1 The outbreak of swine flu that was first detected in Mexico was declared a global epidemic on June 11, 2009. It is the first worldwide epidemic_1_ by the World Health Organization in 41 years. The heightened alert _2_an emergency meeting with flu experts in Geneva that convened after a sharp rise in cases in Australia, and rising_3_in Britain, Japan, Chile and elsewhere. But the epidemic is _4_ in severity, according to Margaret Chan, the organizations director general, _5_ the overwhelming majority of patients experiencing only mild symptoms and a full recovery, often in the _6_ of any medical treatment. The outbreak came to global_7_in late April 2009, when Mexican authorities noticed an unusually large number of hospitalizations and deaths_8_healthy adults. As much of Mexico City shut down at the height of a panic, cases began to _9_in New York City, the southwestern United States and around the world. In the United States, new cases seemed to fade_10_warmer weather arrived. But in late September 2009, officials reported there was _11_flu activity in almost every state and that virtually all the_12_tested are the new swine flu, also known as (A) H1N1, not seasonal flu. In the U.S., it has_13_more than one million people, and caused more than 600 deaths and more than 6,000 hospitalizations. Federal health officials_14_Tamiflu for children from the national stockpile and began_15_orders from the states for the new swine flu vaccine. The new vaccine, which is different from the annual flu vaccine, is _16_ ahead of expectations. More than three million doses were to be made available in early October 2009, though most of those _17_doses were of the FluMist nasal spray type, which is not_18_for pregnant women, people over 50 or those with breathing difficulties, heart disease or several other _19_. But it was still possible to vaccinate people in other high-risk group: health care workers, people _20_infants and healthy young people. 1 A criticized B appointed CcommentedD designated 2 A proceededB activated C followedD prompted 3 A digits B numbers C amountsD sums 4 A moderateB normalC unusual D extreme 5 A with B in C from D by 6 A progressB absence C presence D favor 7 A reality B phenomenon C concept D notice 8. AoverB for C among D to 9 A stay upB crop up C fill up D cover up 10 A asB if C unless D until 11 A excessive B enormous C significant Dmagnificent 12 Acategories B examples C patternsD samples 13 A imparted B immerse C injectedD infected 14 A released B relayed C relievedD remained 15 A placing B delivering C takingD giving 16 A feasibleB availableC reliableD applicable 17 A prevalentB principalC innovativeD initial 18 A presented B restricted C recommendedD introduced 19 A problems B issues C agoniesD sufferings 20 A involved in B caring forC concerned withD warding off Section Reading comprehension Part A 2 Directions: Read the following four passages. Answer the questions below each passage by choosing A, B, C and D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points) Text1 The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”，at Sothebys in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than 70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy. The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare Mc Andrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firmdouble the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries. In the weeks and months that followed Mr Hirsts sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable, especially in New York, where the bail-out of the banks coincided with the loss of thousands of jobs and the financial demise of many art- buying investors. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sectorfor Chinese contemporary artthey were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the worlds two biggest auction houses, Sothebys and Christies, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them. The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989, a move that