user: By Zhan Lisheng Updated: 2008-09-27 07:50 prefix = st1 /GUANGZHOU -- At least 13 people were killed and nine left missing after Typhoon Hagupit swept through the country's southern region on Wednesday, authorities said. More than 11.5 million people in Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi provinces were affected by the disaster, with direct economic losses reaching 13.46 billion yuan ($1.97 billion), Ministry of Civil Affairs figures showed. Hagupit, the strongest typhoon to hit Guangdong and its Pearl River Delta region in 12 years, reportedly headed south toward Vietnamon Thursday. The typhoon killed nine people and left nine missing in Guangdongalone, causing direct economic losses of more than 7.7 billion yuan, Yang Minyi, a press official with the provincial flood, drought and wind prevention office, said yesterday. Direct losses to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery in the region were estimated at 4.2 billion yuan; industrial and transport sector, 1.5 billion yuan; and water conservancy infrastructure, 1 billion. A total of 6.52 million people in 344 towns in the cities of Maoming, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen in the Pearl River Delta region and in the west of Guangdong _ the typhoon in the province. More than 15,300 houses fell down and 365,800 hectares  of farmland were affected, authorities said. Wang Yugui, a pig farmer in Maoming city, said Hagupit proved fatal to his business. About two-thirds of his 4,000-odd pigs had drowned or were left missing in the typhoon. "The typhoon has landed me in huge debt and I really don't know how to weather the losses," Wang told China Daily yesterday. Wang said many others in the city suffered similar losses when Hagupit hit the city on Wednesday morning. Hagupit also hit a South Korean freight ship, named Zeus, in the waters off Jiangmen. All 17 sailors onboard were still missing, the Yangcheng Evening News reported on Friday. We can know from the report that   _  . A) at least 13 people were killed in Guangdong. B) Guangxi and Hainan suffered more economic losses than Guangdong. C) so far Hagupit has been the strongest typhoon to hit Guangdongin this century. D) Hagupit hit South Koreabefore it landed inGuangdong.
C

As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let's look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, "a homeless dog", "a mad dog", "a running dog" and "a dog catching a mouse", have negative meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive actions. For example, "you are a lucky dog" means you are a lucky person. And "every dog has its day" means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person's serious illness, they say "sick as a dog". The word "dog-tired" means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, "cat" is often used to describe a woman who is cruel. There are many other examples of how "cat" is used differently as well. The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries. The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used. Western people usually use "cat" to refer to "  _  ". A) a tired person B) a brave man C) a homeless person D) an unkind woman
D

Not long ago the movie 2012 came into screen. The people were threatened by those scenes of destroying flood, severe earthquake, terrifying hurricane and constructions representing human civilization being destroyed and even swallowed by disaster.  Luckily, they are just the director' s imagination, but the present situation is not heading a positive direction, either. Take my own experience in Alaska as an example. Once I took a trip to the glacier. Along the way there stood signposts marking the snow lines of different years.  They started from the foot of the mountain, but it was at the top when I finally saw melting glaciers . My heart ached seeing the beautiful blue ice melting at every second. Sad but true, they are the effects of global warming and the result of our human impact. Furthermore, each year the rising sea level will kill 56 million people, and that's about the population of the entire Italy. According to studies, if the temperature keeps on rising like this, by the year 2050, some islands and coastal cities including New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney will be drowned in water. Our fortune is in our own hands. It depends on us to shape our future, to reduce future human impact and find ways to form a peaceful relationship with our environment. Therefore, it's time for actions to be taken right now. Contribute a little to energy saving by using more efficient light bulbs and less hot water. Let recycle become our habit by thinking twice before throwing something away. Let us take public transportation as our first choice when going to a certain place. It might cost more time for now, but it' s to the benefit of a permanent future. Take care of every tree and grass around us by watering them or simply just avoid destroying them. In a word, _ The earth does not belong to us. On the contrary, we belong to the earth. Please bear in mind that the earth is our home. It is our responsibility to build a brighter and better future of our planet and prevent what happened in the movie 2012 from... According to the passage, you are advised to   _  . A) drive our own private cars instead of taking buses to some place B) recycle everything that is used C) go to see the movie 2012 at once D) work together to take good care of our planet
D

A holiday is any day when people lay aside their ordinary duties and cares. The word came from Old English. At first, holidays honored some holy events or persons. People in Great Britain and other countries speak of holidays as Americans speak of vacations. Every nation has its special holidays. China _ New Year's Day (January 1), May Day and National Day as legal  holidays , as it was on Oct.1,1949 that the People's Republic of China was founded. The Chinese have long celebrated the Chinese lunar year. In the United States, congress has declared several days as legal holidays such as New Year's Day (January 1), Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, Washington's birthday, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day and so on. Some holidays celebrated special events in the development of a country, such as Greece's Independence Day, Italy's Liberation Day and India's Independence Day. In the United States, banks and schools usually close on a legal holiday. When such a holiday falls on Sunday, the following Monday is usually observed. Schools and organizations often observe days known as traditional holidays, although schools and business do not close then. Those holidays include Valentine's Day and Halloween. If a legal holiday falls on Sunday in the USA, people usually celebrate on   _  . A) Sunday B) the following C) the following Monday D) the following Tuesday.


assistant: C