“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard NASA’s Space Elevator. We’re going to leave soon. The entire ride will take about five hours, so sit back and enjoy the trip. As we rise, be sure to look out the window. You’ll see the sky change from deep blue to black. It is one of the most wonderful views（景色）you will ever see! ”
Does this sound like the Sci-Fi Channel? Well, it’s not. Scientists are thinking that a “space elevator” will be possible toward the end of the 21st century. A space elevator will consist of a long cable (电缆) from the Earth’s surface into space to an altitude(高度) of about 35,786 km. “Elevators” will travel along the cable and move people and loads between Earth and space. One of the greatest advantages is that the cost will be much less. Researchers estimate (估计) that a passenger with baggage at 150 kg might cost only $222! Compare that to today’s cost of around $3.3 million for the same weight. It would make “cheap” space travel possible. Scientists believe carbon nanotubes (纳米管) may be used to make high-strength materials for the cables, although they are still being studied.
It was Arthur C. Clarke who brought this idea to the general public. In his science fiction novel Fountains of Paradise, engineers build a space elevator on top of a mountain peak on an island. One day, Clarke was asked a question by a student during his speech. The student asked when the space elevator would become a reality. Clarke answered, “Probably about 50 years after everybody stops laughing.” He’s got a point. When we stop thinking of something as impossible, then we start working on its development.Why should passengers in a space elevator look out the window while they are moving into space?
| A．Because the blue sky is very beautiful. |
| B．Because the view outside is wonderful. |
| C．Because the sky changes from black to blue. |
| D．Because the trip will take about seven hours. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Scientists haven’t used carbon nanotubes to make the cables. |
| B．Traveling in space elevators will cost much less in the future. |
| C．Passengers will be able to travel in space elevators with baggage. |
| D．Space elevators will travel for 35,786 km around the Earth’s surface. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Possible Now: Space Travel | B．Cheap Space Travel |
| C．Going into Space in an Elevator | D．Space Travel — Impossible |
When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest. The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled(毁坏) them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.
He talked about how watering trees made for shallow(浅的) roots(根), and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak(橡树)and instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.
Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray (祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down. We know from the passage, the doctor______.
| A．didn't know how to plant trees at all |
| B．wasn't good at his own medical job |
| C．had his own ways of planting trees |
| D．had nothing to do but plant trees |
When Dr. Gibbs said "... pick out the weaker trees early on.", he meant that______.
| A．some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning |
| B．he would choose the weak trees to water earlier |
| C．the weak trees would be sent to his patients later |
| D．he would not plant weak trees so early anymore |
The passage tells us that the writer______.
| A．should beat his trees with a rolled-up newspaper |
| B．didn't often water his trees |
| C．didn't have a large field |
| D．took too much care of his trees |
The writer wants to change his prayer, hoping that______.
| A．his trees will be stronger than Dr. Gibbs' |
| B．his trees will not be beaten down |
| C．his sons will be better at planting trees |
| D．his sons will be able to face difficulties |
Which can be the best title of the reading?
| A．Watering Trees | B．Growing Roots |
| C．Doctor and his Neighbor | D．Father and his Children |
Parking has been a problem for drivers for a long time in Taizhou. The Transportation Department(交通部门) is mapping out a new plan for the city’s parking system. There are about 100 thousand cars on the road inTaizhou but only enough parking space to provide room for 15 percent of these vehicles. It is no wonder that local drivers get so worried trying to find a place to park.
The number of the private(私人的) car owners is becoming lager and larger. In March, the city sent out 1,000 private car licenses, the highest number of licenses ever sent out in a month. And prices rose to over 200 yuan, 500 more than in February. Industry experts(专家) say this suggests that local people have a strong, active interest in buying cars.
By the year 2020, the number of cars in Taizhou will probably reach 200 thousand. If one parking lot（停车场） is for each car, then a lot of parking space should be built for these vehicles. The center of Taizhou is most short of parking space. However, experts point out that simply building more parking lots in these areas is not practical and doesn’t solve the problem. The idea of “ Park & Ride” system has been suggested. This means that underground train and city train should be developed quickly. Drivers can leave their vehicles in car parks nearby subway(地铁) and bus stations and then they can ride public transport to go to the city center. Based on this idea, the city will cut down the number of parking lots in the city center and need higher parking fees(费用). But it will build more parking areas near main subway and bus stops. The underlined phrase “ mapping out ” in the first paragraph means _____.
| A．making | B．arguing | C．replying | D．comparing |
About _____ drivers can find places to park their cars in Taizhou now.
| A．8,500 | B．10,000 | C．15,000 | D．20,000 |
What can we infer from the second paragraph?
| A．The city sent out more private licenses in February. |
| B．Less and less people bought cars in March. |
| C．The city sent out less private licenses in March. |
| D．More and more people are going to buy cars. |
According to the idea of a “ Park & Ride ” system, the city will _____.
| A．send out more private car licenses |
| B．build more parking lots near bus stops |
| C．encourage people to buy more cars |
| D．build more parking areas in the city center |
This passage is mainly about_____.
| A．parking problems | B．heavy traffic |
| C．pollution in Taizhou | D．building more parking lots in the city center |
In China，people born in and after the 1980s are called the post-80s generation(一代人)．Most of them come from single-child families. However，this generation is playing a more and more important part in China，and their image in people’s minds is changing．Han Han,a popular youth writer,is one of them．
Han Han was born in 1982 in Shanghai．His talent for writing was clear at an early age．When he was 17,he drew the public’s attention with the article Viewing the People through the Glass. The article won first prize in the national New Concept Composition Competition．Later，Han Han again surprised the public by leaving high school. “I did poorly in Grade One of high school and failed to move up to the next grade. I tried my best to improve my studies，but failed ,so I gave up. However ,I am always learning, since learning and going to school are two different things.” Han Han said.
Han Han’s first novel Three Folded Gates sold very well in China．Later the book wastranslated(翻译)into several languages and sold abroad．
In the following years,Han Han wrote a lot of books. All of them were welcomed by the market．In 2006，he started blogging(写博客)and had great success. Today，Han Han’s blog has become one of the honest blogs on the Internet． The post-80s generation__________．
| A．have changed China’s image |
| B．are playing an important role in China |
| C．are very good at writing |
| D．are people who are more than 80 years old |
What can we learn from Han Han’s words in the second paragraph?
| A．He was good in all his subjects． |
| B．He never studied hard at school． |
| C．His school life was interesting and colourful |
| D．He didn’t stop learning after he left school． |
When did Han Han begin to write a blog?
| A．When he was seventeen. | B．When he was fourteen |
| C．When he was twenty | D．When he was twenty-four. |
Which of the following is TRUE，according to the passage?
| A．Three Folded Gates was only sold in China． |
| B．Nobody was surprised that Han Han left high school． |
| C．Han Han was not liked by the post-80s generation． |
| D．Han Han’s blog is very popular on the Internet． |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The post-80s generation． |
| B．Han Han ,a popular post-80s writer． |
| C．Blogging on the Internet． |
| D．Popular books written by Han Han． |
Best Sellers(畅销书) of the Week
The New York Times
| This Week |
Title / Writer / Price / Story |
Weeks on List（上榜周数） |
| 1 |
The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. $15.85. From England to Australia and back, two women try to solve a family problem. |
18 |
| 2 |
The Help, by Helen Scott. $22.95. A young white man helps two black boys. |
58 |
| 3 |
Spoken From the Heart, by Laura Bush. $30.00. Wife of U.S. President George W. Bush tells the stories of being the first lady. |
24 |
| 4 |
Best Friends Forever, by Carol Brown. $19.95. Childhood friends meet again years later when one needs help. |
6 |
| 5 |
Run For Your Life, by James Clark. $27.85. A New York policeman alone must stop a bad man killing people. |
10 |
The information about the Best Sellers of the Week is provided by __________.
| A．China Daily | B．21st Century |
| C．The New York Times | D．Washington Post |
The book which has stayed on the list for the longest time is __________.
| A．The Forgotten Garden | B．The Help |
| C．Spoken From the Heart | D．Best Friends Forever |
Nancy wants to buy the top three books on the list this week. She has to pay __________.
| A．$68.80 | B．$70.75 | C．$77.80 | D．$80.80 |
David likes to read detective stories, so he can try __________.
| A．The Forgotten Garden | B．The Help |
| C．Best Friends Forever | D．Run For Your Life |
Sarah is interested in the family life of American President. She can choose the book written by __________.
| A．Kate Morton | B．Helen Scott | C．Laura Bush | D．Carol Brown |
Parents should stop blaming themselves because there’s not a lot they can do about it. I mean the teenager problem. Whatever you do or however you choose to deal with it, at certain times a wonderful, reasonable and helpful child will turn into a terrible animal.
I’ve seen friends deal with it in all kinds of different ways. One strict mother insisted that her son, right from a child, should stand up whenever anyone entered the room, open doors and shake hands like a gentleman. I saw him last week when I called round. Sprawling himself on the sofa in full length, he made no attempt to turn off the loud TV he was watching as I walked in, and his greeting was no more than a quick glance at me. His mother was ashamed. “I don’t know what to do with him these days,” she said. “He’s forgotten all the manners we taught him.” He hasn’t forgotten them. He’s just decided that he’s not going to use them. She confessed(坦白) that she would like to come up behind him and throw him down from the sofa onto the floor.
Another good friend of mine let her two daughters climb all over the furniture, reach across the table, stare at me and say, “I don’t like your dress; it’s ugly.” One of the daughters has recently been driven out of school. The other has left home.
“Where did we go wrong?” her parents are now very sad. Probably nowhere much. At least, no more than the rest of that unfortunate race, parents. This text is most probably written by ______.
| A．A specialist in teenager studies. |
| B．a headmaster of a middle school |
| C．a parent with teenage children |
| D．a doctor for mental health problems |
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.
| A．the change from good to bad that’s seen in a child |
| B．the way that parents often blame themselves |
| C．the opinion that a child has of his parents |
| D．the advice that parents want their children to follow |
The boy on the sofa would most probably be described as ______.
| A．lazy | B．quiet | C．unusual | D．rude |
From the second example we can infer that the parents of the two daughters ______.
| A．pay no attention to them |
| B．are too busy to look after them |
| C．have come to hate them |
| D．feel helpless to do much about them |
What is the author’s opinion about the sudden change in teenage children?
| A．Parents have no choice but to try to accept it. |
| B．Parents should pay still more attention to the change. |
| C．Parents should work more closely with school teachers. |
| D．Parents are a fault for the change in their children. |