese are facing ______ kinds of problems when trying to rebuild their hometown.

A．one

B．two

C．three

D．four

【小題4】Why did the food, medicine and water can hardly carry to the earthquake area soon?

A．Because of the shortage of oil.

B．Because of the damage of the roads.

C．Because of the nuclear crisis.

D．Because of the tsunami.

A Hollywood movie was met with an awkward situation last Saturday in China. While fans are standing in long queues to watch the first show, others are advocating a boycott（抵制）on the American movie with Chinese story elements.
　　After "Kung Fu Panda", a cartoon movie telling about a panda’s Kung Fu master journey, hit China’s silver screens in 2008, its sequel (續(xù)集), Kung Fu Panda 2, was released in China just ahead of International Children’s Day, adding more Chinese elements such as shadow play (皮影戲) and lion dancing.
　　However, some Chinese artists and scholars argue that the movie has twisted (扭曲) Chinese culture and serves as a tool to "kidnap (綁架)" the mind of the Chinese people.
　　“Children’s Day should be pure. Don’t turn it into a money-making day for Hollywood, and don’ t fool our next generation with American fast food,” according to an open letter to Chinese cinema managers written by Zhao Bandi, an artist hoping to boycott the “Americanized” movie. His move is backed by Kong Qingdong, a professor of the Chinese language in Beijing University, who said Chinese elements have become advertising products to advocate American culture. "It is a cultural invasion," said Kong.
　　In the movie, the main character called “Po,” a panda, is talkative, humorous, lovely, and is widely believed to be a typical American figure.
　　However, the panda has won millions of fans in China. On China’s most popular website, comments on the movie reached nearly 270 million entries.
　　“I won’t call it a cultural invasion,” said Li Jiayi, a Beijing university student. “I see nothing bad for others to use our cultural elements to make a movie. I’ m a huge fan of Po. In spite of being a cartoon, it is still loved by many adults like me,” said the 25-year-old after watching the first show at midnight.
　 Cao Hui, general manager of Shenzhen Global Digital Creations company, said: “instead of a
‘boycott’, movie producers should learn from the movie to make better use of Chinese story elements. Technically, Kung Fu Panda is not more advanced than Chinese movies, but as for story telling skills, Chinese movies have a long way to go”.
【小題1】Some artists and scholars are against "Kung Fu Panda" because they think_____.

A．it has added too many Chinese elements

B．it has ruined Chinese image deliberately

C．it is an exact copy of Chinese culture

D．it is advertising American culture

【小題2】What does the underlined word “backed” in the fourth paragraph mean?

A．supported

B．criticized

C．released

D．resisted

【小題3】This passage can be classified as _________.

A．a(chǎn)n advertisement

B．a(chǎn) feature story

C．a(chǎn) news report

D．a(chǎn) film review

Climate change，pollution，overuse of water and development are killing some of the world’s most famous rivers including China’s Yangtze．India’s Ganges and Africa’s Nile．WWF said on Tuesday．At the global launch of its report “World’s Top 10 Rivers at Risk”，the group said many rivers could dry out, affecting hundreds of millions of people and killing unique aquatic（水生的）life．
“If these rivers die，millions will lose their livelihoods，biodiversity（生物多樣性）will be destroyed on a massive scale，there will be less fresh water and agriculture，resulting in less food security，”said．Rayi Singh，secretary—general of WWF—India．The report launched ahead of “World Water Day” today，also cited the Rio Grande in the United States，the Mekong and Indus in Asia，Europe’s Danube, La Plata in South America and Australia’s Murray—Darling as in need of greater protection．
Rivers are the world’s main source of fresh water and WWF says about half of the available supply is already being used up．Dams have destroyed habitats and cut rivers off from their flood plains．while climate change could affect the seasonal water flows that feed them，the report said．Fish populations，the top source of protein and overall life support for hundreds of thousands of communities worldwide，are also being threatened, it found．．The Yangtze basin is one of the most polluted rivers in the world because of decades of heavy industrialization，damming and huge influxes（流入）of sediment（積淀）from land conversion．
Climate change，including higher temperatures，also means serious consequences for fishery productivity，water supply and political security in Africa’s arid Nile basin．Tributaries（支流）flowing into the Ganges are drying up because of irrigation，WWF said．
【小題1】hat is the text mainly about?

A．Saving fresh water in our life．	B．How to protect our rivers．
C．An important discovery．	D．World’s top 10 rivers are at risk．

【小題2】We can infer from the text that _____．

A．rivers’ dying out could affect food security

B．there are four Asian rivers mentioned in the passage

C．the Yangtze is polluted thanks to the lack of enough tributaries

D．higher temperatures couldn’t affect fishery productivity

【小題3】The top 10 rivers are fast dying as a result of the following EXCEPT _____．

A．climate change

B．wasting water

C．pollution

D．dams

【小題4】WWF is probably a name of _____．

A．a(chǎn)n organization

B．a(chǎn) newspaper

C．a(chǎn) magazine

D．a(chǎn) report

Now, it’s time for some brief news items.
Teens Go Online
Some 13 million European children under 18 use the Internet for schoolwork, games and music according to research done by Nielsen’s “Net-rating”. The study covered Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Experts advised parents to limit the time their kids spend on line and keep them away from chat rooms.
Chat to the magic Mum
British author J. K. Rowling, mother of magic boy Harry Potter, will do an Internet interview about her new book “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” on June 26. Before the event, children are invited to send their questions about Harry to the website. The book will hit stores in the US and UK on June 21 and will arrive in China in August.
School Soldiers
Russian school students will have to do basic military training in their final year of school, the government has decided. The lesson will include learning to fire guns, marching drills and how to deal with a chemical, nuclear or biological attack. The activity is seen as part of a drive toward the education of their love for their country.
Is it hard for you to get up early and get ready for classes? Some students at Winter Park High School just roll out of bed in their pajamas (睡衣) and go to class in their own bedrooms, Of course, their teachers and classmates do not see them because all their class work is on the computer. The Florida High School, the state’s only online school, has 250 students who are taking classes at home by computer. Students in this first online program take classes in algebra (代數(shù)), American government, chemistry, computer, economics, and web-page design. They also have to go to regular school to attend other classes.
【小題1】In the first news item, which country is NOT covered in the research?

A．Britain.

B．France.

C．Sweden.

D．Spain.

【小題2】What is the second news item mainly about?

A．J. K. Rowling will have an Internet interview.

B．Children will meet Harry Potter’s mother.

C．The Harry Potter book will be available on the Internet.

D．The Harry Potter book will arrive in China in early June.

【小題3】Why will Russian school students have basic military training?

A．To get ready for a military parade.

B．To learn to protect themselves.

C．To gain some military knowledge.

D．To develop their love for the country.

【小題4】The news from Florida can be given a title “____________”.

A．Get up Late

B．Online School

C．Magical Computers

D．No Teachers

On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and telephoned the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel ball before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles.”
Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India.
When he was 11, he read the book Marco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years , he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true.
Robert Friedlander’s next destinations (目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan.
【小題1】 The best headline(標題) for this newspaper article would be      .

A．An American Achieving His Aims	B． A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an
C．Marco Polo and the Silk Road	D． The Kingdom of Bicycles

【小題2】 The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because _______

A．he asked to see the manager

B．the manager had to know about all foreign guests

C．he entered the hall with a bike

D．the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him

【小題3】 Friedlander is visiting the three countries in the following order____       .

A．China, India, and Pakistan	B．India, China, and Pakistan
C．Pakistan, China, and India	D．China, Pakistan, and India

【小題4】What made Friedlander want to come to China?

A．His childhood dreams about bicycles .

B．The famous sights in Xi’an .

C．His interest in Chinese silk.

D．The stories about Marco Polo

【小題5】Friedlander can be said to be ____      .

A．strong—minded

B．friendly

C．hardworking

D．clever