Before a new type of airplane goes into service, every part of it is tested again and again. But there are two tests that are more important than all the others.
The first is called the “tank test”. A modern airplane must fly very high in the sky. Air must be pumped into the plane so that the passengers can breathe. The metal structure (结构) of the plane has to be very strong for this reason. When the plane is filled with air, the air presses against the skin of the plane inside. The pressure (压力) on a small window is like a huge foot that is trying to get out. If a small part of the plane were to fail, the plane would explode in the sky. To test the structure of the plane, the plane is lowered into a huge tank or container of water. Then it is filled with air. The pressure inside the plane is greater than it ever will be when it is high up in the air. Finally, there is an explosion. This does not cause so much damage inside the water tank as it would anywhere else. Engineers can discover which part of the plane has broken. Then that part is made stronger,
The most dangerous test happens when the new plane is going through test flights in the air. The test pilot must find out exactly what happens when the engines (发动机) are all shut off at once. The plane begins to fall like a stone. It is the pilot’s job to find out how he can get control of the plane again. These two tests are examples of how planes are made safe before they ever carry passengers.
68. By doing the “tank test”, the engineers can find out ________.
A. the power of the airplane engines B. the amount of air in the plane
C. the strength of the plane structure D. the pressure inside and outside the plane
69. What will happen to the plane under the “tank test”?
A. It will be tested by pilots. B. It will be broken.
C. It will be made stronger. D. It will be filled with water.
70. According to the text. why are test flights most dangerous?
A. Too much air may get into the plane. B. The plane may explode in the air.
C. The pilot may lose control of the plane. D. The engines may be damaged.
71. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. How Airplanes Are Made and Tested B. Two Important Tests on Airplanes
C. The Importance of Flying Safely D. The Danger of Testing Airplanes
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register, I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holiday meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars—was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
“Thank you”—two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City ______.
| A．to visit a friend |
| B．to see his parents |
| C．to pay at the cash register |
| D．to have more gas for his car |
The words “took off” underlined in Paragraph 2 mean ______.
| A．turned off | B．moved off | C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because ______.
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．the meeting lasted a whole day |
| C．he forgot to turn off the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show ______.
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |
Sydney Airport International Terminal-Arrivals Area
SPECIALTY RETAIL
Newslink: Two separate Newslink stores cater to all your reading needs including newspapers, magazines and the latest bestsellers.
Downtown Duty Free: Make sure you shop at Downtown Duty Free for great savings on a range of items including perfume, alcohol, skincare and cigarettes. It’s your last chance before customs.
Beach Culture: A must for those who go into the Latest in beach clothing. Top surf, street and fashion labels including Mambo, Stussy and Quicksilver, including children’s sizes.
DINING
Blue Sky Care: Speedy service leaves you time to keep an eye on the arrivals gate. Morning pastries, fresh juice, breakfast rolls and coffee while you wait.
McDonald’s: hamburgers, fries, drinks, muffins and shakes—all your family favorites. Breakfast served until 10:30 a. m.
SERVICES
ATM: ATMs are conveniently located throughout Arrival and Departures. Dollars, pounds, francs and RMB are all available.
Vodafone Rentals: This communication center offers the very latest technology for mobile phone rentals, sales and servicing.Where is this passage likely to appear?
| A．A morning newspaper. |
| B．A monthly magazine. |
| C．A geography book. |
| D．An official guide. |
The underlined phrase “cater to” probably means ______.
| A．satisfy | B．afford | C．support | D．help |
If you want to have some coffee while waiting for your flight, you can go to ______.
| A．Vodafone Rentals | B．Blue Sky Cafe |
| C．Downtown Duty Free | D．McDonald’s |
At Beach Culture you can buy ______.
| A．newspapers and magazines |
| B．skincare and cigarettes |
| C．Mambo and Stussy |
| D．fresh juice and breakfast rolls |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．You can have breakfast at McDonald’s at 11:00 a. m.. |
| B．You’ll save money if you buy alcohol or perfume at Downtown Duty Free. |
| C．You’ll not find any beach clothing for your seven-year-old boy in Beach Culture. |
| D．There is only one ATM throughout Arrivals and Departure. |
More perhaps than any other European nation, the Swiss are accustomed to looking after foreign travelers. As early as the 18th century, wealthy French, Germans and Italians were treating the country as a amusement center while, in the 19th century, it became the major holiday playground for the British nobles. Today, it attracts visitors from all over the world.
The Swiss are clear about the importance of tourism to their economy, which contributes about eight percent of Gross National Product, and helps the industry greatly. Managers of hotels the world over go to Switzerland to learn how to do the job, and a generally high standard can be expected from the great majority of the country’s hotels, most of which are small and pride themselves on a personalized service. Public transport is the best in Europe. Both the Swiss Federal railways and the private railways are fully electrified, and the total network is made up of about 5000 kilometers of track.
Under the Fly Baggage system passengers can check luggage in at 116 railway stations and have it automatically carried to their flight. The national highway system is equally well planned, and the mountain roads offer views of some of the country’s most breathtaking scenery. Also serving the mountains is an effective system of railways and cable ways, while more than 160 passenger cars cross the lakes and rivers to and fro. Hiking in the mountains is equally popular with Swiss nationals and foreign visitors. For those who want to view the country from a height without having to climb the mountain themselves, it is always possible to take in the view from a balloon. Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Most of the hotels in Switzerland are big in size. |
| B．The hotels in Switzerland offer exactly the same service. |
| C．Most of the hotels in Switzerland offer first class service. |
| D．The hotels in Swizerland are accustomed to learn from the world. |
The Fly Rail Baggage system is service to carry your luggage between the railway station and ___________.
| A．the airport | B．the hotel | C．the motorway station | D．the cable ways |
According to the passage, Switzerland is now often visited by ________.
| A．wealthy French | B．rich Germans and Italians |
| C．noble British | D．people from various countries |
The best title for this passage is _______.
| A．Scenery in Switzerland | B．Life in Switzerland |
| C．Tourism in Switzerland | D．Transportation in Switzerland |
As you can see in the following list, there is a rainbow of colors in the sky represented by the planets.
| Planet |
Color |
| Mercury（水星） |
Orange |
| Venus（金星） 0） |
Yellow |
| Earth |
Blue, brown, green |
| Mars |
Red |
| Jupiter（木星） |
Yellow, red, brown, white |
| Saturn（土星） |
Yellow |
| Uranus（天王星） |
Green |
| Neptune（海王星） |
Blue |
| Pluto（冥王星） |
Yellow |
The color of a star is an indication (标示) of its brightness, temperature, and age. Stars are classified into groups. From oldest to youngest and from hottest to coolest, the types of stars are:
| Temperature |
|||
| Type |
Color |
Fahrenheit |
Celsius |
| O |
Blue |
45,000-75,000 |
25,000-40,000 |
| B |
Blue |
20,800-45,000 |
11,000-20,000 |
| A |
Blue-white |
13,500-20,000 |
7,500-11,000 |
| F |
White |
10,800-13,500 |
6,000-7,500 |
| G |
Yellow |
9,000-10,800 |
5,000-6,000 |
| K |
Orange |
6,300-9,000 |
3,500-5,000 |
| M |
Red |
5,400-6,300 |
3,000-3,500 |
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all have rings. Jupiter's rings were discovered by Voyager 1 in March 1979. The rings extend 80,240 miles from the center of the planet. They are about 4,300 miles wide and less than 20 miles thick.
Saturn has the largest, most wonderful rings in the solar system. Saturn's rings are about 41,168 miles wide and 169,800 miles in diameter, but less than 10 miles thick.
In 1977, when Uranus passed in front of a star, scientists found that the light from the star winked several times before the planet totally blocked the star from view. It was due to the rings around Uranus. The rings are thin, narrow, and very dark.
Voyager 2 discovered a series of at least five very faint rings around Neptune in 1989. The rings are made up of particles, some of which are greater than one mile in diameter.
A day, the period of time it takes a planet to make one complete turn, varies from planet to planet. A day on Venus, Mercury, and Pluto is several times longer than a day on Earth. A Martian day is closest in length to our own. The rest of the planets have shorter days than we do.
Length of Day
| Planet |
Earth Days |
Hours |
Minutes |
| Mercury |
58 |
15 |
30 |
| Venus |
243 |
32 |
|
| Earth |
23 |
56 |
|
| Mars |
24 |
37 |
|
| Jupiter |
9 |
50 |
|
| Saturn |
10 |
39 |
|
| Uranus |
17 |
14 |
|
| Neptune |
16 |
3 |
|
| Pluto |
6 |
9 |
18 |
Among the nine planets, how many may show yellow color?
A. Four. B. Five. C Six. D. Seven.What is the type of Mars?
A. Type A. B.Type F. C. Type K. D. Type M. Whose rings are made up of particles around one mile in diameter?
| A．Jupiter's. | B．Saturn's. | C．Neptune's. | D．Uranus's. |
How long is a day on Mars?
| A．Fifteen hours and thirty minutes. |
| B．Seventeen hours and fourteen minutes. |
| C．Twenty-three hours and fifty-six minutes. |
| D．Twenty-four hours and thirty-seven minutes. |
People are always talking about "the problem of youth". If there is one—which I take leave to doubt—then it is older people who create it, not the young themselves. Let us get down to something basic and agree that the young are after all human beings—people just like their elders. There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: the young man has a beautiful future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him and maybe that is where the rub is.
When I was a teenager, I felt that I was just young and unknown—that I was a new boy in a huge school, and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem. For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking.
I find young people exciting. They have an air of freedom, and they have not a dull promise to mean ambitions(卑鄙的野心) or love of comfort. They are not anxious social climbers, and they have no devotion to important things. All these seem to me to link them with life, and the origins of things. It is as if they were in some sense from outside space and lovely contrast with us suburban people. All that is in my mind when I meet a young person. He may be ill-mannered, self-confident, but I do not turn for protection to boring clichés(陈腔烂调) about respect for elders as if the age is a reason for respect. I accept that we are equals, and I will argue with him, as an equal, if I think he is wrong.From the text we can see the writer’s attitude towards the young is ______.
| A．kind and satisfied | B．considerate and understanding |
| C．angry and unpleased | D．hopeless and boring |
The word "rub" in the last sentence of paragraph 1 is closest to the meaning of the following ________.
| A．polishing | B．difficulty | C．future | D．age |
One of the things the young are engaged in seeking is that ________.
| A．they want people to notice them |
| B．they want to make great troubles |
| C．they want to excite people around |
| D．they want to make some interesting events |