Satellitesareanimportantpartof-优题课

Ⅲ阅读（共两节。满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar(祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.
It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的） rook. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!
Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites(虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.
Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.
41. According to the passage, the phoenix ______________ .
A. is a handsome and eagle-like bird living in Arab
B. used to be seen when the Egyptians held religious activities
C. has never really existed in the world
D. is the king of all kinds of birds
42. The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _____________ .
A. the phoenix used to do so
B. they may get rid of the mites
C. they want to burn their feather
D. they can heat themselves
43. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?
A. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the phoenix.
B. The scientists have discovered why birds are attracted by fire.
C. The modern people still favor the idea of the phoenix.
D. The mythical tales about the phoenix were based on facts.
44. Which of the following is closest to “resurrection” in the 3rd paragraph?
A. living forever B. offering warmth C. coming back to life D. staying healthy
45. What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?
A. Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire.
B. If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.
C. Our company will always be energetic and wealthy.
D. If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives.

　 A thief who dropped a winning lottery ticket(彩票)at the scene of his crime has been given a lesson in honesty. His victim, who picked up the ticket, then claimed the ￡25000 prize, managed to trace him, and handed over the cash. The robbery happened when maths professor Vinicio Sabbatucci, 58, was changing a tyre on an Italian motorway. Another motorist, who stopped to “help”, stole a suitcase from his car and drove off. The professor found the dropped ticket and put it in his pocket before driving home to Ascoli in eastern Italy.
　　Next day, he saw the lottery results on TV and, taking out the ticket, realized it was a winner. He claimed the 60 million lire(里拉) prize. Then he began a battle with his conscience. Finally, he decided he could not keep the money despite having been robbed. He advertised in newspapers and on radio, saying: "I'm trying to find the man who robbed me. I have 60 million for him--- a lottery win. Please meet me. Anonymity(匿名) guaranteed."
　　Professor Sabbatucci received hundreds of calls from people hoping to trick him into handing them the cash. But there was one voice he recognized--- and he arranged to meet the man in a park. The robber, a 35-year-old unemployed father of two, gave back the suitcase and burst into tears. He could not believe what was happening. "Why didn't you keep the money?" he asked. The professor replied:" I couldn't because it's not mine." Then he walked off, spurning the thief's offer of a reward.
72. The sentence "Then he began a battle with his conscience." in paragraph 2 implies all of the following EXCEPT that_______.
A. he knew what he should do as soon as he saw the lottery results
B. he hesitated about keeping the money for some time
C. he thought for a moment of avenging himself on the robber
D. he came to realize that honesty is more important than money　　
73. Hundreds of people phoned professor Sabbatucci because they ______.
A. wanted to make fun of him B. hoped to get the money
C. knew who the robber was D. lost the lottery ticket　　
74. The word "spurning" in the last sentence can be replaced by ______.
A. accepting B. claiming C. refusing D. canceling
75. If the story appears in a newspaper, the best title might be_____.
A. A Thief's Lucky Day B. A Popular Maths Professor
C. A Magic Lottery 　　 D. A Reward of Honesty

While watching the games the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.
I watched the man dive off the bock and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.
68.From the passage we can learn that the young man _______.
A. made his turn to start back pitifully
B. was skillful in freestyle in the game
C. swam faster than the average swimmer
D. was not capable enough to win the medal
69. The crowd changed their attitudes because _______.
A. they felt sorry for the young man
B. they wanted to show their sympathy
C. they were moved by the young man
D. they meant to please the young man
70. According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means _______.
A. it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills
B. it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself
C. it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors
D. it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals
71. What’s the best title for the passage?
A. Go for it! B. Try again！
C. Compete for Gold! D. Break a Record!

Beijing(Xinhua)------More than seven hundred students will serve for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games not as volunteers but as interns(实习生), working for months before the event and during the Games to help ensure its success.
A co-operation agreement was signed between the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (GOCOG) and 16 Beijing-based universities and colleges. The schools will prepare the students to be interns.
Although the interns will work without pay, they are considered different to volunteers, who will also provide services for the Games.
Well-known schools such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University and Beijing Jiaotong University are included on the list.
The interns will work much longer than the Games’ volunteers, since they have to begin their work at BOCOG as early as one year before the Games start, while most of the volunteers work only during the 16 days of the Games. They have to finish the required lessons of their universities first and then learn more in their specialities to qualify to work for the BOCOG. They will take some special classes on Olympic knowledge and certain professional lessons outside the university to meet the needs of serving in the Olympics.
The 706 interns will be made up of 446 postgraduates, 118 undergraduates and 142 higher vocational students. They will come from such majors as foreign languages, media and communications, logistics and legal affairs.
According to university officials, the undergraduates will be students who have been admitted to college two years ago(2005) while the postgraduates will be those who enter next year.
63．The interns will be chosen from __________.
A．students whose homes are in Beijing B．students studying in Beijing
C．only 6 famous schools D．schools all over China
64．What’s the difference between the interns and the volunteers?
A．The volunteers receive no pay.
B．The interns work during the Games.
C．The volunteers come mainly from universities.
D．The interns provide longer, more specialized services.
65．The chosen students will be busy because they have to __________.
A．learn both in and outside the university
B．graduate ahead of time
C．look for part-time jobs
D．learn many extra subjects at college
66．A chosen undergraduate will begin to work for BOCOG __________.
A．in his or her first college year B．in his or her second college year
C．in his or her third college year D．in his or her fourth college year
67. Where can you find this kind of passage?
A. Newspaper B. Magazine C. Textbook D. Novel

Edinburgh takes on Leinster in their Rugby Union match on Friday evening where it should be a dry night with some clear spells. It will feel chilly in the wind, with temperatures at the start of the match around only 6℃ (43⁰F).
There will be some light rain on Friday afternoon for the races in Newbury. It will stay rather cloudy and will feel cold in the wind with a high of 8 ℃. But the weather will not be too much of a problem for the event.
A slow moving storm system spreads cloud, rain and colder weather across New York. This will be the case, not only tonight, but right through until Friday. Saturday the weather will start to change to a more spring pattern with mild and fine weather again on Sunday, when the biggest American football match kicks off.
Keep an umbrella handy.
A cold front will push eastward from Texas to the southern half of the Mississippi Valley by Friday evening. Strong two severe thunderstorms have already developed, from eastern Kansas and western Missouri southward to central and eastern Texas. All outdoor sports events will be impossible in these areas.
60. If you want to watch the Rugby match on Friday, you'd better .
A. wear warm clothes and a raincoat B. wear warm clothes
C. take an umbrella with you D. wear a sport suit
61. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. There will not be any sports matches or races in central and eastern Texas because of the coming thunderstorm.
B. The weather will be fine when the football match starts in New York.
C. The races will continue in Newbury in spite of the rainy weather.
D. Mississippi Valley runs from north to south.
62. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Bad weather happens abruptly in New York.
B. The races in Newbury will be cancelled because of the weather.
C. 6 ℃ is a high temperature for the season when the match takes place.
D. Edinburgh and Leinster refer to two Rugby teams in the passage.

A．35,880 kilometers per hour．	B．335,880 kilometers per hour．
C．11,000 kilometers per hour．	D．110,000 kilometers per hour