While small may be beautiful，tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems，particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.
The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB)，which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall，has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants.Beds that are too small，shower heads that are too low，and restaurant tables with hardly any legroom all make life difficult for those of above average height，it says.
But it is not just the extratall whose needs are not being met.The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds，doorways，and chairs has remained unchanged.
“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it，so even a kingsize bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men，while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population，” said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy，“Sevenfoot beds would work fine.”
Similarly，restaurant tables can cause no end of problems.Small tables，which mean the longlegged have to sit a foot or so away from them，are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.
Some have already taken note，however.At Queens Moat Houses’ Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh，6′6″ beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors，particularly Americans. (2011·新课标全国，B)What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?
| A．To provide better services. |
| B．To rebuild hotels and restaurants. |
| C．To draw public attention to the needs of the tall. |
| D．To attract more people to become its members. |
Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?
| A．7′2″. | B．7′. | C．6′6″. | D．6′3″. |
What may happen to restaurants with small tables?
| A．They may lose some customers. |
| B．They may start businesses elsewhere. |
| C．They have to find easy chairs to match the tables. |
| D．They have to provide enough space for the longlegged. |
What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?
| A．Tall people pay more for larger beds. |
| B．6′6″ beds have taken the place of 6′3″ beds. |
| C．Special rooms are kept for Americans. |
| D．Guest rooms are standardized. |
Welcome to Adventureland！
Everyone loves Adventureland ！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 Adventureland．Run out of film，need some postcards and stamps？For all these things and many more，visit our underground shopping center．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． |
It is easy to lose patience with science today． The questions are pressing: How dangerous is air pollution? What about low-level radiation? When will that horrible earthquake strike California? And why can't we predict weather better? But the evidence is often described as "uncertain", forcing scientists to base their points of view almost as much on intuition（直觉）as on science．
When historians and philosophers of science listen to these questions, some conclude that science may not be able to solve all these problems any time soon． The unknowns can grow into riddles that are impossible to solve． Because of the unstable and changing state of the earth's atmosphere, for example, scientists have struggled for centuries to predict the weather with precision（精确） but failed．
The case is different for scientists of astronomy． For example, they think that the gravitational force of a nearby space vehicle, though tiny, is able to change the path of a much larger planet if the vehicle spends enough time close to it． With the aid of Newton's laws of gravitational attraction, ground controllers can predict the path of a planetary probe （探测仪）-or satellite-with incredible accuracy． They do this by calculating the gravitational force from each of the passing planets until the probe speeds beyond the edge of the solar system．A much more difficult task is to calculate what happens when two or three times of such force pull on the probe at the same time． Such procedures can, of course, be very difficult, but for experiments, they are effective．
This range of questions-from simple problems to those impossibly complex-has resulted in nicknames for various fields of study: "soft" sciences and " hard " sciences．“Soft” sciences admit a great degree of uncertainty． Academicians tend to judge fields such as sociology, psychology, and political science as “soft” because they are assumed to be understandable, of unnecessary mathematical accuracy, and concerned with everyday affairs such as interpersonal relationships． However, "hard" sciences, such as astronomy and chemistry, are said to offer precise answers． Precise definitions for "hard" sciences vary, but the characteristics of "hard" sciences include: producing testable predictions; performing controlled experiments; relying on quantifiable data and mathematical models; a high degree of accuracy and objectivity; and generally applying a pure form of the scientific methodWe can learn from the passage that ．
| A．a large planet is able to change the size of a tiny planet |
| B．ground controllers can affect the gravitational force of planets |
| C．calculating the probe speeds beyond the solar system is possible |
| D．predicting the weather is more difficult than predicting the path of a satellite |
According to the author, "soft" sciences ．
| A．allow for certain inaccuracy |
| B．focus on personal relationships |
| C．are based on controlled experiments |
| D．are rooted in data and mathematical models |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Science, a Long History? |
| B．Science, Accurate or Not? |
| C．Science and Its Functions |
| D．Science and Its Application |
What is the author's attitude towards science in this passage?
| A．Objective． | B．Sceptical． |
| C．Disapproval． | D．Optimistic |
Etymology, the study of words and word roots, may sound like the kind of thing done by boring librarians in small, dusty rooms． Yet etymologists actually have a uniquely interesting job． They are in many ways just like archaeologists （考古学家） digging up the physical history of people and events． The special aspect of etymology is that it digs up history, so to speak, through the words and phrases that are left behind．
The English language, in particular, is a great field to explore history through words As a language, English has an extraordinary number of words． This is partly due to its ability to adapt foreign words so readily． For example, " English" words such as kindergarten （from German）, croissant （from French）, and cheetah （from Hindi） have become part of the language with little or no change from their original sounds and spellings． So English-language etymologists have a vast world of words to explore．
Another enjoyable thing about etymology for most word experts is solving word mysteries（谜）． No, etymologists do not go around solving murders, like the great detective Sherlock Holmes． What these word experts solve are mysterious origins of some of our most common words
One of the biggest questions English language experts have pursued is how English came to have the phrase OK． Though it is one of the most commonly used expressions, its exact beginning is a puzzle even to this day． Even its spelling is not entirely consistent-unless you spell it Okay, it is hard even to call it a word．
Etymologists have been able to narrow OK’s origin down to a likely, although not certain, source（来源）． It became widely used around the time of Martin Van Buren's run for president in 1840． His nickname was Old Kinderhook． What troubles word experts about this explanation is that the phrase appeared in some newspapers before Van Buren became well known． It is likely that Van Buren could be called its primary source Etymologists will doubtlessly keep searching for the initial source． However, it is clear that OK’s popularity and reputation have topped those of the American president to whom it has been most clearly linked．The author mentions the words like "croissant" in Paragraph 2 to indicate ．
| A．words have changed a lot in the two languages |
| B．what English-language etymologists are exploring now |
| C．English has absorbed many words from other foreign languages |
| D．the English vocabulary is difficult to the non-English-speaking people |
The underlined word "pursued" in Paragraph 4 means ．
| A．looked upon | B．dug up |
| C．put in | D．set down |
We can learn from the passage that etymologists ．
| A．discover the possible origin of words |
| B．help detectives to solve mysterious murders |
| C．write interesting stories for some newspapers |
| D．explore the English language as well as the recent events |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To present the history of English words |
| B．To explain the procedure of an etymologist's job |
| C．To introduce the pleasure of the study of words and word roots． |
| D．To teach readers how to distinguish English and non-English words |
Shark on the bait （诱饵） !" shouted Andre Harman, pointing to a spot a few yards behind the outboard motors． His voice gave no indication of panic, but the crew suddenly became tense and fixed their eyes on the water． Slowly, smoothly, Andre drew in the bait．The shark followed． No one asked what kind of shark it was． Everything about it, from its color to its shape, tells that it was a great white shark．
Andre lifted the bait aboard． Placing himself between the two motors, he dropped his right hand into the water just as the great head reached the first motor． “My goodness Andre!” I said． His hand seized the big nose, moving it away from the tube of the motor, guiding the shark's head up as it rose out of the water． Andre's hand held the nose, touching it gently． No one spoke． No one breathed． The moment seemed endless． In fact, it lasted less than five seconds before Andre pulled his hand back．
Still nobody spoke． Then Andre smiled and said: "The first time was an accident． I was just trying to move the shark away from the motor． Sharks are attracted to motors by their electrical signals and have a habit of biting them to see if they are eatable． " Andre has worked with great white sharks for years． "My hand landed on its nose, and it sort of paused, so I kept it there, and when I did let go, the shark bit and bit as if it was searching for whatever it was that had attracted it．"
Nearly every encounter （遭遇） we had had with the great whites had been totally illogical． The more we learned, the more we realized how little was really known about them in the past years． Back then, it was generally accepted that great whites ate people by choice． Now we know that almost every attack on a human is an accident in which the shark mistakes a human for its normal food． Back then, we thought that once a great white smelt blood, it would lead to death． Now we know that nearly three-quarters of bite victims survive, perhaps because the shark recognizes that is has made a mistake and doesn't return for a second bite．The author said, "My goodness! Andre ! " when ．
| A．Andre was about to fall into the water |
| B．Andre was about to touch the shark |
| C．Andre was followed by the shark |
| D．Andre was bitten by the shark |
What does the author think of the encounters with great whites?
| A．Exciting． | B．Educational． |
| C．Frightening | D．Reasonable |
Most bite victims survive in shark attacks because .
| A．they are taught how to fight off sharks |
| B．sharks discover they are no threats |
| C．they manage to swim to safety |
| D．sharks stop attacking them |
The latest fashion in kitchen is the food steamer． All the stores are selling them; everyone wants one． Steaming is one of the simplest and healthiest ways of cooking food．However, that cooking time is usually longer than with other methods． In case you’re thinking of buying a steamer, I've done a survey about the steamers available on the market to help you decide which will suit you best．
●Folding Steamer
The simplest and least expensive is the folding stainless-steel （不锈钢）version．
Advantages: This is a good, basic design which sits inside a variety of different shapes of pans with the water under it; a ring in the center allows for easy lifting and it's easy to clean．
Disadvantages: It only holds small dishes． Also, if you put too much water in the pan, it will boil up through the vegetables and they will be watery． If you put too little water in and let it get dry, you will burn the pan and get strange-smelling vegetables．
●Steaming Pan
This is a three-layered black Teflon-coated version with a lid and two double-handled steamers, which sits on the oven ring． The brand I bought is called Nutritious Living．
Advantages: This is an excellent steamer, lightweight, easy to clean, and of all the steamers I've tried, this cooks the fastest． Fish and chicken can be cooked on the bottom with rice or vegetables on the top． It's easier to store．
Disadvantages: Water can boil away until the pan is dry, but if you make sure you fill the pan up to the suggested level and do not overcook the food, this should not happen．You cannot see the food cooking from the top． It doesn't supply a dish for cooking rice．
For serious users of steamers, I recommend having one of each version． If you just want to try it, get the folding stainless-steel type．Why did the author carry out the survey?
| A．To inform people of different steamers |
| B．To run an advertisement for steamers |
| C．To find out a suitable steamer to buy |
| D．To learn how to cook with steamers |
What can we learn about the folding steamer?
| A．It comes in different kinds of shapes and sizes． |
| B．It is designed for large families． |
| C．It is able to clean itself． |
| D．It is easy to take out． |
The Nutritious Liuing steamer ．
| A．is more difficult to store |
| B．provides a dish to cook rice with |
| C．cooks different foods at the same time |
| D．cooks fish and chicken faster than vegetables |
According to the author, you should ．
| A．use steamers to save cooking time |
| B．buy a steamer with dishes supplied |
| C．do a survey before choosing a steamer |
| D．buy a folding steamer if you want to try |