Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities. Of course, there have always been people who have looked for adventure-those who have climbed the highest mountains, traveled into unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however, there are people who look for an excitement from a risky activity which may only last a few minutes or even seconds.
I would consider bungee jumping （蹦极跳）to be a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place (perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon)200 meters above the ground with an elastic (有弹性的) rope tied to your ankles. You fall at up to l50 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is said that two million people around the world have now tried bungee jumping. Other risky activities include jumping from tall buildings and diving into the sea from the top of high cliffs.
Why do people take part in such activities as these? Some psychologists suggest that it is because life in modern societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people's lives were often in danger. They had to go out and hunt for food, diseases could not easily be cured, and life was harder than that of the present days.
Nowadays, according to many people, life offers little excitement. They live and work in safe environment; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to look for danger in activities such as bungee jumping.More and more people today ______.
| A．are trying activities such as bungee jumping |
| B．are climbing the highest mountains |
| C．are coming close to death in sports |
| D．are looking for adventures such as exploring unknown places |
In bungee jumping, you ______.
| A．jump as high as you can |
| B．slide down a rope to the ground |
| C．tie yourself to a rope and fall to the ground |
| D．fall towards the ground without a rope |
People probably take part in dangerous sports nowadays because ______.
| A．they have a lot of free time |
| B．they can go to hospital if they are injured |
| C．there isn’t so much excitement in life. |
| D．they no longer need to hunt for food |
Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．Modern Life is Boring |
| B．Dangerous Sports: What and Why |
| C．Is Bungee Jumping Really Dangerous |
| D．Need for Excitement |
In my second year of high school, the class was scheduled to run the mile．
When the coach yelled, "Ready．Set．Go!", I rushed out like an airplane, faster than anyone else for the first 20 feet．I made up my mind to finish first．As we came around the first of four laps, there were students all over the track（跑道）．By the end of the second lap, many of the students had already stopped．They had given up and were on the ground breathing heavily．As I started the third lap, only a few of my classmates were on the track．By the time I hit the fourth lap, I was alone．Then it hit me that nobody had given up．Instead, everyone had already finished．As I ran that last lap, I cried．And 12 minutes, 42 seconds after starting, I crossed the finishing line．I fell to the ground．I was very upset．
Suddenly my coach ran up to me and picked me up, yelling, "You did it．Mark! You finished, son．You finished" He looked at me straight in the eyes, waving a piece of paper in his hand．It was my goal （目标 ） for the day which I had forgotten．I had given it to him before class． He read it aloud to everyone．It simply said, "I, Mark Brown, will finish the mile run tomorrow, come what may．" My heart lifted．My tears went away, and I had a smile on my face as if I had eaten a banana．My classmates clapped．It was then I realized winning isn't always finishing first．Sometimes winning is just finishing．We can learn from the passage that _．
| A．many of Mark's classmates gave up by the end of the second lap |
| B．it was too difficult for Mark to run the mile |
| C．Finally Mark was happy because he achieved his goal that day |
| D．Mark was sad all that day because he ran the slowest． |
It took Mark to run the mile．
| A．about 13 minutes | B．more than 13 minutes |
| C．only 12 minutes | D．less than 12 minutes |
Why did Mark cry when he ran the last lap?
| A．Because he was quite happy． |
| B．Because he was too upset． |
| C．Because he got a pain in his heart． |
| D．Because he was hungry． |
What does the underlined words "it hit me" mean?
| A．我突然意识到． | B．它打中我 |
| C．它撞到我． | D．它打击我． |
The coach ___ when he yelled " You did it, Mark!"．
| A．must be angry with Mark． |
| B．didn't know Mark's goal for the day |
| C．ate a banana |
| D．must be happy and excited |
A man bought a new pair of trousers for his primary school mates’ reunion（重聚） dinner．When he tried it out at home, he found that the trousers were too long by 10cm．
He asked his mother to help him shorten the pants．His mother said she could not do it as she was not feeling well．So the man asked his wife ．His wife said she was very tired that night, so she could not help him．Then the man asked his daughter．His daughter apologized for not able to do it because she had agreed to go dancing with her boyfriend．
"Ah well!" The man decided to wear his old trousers to the reunion．
Later that night, his mother thought to herself, "My son has been very nice to me．I’ll just help him before going to bed．" So she shortened the pants by 10cm．
Then his wife thought," My husband knows I am always busy and seldom ask me to help him．" So she shortened the man’s pants by another 10cm．
His daughter came home from dancing, and thought, "Daddy loves me very much．And he is such a cool daddy, allowing me to go out with my boyfriend．I would help him to shorten his pants．" So she shortened her daddy’s pants yet another 10cm．
The next day, three ladies told the man that his pants were shortened．He tried them on and found that his pants had become shorter by 30cm!
He laughed heartily, and said, "I must wear this pair of pants to show my schoolmates that my mum, my wife and my daughter are such loving people．" At the dinner, his old classmates were very envious of his loving family．
What would you do if it happened to you? Laugh out loud or start yelling?
Many of us have "High EQ" when dealing with the outsiders, "Low EQ" when dealing with our own family members!
Please be more patient with your families! Destiny is lucky enough to find the people who love you so much and bear everything of you．When the man was refused by the three Ladies, he decided to _____．
| A．ten the pants by himself |
| B．decided to wear new trousers to the reunion |
| C．bought another pair of trousers |
| D．decided to wear his old trousers to the reunion |
The man laughed heartily because___．
| A．he was happy to see his pants were shortened |
| B．his pants looked so funny |
| C．all his family wanted to help him |
| D．his new pants fit him so well then |
The underlined word “envious” in the passage means “”in Chinese．
| A．自豪的 | B．厌倦的 | C．羡慕的 | D．渴望的 |
We can see from the passage that_____．
| A．the man always asked his wife to help him |
| B．the man liked to show off his new trousers |
| C．the man was used to wearing short pants |
| D．the man loved his family very much． |
The best title of this passage is____．
| A．Pants Shorten by 30cm | B．A Loving Family |
| C．The Reunion | D．High EQ or Low EQ |
Wonderful Events
| HORSE RACING ALL YEAR ROUND Races starting at 3 p．m．Every Sunday Racetrack Only 20 Miles Away Lots of Free Parking Space Free Presents No Children Allowed |
100 YEARS OF PICTURES Then & Now （Photo Show） See the Wuhan History From 1910~2010 February 1 — April 30 City Art Museum 750 High Street Tuesday to Sunday 10 a．m．~ 5 p．m． |
| WEEKEND SALES This Saturday 2 ~ 6 p．m． Everything 20~40% Off Visit Us at Black G．Grandview Mall Realize Your Dreams, Save Time and Money Fall in Love with Prices We Offer |
DANCE PARTY Celebrate a Special Date Bringing Your Sweet Heart Sunday Night, Country Club Live Band from 9 p．m．~ 1 a．m． $25 a couple（夫妇）; $15 single person |
People can see the photo show at ．
| A．Grandview Mall | B．City Art Museum |
| C．Racetrack | D．Country Club |
Who can NOT go to the horse race?
| A．A single person． | B．A couple． |
| C．Children． | D．The sweet heart． |
What can you do if you only have time between 5 p．m．and 6 p．m．on Saturday?
| A．Go shopping． |
| B．Go to see the photo show． |
| C．Go to the dance with your sweet heart． |
| D．Go to watch the horse race． |
How much will Mr. and Mrs. Smith pay if they want to go to the dance party?
| A．15 dollars． | B．25 dollars． |
| C．20%~40% off． | D．For free． |
Where can you see the above advertisements?
| A．In a book． | B．In a magazine． |
| C．In a newspaper． | D．On TV． |
At the moment, it may be difficult to imagine, but many people believe that, by the year 2100, we will live on the planet Mars．Our own planet, Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted．Luckily, we can start again and build a better world on Mars．
First of all, transport should be much better．At present, our spaceships are too slow to carry large numbers of people to Mars—it takes months．However, by 2100, spaceship can travel at half the speed of light．It might take us two or three days to get to Mars! Secondly, humans need food, water and air to live．Scientists should be able to develop plants that can be grown on Mars．These plants will produce the food and air that we need．However, can these plants produce water for us? There is no answer now.
There is a problem for us to live on Mars．Mars suck（吸力） us much less than the Earth does．This will be dangerous because we could easily jump too high and fly slowly away into space．To prevent this, humans on Mars have to wear special shoes to make themselves heavier.
Life on Mars will be better than that on Earth in many ways．People will have more space．Living in a large building with only 10 bedrooms is highly possible．Many people believe that robots will do most of our work, so we have more time for our hobbies.
There will probably be no school on Mars．Every student will have a computer at home which is connected to the internet．They can study, do their homework and take exams in online schools．Each student will also have their own online teacher called “e-teacher”.
However, in some ways, life on Mars may not be better than that on the earth today．Food will not be the same—meals will probably be in the form of pills and will not be as delicious as they are today．Also, space travel will make many people feel ill．The spaceship will travel fast, so the journey to Mars will probably be very uncomfortable.
根据短文内容完成句子填空（每空限填一个单词）。
In the first paragraph, we can know _____ and ______people will live on the planet of Mars.根据短文内容完成句子填空（每空限填一个单词）。
In order to live on Mars, people need faster _________, _________ that can produce food or
air for people, and special shoes．根据短文内容回答问题。
Write down an example that is given in the passage about the disadvantages living on Mars．
_______________________________________________________________________________把短文中画线的句子译成汉语。
_______________________________________________________________________________根据短文内容用一个完整的英文句子（限10个词以内）回答问题。
What’s the passage mainly about?
_______________________________________________________________________________
Imagine the situation．You are driving along a desert or on a mountain．You have no idea where you are．You passed the last house two hours ago．Then your car breaks down．It is night and it is cold．You have no mobile phone．What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you．This invention may be able to help you．It is a device which uses satellites to find the user’s position．It can find your position to within 20 metres．A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are．
GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver．It looks like a mobile phone．You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket．It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone．We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats．Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are．For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to the Global Positioning System．The first part is the receiver．You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc．The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth．The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates （计算） its position．The third part of the system is a network of ground stations．They are all over the world．They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile．They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate （精确的）．There are also new uses for the GPS．Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again. 
According to the passage, with the help of the GPS, people ______.
| A．can’t be lost in a new city |
| B．can’t find their way in different countries |
| C．can learn about the culture of an unknown place |
| D．can spend the least time getting to another place |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．there are three parts to the GPS |
| B．a GPS can’t be put into a watch |
| C．a GPS can help you start your car |
| D．the GPS are becoming more and more expensive |
The underlined word “They” in paragraph 3 means “______”.
| A．Receivers | B．GPS devices |
| C．Satellites | D．Ground stations |
The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．the history of the GPS |
| B．the introduction of the GPS |
| C．the shape of the GPS |
| D．the three parts of the GPS |
What can we infer（推断） from the passage? ______
| A．All GPS devices have electronic maps． |
| B．People in many countries will use the GPS for free. |
| C．The receiver of the GPS contacts at least five of the satellites. |
| D．The GPS will become more and more common in everyday life. |