【推荐1】The hottest “green” toy in Germany isn’t made of organic or recycled materials. This one has a solar panel (太阳能电池板) and only runs if kids remember to insert bright red “energy stones” that power the space station. Germany, a pioneer in many renewable energy movements, is also at the forefront of creating environment-friendly toys aimed at making kids think about where energy comes from and how much of it they can use, raising awareness through play. A number of high-tech green toys are on display at this year's Nuremberg toy fair, which runs through Sunday.

Among them, there are hydroelectric-powered toy cars, and doll houses with wind–powered engine and rainwater catchers. The bright green "Future Planet" space station features inner equipment with a fan that is powered by a functioning solar cell. Its aim is to get kids to use their imagination about how energy will be created in the future.

Makers and retailers believe such toys will play an increasingly important role in their future and that of our kids. "Energy is the question of the future and we are definitely thinking about this as we move ahead," said Judith Schweinitz, a spokeswoman for Playmobil, maker of the solar panel-fitted space station. "It is increasingly being brought into our play concept." she added. Studies indicate that green toys which range from those made of sustainable materials to ones like the space station that just raise environmental awareness are becoming more and more popular in the international toy market.

1. The purpose of making the green toys is to ________.

A．give kids the knowledge of technology

B．improve the safety of toys

C．raise kids’ awareness about energy and environment

D．improve kids’ imagination

2. According to the text, ________ uses solar energy.

A．the “Future Planet” space station	B．the doll
C．the doll house	D．the toy car

3. What can you infer from the last paragraph?

A．Energy is only a question of the future and we needn’t care now.

B．The trend in the international toy market is more and more green toys to raise environmental awareness will hit the market.

C．Energy has been brought into our play concept too much according to Judith Schweinitz.

D．The green toys made of sustainable materials haven’t become popular yet in the international toy market.

4. The hottest “green” toy in Germany is ________.

A．made of organic or recycled materials	B．made of green stones
C．driven by an advanced motor	D．equipped with a solar panel

【推荐2】Here is some information about some of the restaurants, museums, shopping centers and
hotels in New York.

BLUE SKY RESTAURANT Telephone：4444872 Address: 8090 White Road Open : Mon. to Fri. 7:30 am-2:30 pm and5:00pm-9:00 pm Sat. 7:30 am-11:30 am and 5:00 pm-9:30 pm Sun. 11:00 am-2:00 pm and 5:00 pm-9:30 pm

NEW YORK MUSEUM American’s largest museum specializing（专业化）in American history Telephone: 2751352 Address: Vanier Park, 1200 Chestnut St. New York Open: Mon. to Fri. 9:00 am-5:00pm(Monday free) Sat. 9:00 am-1:00 pm

TONGCHENG SHOPPING CENTER Telephone: 5674398 Address: Furong Road Open: Mon. Wed. and Fri. 9:30 am-5:30 pm Tues. Thurs. and sat. 9:30 am-9：00 pm Sun. 11:00am-9:00 pm

HUATIAN HOTEL Telephone: 7868432 Address: 5200 No.7 Road. The Dining Hall: Wed. to Sun. Lunch from 10:30 am Coffee Shop: Mon. to Fri. 6:00 am Sat. 6:30 am and Sun. 7:00 am Mon. to Wed. to 10:00pm Thurs. to Sun11:00 pm

1. You do not have to pay on Mondays if you go to ________.

A．Blue Sky Restaurant	B．New York Museum
C．Tongcheng Shopping Center	D．Huatian Hotel

2. If you want to go out for lunch on Sunday, you can dial the number ________.

A．4444872

B．7868432

C．2751352

D．5674398

3. If you are free on early Sunday mornings, you can go to ________.

A．Furong Road

B．8090 White Road

C．Coffee Shop on 5200 No.7 Road

D．Vanier park, 1200 Chestnut St. New York

4. Which place is still open after 10:00pm on Thursday?

A．Blue Sky Restaurant.

B．New York Museum.

C．Tongcheng Shopping Center.

D．Huatian Hotel.

【推荐1】Alibaba Group will extend its digital operating system to 1.5 million small neighborhood stores in China. Under the so-called Plan W, Alibaba is looking to develop a number of smaller shops with a daily revenue of over 10,000 yuan ($1,456) in lower-tier cities, townships and villages.

The latest move falls under Alibaba’s Ling Shou Tong (LST) business unit, which connects the millions of street stands in China and improves marketing, delivery, and inventory management abilities through digital means. The data-backed retail management system has been designed to digitize the business of millions of mom and pop stores and neighborhood convenience stores.

Alibaba will offer a smart point-of-sale system, some 10,000 new product offerings, and a variety of online touchpoints to help users access offline stores virtually. Alibaba intends to help these mom and pop stores double or even triple their revenue, and they can sell more efficiently, and get flexibility to refill stocks based on their changing needs.

Its POS machine performs every function throughout the retail process and provides real-time suggestions. For instance, it would send out alerts on potential stock shortage, and would recommend cost-effective purchase to enhance the store’s profitability. The machine also collects average selling price for a certain product in the nearby areas, thereby giving references to shop-owners to make informed pricing decisions.

Furthermore, an inventory monitoring system is in operation to give real-time advice on product display. This is coupled with a three-layer warehouse system covering 200 cities and townships to ensure the timely delivery of products, based on geographical shopping preferences that are present in Alibaba’s data book.

Despite slow consumption growth at home and abroad, one in every five small shops surveyed by LST reported they have witnessed positive revenue growth. Average daily revenue surpassed 7,000 yuan,   compared with the 3,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan range for average offline stores.

1. Why does Alibaba come up with Plan W?

A．To open 1.5 million small neighbourhood stores in China.

B．To improve supermarkets’ digital operating system in urban areas.

C．To increase revenue of smaller shops through digital means.

D．To move Ling Shou Tong business unit to under-developed areas.

2. How can Alibaba’s POS machine make a difference?

A．By warning possible stock shortage.

B．By increasing profit at a higher price.

C．By comparing prices of a product in different cities.

D．By offering shop-owners advice on bargaining.

3. Which of the following systems functions as a platform where products are distributed punctually?

A．The data-backed retail management system.	B．The point-of-sale system.
C．The inventory monitoring system.	D．The three-layer warehouse system.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Application of Digital Means to Small Shops	B．Real Secrets of Alibaba Group’s Success
C．Great Hope of Street Stands in China	D．Possible Ways of Increasing Small Shops’ Profit

【推荐2】BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- China’s economic planning agency Thursday announced a rise in minimum rice purchase prices this year to encourage farmers to grow more grain.

A statement on the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) website said the government would continue the policy of minimum purchase prices in major rice-growing regions in 2011. The rises in the minimum rice purchase price had been approved by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, said the statement.

The purchase prices for japonica rice will rise 21.9 percent to 128 yuan (19.4 U.S. dollars) per 50 kilograms, while prices for early and middle-late rice will increase 9.7 percent and 10.3 percent to 102 yuan and 107 yuan per 50 kg respectively.

Rice and wheat are two major grain crops in China.

The State Council pledged Wednesday to step up efforts to boost grain production as drought continues to wreak havoc in north China’s wheat growing regions.

China’s main wheat-growing regions, including Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Jiangsu provinces, have been plagued by drought since October last year.

Drought has affected about 7.73 million hectares, or 42.4 percent, of the total winter wheat crop area in the country’s eight key producing provinces, the Ministry of Agriculture said Wednesday.

China’s grain output rose 2.9 percent last year to 546.41 million tons, marking the seventh consecutive year of growth.

1. When was this news probably written?

A．In 2011	B．In 2010
C．In February, 2011	D．On Wednesday, 2011

2. What is the purchase price for japonica rice before it rise according to the passage?

A．105 yuan per 50 kilograms

B．128 yuan per 50 kilograms

C．102 yuan per 50 kilograms

D．107 yuan per 50 kilograms

3. What is the meaning of the underlined word in the third paragraph?

A．completely	B．Honorably
C．separately	D．exactly

4. Which of the following sentences is true according to the passage                .

A．A raised purchase price will encourage farmers to grow more rice.

B．The plan hasn’t been approved by the State Council, China’s Cabinet.

C．Drought continues to hit the wheat growing regions in the north of China.

D．There are 8 grain producing provinces affected by the drought.

5. Which may be the headline of this news?

A．China’s minimum rice purchase prices raised to boost production

B．A Steady rice purchase prices to ensure rice production

C．The Chinese government pays more attention on rice production

D．China’s grain output steadily increases

【推荐3】Hong Kong businesses hit by nearly two months of illegal street occupations breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday. Police finally cleared illegal protesters camped at the main intersection in the Mong Kok district, arresting two student leaders.
More than 7,000 officers backed bailiffs (执达官，法警)clearing occupied sections of Argyle Street and Nathan Road. The two-day operation saw 148 people arrested for various offenses, including contempt (藐视) of court, resisting arrest, possession of offensive weapons, unlawful gathering and attacking police.
The Chief Leader Stephen Hui said 22 officers were injured during the clearances.
Police used pepper spray and batons (警棍)to keep protesters from reclaiming cleared roads and from spreading the illegal occupation to neighboring streets.
Six-lane Nathan Road, which goes through the heart of Kowloon, was cleared after nearly five hours. However, comments on the Internet said protesters were looking to reoccupy roads later in the evening.
This week's actions mark the first time the authorities have successfully cleared one of the three main protest sites, which sprang up after demonstrators seized key intersections in late September to press for unconstitutional reforms.
Contractor Kwan Sui-sum, 55, said he wished the Nathan Road clearance had come earlier, as he has had to pay HK$20,000 ($2,580) after the protesters delayed building reconstruction work. The owner of the Chung Hing Duty Free drug store was cautiously optimistic and eager for his store at the corner of the cleared intersection to get back to business. Sales dropped by 40 percent during the occupation, he said.
“I'm not worried about the guess that the protesters will return. I trust in Hong Kong's rule of law and in the police,” the man said, who wished to remain unknown as he fears attack from protesters.
But five stores at a cleared site owned by jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook were still closed hours later. A company spokesman said the outlets will remain shut while it continues to monitor the situation.
1. You can infer from the passage that _______.

A．the Hong Kong police cleared the roads at a cost

B．all the Hong Kong citizens are doubtful about the result of the clearances

C．all the illegal protesters were willing to leave the protest sites

D．the Hong Kong government’s attitude to the illegal protesters is unclear

2. In the two-day operation,_________.

A．many Hong Kong citizens joined in it

B．all the protest sites were cleared

C．many illegal protesters were arrested

D．all the stores were still open

3. What Hong Kong police will probably do next according to the passage?

A．They will help the owners of the stores do their businesses.

B．They will try their best to arrest other fled illegal protesters

C．They will help the officers injured during the clearances.

D．They will arrange to take more action to finish the clearances.

4. This passage is mainly about ______.

A．Hong Kong businesses hit by nearly two months of illegal street occupations

B．the event that police cleared Hong Kong protest sites

C．shop owners who wished to remain unknown as he fears attack from protesters

D．Hong Kong citizens who doubt the police's clearances

【推荐1】As soon as you meet, or even see, a person, you form an impression of him based on his postures, gestures and facial expressions. This is why it is important to make a good first impression on the person who will be interviewing you. Within the first 60 seconds of meeting you, the interviewer will have formed an impression about what type of person you are and what kind of employee you would become, and 55% of this will be based only on your body language. Here are some tips to make that impression a good one.

First of all, relax. Think positive thoughts and you are more likely to come across as a positive, confident person during the interview. Dress smartly, as your appearance is one of the first things an interviewer will notice you. Stand up straight, and walk in with your shoulders back and your head up. Try to avoid slowing down as you walk into the room because this suggests fear and uncertainty. Shake hands with the interviewer firmly. You should have a positive handshake and a warm smile. Opening your coat or jacket as you sit down shows that you, too, are open.

Posture is important. You should be sitting well back in your seat. Sit up straight and lean forward slightly, but not too much. Sitting at too much of an angle expresses discomfort and distrust. Two of the most common defensive（防卫的）signals are crossing your arms and legs, so try to avoid them.

Another important issue is eye contact. Looking someone in the eye shows confidence in yourself and trust in the other person. However, don’t overdo it, as too much eve contact or staring will make the other person uncomfortable. Use more eye contact when listening than when talking, and when you look away, look down. Looking up at the ceiling will make you seem bored or rude.

1. The purpose of the first paragraph is to tell readers          .

A．what a good first impression is

B．how to make a good first impression

C．how long it takes to make a first impression

D．the importance of making a good first impression

2. Which of the following does the author advise you to do when you are being interviewed?

A．Cross your arms or legs.

B．Open your coat or jacket when sitting down.

C．Go into the room more slowly than usual.

D．Avoid looking at the eyes of the interviewer directly.

3. If you lean forward too much, it means        .

A．you are very thrilled	B．you are really comfortable
C．you don’t trust others	D．you don’t have confidence

4. Where can we read this passage?

A．In a newspaper.	B．In a biography.
C．In a chemical paper.	D．In a fiction novel.