The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world.

These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority. With the city’s population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, and official with the water authority, said Shanghai’s water consumption will not increase from its present amount.

Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, “Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions. They will not be easy to achieve.”

He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China’s economy.

Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city’s infrastructure（基础设施）costs by 10,000 Yuan. Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology.

 “The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages,” Chen said. “The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water.”

Shanghai lacks drinkable water. The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city’s drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion.

The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water.

Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used.

At present, the city has 600，000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush. These are to be renovated（整修）to use only 9 liters of water per flush.

The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households – at a cost of 40 Yuan each.

In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million Yuan every year in water conservation.

Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage（污水）to improve the water environment.

At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water. To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion Yuan.

1.People in Shanghai get their daily water mainly from         now.

A．the underground         B．the rain

C．the Yangtze River         D．the Huangpu River

2.According to the passage, some people have the wrong opinion of using water because      .

A．the renovating of family toilets will save plenty of water

B．about half of waste water has been treated already

C．advanced technology makes people use water as much as possible

D．there is plenty surface water and large amount of rain at present

3.The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households to          .

A．make people’s living more convenient

B．improve people’s living standards

C．ease employment pressure         

D．meet the total demand of water

4.Which group of measures are all mentioned in the passage to save water?

a．improve drinking water quality    b．change some industrial structure

c．introduce or use some new technology      

d．speed the economic development of Shanghai

e．renovate some family toilets        f．build more sewage treatment factories

A．a, b, c, d      B．b, c, e, f       C．b, c, d, e      D．a, b, e, f

5.We can infer from the passage that          .

A．the boom of economy will need a larger amount of water in the future

B．citizens today in Shanghai drink the best quality of water in the world

C．not everyone today in Shanghai is aware of water shortage

D．all the family toilets will be renovated to save water within 3 years

 

Every evening, 15-year-old Rashida returns home from school, changes out of her uniform, and rushes to a neighboring farm to help her mother harvest vegetables. Her father is disabled, so the modest profit the two of them earn must cover food, clothing and other necessities for all seven children and their parents. Despite having precious little time to study, Rashida is one of the top students at her junior secondary school. But with so much responsibility on her small shoulders, she admits that it is sometimes hard for her to imagine a more promising future.

Last year, Rashida was invited to join 155 other girls at Camfed Ghana’s first Girls’ Career Camp, a program designed to inspire girls growing up in the country’s Northern Region to dream big, and to support them to pursue those dreams. “We organized this camp because we wanted to let girls know that even if they are struggling with poverty, their lives will not be defined by limitations,” says Dolores Dickson, Camfed Ghana’s Executive Director.

Over the course of five days, the camp led the junior and secondary school students through a range of experiences and career opportunities that were entirely new to them.  Dr. Agnes Apusiga, a lecturer from the University of Development Studies, ran the workshop on goal-setting and career choices, describing the universities and training colleges in Ghana that could help them achieve their dreams. Participants then visited the University for Development Studies, where they toured the medical school and science labs. Another highlight was a workshop at the computer lab at Tamale Secondary School. Many of the girls had studied information technology from a book but had never before seen a computer.

“When the girls arrived at camp, they were not ambitious, because they didn’t have any idea what the world held for them,” says Eugenia Ayagiba, Project Officer with Camfed Ghana. “Many had scarcely traveled beyond their own villages.”

“I think the most important thing that happened at the camp is that we opened a window of hope for a group of girls coming from backgrounds of poverty,” says Eugenia. For Rashida, who has been laughed at in the past by her schoolmates because of her father’s disability, the experience was important. “She told one of the camp mentors(辅导员) that when she is at school, she often feels like a misfit, and she prefers to keep to herself,” says Eugenia. “But at the camp, it was different. She made friends with girls who have similar struggles. She took part in every single activity, every single game. On the last day, she said to her mentor, ‘The camp has challenged me to study hard. Now I see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.’

1.How many are there in Rashida’s family?

A．Seven                    B．Eight                      C．Nine                       D．Ten

 

2.According to the passage, Camfed Ghana’s first Girls’ Career Camp is         ．

         A．a program to help poor girls to have ambition

         B．a program to help poor girl students to get university education

         C．a program to help poor girls to study hard

         D．a program to help the poor families

3.Why did the camp lead the students to visit universities and training colleges?

         A．To show they are better than their schools

         B．To encourage them to get good education．

         C．To show them what they are like

         D．To get them to touch the advanced equipment there

4.What can we infer from the passage?

         A．Rashida has become friends with her mentors

         B．Rashida’s mentors has encouraged her a lot．

         C．Rashida was sad because of her father’s disability．

         D．Rashida has had her new dream since the camp

5.The best title of the passage is ___________．

         A．Poor Girls in Ghana                                         B．Girls’ Career Camp

         C．Camfed Ghana                                                 D．Students in Ghana Dream Big

 

School Groups:$10.00 per person
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The Miami Planetarium(天文馆) opened its doors to the public on November 4, 1966 and has entertained and educated children of all ages about astronomy and the wonders of the night sky ever since. The planetarium houses a 65-foot diameter doomed projection screen with 231 seats.
At the heart of the Planetarium is a SPITZ “Space Transit Planetarium” star projector(放映机), which is capable of accurately reproducing the stars and planets as seen from anywhere on Earth at any time during the year. Shows daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Unlike any other in South Florida, the Planetarium is a unique setting for bringing the stars and planets indoors in animated live star shows and music filled laser light shows.
The Weintraub Observatory（天文台） houses two powerful telescopes. Observatory hours are from 8:00p.m. to 10:00p.m. Look through the telescope to view the planets, the four moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn and deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebulas and double stars.
Deposit: A $ 75 deposit must be received 10 days ahead of the visit date to guarantee your visit.
Cancellation Policy：The museum requires 48 hours advance notice prior to any cancellation or other changes to a reservation. Without prior notification the original total will be expected upon arrival.
Payment Policy: The balance of the admission fee is due upon arrival at the museum on your visit day.
Upon arrival: The leading teacher should check in at the box office with payment for the correct head count of students and teachers. Visitors should remain on the bus until a museum interpreter show you around the museum.
Museum Etiquette: We ask that all groups remain together and orderly. Teachers are asked to help maintain order with their groups. We reserve the right to refuse service to any group or individual not obeying the museum policies.
Bus procedures: The museum will provide parking for buses in our parking lot. Upon arrival, bus drivers will be directed by the museum staff to the appropriate places to park. It is recommended that buses remain on the spots throughout the group’s entire museum visit.
For more information & reservations call: (305)646-4222.
【小题1】In the Miami Planetarium, visitors can _________.

A．look through the telescope to view the Mars at 11 p.m.

B．enjoy the roller coaster on the weekend.

C．watch animated live star shows on December 1

D．watch animated live star shows on December 25

【小题2】If twenty students are to visit the Miami Planetarium together with five teachers, how much will they have to pay for the admission fees in total?

A．$280

B．$250

C．$150

D．$200

【小题3】To make sure that you can visit the Miami Planetarium on time, you must_____

A．pay the total admission fees in advance.

B．pay some of the admission fees in advance.

C．rent the bus owned by the planetarium

D．book the visit five days before the visit date

【小题4】We can infer from the passage that _________.

A．the Miami Planetarium has a history of over 60 years

B．the Miami Planetarium is very popular among moviegoers

C．the Miami planetarium is located in North Florida.

D．the Weintraub Observatory is not open to visitors during the day.

The Sauna World Championships (世界桑拿锦标赛) ended in tragedy at the weekend when one of the two finalists collapsed and died. Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, a Russian amateur wrestler in his 60s, suffered severe burns in the bizarre(怪诞的) annual event in the southern Finnish town of Heinola. He was pronounced dead late on Saturday after he collapsed alongside reigning (卫冕) champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland roughly six minutes into the final round. The “sport” calls on participants to sit in a 230-degree (110 Celsius) room as water was tossed onto a searing stove, officials and witnesses said. Medical workers pulled both men out of the sauna in front of nearly 1,000 horrified spectators.
Both were shaking and bleeding from what appeared to be severe burns, said Hakon Eikesdal, a photographer with the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. Kaukonen, about 40, was in hospital in stable condition Sunday, contest spokesman Ossi Arvela said. The event, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999. It will never be held again, Arvela said. A pint of water is added to the stove every 30 seconds and the last person to remain at the sauna is the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things” Arvela said. He declined to provide details. Arvela said Kaukonen — the defending world champion — had refused to leave the sauna despite getting sick. Sauna bathing is a popular past-time in Finland, which has an estimated 1.6 million saunas for a population of 5 million.
Temperatures are normally kept around 158 to 176 degrees (70~80 degrees Celsius). “I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit,” Arvela said. “It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.” Arvela said all rules in Saturday’s competition were followed and the temperatures and times were similar to those in previous years.
【小题1】Which of the following is True of Paragraph 1?

A．Only the Russian amateur wrestler suffered severe burns in the Sauna World Championships.

B．Timo Kaukonen won a world sauna championship though he was badly burned.

C．In the Sauna World Championships Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy was badly burned and then died.

D．Both of the finalists were pulled out of the sauna, then they were horrified to death.

【小题2】The underlined word “searing” means “__________”.

A．burning

B．comfortable

C．warm

D．extinct

【小题3】What can we conclude from the situation after the tragedy?

A．There was no prize other than “some small things”, which the world champion would refuse to accept.

B．Ossi Arvela suggested there were great risks in the sauna contest and it never be held in the future.

C．The contest would be continued in which the temperatures were kept around 158 to 176 degrees.

D．It was unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna and it was hard to understand to some people outside.

【小题4】We can infer from the news that ___________.

A．sauna is so popular that there are often competitions on weekdays in Finland.

B．the temperatures in usual saunas are too high for most people to stand in Finland.

C．the sauna contest is much too horrible even for the spectators in Finland.

D．there is a sauna for more than three people on average in Finland.

The income gap between China's rural and urban residents(居民) has continued to widen during the past few years in spite of rapidly rising rural incomes, Agricultural Minister Sun Zhengcai said here on Wednesday.

The income ratio(比率) between urban and rural residents was 3.28:1 in 2006, against 3.23:1 in 2003, said Sun in his report on the promotion of building a new countryside in 2007. Sun also said the net income of rural residents in different regions also varied widely. The income gap is only one of several problems in rural areas, according to Sun's report. While listing the achievements in rural areas in recent years, Sun believed that rural development still followed behind urban development.

"We have bigger pressure to ensure the supply of major agricultural products such as grain," he said. "China's urbanization(都市化) has been speeded up and more rural residents have gone to urban areas," he said.

"In this case, more agricultural producers become farm produce consumers, which created more pressure for supply," he said.

Another problem facing China's agricultural development is inadequate application of science and technology.

"Only 30 percent of scientific and technological achievements have been applied to agricultural production, which is 40 percentage points lower than developed countries," he said.

Despite increased government spending in rural areas, the infrastructure(基础下部组织) is still poor and easily hit by disasters.

According to Sun, the government spent 431.8 billion yuan ($59.15 billion) on agriculture, rural areas and farmers this year, an increase of 80.1 billion yuan over the previous year.

China set aside 11.38 billion yuan to promote a new rural cooperative medical care system and 27.98 billion yuan to support the new compulsory education mechanism in rural area to ensure that all citizens shared the fruits of China's reform and opening-up, Sun said.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Because of the rapidly rising rural incomes, the income gap between China's rural and urban residents will disappear this year.

B．The net income of rural residents in different regions is the same.

C．The government has taken measures to develop the economy in the rural areas.

D．Because of the rapidly rising rural incomes, the supply of major agricultural products is enough.

2.Can you infer the meaning of the underlined words in paragraph 5?

A．be made full use of

B．be made little use of

C．be not made full use of

D．be made good use of

3.How much is spent on agriculture, rural areas and farmers the previous year?

A．431.8 billion yuan

B．511.9 billion yuan

C．351.7 billion yuan

D．80.1 billion yuan

4.Which is NOT the problem in rural areas?

A．The income gap	B．The inadequate application of science and technology
C．The supply of major agricultural products	D．China's urbanization