People around the world have different ways of spending the holiday.

　　Celebrations are held around the nation. In Sydney every year about 1 to 1.5 million people go to the world's largest fireworks (焰火) display near the harbor (港口).

　　New year is the most important holiday in Japan. It's a symbol (標志) of starting a new life. In December, all kinds of "forget-the-year parties" are held. At the party, people say goodbye to the problems of the past year and prepare for a new beginning. Misunderstandings (誤解) are forgotten and houses are cleaned. At midnight on December 31, temples (寺廟) play their gongs (鑼) 108 times to drive 108 kinds of human weakness away.

　　New Year's Day is a day of joy and no work is done. Children get small gifts with money inside. Sending new year's cards is a popular tradition. If the cards are postmarked (蓋郵戳的), the Japanese post office promise they'll send them all on January 1.

　　In Greece, there is a traditional dish for New Year's Day. It is a kind of cake. A silver or gold coin is baked inside the cake. Whoever finds the coin will be especially lucky in the coming year.

　　( ) 36. The best title of the reading above is “_____________”.

　　A. Celebrations around the world B. New Year ‘s celebration

　　C. New Yeqar’s gift for children D. Best wishes on New Year

　　( ) 37. The world’s largest fireworks display is in ____________.

　　A. Japan B. Australia C. Greece D. China

　　( ) 38. When and where do temples play their gongs 108 times?

　　A. On New Year’s Day in Greece. B. At midnight in Australia.

　　C. On New Year’s Eve in Japan. D. At midnight in China.

　　( ) 39. A silver or gold coin is baked inside the cake in Greece _________.

　　A. to find the lucky one B. for the lucky person to find

　　C. to find a traditional fish D. for the New Year’s Day

　　B

　　Have you ever felt lonely and needed a friend? That is exactly how Angus MacMorrow feels in a new movie out in China on February 17.

　　Angus is a boy living in Scotland during World War II. He shares his home with British soldiers. They think the Germans might use the lake, Loch Ness (尼斯湖), to attack Britain. One day Angus’s life changes forever.

　　Angus finds a strange egg near the loch. He brings it home and the egg hatches (孵化). Angus names the animal Crusoe. Crusoe has brought a lot of happiness to Angus’ life. Unable to find his new friend in a textbook, Angus shows it to his sister, Kirstie, and the house’s new caretaker (管家), Lewis. Lewis explains that it’s a water horse. According to Scottish legend, the water horse is a lonely animal that lays just one egg, then dies. Angus can understand this. His father still hasn’t returned from the war.

　　Crusoe grows larger every day. He eats lots of food from the kitchen. He seems happiest in the water. Crusoe also starts to get into trouble around the house. He makes an enemy of the cook’s dog. The two have a big fight.

　　One day, Crusoe grows so big that Angus can no longer hide him in the house. With the help of Lewis, Angus secretly takes Crusoe to the loch. Now Crusoe has room to live and play. But the war is still going on. The loch is a dangerous place. Fighting soon breaks out. Angus and Crusoe must fight to save each other.

　　If you want to find out what happens to the two, check out The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (《尼斯湖怪：深水傳說》).

　　( ) 40. What do you think the reading above is mainly about?

　　A. A Scottish boy during World War Two.

　　B. A lonely boy named Angus MacMorrow.

　　C. A happy life brought by Crusoe.

　　D. The real friendship between Angus and Crusoe.

　　( ) 41. From the reading above, we know that Angus life begins to change ________.

　　A. after he finds an egg near the loch

　　B. when he stays with British soldiers

　　C. before he feels lonely in his house

　　D. as Crusoe grows lager every day

　　( ) 42. Who do you think Kirstie is in the reading?

　　A. Angus’s caretaker. B. Angus’s friend.

　　C. Angus’s sister. D. Angus’s cook.

　　( ) 43. Why does Angus secretly takes Crusoe to the loch with the help of Lewis?

　　A. There is no room for Cusoe to live and play.

　　B. Crusoe grows too big to hide in the house.

　　C. Angus and Crusoe might fight to save each other.

　　D. The loch is a dangerous play to hide himself.

　　( ) 44. The underlined part “the two” in the reading above refers to (指的是) ______.

　　A. Kirstie and Lewis. B. Lewis and Crusoe.

　　C. Angus and Kirstie. D. Angus and Cruso.

　　C

　　YANG Nan, 17, was happy to move to her new home in a northern area of Beijing. She was told that her neighborhood used to be farmland planted with vegetables, corn and wheat.But looking at the new road, beautiful park and supermarkets, Yang couldn't see any sign that food was once grown there.

　　Yang is not alone. In recent years, many Chinese people have moved into new houses in country areas. Tall buildings have been built everywhere in the suburbs. The crops and fruit trees are no more. But these changes have caused problems too, warns Gan Zang chun, an official (官員) at the Ministry of Land and Resources (國土資源部).

　　"Chinese cities are growing fast. This has made the area for farmland much smaller. This is really bad for the country's ability to grow food, not to mention the lives of farmers," said Gan last Monday.

　　The country needs farmland to grow food for the people of China. But the recent rise in house prices has made selling land a good business. A lot of land has been used to build new houses for sale.

　　Pollution, which makes land useless, is another reason for the big drop in China's farmland. About 2.67 million square kilometers of land in China have been polluted and turned into desert.

　　The government wants China to have at least 120 million hectares (公頃) of farmland. But there are only about 121.8 million hectares left. "It will be really difficult to reach the goal", Gan said. He said that the government would fight illegal (非法的) land use and stop farmland from becoming desert.

　　( ) 45. The article seems to tell us that ___________.

　　A. farmland is in danger

　　B. countrysides are turned into towns

　　C. farmland has been sold

　　D. Chinese cities are grown fast

　　( ) 46. From what Gan Zangchun said, he is worrying about ____________.

　　A. China’s development

　　B. land and resources

　　C. Chinese people’s life

　　D. illegal land use

　　( ) 47. What size of the land have been polluted and turned into desert?

　　A. 120 million hectares.

　　B. 121.8 million hectares.

　　C. 2.67 million square kilometres.

　　D. Millions of square kilometres.

　　D

　　Bad teeth, a heavier body? And now, weaker bones (骨骼). Last week, American scientists found another bad thing about cola: It's bad for our bones, especially women's bones.

　　Well, if cola is bad for us, you may want other popular drinks, for example, energy drinks (功能飲料). Energy drinks look cool. Their makers say they give you energy and make you better at sports. So, many students drink them before exams to help them stay awake.

　　But wait. To keep you awake, most energy drinks have a lot of caffeine (咖啡因). They are like a strong cup of coffee or tea. If you drink a lot of them, your heart will beat faster. You will feel nervous. You could also have sleeping problems and find it hard to live without them.

　　Amanda Smith is a 16-year-old US junior high school student. She drinks one or more energy drinks every day. She started to do this a year ago before dance class. But now, Smith says, "I drink them whenever I feel weak or before a test. I cannot help drinking them."

　　The energy you get from the drinks helps for only a short time. You may feel good for an hour or so, but then you'll feel worse than before.

　　( ) 48. What does the writer mainly try to tell us in the reading?

　　A. Energy drinks keep us awake.

　　B. Cola is bad for our bones.

　　C. Energy drinks can be very helpful.

　　D. Be careful of unhealthy drinks.

　　( ) 49. How old did Amanda Smith begin to take energy drnks?

　　A. Sixteen. B. Fifteen. C. Fourteen. D. Thirteen.

　　( ) 50. Though energy drinks make one feel good at first, it __________.

　　A. won’t last for long B. looks very cool

　　C. won’t be bad for us D. gets worse than before

　　36. A 37. B 38. C 39. B 40. D 41. A 42. C 43. B 44. D 45. A 46. B 47. C 48. D 49. B 50. A

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