Chinese people call the Spring Festival“Nian”. But do you know that Nian
was once the name of a monster(妖怪)?
　　A long time ago, the monster Nian lived in the mountains. It ate
animals. But in winter, it could not find food. So it came to villages and
ate a lot of people. People were so afraid of Nian that they locked their
doors before evening came during the winter. One day, an old man came to a
village. He told people there that Nian was afraid of three things——the
color red, fire and noise. He told people to play drums and gongs, make
big fires and set off fireworks(放鞭炮)to make Nian go away.
　　On a moonless, cold night, Nian went to the village again. As soon as it
opened its big mouth, people made loud noises and made fires. Nian was
really afraid and ran away. wherever it went, there was noise and fire.
When Nian was tired and could not run anymore, people killed the monster.
　　After that, on the coldest day of winter, people beat drums and gongs,
and set off fireworks to celebrate the death of the monster of Nian. They
put up red lanterns and have a big dinner without sleeping during the
night.
　　In the morning people greet each other happily. So now we have the
Spring Festival.
【小题1】 From the story, Nian seemed to be       long, long ago.
A exciting    B  interesting    C boring   D terrible
【小题2】 The monster Nian ate people in winter because it          .
A  wanted to make people afraid    B  had no food to eat
C  celebrated the Spring Festival    D liked to eat people in a village
【小题3】Nian was afraid of          .
A red    B fire   C noise    D  A, B and C
【小题4】 The monster Nian wasn’t killed until          .
A it had eaten all the animals  B  the old man came to a village
C it was too tired to run away  D people knew what it was afraid of
【小题5】 What is the best title for the passage?
A How the Spring Festival Came  B What People did During Nian
C How People Celebrated Nian  D What the Spring Festival was 

Chinese space trainer Wang Yuan has been chosen as one of the volunteers for the Mars-500 test project. He was very happy to be chosen and will accept the meaningful challenge(挑战) Another five volunteers are all space lovers., including three Russians, an Italy-Colombian and a Frenchman. They are about to feel what it’s like to travel to Mars, only without leaving the earth. They are locked up together for a year and a half under a similar condition to the red planet during the whole process. So the experiment is called Mars-500.
When reporters asked what they would miss most during the 520-day special life, French trainer Charles said:”For me, it will be mainly my family, the sun and fresh air.”
The Mars-500 test will be in a special building in Moscow, Russia. Although the people won’t leave the building, they will fell as if they are on a real trip to the Mars. The most difficult thing will be to be separated(分离) from the people that they used to live with. The trainer won’t see sunsets, sunrises, won’t feel rain for 18 months. That will be hard.
The main task is to study the “Man and environment”. It’ll care about the astronauts’ getting experience and physical effects. The 520-day-test is divided into three parts,the first 250days to Mars, the middle 30days of landing on Mars, the last 240 days to return to the earth. Everyone will stay there alone for a long time and will work lonely. They will have to make decisions themselves and only then report to the earth, and the earth will tell them whether they do the right thing or not.
Each astronaut is preparing for the great challenge. It is learned that they will be launched（发射）early in June. And the experiment will end in November 2011.
【小题1】 _______ members were chosen as volunteers.

No more fear. The Iron Hammer is here. Lang Ping has become the newly appointed Chinese women’s national volleyball coach.
For the past four years, Chinese women's volleyball has been plagued by frustrating international results, frequent coach reshuffles, numerous injuries and a shortage of talent.
Volleyball was the first sport in which China succeeded on a global scale and was widely followed in the 1980s.
A prolonged slump might finally be coming to an end though, as Lang Ping was appointed head coach of the Chinese women's national team for the second time.
Known as the "Iron Hammer", Lang was the country's best-known volleyball icon and a symbol of the "never-say-die" spirit of the team in its heyday. She has been the favorite for the coaching post since the sports authority unveiled its four candidates on April 15. Her return is expected to bring attention and confidence back to the sport. Sina.com, more than 70 percent of participants said they believe Lang will lead women's volleyball back to the top flight internationally.
Lang's appeal among Chinese volleyball players is also expected to boost the current national lineup, which has several veterans who are planning to retire. National team player Wei Qiuyue, who was going to retire after the National Games in September, said she is ready to play for the national team for as long as needed now that Lang is the coach.
"Lang's rich coaching experiences give her quite a bit of familiarity with her opponents' strategy and character," Wei said. "She was also an outstanding athlete, which makes it easier for her to understand the feelings and mentality of the players."
【小题1】Who is “the Iron Hammer”?

No more fear. The Iron Hammer is here. Lang Ping has become the newly appointed Chinese women’s national volleyball coach.

For the past four years, Chinese women's volleyball has been plagued by frustrating international results, frequent coach reshuffles, numerous injuries and a shortage of talent.

Volleyball was the first sport in which China succeeded on a global scale and was widely followed in the 1980s.

A prolonged slump might finally be coming to an end though, as Lang Ping was appointed head coach of the Chinese women's national team for the second time.

Known as the "Iron Hammer", Lang was the country's best-known volleyball icon and a symbol of the "never-say-die" spirit of the team in its heyday. She has been the favorite for the coaching post since the sports authority unveiled its four candidates on April 15. Her return is expected to bring attention and confidence back to the sport. Sina.com, more than 70 percent of participants said they believe Lang will lead women's volleyball back to the top flight internationally.

Lang's appeal among Chinese volleyball players is also expected to boost the current national lineup, which has several veterans who are planning to retire. National team player Wei Qiuyue, who was going to retire after the National Games in September, said she is ready to play for the national team for as long as needed now that Lang is the coach.

"Lang's rich coaching experiences give her quite a bit of familiarity with her opponents' strategy and character," Wei said. "She was also an outstanding athlete, which makes it easier for her to understand the feelings and mentality of the players."

1.Who is “the Iron Hammer”?

A．Deng Yaping        B．Lang Ping          C．Li Na             D．Zhao Wei

2.What does the underlined word mean?

A．金               B．银               C．铜               D．铁

3.Did the new coach use to coach Chinese women’s national volleyball team?

A．Yes, she did.                           B．Maybe.

C．No, she didn’t .                        D．I don’t know.

4.How many candidates were there ?

A．Three.            B．Four.             C．Five.             D．Six.

5.Why has Lang Ping become the newly Chinese women’s national volleyball coach?

A．She was also an outstanding athlete.

B．She has rich coaching experiences.

C．Most of participants believe she will head women’s volleyball back to the top flight internationally.

D．All the above.