Something big is happening to the human race, something that could be called the Great Transformation.
The Transformation consists of all the changes that are occurring in human life due to advancing technology. For thousands of years such progress occurred slowly. Now everything is changing so fast that you may find yourself wondering where all this progress is really leading.
Nobody knows what all these changes will really mean in the long run. But this mysterious Transformation is the biggest story of all times. It is the story of the human race itself.
Some people worry about what will happen when the deposits(蕴藏)of petroleum are gone, but already researchers are finding all kinds of new ways to get energy. Someday, solar power collected by satellites circling the earth or fission(裂变) power produced by mankind may give us all the energy we need for an expanding civilization(文明).Space exploraton promises to open up much new land for human settlement, as well as leading to the harvest of mineral resources.
Like it or not, our advancing technology has made us masters of the earth. We not only control all th
e other animals, but also reshape the world’s plant life and even its soil and rocks, its waters and surrounding air.
Technology gives us the power to build a great new civilizaion, if we can just agee on what we want it to be, bu today, there is little global agreement on goals and how we should achieve them.
So it remanins to be seen what will happen as a result of our technology. Pessimists
(悲观主义者) worry that we will use the technology eventually to blow ourselves up. But they have been saying that for decades, and so far we have escaped. Whether we will continue to do so remains unknown, but we can continue to hope.
68.The Great Transformation is caused by ________.
A. changes in human life B.the development of science and technology
C. space exploration D. unknown reasons
69.Today it is impossible for people to build a remarkable new civilization because __________. A.nobody is optimistic about the future
B.human beings aare unabale to do so
C.people diagree with each other in many ways
D.people are worried too much
70.Advancing technology could possibly make us_______.
A.hesitate B.decisive C.powerless D.mysterious
There was a time in my life when beauty meant something special to me. I guess that would have been when I was about six or seven years old, just several weeks or maybe a month before the orphanage（孤儿院）turned me into an old man．
I would get up every morning at the orphanage, make my bed just like the little soldier that I had become and then I would get into one of the two straight lines and march to breakfast with the other twenty or thirty boys who also lived in my dormitory.
After breakfast one Saturday morning I returned to the dormitory and saw the house parent chasing the beautiful monarch butterflies who lived by the hundreds in the bushes scattered around the orphanage.
I carefully watched as he caught these beautiful creatures, one after another, and then took them from the net and then stuck straight pins through their head and wings，pinning them onto a heavy cardboard sheet．
How cruel it was to kill something of such beauty. I had walked many times out into the bushes，all by myself, just so the butterflies could land on my head，face and hands so I could look at them up close.
When the telephone rang the house parent laid the large cardboard paper down on the back cement（水泥）step and went inside to answer the phone. I walked up to the cardboard and looked at the one butterfly who he had just pinned to the large paper. It was still moving about so I reached down and touched it on the wing causing one of the pins to fall out．It started flying around and around trying to get away but it was still pinned by the one wing with the other straight pin．Finally its wing broke off and the butterfly fell to the ground and just trembled.
I picked up the torn wing and the butterfly and I spat on its wing and tried to get it to stick back on so it could fly away and be free before the house parent came back．But it would not stay on him. The author set the living butterfly free because_______.
| A．he liked it very much |
| B．he had sympathy for the beautiful butterfly |
| C．he couldn’t bear a butterfly dying in his favorite bushes |
| D．its wing broke off |
According to the passage，the author’s life in the orphanage was_____.
| A．dull and full of strict rules |
| B．simple and easy |
| C．happy and full of hope |
| D．hard and busy |
What is the author’s attitude towards the house parent’s pinning some butterflies on the cardboard?
| A．tolerant | B．unconcerned | C．disgusted | D．discouraged |
We know from the passage that_________.
A. the author lived alone in the dormitory
B. there were one hundred butterflies living in the bushes
C the cardboard paper was left on the step so as to be watched
D. the author failed to stick the worn wing onto the butterfly with his spit Which of the following is right according to the passage?
| A．I found beauty meant nothing special to me. |
| B．The house parent helped the children handle the quilt. |
| C．The house parent chased the butterfly in order to show it to the children. |
| D．I thought it cruel to catch the butterfly. |
Once a circle lost a piece of its own. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete（不完整的）, it could only roll very slowly. It enjoyed the flowers and the sunshine along the way. It talked with worms. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on looking for the missing piece.
Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It put the missing piece into itself. It could be whole, with nothing missing. It was so happy and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to see flowers or talk to worms. It realized how different the world was when it rolled so quickly. It felt so sad that it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled away slowly.
Sometimes we are perfect when we lost something. A man who has everything is a poor man in some ways. He will never have hopes, dreams or something better. He will never know someone is loving him or someone is giving him something he has always wanted or never had.
We couldn’t be perfect, but we must be brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, kind enough to share happiness with others and clever enough to know there is enough love around us and then we can always live a wonderful time in our lives.The circle rolled very slowly because it __________.
| A．spent much time talking to worms |
| B．wanted to enjoy the sunshine |
| C．was looking for its missing piece |
| D．lost a piece of its own |
After it was whole again and rolled fast, the circle __________.
| A．felt unhappy |
| B．could see more beautiful flowers |
| C．could talk to any worm |
| D．could go everywhere |
If a man owns everything, he’ll be __________ in some ways.
| A．perfect | B．poor | C．happy | D．strong enough |
The story mainly tells us that __________
| A．nobody loves us if we give nothing |
| B．a man who has everything is the happiest |
| C．losing something may not be a bad thing sometimes |
| D．we are not whole when we lose something |
Talking on a mobile phone is expensive, so a lot of people send text messages. Text messages are much cheaper than talking on a mobile phone, and you can make it cheaper by making the words shorter. You can do this by taking out “unimportant” letters in the words and using numbers instead of words (2 =" to," 3 =" free," 4 =" for," 8 =" ate," so h8 =" hate," etc.). You can also keep away from using punctuation (标点). Here is an example: Do U wnt 2 g 2 th cnma tnite (Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?)
What do you think these text messages mean?
Whr hv U bn? Iv bn wtng hrs fr a cll.
Im hm nw, why nt gv me a cll.
I gt a txt mssge frm my frnd. Shes hvng a prty on Strdy.
Mobile phone users have developed a group of symbols (符号) to show how they feel. They are called emoticons, and there are some examples below. To read an emoticon, you have to look at it sideways. For example, if you say something in a text message that is a joke, you can follow it with a smiling face.Why are text messages popular?
| A．Because they are expensive. | B．Because they are cheap. |
| C．Because they are hard to write. | D．Because they are not important. |
The first paragraph tells us that we can make the text messages shorter in ways.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
What does this text message “Do U wnt 2 cm?” mean? It means “?”.
| A．Do you want to come | B．Do you wear two caps |
| C．Do you want two cakes | D．Do you go home early |
Why do people use emoticons?
| A．Because they can show how users feel. |
| B．Because the symbols are beautiful. |
| C．Because text messages are short. |
| D．Because the users can’t make the words shorter. |
Everyone needs friends. There is an old saying, “Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.” But how do you find real friendship and keep it?
The American writer Sally Seamans tells young students some smart ways to find friends. Sally says finding friendship is just like planting a tree. You plant the seed and take care of it to make it grow.
First, you should choose a friend. What makes a good friend? It is not because a person has money or good looks. A good friend should be kind and patient. For example, if you have a bad day, a good friend should listen to your complaints and do his or her best to help. To make a friend, you cannot be too shy. You should make each other happy and share your lives.
But things cannot always he happy. Even the best friends have fights. What should you do when you have a fight with your friend? You have to talk to him or her. When there is no one around, have an honest talk. If he or she doesn’t want to talk, you could write a letter.
There are three steps to being friends again:
Tell him or her how you are feeling; say what your friend has done wrong, and explain why you did this or that. Remember that friendship is the most important thing in your life.Sally wants to tell students the ways to ____.
| A．find friends | B．plant trees | C．get happy | D．keep fit |
What makes good friends? A good friend should ______.
| A．be lovely and cool | B．be kind and patient |
| C．have lots of money | D．have good looks |
According to the text, you can _____ your friend after a fight.
| A．buy a present for | B．never say a word to |
| C．have dinner with | D．write a letter to |
What is the best title of the text?
| A．Teenagers and friendship | B．The good friends around you |
| C．The trouble of growing up | D．The care and keeping of friends |
A Book Review—The Snake-Stone by Berlie Doherty
The setting: Urban England (the cities), but also rural England (the countryside) including remote English villages．
The theme: The main theme is a teenage research of self-discovery, in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age．Its other concerns are love, getting on with others, being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts, troubles and worries．As the book moves to a close, James’ swimming coach says to him: “You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more．You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going．”
The characters: James is the hero of the story．He is a championship diver, and has a comfortable life with his foster parents (养父母)．Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother．The other characters in The Snake-Stone, James’ parents, his diving instructor, best friend, the villagers, people he meets on his journey, are pictured realistically．
The turning point: The turning point in the story comes while James’ foster parents are away in London, and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother．The only clue he has is a fossil, “the snake stone” which she left behind along with a note on which she had written: “Take good care of Sammie．It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there．
The journey: Instead of going to London, James decides to find his birth mother．With help from his geography teacher, James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found．James has painful, challenging, but also humorous and happy travels．The mother he finally meets, Anne, has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel．He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger’s door fifteen years before．Although the meeting is not long, it leaves him with a feeling of completeness．As a journey of self-discovery The Snake-Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending．Its hero says, on returning to his foster parents, “I was home．”What is the main theme of the novel?
| A．A journey of self-discovery． |
| B．Life in the world of diving． |
| C．Life with foster parents． |
| D．A travel around the country． |
What do the coach’s words in Paragraph 2 suggest?
| A．James is a successful diver． |
| B．James is an independent young man． |
| C．James is an outgoing young man． |
| D．James is a hopeful swimmer． |
The snake stone in the novel is ．
| A．a stone with an address on it |
| B．a gift from the swimming coach |
| C．a clue left by the birth mother |
| D．a fossil left by the foster parents |
Which of the following is true about the novel?
| A．The story has a sad ending． |
| B．The story takes place in the city of London． |
| C．The characters are vividly described． |
| D．The turning point comes after the hero meets his birth mother． |
It can be concluded that James’ journey is _________．
| A．disappointing | B．boring |
| C．comfortable | D．worthwhile |