Andrew Ritchie, inventor of the Brompton folding bicycle, once said that the perfect portable bike would be “like a magic carpet…You could fold it up and put it into your pocket or handbag”. Then he paused: “But you’ll always be limited by the size of the wheels. And so far no one has invented a folding wheel.”
It was a rare — indeed unique — occasion when I was able to put Ritchie right. A 19th-century inventor, William Henry James Grout, did in fact design a folding wheel. His bike, predictably named the Grout Portable, had a frame that split into two and a larger wheel that could be separated into four pieces. All the bits fitted into Grout’s Wonderful Bag, a leather case.
Grout’s aim: to solve the problems of carrying a bike on a train. Now doesn’t that sound familiar? Grout intended to find a way of making a bike small enough for train travel: his bike was a huge beast. And importantly, the design of early bicycles gave him an advantage: in Grout’s day, tyres were solid, which made the business of splitting a wheel into four separate parts relatively simple. You couldn’t do the same with a wheel fitted with a one-piece inflated （充气的） tyre.
So, in a 21st-century context, is the idea of the folding wheel dead? It is not. A British design engineer, Duncan Fitzsimons, has developed a wheel that can be squashed into something like a slender ellipse （椭圆）. Throughout, the tyre remains inflated.
Will the young Fitzsimons’s folding wheel make it into production? I haven’t the foggiest idea. But his inventiveness shows two things. First, people have been saying for more than a century that bike design has reached its limit, except for gradual advances. It’s as silly a concept now as it was 100 years ago: there’s plenty still to go for. Second, it is in the field of folding bikes that we are seeing the most interesting inventions. You can buy a folding bike for less than £1,000 that can be knocked down so small that it can be carried on a plane — minus wheels, of course — as hand baggage.
Folding wheels would make all manner of things possible. Have we yet got the magic carpet of Andrew Ritchie’s imagination? No. But it’s progress.
We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the Brompton folding bike .
| A．was portable |
| B．had a folding wheel |
| C．could be put in a pocket |
| D．looked like a magic carpet |
We can learn from the text that the wheels of the Grout Portable .
| A．were difficult to separate |
| B．could be split into 6 pieces |
| C．were fitted with solid tyres |
| D．were hard to carry on a train |
We can learn from the text that Fitzsimons’s invention .
| A．kept the tyre as a whole piece |
| B．was made into production soon |
| C．left little room for improvement |
| D．changed our views on bag design |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Three folding bike inventors |
| B．The making of a folding bike |
| C．Progress in folding bike design |
| D．Ways of separating a bike wheel |
A healthy dose of sunshine may be the secret to staying young, British scientists have disclosed.
Vitamin D is produced naturally by the skin in response to sunlight and may help to slow the ageing process and protect against heart disease, according to the study.
Researchers from King's College London studied 2,160 women aged between 18 and 79, looking at their telomeres - a biological marker of ageing found in DNA．As people get older, their telomeres get shorter and they are easy to have illnesses.
But the study found women with high levels of vitamin D had comparatively longer telomeres - a sign of being biologically younger and healthier.
The study suggests vitamin D may help to slow down the ageing process of DNA, and therefore the ageing process as a whole.
Lead researcher Dr Brent Richards said: "These results are exciting because they prove for the first time that people who have higher levels of vitamin D may age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D．
"This could help to explain how vitamin D has a protective effect on many ageing related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer."
He said further studies are required to confirm the findings.
Professor Tim Spector, head of KCL's twin research unit, and a co-author of the report, added: "Although it might sound absurd(荒谬的), it's possible that the same sunshine which may increase our risk of skin cancer may also have a healthy effect on the general ageing process."
Vitamin D made by the action of sunlight on the skin accounts for 90 per cent of the body's supply, but lower levels can also be obtained through food such as fish, eggs and breakfast cereals.
Other studies have suggested the vitamin plays a key role in protecting against cancer and heart disease.
64．What’s the best title of this passage?
A．Sunshine 'helps to keep you young'
B．Vitamin D has a protective effect on many diseases
C．Telomeres - a biological marker of ageing
D．People have found the secret to having a long life
65．How can people get vitamin D?
A．through water B．through sunshine
C．through foodD．both B and C
66．What does the underlined word in paragraph three refer to?
A．It refers to a kind of vitamin that can keep you young.
B．It refers to a biological marker of ageing found in DNA.
C．It refers to a kind of element that can be obtained from sunshine.
D．It refers to a part of the body.
67．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
A．women with high levels of vitamin D shows a sign of being biologically younger and healthier.
B．vitamin D has a protective effect on many ageing related diseases.
C．too much sunshine may increase our risk of skin cancer.
D．It has been proved that sunshine 'helps to keep you young'.
Computers. Love them or hate them, it is impossible to escape from them in the modern age. They are so much a part of our everyday lives—from instant messaging to e-mails. With many people preferring to use e-mail rather than traditional regular mail, it has become very important to be aware of how we express ourselves when using e-mail. The requirement of etiquette（网络礼仪）is obviously needed.
Grammar and spelling
Firstly, if you are dealing with a formal e-mail, pay close attention to grammar and spelling. Don’t forget to run your spell-check (program) at the end of the document, but don’t treat it as the final word. Carefully re-read it yourself, as sometimes even spell and grammar checking programs come up with some strange explanations. Remember, your first e-mail to a potential employer or college could be your last — you won’t want to spoil your first impression by making basic errors.
E-mail addresses
Also, for official e-mails, carefully consider your existing e-mail address. A funny e-mail address (such as pinkfluffycutiepie@…com) may be fine for using with your friends, but what impression do you think this address might give to an employer or college admissions officer? Consider using one address for personal e-mails and a different one for formal use.
Upper case（大写字母）
Take care also NOT TO TYPE UNNECESSARILY IN UPPER CASE, as this is the e-mail version of shouting.
Personal information
You should beware too about giving away too much personal information over the Internet. It may feel much more comfortable to “talk” using instant messages as there are no uncomfortable silences or awkward moments, but never forget that—unless the person you are speaking to is a friend or family member—you really know nothing about them, so be careful. Further to this, NEVER agree to meet a stranger that you have spoken to online, as it can be extremely dangerous.
My final message though is—have fun! The Internet is exciting, useful and informative. But, as with so many things that we believe we can’t live without, it is a much better servant than a master.
60．The text is mainly about______.
A．how to express ourselves when using e-mail
B．computers, so much a part of our everyday lives
C．the Internet, a much better servant than a master
D．paying close attention to grammar and spelling when dealing with a formal e-mail
61．What does the underlined word “beware” mean?
A．think B．be careful C．care D．know
62．If you use all capital letters, it looks like you are______.
A．yelling B．careful C．unprofessional D．childish
63．Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?
A．As time goes by, many people prefer to use traditional regular mail again.
B．It’s fun to meet a stranger that you have spoken to online.
C．If you want to apply for a job, you can’t use a funny e-mail address when writing e-mails..
D．Grammar and spelling are not important when you write e-mails.
Targeting teens
But using the Web also makes teens a target. Posting too much personal information for those millions of cyber eyes to see can cause some big problems and can even invite a threat to your life.
As Mary learned, not everyone on the Internet is who he or she says they are. Adults will sometimes pose as other teens, posting fake photos and nice messages to gain trust. They use their fake identity to access the personal information of others, such as home address, phone number, or school name.
"That's not the most common scenario", says David Finkelhor, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire. "Only 3 percent of teens aged 10 to 18 who use the Internet report being asked to meet offline. But the danger is real.
Safety measures
Mary's My Space profile is set to "private", which means that only the people she adds under the "friend" category can access her page. She also doesn't have any pictures of herself on her site. The only self-identifying material she has posted is her name, grade, and a list of hobbies.
"People can only add me if they know my last name or my e-mail, "Mary says. " I don't want random people to see my profile. I just go online to talk to my friends."
Stay safe and have fun online
Experts say almost 90 percent of U.S. Teens are online. But not everyone knows how to surf the Web in a smart way. With these tips, you can have fun, stay safe, and avoid embarrassment!
Pick a safe password. Make sure your password is something that other people won't be able to guess. Use numbers in between letters. "spar123ky" is better than "sparky 123."
Pick a safe username. Make sure yours doesn't say too much about you, "Happygirl13" is better than "AliceWaters13." Don't include your name, age, or where you are from. Never tell a stranger your name, school, address, age, birthday, phone number, or friends' names.
56．Who is most likely to be a victim online?
A．A liar. B．A teenager. C．A stranger. D．An honest person.
57．In Mary's opinion, _________.
A．one shouldn't trust everyone online B．one shouldn't trust anyone online
C．there are many liars online D．all people online pretend to be others
58．One of the safety measures mentioned in the passage is that _________.
A．one should not chat with strangers
B．one should not post his or her photos online
C．one should tell his parents about strange information
D．one should keep his web as a secret
59．Why are numbers used when we pick a safe password?
A．Numbers are easy to write.
B．Using numbers are cool online.
C．The safe password is more unlikely to be guessed.
D．Numbers are popular online.
It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that some thing will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.
We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.
You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.
For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.
The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound(add to) the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.
Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.
A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.
And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!
72．What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?
A．It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong.
B．It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize.
C．Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point.
D．Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything.
73．What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?
A．A service that is not as good as it should be.
B．Genuine mistakes.
C．Car accidents.
D．Causing offence or hurt.
74．The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.
A．should not waste time worrying about what happened.
B．should consider the problem
C．should forget about what happened.
D．should analyse who was at fault.
75．How can timing compound problems?
A．If you write immediately, they will be suspicious.
B．If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write.
C．Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity.
D．Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it.
A new weapon is on the way in the fight against smoking in Europe.
Soon when smokers buy cigarettes, they might see a shocking photo of
a blackened lung or a cancer patient staring back at them from the packet.
Some boys may think of smoking as cool and sexy. Their friends won’t
agree when they see their packets of cigarettes lying on the table.
The European Union announced on October 22, that it had chosen 42 photos that showed the damage cigarettes could do to the body. It called on member nations to put these pictures on packets to discourage young smokers.
To catch the attention of teenagers, the special packets warn of long-term medical dangers, like cancer. Short-term effects, like bad skin, are also on the list.
“The true fact of smoking is disease, death and horror. That is the message we should send to the young,” said David Byrne, an EU health official. “Hopefully these pictures will shock students out of their love for cigarettes.”
The EU head office hoped the pictures would work better than current written warnings on packs of cigarettes. The warning included “smoking kills” and “smoking can lead to a slow and painful death.”
So far, Ireland and Belgium have shown interest in the photos. Canada has used similar pictures and warnings on cigarette packs since 2000．The country has recently seen a fall in the number of smokers.
According to studies, smoking is the single biggest cause of avoidable death in EU. Every year more than 650,000 smokers die, more than one person a minute.
68．What would be the best title for the text?
A．New Ways to Stop Smoking. B．Pictures to Shock Smokers.
C．New Packers of Cigarettes. D．Dangers of Smoking.
69．We can learn from the test that _______.
A．The EU countries have put the new warning method into practice
B．only a small number of the EU countries have used the new warning method
C．the new warning method has worked in some EU countries
D．countries in the EU still use the old warning method
70．Which country is most successful in stopping smoking?
A．Ireland. B．Belgium. C．Canada. D．EU
71．The underlined sentence in the last paragraph suggests that ________.
A．It’s hard to stop smoking in EU
B．deaths caused by smoking could have been avoided
C．smoking is the biggest cause of deaths in EU
D．EU has the largest number of deaths caused by smoking