Gregory Olsen is not an astronaut. He is a 60-year-old businessman from New Jersey where he owned his successful technology company. This week, however, Olsen became the world’s third non-astronaut to pay for a trip into space.
On Monday, the Russian-built Soyuz rocket, carrying Olsen, an American astronaut and a Russian astronaut, docked (对接) at the International Space Station (ISS).
Olsen’s wish has come true. He is the third “space tourist” in four years to travel on a Russian craft to the space station. American Dennis Tito and South African Mark Shuttleworth have both made round trips to the ISS. Going into space is not easy, however. Olsen has worked hard for two years to prepare for it.
The Russian Federal Space Agency offers an ISS trip to anyone who can afford it and pass the necessary training. Olsen reportedly paid $20 million for his trip. The Russian space program has been short of money in recent years and is looking for individuals interested in space travel to _________.
NASA（美国宇航局）has relied on the Russian space program and its Soyuz capsule（太空舱）to transport American astronauts to the ISS since the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003. The space shuttle Discovery (发现号宇宙飞船)made a flight earlier this year, but the program stopped halfway because of safety concern. So far, the Russians have not charged the U.S. for trips to the ISS. That may change by the end of the year.
As one of the few space tourists, Olsen focuses his attention on the glory of traveling in space. What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 5 words.)
________________________________________________________________________________Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
Up till now, Russia has been helping American astronauts go to the International Space Station for free.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________Fill in the blank with the proper words or phrases. (Please answer within 10 words.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________According to the passage, who can travel into space in the Russian shuttle? (Please answer within 30 words.)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cooking programs and classes for children seem to positively influence children's food preferences and behaviors，according to a recent review．And，although the review didn't look at long-term effects of such programs，the findings suggest that such programs might help children develop long-lasting healthy habits．
This research comes at a time when childhood obesity（肥胖） rates have been rising rapidly．More than one-third of adolescents in the United States were obese in 2012，according to the U．S．Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)．This trend has been caused，at least in part，by a significant decrease in the amount of meals that people consume at home since the 1980s，according to background information in the study．
Cooking education programs，such as Food Explorers，teach children about new healthy foods and how to prepare them．They also stress the importance of eating five fruits and vegetables every day．avolunteer parent explains a new food to the group，and the kids make something based on the lesson，such as fruit or vegetable salad． Depending on the program，kids may be sent home with information about healthy foods to bring to their parents，the review explained．
The study team reviewed eight other studies that tested different types of cooking education programs．Children in these classes were between 5 and 12 years old，according to the review．The goal of the study team was to learn more about developing an efficient program to encourage healthy food choices that last a lifetime．The study found that it is particularly important to expose kids to healthy foods on a number of occasions．This makes them feel comfortable with the new foods，which helps them build healthy habits．
The study stressed the importance of getting parents involved in（参与） their children's eating habits．Parents who are unable to enroll their kids in a cooking class can achieve similar benefits by having their kids help them while they prepare meals at home．Children are more comfortable at home，which makes them more receptive to new foods because they will make the connection to a positive experience．What can we infer from the second paragraph?
| A．Eating out frequently causes obesity． |
| B．Childhood obesity is totally caused by eating habit． |
| C．Childhood obesity rates have been rising rapidly since 2012 |
| D．Food consumption has decreased significantly since the 1980s． |
On cooking education programs，________．
| A．children learn how to prepare foods from their parents |
| B．children will learn how to cook in the company of their parents |
| C．children may learn information unknown to their parents |
| D．children focus more on cooking skills than on information about healthy foods |
Which of the following is true according to the study?
| A．Parents should let their kids cook independently at home． |
| B．A greater willingness to try new foods helps building healthy habits． |
| C．Children who participate in cooking programs are less likely to become obese． |
| D．Children who take cooking courses are more likely to choose fruits and vegetables as adults． |
Which of the following categories does this passage belong to?
| A．Education Systems |
| B．Science and Technology |
| C．Parent-child Relationship |
| D．Public Health Research |
The purpose of the passage is _________．
| A．to inform the reader |
| B．to entertain the reader |
| C．to discuss with the reader |
| D．to warn the reader |
My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia，where my dad got a visa for his family and a job． I had just learned English，and from what little I could gather from my classmates，Santa Claus would come down one’s chimney（烟囱） and put toys in one’s stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country，I thought．After I looked up “stocking” in my Chinese-English dictionary，I knew what I had to do．
On that fateful night，after everyone went to bed，I took my longest，cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel(壁炉)．Obviously，the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character．
I woke up before everyone else on Christmas Day and ran to the fireplace．To make a sob story short，I was hit with the reality of an empty sock and the biggest lie ever told． I burst into tears，quickly took down the sock，and stuffed it in the back of a drawer．Santa was dead．
Every December since then，the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up，and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story．I had to make it as funny as possible，or else I would cry．
How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago，on Christmas Eve，an older man with a white beard and a red cap knocked on my front door．He said，“I’ve been looking for you for twenty-five years．” He handed me a bulging red stocking，winked，and left．On top of the stocking was a card． It read: “For Becky—I may have missed you in the second grade，but you’ve always lived in my heart．Santa． ”
Through tear-blurred eyes，I recognized the handwriting of Jill，a friend I had met just two months before．I later discovered that the older man was her father．Jill had seen the hurt little girl underneath the thirty-something woman and decided to do something about it．
So now I believe that Santa is real．I don’t mean the twinkle-eyed character of children’s mythology(神话) or the creation of American holiday marketers．Those Santas annoy and sadden me．I believe in the Santa Claus that live inside good and thoughtful people．This Santa does not return to the North Pole after a crazy delivery but lives each day purposefully，really listens to friends，and then plans deliberate acts of kindness．What does the underlined part “what I had to do” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Waiting for Santa Claus． |
| B．Putting a stocking on the mantel． |
| C．Asking for gifts from her parents． |
| D．Looking up “stocking” in the dictionary |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s parents ____．
| A．didn’t love their child at all |
| B．didn’t know the previous owners of the house |
| C．didn’t know much about Christmas tradition |
| D．didn’t have enough money to buy the author Christmas presents |
When the author told her friends about the story，she felt ______in her heart．
| A．proud | B．amusing | C．hate | D．regret |
By writing the passage，the author speaks highly of ________
| A．friendship |
| B．parenting |
| C．religion |
| D．culture |
The author of the passage is probably ________．
| A．a teenager |
| B．a primary school student |
| C．a middle-aged woman |
| D．a native American |
阅读理解
When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old，his father，a Chicago fire chief，let him tag along on a call．Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s．Not him．
“I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr．，”he says of his father．
So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8，Dekalb was excited． “I'm jumping up and down，saying，”Mom，can I go? Can I go?'
The experience changed Dekalb's life，he tells his dad on a visit to StoryCorps．“My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off．”the younger Dekalb says．“This is the life that I want to live someday．”
Now 27，the younger Dekalb is living that life．He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department．Before his father retired，the pair even went out on a call together — father supervising（监督） son．
“You know，it's everything for me to watch you grow，”his father says．But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced．
“I received a phone call that night．And they said，'Well，your son was at this fire．' I said，'OK，which way is this conversation going to go?'”Dekalb Walcott Jr．recalls．
“And they said，'But he's OK．And he put it out all by himself．Everybody here was proud of him．'”
“And the word went around，'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh，that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So，you know，moments like that，it's heaven on Earth for a dad． ”
Dekalb Walcott Jr．retired in 2009.The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter．“You know，it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well，because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son．”The underlined phrase tag along in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______．
| A．put out fire |
| B．watch basketball |
| C．follow his father |
| D．ask his mother’s permission |
Dekalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of_________
| A．8 | B．21 | C．27 | D．35 |
What did Dekalb Walcott Jr want to do before he was told that the fire was put out?
| A．Go on with the conversation |
| B．Put it out all by himself |
| C．Supervise his son |
| D．Go to the fire scene |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Dekalb Walcott Jr is proud to be a second-generation firefighter． |
| B．Dekalb Walcott III wants his son to become a firefighter too． |
| C．Dekalb Walcott Jr wants to pass the torch to Dekalb Walcott III． |
| D．Dekalb Walcott III is proud that his son has become an excellent firefighter． |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Passing The Torch: A Firefighter Dad's Legacy |
| B．Putting Out Fire: A Challenging Job for Father and son |
| C．Dekalb Walcott III：A Second-generation Firefighter |
| D．Dekalb Walcott Jr．：A Chicago Fire Chief |
The parents of a troubled teen may feel unsure as to whom to turn to in order to find help for their child. They may feel as if they have exhausted all of their options, and sometimes they are on the verge of giving up. But there is hope. Schools for troubled teens offer discipline and in some cases, drug treatment programs that can provide important life skills, and more importantly, a fresh start.
The following is a list of the most effective types of schools for troubled teens. Not every facility is a match for every child, but by knowing the differences between them, parents can make a better educated decision about where to send their teenager.
Boarding Schools
When a child is unable to deal with the relative freedom of a standard school day, boarding schools might be a good choice. At boarding schools, the child lives in a dorm setting, where almost every minute of the day is scheduled by school administrators.
Treatment Centers
When a teenager has an addiction to drugs or alcohol, a residential center that specializes in young people is an outstanding way to help them break the cycle of addiction. Treatment centers feature individual and group counseling to help identify the root causes of the drug problem and help develop the life skills needed to stay clean when the program is over.
Wilderness Programs
Designed to help improve the discipline and self-reliance of the child, wilderness programs send kids back to nature. By placing them in a foreign and sometimes uncomfortable setting, wilderness programs hope to improve children’s behavior. Programs generally include hikes, exercise programs and team building exercises.
Boot Camps
Boot camps are the most extreme style of school for troubled teens. These facilities are modeled after actual military boot camps, where the individual must get into shape, work as part of a team, and follow a long, hard set of rules and regulations. However, boot camps might not be the best choice for a teen with a drug addiction.Who would be the intended readers of the passage?
| A．Teachers. | B．Parents. |
| C．Students. | D．Experts. |
As the author suggests, schools for troubled teens______.
| A．can be a good choice for some desperate parents |
| B．can completely help and change troubled teens |
| C．are becoming popular with teens in trouble |
| D．care more about discipline than life skills |
According to the passage, boarding schools_____.
| A．provide children with more freedom |
| B．have their students’ time managed carefully |
| C．pay much attention to team building exercises |
| D．can make children feel safer |
Taking exams in a large group setting can be stressful for students and for the staff members who are watching over them.
When classrooms are crowded and desks are close together, cheating might be tempting.
One university in Thailand came up with an anti-cheating hat that makes it almost impossible for students to see other students’ papers．A photo of the students wearing the anti-cheating hats made its way to the Internet, and the university was criticized for making students wear those ridiculous looking homemade hats．The hats were made by stapling pieces of paper onto a headband, one to each side of the head.
After being criticized, senior academic staff at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, released a statement saying that the hats idea came from students．They said that in a bid to prevent cheating they asked the students for ideas on how to prevent cheating in the upcoming exam, which was being taken by almost one hundred students．Students came up with different ideas, then the paper hat idea was selected by them as the most suitable.
The university claimed that no one was forced to use the hat, but they all chose to do so．“When wearing the hat during the exam, students felt more relaxed, ”Nattadon Rungruangkitkrai, a lecturer at the university said．“It was not meant to indicate that Kasetsart students often cheat on exams．I apologize if the photo makes other people look at my students in a negative way, ”Rungruangkitkrai added.According to the text, in which case cheating will become easy?
| A．When desks are crowded into a classroom. |
| B．When students are too stressful. |
| C．When too many students are sitting in a classroom. |
| D．When the staff members who are watching over them are not responsible. |
Why was the university criticized?
| A．The university was too strict. |
| B．The university made students wear strange looking hats. |
| C．The university prevented students cheating. |
| D．The students chose to use the hats. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．The students are not forced to wear the hats when taking the exam. |
| B．The senior academic staff at the university made the paper hat idea. |
| C．The students felt more stressful when wearing the hat during the exam. |
| D．The students don’t like wearing the hats when taking the exam. |
What’s the best title of the text?
| A．How to make the anti-cheating hat |
| B．Anti-cheating hat was criticized |
| C．Anti-cheating hat was considered the most suitable choice |
| D．Anti-cheating hat |