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. |
Petroleumis a very important mineral. It gives us heat and light. It gives us power for our cars, planes, and ships. Also, it gives us power for machines of all kinds.
How is petroleum formed? Scientists believe petroleum comes from the remains of plants and animals (Remains are what is left after a plant or animal has died.)
What exactly is petroleum? Petroleum is a mineral that is a mixture of hydrocarbons. It is an oily liquid, which may be brown, green, or black in colors. The word “petroleum” comes from Greek. It means “rock oil”.
Crude (天然的, 未加工的) oil is petroleum that comes directly from deep in the ground. It is then taken to a refinery. a refinery is a kind of factory to refine oil. At a refinery the crude oil is separated into many parts. From the refined petroleum we get important things, such as gasoline, kerosene, fertilizer, detergents and a lot of other useful things. In fact, there are thousands of such things that we can get. Petroleum really is of great value!Which of the following is Not true?
| A．“ Petroleum” is a German word. | B．“Petroleum” suggests “ coming from rocks”. |
| C．“ Petroleum” isn’t an English word in the original. | D．“Petroleum” is of Greek origin. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．We can kill animals and plants, and get petroleum by burning them us. |
| B．Over a very long period of time, under certain conditions, dead trees and bodies of animals were turned into petroleum under great pressure. |
| C．Petroleum is a kind of metal mineral like copper（铜）or iron. |
| D．Petroleum has three states. |
The word “refine” in the 4th paragraph can be replaced by “______”.
| A．get unmixed with other substances | B．divide into separate parts |
| C．get mixed with other substances | D．choose the best substance |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．An Important Source of Energy. | B．Petroleum and Its Uses. |
| C．Where Does Petroleum Come From? | D．A Special Rock Oil. |
This passage is most likely taken from _____.
| A．a fairy tale | B．a novel | C．a popular science magazine | D．a scientist’s diary |
Welcome to Adventure land!
Everyone loves Adventure land! The Parks and Exhibitions were built for you to explore（探索），enjoy，and admire their wonders. Every visit will be an unforgettable experience. You will go away enriched，longing to come back. What are you going to do this time?
The Travel Pavilion
Explore places you have never been to before，and experience different ways of life.
Visit the Amazon jungle（丛林）village，the Turkish market，the Tai floating market，the Berber mountain house and others. Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives，and things they make. You can try making a carpet，making nets，fishing...
The Future Tower
This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives. It allows us to look into the future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we’ll be living then. Spend some time in our space station and climb into our simulator (模拟装置) for the Journey to Mars!
The Nature Park
This is not really one park but several.
In the Safari Park you can drive among African animals in one of our Range Cruisers：see lions，giraffes，elephants in the wild. Move on to the Ocean Park to watch the dolphins and whales. And then there is still the Aviary to see...
The Pyramid
This is the center of Adventure land. Run out of film，need some postcards and stamps? For all these things and many more，visit our underground shopping centre. Come here for information and ideas too.The Travel Pavilion is built to help visitors ________.
| A．realize the importance of travelling |
| B．become familiar with mountain countries |
| C．learn how to make things such as fishing nets |
| D．learn something about different places in the world |
If you are interested in knowing about what people’s life will be，you may visit ________.
| A．the Travel Pavilion | B．the Future Tower |
| C．the Safari Park | D．the Pyramid |
If you want to get a toy lion to take home，where will you most likely go?
| A．The Pyramid. | B．The Nature Park. | C．The Future Tower. | D．The Travel Pavilion. |
MONTREAL（Reuters）—Crossing the US－Canada border（边界） to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen $10 000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security（安全） rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert，who lives right on the Canadian border. Like the other half-dozen people of Township 15，crossing the border is a daily occurrence for Albert. The nearby Quebec village of St.Pamphile is where they shop，eat and go to church.
There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5530－mile border between Canada and the US—which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.
As a result，Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada，as usual. The US customs（海关） station in this area is closed on Sundays，so he just drove around the locked gate，as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May，following a tightening of border security. Two days later，Albert was told to go to the customs office，where an officer told him he had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally（非法）.
Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 US citizens in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed，but the US stopped a similar program last May. That forces the people to a 200－mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint.
Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine，but he has not attended a Sunday church since.“I feel like I’m living in a prison，”he said.We learn from the text that Richard Albert is ________.
| A．an American living in Township 15 |
| B．a Canadian living in a Quebec village |
| C．a Canadian working in a customs station |
| D．an American working in a Canadian church |
Albert was fined because he ________.
| A．failed to obey traffic rules |
| B．broke the American security rules |
| C．worked in St.Pamphile without a pass |
| D．damaged the gate of the customs office |
The underlined word “detour” in Paragraph 5 means ________.
| A．a drive through the town | B．a race across the fields |
| C．a roundabout way of traveling | D．a journey in the mountain area |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A Cross－country Trip | B．A Special Border Pass |
| C．An Unguarded Border | D．An Expensive Church Visit |
When people in the U. S. have company or when they’re invited to (formal or informal) get-togethers, they usually make a point of trying to make others feel comfortable and relaxed. On the whole, they tend to be informal. Men shake hands, but usually only when they’re introduced. Male friends and business associated (同事) who haven’ t seen each other in a while may shake hands when they say hello. Women usually don’t shake hands when being introduced to each other. When a woman and man are introduced, shaking hands is up to the woman. Americans rarely shake hands to say goodbye, except on business occasions. American women are used to being independent. They are used to going to places by themselves, making their own money, and often living alone. Sometimes they will ask men for help, but they usually don” t want to be protected. Since the women’s movement started, it’s not always clear whether women expect men to open doors or help them into their coats. American women may start conversations with men or even ask them to dance.
There are a lot of Americans who don’t smoke or drink, and many who don’t want people to do those things in their houses. It” s always best to ask for permission before you bring alcohol to a dinner or before you light up a cigarette, if you are with people you don’t know very well. Non-smokers have become more militant (好战的) about smoking in public places. Many restaurants, for example, have set up special areas for smokers.
Houseguests may bring gifts when they come to visit, and they often offer to help in some way. As a guest, you may want to ask your host or hostess if there’s anything you can do to help in the kitchen. In many cases, the gesture is more important than actually helping.“..., the gesture is more important than actually helping.” Here “gesture” means ________.
| A．态度 | B．话题 | C．姿态 | D．言行 |
．When American people are introduced to each other, _______.
| A．men seldom shake hands |
| B．women often shake hands |
| C．a woman decides if she will shake hands with a man |
| D．a man decides if he will shake hands with a woman |
______is not mentioned(提到)in the passage.
| A．How to visit an American family | B．When American women’s movement started |
| C．American women are independent | D．Non-smokers hate smoking in public places |
Which one is not right?
| A．None of Americans want people to smoke or drink in their houses. |
| B．Many Americans don’t smoke or drink. |
| C．Many special areas for smokers have been set up in the U.S.. |
| D．It’s best to ask before you smoke in America. |
How much paper do you use every year? Maybe you can’t answer this question quickly. In 1900 the world’s use of paper was about one kilogram for each person in a year. Now some countries use 50 kilograms of paper for each person in a year. But countries like America, England and Sweden certainly use more paper than other countries.
Paper was first made in China about 2000 years ago. It was made from the hair-like parts of certain plants. Paper was not made in southern Europe until about the year 1100. In 1500, a German named Schaeffer found out that one could make the best paper from trees. After that the forest countries of Canada, Sweden, America, Finland became the most important ones in paper making.
When we think of paper, we think of newspapers, books and writing paper. But there are many other uses. Only half of the paper is used for books and things like that. Paper is very good for keeping you warm. Houses are often insulated(使绝缘, 隔离 ) with paper. You may see some men asleep on a large number of newspapers. They’re insulating themselves from the cold. In Finland the temperature is sometimes -40 centigrade (C). The farmers wear paper boots in the snow. Nothing could be warmer.
Each year more and more things are made of paper. We have had paper cups and plates for a long time. But now we hear that chairs, tables and even beds can be made of paper. With paper boots and shoes, you can wear paper hats, paper dresses and paper raincoats. When you have used them away and buy new ones. People have made paper boats, but they haven’t made paper planes or cars. Just wait they perhaps will.How much paper does each person use in a year in some countries now?
| A．One kilogram | B．Fifteen kilograms | C．Fifty kilograms | D．Forty kilograms |
______ use more paper than other countries.
| A．Sweden | B．America | C．England | D．A, B and C |
When was paper first made in southern Europe?
| A．2000 years ago | B．In 1100 | C．In 1500 | D．In 1900 |
Why do farmers in Finland wear paper boots in the snow?
| A．Because they are so poor that they can buy only paper boots |
| B．Because there are no other kinds of boots there |
| C．Because paper boots are warmer than anything else there |
| D．Because paper boots are so nice that they don’t like other kinds |
What should the best title of passage be?
| A．Paper and Its Uses | B．Paper and Its History |
| C．Paper Was First Made in China | D．How Much Paper Is Used in A Year |