The Great Wall of China is one of Beijing’s biggest draws for 
tourists; despite its fame and ubiquity in postcards across the world, it rarely fails to attract tourists at the first proper sight.Yet the authorities open only certain sections of the wall as fit for viewing, and few get to visit the unauthorized sections. Fewer still are aware of the existence of at least one part of the Wall that remains in almost original condition, nearly 1,500 years after construction of legendary fortification began. But there’s a good reason for this – it’s underwater.
American journalist Steven Schwankert has been diving since age 10. It was though his setting – up of a diving school that Schwankert came to explore some of lesser – known areas of China’s lakes – and discovered the underwater Wall under a reservoir. “The most fascinating piece of diving I ever did in China must be the Great Wall. I managed to find out about it via the Internet. It wasn’t difficult to get to Pan Jiakou in Hebei Province, near the East Qing Tomb about 4 hour’s drive from Beijing. Why do I want to dive the Great Wall? Why do people want to walk on the Great Wall? It’s the same answer.”
There are, however, advantages of visiting the Great Wall in a diving suit over being on foot. The water acts as a preservative by preventing the kind of mass tourism that has brought trouble on other parts of the Wall. “Unlike the people who walk in the Wall, we as divers never need to actually touch it. I’ve dived twice there, the last time in July. I found that the water then was much deeper than it was before – 13 meters deep.” When he first dived, parts of the Wall were visible above the surface. Now even the guard tower is completely submerged. “It’s better that the Wall is deep under water, as there are lots of boats coming in and out around that area. Their wave action could potentially damage the brickwork. So, the deeper, the better.”
1．Steven Schwankert is most interested in .
A．collecting photos of the Wall B．walking along on the Wall
C．diving the underwater Wall D．visiting some famous lakes
2．What does the underlined word “submerged” in Paragraph 5 most probably mean?
A．Damaged by water. B．Washed by water.
C．Preserved by water. D．Covered by water.
3．What is the topic discussed in the last paragraph?
A．Advantages of walking on the Great Wall.
B．Advantages of visiting the underwater Wall.
C．The reasons why the Wall is deep under water.
D．The reasons why the underwater Wall is protected.
4．What can we infer from the text?
A．The underwater Wall will sink deeper year by year.
B．Diving the Wall is popular with divers all over the world.
C．Diving is a good way to visit the Wall without causing much damage.
D．More and more tourists will come to visit the underwater Wall in China.
The Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world and are under construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates．They are being developed as tourist, leisure, and residential resorts, and will increase the coastline of the country by 120 kilometres.
After four years of planning and careful consideration of the environmental issues, construction started in 2001．Dutch engineers with experience of reclaiming land from the sea were employed in the building of the first two islands．The site for all three islands is an area of the sea where the water is not very deep．Sand is taken from the seabed and sprayed into the construction site．Although the shallow water facilitates this process, the islands are still very exposed to the currents and tidal movements of the sea．Rocks are used to hold the sand in place resulting in a large crescent (月状的) structure．This acts as a breakwater and protects the islands from the sea.
The first two islands are in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk and 17 frond, or leaves coming off the trunk．The first island, named Palm Jumeirah, has three five-star hotels in the trunk, and luxury homes in the leaves．It is astonishing that when these homes went on sale in 2004, they were all sold within three days.
The second palm, Jebel Ali, was started in 2002 and is designed to be an entertainment centre．Six marinas (小游艇船坞) are planned, with a water theme park, and homes built on stilts (桩柱) in the water.
The Palm Deira planned to be the largest of the three islands, with a length of 14 km and a width of 8.5 km, an area larger than the city of Paris．It will consist of residential properties, marinas, shopping malls, sports facilities, and clubs．These will be open to both residents and tourists.
More artificial islands, the World Islands, are now being constructed near the Palm Jumeirah．They consist of 300 private islands grouped into the shape of the continents of the world and will be used for estates, private homes, community islands, and resorts.
Unquestionably, these artificial islands are one of the wonders of the modern world．They will also maintain Dubai’s status as one of the leading tourist destinations in the region.According to the passage, all the following are right EXCEPT___________.
| A．Some Dutch engineers are experienced in reclaiming land from the sea. |
| B．The islands are being built in the shallow water of the sea. |
| C．All the luxury homes on Palm Jumeirah were sold. |
| D．The World Islands are bigger than the Palm Jumeriah. |
The underlined word “facilitates” in the second paragraph probably means___________.
| A．holds back | B．makes easier |
| C．slows down | D．leads to |
What is the passage written for?
| A．To introduce the wonderful artificial islands. |
| B．To show how to build artificial islands. |
| C．To offer a travel service for tourists. |
| D．To prove the Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world. |
Speaking from my past experience, it is very difficult to find good friends that you can trust but once you have found them, they are worth keeping forever! Therefore, I think friendship is the most important relationship that anybody could have.
The qualities I look for in a friend are a good sense of humor but sensitivity when it matters. Also that friend would have to be strong-minded and highly spirited. I think that these qualities are the key qualities to look for in a good friend.
Even the strongest friends can still have arguments, although usually about more serious topics, rather than the usual teenage childish arguments. Some matters can seriously affect a friendship. If one of your friends started experimenting with harmful and dangerous drugs, what would you do ? A good friend would try to help as much as possible, whereas a bad example of a friend would simply shrug(耸肩) and turn a blind eye.
Not only the bad things affect friendship ---- good activities do too. Such as bonding with one another, not just by going out on a night with them but by spending quality time with them and talking to each other, which indicates a good ability to communicate. This is a key aspect of a good friendship.
Good friends do not always have to be in the same age group as you. I have a good friend and she is 47 years old and I am 16.
Unfortunately, some people lose contact with their friends as they grow older, which is a sad way to lose a good friend.
I think friendship is one of the most important things in life because if you have no friends you will have no happiness.According to the author, true friendship _______.
| A．is easy to get |
| B．deepens with time |
| C．needs management |
| D．affects one’s happiness |
Paragraph 3 is mainly about______.
| A．why drugs are bad for teenagers |
| B．problems that will test friendship |
| C．ways that help avoid arguments |
| D．whether a friend is trustworthy |
According to the author, which matters least in friendship?
| A．Age. | B．Sensitivity. |
| C．Sense of humor. | D．Communication ability. |
Which of the following saying can match the author’s view on friendship?
| A．Old friends and old wines are best. |
| B．A friend without faults will never be found. |
| C．A life without a friend is a life without the sun. |
| D．a friend to everybody is a friend to nobody. |
A new genera tion addiction is quickly spreading all over the world. Weboholism（网瘾）, a twentieth century disease, affects people from different ages. They surf the net, use e-mail and speak in chat rooms. They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit. They cannot stop, and it affects their lives.
Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become compulsive behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users. Such behavior has seriously affected teenagers and college students. They are likely to log(写日志) on computers and spend long hours at different websites.
They become hooked（着迷） on computers and gradually their social and school life is affected by this situation. They spend all free time surfing and don’t concentrate on homework, so this addiction influences their grades and success at school. Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there. Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life.
They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends. The relation with their friends changes. The virtual life becomes more important than their real life. They have a new language that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society.
Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate themselves from society and live with their virtual friends. They share their emotions and feelings with friends who they have never met in their life. Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real live friends they have known all their life. It is a problem for the future. This addictive behavior is beginning to affect all the world.
The main idea of the passage is about__________.
| A．the cause of weboholism |
| B．the advantage of weboholism |
| C．the popularity of weboholism |
| D．the effect of weboholism |
We can infer from the passage that_______.
| A．weboholism has the greatest effect on teenagers |
| B．students can hardly balance real and virtual life |
| C．people are addicted to games on the Internet |
| D．virtual life is more vivid and attractive than real life. |
Which of the following is NOT true of weboholism?
| A．It contributes to the development of the web. |
| B．The chat room language may change social culture. |
| C．The problem will be getting more and more serious later. |
| D．People addicted to the web often become inactive in real life. |
When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm and, in the winter especially, we were quite cut off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that city life has its problems too.
One big disadvantage is money---it costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and at times the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of travelling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.
Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment. Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising---and, what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.
Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens(十几岁) or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?
| A．Staying on the farm |
| B．Moving to the countryside |
| C．Leaving home for the city |
| D．Running away from the school |
Which of the following is true about the writer?
| A．He is very old now. |
| B．He is in good health. |
| C．He prefers driving a car. |
| D．He lives in the city now. |
In the passage, the writer tries to _______.
| A．express his opinions about way of life |
| B．describe his life in the countryside |
| C．show an interest in the outside world |
| D．persuade the reader to live in the city |
How is the passage mainly developed?
| A．By inferring |
| B．By comparing |
| C．By listing examples |
| D．By giving explanations |
Science Fiction The science fiction type of entertainment is considered by most to be fathered by Jules Verne (A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) and H．G．Wells (The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds)．Sci-Fi, as it is commonly shortened, is a fictional story in which science and technology have a significant influence on the characters and plot．Many such works are guesswork about what the future holds and how scientific findings and technological advances will shape humankind．
Writing in the late 1800s, Jules Verne was remarkably successful in his 10 guesses about future technologies of air conditioning, automobiles, the Internet, television, and underwater, air, and space travel．Unbelievably, of all places from which to choose, Jules Verne guessed Tampa, Florida, USA as the launching site of the first project to the Moon, which was only 200 kilometers away from the actual 1969 location at Cape Canaveral, Florida．
One of the best-known science fiction books is Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell．Published in 1949, it was not meant as a prediction, but as a warning: Orwell was describing what he saw as the outcome of the ideas, trends, and emerging technologies of his time．Many invented terms from this novel have become common in everyday use, such as “big brother” and “doublethink”．Even the author’s name has been made into an adjective—Orwellian—and has become a warning descriptor for situations where privacy is lost and the individual becomes sacrifice under a totalitarian（极权主义）government．Nineteen Eighty-Four was translated into sixty-five languages within five years of its publication, setting a record that still stands．
What helps bring science fiction into being is usually a new discovery or innovation．The author creates an analysis of the potential influence and consequences and then wraps it in a pleasant story．For example, the beginning of space exploration was followed a few years later by the Star Trek television program and movie series．Advances in genetics（遗传学）cause fantasies of the end of disease, horrors of eugenics（优生学）, and thrillers where creatures disappearing long ago are brought back to life．The science fiction author’s self-determined role is that of field glasses for humanity—searching the world of future possibilities upon the road which we are traveling．What can science fiction offer to people？
| A．A forecast of how a new discovery could influence mankind． |
| B．A thoughtful look at the present drawbacks of technology． |
| C．An analysis of why a new technology could be used to harm human． |
| D．A thoughtful look at the past and what brought us to this point in history． |
Which of the following best summarizes the description of Nineteen Eighty-Four？
| A．A prediction of future technologies |
| B．A warning of cruel and unfair ruling |
| C．The consequence of scientific findings |
| D．An imaginary perfect world of freedom． |
From the passage we can learn that _____．
| A．Nineteen Eighty-Four adopted some popular terms |
| B．H．G．Wells predicted the Internet in the late 1800s |
| C．Cape Canaveral was mentioned in Jules Verne’s fiction |
| D．Star Trek movie series were based on space exploration |
According to the author, what is the role of science fiction in society？
| A．A moral compass |
| B．A reference of technology |
| C．A record of science development |
| D．A consideration of possibilities |