For more than 40 years, scientists have sought to learn how well human beings can adapt to long periods in space. The International Space Station continues to provide valuable knowledge about spaceflight. But an earlier space station, Skylab, helped make the current space project possible.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield sang aboard the International Space Station on May 12, 2013. His music video has become extremely popular. The astronaut played his own version of David Bowie’s song Space Oddity. He performed while floating weightlessly, with images of planet earth and space appearing in the window behind him.
Chris Hadfield recently returned home after nearly five months on the space station. For him, the long flight produced a hit video on YouTube and no major physical problems. But 40 years ago, scientists did not know how humans would react to long-term spaceflight. To find out, NASA, the American space agency, launched Skylab in May, 1973. Over nearly a year, three teams of astronauts visited Skylab for stays of between 28 to 84 days. They learned how people react to extended periods in space.
Gerald Carr commanded Skylab 4. He spoke at a NASA event marking the 40th anniversary of Skylab’s launch. He said that the loss of the body’s muscle mass was a main concern. Astronauts on Skylab used exercise equipment to stay strong. The astronauts spent their workdays carrying out experiments, including biomedical (生物医学的) research.
Marshall Porterfield is the director of NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Division. He says the Skylab astronauts’ understanding of their own ability to deal with long-term spaceflight continues to help current astronauts. NASA says the next step for life away from Earth is a year-long space station mission, set for 2015.Why was Chris Hadfield’s song so special?
A.It was performed in space. |
B.It was created by an astronaut. |
C.It was a very familiar song. |
D.It was first sung by a famous singer. |
Which of the following best describes the physical condition of Chris Hadfield after his return?
A.Worse. | B.Better. |
C.Normal. | D.Weaker. |
For what purpose did NASA launch Skylab?
A.To research on whether human beings could stay in space. |
B.To gather up information on setting up a space station. |
C.To study the changes in the body when staying long in space. |
D.To find out the possibility of doing experiments in space. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Skylab is still in use to explore the space. |
B.The research results on Skylab are still valuable. |
C.Skylab is more advanced than the International Space Station. |
D.The Skylab astronauts made great contributions to biomedical research. |
“You’re going to the United States to live? How wonderful! You’re really lucky!”
Does this sound familiar? Perhaps your family and friends said similar things to you when you left home. But does it seem true all the time? Is your life in this new country always wonderful and exciting? A great many facts show that it’s not easy for newcomers to adjust to life in a new culture. They have to experience culture shock.
What causes culture shock? Maybe the weather is unpleasant. Perhaps the customs are different. Perhaps the public service systems such as the telephone, post office, or transportation are difficult to figure out and you make mistakes. The simplest things seem difficult. The language may be difficult. The food may seem strange to you. If you don’t look similar to the natives, you may feel strange. You may feel as ff everyone is watching you. In fact, you are always watching yourself.
Everyone experiences culture shock in some form or another. But culture shock comes as a surprise to most people. A lot of the time, the people with the worst culture shock are the people who never had any difficulties in their own countries. They were active and successful in their community(社区). They had hobbies or pastimes which they enjoyed. When they come to a new country, they do not have the same positions or hobbies as they already had in their countries. They find themselves without a role, almost without an identity. They have to build a new self-image.
Culture shock produces a feeling of disorientation(晕头转向), which may be homesickness, imagined illness, or even paranoia(偏执症). When people feel the disorientation of culture shock, they sometimes feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves from the unfamiliar environment. They want to create an escape within their room to give themselves a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to familiarize the person more with the culture. Familiarity and experience are the long-term ways to settle the problem of culture shock.
67. Who is the passage mainly for?
A. The family and friends of those who came to the US.
B. Those who have got rid of culture shock.
C. People who have just moved to a foreign country.
D. People who can easily adjust their life in the US.
68. The underlined part “you are always watching yourself’” (in Paragraph 3) means .
A. you are always feeling homesick
B. you are always worried too much about yourself
C. you are always looking at yourself in the mirror
D. you are always nervous about meeting other people
69. Which of the following would be a case of culture shock for newcomers?
A. They have trouble using public telephones.
B. Their positions or hobbies stay the same.
C. They are active and successful in the new community.
D. They have got used to the life in the new country.
70. Which of the following may cause newcomers to lack a sense of security?
A. A new identity. B. Local food.
C. A new serf-image. D. Strange environment.
71. The best way for the newcomers to overcome culture shock is____.
A. to stay inside to protect themselves
B. to make a study of the new hobbies
C. to adapt themselves to the new environment
D. to ask people for help when having difficulties
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B. persuading people to want what have already been built
C. building windows that help save your energy costs
D. building your doors completely to your taste
65. The two ads are most probably about______.
A. managing money matters B. environmental protection
C. architecture styles D. home improvement & design
66. If you prefer comfort as well as energy efficiency, you can________.
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For a song to become popular, people need to bear it. In order for people to hear it, the program directors at radio stations have to play it on the air. A song’s popularity is directly related to how often it is played. That is a big responsibility for program directors. How do they decide what gets played and what doesn’t?
In the past, disc jockeys(音乐节目主持人) decided what music was played on the radio. These DJs had an ear for music and an understanding of what their audience wanted to hear. Today, that is all changing. Most major radio stations are owned by a few large national businesses. The decision of what gets played on the radio is made by executives(主管) who have little or no interest in music. They do, however, know how to run a business, and they know what sells. So, the music industry designs and creates pop entertainers, and executives in the radio industry make sure that their music is played on the radio. This explains why you do not often hear anything new and fresh on the radio. The executives do not want to give air time to music that has not been tested on the market. It is too risky. They prefer to go with music that they already know will sell. They know it will sell because it sold last week and last month and last year. They just have to change it a little.
One of the most criticized(批评) practices in the music industry is the practice of “payola”. This is when record companies pay radio stations to play the music of a given artist. This practice makes many people lose trust in the music industry and is therefore against the law. A radio station can accept money in exchange for air time of a song, but they have to make it clear that the song is being played because its air time was paid for. They cannot present the song as if it were part of the normal play schedule(时刻表).
Payola affects both artists and audiences. The artists who work with small record companies that cannot pay a lot of money to radio stations have a much harder time getting exposure. It creates an unfair playing field. Music lovers suffer because they are not able to hear all the music that is available.
60. According to the passage, most major radio stations belong to_________
A. national businesses B. program directors
C. pop entertainersD. record companies
61. “Payola” is the practice of________
A. artists paying radio stations to play their songs
B. record companies buying air time for certain music
C. radio station paying record company for new songs
D. program directors deciding what music gets played
62. Who can make the largest profits from payola?
A. Disc Jockeys. B. The given artists.
C. Business executives. D. Program directors.
63. It can be concluded from the passage that the author .
A. has a positive attitude towards the practice of “payola”
B. is dissatisfied with the present situation in music industry
C. is calling for a change in the normal play schedule
D. thinks that the radio stations are doing the right thing
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Bargaining is an art at Xiu Shui Market in Beijing. The following tips can help you get good offers for most things you buy, especially for clothing.
Be aware that the starting price offered by the seller is at least 40% over the general price acceptable. It’s usually 80% over. It can be up to 150% over. So, always try to drop the seller’s offering price as much as possible before opening your mouth with a price.
Have an idea of the value of what you want. You can consult your Chinese friends or the hotel staff about the price. You may not be able to get the lowest prices stated at Xiu Shui Market, especially on weekends or festival seasons when there are lots of tourists around.
Do walk away once you’ve offered your final price while the seller is not ready to accept. If you get called back, you know you are close. If you do not get called back, go to a similar stall(摊位) and try again with a slightly higher price. Note that if you’ve made a deal, you am then expected to buy the item.
You will help your chances at getting a good price by being confident, patient, and friendly. Treat it as a kind of game to get the most out of it—getting angry or rode will never help to bring the price down.
56. When can you get the lowest price at Xiu Shui Market according to the passage?
A. When the sellers are busy. B. On crowded weekends.
C. When there’re few buyers. D. On festival seasons.
57. The underlined part “a deal” (in Paragraph 4) most probably means_______
58. A. an appointment with someone B. an agreement in business
C. a choice in shopping D. a delivery of goods
58. ff the seller accepts your final price, you should________
B. go on bargaining for a lower price
C. go to a similar stall for a better price
D. pay the seller for what you want
59. From the tips we can learn that the seller’s offer may be affected by________
A. the buyer’s manners B. the seller’s position C. Chinese friends D. hotel staff
In the face of rising gas costs, many consumers are beginning to consider the choice of a hybrid(混合动力的) vehicle--one which operates on both gas and electricity. All of the models of hybrid car will save money, but are they really effective when all of the costs of maintenance(维修) and other considerations are included in?
First of all, consider the cost of buying a hybrid vehicle. Depending on the model, hybrid vehicles can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 more than the traditional models. However, some say that as the hybrid cars become increasingly more available as a reflection of demand, the prices can be expected to drop, making them more cost effective when it comes to the initial investment(初始投资).
Also important to keep in mind is the fact that the hybrid cars have a much more specialized system than the standard vehicle, and will therefore require more specialized workers to repair them when they break down.
It seems as though, at least for the time being, the purchase of a hybrid vehicle for the average consumer may not be the best choice when it comes to saving money. It is important to keep several things in mind, however, when considering purchasing a hybrid model. Many consumers are choosing to purchase these cars because they represent a significant development in terms of environmental concerns over standard models. They also mean that as a whole, Western nations will become less dependent on oil as the only means of power.
Finally, it is necessary to remember that the hybrid car is a very new technology. Developed only within the last few years, the technology is still in the starting stage, where costs will continue to be high. As time passes, the development of the hybrid technology will begin to push prices down to the point where hybrids are more competitive with the traditionally fueled models of the past.
72.What is the purpose of writing this article?
A. To tell the readers about the advantages of hybrid cars.
B. To warn the readers of the disadvantages of hybrid cars.
C. To advise people to think twice before buying hybrid cars.
D. To call on people to buy hybrid cars to protect the environment.
73.Which is the benefit of hybrid cars?
A. Consuming less gas. B. Being easier to drive.
C. Lower initial investment. D. Lower maintenance cost.
74.What do we know from the passage?
A. The hybrid technology is very new and mature as well.
B. It’s not easy to repair a hybrid car due to its special system.
C. Many average consumers can not afford to buy hybrid cars.
D. The traditional vehicles are much safer to drive than hybrid cars.
75.We can infer from the passage that in the future.
A. the traditional cars will gradually disappear
B. the hybrid vehicles will gradually disappear
C. the cost of hybrid cars will be more reasonable
D. the hybrid technology will bring oil prices down