Five-time world overall short-track speed skating champion Yang Yang(A)won China’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal with a runaway victory in the 500m final on Saturday.

Yang Yang, putting behind her a dismal fourth place finish in the 1,500 meters three days ago, got off to a sparking lead and never looked back to cross the line in 44.187 seconds.

World-record holder and four-time European champion Evgenia Radanova followed home 0.065 seconds behind.

Another Chinese, Wang Chunju, the world champion in the shortest distance came in third, two-hundredths of a second further behind.

Yang, 25, whose name is tagged with the letter A to distinguish her from her younger teammate and namesake, Yang Yang(S), is the overall World Cup winner this season, with the top points in the 1,000m and 1,500m.

In the 1,500m, the younger Yang, 24, who won two silver medals in Nagano four years ago, crashed out while chasing herd after two South Korean teenagers, KoGi-Hyun and Choi Eun-Kyungm who eventually finished first and second. Yang Yang(A) ended up fourth.

Yang Yang(S) did not compete in the 500 meters.

1.How long did Evgenia Radanova take to finish the 500m final?

A．44.252 seconds.                        B．44.187 seconds.

C．44.122 seconds.                        D．None of the above.

2.Why did not Yang Yang(S) compete in the 500 meters?

A．She did want to.                        B．She was wounded.

C．She was not qualified.                    D．It was not mentioned.

When talking with young Swedish students, Mo Yan showed respect for Chinese authors that he learned writing from, particularly Shen Congwen, who was twice nominated（提名）for the Nobel Prize.

“Lu Xun, Lao She, Mao Dun and Shen Congwen, they are more qualified（有资格的）for the Nobel Prize than me,” he said,. Among the writers he learned from, he said he especially felt close to Shen Congwen, as they have similar life experiences.

Both of them left school early and did not get formal education. Shen quit after high school and Mo only finished the fifth grade. They both joined the army after school. “ We both learned from the book of life,” said Mo.

The themes of their writing are also similar. Both writers have their hometown as the theme and root of their writings. Shen’works are mostly about his hometown, Xiangxi, and most of Mo’s stories are set in his hometown, Gaomi, in Shandong Province.

Mo said he also learned from Shen how to deal with characters in a fiction. Unlike most Chinese writers, Shen has a humanistic（人文主义的） touch towards all of his characters. Said Mo, “In his works, there are no particularly bad person or good person. Even gangsters（匪徒） and thieves have their humane（仁慈的）side,” he said.

“I try to use the same approach in my writing. It shows the ability of a novelist when he treats all the characters as humans,” he said.

Mo said he also learned Lu Xun’s depth and Lao She’s humor. “They are all my teachers, and I am the student,” he said. “I feel ashamed from my heart that teachers did not get the prize, but the student got it.”

1.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the similarity between Mo Yan and Shen Congwen?

A．Writing themes                         B．Sense of humor

C．Life experiences                        D．Approaches in writing

2.By saying “We both learned from the book of life”, what did Mo Yan mean?

A．They both love reading throughout their life.

B．They both earned their living by writing books.

C．They both got nutrition（营养）from life.

D．They both experienced many difficulties.

3.According to Mo Yan, Shen Congwen was special in the way _________.

A．he described bad persons                 B．he created characters

C．he made sentences                      D．he told stories

4.From what Mo Yan said in the last paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A．he is a modest person                    B．he feels shy

C．Lu Xun’s depth influenced his early life     D．he thinks he doesn’t deserve the prize

The deadliest Ebola(埃博拉病毒) outbreak in recorded history is happening right now. The outbreak is unprecedented(空前的) both in the number of people who have gotten sick and in the geographic scope. And so far it’s been a long battle that doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected thousands of people and killed roughly killed 60 percent of them. Symptoms can come on quickly and kill fast.

The current outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. It has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including some capital cities. And one infected patient traveled on a plane to Nigeria, where he spread the disease to several others and then died. Cases have also popped up in various other countries throughout the world, including in Dallas and New York City in the United States.

The Ebola virus has now hit many countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United States. The virus, which starts off with flu-like symptoms and sometimes ends with bleeding, has infected about 6,500 people and killed more than 3,000 since this winter, according to the World Health Organization on September 30, 2014.

There are some social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many of the region’s health workers didn’t have experience or training in how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.

Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Times article, “Ebola is more dangerous to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies(狂犬病) and HIV. And it does its damage much faster than either.”

Hopefully, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines(疫苗), including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease. The first human Ebola vaccine trial is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015.

1.According to the passage, which of the following about Ebola is true?

A. The Ebola outbreak now is the biggest one in history.

B. Ebola breaks out quickly but it is under control now.

C. Ebola is deadly and common so it kills a lot of people.

D. Ebola killed about 60 thousand people quickly in 1976.

2.The Ebola virus was brought to Nigeria by         .

A. a flying bird        B. an infected passenger

C. hot African weather  D. a health organization

3.The symptoms of Ebola at the beginning are more like those of         .

A. flu        B. rabies

C. HIV/AIDS  D. internal bleeding

4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that         .

A. it will be a huge waste when researchers spend lots of money finding a cure

B. the vaccines can be effective to wild chimpanzees but not to the humans

C. there will be an optimistic future in which we can defeat the disease

D. we can use the vaccine to cure the patients completely in 2015’s spring

5.What is the best title of the passage?

A. Ebola ---- The African Local Disaster

B. Ebola ---- The Newly-Found Disease

C. Ebola ---- A More Effective Vaccine

D. Ebola ---- The Deadly Virus Outbreak

Narasimha Das is on his way to feed 169,379 hungry children. Das is in charge of a kitchen in Vrindaban. The town is about a three-hour drive from India’s capital, New Delhi. Das gets to work at 3:00 a.m. Thirty workers are already working to make tens of thousands of rounds of bread. It will be brought to 1,516 schools in and around Vrindaban.

A Growing Problem

Going to school is difficult for more than 13 million children in India. They must go to work instead, or go hungry. That’s why India began the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the largest school-lunch program in the world. A free lunch encourages children to come to school and gives them the energy they need for learning. The program began in the 1960s.

The kitchen in Vrindaban is run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. It is one of the lunch program’s biggest partners. “Just $11.50 can feed one child for an entire year,” said Madhu Sridhar, president of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Lunch Is Served!

The Akshaya Patra food truck arrives at Gopalgarh Primary School. Since the program started, the number of underweight children has gone down. The children get foods they need — as long as they finish what’s on their plates.

1.The kitchen in Vrindaban supplies food to _____.

A．the poor                              B．the old

C．college students                        D．school children

2.Why is it difficult for children to go to school in India?

A．Because there are not enough teachers.

B．Because there are not enough schools.

C．Because they have to work to make money.

D．Because their parents refuse to send them to school.

3.Which of the following about the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is NOT true?

A．It is run by Narasimha Das.

B．It has been carried out for about 50 years.

C．It is to encourage children to go to school.

D．It is the largest school-lunch program in the world.

Now, there is a growing movement to pay the students in American schools---in some cases, even just for coming to class.

Students at one school in New Mexico can earn up to three hundred dollars a year for good attendance. In Baltimore, Maryland, high scores in state graduation tests can be worth more than one hundred dollars. And a New Jersey school system plans to pay students fifty dollars a week to attend after---school tutoring programs.

Schools that pay students can be found in more than one---fourth of the fifty states. Other schools pay students with food or other rewards.

Robert Schaefer is a public education director. He says paying students may improve performance in the short term, but students develop false expectations for the future. He sees a lack of long term planning in these programs because of the pressure on schools to raise test scores.

Public schools need to show improvement under the education reform law. Low---performing schools may lose their federal money; teachers and administrators(行政人员) may lose their jobs. Often these schools are in poor neighborhoods where getting students to go to school can be a continual problem.

Critics(评论家) say paying students sends a message that money is the only valuable reward. But some students say it makes school more exciting. And some teachers have reported getting more requests for extra help.

In two thousand four, the city schools in Coshocton, Ohio, launched a program. They wanted to see if paying elementary school students as much as one hundred dollars would help in passing the state exams.

Now, Eric Bettinger of Case Western Reserve University (EUCWRU) has reported mixed results. Math scores increased, but only white students were able to get paid. And there was no evidence of higher scores in reading, social studies and science. Official will decide later this year whether to continue the program.

1.Paying students who show improvement in tests __________.

A．has been done in most American schools

B．is becoming a growing practice in the USA

C．is not very popular with teachers

D．only aims at high scores at school

2.According to the text, Robert Schaefer _____________.

A．is a very excellent teacher

B．thinks highly of paying students

C．thinks students will show improvement in study in the future

D．thinks people should make a careful plan for the paying program

3.From the last paragraph we can see __________.

A．EBCWRU has got great success in its paying program

B．not all the students in EUCWRU have made progress in all subjects

C．only students who study math can get paid

D．EBCWRU will go on with the paying program

4.The text is mainly written to _____________.

A．persuade teachers to give students more prizes

B．tell people how to become an excellent student

C．introduce something about American paying students program

D．explain the advantages of American paying students program

Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be enough rain. Other times there is too much. Maybe thereisn’t a lot we can do to control the rain, but there is a lot we can do to reduce problems caused bydifferent rainfall patterns.

A new development at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes solves the problems of managingwater with a “Rain Garden”. We are likely to be hearing about it a lot more often over the next fewyears. The idea is that the garden owner can store rainwater and use it in dry periods. They canreduce the problems caused by extra rain this way.

One of the key problems that the rain garden tries to deal with is the problem caused by toomuch water in the street. In a natural environment, a lot of rainwater is sent back into the air byplants. Much is also absorbed deep into the ground, and flows into streams and rivers. What happensin city environments can be completely different —— a large amount of rainwater flows straight offthe hard surfaces of roofs and roads. The harder the rain, the less likely it will be absorbed into theground —— floods are the result. Rainwater running off roads is often polluted.

The rain garden deals with living plants rather than hard surfaces. Plants are designed to holdwater and release it slowly, either into the ground, to be absorbed by plant roots (and so eventuallyback up into the atmosphere) or to go down into the water table. Not only does the rain gardenreduce the amount of water that flows onto the street, but it helps to clean it because plants are very goodat breaking down pollutants(污染物).

1.What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．Explaining why there is a lack of rain at times.

B．Introducing several different patterns of rainfall.

C．Telling us how to avoid problems caused by rain.

D．Giving the idea that there are ways to manage rain water.

2.According to the second paragraph, “Rain Gardens" are likely to _____.

A．harm the environment in the short run

B．become popular over the next few years

C．be turned down by most new developments

D．be too expensive for common people to accept

3.We can learn from the third paragraph that _____.

A．floods are often the results of small rains

B．a heavy rain is less difficult for plants to absorb

C．the rain garden helps send rainwater back into the air

D．larger amounts of rainwater flow straight off in city environments

4.According to the last paragraph, what does the rain garden help to clean?

A．The plants         B．The ground.        C．The water.         D．The street.

A couple of years ago, before a trip to China, Nicole Davis and her US women’s volleyball teammates were warned about the prominence (显著、突出) of coach “Jenny” Lang Ping in her native country.

“I was pushed over by Chinese journalists while I was just trying to put my luggage on the bus,” said Davis.

Known as the “Iron Hammer” for her punishing spikes(扣球), Lang made it possible for China to dominate in the sport in the early 1980s. She was a key player on China’s 1984 Olympic gold medal winning team.

When the US team arrived for the Olympics, Lang, 48, who is from Beijing, had to take a different route to avoid a crowd of reporters and fans.

Then came the greatest moment to Lang：while the US team was playing in a packed gym, at least 8,000 Chinese fans unfurled an American flag.

“That really says it all,” Davis said. “They look at her as an icon(偶像)．I’m sure it’s hard for them to see her coaching another country, but they love her so deeply that her success is their success.”

The loyalty of the Chinese fans was tested on Friday, when China lost a match to the US.

“It’s a pity that China lost the match, but I’m still glad that Lang Ping’s team won, since she is the pride of China’s volleyball,” said Liu Chengli, a spectator. “We also cheered for Lang’s victory.”

Lang said she just tried to stay professional when the two teams meet. “It doesn’t matter if we play China or any other team. It’s the same.” Lang said.

Davis said she and her teammates could not have imagined the passion for volleyball among Chinese because the sport was lack of popularity in the US. The reception from Chinese fans has touched the US players, said a US volleyball player Lindsey Berg.

“It’s such an honor to be here and play for our coach here in China,” she said. “The amount of support that the Chinese give to her and us has been tremendous. The whole event has been unbelievable.”

1.What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Staying professional.                     B．Cheering for the Iron Hammer.

C．A match between China and the US.         D．Lang Ping’s career as a coach.

2.Lang Ping avoided meeting the reporters and fans probably because she ________.

A．was afraid to be questioned about her strategy

B．didn’t want to be paid much attention to

C．disliked to be with her fans

D．didn’t want to disturb public order

3.What does the underlined word “unfurled” exactly mean?

A．destroyed completely                    B．tore into pieces

C．spread out to the wind                   D．rolled up

4.What does Lang Ping mean by saying “It doesn’t matter if we play China or any other team.”？

A．American Volleyball Team will beat any team.

B．Chinese Volleyball Team is the same as other teams.

C．She just tried to stay professional.

D．The results of each match will be the same.

5.What impressed the US team players most?

A．The tolerance of Chinese people.           B．The popularity of volleyball in China.

C．Lang Ping’s coaching skills.               D．The loyalty for volleyball of the Chinese.

A group of eight public high school students  in Massachusetts, aged l5 to l7，designed and ran their own school within a school. They named their practice the Independent Project. They represented the usual range: two were close to dropping out before they started the project，while others were honors students.

Their guidance teacher was their adviser, consulting with them when the group encountered difficulties. Though they sought advice from English，math and science teachers， they were responsible for monitoring one another’s work and giving one another feedback. There were no grades, but at the end of the term，the students wrote evaluations of their classmates.

The students also designed their own course. In addition to some  regular courses，they each took on an ‘individual project’，learning to play the piano or to cook，writing a novel or making a video about domestic(国内的) violence. At the end of the term，they performed their new skills in front of the entire school. The last part of their self - designed course was to do a ‘collective project’ that had social significance. Because they felt the whole experience had been so life – changing，they ended up making a film showing how other students could start and run their own schools.

The project was a success. After returning to their traditional study，the students have high motivation and are doing well. One student who had failed all of his previous math courses spent three weeks teaching the others about probability. The lesson learned here is that if students are given the opportunity to take control or contribute significantly to their own learning they will become more accomplished，more engaged and more knowledgeable.

The students in the project are remarkable because they demonstrate the kinds of learning and  personal growth that are possible when teenagers feel ownership of their high school experience，learn things that matter to them and learn together.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Some students might drop out of high school.

B．The teachers monitored the students’ homework.

C．The students themselves solved all their problems.

D．The teachers evaluate the students’ performances.

2.The students involved in the Independent Project             .

A．didn’t need to learn common lessons

B．tended to escape from the whole society

C．were unwilling to share their experiences

D．focused on self-study and working together

3.According Paragraph 4，we know that             .

A．the traditional study is better than the project

B．all the students had failed their math courses

C．the students have freedom to design their lessons

D．the project was mainly concerned with math courses

4.The project made the students outstanding because             .

A．they are unusually talented

B．they have better backgrounds

C．they have supportive teachers

D．they are owners of their education

5.What would be the best title of the text?

A．Structure the kids’ days to the minute

B．Let kids rule their own school within a school

C．Offer students few opportunities to do anything

D．Provide traditional education to the students

Authorities in Shanghai said Thursday night that another person has died from H7N9 bird flu, bringing the death toll to five around the country. The city has reported six infections (感染) to date, and four have died, said the Shanghai Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission. Of the rest two, there was a four-year-old, the agency said. The baby was recovering from mild illness, it added. The person died at Huashan Hospital on Wednesday and was confirmed infected with the H7N9 bird flu on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, the commission reported the city's third death from the H7N9 bird flu. The case involved a 48-year-old man surnamed Chu, a poultry (家禽) transporter from Rugao in neighboring Jiangsu Province. He developed symptoms(症状) of cough on March 28. After having a fever on Monday, he went to a private clinic for treatment. The man then sought help in the Tongji Hospital in Shanghai in the early hours of Wednesday after his condition worsened. Chu died three hours after being admitted to the hospital. He was confirmed infected with the H7N9 virus on Thursday. Eight people who had close contact with him have shown no abnormal symptoms.

So far, China has confirmed 14 H7N9 cases -- six in Shanghai, four in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui, in the first known human infections of the lesser-known type of bird flu. Of all, four died in Shanghai and one died in Zhejiang. China's Ministry of Agriculture said Thursday the H7N9 avian flu virus has been detected from pigeon (鸽子) samples collected at a marketplace in Songjiang District of Shanghai.

After gene sequence analysis, the national avian flu reference laboratory concluded that the H7N9 virus found on pigeons was highly congenetic with those found on persons infected with H7N9 virus. China's health authorities have promised transparency(透明) and cooperation (合作) to the World Health Organization in regards to human infections of the new type of bird flu. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that no human-to-human transmission of H7N9 has been discovered.

1.What does the underlined word “confirmed” probably mean?

A．said

B．doubted

C．proved

D．made

2.What does the news report mainly about?

A．How many people died of H7N9 bird flu

B．How the development of the H7N9 bird flu vaccine (疫苗) is going on

C．What measures the government has taken to stop the spreading of H7N9

D．The new outbreak of the H7N9 bird flu

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the news report?

A．H7N9 bird flu has killed four people in Shanghai and one in Zhejiang.

B．H7N9 virus is not one that spreads from human to human

C．So far, China has confirmed 14 deaths from the H7N9 bird flu

D．The government agreed to cooperate with WHO in regards to the H7N9

4.What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．Chu, a poultry transporter is the city’s third death from the H7N9 bird flu

B．Chu developed symptoms of cough and a fever

C．Chu died three hours after being admitted to a private clinic

D．Eight people who had close contact with him haven’t been infected with H7N9

Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, "Versed".

"I'm delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win," said Armantrout.

"For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising."

Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master's in creative writing from San Francisco State University. She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think.

In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for "Versed."

"This book has gotten more attention," Armantrout said, "but I don't feel as if it's better."

The first half of "Versed" focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq. The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.

Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not. "Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry," said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD.

"Versed", published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2,700 copies. The new edition is scheduled to appear in May.

1.According to Rae Armantrout, __________

A．her 10th book is much better

B．her winning the Pulitzer is unexpected

C．the media is surprised at her works

D．she likes being recognized by her readers

2.Which of the following is true of Rae Armantrout?

A．She published a poetry textbook.

B．She used to teach Denise Levertov.

C．She started a poets' group with others.

D．She taught creative writing at UC Berkeley.

3.What can we learn about "Versed"?

A．It partly concerns the poet's own life.

B．It is mainly about the American army.

C．It is a book published two decades ago.

D．It consists of three parts.

4.Rae Armantrout's colleagues think that she __________.

A．should write more                      B．has a sweet voice

C．deserves the prize                      D．is a strange professor

5.What can we learn from the text?

A. "Versed" has been awarded twice.      B. Cancer made Armantrout stop writing.

C. Armantrout got her degrees at UCSD.      D. About 2,700 copies of "Versed" will be printed.