Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm is probably one of the most popular school reads in the world. George Orwell wrote it as a political allegory(讽喻)and has since then inspired the minds of not only adult revolutionaries but also the younger ones who start feeling the spark of being right and free for all of the humanity in their hearts.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This is a wise, funny, and heartbreaking memory of Marjane Satrapi’s years growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, and how she dealt with life while experiencing the ruinous effects of the war with Iraq. The mistakes she felt she made opened her eyes and shaped her into becoming the influential individual she is today.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Regarded as a masterpiece of literature----it is no wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters are based on the author’s observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 16 years old. The novel is famous for its warmth and humor, despite telling a story of innocent Tom Robinson being accused of raping(强暴)a white woman because he was black.

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

A story showing the absolute courage of a young boy, who was never afraid to speak his mind in the face of injustice and would always defend the helpless. A boy shows us the importance of believing in ourselves and others. Harry Potter reminds us that the true power to defeat any enemy is not found in others, but found within each of us.

1. Which book best suits the people who want freedom?

A．The Harry Potter series	B．To Kill a Mockingbird
C．Animal Farm	D．Persepolis

2. Which author wrote about his or her own experience in the above works?

A．J. K. Rowling	B．Marjane Satrapi
C．George Orwell	D．Harper Lee

3. What does the author say about To Kill a Mockingbird?

A．Its author is a young girl	B．It was written in a serious way
C．One theme may be racial inequality	D．Tom Robinson committed a crime

4. What does the Harry Potter series mainly want to convey?

A．God helps those who help themselves	B．A friend in need is a friend indeed
C．Actions speak louder than words	D．Failure is the mother of success

One day an out-of-work mime(哑剧演员)is visiting a zoo and attempts to earn some money as a performer. As soon as he starts to draw the crowd, a zoo keeper grabs him and drags him into his office. The zoo keeper explains to the mime that the zoo’s most popular attraction, a gorilla, died suddenly and the keeper fears that the attendance at the zoo will fall off. He offers the mime a job to dress up as the gorilla until they can get another one. The mime accepts.

So the next morning the mime puts on the gorilla suit and enters the cage before the crowd comes. He discovers that it’s a great job. He can sleep when he wants to, play and make fun of people and he draws bigger crowds than he ever did as a mime. However, eventually the crowds get tired of him and he doesn’t like just swinging on wires any longer. He begins to notice that the people are paying more attention to the lion in the cage next to his.

Not wanting to lose the attention of his audience, he climbs to the top of his cage, crawls across a partition(隔开物), and dangles(悬荡) from the top of the lion’s cage. Of course, this makes the lion furious, but the crowd loves it. At the end of the day the zoo keeper comes and gives the mime a raise for being such a good attraction. Well, this goes on for some time, the mime keeps laughing at the lion, the crowds grow larger, and his salary keeps going up.

Then one terrible day when he is dangling over the furious lion he slips and falls. The mime is terrified. The lion gathers its strength and prepares to pounce(猛扑). The mime is so scared that he begins to run round and round in the cage with the lion close behind. Finally, the mime starts screaming and yelling, "Help me! Help me!", but the lion is quick and pounces. The mime soon finds himself lying on his back looking up at the angry lion and the lion says, "Shut up, you idiot! Do you want to get us both fired?"

5. The mime goes to the zoo in order to 　　　.

A．perform to make some money

B．take part in an interview

C．look for a better job as a worker in the zoo

D．help the zoo keeper to draw more visitors

6. The mime doesn’t like his job any longer probably because 　　　.

A．he can’t have enough sleep every day

B．the visitors throw something at him

C．people are less interested in his performance

D．he wants to stay with the lion in the cage

7. The underlined word "furious" (in Paragraph 3) means "　　　".

A．happy	B．angry
C．frightened	D．satisfied

8. According to the passage, we can know that 　　　.

A．the lion wants to catch hold of the mime

B．both the lion and the mime will be killed

C．another employer dresses up as the lion

D．the zoo keeper will fire both of them

Many businesses today use conferences as a means of discussing new plans of the company. As people are paying more attention to the environment and green problems, more businesses are looking for ways to reduce their negative effect on the environment. Many businesses do this by using Web conferencing.
Web conferencing is a technology that allows people to communicate more effectively over the Internet. It’s an easy way of hosting and attending conferences without having to leave the office. Each of the people involved in a Web conference will be posted an invitation to the conference with the time and date of the Web conference on it. When the conference is ready to begin, all participants (参与者) must sit at their computers and they will be connected over the Internet.
With Web conferencing all participants attend conference from the comfort of their own desks. Obviously, in doing this no fuel is used in traveling to and from a conference, and less work is taken up in attending a conference.
Any material to be used during Web conference is simply e-mailed to all the participants before the conference. Participants can then either choose to print material or read it on screen. This not only saves paper but also greatly reduces mailing costs for the business.
As a conference hall or business center isn’t being used, it means that the only power that is used is the power that is used by the participants’ personal computers. Similarly, conference organizers don’t have to arrange for food or overnight accommodation. All this means that less energy is used.
Often in business some companies actively choose to do business with other companies that do many things to reduce their negative impact on the environment. And Web conferencing helps you show other businesses that you are willing to work hard for the green cause.
9. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Ways of protecting the environment

B．Green benefits of Web conferencing

C．Ways of hosting a Web conference

D．Impact of Web conferencing on costs

10. According to paragraph 1, many companies use Web conferencing because they ______.

A．are interested in using any new technology.

B．believe that Web conferencing is more convenient.

C．want to do something to protect the environment .

D．haven’t enough money to hold a traditional conference.

11. The participants of a Web conference _____.

A．will be e-mailed an invitation before the conference.

B．are required to sit in an office together.

C．will receive many paper materials.

D．must have access to the Internet.

12. Which of the following words best describes the author’s opinion about a Web conference?

A．Useless	B．Environmentally friendly
C．Inconvenient	D．Money-consuming

Some people think the government should move the big companies and factories in cities to the countryside. To what extent do you agree?

Due to the increased urbanization, there appears a bunch of heated social problems. Some people have noticed that there are many big companies and factories in the city and they believe that moving those big companies and factories into countryside could be a good way to solve many of the city problems, such as traffic issues and housing problems. However, I hold an opposite opinion to them and I will explain it as below.

Cities have much more advantages than countryside. There are more cinemas, restaurants and shopping malls in cities, let alone better education and health care. Living in cities makes life more convenient and enjoyable. Thus not everyone is willing to move to countryside in spite of their companies’ moving. They have got cars, which transfers them easily between work and home. Therefore, the pressure of traffic will not be released due to such solution. As for the available empty places spared by the big companies, the newest small companies will take good care of them—with the realization of the benefits that running a business in cities will bring to them. In other words, situation of housing will not be improved much.

Besides, there will be more problems if big companies and factories move out. Where there are big companies and factories, there will be cities sooner or later. Consequently, countryside is to be disappearing. What’s more, industrial pollution is not an easily mended problem.

In conclusion, moving big companies and factories out of cities is never a final solution. It tackles(解决) no problem but causes lots of them. Just imagine. The traffic is still terrible, and there is no more scenic countryside. We should look into other ways to solve the problems.

13. What is the passage mainly talking about?

A．Moving big companies out of cities.

B．Getting rid of companies in the cities.

C．Crowding into the center of the cities.

D．Taking more care of the urban areas.

14. What do people lay the blame on for social problems?

A．A number of factories and companies.

B．The rapid development of the cities.

C．The sharp increase of vehicle quantity.

D．The serious need for more houses.

15. What does the author want to tell in the fourth paragraph?

A．It is more convenient to live in cities than countryside

B．More problems will appear once companies are moved out

C．The public transportation will play a greater role

D．More houses will be built for the poor people