Modern inventions have speeded up people’s lives amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boasts (吹嘘) of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.
All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel that they have been left behind in another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientists; too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.
However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing, or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.
There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors faced: they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.The new products become more and more time-saving because .
| A．time is limited | B．our love of speed seems never-ending |
| C．the prices are increasingly high | D．the manufacturers boast a lot |
What does “the days” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．Simple life in the past. | B．Imaginary life. |
| C．Times of inventions. | D．Time for constant activity. |
What is the author’s attitude towards the modern technology?
| A．Objective. | B．Critical. | C．Optimistic. | D．Negative. |
What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．Machinery and human beings. | B．The present and past times. |
| C．Imaginations and inventions. | D．Modern technology and its influence. |
After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin．These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability．But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part．
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson．Born with spina bifida （脊椎裂） which left her paralyzed from the waist down．Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7．At first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom．But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously．She tried swimming, basketball and tennis．Eventually
she found athletics, and never looked back．
Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off．In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games．
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul．She won bronze in the 400 metres．Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona．Paralympics．Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process．In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories．
Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation（动机）, part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter（短跑运动员） enables me to be good at a marathon too．I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race．I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart．”
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007．Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games．
In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down．In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics--- a top lever athletic career covering two decades．She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records．
What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again．”Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?
| A．Basketball | B．Swimming． |
| C．Tennis． | D．Horse-riding． |
When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?
| A．In 1984． | B．In 1988． |
| C．In 1992． | D．In 2007． |
The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______．
| A．fifty weeks’ training |
| B．being a good sprinter |
| C．training almost every day |
| D．part motivation and part preparation |
What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?
a．She works as a coach．
b．She took up athletics．
c．She won four gold medals in Barcelona．
d．She competed in her first Paralympic Games．
e．She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon．
| A．b,d,c,e,a | B．a,d,b,c,e |
| C．a,d,c,e,b | D．b,d,a,e,c |
What can we learn from Tanni’s success?
| A．Union is strength． |
| B．Never too late to learn． |
| C．Well begun is half done． |
| D．No pains, no gains． |
I would never forget the time when we were standing at the top of a church tower．My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome．I wondered why．
“Look down, Elsa，” Father said．I gathered all my courage and looked down．I saw the square in the center of the village．And I saw the crisscross （纵横交错） of streets leading to the square．“See, my dear，” Father said gently．“There is more than one way to the square．Life is like that．If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another．”
Now I understood why I was there．Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school．But she refused because she didn't believe the lunches were as bad as I said．
When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere （干涉）．Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson．By the time we reached home, I had a plan．
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home．Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner．The plan worked perfectly．She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, “The cook must have gone bad！” Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would deal with the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the following years I often remembered the lesson Father taught me．I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago．I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal．Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square．The author's father took her to the top of a church tower to ________．
| A．find out how many ways lead to the square |
| B．enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town |
| C．help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day |
| D．inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem |
What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?
| A．Do something delicious for lunch． |
| B．Speak to the school about lunch． |
| C．Taste her awful lunch． |
| D．Dismiss the cook． |
The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ________．
| A．the cook agreed to serve the soup to Mother |
| B．the matter of lunch was successfully settled |
| C．her father persuaded her mother successfully |
| D．the method the author thought of was effective |
On a freezing cold day, a couple had to move into a small apartment because of their failure in business．The husband worked day and night to support the family but with no care of his wife．So she thought, “He doesn't love me any more, he just cares about his business ．．．not me”．
One day, she was about to take a shower when he stopped her at the door, “Let me take it first, okay？”“Why not me first？” she asked．“I am tired, honey, you take it later, okay？”She was entirely unhappy．
One day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer．A few words came into her sight．Reading them, she burst into tears．It was his diary：
Today, I was quite sad．She asked me why I was always taking the shower first, and I said to her, I was exhausted．She was unhappy．In her mind, I treated her not as well as usual, but what could I do? I was not as rich as before! We moved to the small apartment, and there was only one shower in the bathroom．It was so cold to take a shower in such a cold winter．But I found that if one person took the shower first, the room could get a little warmer．So every day I rushed to the bathroom first．I was thinking that, when she took the shower, the room would get warmer, even if it was only 1℃．
Now I cannot give her a comfortable life, take her to good restaurants, or buy expensive dresses for her, but at least, I can give her 1℃love．Why did the couple move to the small apartment?
| A．Both of them were out of work． |
| B．They wanted to live a better life． |
| C．The man could take better care of his business． |
| D．They were too poor to live in the former house． |
Which of the following can replace the underlined word “exhausted”？
| A．Devoted． | B．Worried． | C．Tired． | D．Injured． |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．They would live a richer life soon． |
| B．The woman misunderstood her husband． |
| C．The man would care less about his business． |
| D．The woman would get angry after reading the diary． |
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．A Love Story | B．1℃Love |
| C．A Suffering Couple | D．Fight for the Bathroom |
In recent years, there has been a steady attack on salt from the doctors: salt is bad for you—regardless of your health. Politicians also got aboard. “There is a direct relationship,” US Congressman Neal Smith said, “between the amount of sodium(钠) a person consumes and heart disease, circulatory(循环的) disorders, stroke and even early death.”
Frightening, if true! But many doctors and medical researchers are now beginning to feel the salt scare has gone too far. “All these remarks and cry about salt is unnecessary,” Dr. Dustan insists. “For most of us it probably does not make much difference how much salt we eat.” Dustan’s most recent short-term study of 150 people showed that those with normal blood pressure experienced no change at all when placed on an extremely low-salt diet, or later when salt was reintroduced. Of the hypertensive(高血压的) patients, however, half of those on the low-salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to previous level when salt was reintroduced.
“An adequate to somewhat excessive(过度的) salt intake has probably saved many more lives than it has cost in the general population,” said Dr. John H Laragh. “So an opinion that the whole population should avoid salt makes no sense.”
Medical experts agree that everyone should practice reasonable “moderation”(节制) in salt consumption. For the average person, a moderate amount might run from four to ten grams a day, or roughly 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons. One to two grams of salt would come from the natural sodium in food. The rest would be added in processing, preparation or at the table.
“Na is not your enemy,” says Comek’s Dr. Laragh. “Salt is the No.1 natural component of all human tissue, and the idea that you do not need it is wrong. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt-related health problem, there is no reason to give it up.”
| A．It’s unnecessary. |
| B．It does no good to human health.. |
| C．It is hated by most people. |
| D．It will surely lead to heart disease and circulatory disorders. |
| A．a low-salt diet may be good to some patients |
| B．the amount of salt intake has nothing to do with one’s blood pressure |
| C．the reduction of salt intake can completely cure a hypertensive patient |
| D．an extremely low-salt diet makes no difference to anyone |
| A．people should not be afraid of taking much excessive salt |
| B．doctors should not always advise people to avoid salt |
| C．an adequate to somewhat excessive salt intake is suggested to ill people |
| D．excessive salt intake has killed some patients in the general population |
| A．They should increase salt intake through sodium pills. |
| B．They should avoid salt as often as possible. |
| C．They should consume 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons of salt a day. |
| D．They needn’t care about how much salt they consume. |
Many countries follow special customs when a child’s baby teeth fall out. Many of these customs tell stories about animals taking the teeth.
For example, Koreans have the custom of throwing the fallen tooth onto the roof of a house so that a magpie (喜鹊) can take the tooth away and bring a new tooth for the child. This custom is also followed by some other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam.
Other countries, though, have tooth customs about other animals. In Mexico and Spain, for example, it is thought that a mouse takes a fallen tooth away and leaves some money. But in Mongolia, it is dogs that take children’s teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture. It is believed that the new tooth will grow strong if the baby tooth is fed to a dog, so parents in Mongolia will put their children’s fallen teeth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog.
In France and the USA, a child will put a fallen tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. It is thought that in the early morning, when the child is still sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take the tooth away and leave something else under the pillow. What she will leave is hard to know. It is said that in France the Tooth Fairy may leave some candies; however, in the United States, she may leave money.
| A．get money | B．feed magpies |
| C．get candies | D．get a new tooth |
| A．throw it onto the roof of a house |
| B．feed it to a mouse |
| C．put it in a piece of meat and feed the meat to a dog |
| D．leave it to the Tooth Fairy |
| A．a child will put his or her fallen tooth beside the pillow |
| B．the Tooth Fairy takes the fallen teeth away at midnight |
| C．the Tooth Fairy will leave some candies to the children after taking the fallen teeth away |
| D．no one knows for sure what the Tooth Fairy will leave to the children after taking the fallen teeth away |
| A．customs about fallen teeth in western countries |
| B．customs about fallen teeth in different countries |
| C．stories about human teeth |
| D．stories about some animals |