On the night of May, 7,1942, a plane took off from an Air Force base in England to stop German fighters over the English Channel. The pilot of the plane was Captain Thomas Nash. Looking eastward, Nash saw twelve orange lights in a row, moving at an extremely high speed. As an experienced flyer, he had never seen anything like them. Thinking that they might be a new German weapon, he decided to follow them. But when he swung the plane around and headed directly for the lights, they disappeared.
Captain Nash may have been the first to see such orange lights but he wasn’t the last. His experience was repeated several times by pilots during World War Ⅱ in Europe and the Far East. What were they? No one knows for sure, but there is an interesting theory to explain them. According to this theory, the orange lights are space animals – animals specially adapted to life in the upper atmosphere just as some creatures are adapted to life at the bottom of the sea. These space animals, the theory says, live so far up in the atmosphere that they are invisible from the earth. They feed in part on the air and partly on energy from sunlight. Being almost pure energy themselves, they can give light at night. During the day they become invisible.
Before World WarⅡ, continues the theory, there was little radiated (辐射) energy available on the earth’s surface. Then came the development of rockets, atomic reactor (核反应堆), and hydroelectric (水力发电的) plants. The space creatures are attracted by these sources of energy. At night when no energy is sent from sunlight, they go down into the lower levels to search a meal. They may even come into the scope of human eyesight. This explains the fact that they have been sighted now and then from the earth since 1942.
54.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
A.The secret of nature can be completely explained.
B.Captain Nash may have been the first to see the lights in space.
C.Captain Nash saw twelve orange lights moving at a high speed.
D.According to an interesting theory, the orange lights are space animals.
55.The strange orange lights were first seen .
A.from the ground B.from a rocket ship
C.during World War I D.during World WarⅡ
56.The theory says that during the daytime the space animals .
A.can’t be seen B.shine brightly in the sky
C.can be seen from the earth D.visit the earth’s surface
57.If the space theory is true, the creatures go down to the lower places in order to .
A.make connection with man B.search for man – made energy
C.attract curiosity D.escape detection
Exploit your parking space
An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement(广告)for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.
Rent(出租)a room
Spare room? Not only will a lodger(房客)earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax (税) on the first £4,500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.
Make money during special events
Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space.
Live on set
Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register(注册、登记) your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.
Use your roof
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around£14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign(签)a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.If you earn £5,000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.
A.£300 | B.£500 | C.£4,500 | D.5,000 |
Where can you put an advertisement to rent out a room during a big event?
A.On Letpark. | B.On Roomspare. |
C.On Grashpadder. | D.On Roommateeasy. |
If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.
A.sign an agreement with the government |
B.pay around £14,000 for the equipment |
C.sell the roof to some energy companies |
D.keep the roof unchanged within 25 years |
For whom is the text most probably written?
A.Lodgers. | B.Advertisers. |
C.House owners. | D.Online companies |
It’s 5:00 in the morning when the alarm (闹钟) rings in my ears. I get out of bed and walk blindly through the dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favorite exercise DVD Insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I force my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise, I feel extremely tired, but a smile is on my face. It’s not a smile because the DVD is over, but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit.
Some people enjoy shopping, smoking, food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get through each day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try just one bite of their grandmother’s chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my “no thank you,” or by my choice to have a salad. Over the years, I have learned it’s okay to just say “no.” I shouldn’t feel sorry for refusing food that I don’t want to eat.
So what drives me to get out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say no to ice cream? Commitment. A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily worry, increases self -confidence and energy, extends (延长) life and above all improves my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It’s through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.Why is there a smile on the author’s face in the morning?
A.Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully. |
B.Because she finishes her favorite exercise |
C.Because she enjoys the interesting DVD |
D.Because she feels a sense of achievement |
Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?
A.She doesn’t treat others politely |
B.She likes to make others surprised |
C.Others don’t understand what she does |
D.Others try to help her by offering her food |
What does the underlined word “commitment” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Good health | B.Strong belief |
C.strong power | D.good habits |
What can we learn about the author from the text?
A.She acts in a strange way |
B.She wants to look different from others |
C.She aims to develop a good body shape |
D.She has difficulty getting along with others |
Mobile Phones in Schools
Mobile phones have become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have forbidden(禁止) students to carry mobile phones during school hours.
Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts and more students will want them.
Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone use is a distraction(分心的事) to students during school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
She said some schools had tried to forbid mobile phones to be used at school. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children. Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school office. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction from studies.
Many people say that they understood why parents would want their children to have mobile phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.
Some middle schools in Australia have forbidden students to carry mobile phones ____.
A.because they are students | B.when they are free |
C.when they are at school | D.because they are children |
We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from ____.
A.the makers and sellers | B.the passers-by and strangers |
C.their parents and friends | D.some mobile phone users |
What does the underlined word “cheat” mean in the passage?
A.聊天 | B.核对 | C.查询 | D.作弊 |
Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t ____ during school hours.
A.use their mobile phones |
B.leave their mobile phones at school office |
C.help the teachers with their work |
D.get in touch with their children |
The passage tells us that ____.
A.students shouldn’t have mobile phones at school except for some special reasons |
B.it is impossible to forbid students to use mobile phones at school |
C.some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t use their phones at school |
D.parents should teach their children how to use mobile phones during school hours |
Although computers used to be large, expensive and difficult to use, they have been made smaller, cheaper and easier to use. As a result, more people have been buying computers for their homes and businesses. They are used to record information and make difficult things easy.
Let’s look at some of the many ways computers may affect(影响) your life.
Want to get the best treatment at hospitals? Your doctors at hospitals have been greatly helped by computers to get information about patients. It is possible for doctors from different hospitals to read the records of patients, discuss them and make decisions on the best treatment. It would, at one time, take them hours and days to do so.
Want to talk to your friends both at home and abroad? Then it’s necessary to connect your computer to the Internet and set up your own e-mail letter box. You can then collect and send mails in seconds. It will be a waste of time and money to post your letters.
Want to get advice from Michael Jordan on how to play basketball like a NBA super star? Now it is possible to find out what it is on the Internet.
But if you think you have entered the information age because you have the chance to use the Internet, you are wrong. The reason is quite a simple one:over 98 percent of the information on the Internet is in English. The information on-line won’t be helpful to you unless you can use English freely.
According to the writer, computers in the past were ____.
A.small | B.easy to use |
C.cheap | D.dear |
Doctors at hospitals use computers for all the following except ____.
A.get information about patients |
B.make decisions on the best treatment |
C.talk to their friends at home and abroad |
D.read the records of patients |
In the fourth paragraph, the writer suggests we should ____.
A.use the Internet to send and receive e-mails |
B.put up a letter box in front of the house |
C.go to the post office to post letters |
D.all of the above |
The Chinese meaning of the underlined word “treatment” in the third paragraph is ____.
A.治疗 | B.对待 | C.药品 | D.病房 |
Which one will be the best title of the passage?
A.Modern Computers | B.Computers In Your Life |
C.Learn English Well | D.Why Don’t You Buy A Computer? |
TV PROGRAMMES
Channel 1 Channel 2
18:00 Around China 17:45 Computers today
18:30 Children’s programme(节目) 18:10 Foreign arts
19:00 News18:30 English classroom
19:30 Weather report 19:00 Animal world
19:40 Around the world 19:25 China ’99
20:10 TV play: Sisters 20:20 Sports
21:00 English for today 21:00 TV play: Guo Lanying
21:15 Popular music 21:45 English news
21:55 Talk show22:06 On TV next week
If you want to watch a football game, the best programme for you would be ____.
A.TV play | B.Sports |
C.Around the world | D.Talk show |
The programme of ____ will let you know much about western countries.
A.Sisters | B.Around China |
C.Around the world | D.On TV next week |
If you want to know something about tigers, elephants and monkeys, the best programme for you is ____.
A.Around China | B.Animal world |
C.TV play | D.Foreign arts |
English classroom is a programme that ____.
A.lets you know something about classrooms |
B.tells you something about students |
C.lets you know something about school life |
D.teaches you English |
The programme at the end of Channel 2 means ____ on TV next week.
A.news | B.programmes |
C.people | D.places |