Hidden in our subconsciousness (潜意识) is a perfect mental picture. We see ourselves on a long trip that goes across the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we think in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle feeding on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw（拼图玩具） puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles(通道), condemning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 38.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercdes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the loan!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! ”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
“Relish(appreciate) the moment” is a good motto, actually it isn’t the burdens of today that drive man mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. Then the station will come soon enough.Why does the author describe the mental picture?
| A．To lead us into a perfect world. |
| B．To let people enjoy the scenery. |
| C．To introduce an actual trip of his. |
| D．To compare it to our life’s journey. |
How do people feel when they’re on their trip?
| A．Puzzled. | B．Happy. | C．Relaxed. | D．Impatient. |
What does the author mean by “Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today” in Line 2 Paragraph 5?
| A．Regret and fear are responsible for the loss of today. |
| B．We must be careful of the two thieves: regret and fear. |
| C．regret and fear stop us from enjoying our present life. |
| D．We’re frequently challenged by the two : regret and fear. |
Why does the author write the passage?
| A．To teach us a good lesson. |
| B．To tell us the right attitude to life. |
| C．To advice us to forget our worries. |
| D．To stop us wandering along the aisles. |
Who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860 - 1935)
Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She created shelters, education opportunities and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)
Rachel Carson was born in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania in America. The popular 1962 book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson made people realize the dangers and the harmful effects (影响) of pollution on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Angela Merkel (1954 - )
In 2005, Germans chose Angela Merkel as their first woman head of the country. She had been a scientist in the past. As Germany’s leader, she has had an effect on the whole world.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930 - )
When Sandra Day O’Connor finished her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work because she was a woman. However, she became the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court (最高法院) in 1981 after years of hard work.
Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013 )
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister (首相). She served until 1990, which made her the first British leader to serve three terms in a row. Because of her high standards and strong will, people called her Britain’s Iron Lady.
Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Polish-born scientist Marie Curie discovered that some types of metal give off energy called radiation (辐射能). Her research led to new medical treatments and arms. She received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911. Who once won the Nobel Prize?
| A．Jane Addams and Marie Curie. |
| B．Jane Addams and Margaret Thatcher. |
| C．Marie Curie and Angela Merkel. |
| D．Marie Curie and Rachel Carson. |
We can infer from the text that Rachel Carson worked to _____.
| A．help the poor |
| B．spread geographic knowledge |
| C．protect the environment |
| D．protect the rights of women |
What do Angela Merkel and Margaret Thatcher have in common?
| A．Both of them were scientists before coming to power. |
| B．Both of them are the first woman head of their country. |
| C．Both of them are famous for being strict. |
| D．Both of them have worked for three terms. |
It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes. More often the doctors can't fix the damage. Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain. The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain.
Dr. Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help. He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain.
Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs, then he operated on them. He made the monkeys' blood go through a machine. The machine cooled the blood. Then the machine sent the blood back to the monkeys' brains. When the brain's temperature was 10°C, Dr. White stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before. They were healthy and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them.The biggest difficulty in operating on the damaged brain is that _______.
| A．the time is too short for doctors |
| B．the patients are often too nervous |
| C．the damage is extremely hard to fix |
| D．the blood-cooling machine might break down |
The brain operation was made possible mainly by _______.
| A．taking the blood out of the brain |
| B．trying the operation on monkeys first |
| C．having the blood go through a machine |
| D．lowering the brain' s temperature |
With Dr. White's new idea, the operation on the damaged brain _______.
| A．can last as long as 30 minutes |
| B．can keep the brain' s blood warm |
| C．can keep the patient' s brain healthy |
| D．can help monkeys do different jobs |
What is the right order of the steps in the operation?
a. send the cooled blood back to the brain b. stop the blood to the brain
c. have the blood cooled down d. operate on the brain
| A．a,b,c,d | B．c,a,b,d | C．c, b, d, a | D．b, c, d, a |
Hello! My name is Lisa, and I am a lioness. I live on the open grasslands of Africa with my family. Lions living in a group are called a pride.
My father is strong and powerful. He and his cousin are the leaders of our pride. The other members are my mother, her sisters, and their children.
The area where a pride lives is big! We roar (咆哮) to tell each other where we are and to warn strangers to stay away.
Meet my new baby brother. His name is Leon. See the spots on his fur? We lions are born spotted or striped (有条纹的). As we grow older, the spots gradually disappear.
Lionesses usually spend their entire lives with their birth pride, but Leon will leave when he is about three years old. He’ll run around with a male (雄性的) friend or relative for a few years until they take over a pride of their own.
But for now, we have lots of fun together. We often play and fight for hours, which can help us practice skills that we will need for hunting.
We lions keep ourselves very clean. Just like a house cat, I clean my fur (毛) with my tongue. We clean for each other, too, to show we’re friends.
Lions like to sleep for most of the day. We hunt in the cool evening. Female (雌性的) lions hunt more often than male lions. We work together as a team. At the right moment, we attack and kill our prey. Then we share it. Male lions usually eat first. Females eat next. Baby lions are the last to eat. The smallest one gets the least food.
Since we are full, it’s time to go to find a nice place for a sleep. Bye!According to the passage, Leon _____.
| A．hunts more often than his sisters |
| B．will have spots on his fur for the whole of his life |
| C．will leave his birth pride when he is about three |
| D．will take over his birth pride when his father dies |
The underlined word “prey” in the passage probably means _____.
| A．the animal that is hunted |
| B．the animal that is dangerous |
| C．the animal that is powerful |
| D．the animal that is ill |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Lions sometimes clean their fur for each other. |
| B．Lions also develop their skills of hunting by having fun. |
| C．Lions in Africa usually hunt for food in the evening. |
| D．Baby lions are often the first to get food in their group. |
The passage is written for _____.
| A．doctors | B．tourists | C．children | D．hunters |
Until recently, the "science of the future" was supposed to be electronics and artificial intelligence. Today it seems more and more likely that the next great breakthroughs in technology will be brought through a combination of those two sciences with organic chemistry and genetic engineering. This combination is the science of biotechnology.
Organic chemistry enables us to produce marvelous synthetic materials. However, it is still difficult to manufacture anything that has the capacity of wool to conserve (保存) heat and also to absorb moisture. Nothing that we have been able to produce so far comes anywhere near the combination of strength, lightness and flexibility that we find in the bodies of ordinary insects.
Nevertheless, scientists in the laboratory have already succeeded in "growing" a material that has many of the characteristics of human skin. The next step may well be "biotech hearts and eyes" which can replace diseased organs in human beings. These will not be rejected by the body, as is the case with organs from humans.
The application of biotechnology to energy production seems even more promising. In 1996 the famous science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke, many of whose previous predictions have come true, said that we may soon be able to develop remarkably cheap and renewable sources of energy. Some of these power sources will be biological. Clarke and others have warned us repeatedly that sooner or later we will have to give up our dependence on non-renewable power sources. Coal, oil and gas are indeed convenient. However, using them also means creating dangerously high levels of pollution. It will be impossible to meet the growing demand for energy without increasing that pollution to catastrophic (灾难性的) levels unless we develop power sources that are both cheaper and cleaner.
It is attempting to think that biotechnology or some other "science of the future" can solve our problems. Before we surrender to that temptation we should remember nuclear power. Only a few generations ago it seemed to promise limitless, cheap and safe energy. Today those promises lie buried in a concrete grave in a place called Chernobyl, in the Ukraine. Biotechnology is unlikely, however, to break its promises in quite the same or such a dangerous way.According to the passage, the science of the future is likely to be ________.
| A．electronics | B．biotechnology |
| C．genetic engineering | D．nuclear technology |
The materials produced with organic chemistry are ________.at present.
| A．as good as wool |
| B．as good as an insect's body |
| C．better than natural materials |
| D．not as good as natural materials |
According to the passage, it may soon be possible ________.
| A．to transplant human organs |
| B．to make artificial hearts and eyes |
| C．to produce drugs without side effects |
| D．to make something as good as human skin |
In 1996, Arthur C. Clarke predicted that_______.
A. the Chernobyl disaster would happen in two years
B. we will never stop using non-renewable power sources biological
C. oil, gas and coal could be repeatedly used in the future
D. power sources would be put into use soonWhat do we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Biological power will keep all its promises. |
| B．Biological power is cheaper than nuclear power. |
| C．Biotechnology can solve all our future energy problems |
| D．Biological power may not be as dangerous as nuclear power |
A huge shire horse in Australia has been declared the biggest horse in the world by its owner , beating the current Guinness World Record（吉尼斯记录） by several inches .
The huge five-year-old , from Pakenham , S. E Australia , measures an amazing 20.1 hands , or 2.057m tall . He weighs over 1.3 tons ( 1,300kg) — about the same as a small car — and is still growing . His owner , horse trainer Jane Greenman , 47 , says the only time the horse runs is when there is food on offer . “ He eats an unbelievable amount . I would hate to run a team of eight horses his size—it would send you broke . ” she says .
The massive horse , whose name is Noddy , was born in Australia with its parents imported from England . Noddy’s grandfather , Ladbrooke Edward (UK) was the world’s tallest horse during the 1980’s .But Jane had no idea that the horse she raised from the age of six months would grow this big . Noddy immediately began to rocket and soon overtook both his parents in size .
Although she says that she is not interested in the Guiness Book of World Records , nevertheless Jane has carried out her own research and is sure that Noddy comes top . “ The nearest is a horse in Texas , at 20 hands ,” says Jane . “ Noddy is already an inch taller than that . The frightening thing is he still hasn’t finished—shire horses aren’t fully grown until they’re about six or seven .”
Jane has said that Noddy could be sold overseas , possibly even fetching a record price to match his height . She is unwilling to sell , but to fund the high cost of keeping him she needs to put him to work . “ He needs a job . It’s very hard to find jobs for such a big horse in Australia . I wish he could stay here but I’ve tried everywhere , ” she says regretfully . “ I just want people to enjoy this beautiful animal as much as I do .” How old is the horse now ?
| A．Six months old . | B． Five years old . |
| C．Two years old . | D．Six years old . |
The underlined word “ rocket ” in Paragraph 3 probably means “ ”.
| A．run fast | B．eat a lot | C．grow fast | D．get strong |
Which of the following is a big problem for the horse’s owner ?
| A．She doesn’t know how to apply for the Guinness World Record . |
| B．She has to feed eight big horses at the same time . |
| C．Another horse in Texas is growing even faster than hers . |
| D．There is not enough money to cover（支付） the cost of raising the horse . |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．Noddy won’t grow any taller |
| B．Noddy’s growth can be genetically（基因） explained |
| C．many people are willing to buy Noddy |
| D．no job will be available for Noddy at all |
What would be the best title for this passage ?
| A．Jane Greenman becomes famous for her horse |
| B．New world record for the biggest horse |
| C．Large size means no job for a big horse |
| D．Jane Greenman , an excellent horse trainer |