George had just moved into the street and he felt strange that he was not wanted. He knew that perhaps the other boys were trying to get an idea of what kind of a boy he was. This did not help to make him less lonely. He was new and he had to be tested. Still, provingg himself would not be all that easy. He did not want to run with bad boys or get into something against the law to prove that he was strong . No！He must show what he was made of in a more helpful way. That was when he got the idea.

The next day was Saturday. He knew that most of the boys would be down on the playground and choose up sides for the Saturday game. George knew he could play well and just might be enough to prove he was strong and to make friends with them. He arrived early and did his step exercises. He shot the ball several times and did some other exercises—the most difficult and most wonderful in basketball. Then the boys came. George went through what he had done before the game and showed what he could do.

No one said a word. The boys just looked at each other and thought about it. In the end, when it was all over, the biggest of the group just smiled and nodded his head. George knew he had made it.

16．What does “This did not help to make him less lonely” mean?

       A. George felt more lonely because the other boys wanted to test him.

       B．George felt as lonely as before when the other boys tried to find out what kind of a boy he was.

       C. George did not want himself to be less lonely.

       D. The other boys did not want to make George feel less lonely.

17．Why would it not be easy for George to prove himself?

       A. Because he was not sure if he was really strong

       B. Because he was weak and was not wanted in the street

       C. Because he must choose the best one among different ways  

       D. Because the other boys had found out what kind of a boy he was

18．When did George decide to prove himself by playing basketball?

       A. After he had thought about the two wrong ways.

       B. Long before he moved into the street.

       C. When the other boys came down to the playground.

       D. As soon as he showed what he was made of in front of the other boys.

19．The name of the story should be ______.

       A. Three Ways to Prove Oneself     B. Just One of the Boys

       C. George Is Lonely                   D. A Saturday Basketball Game

  Stage Show

An acrobatic（杂技）soul: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe will present “The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills（寒战）will run down your spine（脊柱）as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge.

Time: 7:30pm, September 13-19

Place: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District.

Exhibitions

Joint show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display.

Time: 9 am—5 pm until September 10

Place: Huangshicheng Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District.

Oil paintings: The Wanfang Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil paintings by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture（捕捉）the wondrous variety of life in unique styles.

Time:9am－4pm until September15

Place:136 Nanchizi Street , Dongcheng District

Literature museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949.

Time:9am－4pm, daily.

Place:45Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (Shaoyaoyu area)

Concerts

Beijing rocks : “The Fashionow Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert , including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals. The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear ,which is sure to bring a storm.

Time: September 16

Place: The Olympic Center

Belgium Orchestra: La Petite Bande, the Baroque Orchestra of Belgium, will perform in Beijing at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world to in memory of the 250^th anniversary of Bach’s death.

Time: 7:30pm September 11－13

Place: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities.

20. How will you feel about the acrobatic show mentioned here?

 A. Unexpected things will make you excited and surprised.

 B. Something strange will puzzle everyone, including scientists.

   C. When you watch it , you will certainly feel cold.

 D. Even the bravest ones will be too frightened to go on watching.

21. The most characteristic（特点）thing about the Fashionow Night of Chinese Rock is that       .

   A. it will let the audience choose the performers and the music

 B. it is to be held in memory of one of the greatest musicians  

 C. it will certainly cause a rock storm throughout China

 D. it is to bring thousands of rock fans out of their homes

22. Suppose it is September 14 today, how many activities can people choose to attend?

   A. 3.            B. 4.           C. 5.         D. 6.

23. On the whole, we can conclude      .

   A. people in Beijing prefer modern culture to something traditional

B. there are usually more cultural activities in September than in any other month

 C. we can enjoy a large variety of cultural activities in Beijing

 D. most of the cultural activities in Beijing are for foreign visitors only

If you want to pay a visit to Iceland, you’ll enter a whole new region of experience. You’ll discover original nature as you’ve never seen it before. The freedom to wander in the city or the wilds as you please is the key to the Iceland experience.

Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, is just a part of the Icelandic experience with its midnight sun or the magical landscapes mixed with ice and fire. Reykjavik has a population of around 170,000 and offers an interesting mix of culture and local village roots.

Old accounts say the ancient gods themselves guided Iceland’s first settler to make his home in Reykjavik. He named the place Reykjavik (Steamy Bay)after the geothermal（地热）steam he saw, which today heats homes and outdoor swimming pools throughout the city, a pollution-free energy source that leaves the air very fresh, clean and clear.

A beautiful river runs through the city limits, and so do fine parks and even wild outdoor areas. Against this backcloth（背景）of nature, Reykjavik has a packed program of familiar city joys too: art museums, several theaters, an opera house, a symphony orchestra and concerts meeting the needs of all ages and tastes.

One must for all visitors is dining out on Icelandic specialties, including delicious seafood, ocean-fresh from the morning’ s catch, highland lamb and unusual varieties of game. Its purely natural food is imaginatively served to delight the most discerning（内行的）of diners. Reykjavik is also famous as one of Europe’s hottest nightspots, where the action on the friendly pub and nightlife scene lasts right through the night. In the evening, the downtown area is filled with activity, reaching its peak on Friday or Saturday. The number of pubs, café, discos, and other nightspots in the downtown area is astonishing. There is a rich variety of places to go: European-style cafes, nightclubs with live entertainment, dance halls for seniors, sports-theme pubs with big TV screens, cafes that offer over 100 types of beer, an Irish pub, a Spanish café, a French wine bar.

Walking distances are short downtown, and everything worth seeing outside the city center can be quickly and conveniently reached by bus. With its long, easy-going main street and large shopping mall, Iceland’s capital is a great place to shop too — with a bonus of tax-free shopping for visitors!

 A full range of accommodations is available in Reykjavik, from international-standard hotels with good conference facilities, through smaller hotels and comfortable guesthouses, to a campsite in the city’s biggest park.

24. It can be learned from the passage the Reykiavik       .

  A. was named by the ancient gods.

B. was named by Iceland’s first settler.

C. got its name from the visitors.

D. was named after Iceland’s first settler.

25. Which of the following subjects are mentioned in the fifth paragraph?

  A. Shopping and accommodations.

B. City joys and backcloth of nature.

C. Dining and nightspots.

D. Transportation and landscapes.

26. It can be inferred from the passage that        .

A. people living in Reykiavik seldom get heat from coal.

B. hotels are so rare that visitors usually camp in the city’s biggest

  parks.

C. all visitors must dine out while visiting Iceland.

D. you have to walk a short distance if you want to go sightseeing outside the city.

How to deal with waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste-disposal（处理）problem becomes increasingly difficult.

During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site（垃圾填埋场）. Residents or trash haulers（垃圾拖运者）would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically（定期的）some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by.

Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.

Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas seldom have empty land suitable for this purpose. Land is either too expensive or too close to residential（住宅区的）neighborhoods. Long-distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is almost nonexistent.

Awareness of pollution dangers has led to more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.

Recycling efforts have become commonplace, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 per cent of a city’s reusable waste.

27. The most suitable title for this passage would be       .

   A. Places for Disposing Waste    

   B. Waste Disposal Problem

   C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste  

   D. Waste Pollution Dangers

28. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways EXCEPT for   ____ .

   A. recycling it              B. burying it  

C. burning it               D. throwing it into rivers

29. What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?

   A. Farm areas accept waste from the city in modern society.

B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.

C. Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.

D. It is impossible to find space to bury waste in modern society.

30. The main purpose of writing this article is to      .

A. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste.

B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing.

C. call on people to take part in recycling programs.

   D. draw people’s attention to waste management.

Symbol of friendship

       Friendship is a wonderful thing to have no matter how old you are. However, it is important for teens and young adults to provide conversation, support and so much more as friends.  31   Actually, there are a few things that symbolize a friendly relationship.

         32 

       One of the symbols of a wonderful relationship between friends is easy conversation. When you can talk about almost anything, you are sure to be true friends. When the conversation flows easily from one topic to another, this can be a symbol of friendship as well.

       Able to have fun

         33   No matter what you are doing, you can have a fun experience so long as you are with your friend. This is one of the best parts of friendship.

       Support all the time

       If your friends know they can call you anytime and you will be there for them, then this symbolizes friendship.

       Attentive (专心的) listening by both individuals

       If you find that you listen closely to what your friend says and they do the same for you, this is another symbol of friendship.  34 

       Share laughter and tears

       Another symbol of friendship is the ability to share both laughter and tears. A friend is someone with whom you can laugh and cry over anything.   35 

A. Get together

B. Easy conversation    

C. Teenagers always have difficulty in making friends.

D. A true friend is someone you can have a great time with.

E. You feel comfortable with this person to share your special feelings.

F. If you are trying to make friends, you may be wondering what symbolizes friendship.  

G. True friends listen closely to each other and understand what the other person is saying.