根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。（注意：如选E涂AB；选F涂AC；选G涂AD）

  1   People use money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of other things they need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money.

Most of the money today is made of metal or paper.   2   One of the first kinds of money was shells.

Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa.

The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the centre.   3  .

Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money.   4    Sweden and Russia used copper to make their money. Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver.

But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money.   5   The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than the paper money used today.

Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.

 

A. The first coins in England were made of tin (锡).

B. But people used to use all kinds of things as money.

C. No one knows for certain when people began to use money.

D. People strung (串连) them together and carried them from place to place.

E. Money, as we know, is all made of paper.

F. They began to use paper money.

G. Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services.

 

AIDS’ Threat to Asia Grows

NEW DELHI----Just a few years ago, Mala was a typical middle-class Indian housewife. She cooked, cleaned and looked after her two small children.

Last year, her life took a tragic turn. Her husband died of AIDS; she was found out HIV-positive and her mother-in-law took her children away from her, saying they would get the disease. “When friends dropped for a visit, she would introduce me, saying, ‘She is my son’s widow. She has AIDS,’” said Mala. AIDS is now described as “explosive(炸药)” around the world. A study of a hospital in the port city of Durban in South Africa, where the world’s biggest and Africa’s second AIDS conference opened last Sunday, found that almost half the beds in medical wards (病房) were occupied by AIDS patients.

South Africa has one of the world’s fastest growing HIV infections, with 1,700 people infected daily, adding to the 4.3 million, or 10 percent of its population, living with HIV. Until now, Asia has been more successful in holding the AIDS virus than Africa, where the disease has killed about 12 million people.

AIDS is now threatening to surround many of Asia’s poverty-stricken countries. Countries in Asia, such as Cambodia, and Thailand, have HIV infection speeds over 1 percent. But the low speeds hide huge numbers of infected people, because of the population base.

In India, for example, 3.7 million are infected, more than in any other country except South Africa. In China, an estimated 860,000 people (the actual number may be a little larger), mainly drug users, live with HIV/AIDS. Gordon Alexander, a senior advisor for UN AIDS in India, estimates that the number hit by AIDS in Asia will climb about eight million over the next five years from about six million.

In many Asian countries, the battle against HIV is a social and cultural one against public discussion of sexual health put a nationwide media campaign into action to limit the speed of HIV through unsafe sex. Brenton Wong, an official for Singapore’s Action for AIDS, says the actual HIV incidence in the city state of 3.9 million people is at least eight times higher than official data. “Shame and deny is still very, very common so people are afraid to get tested and many times won’t even tell their families if they test positive,” said Wong.

 

1. We can conclude from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph that ______.

   A. The official data always tell lies and cheat people to hide the truth.       

   B. 3.9 million people in Singapore suffered from AIDS.    

   C. Singapore has a population of 3.9 million              

   D. The number of people infected with HIV is at least eight times larger than that of the AIDS patients in Singapore.

2. It is judged that there are ______ people hit by AIDS in Asia or so.

   A. 4.3 million       B. 6 million        C. 8 million       D. 3.7 million

3. According to the passage, the main reasons that AIDS spread in Asia is through_______. 

   A. blood             B. unsafe sex       C. love            D. drugs

4.Which of the following statements is not right?     

   A. The battle against Aids in many Asian countries is against their culture and

social customs. 

   B. Though the HIV infection in Asia develops with low speed, the infected number

is still quite large compared to other continents.       

   C. India has the second largest number of HIV infected people.  

   D. Aids might affect the poverty-stricken countries more severely.

 

 

Casablanca, Sep. 24

A flash flood swept across the coastal plain about 100 miles southwest of here, killing hundreds of Moroccans in a market place yesterday morning.

Reports from the area said 218 bodies had been counted, and many of the people were missing.

The flood followed heavy rains, which filled the coastal plain and dried river beds and caused them to overflow. The flood crest, several feet high, hit the village of Khemis Nagua at midmorning yesterday as farmers from the surrounding area joined town people in an open market place.

The roaring water swept the village’s living places, the market sheds (棚子), shoppers, cattle and farm tools for miles across the plain..

The flood was over almost as soon as it started, the reports said, as the crest swept out to sea. Rescue workers quickly moved into the area from Sari, about 25 miles further south.

1. It can be learnt from the text that _____.

A. the news report is from Khemis Nagua                         B. the flood didn’t last long

C. hundreds of Moroccans were saved                       D. Casablanca is a city in Africa

2. The report mainly tells the public about _____.

A. how the flood swept the coastal plain                           B. why the terrible flood took place

C. the flash flood in the fall                                             D. a rescue attempt

3.According to the text, which of the following maps may be correct?

(KN=Khemis Nagua  C=Casablanca  S=Safi)

 

There are many sorts of spies. There are those employed by governments to protect their countries’ interests; there are those we find in fiction and film, like the famous James Bond; and then there are the spies of the business world. But now there is a new form of espionage (间谍): sports spying. It may be a profitable job – if the spy can find a buyer for the information.

    Last week, British newspapers reported that the England national team had been secretly recorded by an unknown group of individuals.

    Media suggested that bugs had picked up a discussion of team tactics (战术), as well as playful talk about athletes’ affairs and possible rewards for players if they manage to win the World Cup.

    England officials immediately filed a suit to stop media from publishing the contents of the recordings. Little is known about the identities of the spies, but authorities doubt they have any connection to rival sides preparing for this summer’s competition in South Africa. Rather, it appears that the people who bugged the hotel meeting room are just after money. If they find the right buyer, they could get a lot of it.

    Gambling in major sports, like football, involves much more than picking the winner of a particular match. People can also place bets on starting line-ups, the timing of substitutions and goals scored. Knowing a team’s tactics for a particular game, or for a series of games, can help gamblers to increase their chances of winning big money.

    England manager Fabio Capello tried to play down the importance of game tactics. He argued that a team’s psychological preparation is the most vital. “It’s more important to train the mind, to find confidence, create a group and a winning mentality,” he said.

    Perhaps of more interest to the casual fan are the discussions of the players’ relationships with wives and girlfriends. UK newspapers may be prevented from publishing the details, but some Britons might say, the chances of the recordings never being heard are about as good as those of England winning this year’s competition: slim to none.

1.We may know from the first paragraph that ______________.

A. the spies mentioned are all pursuing money

B. all the spies are employed by the government

C. James Bond belongs to spies of the business world

D. if a sport spy can find a buyer, he can make money

2.What does the underlined word “bugs” probably mean?

A. A small insect.                                               B. The devices used in the spying.

C. A kind of virus.                                               D. A kind of laptop computers.

3.The group of individuals who spied the England national team____________.

A. are from the rival sides for sure

B. probably intended to make money

C. are involved in gambling

D. knew a winning mentality for a team is important

4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. The chance of the England team winning the African World Cup is very small.

B. Many people will never hear the recordings.

C. A fan will be more interested in the players’ relationships with wives and girlfriends.

D. No one can get any information from the UK newspapers for ever.

 

The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare's time is estimated to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present­day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

B. There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

C. It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

D. People learn English for a variety of reasons.

2.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

A. It was popular during Shakespeare's time.

B. It is used in former British colonies.

C. It serves the needs of its native speakers.

D. It is a world language that is used for international communication.

3.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

A. The ability to read a newspaper.

B. It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.

C. Being a multilingual.

D. Being a native speaker.

4.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

A. Those geographically close to the United States.

B. Those interested in the culture of the United States.

C. Former colonies of Great Britain.

D. Countries where international conferences are held.