Most people consider skydiving (高空跳伞) a product of the 20th century, but its history actually goes further back than that. The Chinese attempted to parachute (跳伞) in the 10th century, a thousand years before we did. The Chinese did what we would today call base diving; that is, they jumped off a place that would allow them to float from a height to the ground.
The first person to attempt to parachute was a Frenchman named Jacques Garnerin. He jumped from his hot-air balloon at the end of the 18th century and did tricks on the way down and stupefied the crowds by landing safely on the ground. At the end of the 19th century, Kathie Paulus, a brave German woman, became famous for her skydiving skills.
Once the airplane was invented, skydiving took on a whole new form. The airplane made it possible to dive from greater heights at greater speeds, allowing for more range in the movements in the air. A woman named Tiny Broadwick became the first woman to jump from a plane in 1913 and dive free fall in 1914.
Skydiving was not called skydiving until the middle of the 1950s, when Ronald Young invented the word. It had been called parachuting before this and was mainly used by the military (军事) to land troops in inland locations, or for pilots to jump out of their planes when necessary. Once World War I was over, parachuting became a sport, which we now call skydiving.
After World War II, this activity became more a hobby than a military action. Soldiers were trained in parachuting and enjoyed the thrill so much that they continued on for fun. From this, teams and competitions were formed. Skydiving schools appeared in the late 1950s and now it is a recognized extreme sport enjoyed by many.The underlined word “stupefied” in paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
| A．disappointed | B．encouraged | C．surprised | D．attacked |
Who was the first woman to jump from a plane?
| A．Jacques Garnerin. | B．Kathie Paulus. | C．Tiny Broadwick. | D．Ronald Young. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Chinese attempted different skydiving skills in the 10th century. |
| B．Skydiving became popular after the airplane was invented. |
| C．The word skydiving was first used in a military action. |
| D．There were no skydiving schools until the late 1950s. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Skydiving is not a military action any more. |
| B．Kathie Paulus is famous for her skydiving skills. |
| C．The first person who parachuted was from Germany. |
| D．The history of skydiving is longer than that of parachuting. |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．The history of skydiving | B．The popularity of skydiving |
| C．What is skydiving? | D．Why is skydiving an extreme sport? |
Annealing is a way of making metal softer by heating it and then letting it cool very slowly. If metal is heated and then cooled very quickly , for example by dipping it in water , it will be very hard but also very brittle(脆)---that is , It will break easily. Metal that has been annealed is soft but does not break as easily . It is possible to make metal as hard or as soft as is wished, by annealing it. The metal is heated, and allowed to cool slowly , for a certain length of time. The longer the heated metal takes to cool slowly , the softer it becomes . Annealing can also be used on other materials, such as glass. Annealing can make metal _______________.
| A．hard and tough (韧) | B．hard but brittle |
| C．soft but tough | D．soft and brittle |
Why do people put hot metal in water ? ____________
| A．To make it hard | B．To make it soft |
| C．To make it cool | D．To make it brittle |
As suggested by the text , how can glass be made less brittle ?____________
| A．It can be heated and then cooled quickly |
| B．It can be cooled and then heated slowly |
| C．It can be heated and then cooled slowly |
| D．It can be cooled and then heated quickly |
King’s College Summer School
King’s College Summer School is an annual training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of king’ s College and other colleges in New York . Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year’s summer school will be from July 25 to August 15. More information is as follows:
| Application date ●Students in New York should send their applications before July 18,2007. ● Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16,2007 ● Foreign students should send their applications before July 10,2007. |
Courses ● English Language Spoken English :22 hours Reading and Writing : 10 hours ● American History : 16 hours ● American Culture : 16 hours |
| Steps ● A letter of self-introduction ● A letter of recommendation (推荐) * The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost ● Daily lessons :$200 ● Sports and activities : $ 100 ● Travels: $ 200 ● Hotel service : $400 * You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
Please write to :
Thompson , Sanders
1026 king’s Street
New York, NY 10016 , USA
E-mail : KC – Summer – School @ yahoo. com You can most probably read the text in __________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a travel guide |
| C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
Which of the following is TRUE about king’s College Summer School? _____________.
| A．Only top student can take part in the program |
| B．King’s College Summer School is run every other year |
| C．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program |
| D．Only the teachers of king’s College give courses |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school_____________.
| A．$ 200 | B．$ 400 | C．$ 500 | D．$ 900 |
What information can you get from the text ?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| C．As a Chinese student , you can send your application on July 14,2007. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone. |
Rosa Parks was an African-American woman who began the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a bus . She stood up for what she believed was right , and her courage inspired countless others to do the same.
Born in Alabama in 1913 , Mrs. Parks grew up on a farm just outside Montgomery in a town called Pine Level . She was home-schooled until she was 11. She later attended the Industrial School for Girls in Montgomery. She briefly attended the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes , but had to drop out to take care of her mother and grandmother when they became ill.
Mrs. Parks married Raymond Parks in 1932 . He encouraged her to finish her education . This was very uncommon at that time , especially for a woman. Less than 7 percent of African-Americans studied in a high school in the 1930s.
Mrs. Parks also succeeded in gaining the right to vote, which was very difficult for blacks under the segregation laws( 种族隔离制度 ) . In 1943, she began working as a secretary for the NAACP----National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Mrs. Parks made her historic decision on December 1,1955. She recalled in her autobiography(自传) ：
“When the driver saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up and I said , ‘ No, I’m not.’ Then he said , ‘ Well , if you don’t stand up , I’m going to have to call the police and have you arrested .’ I said , ‘ You may do that.’”
Mrs. Parks died on October 24,2005. “ She sat down in order that we might stand up,” said civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson. “ Her imprisonment opened the doors for our long journey to freedom.” From the passage we can infer that in Rosa Parks’ time black people ______________.
| A．were not allowed to take buses |
| B．only stood in the buses |
| C．were looked down upon |
| D．had no right at all |
From the second paragraph we know that Rosa Parks ____________________.
| A．began to learn at the age of 11 |
| B．studied at home until she was 11 |
| C．attended the Industrial School when she was 11 |
| D．graduated from the Alabama State Teachers College |
Rosa Parks didn’t give up her seat to a white person because ________________.
| A．she was tired after a day’s work |
| B．there were empty seats on the bus |
| C．she didn’t want to stand on the bus |
| D．she wanted to be treated equally |
In this passage the phrase “ stood up for ” in the first paragraph probably means “___________”.
| A．acted to protect | B．paid attention to |
| C．looked forward to | D．gave up to |
Many people go to school for an education. They learn languages, history, politics, geography, physics, chemistry and mathematics. Others go to school to learn a skill so that they can make a living. School education is very important and useful. Yet, no one can learn everything from school. A teacher, no matter how much he knows, can not teach his students everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So, much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves.
It is always more important to know how to study by oneself than to memorize some facts or a formula(公式). It is actually quite easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula in mathematics. But it is very difficult to use a formula in working out a math problem. Great scientists before us didn’t get everything from school .Their teachers only showed them the way. Edison did not even finish primary school. But they were all so successful. They invented so many things for mankind. The reason for their success is that they knew how to study. They read books that were not taught at school . They would ask many questions as they read. They did thousands of experiments. They worked hard all their lives, wasting not a single moment. Above all , they knew how to use their brain. To work out a math problem, you need to know __________.
| A．only a certain formula |
| B．how to memorize some facts |
| C．only some facts |
| D．the method to work it out |
Why were many scientists so successful?
| A．They received good education. |
| B．They were very clever. |
| C．They knew how to learn. |
| D．They learned lots of facts and formulas. |
How did great scientists study?
| A．They read a lot of books and asked many questions while reading. |
| B．They did thousands of experiments. |
| C．They always worked hard and never wasted time. |
| D．All of the above. |
One of the best-known American writers of children’s books is Alfred Strong, or Doctor Strong, as he is better known to readers everywhere. Now, an art show called “Doctor Strong From Then to Now” is travelling around the United States. The pictures and drawings show the history of Doctor Strong.
Doctor Strong first became famous almost fifty years ago when his first children’s book was published. Since then, he has written forty-five books that have sold more than one hundred million copies around the world.
Doctor Strong’s books are known for their easy use of words and colorful, hand-drawn pictures. These drawings bring life to his imaginary creatures. The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and hundreds of others.
The San Diego Museum, in California, organized the art show. It included about three hundred Doctor Strong’s original(最早的) drawings and some of his writings.
Most of Doctor Strong’s books, although written in a funny way, have serious messages. For example, in Mc Elligot’s Pool, he describes the danger of pollution. He discusses the arms race in The Butter Battle Book, written in 1984.
Doctor Strong is almost eighty-four years old now. He says he never planned to write stories just for children. He says he writes stories that interest people of all ages. He says he uses easy words so that everyone, even a child, can understand. Alfred Strong is a famous _______ in the United States.
| A．doctor | B．artist | C．writer | D．reader |
Doctor Strong first became famous in __________.
| A．his eighties when an art show was travelling around the United States |
| B．his fifties when his drawings and writings were published |
| C．1984 when his book Mc Elligot’s Pool was published |
| D．his thirties when his first book was published |
Doctor Strong’s books are very popular in America because __________.
| A．they are stories about animals such as cats, elephants and so on |
| B．they are written in easy words with colorful pictures |
| C．he organized the art show in California |
| D．they are written in a funny way |
His purpose in writing many such books is __________.
| A．to show his original pictures and drawings |
| B．to organize a special art show of his own |
| C．to make his readers laugh or smile when they read his books |
| D．not only to interest people but also to uncover some serious social problems |