Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge in March 1952, educated at Brentwood School, Essex and St John's College, Cambridge where, in 1974 he gained a BA (and later an MA) in English literature.
He was the creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy(《银河系漫游指南》), which started life as a BBC Radio 4 series in March 1978. Since then it has been transformed into a series of best-selling novels, a TV series, a record album, a computer game and several stage adaptations.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's success sent the book straight to Number One in the UK Bestseller List and in 1984 Douglas Adams became the youngest author to be awarded a Golden Pan. He won a further two (a rare feat), and was nominated—though not selected - for the first Best of Young British Novelists awards.
He followed this success with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980); Life, The Universe and Everything (1982); So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (1984); and Mostly Harmless (1992). The first two books in the Hitchhiker series were adapted into a 6-part television series, which was an immediate success when first showed in 1982. Other publications include Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul (1988). In 1984 Douglas teamed up with John Lloyd and wrote The Meaning of Life and their second huge success, The Deeper Meaning of Life followed in 1990. One of Douglas’s personal favorites was written in 1990 when he teamed up with zoologist Mark Carwardine and wrote Last Chance to See an account of a world-wide search for rare and endangered species of animals.
Douglas sold over 15 million books in the UK, the US and Australia. He was also a best seller in German, Swedish and many other languages.
Douglas Adams died on Friday, May 11, 2001, in Santa Barbara, CA. He will be greatly missed by fans worldwide. The main idea of this passage is .
| A．Douglas Adams, always loved by fans |
| B．Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy |
| C．Douglas Adams and his works |
| D．Douglas Adams’s personal lives |
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was first shown to the public as .
| A．a radio series | B．a movie | C．a TV series | D．a computer game |
Which two books were adapted into a six-part TV series?
| A．Life, The Universe and Everything and Mostly Harmless |
| B．The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and Life, The Universe and Everything |
| C．The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and So Long and Thanks for all the Fish |
| D．So Long and Thanks for all the Fish and Mostly Harmless |
Last Chance to See is a book about .
| A．Some stories happening in a Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency |
| B．the author’s personal favorites |
| C．a zoologist and his worldwide experiences |
| D．searching for rare and endangered species of animals |
Which of the following statement is not true?
| A．Douglas Adams died at the age of 49 and he was memorized by his fans. |
| B．Douglas Adams was the youngest author to be selected as one of the first Best of Young British Novelists. |
| C．John Lloyd was one of the authors of the two books, The Meaning of Lifeand The Deeper Meaning of Life. |
| D．Douglas graduated from Essex and St John's College and gained a Master’s Degree. |
There are four forms about medicine. Every must know how to use the medicine. Because it is very important. Never take any by mistake.
1）Take the medicine with water, followed by one tablet every eight hours as required. For further night-time and early morning, take two tablets at bedtime. Do not take more than six tablets in 24 hours. For Children six to twelve years old, go to your doctor for advice. Reduce dosage(剂量) if nervousness, restlessness or sleeplessness takes place.
2）Each pill of the medicine taken three times every day for fourteen years old. As usual, a pill 6:00 a. m. before breakfast, one before 11:00 and one before sleep. Not for children under six years old and old persons with heart attack.
3）The medicine for a person with a fever. Once two pills a day before sleep for adult. Not take the medicine without fever. Half for Children under 12 years old. Children with a high fever go to see a doctor.
4）The medicine taken three times a day. Once five pills for adult with a cold. Half of the pills for children 10 years old. Take the medicine before breakfast, lunch, supper or before sleep. Obviously a kind of medicine can’t be proper for____judging from the information.
| A．some old persons with heart attack |
| B．some old persons with a fever |
| C．children over twelve years old |
| D．neither adults nor heart attack |
When a person has a cold. he had better .
| A．have twice a day |
| B．have about more than fourteen pills a day |
| C．have four times a day |
| D．have nine pills a day |
How many kinds of medicine are used for the children six years old?
| A．All of them. | B．Three kinds of medicine. |
| C．Two kinds of medicine. | D．Almost not any medicine. |
“A very disruptive（扰乱型的）six-year old child kicked my legs and clawed at my hand.” said one teacher. “I broke up a fight but was kicked，” said another. Many people have heard stories like this. But the situation is more worrying still and it involves(涉及) parents.
Every child, regardless of(不管) the surroundings into which they are born，has the right to achieve their potential. And we recognize that, as a nation，it is a long way to achieve this goal. But rights come with responsibilities and what worries people is that we are in danger of ignoring the latter.
Far too many children are behaving badly at school，even to the point of being violent to teachers. This is terrible enough，but it is hard to be surprised since many children are just mirroring the behavior of their parents. Too many are starting school unable to hold a knife and fork, unused to eating at a table，and unable to use the toilet properly.
We are in danger of becoming a nation of families living separate lives under one roof. The bedroom, once a place to sleep，has become the living space for the young. Spending hours in front of computer screens, on social networking sites or being addicted to computer games, children and young people spend little time with their parents. Parents are unable to monitor just what their children are watching.
Schools cannot right the wrongs of society and teachers cannot become substitute (代替)parents. Both parties need to work together. Parents must be helped and given confidence to take back control. They are responsible for setting limits to their children’s behavior and sticking to those limits when things get tough(困难). They are responsible for setting a good example to their children and for devoting that most precious of resources---time---so that children come to school ready and willing to learn. In the opinion of the writer, what problem do people ignore?
| A．The school violence. |
| B．The pressure of students’ learning. |
| C．The right to achieve students’ potential. |
| D．the responsibilities of the students. |
The writer’s attitude to the behaviors of parents may be ________.
| A．dissatisfied | B．unconcerned | C．understanding | D．tolerant(容忍的) |
The underlined part in Para 4 may means__________.
| A．parents and children live in their separate rooms |
| B．parents care little about children’s life at home |
| C．children don’t live with their parents in the same room |
| D．children spent little time with their parents at home |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that______.
| A．schools can’t correct the wrongs that society does to teachers |
| B．teachers have no responsibility for playing the role of parents |
| C．parents should spend time with children making them ready to learn |
| D．students are responsible for making themselves known in society |
Death Valley is the lowest, hottest, driest area in North America. This California National Park has less than 5 cm of rainfall a year and temperature up to 53℃ in summer. That’s enough to keep Americans away during the hottest months from June to August. But it is the high temperature and terrible heat that draw their most crazy fans, the foreign tourists. From all over the world, they come to the valley floor in cars, carrying maps and water bottles, and fanning themselves with newspapers to keep cool.
About 1.3 million visitors enter the park each year, from June through August. 90% of them are foreigners. They go there to experience the summer heat that gives Death Valley its name. The average high in July is 53.2 ℃ and the low 30 ℃. For August, the average high is 52.2 ℃ and the low 29.4 ℃.
So what do Americans think of the foreign visitors who arrive for the heat, just when locals from the United States try to avoid it? Park manager Brenda Henson says, “ The foreigners want to experience the heat in Death Valley. We think it’s crazy.”
In fact, Death Valley is a series of salt flats (盐滩) 225 km long and 6 km to 26 km wide. Birds and animals are largely absent, and only the hardiest plants have some chance of existence in this extreme place.
One tourist from Paris concluded, “ We come to it because we can tell all our friends and family that we’ve been to the hottest place in the world.”The real attraction of Death Valley for foreigners is that _____.
| A．summer heat keeps Americans away |
| B．experiencing the heat in it is cool |
| C．it is a series of salt flats |
| D．it is a famous place in the world. |
What does the underlined word “ hardiest” in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Most difficult. | B．Most energetic. | C．Strongest. | D．Best. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The hottest time in Death Valley is from June to August. |
| B．Not all the visitors to Death Valley are foreigners. |
| C．The lowest temperature in Death Valley is 29.4 ℃. |
| D．Death Valley is made up of salt flats. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Crazy Fans of Death Valley. |
| B．Importance of Death Valley. |
| C．Beauty of California National Park. |
| D．The Best Tourist Attraction in North America. |
I had been rather proud of myself when my friends and family got the ticket，whether it was for speeding，parking or stop sign violations (违反)．It was something that happened to others. But last Friday I joined the club.
I was asked to do a new project last week. On Friday morning on my way to work，I suddenly remembered that I had spent the past six weeks without considering that I had a week’s vacation planned during that time. I was very disappointed with myself for not remembering it. The fact is that I was not paying enough attention to my driving and I did not come to a complete stop at the stop sign in front of a school. I was so distracted (思想不集中的)that I didn’t even notice I had a policeman on my tail with his lights flashing. Finally I looked in my mirror and caught on.
The policeman was rude and took my papers. Fortunately，I had everything up to date and since I had never had a ticket before，there was nothing for him to do but write me a ticket. While I was sitting there in the seat of “shame”，I felt bad. If I had been that distracted and a child had run onto the road，perhaps I would have not reacted as well as I could have. It was a wake-up call.
People at work asked me if I tried to talk my way out of it. Frankly，it never occurred to me. I felt guilty. Now I no longer have a clean driving record. Please be careful out there，as a moment’s distraction can lead to tragedy.What is this passage mainly about?
| A．The writer’s most unforgettable experience. |
| B．How the writer got her first ticket. |
| C．An accident caused by the writer. |
| D．Why the writer is always so careful. |
We can infer that the underlined part “the club” in Paragraph 1 here refers to ________.
| A．people who are crazy about driving cars |
| B．a club for drivers without much experience |
| C．people who get tickets for breaking traffic rules |
| D．a club for people to talk about their driving stories |
What made the writer unable to focus on her driving?
| A．Planning how to spend the vacation. |
| B．Thinking of the forgotten vacation. |
| C．Thinking about her work. |
| D．Missing her children. |
From the experience，the writer has probably learnt ________.
| A．what is really important to her |
| B．how to deal with policemen |
| C．to enjoy the small things in life |
| D．to be much more careful |
Today most Chinese teenagers are happy to be favored by two parents and four grandparents in their families. But have you ever thought about how to take care of four to twelve old people when you grow up and get married? This could be a problem for most Chinese youths as China is entering a new stage of an aging society.
An aging society refers to one where 10 percent or more of its population is over 60. By the end of 2007, Chinese over 60 years old have made up 11.7 percent of the nation’s total population. “China is getting old before becoming rich,”said Cai Chuang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The population increase that has powered Chinese growth for three decades will give way over the next ten years to a rapid aging of the society. This will lead to weaker economic growth, because of a lack of labor resources.
As a result of the family planning policy, it is expected that the country’s total working population will decrease after 2015.
China is not the only country getting old. More that 60 countries have become aging societies and one in three people in the European Union is a senior citizen.
However, experts said that China doesn't have a highly developed social security network to support the old. Social security is an insurance program protecting those in need, including the old, the disabled and others.An aging society is a society that _________.
| A．less that 10% of its population is over 60 |
| B．10% or more of its population is over 60 |
| C．there are four old people in a family |
| D．most of its population is over 60 |
If China enters an aging society, __________.
| A．there will not be enough labor resources |
| B．the family planning policy will be ended |
| C．everyone needs to take care of four to twelve old people |
| D．China will have a highly developed social security network |
What does Cai Chuang mean by saying“China is getting old before becoming rich.”?
| A．China will be an aging society, then be a developed country. |
| B．China will be a rich country before being an aging society. |
| C．An aging society will affect Chinese economy development. |
| D．China will stop developing because of its aging problem. |
The passage mainly talks about .
| A．an aging society | B．Chinese social problem |
| C．family panning policy | D．aging problem in China |