D
A mysterious machine found in a 2,000-year-old Greek shipwreck may have been used to calculate the positions of planets, predict when eclipses (日、月蚀) were to occur, and study other parts of astronomy (天文学). When it was found underwater about 100 years ago, the machine was in poor shape. Its metal pieces had become one mass (堆), and then broke into pieces.
When the researchers began to study what was left of the machine, they thought it might have something to do with astronomy. To find out more, they recently used advanced imaging methods, including X-ray computer tomography (断层摄影术), to look inside the metal parts and to check for ancient writing on the machine.
According to their research, the researchers believed that this machine could have been used to compute eclipses of the sun and moon and was also able to show the movements of planets. A user could pick a day in the future and, work out a planet’s position on that date by moving some sort of crank (曲柄) on the machine.
Besides, the researchers discovered that the machine had at least 30 bronze gears (齿轮) with as many as 225 teeth, likely all cut by hand.
With all the collected information, the researchers came up with a new model for how the machine operated. The model has 29 of the 30 known gears and five more that were probably there but never found. Also，the new picture adds a previously undiscovered spiral dial (螺旋刻度盘) to the back of the machine near the bottom. A hand moving around the dial could have pointed to eclipses over a period of 18 years.
71. The passage is most probably taken from _____.
A. a short-story collection
B. a popular science magazine
C. a political report
D. an old personal diary
72. What is the passage mainly about?
A. New research on calculating the positions of planets.
B. A popular way of computing eclipses of the sun and moon.
C. Scientists’ interest in the secrets of a 2,000-year-old Greek shipwreck.
D. A mysterious machine which could be used for astronomical research.
73. What do we learn from the third paragraph of the passage?
A. The machine might have been used to calculate the positions of the planets.
B. Scientists made great progress in predicting eclipses of the sun and moon.
C. The researchers discovered some secrets in the Greek shipwreck.
D. The machine can be of great help for people working out the sizes of planets.
74. The researchers made a new model because they____.
A. wished to repair the broken machine
B. wanted to study the shipwreck more conveniently
C. hoped to know how the machine worked
D. expected it to be used in modern scientific research
75. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the old machine?
A. It has 35 gears on it.
B. It has a spiral dial.
C. It was invented about 100 years ago.
D. Its gears have many teeth.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24, 1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St. Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.
His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary: “My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary.”
This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. Encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, which quickly brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection of short stories All the Sad Young Men.
However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The love of the last Tycoon in 1940. While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism.How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage?
| A．5 | B．6 | C．7 | D．8 |
Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life according to the passage?
a. He became addicted to drinking.
b. He studied at St. Paul Academy.
c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.
d. The Great Gatsby won high praise.
e. He failed to reorder his life.
f. He joined the army and met Zelda.
| A．f-c-e-a-b-d | B．b-e-a-f-c-d | C．f-d-e-c-b-a | D．b-f-c-d-e-a |
We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald .
| A．had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama. |
| B．was well educated and well off before he served in the army |
| C．would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down |
| D．helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital |
The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about _______.
| A．Zelda’s personal life |
| B．Zelda’s illness and treatment |
| C．Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham |
| D．Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary world |
Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall
At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city
Monday, 7th of January until Sunday, 13th of January 2008
Feast until you’re full! Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets．Order from the following:
●Succulent chicken rice ●Spicy salty beef
●Delicious noodle dishes ●Plump pork chops
●Seafood specialties ●Crunchy vegetables
●Sweet tropical fruit
Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven.
Win Prizes and Gifts!
Spend $20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box．
Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner．
Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls．
Win a holiday to Western Australia．A free raffle ticket is given to everyone here．Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided．
Winner to be announced in The Straits Times on the 15th of January．
Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you:
●May Lee ●Jackie Chen
●Kim Yap ●Kamal
Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out．Munchies Food Hall does NOT sell ____．
| A．lamb(羔羊) | B．beef | C．pork | D．chicken |
The prices at Munchies are．
| A．lower than usual | B．bargain prices for the opening |
| C．lower for two people | D．lower if you spend $21.00 |
Everyone who eats at Munchies will receive a．
| A．free raffle ticket | B．lucky draw coupon |
| C．free meal | D．balloon and whistle |
I will find out who has won the trip to Western Australia when I _ _．
| A．watch Channel 3 television |
| B．come down to Munchies at noon |
| C．read The Straits Times on the 15th of January |
| D．attend the lucky draw at Munchies Food Hall |
Swimming is one of those activities that can be learned early in life. Little children can learn to swim as soon as they walk. In fact, you need the same skills in walking as in swimming. However, I believe that five is the best age to learn. By five or six, a child knows fear of water, a very important thing to know. It's wise to be afraid to recognize true danger. Young ones understand that the water can sometimes be very dangerous.
To really benefit from swimming, every swimmer should learn as soon as possible, these four basic strokes; butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and crawl. I feel that one of these-the breaststroke-is different from the others, since some young swimmers use this stroke naturally, without any training.
In swimming there are certain rules every swimmer should follow:
1. Never swim alone! No matter how good you are in the water, don't risk drowning(溺死) by swimming alone. If you swim by yourself, with no life guards or friends with you, you may get into trouble.
2. Don’t go beyond your abilities. Most swimmers know enough not to swim too far from the bank or the beach. Showing off by doing dangerous tricks is not good.
Swim safely and you will continue to swim and alive.
3. Don’t smoke. Swimming depends on a healthy body; good lungs are part of it.
4. Work at any activity that builds muscles. Little children can learn to swim as soon as _____.
| A．they can talk | B．they start walking |
| C．they have no fear of the water | D．they are five or six years old |
The author believes that swimming beyond your abilities is_____.
| A．good | B．sensible | C．dangerous | D．smart |
According to the passage, you should not swim alone because_____.
| A．the water is too cold |
| B．your parents would not be happy |
| C．something in the water might attack |
| D．you might drown |
Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van(住房汽车)
A small car can hold(容纳)four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded(拥挤). A van hold seven persons easily, so a family three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together.
Mr.Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and bus a van. Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases(衣箱)when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents' home, the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents.
Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family is traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes. From the passage, a van is also called ____________.
| A．a motor car | B．a motor home | C．a motorbike | D．a big truck |
Before Mr. Hagen and his wife bought a van, they__________.
| A．sold their old house |
| B．moved to their grandparents' house |
| C．built a new place for a van |
| D．sold their second car |
Americans usually use motor homes____________.
| A．to travel with all the family members of holiday |
| B．to do some shopping with all the family members |
| C．to visit their grandparents at weekends |
| D．to drive their children to school every day |
Motor homes have become popular because___________.
| A．they can take people to another city when people are free |
| B．they can let families have a happier life when they go out for their holidays |
| C．some people think motor homes are cheap |
| D．big families can put more things in motor homes |
In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business .But he was not a good artist .So he invented a very simple camera (照相机).He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden .That was the first photo.
The next important date in the history of photography (摄影术) was in 1837.That year, Daguere, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room .He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his picture you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called a Daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's way .Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the world .People took picture of famous buildings, cities and mountains.
In about 1840, photography was developed .Then photographers could take picture of people and moving things .That was not simple .The photographers had to carry a lot of film(胶片) and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the United States worked so hard.
Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many picture of great people .The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike(栩栩如生的)
Photography has also became one kind of art by the end of the 19th century .Some photos were nor just copies of the real world .They showed feelings, like other kinds of art.The first photo taken by Niepce was a picture of ____________
| A．his business | B．his house | C．his garden | D．his window |
The Daguerreotype was____________.
| A．a Frenchman | B．a kind of photo |
| C．a kind of camera | D．a photographer |
If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in the year of 1840, he had to__________.
| A．watch lots of films |
| B．buy an expensive camera |
| C．stop in most cities |
| D．take many films and something else with him. |
Mathew Brady______________.
| A．was very lifelike |
| B．was famous for his unusual pictures |
| C．was quite strong |
| D．took many pictures of moving people |