The Chinese main land (大陸) and Taiwan have become closer. Now after Taiwanese leaders' visits and
talks across the straits (海峽). On May 3, 2005 Kuomintang Chairman Lian Zhan finished his eight-day visit
to the mainland. Only two days later another Taiwanese leader James Soong-Song Chuyu also paid a visit.
     Soong is Chairman of the People First Party (親民黨) in Taiwan. On his nine-day trip from May 5-13,
he visited Xi'an, Nanjing, Shanghai and Changsha as well as Beijing. Soong, 63, was born in Xiangtan, Hunan
Province in 1942. He went to Talwan with his father at the age of seven.
     On May 9, Soong went back to Xiangtan to sweep his ancestor's tombs (祖墳). He also met President
Hu Jintao when he arrived in Beijing on May 11. 
     Soong hopes his trip can build a bridge of trust (信任), understanding and cooperation (合作) between
Taiwan and the Mainland.
    The two Parties in Taiwan both agree with the "ONE CHINA" policy (政策) and in favor of the final
unification (統(tǒng)一) of China.
    Things continue to get better since their visit. Taiwan can.now sells more fruits in the Mainland. The
mainland plans to give a pair of giant pandas to Taiwan. And the mainland people will soon be able to travel
to the beautiful island.

1. Lian Zhan spent ______ visiting the malnland.

A. seven days
B. eight days
C. eighteen days
D. nine days

2. James Soong went to Taiwan with his father in ______.

3. We can tell from the story that ______.

A. both James Soong and Lian Zhan's visits have helped the mainland and Taiwan know more about
     each other
B. Lian Zhan wants to live in the mainland
C. James Soong was too busy to go back to his hometown
D. there are two Parties in Taiwan now

4. What does the underlined phrase "in favor of" mean?

A. 支持
B. 反對
C. 喜愛
D. 保護(hù)

A. The mainland has given a pair of giant pandas to Taiwan
B. We can now buy more fruits from Taiwan.
C. Taiwan will give a pair of giant pandas to the mainland.
D. We can now buy less fruits from Taiwan.

    The first group of 680 tourists from the Chinese mainland (大陸) have started their sightseeing in
Taiwan after taking unforgettable flights to arrive on the island on July 4, 2008. Many of them first
visited the Sun Moon Lake, a famous scenic spot on the island, which is also known well by the
mainland tourists.
    A couple in their 70s said they were excited to realize the dream of visiting the Sun Moon Lake,
which they have seen only in books before.
    In a restaurant on the lake side, the owner named Cheng Gong said he was delighted at the arrival
of mainland tourists.
    "We have been expecting (期待) the mainland tourists for many years and at last they are here,"
he said.
     The tourists stayed on the island for ten days. Their trip covered most famous natural and cultural
attractions (景點) around the island in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Ali Mountain and the Sun Moon Lake and
other places.
     According to the agreements, now mainland tourists in 21cities can fly to Taiwan directly. With
more flights to Taiwan, the cost of getting to Taiwan from Shenzhen has dropped. The lowest price
for travel to Taiwan from Shenzhen now is around 6,000 yuan (US$883) for a six-day round trip.
Why not spread your wings and enjoy yourselves on the wonderful island?

1. How did the first group of mainland tourists arrive on the island?

A. By boat
B. By air
C. By underground
D. By ship

2. Why was the restaurant owner expecting the mainland visitors to come? Because _______.

A. he could earn more money
B. he could see relatives from the mainland
C. he could know more about China
D. he could receive letters from them

3. How much did the first group of mainland tourists spend on their trip to Taiwan?

A. US$883
B. 6000 yuan
C. under 6000 yuan
D. much more than US$883

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The mainland Chinese didn't know about the Sun Moon Lake until last July.
B. The tourists visited all the famous cultural and natural attractions in Taiwan.
C. You can fly to Taiwan directly from twenty-one mainland cities.
D. An old couple wrote a book about the most scenic area the Sun Moon Lake.

5. What's the best title of this passage?

A. Direct flights from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan
B. Mainland tourists bring benefit (利益) to Taiwanese
C. Chinese mainland tourists start sightseeing in Taiwan
D. The cost of the trip to Taiwan has dropped

     The price of rice changes during the year.
     It is useful for rice farmers to know how the price changes, then they can sell their rice when the price is
high.
     Last year, the price of rice was very low in November. This was a bad time for farmers to sell their rice.
November, December, and January were all bad months.
     The best month for farmers to sell rice last year was April. July and August were also good times to sell rice.
     Between August and November, the price of rice went down every month. During other parts of the year,
the price went up and down.
     It was hard for farmers to guess how the price would change from month to month.

1. The price of rice was the lowest in _______ last year.

A. January
B. April
C. July
D. November

2. In which months did the price of rice stay the same last year? _______.

A. April and May
B. July and August
C. February and December
D. March and November

3. Which is the best title (題目) of the reading? _______.

A. Seasons
B. Changing in Price of Rice
C. Months
D. Buying and Selling

     Taxes are a big part in the United States. Most Americans pay city taxes, state taxes, social security (安全)
taxes, sales taxes… and the list seems endless. The biggest tax for most Americans is the incomes tax. The
personal income tax is called a "progressive tax", because it takes more from those who earn (掙錢) most. For
example, a person who earns about ＄3,500 a year, will pay a tax of only about 3.5% of earning, but if the
same person earned ＄85,000 a year, he would pay an income tax of 35%. Over years the incomes tax has
become more and more difficult for people to understand. Almost one half of all Americans now have to pay
experts to prepare their tax reports. In fact, preparing taxes and giving tax have become a big industry (工業(yè))
in America.

1. Most Americans pay ______.

A. taxes which are too many to list
B. taxes either to the cities or the states they live in
C. several kinds of taxes
D. so many kinds of taxes that they even don't know the names

2. Which is the biggest tax for most Americans is ______.

A. the state tax
B. the social security (安全) tax
C. the income tax
D. the city tax

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Americans have all kinds of taxes.
B. Personal income tax is the biggest tax in American.
C. The more a person earns, the more income tax he should pay.
D. Personal income tax can prevent the rich from getting richer.

4. The so-called "progressive tax" is the tax ______.

A. collected for social progress
B. that increases with each passing year
C. that is collected from those who earn most
D. that varies (變化) according to how much money a person earns

5. Why have preparing and giving advice become a big industry in America?
    Because            .

A. the list of taxes seems endless
B. they would rather spend their time and energy elsewhere
C. they find their knowledge about taxes is too limited to write a tax report by themselves
D. paying experts to prepare their tax reports and asking for tax have been very popular

     The Chinese mainland (大陸) and Taiwan have become closer now after Taiwanese leaders' visits and talks
across the straits (海峽). On May 3, 2005 Kuomintang Chairman Lian Chan finished his eight-day visit to the
mainland. Only two days later another Taiwanese leader James Soong-Song Chuyu visited again.
     Soong is Chairman of the People First Party (親民黨) in Taiwan. On his nine-day trip from May 5-13, he
visited Xi'an, Nanjing, Shanghai and Changsha as well as Beijing. Soong, 63, was born in Xiangtan, Hunan
Province in 1942. He went to Taiwan with his father at the age of seven.
     On May 9, Soong went back to Xiangtan to sweep his ancestor's tombs (祖墳). He also met President Hu
Jintao. When he arrived in Beijing on May 11.
     Soong hopes his trip can build a bridge of trust (信任), understanding and cooperation (合作) between
Taiwan and the Mainland.
     The two Parties in Taiwan both agree with the "ONE CHINA" policy and in favor of the final unification
(統(tǒng)一) of China.
     Things continue to get better since their visit. Taiwan can now sell more fruits in the Mainland. The mainland
plans to give a pair of giant pandas to Taiwan.
     More importantly mainland people will soon be able to travel to the beautiful island.

1. Lian Chan spent _______ visiting the mainland.

A. seven days
B. eight days
C. eighteen days
D. nine days

2. James Soong went to Taiwan with his father in ________.

A. 1947
B. 1948
C. 1949
D. 1950

3. We can tell from the story that ________.

A. both James Soong and Lian Chan's visit will help the mainland and Taiwan know more about each other.
B. Lian Chan wants to live in the mainland
C. James Soong was too busy to go back to his hometown
D. there are two Parties in Taiwan now.

4. What does the underlined phrase "in favor of" mean? ________.

A. 支持
B. 反對
C. 喜愛
D. 保護(hù)

5. According to the picture. Which sentence is right? ________.
       

A. James Soong was visiting Shanghai and giving a speech.
B. President Hu Jintao was meeting James Soong.
C. James Soong was making a speech in Beijing.
D. James Soong was talking to Changsha's students.

     It's an honor for all of Chinese. 2010 World Expo is held in Shanghai. Shanghai is in the 1.______ (東部) of
China. Long ago, it was a small fishing village. Only a few thousand people 2._______ (居住) there. But today
Shanghai is a modern city. It is the 3._______ (最大的) city in China. And it's 4._______ (也) one of the largest
cities in the world. It has 5._______ (大約) 6,340 square kilometers. There are more than 6._______ (二十)
million people. Many of them would like to be volunteers in the Expo. Whatever they do, such as workers,
doctors , nurses, teachers, 7._______ (警察), artists and so on.. Now Shanghai is developing very 8.______
(迅速地). It's more beautiful 9._______ (比) before. Because more 10._______ (高的) new buildings have been
built these days. So people all over the world are looking forward to visiting Shanghai.