B
Want to take an out-of-this-world trip? Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to make that possible. Beginning in 2009, people should have the opportunity to become space tourists, traveling at about 3,000 mph to heights about 75 miles above Earth. Branson has high hopes for his latest plans. "It is just the start of what we believe will be a new age in the history of mankind—one day making the affordable exploration of space by human beings a real possibility," he said.
At the start, though, the trip won’t be cheap. Seats aboard Virgin’s first craft—VSS Enterprise—will cost about $200,000. Prices could drop after the first hundred space flights. Despite the current ticket cost, more than 30,000 people—including celebrities(名人) Sigourney Weaver and Victoria Principal—have expressed interest in getting onboard.
People who don't have an extra $200,000 still have a chance to get a seat aboard the craft. A computer game contest and a reality television show are in the works. Those who can’t afford a ticket will have an opportunity to win a seat.
Virgin is expected to be the first commercial spacecraft. It will hold six passengers and two pilots. Passengers will be able to see the Earth from many different viewpoints. The cabin will include 15 floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing for views that extend about 1,000 miles in any direction.
Passengers will have three days of preflight preparation. On the big day, the spacecraft will take off from the Mojave Spaceport in the California desert. The craft will rocket passengers into space at four times the speed of sound. The journey will last about 2 1/2 hours. Passengers will wear spacesuits and helmets(头盔). They will be able to float around the cabin and do somersaults(空翻) during the five minutes of weightlessness they will experience in zero gravity. At the end of the flight, the craft will land on a runway.
1. Virgin Galactic could be _____.
A. the engineer of the first commercial spacecraft
B. the name of a series of spacecrafts
C. the company of the first commercial spacecraft
D. a passenger aboard the first commercial spacecraft
2. The space passengers will do all the following except that _____.
A. they will receive a three-day training course
B. they will wear spacesuits and helmets
C. they will take about $200,000 with them
D. they will experience weightlessness
3. Which statement is true according to the passage?
A. More than 30,000 people have got to travel in spacecraft.
B. Many people signed up for space travel in spite of the high ticket cost.
C. Those without much money could also go space travel without occupying the seats.
D. The first commercial spacecraft will have six persons on board.
4. What is the text mainly about?
A. The exciting moment of the spacecraft’s launching.
B. The living condition of space tourists in the craft.
C. Preparations for a space travel.
D. Plans for the first commercial space flight.
If you go to Brisbane, Australia, you can easily get a small book called Discover Brisbane free. The book tells you almost everything in Brisbane: the restaurants, the shops, the cinemas, the streets, the buses, the trains, the banks, etc. Here is some
thing about banks on page 49:
ANZ Banking Group
Cnr.Greek &Queen Sts ……………… 228 3228
Bank of New Zealand
410 Queen Street ……………………… 221 0411
Bank of Queensland
229 Elizabeth Street …………………… 229 3122
Commonwealth Banking Group
240 Queen Street ……………………… 237 3111
National Australia Bank Ltd
225 Adelaide Street …………………… 221 6422
Westpac Banking Corp
260 Queen Street ……………………… 227 2666
Banking hours are Mon.-Thu. 9:30 am to 4 pm. Fri. 9:30 am to 5 pm. All banks close Sat. Sun. &Public Holidays.
Australia has a decimal currency(十进币制) with 100 cents to the dollar.
Notes available are: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5
Gold coins are: $2 && $1
Silver coins are: 50, 20, 10&&5 cent
Copper coins are: 2 && 1 cent You can find ANZ Banking Group on ______.
| A．Queen Street | B．Elizabeth Street |
| C．the corner of Greek Street and Queen Street | |
| D．the corner of Queen Street and Elizabeth Street |
______ seems to be the most important street in Brisbane.
| A．Greek Street | B．Elizabeth Street | C．Queen Street | D．Adelaide Street |
On Saturdays, you can go to ______ to put your money in or take your money out.
| A．ANZ Banking Group | B．Bank of Queensland |
| C．National Australia Bank Ltd | D．no bank |
In Australia, the banks have their longest serviceh
ours on ______.
| A．public holidays | B．Sundays | C．Saturdays | D．Fridays |
“Who is Gogo?” Almost every pupil in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand will tell you: “Gogo is from outer space and is teaching children to speak and read English.”
Gogo has visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and Korea. Now he is in China’s mainland—“Gogo has Adventure with English” has been published by Addison Wesley Longman China Ltd (AWL).
The six level English course, full of exciting stories, educates and delights children at the same time. Gogo learns English from his friends, Tony and Jenny. The children will learn along with Gogo, enjoying all the fun he produces. Gogo has a warm place in every young learner’s heart wherever he goes.
A presentation (介绍) about Gogo was given by Beijing AWL Information Centre last November. All the pupils in Huijia School attended the presentation. A foreign teacher at Huijia later said, “The children were attracted by Gogo after only a 45-minute presentation. They remember a song taught by Gogo seven weeks later. Parents often ask me how they can help their children learn Engli
sh and now there’s a programme I can direct them to.”
Clive Sawkins, Paul Price-Smiths and Gregg Schroeder worked closely at AWL to make sure that Gogo will become an easily recognized symbol (标志) of learning English wherever English is studied. “Gogo is our baby,” said Gregg. “It is very easy to get children going with Gogo.” What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Gogo visits Asian countries. | B．Gogo receives high praise. |
| C．Children love to learn with Gogo. | D．AWL introduces Gogo. |
It can be learned from the passage that Gogo is .
| A．an English teacher | B．an English boy |
| C．an English textbook | D．a character in an English textbook |
In what way is Gogo a great help to young learners?
| A．He teaches them English through songs. |
| B．He teaches them English through adventure stories. |
| C．He helps them to remember English words. |
| D．He makes English lessons full of fun. |
Why do men live a shorter life than women? The latest research indicates that men’s hearts going into a rapid decline when they reach middle age could be the cause.
The research of ageing on the heart has shown that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose much pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 20 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, Samantha of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells which make it beat. Between the ages of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men ,” said Samantha. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What amazes scientists is that the female heart suffers very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could work almost as perfectly as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender （性别）difference might give the reason why men live shorter than women,”said Samantha. They studied over 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 17 and 80, who are mainly healthy persons so as to reduce the influence of disease. “The team has yet to think about why ageing suffers a greater loss on the male heart,” said Samantha.
But there is also good news -- men can enjoy the health of their hearts with regular exercise. Samantha stressed that women should also take regular exercise to stop their leg muscles getting weaker as they age.The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph means “________”.
| A．health | B．long life | C．ageing | D．effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
| A．men’s heart cells | B．women’s ageing process |
| C．the gender difference | D．hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
| A．men have fewer cells than women when they are born |
| B．women can produce the cells that make the heart beat |
| C．the female heart suffers less loss of the cells with age |
| D．women will never suffer the loss of pumping power with age |
If you want to live a long life, you should ________.
| A．enable your heart to beat much faster |
| B．think about the reason for ageing |
| C．take regular exercise to keep your heart healthy |
| D．stop your cells from being lost |
October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.
Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.
Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-private Partnership for handwashing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of handwashing with soap. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs （细菌）. They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Then, wash well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.
The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again.
It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea （痢疾）, which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half.What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?
| A．To keep healthy by washing hands. | B．To wash hands with soap. |
| C．To take action to wash hands. | D．To wash hands often. |
Which of the following is the right way to wash hands?
a. Washing hands well.b. Covering hands with soap.
c. Drying hands.d. Rubbing hands with soap.
e. Wetting hands.
| A．a--c--b--e--d | B．e--d--a--b--c |
| C．a--c--b--d--e | D．e--b--d--a--c |
Which fact can’t explain why soap is important?
| A．It gives people a longer handwashing time. |
| B．It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands. |
| C．It attracts people to do more handwashing. |
| D．It gets all people into the habit of washing hands. |
According to the last paragraph, diarrhea is a disease that ________.
| A．kills half of the kids in the developing countries a year |
| B．causes the greatest number of child deaths |
| C．can be prevented to some degree by washing hands with soap |
| D．can’t be cured without washing hands |
Our company, Eastern Energy, is here to help and provide you with personal advice on any matters connected with your bill or any other questions about your gas and electricity supply.
Moving Home
Please give as much notice as possible if you are moving home, but at least 48 hours required for us to make the necessary arrangements for your gas and electricity supply. Please telephone our 24-hour line at 0131 6753 219 with details of your move. In most eases we are happy to accept your meter reading on the day you move.
Meter Reading
Eastern Energy uses various types of meter ranging from the traditional dial meters to new technology digital display meters. Always read the meter from left to right, ignoring any red dials. If you require assistance, contact our 24-hour line at 0600 7310 310.
Energy Efficiency Line
If you would like advice on the efficient use of energy, please call our Energy Efficiency Line at 0995 7625 513. Please do not use this number for any other enquiries （询问）.
Special Services
Passwords -- you can choose a password so that, whenever we visit you at home, you will know it is us. If you want more information, please ring our helpline at 0995 7290 290.
Help and Advice
If you need help or advice with any issues, please contact us at 0131 6440 188.
Complaints （投诉）
We hope you will never have a problem or cause to complain, but, if you do, please contact our complaints handling team at PO Box 220, Stanfield, ST55 6GF or telephone us at 0131 6753 270.
Supply Failure
If you experience any problems with your electricity supply, please call free at 0600 7838 836, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Who is this passage most probably written to?
| A．People applying for energy supply. |
| B．People moving home. |
| C．Persons in need of help. |
| D．Energy users of Eastern Energy. |
If you have any complaints, what should you do?
| A．Make a call or send a mail. | B．Contact Help and Advice. |
| C．Go to the company directly. | D．Ask for special services. |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．You are not expected to read your own gas or electricity meters. |
| B．It is now cheaper to use gas than electricity as a form of heating. |
| C．You are not charged for the call when you report supply failure. |
| D．You should inform Eastern Energy of a change of address on arrival at your new home. |