You never see him, but they’re with you every time you fly. They record where you are going, how fast you’re traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally. Their ability to withstand almost any disaster makes them seem like something out of a comic book. They’re known as the black box.
When planes fall from the sky, as a Yemeni airliner did on its way to Comoros Islands in the India ocean June 30, 2009, the black box is the best bet for identifying what went wrong. So when a French submarine (潜水艇) detected the device’s homing signal five days later, the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed.
In 1958, Australian scientist David Warren developed a flight-memory recorder that would track basic information like altitude and direction. That was the first mode for a black box, which became a requirement on all U.S. commercial flights by 1960. Early models often failed to withstand crashes, however, so in 1965 the device was completely redesigned and moved to the rear of the plane – the area least subject to impact – from its original position in the landing wells (起落架舱). The same year, the Federal Aviation Authority required that the boxes, which were never actually black, be painted orange or yellow to aid visibility.
Modern airplanes have two black boxes: a voice recorder, which tracks pilots’ conversations, and a flight-data recorder, which monitors fuel levels, engine noises and other operating functions that help investigators reconstruct the aircraft’s final moments. Placed in an insulated (隔绝的) case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thick panels of stainless steel, the boxes can withstand（抵挡）massive force and temperatures up to 2,000℉. When submerged（潜入水中）, they’re also able to emit signals from depths of 20,000 ft. Experts believe the boxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, are in water nearly that deep, but statistics say they’re still likely to turn up. In the approximately 20 deep-sea crashes over the past 30 years, only one plane’s black boxes were never recovered.What does the author say about the black box?
| A．It ensures the normal functioning of an airplane. |
| B．The idea for its design comes from a comic book. |
| C．Its ability to ward off disasters is incredible. |
| D．It is an indispensable device on an airplane. |
. What information could be found from the black box on the Yemeni airliner?
| A．Data for analyzing the cause of the crash. |
| B．The total number of passengers on board. |
| C．The scene of the crash and extent of the damage. |
| D．Homing signals sent by the pilot before the crash. |
Why was the black box redesigned in 1965?
| A．New materials became available by that time. |
| B．Too much space was needed for its installation. |
| C．The early models often got damaged in the crash. |
| D．The early models didn’t provide the needed data. |
What do we know about the black boxes from Air France Flight 447?
| A．There is still a good chance of their being recovered. |
| B．There is an urgent need for them to be reconstructed. |
| C．They have stopped sending homing signals. |
| D．They were destroyed somewhere near Brazil. |
C
When the first European arrived in the land now called Canada, around 400 years ago, there were about 350,000 native people living there. Most of these people were later forced to live in separate places, called reserves, away from the cities where the Europeans settled.
The French and the British both settled in Canada and fought for the control of it. Finally in 1763 Britain defeated France and Canada became a British colony. Today both English and French are the official languages of Canada. Most French-speakers live in Quebec Province.
Canada became a separate country from Britain in 1867. At that time it had a population of 3.4 million. Today Canada’s population is 30 million as a result of immigration（移民）.
The first Chinese immigrated to Canada in the late 1800s. More have recently arrived and like to live in either Toronto, Canada’s largest city, or in Vancouver on the Pacific coast.
Canada is a cold, northern country with long winters, so winter sports are popular. Ice hockey is known as Canada’s national sport. However, Canadians also like to make the most of the short summer and enjoy picnics by the lakes or hiking in the mountains.
Canadians love to travel across their huge country and usually do so by car. But to get to some places you need to take a ferry. Really long journeys from the east to the west coast are taken by train or by plane.
Canadians celebrate many different holidays. One of the most important is Canada Day on July 1st which recalls when Canada became united. Another important day honors Britain’s Queen Victoria. It is called Victoria Day and is held on the last Monday in May. Like the USA, Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving.
59. We can infer from the first paragraph that _________________.
A. Canada has a history of about 400 years long
B. Europeans are the first people to arrive in Canada
C. Native Americans were not treated equally in Canada
D. Europeans and Native Americans always lived peacefully together
60. The first Chinese immigrants to Canada _______________.
A. came in 1867 B. lived in Toronto and Vancouver
C. added up to 30 million D. arrived in the late nineteenth century
61. The underlined part in the fifth paragraph is closest in meaning to _________________.
A. to make full use of B. to offer the best of
C. to give up the biggest joy of D. to work through most of
62. The passage is mainly about ______________.
A. the history of Canada B. transport in Canada
C. basic knowledge about Canada D. the geography of Canada
B
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.
55. Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
A. Parents bring up children.
B. Parents give love and care to children.
C. Parents pass away before children grow up.
D. Parents educate children to be good persons.
56. Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
A. It has only two kinds of colors.
B. It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes.
C. People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May.
D. It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
57. What do you know from the passage?
A. Not all the children respect their parents.
B. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.
C. Fathers are not as important as mothers at home.
D. Fewer women worked outside the home in the past.
58. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, _________.
A. people usually have family parties
B. everyone goes to visit the cemetery
C. children always go to parents’ home
D. hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts
III．阅读理解（共20小题；每小题1.5分；满分30分）
A
The food we eat seems to have a great effect on our health. Although science has made big steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of human illness is related to food and forty percent of cancer is related to food as well. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, some researchers realized that things commonly used to keep color in meats and other food additives（添加剂）caused cancer.
Yet, these additives remain in our food, and it is difficult to know which things on the wrappings of foods are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin (青霉素) to their animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of cows. Sometimes similar tings are supplied to animals not for their health, but just to make a profit.
The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to get a higher price on the market. Although some countries have tried to control such things, the practice continues.
51. According to this passage, we can know___________.
A. cancer was discovered in 1945
B. science has made food unfit to eat
C. perhaps most of human illness is caused by what we eat
D. perhaps most kinds of cancer are related to what people eat
52. The additives in food_________.
A. are bright and colorless B. have indirect effects on our health
C. have direct effects on our health D. have direct and indirect effects on our health
53. People use additives_________.
A. to change color of the food B. to make food more unfit to eat
C. to take off the diseases of the food D. to improve the color and taste of the food
54. Which of the following is Not true?
A. We needn’t take care of what we eat.
B. Some wrappings of food are harmful.
C. “The practice continues” means “things are still going on like that”.
D. Farmers try to make more money on the market by fattening their animals.
D
It’s hardly surprising that weather is a favorite topic for so many people around the world---it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics．Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it difficult to concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reaction, and high humidity with hot, dry winds makes many people bad-tempered．
If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly, you could be forgiven for thinking that the weather is random．In fact, the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe．In the UK the weather depends on depressions, often called lows, and anticyclones, also known as highs．These systems start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east．Highs bring sunny weather, while lows bring rain and wind．In modern times, human activities seem to be altering weather patterns．Gases produced by heavy industry change the temperature of the Earth’s surface, and affect cloud formation．Some researchers say that factories in Europe and North America may have been one of the causes of the droughts in Africa in the 1980s．
The human race has always tried to guess the weather, especially in areas of the world where there are frequent changes．Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns, popular poems include:
Red sky at night, shepherds’ delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning．
Flies will swarm before a storm．
Rain before 7, clear by 11．
While folk wisdom can still provide a guide to help forecast weather, today’s methods of prediction increasingly rely on technology．Satellites, balloons, ships, aircrafts and weather centers with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers．The data is then processed, and the weather is predicted．However, even this system cannot predict weather for longer than about a week．
66．When weather keeps changing, _____________．
A．people become bad-tempered
B．people’s reaction slows down
C．people find it hard to focus on their work
D．people become hungrier
67．What is mainly talked about in the second paragraph?
A．Changes in weather． B．Weather in Britain．
C．African droughts． D．Research on weather．
68．The weather in Britain is _______________．
A．random B．moist C．depressing D．satisfying
69．According to a traditional rhyme, if there is a red sky at night, the next day will be _______．
A．windy B．rainy C．fine D．snowy
70．Which of the following statements is true?
A．Anticyclones often bring rain and wind．
B．Weather forecasting has been done for a long time．
C．Weather could never be predicted．
D．Modern methods of weather prediction are developed from folk wisdom．
C
Not long ago, the world’s lowest-priced car was launched（投放市场） in Mumbai, India．The Nano, made by Tata Motors, is expected to cause a transportation revolution for millions of Indian families．The small three-meter long car will cost 2,000 dollars, which is about half the price of similar cars．That is expected to make car ownership possible for more Indians．So it is being called “The People’s Car．”
Ratan Tata, Tata Motors chairman, says, “It was never thought of as being the cheapest car but a car that would give the people of India an opportunity to own a car that had not been within their reach before．I hope that is what we will achieve．” Industry observers predict that soon roads throughout the country could be filled with Nanos．Tata, India’s top automaker, has done almost no traditional advertising of the Nano．However, early interest in the vehicle has been huge．The company says the Nano’s website has been visited 30 million times．
Tata Motors says it will begin taking orders for the car on April 9th both at car dealerships and on the Internet．However, the cars will not be ready for purchase（购买） until July．Demand is expected to be far greater than supply．Ratan Tata says the first 100,000 buyers of the car will be chosen by chance．The car is expected to be popular in industrial as well as developing nations．Experts say demand for low-priced automobiles is likely to increase as the international economic crisis continues．
However, some critics say the new cars will increase India’s traffic and pollution problems．However, Tata company officials say the Nano will produce less pollution than any other car in the country．
62．The Nano is called “The people’s Car” because it _____．
A．has been designed by common people
B．has caused a transportation revolution
C．can be available to more population
D．can offer more convenience
63．In Paragraph 2 Ratan Tata seems to ______．
A．explain the main goal of designing the Nano
B．give more information about the Nano
C．talk about the quality of the Nano
D．introduce the company’s future plan
64．Which of the following about the Nano is NOT mentioned?
A．Its website is very popular．
B．It has invited critics．
C．It will be sold abroad．
D．It can only offer four seats inside．
65．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．A new car is beyond your wildest dream．
B．India launches the lowest-priced car．
C．Welcome to the Nano website．
D．The tiniest car will be on sale．