From the first use of the rocket to carry satellites into space to the setting up of space stations, human beings have been putting great effort into space research. And so far, we have achieved many successes. But there are still numerous tasks in front of us and we should not stop trying to progress.
The international space station (ISS) is an important step we should take in space exploration. It is not only helpful but also essential. It provides a proper space environment for many experiments that we have wanted to do for a long time. It is also a base for the observations of the earth and the universe. It could also be an important base for later travel to the moon and Mars. In a word, if we want to explore space more, the first thing we should do is to set up a space station.
As the space station costs a lot of money, it is hard for one country alone to establish one. The USA seems to be the only country that has the ability to build a space station alone，and it has tried to do so, but not very successful. So it aggregated many other countries to work on it together. Though it is still extremely expensive, it is much cheaper than doing it alone. It is really a job that needs everyone’s effort and will benefit everyone.
Led by the U.S. and Russia, the ISS is a joint project between six space agencies involving 16 countries. Called the greatest achievement in human cooperation, the ISS has come to the end of a ten-year’s hard work in construction. China has applied for participation in (taking part in) the project many times. Unfortunately all the applications were rejected, which drove China onto the path of independent development. As the Long March Ⅱ-F/T1 carrier rocket blasted off (leave the ground) and successfully carried the Tiangong-1 into space on September 29, 2011, China takes a big step toward its Space Station Era.
Some West media suggested that the successful launch of Tiangong-1 would disturb the balance of global space power, raising concerns (关注) about “China threat”. China’s space project is not designed for military (军事的) purpose but for developing space technology to explore space resources and make use of them for mankind’s well-being.From Paragraph 2 we learn that ________.
| A．the necessity of building the international space station is not realized now |
| B．many experiments have been done in the international space station |
| C．the international space station is necessary for people to explore space more |
| D．people have traveled to Mars from the international space station |
Which of the following is NOT a reason for countries’ cooperation in building the international space station?
| A．That it requires a lot of money. |
| B．That it needs everyone’s effort. |
| C．That it will benefit every participating country. |
| D．That it is too far away from the earth. |
The underlined word “aggregated” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by “________”．
| A．united | B．scolded | C．allowed | D．forbade |
China wants to build its space station in order to __________.
| A．break the balance of global space power |
| B．show that China can build space station alone |
| C．raise international concerns about “China threat” |
| D．make use of space peacefully for mankind’s well-being |
E
In New York, there is now a school with no daily lessons, no class teachers, not even a school building. The “school” is a project. It is called “City-as-School” and the name means just that, the city itself is the place where 350 students, between the age of 15 and 18, learn their lessons.
Students choose areas of work which interest them and then they help to do that work. For instance, one girl spends her week in the offices of a Congresswoman — an elected official — helping the public with problems such as pensions（养老金），housing, etc. Then she goes to help in a theatre for a day and she spends one day a week taking first-year courses at college.
City-as-School is 30 years old. The education system in New York accepts it now, as an alternative to final years at school. But can it replace ordinary lessons? Well, students have to pass maths and science exams before they enter the “school”. These subjects are not easy to provide for in “ City-as-School”. Teachers monitor the progress of the students. 80 to 85% of the students go to college (or university, as it is called in Britain) after their time at “City-as-School”. The success rate is high. And the students are enthusiastic about their “school”. They like the responsibility of their work, and the sense of purpose it gives them.
When the students leave “City-as-School”, they don’t have a normal academic education; but they do know a lot about different kinds of work in the city!
53. “City-as-School” is special because it is ________.
A. in New York, one of the most famous cities in the world
B. not a common school we usually see and know
C. a school having special students
D. free of charge for the citizens
54. What do the teachers at “City-as-School” do?
A. To monitor the progress of the students.
B. To give lessons to the students.
C. To evaluate the students’ performance.
D. To protect the students.
55. What is the author’s attitude to “City-as-School”?
A. Agreeable. B. Doubtful. C. Neutral (中立的). D. Disagreeable.
D
If you are in town in a western country, you will often see people walking with their dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful animal in the world, but the reason why one keeps a dog has changed. Once upon a time, a man met a dog and wanted it to help him in the fight against other animals，and he found that the dog listened to him and did what he told it to. Later people used dogs for the hunting of other animals, and the dogs didn't eat what they got until their masters agreed, so dogs were used for driving sheep and guarding chickens. But now the people in the towns and cities do not need dogs to hunt other animals. Of course they keep them to frighten thieves, but the most important reason is that people feel lonely in the city. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For a young wife, a dog is her child when she doesn't have her own. For old people, a dog is also a child when their real children have grown up and left. Now people do not have to use a dog but they keep it as a friend, just like a member of the family.
49. In town in a western country, dogs are often seen to ________.
A. walk with hunters B. walk with their masters
C. fight against other animals D. play with other animals
50. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. People used to keep dogs to protect their house birds.
B. Dogs were used to hunt other animals.
C. Dogs will eat what they've got.
D. Dogs can perhaps drive thieves away.
51. The main reason why people in towns and cities raise dogs now is that ________.
A. they want dogs to frighten thieves for them
B. they use dogs for the hunting of other animals
C. they train dogs to drive sheep
D. they want to keep the dogs as friendly members of their families
52. The sentence "Now people do not have to use a dog" means ________.
A. a dog is not as useful as it was before
B. that it isn't necessary for people to use dogs to serve them
C. it isn't necessary for people to keep dogs any longer
D. people don't feel lonely now
C
Foods from Around the World
Foods that are well known to you may not be familiar to people from other countries. Here are four people’s experiences with foreign food.
Shao Wong is a student in France. He comes from China. “I’d never tasted cheese or even milk before I came here. Cattle are rare in my part of China, so there are no dairy products. I tried milk when I first arrived in France. I hated it! I sampled cheese too, but couldn’t manage more than one bite. I love ice cream, though, and that’s made from milk.”
Birgit is from Sweden. She traveled to Australia on vacation. “I was in a restaurant that specialized in fish, and I heard some other customers order flake. So I ordered some too and it was delicious. Later, I found out that flake is an Australian term for shark. After that pleasant experience, whenever I see a new food I try it out on purpose. You know why? I remember how much I enjoyed flake.”
Chandra is a dentist in Texas. She originates from India. “I’m frightened of eating new foods because they might be made from beef. I’m a Hindu, and my religion forbids me to eat meat from the cow. It’s a sacred animal to Hindus, so that’s the reason I can’t eat hamburgers or spaghetti with meatballs.”
Nathan is American. He taught for a year in China. “My friends gave me some 100-year-old eggs to eat. I didn’t like the look of them at all. The insides were green, but my friends said the color was normal. The Chinese put chemicals on fresh eggs. Then they bury them in the earth for three months. So the eggs weren’t really very old. Even so, I absolutely refused to touch them.”
Life in a new country can be scary, but it also can be fun. Would you sample a 100-year-old egg? Would you order shark in a restaurant?
44. Which of the following sentences is true about Shao Wong?
A. He is a French – Chinese.
B. Cattle are seldom raised in his hometown.
C. He doesn’t like any dairy products.
D. He didn’t taste cheese because he hated it.
45. What kind of girl is Birgit?
A. Religious. B. Brave. C. Confident. D. Open- minded.
46. Chandra is frightened of eating food made from beef, because _________.
A. It’s against Hindus’ religion.
B. She is a doctor and she thinks beef is not easy to chew and digest.
C. She is an Indian.
D. Hindus think beef is not tasty.
47. The underlined word “Sacred” in paragraph 4 means _________.
A. frightening B. large C. man – eating D. greatly respected
48. What can you infer from this passage?
A. Foods that are well known to you may not be familiar to people from other countries.
B. Despite (虽然) cultural differences in food, have a try and maybe you’ll get used to it.
C. A vacation is a good way to learn about new foods. Be sure to go on vacation more often.
D. People dislike eating new foods only because their religion forbids it.
When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes, Everything else seems blurry(="unclear)." Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near—sighted. Then people who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism (散光). This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts (白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle (角度). To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distance as people with two eyes.
39. We should take good care of our eyes ________.
A. only when we can see well
B. only when we cannot see perfectly
C. even if we can see well
D. only when we realize how important our eyes are
40. When things far away seem indistinct(模糊不清) , one is probably _________.
A. near-sighted B. far-sighted
C. astigmatic D. suffering from cataracts
41. The underlined word suffer from in the second paragraph probably means _____.
A. experience B. imagine C. feel pain D. are affected with
42. People who suffer from astigmatism have __________.
A. one eye bigger than the other
B. eyes that are not exactly the right shape
C. a difficulty that can be corrected by an operation
D. an eye difficulty that cannot be corrected by glasses
43. Having two eyes instead of one is particularly useful for _________.
A. seeing at night B. seeing objects far away
C. looking over a wide areaD. judging distances
II. 阅读理解（共20小题:每小题2分，满分40分）
Mr. Hart, a London taxi driver, has a new black taxi. With his taxi, he hurries through the busy streets every day.
One day when he was having a short rest, a young man jumped into his taxi.
"To the station as fast as you can," shouted the man in a very unfriendly way. "My train leaves at three o'clock."
Mr. Hart did his best, but there was a lot of traffic. At every corner there was a red light.
"Hurry up, man! I don't want to miss my train," said the young man.
"And I don't want to have an accident," replied Mr. Hart quickly.
While he was driving, Mr. Hart suddenly recognized the man's face. He was a thief. The police were looking for him. His picture was in the newspapers. Mr. Hart raced through the street and drove through red lights. Soon there was a police car behind him. Mr. Hart raced on until he reached the station. He stopped in front of the station at two minutes to three, and the young man quickly jumped out of the taxi.
"Stop! Stop!" cried Mr. Hart. At that moment the police car stopped, too. "Quick! He is the thief!" shouted Mr Hart. Two policemen rushed into the station. Three minutes later they returned with the young man.
"Well done!" a policeman said to Mr. Hart as they were taking the thief to the police car.
36. The young man wanted to________.
A. go back home by train B. drive through the busy street
C. take the 3:00 train to London D. leave London as soon as possible
37. Mr. Hart raced through the street and drove through red lights so that ________.
A. he could drive faster than the police car
B. he could reach the station on time
C. he could get the attention of the policemen
D. he could go home earlier than usual
38. Where did the policemen catch the young man?
A. In Mr. Hart's taxi. B. In the station.
C. In the street. D. At the corner.