After squeezing into a small space with two other friends, I had a strong sense of pride to be the mission commander of this space flight. Our objective was very important. Scientists had been arguing about the possibility of existence of life on Mars for decades. Some of them said that the pictures of Mars, taken during various space explorations, had given them sufficient proof that only intelligent being could have made those amazing structures. Others maintained that what looked like a face in the pictures was nothing more than a flash of lights. The arguments continued without conclusion. To prove this once and for all, a decision was made to launch an expedition into space.
My crew and I were the best among our group of trainees. We practised hard together, training hand in hand, filled with a single aim—flying safely to Mars and back. This feeling was tense and everyone was highly excited, as the day drew nearer. We were anxious to see what Mars was like but the uncertainty held us with fear.
The last moment finally came. The countdown proceeded, and soon we were deep in space, floating about freely and went about preparing the spaceship for the intended landing. Since the trip was scheduled to take about three years, we slept in a special room to prevent ourselves from aging. So I drifted off to sleep peacefully and suddenly I felt someone woke me up. We must have arrived at Mars and my crew was trying to wake me up.
I opened my eyes slowly and saw a familiar face. “Why would my English teacher wake me up?” I thought. Oh, no. Instead of medals and praise that I should receive, all I had was a severe warning against sleeping in class and then I spent the rest of the lesson standing in a corner.Why did the author feel proud of himself? (No more than 10 words) (2 marks)
What was the objective of the mission? (No more than 11 words) (2 marks)
How did they feel as the day to explore space drew near?
(No more than 8 words) (3 marks)
What did the author finally receive after he was woken up?
(No more than 8 words) (3 marks)
______
While working with troubled teens，I used to have them do the Ten Years in the Future exercise. I asked them to write a letter to a friend as if it was ten years in the future. Most of these boys and girls didn’t think about the next week，much less ten years to come. Like the Cheshire Cat says in Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you want to go，then it doesn’t really matter what road you take!” We had some great conversations as they really thought about what they wanted. For most of them, this was the first time they had ever thought this way!
But the real story is what happened to me. I did the exercise right along with them on many occasions, writing my dreams and visions in detail. In my letter to a friend, I had moved to the country, built my own home，authored a book，and started my own business. Over the next ten years, something magic happened．All my dreams and visions became a reality, almost as if arranged by an unseen hand. I did write books and start my business. We did move to the country and I did build my own home．
This letter to a friend will become a magnetic factor in your life. Your vision will guide you in your yearly goals, your monthly goals，and your daily activities. For example: “Leslie，I just wanted to make contact again and tell you about my life. I started my own gardening business in 2020 and it’s really taken off. ”
Remember to describe all the details as if they have already happened. Write to a real person who you think may still know in ten years. This will help make it more real for you．
Sit down and write your Ten Years in the Future letter today．What can we learn from what the Cheshire Cat says?
| A．You should have a goal. |
| B．You had better not copy others. |
| C．You may do what you want to do. |
| D．You may have different ideas. |
It seems that the writer’s dreams and visions became a reality because the writer_______.
| A．had put something magic in the letter |
| B．could foresee what would happen |
| C．was experienced in writing the Ten Years letter |
| D．took what was written in the letter as a guide in life |
According to the writer,“Leslie” in your letter should be the person that_______.
| A．does the same exercise as you |
| B．will become your friend in ten years |
| C．you know now and may still know in the future |
| D．you can imagine when you write your letter |
Which of the topics are included in this passage?
a. The author’s own experience with the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
b. How the author got the idea of the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
c. How to write the Ten Years in the Future 1etter．
d. The author’s experience of working with troubled teens．
e. The difficulty in dealing with troubled teens．
f. How to improve your letter writing skill．
| A．a，d，f | B．a，c，d | C．b，c，d | D．a，c，e |
Everyone has got two personalities — the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behavior, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. During a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren't very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you're always easily upset. You’re very stubborn, but you aren't very ambitious. You usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You're easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed. You always say what you think even if it annoys people.According to the writer, you naturally show your secret and real personality _______.
| A．only during a normal night |
| B．only when you go to sleep |
| C．only when you refuse to show yourself to the world |
| D．only when you change sleeping position |
Which of the following shows the personality of a person sleeping on his / her stomach？
| A．He / she is careful not to offend others. |
| B．He / she doesn’t want to stick to his or her opinion. |
| C．He / she may not be successful in any business. |
| D．He / she likes to bring others happiness. |
Maybe you don’t want to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up, because _______.
| A．he / she would rather be alone than communicate with you |
| B．he / she is rarely ready to help you |
| C．he / she prefers staying at home to going out |
| D．he/ she wouldn’t like to get help from you |
It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because_______.
| A．he / she always shows sympathy for people |
| B．he / she is confident, but not stubborn |
| C．he / she has more strengths than weaknesses |
| D．he / she often considers annoying people |
As long as you have broadband service in your home, you can turn on your desktop computer and connect to the Internet. If you have a wireless router, a device that spreads the broadband connection to other devices, you can set up a Wi-Fi network, which enables your cellphones and tablets go online too. And when you are outdoors where there is no Wi-Fi, such as in the park or at the beach, having 3G service allows you to stay connected.
It seems that lots of us have Internet coverage everywhere we go. So why have mobile companies around the world lately been so enthusiastic about a new term, “4G”? First, you need to know that the letter : “G” stands for “generation”. Even if you have no idea what 4G is, at least you can figure out that it is a step up from 3G since it’s the latest generation of mobile Internet service.
Unlike broadband, mobile Internet uses the same signal towers that provide voice service to your cellphone, which means wherever you can make phone calls with your cellphone you also have an Internet connection.
But mobile connections have their defects: they don’t carry as much information as broadband does, making opening websites and downloading music slower than they are on a Wi-Fi connection. This is why mobile connections have been constantly upgraded since the first generation was launched back in the 1980s.
According to BBC, 4G is five to seven times faster than current 3G network speeds, almost as fast as home broadband. Because of this, 4G is widely suited for services like video downloading, mapping, online shopping and even video conferencing.
To achieve the high speeds, network companies have to spend a lot of money on building new signal towers, which will eventually lead to a higher phone bill if you switch to 4G,, and you will also have to get a new phone with 4G capacity.What is paragraph 1 mainly about?
| A．The development of Wi-Fi. |
| B．Various ways to get access to the Internet. |
| C．The influences of the Internet on our life. |
| D．The convenience of using cellphones. |
The underlined word “defects” in Paragraph4 probably means_______.
| A．disadvantages | B．functions |
| C．qualities | D．benefits |
What is the weakness of 3G compared with 4G?
| A．Its voice is not as clear as 4G. |
| B．It can’t satisfy the users’ basic needs. |
| C．Its network speeds are much slower. |
| D．It has much less popularity than 4G. |
What does the author think of 4G service?
| A．Its service is worth the price. |
| B．There is no need to develop it. |
| C．It takes time to be widely used. |
| D．It provides good service at a higher price. |
Einstein was born in 1879 in Germany. As a child, he was slow to learn to talk. As a pupil, he was backward. But when he was fourteen years old， he became clever. He taught himself math from textbooks. He studied hard because he wanted to be a physicist.
In 1901，Einstein began teaching. In 1902 he continued his studies at the University of Zurich. Several years later, he formulated (系统地阐述)his famous Theory of Relativity (相对论). To most people the law of relativity is difficult to explain. But once Einstein explained it very well to a group of young students. He said, "When you sit with a good girl for two hours, you think it is only a minute. But when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it's two hours. That is relativity."
After Hitler came into power in Germany, Einstein went to America. In 1940 Einstein became an American citizen. In 1955， Einstein's life ended at the age of seventy-six. The law of relativity is ______ .
| A．very hard for most people to understand |
| B．too hard for Einstein himself to explain |
| C．too hard to explain to anybody except Einstein |
| D．easy to understand only for the young students |
When did Einstein become an American citizen?
| A．He was an American citizen until 1940. |
| B．Not until he had reached the age of 61 did he become an American citizen. |
| C．He did not become an American citizen until 1955. |
| D．He became an American citizen in the year when Hitler came into power. |
Which of the following do you think is true?
| A．The Germans owed their scientific progress to Einstein. |
| B．The Americans owed all their economic development to Einstein. |
| C．Einstein owed a great deal to the modem world. |
| D．Einstein made a very great contribution to modem science. |
The title for this passage should be "______ ".
| A．Theory of Relativity |
| B．An American Citizen |
| C．Albert Einstein |
| D．Einstein's Contribution |
Facing the threat of the Internet， the traditional newspaper is thinking about what it can do to meet the challenge. To make teens get into the habit of reading，the French government is considering what kind of efforts it should pursue. It seems that the two questions have nothing to do with each other, but a recent announcement made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy has connected these two issues together. The announcement gives an answer to both of them.
President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a rescue plan for France's ailing print media，including measures to save printing and distribution costs. The plan also gives French teenagers a surprise as their 18-year-old birthday gift ： France will offer all 18-year-olds a free daily copy of the newspaper of their choice.
"The habit of reading the press should start at a very young age," Sarkozy said，presenting the conclusion after talking to a group of journalists and officials in Paris. The President said the newspapers themselves would provide free copies for 18-year-olds, while the state would cover the cost of delivering them to many thousands of homes.
The plan is an attempt to introduce teenagers，who frequently only get their news online, to the delights of the printed world. A similar idea has been tested by L' Ouest-France (法兰西部报)over the past few years. It offered some 18 to 24-year-olds a free paper once a week for a year. L' Ouest-France reported that 15% of young people wanted to continue with a paid subscription after the year was over.
People in France welcomed the plan which should get more kids interested in current affairs and make reading be a pastime，as well as rescue the newspaper industry. What does the underlined word "ailing" (in Paragraph 2)probably mean?
| A．newly established | B．in difficult situations |
| C．most popular | D．warm-hearted |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______ .
| A．the government will pay for the delivery of newspapers to 18-year-olds |
| B．the government will buy newspapers for 18-year-olds for one day |
| C．some of the government officials are against the plan |
| D．President Nicolas Sarkozy would like to help the government |
What is people's reaction to the plan in France?
| A．They think it a waste of money. |
| B．They will buy newspapers themselves for 18-year-olds. |
| C．They think highly of it and support it. |
| D．They are worried that the young will leave the Internet. |
Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
| A．A surprising plan from the President |
| B．Help rescue the newspaper industry |
| C．Form the reading habit for the young |
| D．Free newspapers fly to teens |
