As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting（慢节奏的生活） is one of them. Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.
One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm then,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”The passage tells us that .
| A．people seldom work long hours to make money |
| B．people hardly buy more things than necessary |
| C．people are sure everything they own is in the right place |
| D．people realize there is more to life than just making money |
When Daniel was a reporter he ___.
| A．lived in central London | B．disliked his job |
| C．missed his children | D．was well paid |
Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm ____.
| A．was easy to organize | B．has improved family life |
| C．was extremely expensive | D．has been a total success |
A woman and a man were involved in a car accident on a snowy cold Monday morning. Both of their cars became totally damaged. But amazingly neither of them was hurt. God works in mysterious ways.
After they got out of their cars, the woman said, “ So you’re a man. That’s interesting. I’m a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There’s nothing left, but we’re unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days.”
Flattered（受到了奉承）, the man replied, “ Oh yes, I agree with you completely. This must be a sign from God!”
The woman continued, “And look at this, here’s another miracle. My car is completely destroyed but this bottle of wine doesn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune.” Then she handed the bottle to the man.
The man nodded his head in agreement, opened it and drank half the bottle and then handed it back to the woman. The woman took the bottle and immediately put the cap back on, and handed it back to the man.
The man asked, “ Aren’t you having any?”
The woman replied, “ No. I think I’ll just wait for the police…”What was the result of the accident?
| A．The drivers were badly hurt. |
| B．The cars were completely destroyed. |
| C．The police arrived and saved the drivers. |
| D．The drivers became good friends. |
The woman told the man to drink the wine to .
| A．thank God’s help | B．accept her apology |
| C．celebrate their survival | D．calm down and get relaxed |
Which of the following words can best describe the woman?
| A．Tricky. | B．Friendly. | C．Generous. | D．Optimistic（乐观的）. |
Most people think that the capital of the movie world is Hollywood, in the United States. However, the real movie capital is Mumbai, in India. Mumbai used to be known as Bombay, and so the film industry（工业）there is called “Bollywood”. Bollywood makes twice as many movies each year as Hollywood-more than 800 films a year.
The movies from Bollywood are very different from Hollywood movies. For one thing, Bollywood movies are much longer than most Hollywood movies. Most Bollywood movies are more than three hours long, and contain singing, dancing, action adventure, mystery, and romance ( but usually no kissing). Because Bollywood films contain so many different features, this style of film is sometimes called a “ masala” film.
Another big difference between Bollywood and Hollywood movies is the way the movies are made. It takes much longer to make a movie in Hollywood than in Bollywood. In fact, filming may begin on a Bollywood movie before the script（剧本）is even finished. The director and writers can make up the story while the film is being made. Sometimes they will even write the script by hand instead of taking time to type it.
Bollywood actors are very popular and some are in such high demand that they may work on several movies at the same time. They may even shoot（拍摄）scenes for several films on the same day using the same costumes and scenery. Since most Bollywood movies follow the same kind of story, shooting scenes for several films at the same time is not a big problem for actors or directors. This also helps keep the cost of Bollywood movies lower than the cost of Hollywood movies. The average Bollywood film, with a budget（预算）of only two million US dollars, seems very cheap compared to the average budget of sixty million US dollars for a Hollywood film -thirty times as much!Which of the following is the main topic of the reading?
| A．Famous stars in Bollywood. |
| B．The differences between two movie industries. |
| C．How Bollywood movies are made. |
| D．The history of movie making in India. |
Which of the following is NOT true about Mumbai?
| A．It is the movie capital of India. |
| B．The new name is Bombay. |
| C．More movies are made there than in Hollywood. |
| D．It is less expensive to make films there than in Hollywood. |
Bollywood films are often called “ masala” films because .
| A．they are very popular | B．they are much longer than Hollywood films |
| C．they show Indian culture | D．they mix different styles of movies |
Which of the following statements would the writer probably agree with?
| A．Most Bollywood movies are very similar. |
| B．It takes a lot of money to make a good movie. |
| C．Only Indian people can understand Bollywood movies. |
| D．Hollywood movies are too short. |
An enjoyable trip
On October 28th, we began our exciting trip to the world-famous sand island—Fraser Island, which is said to be the world largest sand island and it is one of the world cultural heritages (遗产). We were really amazed by the spectacular view there.
The road to the island is really tough and bumpy. The bus driver, who was also our guide was a very strong man. He was optimistic (乐观的) and helpful. I found he was all smiling on the way though the ride was not very smooth. We stopped for several times because the cars in front of us were blocked by sand. The road was completely sand about 50 centimeters high. We were thrown back and forth like taking a rollercoaster (过山车). All of us couldn’t help laughing when we were shaken from side to side. It took us more than an hour to arrive there. I guess this road is one of the most impressive things.
The beach is so wonderful and terrific! This was my first visit to the seaside. The broad sea made me speechless. We were really thrilled by the amazing view. We couldn’t stop taking so many pictures. The bus ran along the beach with the sea water on one side and bushes on the other side. The view outside the bus was really fantastic! The driver told us there were dingoes (野犬) in the bush. When we were sitting on the bus, we kept on searching the faraway bush for a dingo. Unfortunately, we didn’t see one.
The lake is the next destination we went to. This lake which is ringed by white sand beaches lies peacefully on the hill, which is 18 meters above the sea level. The crystal clear water from the rainfall is sparkling (闪光). Male students jumped into the lake without taking off the clothes. They played with water like small children. Nowhere else in the world can you find such a wonderful fairly land.
The forest is the last place we visited. Those towering rainforests grow on sands. There are many varieties of species. Some trees are so tall and have a history of 500 years. Some gum trees are quite strange because their barks (树皮) fall. The driver told us that this was because they wanted to protect themselves from worms or fires. This forest is home to many animals. We could hear bird singing when we were walking in the shade from the trees.
The tour to Fraser Island makes a deep impression on us. It provides us magnificent views. It is well worth a visit. 
For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive to such messages.
Scientists are using powerful radio telescopes to listen to signals from about 1,000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal that stands out from the background noise.
Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy (银河星系), scientists find that 5% are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution (进化) of life. Based on the inhabitable (that can be lived in) planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.
However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent (智能的) life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.
Other scientists believe that our search hasn’t been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family is only about five billion years old, our galaxy is about 20 billion years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilization much more advanced than ours have developed. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking. According to the passage, how many planets in our galaxy might be inhabitable?
| A．5 billion． | B．10 billion. | C．15 billion. | D．200 billion |
The first paragraph in this passage is mainly about ________ .
| A．how scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| B．why scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| C．where scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| D．when scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
Which of these statements is True based on the information in the passage?
| A．The earth is one of the oldest planets in our galaxy. |
| B．Most scientists believe that there is intelligent life on other planets. |
| C．Scientists don’t believe that there might be life on other planets. |
| D．Scientists are trying different ways to find signs of life on other planets. |
BUKHANNON, West Virginia—Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine (矿) explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.
Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates (最新报道) on the rescuers’ progress.
The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren’t informed of the accident until about 10 a.m.—more than three hours after it happened. “It’s very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess,” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.
The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine’s entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group.
At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4,800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m. Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.
He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years. The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen (氧气) each. The company has not released the names of the miners.
The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to remove the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. “We don’t want to be energizing (通电) anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. High levels of carbon monoxide (一氧化碳) were detected shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided (减退), authorities said. According to the passage, we can infer that ________.
| A．all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive |
| B．communication with the trapped miners was cut off |
| C．the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time |
| D．the rescue started as soon as the accident happened |
If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about ________ per hour.
| A．1,000 feet | B．2,400 feet | C．1,200 feet | D．4,800 feet |
Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?
Where can the passage be seen?
| A．In a magazine. | B．In a newspaper. | C．In a science book. | D．On an advertisement. |