Section B

Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box.Each word can only be used once.Note that there is one word more than you need.

A.global       B.nationalities     C.extremely     D.technically    E.existing

F.creating     G.independent    H.added       I.ranging       J.environmentally

Mapping Your World

Different forms of maps are appearing.They allow ___41___ travelers to get local knowledge of places they are visiting, from the official to the unusual.Meanwhile, hi-tech developments are    ___42___ new ways for us to map the world.Here are two of our favorites:

Green Maps

Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of ___43___ friendly places and attractions in the local areas.Users add information with a set of icons(图标), making it easy to read any map, whatever the ___44___ of those who produce it.At present there are over five hundred map projects being developed in 54 countries.Green Maps’ advertised idea is “think  ___45___, map local”.It is a wonderful way of gaining all sorts of a place, ___46___ from community garden to good places of bird watching.Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers.Not all of its maps are online, so it may be necessary for some users to communicate with producers through the Green Maps website.

Maps Mashups

Many people use online maps developed by Google, but not many know about the mashups of them.Working in a similar way to Green Maps, Maps Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to ___47___ maps to express a certain topic.The mashups is so called because it combines all the knowledge you could ever need.It ranges from the ___48___ useful, such as where all the World.Heritage Site are, to the most bizarre (古怪的)，such as where America’s drunkest cities are.With the mashups ___49___ to the basic Google Maps, a multi-layered (多层的) map can be created.

III.Reading Comprehension

Section A

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D.Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy is in trouble.Over the past month, workers and students around France have been striking to ___50___ Sarkozy’s pension reform policy.

There have been major disruptions to air and rail services across the country.Hundreds of flights have been ___51___, and public transport in major cities has been seriously hit.

If Sarkozy’s policy goes through, France will ___52___ the retirement age by two years to 62 by 2018.the country’s current pension system is running a deficit which could become ___53___ if changes are mot made, the government argues.

In the wake of the euro zone debt crisis, governments of European nations have tried to bring their deficits ___54___.Some have already introduced pension reform.By 2028 Irish workers will have to wait until they are 68 to retire.Germany’s government is ___55___ a retirement age of 67 by 2029.

The movement in France is ___56___.Polls show that 69 percent of the nation backs the strikes; 73 percent wants the government to ___57___ the reform.

In France, demonstrations are seen as a civilized and ___58___ way to exercise civil rights.Social ___59___ such as long vacations, state-sponsored health care and early retirement are felt to be rights rather than privileges.

“We want to stop working at 60 because it’s something our parents, our grandparents and even our great-grandparents ___60___,” says Gilly, 50, a worker in Marseille..

“And over the years… you can see that we’re losing everything they fought for.And that’s ___61___.”

Even high school students have joined the strike.If people have to work longer, young people would have ___62___ job opportunities.Parents, ___63___ their children’s future, don’t want to stop them.

The coming days will ___64___ whether Sarkozy can succeed in pushing through his reforms, or the strikers triumph in bringing them to a halt.

50.A.protest B.support C.protect D.suggest

51.A.restored B.canceled C.rejected D.replaced

52.A.rise B.undergo C.raise D.experience

53.A.better B.worse C.brighter D.cleverer

54.A.under control B.to a stop C.to mind D.to safety

55.A.selling for B.performing for C.arranging for D.pushing for

56.A.amazing B.valuable C.popular D.delicate

57.A.discuss B.switch C.withdraw D.cover

58.A.unique B.effective C.unnecessary D.final

59.A.benefits B.angles C.hints D.reforms

60.A.fought for B.left for C.ran for D.believed for

61.A.weakening B.mixing C.unacceptable D.unforgettable

62.A.fewer B.more C.better D.worse

63.A.satisfied with B.concerned about C.content with D.confident about

64.A.mention B.speak C.tell D.strive

Section B

Directions: Read the following three passages.Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and  D.Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

A

“I Went Skydiving at 84!”

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of a woman to do that.I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday.But the experience turned out to be very dull.Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive.So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.

In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr.did it at age 80.Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health.A year went by and I heard nothing.But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners.I just couldn’t believe it.

One June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane.My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience.The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience.When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane.When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe.For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer.We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute, then we just floated downward for about five minutes.Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon.I was just enjoying it.

Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life.I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old.If there’s something you want to experience, look into it.If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.

65.What happened to the author in 2001?

A.She flew an airplane

B.She entered a competition

C.She went on a hot air balloon ride

D.She moved into a retirement community

66.The author mentioned George Bush Sr.in her essay to       .

A.build up her own reputation

B.show her admiration for him

C.compare their health condition

D.make her argument persuasive

67.How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A.Excited     B.Scared     C.Nervous     D.Regretful

68.What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A.The beautiful clouds      B.The wonderful view

C.The company of Jay      D.The one-minute free fall

B

Llosa’s Nobel Prize Settles an Old Score

Mario Vargas Llosa, 74, received a phone call early in the morning on October 7 when he was preparing to set out on a walk through Central Park in New York.He was informed that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Initially, however, he thought it was a joke.It was because, as the Peruvian told the BBC, “a writer shouldn’t think about the Nobel Prize as it is bad for one’s writing”.

He told AP that the honor would not affect him.“I don’t think the Nobel Prize will change my writing, my style, my themes,” he said.“(But) it’s a good way to start a New York Day.”

Vargas Llosa is one of the most celebrated writers of the Spanish-speaking world.He has written more than 30 novels, plays and essays, including The Breen House and The War of the End of the World.Both of these are available in Chinese translation.His work “vividly examines the dangers of power and corruption in Latin America”, according to The NEW York Times.

Vargas Llosa realized that he wanted to be a writer when he was a child, after reading an adventure novel by Jules Verne.At 15, he was a crime reporter.He later lived in exile in many European countries.

In 1990, he ran for the presidency in Peru, but lost badly.On October 7 Vargas Llosa told Reuters that he had never wanted to be a politician but felt it was an obligation for a writer to participate in public debate.”

He is frequently mentioned with Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author of the classic work A Hundred Years of Solitude.Garcia Marquez won the literature Nobel in 1982, the last South American to do so.

Their relationship has involved one of greatest feuds(不和) in literary history.In a famous 1976 incident at a theater in Mexico City, Vargas Llosa punched Marguea, leaving him with a black eye.The two have reportedly not spoken in decades.

After the Nobel announcement, Garcia MARQUEZ wrote “now we’re even” in Spanish on his microblog.