I made a pledge (誓言) to myself on the way down to the vacation seaside cottage(别墅). For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical（圣经的）passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”
“Oh, Tom, you noticed.” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk along the seaside. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked along the seaside while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our seaside cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with sadness, “do you know something I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that checkup（体检）I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me？Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, hugging her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.” In the first paragraph, “No ifs, ands or buts” probably means “_________.”
| A．unconditionally | B．by chance |
| C．unfortunately | D．in advance |
During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because __________.
| A．she looked lovely in her new clothes |
| B．he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm |
| C．he was determined to be a good husband |
| D．she was seriously ill |
The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What was the one thing that went wrong?
| A．He praised her sweater, which puzzled her. |
| B．She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated. |
| C．He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her. |
| D．He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying. |
By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that __________.
| A．he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life. |
| B．he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband. |
| C．he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change. |
| D．he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before |
A visit to NASA Langley Research Center would be very exciting. You could meet NASA scientists and engineers working with wind tunnels.
Wind tunnels are basically tubes through which air—or a gas—is moved to make “wind” in the tube. This “wind” moves past objects such as airplanes or just parts from airplanes.
It s always a good idea to test a new aircraft design in a wind tunnel before you build the real aircraft. Models tested in wind tunnels will always go through design changes before engineers are satisfied with its design and test results.
Wind tunnels are constructed with some very wide sections as well as some sections much smaller in size. An “open return wind tunnel”is open at both ends of the tube. It is usually largest at one end of the tube where you may even see the fan blade(风扇片)that creates the wind. This tube gets smaller as you move away from the fan blade. The tube begins to straighten in the next part of the wind tunnel called the Test Section. This is where you place the model for testing. The tube widens again as you move away from the Test Section.
Another wind tunnel is the “closed return” design. This tunnel is completely contained inside a building. The tunnel moves in a “loop” inside the building. A fan is located in the tunnel on one side of the building and the test model is located in the tunnel's Test Section on the other side of the building.
NASCAR race teams even test their race cars in wind tunnels to test and improve a car's design. These teams work hard to reduce a car's drag. In less than 150 years, wind tunnels have allowed mankind to improve cars on the ground, aircraft in the atmosphere, and spacecrafts in space. We can only imagine what will happen with wind tunnels during the next hundred years.What could be the best title of the passage?
| A．What Are Wind Tunnels Made of? |
| B．What Is a Wind Tunnel and How It Works? |
| C．Where Can Wind Tunnels Be Found? |
| D．Why Are Wind Tunnels Used? |
Which of the following is the right shape of an “open return wind tunnel”？
In the “close return” wind tunnel, the fan is fixed________.
| A．in the Test Section on the other side of the building |
| B．next to the models in the building |
| C．at one end of the opening |
| D．on the other side of the Test Section |
By reducing a race car's drag, ________.
| A．the car will becomes lighter |
| B．the car will be easy to operate |
| C．the car will move faster |
| D．the car will look more beautiful |
The private automobile(私家车)has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life. In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems.
For farm families the automobiles is very helpful. It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools.
Family life has been affected(影响)in various ways. The car helps to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences. However, when teenager children have the use of the car, their parents can't keep an eye on them. There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs—or is “showing off” by speeding or breaking other traffic laws. Mothers of victims(受害者)of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD(Mothers Against Drunk Driving). These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧). These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧). They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age. Students have formed a similar organization SADD(Student Against Drunk Driving)and are spreading the same message among their friends.
For many Americans the automobile is a necessity. But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult. Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．Cars have encouraged the growth of the cities. |
| B．Cars can bring families together when they go for picnics. |
| C．Cars have enabled people to live far from their place for work. |
| D．Cars help city families to transport their children to faraway schools. |
What has been done to deal with the problem of drunk driving?
| A．Parents have paid more attention to their children. |
| B．Some organizations have been set up against drunk driving. |
| C．Mothers have tried to persuade their children not to drink alcohol. |
| D．University students have asked the government to solve the problem. |
We can infer from the text that________in American.
| A．it will be more difficult for people to get new cars |
| B．parents will not allow their children to have their own cars |
| C．the government will encourage people to use public transportation |
| D．cars will still be popular though they have caused many problems |
The private automobile(私家车)has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life. In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems.
For farm families the automobiles is very helpful. It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools.
Family life has been affected(影响)in various ways. The car helps to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences. However, when teenager children have the use of the car, their parents can't keep an eye on them. There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs—or is “showing off” by speeding or breaking other traffic laws. Mothers of victims(受害者)of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD(Mothers Against Drunk Driving). These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧). These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧). They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age. Students have formed a similar organization SADD(Student Against Drunk Driving)and are spreading the same message among their friends.
For many Americans the automobile is a necessity. But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult. Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．Cars have encouraged the growth of the cities. |
| B．Cars can bring families together when they go for picnics. |
| C．Cars have enabled people to live far from their place for work. |
| D．Cars help city families to transport their children to faraway schools. |
What has been done to deal with the problem of drunk driving?
| A．Parents have paid more attention to their children. |
| B．Some organizations have been set up against drunk driving. |
| C．Mothers have tried to persuade their children not to drink alcohol. |
| D．University students have asked the government to solve the problem. |
We can infer from the text that________in American.
| A．it will be more difficult for people to get new cars |
| B．parents will not allow their children to have their own cars |
| C．the government will encourage people to use public transportation |
| D．cars will still be popular though they have caused many problems |
It's 2035. You have a job, a family and you're about 40 years old! Welcome to your future life.
Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror. “Turn red，” you say. Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red. Tiny preprogrammed electronics(智能电子元件)are rearranged in your shirt to change its color. Looking into the mirror, you find it hard to believe you're 40. You look much younger. With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old. You're not even middle-aged!
As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your breakfast cereal into a bowl, you hear, “To lose weight, you shouldn't eat that，”from your shoes. They read the tiny electronic code(电子源码)on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details. You decide to listen to your shoes. “Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast？”A list of possible foods appears on the counter as the kitchen checks its food supplies.
“Ready for your trip to space？”you ask your son and daughter. In 2005 only specially trained astronauts went into space—and very few of them. Today anyone can go to space for day trips or longer vacations. Your best friend even works in space. Handing your children three strawberries each, you add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel.”Thanks to medical advances, vaccination shots(防疫针)are a thing of the past. Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines. With the berries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door.
It's time for you to go to work. Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors. “My office. Autopilot！” you command. Your car drives itself down the road and moves smoothly into traffic on the highway. You sit back and unroll your enewspaper. The latest news downloads and fills the viewer. Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video film rather than read it.What changes the color of your shirt?
| A．The mirror. |
| B．The shirt itself. |
| C．The counter. |
| D．The medicine. |
How do the shoes know that you shouldn't eat the breakfast cereal?
| A．By pouring the breakfast into a bowl. |
| B．By listening to the doctor's advice. |
| C．By testing the food supplies in the kitchen. |
| D．By checking the nutrition details of the food. |
The strawberries the children eat serve as________.
| A．breakfast |
| B．lunch |
| C．vaccines |
| D．nutrition |
How is the text organized?
| A．In order of time. |
| B．In order of frequency. |
| C．In order of preference. |
| D．In order of importance. |
What will our future look like? As for the future home, cookers will be set so that you can cook a complete meal at_the_touch_of_a_switch. Television will give the information on prices at the nearby shops as well as news and enjoyment. Visionphones will bring pictures as well as sound to telephone conversation. Machines will control temperature, lighting, enjoyment and gardening, etc. At work, robots will take over most jobs and working hours will fall to under 30 hours a week. Holidays will get longer. Six weeks will be the holidays every year.
What most shocks us is that in the future it will be possible to use virtual reality(虚拟现实)to bring the dead back to life. People will drag out their old and boring home movies and choose a relative to bring back to life. The visual will be combined with records about that person to create a virtual relative. Then the family can have a chat with that relative, keep it running, and live with it. The experience will be like living with a ghost.This passage is mainly about________.
| A．what our future life will be like |
| B．how machines help us with our life |
| C．what the use of robots will be |
| D．how to live with a ghost |
The underlined words “at the touch of a switch” in the first paragraph mean________.
| A．when you are beside the switches of the cookers |
| B．on touching the cookers |
| C．the moment you turn the cookers on |
| D．as soon as you touch the cookers |
It's true that in the future________.
| A．people will enjoy their holidays for 42 days a year |
| B．robots will do everything for man |
| C．people will see instead of hearing each other when they are talking on the visionphone |
| D．none of the above |
In the future, machines can do the following except that________.
| A．machines can control people's body temperature |
| B．machines can control lighting |
| C．machines can do gardening |
| D．machines can give people enjoyment |
As for the dead in the future, ________.
| A．they can come back to life and become real persons |
| B．people can use virtual reality to bring them back to life |
| C．they will become ghosts and come back |
| D．the family can't chat with them |