The flying car has been talked about for many years, but now it appears to become a reality.
An international company has built a two-seater plane that, at the touch of a button, transforms into a car perfectly suitable for driving on public roads. It takes 15 seconds to switch between flying and driving. With its wings fully open and the propeller(螺旋桨) spinning, it can take off from any airfield.
Flying cars are quicker than traditional ones, and they can run on ordinary fuel. Another big advantage is that they are cool, like something you would see in an action film. At the moment, however, the flying car’s wheels are illegal to leave the ground. That is not because of technical reasons or problems with the design. It is because the various road and aircraft authorities simply cannot agree on whether it is a car or a plane.
Nevertheless the company hopes to produce and deliver its first flying car soon. The company already has orders for 40 of them. The majority potential customers are older and some are retired. There have even been orders from some people who have no pilot’s license.
The flying car will cost around $ 200,000. “For an airplane, that’s a very reasonable price, but for a car, it’s quite expensive,” explains Alan. “But it just is not possible to make a $ 10,000 flying car yet.”
This latest means of transport will not become a mass-market item in the near future, but in the long term it has the potential to change the way you travel. It will become no more expensive than driving your car on the motorway. Travel time could be reduced by more than half.
So the next time you are told to fasten your seat belt, it may be to prepare for take-off.
We know from the passage that the flying car .
| A．has to run on special fuel |
| B．will replace traditional planes |
| C．is popular with the rich |
| D．can shift between two forms |
The flying car is presently forbidden to take off because .
| A．many people think driving is not very safe |
| B．it’s hard to decide whether it’s a car or a plane |
| C．the government and the authorities accept it |
| D．there are still some technical problems to be solved |
According to the passage, we can learn .
| A．in the future few people will be able to afford a flying ear |
| B．owning two kinds of driving licenses is of great importance |
| C．because of the appearance of the flying car, traffic jams will disappear |
| D．flying cars may share the market in the future |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Your Car Is Ready for Take-off |
| B．Flying Car Will Be the Leading Means of Transportation |
| C．Affording a Flying Car Is a Necessity |
| D．The Advantages of Flying Cars |
A student is learning to speak British English. He wonders: Can I communicate with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask: What are the differences between British English and American English? How important are these differences?
Certainly! There are some differences between British and American English. There are a few differences in grammar. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and “have a pen?” Americans say “in the hospital!” and “Do you have a pen?”. Pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans usually sound theirs in words like “bird” and “hurt”. Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words. There are differences between British English and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour” and “honour” are British English, “color” and “honor” are American.
These differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary are not important, however. For the most part, British and American English are the same language.According to the passage, a student who is learning to speak American English might be afraid that___.
| A．British English cannot understand him |
| B．American people cannot understand him |
| C．the grammar is too hard for him |
| D．the spelling is too hard for him |
American English and British English are different in ________.
| A．spelling | B．pronunciation |
| C．grammar | D．all of the above |
What is not mentioned (提及) in the passage?
| A．Whether there are differences between British English and American English. |
| B．Whether British and American English are one language or two. |
| C．How the differences between British English and American English came about. |
| D．How important the differences are. |
Most ________ say “ Do you have a watch?”
| A．British people | B．Americans | C．children | D．teachers |
According to this passage, British people and Americans have ________ difficulty in understanding each other.
| A．little | B．much | C．some | D．great |
As we all know, the Dragon Boat Festival is our country’s traditional festival, but do you know there is also a Dragon Boat Festival in South Korea, which also falls on May 5 of the luar calendar(阴历)? It has been reported that South Korea will apply to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 联合国教科文组织) to make the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival its own intangible cultural heritage (非物质的文化遗产). If successful, people from other countries may see the Dragon Festival as a Korean creation.
As the birthplace of the yearly event more than 2,000 years ago, China is not happy with the situation. "It would be a shame if another country successfully made a traditional Chinese festival part of its own cultural heritage ahead of China," said Zhou Heping, deputy(副) culture minister. The Ministry of Culture is even thinking of making its own application to UNESCO, covering all traditional Chinese festivals, including the Dragon Boat event.
It is thought that the festival is held in memory of the great poet Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), who lived in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period. Qu was known to be a patriot (爱国者) and admired by ordinary people.
He is said to have jumped into Miluo River, because he had lost hope in his country's future. When people heard about Qu's death, they sailed up and down the river searching for his body. They also beat the drums to frighten away the fish and threw Zongzi into the water to stop the fish touching Qu. Dragon boat racing is said to come from this search for the poet's body.
Over the years, the Dragon Boat Festival has spread throughout the world. In Japan and Viet Nam, as well as South Korea, the festival has mixed with and become part of the local culture.The Dragon Boat Festival _______.
| A．is also kept by South Korea |
| B．comes from South Korea |
| C．was created by South Korea |
| D．is South Korea’s cultural heritage |
What is the reaction of the Ministry of Culture to South Korea’s intending to make the Dragon Boat Festival its own culture heritage?
| A．Fighting against South Korea |
| B．Telling South Korea it’s not right to do so |
| C．Considering to do the similar thing |
| D．Asking South Korea not to do so. |
What is the purpose of the Dragon Boat Festival’s being held?
| A．In memory of Qu Yuan |
| B．In memory of all the patriots of China |
| C．To frighten away the fish |
| D．In honor of QuYuan’s birthday |
After Qu Yuan’s death, Zongzi was thrown into the water to _______.
| A．feed him. |
| B．protect his body from going bad. |
| C．prevent the fish biting his body |
| D．attract his soul |
Now, the Dragon Boat Festival has become ______ activity.
| A．a nationwide | B．a worldwide |
| C．an Asian | D．a foreign |
I know what you’re thinking：pizza? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to.
I know lots of women who skip breakfast, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it. Some say they don’t have time, others think they’re “saving” calories（卡路里）, still others just don’t like breakfast food.
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all，”says Katherine Brooking, R. D.，who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s“SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself', “You can always eat it tomorrow, ”I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.The word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means __________.
| A．pizza topped with fruit |
| B．things left undone |
| C．meals made of vegetables |
| D．food remaining after a meal. |
According to the last paragraph, it is important to__________.
| A．eat something for breakfast |
| B．be careful about what you eat |
| C．heat up food before eating it |
| D．eat calorie-controlled food |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry. |
| B．Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast. |
| C．There are some easy ways of cooking a meal. |
| D．Eating vegetables helps save energy. |
The text is written mainly for those__________.
| A．who go to work early | B．who stay up late |
| C．who want to lose weight | D．who eat before sleep |
What does the author advise the readers to do?
| A．Better eat up all the food at dinner in the night. |
| B．Better eat less in the night. |
| C．Better eat leftovers in the morning. |
| D．Better get up late and eat nothing in the morning in order to burn more calories. |
Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception (接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair. The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth－so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair?" He looked it over carefully and said, "Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?" "Twenty pounds," I said. "OK," he said, "I’ll give you twenty pounds." "It’s got a slightly broken leg," I said. "Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing."
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked. "Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done." "I’ll buy it," I said. "What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me," he said. "Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it." "You must be crazy," he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. "I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair." "You’re right," I said. "And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “ Would you mend this chair for me?”. “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it," he said. "We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver (five pounds)?" He was a very nice man and was greatly amused (感到有趣) by the whole thing.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer _____.
| A．was rather impolite |
| B．was warmly received |
| C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair |
| D．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair |
The underlined word "approach" in the second paragraph means _____.
| A．plan for dealing with things |
| B．decision to sell things |
| C．idea of repairing things |
| D．way of doing things |
The expression "the penny dropped" in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper _____.
| A．changed his mind |
| B．accepted the offer |
| C．saw the writer’s purpose |
| D．decided to help the writer |
How much did the writer pay?
| A．￡5. | B．￡7. | C．￡20. | D．￡27. |
From the text, we can learn that the writer was _____.
| A．honest | B．careful | C．smart | D．funny |
Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was the greatest American president. Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it, and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten leadership qualities, including public persuasiveness(信服), crisis leadership, management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international relations. The historians also looked at administrative ability (管理能力), relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equal justice for all. Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in which the president lived.
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as American’s greatest president. He had also been named the greatest president in a similar study in 2000.Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the nation through the Civil War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end. He also took the first steps to abolish(废除) slavery in America.
Edna Medford, a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was an adviser on this study and the earlier one. She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values the nation most honors, such as truthfulness, moderation, and respect for human rights.
The historians put American’s first president, George Washington, second on the list, while Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman follow in that order. John F. Kennedy, the country’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list. Like Lincoln, Kennedy was murdered while in office.
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best and Bill Clinton rated fifteenth, while the historians put former president George W. Bush at number thirty-six. His father, George H.W. Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen.We learn from the text that ___________.
| A．this is the second time Abraham Lincoln has been chosen as America’s greatest president |
| B．Edna Medford didn’t take part in the study conducted in 2000 |
| C．George H.W. Bush was thought to have done worse in office than George W.Bush |
| D．Harry Truman was rated the fourth-best president by the study |
Which of the following belong to the ten leadership qualities considered?
a. Being able to persuade the public.
b. Taking effective measures during a financial crisis.
c. Balancing home life and career.
d. Pursuing equal justice for all.
| A．a,b,c | B．b,c,d | C．a,b,d | D．a,c,d |
Who is rated worst among the following four presidents?
| A．John F. Kennedy | B．George W. Bush |
| C．Bill Clinton | D．George Washington |
The text is mainly about ________.
| A．the ten qualities a great president needs |
| B．how Abraham Lincoln improved the country |
| C．the values the American nation honors most |
| D．a study of American presidents |