He is one of          in China.

A. best author                           B. the best author

C. the best authors                    D. best authors

About 500 years ago, the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus proved the Earth was round. Now American author Thomas Friedman tells us the Earth is flat in his bestseller: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.

If he is not joking, then why is the world flat? Friedman said it comes from technological forces. Because of the Internet and the World Wide Web, he believes geographical difficulties are disappearing. People and companies around the world can work together or against each other on the same level.

Bill Gates explains the meaning of this change best. Thirty years ago, he tells Friedman, if you had to choose between being born a gifted person in Shanghai and a common person in Poughkeepsie (A city in southeast New York), you would have chosen Poughkeepsie because your chances of living a successful life were much greater there. "Now," Gates says, "I would rather be a gifted person born in China than a common one born in Poughkeepsie." This shows that success today depends more on ability than on address.

Globalization(全球化), as he calls it, is driven by those persons: free writers and totally new businesses all over the world, especially in India and China. They can fight not just for low-wage producing but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design(設計) work as well.

Big companies have played another important role in this globalization process. They move their factories from one country to another to cut costs. It's usual now for an engineer in China to be working for an American company. The Internet keeps them in close touch with their American workmates. People everywhere, from the US to China, have standardized procedures(標準化過程) for getting their work done.

The Reuters News Agency provides a good example. The company moved its financial(財經的) operations from London and New York to India. The Indian workers have the necessary technical skills. But the pays and office costs are less than one-fifth of what they would be in New York or London.

53. What do you know about Friedman according to the passage?

A. He is a fool by saying the world is flat.

B. He looks at the world with a technological eye.

C. He is as wise as Bill Gates, and works well with Gates.

D. He thinks Christopher Columbus’s idea about the earth is no longer correct.

54. Which of the following is an example of “globalization”?

A. The Reuters News Agency moved its financial operations to India.

B. People and companies can work together or not on different levels.

C. Totally new businesses are able to fight just for low-cost producing.

D. People would rather choose to be a common person in Poughkeepsie.

55. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Bill Gates and Friedman.　　　　　　　　　 B. Friedman and His Bestseller.　　

C. Why the 21^st Century World Flat.　　　　　　 D. Globalization and Bill Gates’ choices.

Although I’m not in my childhood, I still prefer reading fairy tales. They often make me think of some special experiences and feelings. This summer I’ve reviewed this kind of tales, The Little Prince. It was published in 1940. It’s the world-famous fairy tale by the French author Antoine.

“I”, the narrator(講述者) of the story, is a pilot. His plane has something wrong and lands in the Sahara. The little prince lives on a small planet, and he grows a flower called ROSE there. One day they have a quarrel(爭吵), so the little prince runs away. On his all-alone journey, he meets different kinds of people. From these people he gets a conclusion(結論) that grown-ups are strange. And with the help of the man he meets, he descends in the Sahara.

This book moved me a lot. It is not only a fairy tale for children and teenagers, but also for grown-ups.

根據短文內容，選擇最佳答案。

1.The author loves fairy tales, because _____.

2. The writer of The Little Prince is from _____.

3. The little prince runs away, because _______.

4.The underlined word “descend” means ______ in the passage.

5. The best title for this article is “_____”.

   Which country grows the most tea? The answer is India. It grows three times as much as China. Which country drinks the most tea? It’s neither China nor Japan. It’s Great Britain.

   In the wild, tea plants may be 30 feet tall. But a plant grown for market is pruned (修剪). Pruning keeps the plant only three or four feet tall. This is an easy height for tea picking. Only the two top leaves of each new shoot (芽) are picked. So to make money, tea plantations must be huge.

   In general, there are two kinds of tea, black tea and green tea. They are made in different ways. When black tea is made, it loses nearly all of its healthy qualities. But green tea retains its healthy qualities. For instance, it may prevent heart disease (病).

   How did we get tea bags? The answer: by accident. People used to send tea in tin boxes. This was expensive. Someone thought of a cheaper way. He sent tea in small silk bags. Customers would open the bag. They would put the leaves into a pot as usual. One customer put the bag into a pot. Then he just poured hot water over it. And the tea bag was born.

   Shen Nung was the first to drink tea. This was about 2737 B.C. Shen was ill, so he drank several cups of hot water daily. One day something happened. Leaves from a wild tea tree fell into the hot water pot. The next cup was poured. The water was now colored. Shen tasted it. He liked it. He drank it all. Shen was proud of his new drink. He served it to his guests. Word spread. People thought this way. Tea is good enough for the King. So it must be good enough for the people. Tea became the drink of China.

1. The best title for this passage might be ___________.

   A. An Ancient Drink                           B. Green Tea

   C. A Favorite Drink for Centuries               D. Tea Plant

2. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage is to__________.

   A. persuade you                                  B. make you laugh

   C. tell you how to do something                        D. give you information

3. In this passage retains means ____________.

   A. keeps            B. makes           C. takes         D. loses

Although I am not in my childhood. I still prefer reading fairy tales. They often make me think of some special experiences and feelings. This summer I have received this kind of tales ,The Little Prince .It was

Published in 1940 .It is the world-famous fairy tale by the Frenc h author Antoine.

I ,the narrator (講述者) of the story ,is a pilot . His plane has something wrong and lands in the Sahara . The little prince lives on a small planet ,and he grows a flower called ROSE there . One day they have a quarrel (爭吵) ，so the little prince runs away . On his all alone journey, he meets different kinds of people . From these people he gets a conclusion (結論) that grow-ups are strange . And with the help of the man he meets , he descends in the Sahara .

  The book moved me a lot . It is not only a fairy tale for children and teenagers, but also for grow-ups .

  根據短文內容，選擇正確答案。

1.The author loves fairy tales , because _________.

A. they are very interesting

B. they are not about real life

C. they make him or her think of special feelings

D. They often have a happy ending

2. The writer of The Little Pri nce is from __________.

A. France    B. China   C.  Canada   D.  America

3.The little prince runs away , because _______.

A. he does  not love his hometown

B. he is a naughty  boy and loves adventures

C. he has made mistakes

D. he has  quarreled  with ROSE

4.The underlined word descend means ______in this passage .

A. end   B. die   C. land   D. fly

5.The best title for this article is __________.

A. A fair tale 

B. My favourite fairy tale ---The Little Prince

C. How to choose the story

D. How I spent my childhood

Although I’m not in my childhood, I still prefer reading fairy tales. They often make me think of some special experiences and feelings. This summer I’ve reviewed this kind of tales, The Little Prince. It was published in 1940. It’s the world-famous fairy tale by the French author Antoine.

“I”, the narrator(講述者) of the story, is a pilot. His plane has something wrong and lands in the Sahara. The little prince lives on a small planet, and he grows a flower called ROSE there. One day they have a quarrel(爭吵), so the little prince runs away. On his all-alone journey, he meets different kinds of people. From these people he gets a conclusion(結論) that grown-ups are strange. And with the help of the man he meets, he descends in the Sahara.

This book moved me a lot. It is not only a fairy tale for children and teenagers, but also for grown-ups.

1.The author loves fairy tales, because _____.

A．they are very interesting

B．they are not about real life

C．they make him or her think of special feelings

D．they often have a happy ending

2.The writer of The Little Prince is from _____.

A．France                               B．China

C．Canada                               D．America

3.The little prince runs away, because _______.

A．he doesn’t love his hometown

B．he is a naughty boy and loves adventures

C．he has made mistakes

D．he has quarrelled with ROSE

4.The underlined word “descend” means ______ in the passage.

A．end                                  B．die

C．land                                 D．fly

5.The best title for this article is “_____”.

A．A fair tale

B．My favourite fairy tale—The Little Prince

C．How to choose the story

D．How I spent my childhood