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BEING an astronaut sounds cool, doesn't it? In space, they get to do some pretty amazing things, like floating in zero gravity(重力).
However, there are also plenty of things that astronauts can't do because of their weightless environment, and that's very sad. What's worse, they can't even let their sadness show, because it's impossible to cry in zero gravity.
Of course, astronauts can still produce tears. But crying is much more difficult in space, according to The Atlantic(大西洋月刊) in January. Without gravity, tears don't flow(流动) down out of the eyes like they do here on Earth. This means that when you cry in space, your tears have nowhere to go-they just stick(粘) to your eyes.
In May 2011, astronaut Andrew Feustel experienced this during one of his spacewalks. "Tears," he said, "don't fall off of your eyes...They just kind of stay there."
Besides making your vision(视线)unclear, this can also cause physical pain. Back on Earth, tears are supposed to bring comfort to the eyes. But that's not the case in space. The space environment dries out astronauts' eyes, and when tears suddenly wet the eyes, it can cause pain rather than comfort. "My right eye is stinging(刺痛) like crazy," Feustel told his teammate during the walk.
Since gravity doesn't work in space, astronauts need some extra help to get rid of（除去） the tears. Feustel chose to rub his eyes against his helmet to wipe(擦) the tears away. Another choice is to just wait-"When the tears get big enough they simply break free of the eyes and float around," astronaut Ron Parise told The Atlantic.
There are lots of small things-things like crying-that we are so used to on Earth. We usually take them for granted until they become a problem in a totally different environment, like space. There, astronauts can't talk to each other directly. They also can't eat or drink in normal ways. They can't even burp (打嗝), because there is no gravity to hold the food down in their stomach. If they do burp, they just end up throwing up（呕吐）everything in their stomach, according to the UK National Space Center.
Therefore, perhaps it's only space explorers who can honestly say: "Gravity, you're the best."
From Paragraphs 2 and 3 , we can know that_______.

A．astronauts are unable to feel sad in space

B．astronauts produce fewer tears in space

C．tears produced in space flow down more slowly

D．tears produced in space don't flow downward

What effect do tears have on astronauts?

A．They cause physical pain.

B．They bring comfort to them.

C．They make their vision clearer.

D．They float around and cause trouble.

The underlined phrase "take them for granted" in paragraph 7 means _______.

A．find them important

B．consider them useless

C．need them during an emergency

D．fail to notice their presence(存在)

The second-to-last paragraph (paragraph 7) is mainly about_______.

A．suggestions of how astronauts can stay comfortable in space

B．other basic things that are difficult to do in space

C．why burping is impossible in space

D．things human can't do without gravity

Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States and Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument(乐器) or ballet, or other classes which will give them a head in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter. However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children are very skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today's children are short of self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills that they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework. Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking requires patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and finish his job successfully step by step. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and lots of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse(激发) his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.
Most Chinese parents don't realize_______.

A．how much the best education is worth

B．when children should be educated

C．what children really need in later life

D．why school tests don't satisfy children

What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Fixing old machines is very important.

B．Interest is necessary for everything.

C．Broken things are useful for children.

D．Using hands helps improve thinking ability.

The writer's attitude（看法） to children's education is that

A．the cheaper an education is, the better it is

B．children today should learn different skills

C．practical skills are useful to children's growth

D．school education can't meet parents' expectation.

One day when some government officials were rebuilding a barn(谷仓), they found a mouse hole in a corner and they used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had ran away. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing(挤)out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away immediately. Instead, one ran after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped nearer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to run away.
After seeing what happened, everyone was silent and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.
One serious American official said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of king and guard." The others thought for a while and said: "That was why!"
A smart French said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife." Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it meaningful.
A Japanese said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son." Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed agreement another time.
At that moment, one Chinese asked: "Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?"
Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and didn't say any words. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shyness, and did not dare to answer.
In fact, the true love is not built on friendship, loyalty(忠诚) or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship.
Neither of the two mice ran away immediately because_______.

A．one was trying to help the blind one

B．one was biting the other

C．the mouth of the hole was too small

D．they were not afraid of smoke

Why did they lower their heads in shyness according to the passage?
A. Because they did not dare to answer.
B. Because they regretted(后悔)driving a poor blind mouse away.
C. Because they had mistaken the relationship of the mice.
D, Because they did not express themselves much better.
It is clear that_______.

A．all the mice came out of the hole easily

B．each of the people understood the relationship differently

C．the people wanted to kill the mice with smoke

D．the people knew one of the mice was blind at the first sight

The best title for the passage is_______.

A．Two lovely mice	B．Help produces love
C．Love is all	D．Friends in need

Michael Jordan is the most famous basketball player in the world. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He didn’t like to talk to other people about himself. He was also very short. He didn’t play very well when he joined the basketball team in his high school at first. But the next year things changed greatly for him as he grew much taller.
Michael Jordan became famous when he joined the university basketball team in North Carolina. Michael used his speed and strength (力量)to reach the basketball again. He played so well that people called him “Air Jordan”
After college, Michael Jordan became a basketball team member in the Chicago Bulls. The NBA was very surprised at this high-flying player. He was named “Rookie”（新秀）of the year in 1985 and “most valuable（有价值的）player” in 1987. He once set a record by getting 63points in one game.
Jordan is a basketball superstar in _______.

A．England	B．America
C．Canada	D．Japan

When he joined the basketball team in his high school, he _____ at first.

A．didn’t play very well	B．played very well
C．grew much taller	D．set a record

He began to become famous in ______.

A．the university basketball team

B．the NBA

C．his high school at first

D．the Chicago Bulls

He is often called “_______”

A．Rookie	B．the NBA
C．Air Jordan	D．Most Valuable Player

The NBA was very surprised at the superstar when ______.

A．he was young

B．he joined the basketball team in his high school

C．he joined the university basketball team

D．he joined the Chicago Bulls

Dear Tommy,
I’m writing to you on your third birthday. I want to tell you something about your grandma’s time. I was born sixty-eight years ago in a small village.
Transportation used to be a big problem. When we traveled from village to village, we used to walk or ride horses.
Shopping was not an easy job, either. There were no supermarkets in the neighborhood. We used to grow most of our own food: rice and vegetables. We kept things cool in a special underground room.
The biggest difference is that you have electricity. We didn’t have electricity until very late in our small village. We didn’t have any televisions of course. We used to perform our local（地方的）music and enjoy it very much.
Life used to be very hard, but I was not upset. I would like you to know about the old days and be happy about what you have when you grow up. Remember, feeling good about life is the key to happiness.
Love,
Your grandma
This letter is written by ______.

A．a grandfather to a grandson

B．a grandmother to a grandson

C．a grandfather to a granddaughter

D．a grandmother to a granddaughter

Tommy is _______ when the letter is written.

A．one

B．two

C．three

D．four

This letter is mostly about ______ .

A．the writer’s old life experience

B．the writer’s future life

C．what a kid can do for old people

D．how the writer has changed

Which is NOT true about the writer?
A. She was born in the countryside.
B. She felt good about the village life.
C. She used to grow vegetables in the village.
Why did the writer write this letter?

A．She wanted to show that life now is really happy.

B．She wanted to tell others that life was so hard in the past.

C．She wanted the kid to be positive about life in the future.

D．She wanted the kid to dream about his future life.