Hey, all you Muggles, witches, and wizards—are you ready for the grand finale of the Harry Potter series? J. K. Rowling announced on Thursday the title for book seven—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Book seven in the Harry Potter series will pick up where book six, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, left off. With the last chapter of book seven, the magical adventures of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and friends will come to an end.

“I am alternately delighted and worried,” says Rowling on her official Web site. She made the announcement of the book title on the Web site. Rowling is currently busy putting the finishing touches on the book.

“I’m now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more,” says Rowling. Rowling adds that she has been working very hard on this final installment in the series. With the title now set, she assured fans that she will indeed finish this book. 

“I both want, and don’t want, to finish this book,” Rowling says.

It’s not too late to catch up on the rest of the series. You can also reread your favorite books while waiting for the last one. The publication date for book seven has not been set. To make the waiting a little easier, there’s always the next Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is scheduled for release in July 2007.

What’s the name of the last issue of the Harry Potter series?

        A．Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

        B．Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

        C．Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

        D．Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling

Muggles, Harry, Hermione and Ron could probably be _____.

        A．the best friends of J. K. Rowling       

         B．the characters of the Harry Potter series

        C．the fans of Harry Potter                      

         D．the publishers of the Harry Potter series

Which statement is true according to the passage?

        A．Harry Potter series will be published on the Website.

        B．Book Seven of Harry Potter series will be published before July 2007.

        C．Book Seven is being written as planned years ago.

        D．Harry Potter will come to the end of his life.

In the last paragraph, the writer _____.

        A．encourages readers to act out a play following the Harry Potter movies

        B．persuades readers into reading their favorite book rather than Harry Potter series

        C．states that seeing the Harry Potter movies is the best way to catch up the series

        D．a(chǎn)dvises readers to wait for the publication of Book Seven patiently

Like Old Times

Sunday, July 22,2007

What would it have been like to be a kid in the Washington area in the mid-1700s?

First of all, forget about computer and video games. But if you want to get a better sense of that time in history, head out today to Clause Moore Farm for the summer market fair. You can assemble with the Virginia militia, try your hand at spinning wool or just find a spot in the shade to enjoy some roasted chicken and summer singing. Food, beverages and other items familiar to people in the 1700s will be available for sale.

Attention:

The fair runs today from 11am. To 4:30 pm. The farm is at 6310 Georgetown Pike. For more information, call 703-442-7557 or go to http//www.1771.org. Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane. For more information, to http://www.Filmfestnih.org.

1．The advertisement aims to tell people ___________.

       A．to spend the hot summer in a cool place－Clause Moore Farm

       B．to the summer market fair to buy something cheap

       C．to Claude Moore Farm to eat delicious food

       D．to go to the summer market fair to experience the mid-1700’s life

2．If you go to Claude Moore Farm for the summer market fair, you can’t _________ there.

       A．play video games                                 B．spin the wool

       C．eat roasted chicken                              D．experience part of militia’s life.

3．Mr. Brown and his family are going to the summer market fair including Mrs. Brown, five-year-old Mike, and 15－year－old Jenny, how much will they have to pay for the tickets?

       A．$ 17.5                 B．$ 12.5                 C．$ 25                    D．$ 22.5

4．You can go to the summer market fair at any time today except ___________.

       A．2:00pm            B．3:00pm            C．10:30 am         D．11:00am

●Geographic Championship

August 9, 2007 “What historic site was carved from sandstone in about 1200 B.C.? This site includes two huge temples and statues of an ancient ruler.”

That’s the question that gave three students from Mexico victory over teams from Canada and the United States in the final round of the English National Geographic World Championship, a biennial contest of geography knowledge. Fourteen other international teams competed in the event, which has been since 1993.

Continued on Next Page >>

●House fire put off

Sept. 16, 2007 ― A home located at 240 Cexter Avenue in Meriden caught fire around 5:45 Sunday afternoon. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the first floor of the woodframe house was in flames.

The Meriden Fire Department had it under control by 6:47 pm. The house suffered such heavy damage that the electricity was cut off. The house has been declared unlivable until repairs can be made.

There was no one in the house at the time. One firefighter was taken to Medical Center at 7:15 pm when he complained about not feeling well. Police are now looking into the cause of the fire.

Continued on Next Page >>

●Extinct languages

Sept. 18, 2007 In the vast outback of northern Australia, the native languages of the Aborigines are slowly dying. But a team of explorers and linguists are fighting to keep these dialects alive through the five year Enduring Voices project, funded by the National Geographic Society.

As the team tracks down speakers of these imperiled languages, including the only known speaker of a language long thought to be extinct, they learn why losing the wisdom of these mother tongues is a “tragedy for humanity.”

Continued on Next Page >>

60．Which team won the Eighth National Geographic World Championship in 2007?

      A．Canada                B．Mexico                C．America              D．Australia

61．How long did the fire last before firefighters stopped it from spreading?

       A．About one and half hours                      B．About one hour

       C．Forty hours                                         D．Two hours and a half

62．The underlined word “imperiled” can be replaced by         .

       A．valued                 B．cherished             C．reused                 D．endangered

C【2011·河南省示范性高中五校聯(lián)考】

What's black and orange and growing for the first time in decades? India's tiger population! On Monday, officials announced the results of the latest tiger count. The census(統(tǒng)計(jì)) totaled 1,706 tigers in forests across the Asian country—about 300 more than four years ago. "These numbers give us hope for the future of tigers in the world," said Jim Leape, international director of the World Wildlife Fund.

A century ago, about 100,000 tigers lived in India's forests. But by 2002, a count showed that there were only 3,600 left. The number dropped to 1,411 in 2007. What caused India's tiger population to shrink so dramatically?

More than anything else, experts say, development has taken a toll. People have moved into tiger territory and destroyed much of the animal's habitat. Today, tigers live on a just small part of the land they occupied 100 years ago.

Illegal hunting has also contributed to the decline. Poachers(盜獵者) can demand high fees for tiger parts, which are a key ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. The parts from one tiger can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

India's news is a step in the right direction. But while the number of tigers has increased there in the last four years, the animals' habitat has shrunk. Roads and construction projects have blocked off many tiger corridors—routes used by the big cats to go from one forest to another. "Securing these corridors should be taken up as a priority," says Rajesh Gopal, of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

Last November, leaders from the 13 countries that are home to wild tigers met in St. Petersburg, Russia, to develop a plan to help the endangered cats. They set a goal to double the world's tiger population by the year 2022. Will we reach that goal? With India's tiger population on the rise and conservationists around the world focused on helping the big cats, it seems it just might happen.

63. The underlined word “shrink” in Paragraph 2 most probably means        .

A. develop           B. reduce            C. disappear        D. remove

64. Which is one of the reasons why India's tiger population declines?

A. Some living areas of India's tigers are destroyed by humans.

B. Roads and construction projects have bridged tiger corridors.

C. Some India's tigers have been hunted for to attract visitors.

D. Too many tigers are used in making traditional Chinese medicine.

65. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A. 1,411 India’s tigers were killed between 2002 and 2007

B. Rajesh Gopal is in charge of the World Wildlife Fund

C. the world's tiger population will surely be doubled by 2022

D. international efforts are being made to protect India's tigers

66. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of India's tigers?

A. Critical    B. Objective    C. Optimistic    D. Concerned