The pound new Library of Birmingham（LoB）will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization（數(shù)字化）of everyday life.
Set to open in 2013, the £188m LoB is already beginning to tale shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment.
As digital media（媒介）is important to its idea. the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at the new technologies.
Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says it is about giving people the right tools for learning,“The aim is to mix the physical with the digital. Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways. It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively.”
The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public.
Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual（虛擬的）LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists. Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoB to understand the building and how it will work before it even opens.
Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects. Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls “enlarge reality” project. It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of the LoB which is in the early stages of development is an online library of figures of the city being built by a digital content company in Cahoots, in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material.
Gambles says: “Technology will enable us to make the library’s content and services open to citizens as sever before.”
小題1:
The underline part “its idea” in Paragraph 3 refers to the idea of____

A．the equipment	B． the project
C．the digital media	D． the physical library

小題2:
While visiting the Virtual LoB, the public can_____ 

A．get a general idea of the LoB

B．meet many world-famous experts

C．learn how to put up a library building

D．understand how the specialists work on the project

小題3:
Which of the following is true of the LoB when it opens?

a. It offers better learning tools b. It reaches users in different ways   c. It provides users with smart phone d. It allows users to enrich its material e. It gives non-stop physical and digital services

A. a, b, d           B. a, c, e            C. b, c, d             D. b, d, e
小題4:
This text is most probably taken from                 .

A．a(chǎn) put book	B．a(chǎn) library guide
C．a(chǎn) handbook	D．a(chǎn) newspaper report

Rescuers have found the bodies of over 130 people killed in two ferry disasters in Bangladesh．The accidents happened during a storm that hit the country on April 21st．Hundreds more are missing or feared to be dead．
The two ferries sank in different rivers near the capital city of Dhakfi as strong winds and rain hit the South Asian country．The government has since banned all ferries and other boats from traveling at night during the April-May stormy season. One of the ferries，MV Mitali，was carrying far more people than it was supposed to．About 400 passengers fitted into a space made for just 300，police said．The second ferry carried about 100 passengers．
“The number of deaths is certain to rise．”said an official in charge of the rescue work．“No one really knows how many people were on board the ferry or how many of them survived.” Ferries in Bangladesh don’t always keep passenger lists，making it difficult to determine the exact number of people on board．Besides the ferry accidents，at least 40 people were killed and 400 injured by lightning strikes．falling houses and trees and the sinking of small boats．Storms are common this time of year in Bangladesh，as are boating accidents．Ferry disasters take away hundreds of lives every year in a nation of 130 million people．Officials blame these river accidents on a lack of safety measures, too many passengers in boats and not enough checks on weather conditions． Ferries are a common means of transport in Bangladesh．It is a country covered by about 230 rivers．Some 20,000 ferries use the nation’s  Waterways every year．And many of them are dangerously overcrowded．Since 1977, more than 3,000 people have died in some 260 boating accidents．
小題1:The two ferry disasters occurred_______.

A．a(chǎn)t noon

B．in the morning

C．a(chǎn)t night．

D．In the afternoon．

小題2:_______ passengers was MV Mitali designed to carry?

A．500

B．100

C．400

D．300

小題3:Officials attribute boating accident to _______

A．strong winds．	B．bad weather conditions．
C．the blockages of waterways．	D．the lack of safety measures．

小題4:Which of the following statements is NOT true of the two ferry disasters?

A．They happened during a storm．	B．They sank on April 21．
C．The exact number of deaths could be easily determined．
D．They sank somewhere near Dhaka．

Neighbors rescued a woman from her burning home early Monday morning，and three firefighters were hurt putting out the flames in Green Bay.
The fire was discovered around 4 o'clock at a three-story home in the South Quincy Street on the city's east side. Investigators(調(diào)查者) say 68-year-old Mary Taylor lives there with her two dogs.
“I got out of bed and went to the front window and could hear somebody was yelling(叫喊)，‘Fire!’” Curt Dworak said.When he realized what was happening, he threw on some clothes and ran to help. “I was just hoping Mary wasn't in there，but her car was in the driveway，so I just reacted,” he said, “I just broke the glass and then went in through the window.”
Dworak yelled for Mary but got no response. As he searched，the fire grew and debris(碎片) started falling around him. I didn't know what to do. I yelled for her a couple more times，and then I heard her. Disoriented(分不清方向的)and unable to move, Mary was sprawling(趴) on the floor in the back of her house，so Dworak picked her up and carried her to safety.
Dworak, who has been hailed as a hero by Green Bay Fire Department but shrugged of the praise，said，“They would have done the same thing. Mary is a nice lady，and how could you live with yourself if you didn't do something like that?”
Mary was up and talking before she was taken to the hospital to be checked out. Dworak escaped without a thin cut.
小題1:
As soon as Dworak realized there was a big fire，he        .

A．went to his front window and stood watching

B．put on his clothes quickly and rushed there

C．searched for Mary's crying in her room

D．put away his clothes and jumped off his house

小題2:
The sentence “ but her car was in the driveway” in Paragraph 3 implies(暗指) that
      .

A．Mary was just in the house.	B．Mary's car was in Dworak's way.
C．Mary's car was broken.	D．Mary's car was in good condition.

小題3:
The underlined Word “ hailed” in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by “         ”.

A．named

B．checked

C．praised

D．trained

小題4:
What can we learn from the passage?

A．It was Dworak who found the fire first.

B．Dworak was badly injured by the fire.

C．Mary lost consciousness in the flames.

D． Mary is friendly to her neighborhood.

At 7:49 a.m. local time on Wednesday, April 14th, a huge earthquake struck Yushu County in Qinghai, China, described as “end of the earth” in a famous poem of the Tang Dynasty.
The earthquake destroyed many houses, cut off power and caused over 2,000 deaths and injuries. On the night when the earthquake happened, many survivors had to sit or lie on the ground in terrible darkness. Some brought their own tents and others turned on the lights of motorcycles. It seemed that the earth was at an end. But their natural character made them get together to fight the early spring’s cold nights. Facing the disaster, they chose to be stronger and standing still and firmly like Yushu, the name of their hometown meaning “Standing like Trees”.
The disaster drew much attention both at home and abroad. Our country leaders ordered rescuers（營救人員） to value every life and never to give up. Thousands of rescuers and medical teams rushed to Yushu from many areas of China, bringing machines, medicines and something necessary to the quake-hit town. They entered every village to search for survivors. Governments, organizations and volunteers are offering money and materials to the areas.
We believe that under the leadership of the Central Government, people in the disaster areas are sure to restore production and rebuild homeland as soon as possible. And the overall victory can be achieved in the earthquake rescue work.
小題1:
In Paragraph 2, the writer refers to the meaning of “Yushu” to show that _______.

A．the strong trees stand still to fight the early spring’s cold nights

B．some trees were cut down to make tents to live through the disaster

C．the big tree standing still brings the local people good luck

D．people there are brave and strong when facing the earthquake

小題2:
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Yushu, a young town, was destroyed in the terrible earthquake.

B．A huge earthquake once hit Yushu County in the Tang Dynasty.

C．The whole nation does its best to help rebuild the new homeland.

D．There was still electricity after the earthquake struck the town.

小題3:
The underlined word “restore” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______.

A．戰(zhàn)勝

B．儲存

C．恢復(fù)

D．修理

1. 我細(xì)細(xì)地看了這篇文章，了解到那是為農(nóng)村婦女寫的。
I ___________________the text and realized that it was __________________ women in the countryside.
2. 我發(fā)現(xiàn)林巧稚把畢生都奉獻(xiàn)給了病人，而自己卻選擇了獨身。
I discovered that Lin Qiaozhi __________ her patients and had chosen not to have a family ___________.
3. 多虧了他的研究，聯(lián)合國在消除世界饑餓的戰(zhàn)斗中又多了些方法。
______________his research, the UN has more tools in the battle ______________.
4. 他們主要是想保持土壤肥沃且免受病害。
They ______________ keeping their soil ___________________.
5. 在人們感到沮喪的時候，他可以使他們開懷大笑，于是他們就對自己的生活感到比較滿足。
He made people laugh at a time when they ______________, so they could feel _____________their lives.
6. 不是所有文化背景下的人都以同樣方式寒暄，接觸陌生人時，距離太近或太遠(yuǎn)都會使他們不舒服。
Not all cultures ______________________the same way, _____________________ in the same way with
touching or distance between people.

WASHINGTON — Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else, according to researchers.
Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found on Thursday.
Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others --- even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.
“We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia.
They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.
“Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not,” Dunn said in a statement.
Dunn’s team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000.
“Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself,” they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.
“Finally, participants who were randomly (隨機(jī)地) required to spend money on others experienced greater happiness than those required to spend money on themselves,” they said.
They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.
“These findings suggest that very minor adjustment in spending allocations (分配) --- as little as $5 --- may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day,” Dunn said.
This could also explain why people are no happier even though US society is richer.
“Indeed, although real incomes have increased dramatically in recent decades, happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries across time,” they wrote.
小題1:
Dune’s experiment on 630 Americans was to ________.

A．help people make careful plans for their money	B．encourage people to be generous to others
C．see how to spend money is important to happiness	D．test whether $5 is enough to buy happiness

小題2:
What can we conclude according to the experiment?

A．Happiness largely depends on the size of your bonus money.

B．Happiness, as a matter of fact, has nothing to do with money.

C．The more money you give away, the happier person you will be.

D．Spending money for the good of society will make you happier.

小題3:
How many different ways are used by the researchers to test their theory?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

小題4:
The last sentence of the passage means _______.

A．happiness does not necessary increase as money grows

B．people in richer countries actually have more problems

C．fast economic growth has a bad effect on people’s life

D．great increase of income contributes to keeping happiness level stable

Following the nuclear at the Fukushima (福島) nuclear power station in Japan, Germany has decided to abandon the use of nuclear energy sooner than it had planned.
Germany was planning to cut its use of nuclear power slowly over 25 years. But now, the government has speeded up its program. Germany’s government has said that seven of its 17 nuclear reactors (反應(yīng)堆) will stop working for three months for safety checks.
Nuclear power has been very unpopular in Germany since the Chernobyl (切爾諾貝利) nuclear reactor disaster in Ukraine (烏克蘭) in 1986. Since then, the country has been working on developing new resources of energy.
The plan to give up nuclear power will cost the country at least 150 billion euros (1.4 trillion yuan)) in investment. Experts say this will likely lead to a rise in electricity prices.
Some experts think Germany is setting a good example for countries such as the US to follow. Germany now gets 23 percent of its energy from nuclear power –about as much as the US.
However, France, which relies on nuclear energy for more than 70 percent of its power, shows no sign of changing its policy.
小題1:
We can most probably read the article _______. 

A．in a newspaper	B．in a pamphlet(小冊子)
C．in an advertisement	D．in a textbook

小題2:
The most appropriate heading for this article is _______.

A．Germany to develop its new resources of energy

B．Nuclear power no longer popular in Germany

C．Germany to have safety checks for some nuclear reactors

D．Germany to end its nuclear energy program

小題3:
According to the article, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT______.

A．In both the US and Germany, approximately a quarter of their energy are from nuclear power now.

B．The explosion of some Fukushima nuclear reactors has quickened Germany’s pace to abandon nuclear energy.

C．France, which relies on nuclear energy for more than 70 percent of its power, will follow Germany and cut its use of it at any cost.

D．The Chernobyl nuclear disaster seemingly cast a huge shadow over the Germans, making them increasingly suspicious of the safety of nuclear energy.

The bus driver and his passengers were being hailed as heroes last night after rescuing a woman from her burning car following a crash on the Bluff Highway. The 60-year-old woman was taken by ambulance to Southland Hospital after firefighters battled for 30 minutes to cut her from her car.
Acting Senior Sergeant Brock Davis, of Invercargill, said emergency services were called to the scene of the crash at the crossroads of Motorimu Rd and State Highway I shortly before 5:00 p.m. yesterday.
Mr. Davis said a Mitsubishi car driven by a 30-year-old man traveling north on the highway and the woman’s southbound（南行的）Suzuki Alto collided（碰撞）. The man suffered slight injuries in the crash, he said.
Invercargill Passenger Transport Ltd driver Bill McDermott and his passengers—New Zealand Aluminum Smelters Ltd workers were first on the scene and alerted emergency services. The scene at the spot was disordered, Mr. McDermott said.
“There was a car on its side and a guy wandering around who was quite excited,” he said. “We stopped, got out and found a lady trapped in her car …… then we noticed flames in the engine bay and the smell of petrol.” Mr. McDermott took a fire extinguisher（滅火器）from the bus，doused（潑灑）the flames，and several other workers controlled traffic.
However，he said his actions were “no big deal”. He was not willing to take any credit for helping the woman.
“The praise goes to all the guys that jumped off that bus.” Invercargill Senior Station officer Alan Goldsworthy, who was an officer in charge at the scene, said there was a possibility the car could have burst into flames if Mr. McDermott and the smelter workers had not helped. “They should acquire a good pat on the back.” he said.
小題1: It can be known from the passage that the car accident happened _____.

A．a(chǎn)t noon	B．in the morning
C．in the afternoon	D．a(chǎn)t night

小題2:Who should get the biggest praise according to the reporter？_____.

A．Brock Davis.	B．Bill McDermott.
C．Allan Goldsworthy.	D．The firefighters.

小題3:The underlined sentence “They should acquire a good pat on the back” in the last paragraph really means _____.

A．the government should give each of the heroes a gold medal of honor

B．the saved woman should offer as much money to the heroes as she can

C．everybody there should pat the heroes on the back gently and thankfully

D．the good deeds of the heroes are well worthy of great appreciation

Soccer star David Beckham will be there with his pop star wife Victoria. Elton John is attending with partner David Furnish.
The guest list for the April 29 union of Prince William and Kate Middleton is still being kept secret, but details have begun to leak out, with some coming forward to say they are attending and the Mail on Sunday newspaper claiming to have  the  official  invitation  roster (名單).
The palace dismissed the newspaper's list as speculation (猜測) Sunday.
It won't be clear until the day how the royal couple has balanced the protocol demands (王室規(guī)則) that they invite statesmen, diplomats, religious leaders, politicians and the like with invitations to the people they really want to see, particularly the crowd they made friends with when they met and fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
Kate Reardon, editor of high-society magazine Tatler, said many prominent Britons acted as if they didn't really care about receiving an invitation while secretly checking the mail every day to see if the invitation had arrived.
"Everyone's been hoping," she said.
William and Middleton have showed their modern side by inviting a number of close friends, including some former sweethearts, the newspaper said.
The wedding is not technically a state event, which somewhat limits the protocol requirements applied to the guest list. But royal obligations (職責(zé)) still order that a large number of the 1,900 or so seats go to guests from the world of politics, not actual friends of the couple.
The couple have also invited many guests from the charities they work with, and Middleton has used her influence to invite the butcher, shopkeeper and pub owner from her home village of Bucklebury.
President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were not invited and many other international leaders are also expected to be watching on TV, not from a seat at Westminster Abbey.
It is not clear if treasured Brits from the world of stage and screen and pop music will be on the list.
小題1: Who were not invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding?    

A．David Beckham and his wife.

B．Elton John and his partner David Furnish.

C．People from the charities they work with.

D．President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

小題2:Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?     

A．The guest list for the wedding is officially announced.

B．The wedding is technically a state event.

C．Only the actual friends of the couple will be invited to the wedding.

D．A large number of guests from the world of politics will be invited.

小題3:The word "prominent" in paragraph 5 probably means         .  

A．honest	B．modern
C．well known and important	D．busy and hardworking

小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that         .  

A．their wedding will be held at Westminster Abbey on April 29th.

B．Kate Reardon was invited to the wedding.

C．journalists will not be allowed to attend the wedding.

D．their former sweethearts are sure to attend their wedding.

小題5:The best title for the passage might be         .   

A．Prince William and Middleton fall in love at St. Andrews University

B．British royal wedding guest list details leaks out

C．Prince William and Middleton prepares for their grand wedding

D．British singers and movie stars invited to the wedding

Several factors make a good newspaper story. First，  1  ，it must be new. But since TV can react to events so quickly, this is often a problem for    2 . They usually respond    3  it in one of three ways.
One by providing   4   detail, comment or background information.
One by finding a new    5   on the day’s major stories.
One by printing completely different stories which   6  doesn’t broadcast.
What else? Well—it also has to be   7 . People don’t want to read about    8  , everyday life. Because of this,  many stories   9  some kind of conflict or danger. This is one reason why so much news seems to be   10   news, “ Plane lands safely—no-one hurt ”doesn’t sell newspapers. “Plane   11 —200 feared dead !” does .
Next, there’s human interest. People are interested in other   12  —particularly in the rich, famous and powerful. Stories about the private lives of pop singers, actors, models, politicians,   13 , all appear regularly in certain newspapers .
Finally, for many editors,   14  is an important factor, too. They prefer stories about people, places and events which their readers know. That’s   15  the stories in Tokyo’s newspapers are often very different from the stories printed in Paris, Cairo, New York or Buenos Aires.

小題1:	A．gradually B．extremely C．obviously D．precisely

小題2:	A．newspapers B．publications C．reporters D．broadcasters

小題3:	A．with B．on C．of D．to

小題4:	A．extra B．a(chǎn)vailable C．reliable D．memorable

小題5:	A．direction B．look C．a(chǎn)ngle D．section

小題6:	A．TV B．internet C．newspaper D．radio

小題7:	A．conventional B．dramatic C．professional D．sensitive

小題8:	A．common B．usual C．ordinary D．special

小題9:	A．urge B．neglect C．increase D．involve

小題10:

A．good B．bad C．exciting D．informative

小題11:

A．crashes B．bumps C．strikes D．drops

小題12:

A．places B．people C．things D．news

小題13:

A．in addition B．in any case C．for example D．a(chǎn)fter all

小題14:

A．personality B．similarity C．tolerance D．familiarity

小題15:

A．that B．why C．because D．what