Miss sending letters? Try Lettrs! This new service brings back the art of letter writing by marrying it to the Internet.
Lettrs, a new site, is attempting to bring back the old-fashioned idea of letter writing by providing a space that feels a little bit like a writing desk.
Of course, there’ll be purists who say that to truly enjoy letter writing you must do it on fancy letter paper and envelope in the mail is part of the fun. And if you’re into that sort of thing, go for it. But I can’t be the only one who is now so much faster at typing that writing by hand is painfully slow. Nor can I be the only one who likes to write on a whim (一时兴起) when I’m going to be on a crowded train or airplane, both of which are situations where writing on the computer is far easier.
The site tries, pretty seriously, to approximate(接近) what it’s like to have your very own writing desk and paper to choose from (which comes in various prints and colors) as well as corresponding（通信）types of prints and cursive writing (草写体) that come out on your screen as you write. There’s also a “desk drawer” for letters you’ve already sent, a “fridge” to post letters publicly, a “kitchen counter” for letters you have just received, and “shoebox” to store your letters in.
And if you need inspiration there are even old-style letters that are great examples of the kind of correspondence people used to send. Lettrs is such a great idea, because you get the best parts of communicating online (typing rather than writing, the speed, no lost mail, and it’s free! ) with the nice parts of a letter－the sense of sitting down to write, quietly, to one person in a meaningful way.
Who would you write to?How does Lettrs work according to the text?
| A．By providing real paper for letter writers. |
| B．By making room for people to write letters. |
| C．By supplying writing desks to letter writers. |
| D．By combining letter writing with the Internet. |
It can be inferred from the text that the author_________.
| A．is one of the purists |
| B．prefers writing to typing |
| C．always hopes to get paper letters |
| D．likes using Lettrs to write letters |
A Lettrs user can find a newly received letter in or on a“_________”.
| A．desk drawer | B．fridge |
| C．kitchen counter | D．shoebox |
What is the main purpose of the author writing the text?
| A．To advise readers to use Lettrs. |
| B．To tell readers how to write letters. |
| C．To persuade readers to write letters. |
| D．To show the advantage of the Internet. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．An old art of letter writing. |
| B．A new service of letter writing. |
| C．The advantages of letter writing. |
| D．The development of letter writing. |
E
Events
Long March exhibit
The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary(周年纪念日)of the Long March．On show are more than 220 photos and 40 items that explain with
pictures how the communist Red Army drew back from its besieged(被围困的)bases in Jiangxi
Province and fought its way to northern Shanxi province in the mid-1930s．Explanations are all in
Chinese，The show will end on November 20．
Time： 10：00 am—4：00 pm.
Address： 1286 Hongqiao Road
Admission： 8 yuan for Chinese／15 yuan for foreigners
Thai elephants
Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes，
playing basketball，balancing on a beam，dancing and blowing a mouth-organ．People are encouraged to have a tug-of-war(拔河比赛)with the animals or lie on the ground and have the elephants walk over them，The elephants give three shows a day at 9：30 am,3：30 pm and 8:00 pm and there is an additional show at l：30 pm at weekends.The show will end on November 15。
Address： 189 Daduhe Road
Admission： 30—40 yuan
Dancing dolphins(海豚)
Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball，swaying their bodies to music，kissing people and doing maths(算术)by tapping their tails have made the dolphinarium(海豚馆) in Peace Park an attraction for children．Seals and sea lions also perform。
Hours： 10：30 am，4：00pm，and 7：30prn
Admission： 20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children．
72．If you go to visit the Long March exhibit with an Australian，how much will you pay altogether for the admission?
A．16yuan B．23 yuan C．30yuan D．20yuan
73．At the exhibition，you will see ___________.
A．many articles written by famous writers
B．many things left by the Red Army,
C．books on the Long March
D．many photos and pictures about the Long Match。
74．Which of the following is NOT done by the Thai elephants?
A．Riding bicycles。 B．Blowing a mouth-organ
C．Doing maths D．Having a tug-of-war with people．
75．The dolphinarium in Peace Park is a hall where you can see ______________.
A．not only dolphins but also seals and sea lions perform
B．only seals and sea lions perform
C．only dolphins perform
D．only seals perform
D
It seems that great artists and scientists often suffer from mental problems. Both Einstein and Dickens had mental illness. Now scientists have started to look at whether mental illness and genius are linked.
Dr Adele Juda studied 5,000 creative people in Germany. She found there were more people with mental illness in this group than in the general population. Poets had the highest rate of mental illness, followed by musicians, with lower numbers for painters and architects.
Other scientists did research which also showed a strong link between mental problems and creativity. But, it did nothing to explain it.
Dr Ruth Richards of Harvard University made a breakthrough. Instead of studying creative people, she took a group of psychiatric (精神病的) patients and tested them for creativity. The patients got much higher scores than a normal group.
Also, the patients’ close relatives were much more creative than the patients and a normal group. This suggests that the key to the link between creativity and mental illness is in our genes (基因).
But this is a problem. According to Darwinism, harmful genes should be removed. Some scientists believe that evolution (进化) has created a balance, where the madness of a few people leads to the development of the whole human race.
Geniuses(天才人物) may be mad, bad or just difficult to understand, but their discoveries have improved the world we live in. It seems that a little creative madness is good for us all.
67. According to Dr Adele Juda, which of the following has the lowest rate of mental illness?
A. Painters B. Musicians C. Poets D. Bus drivers
68. The underlined phrase “make a breakthrough” in the 4th paragraph means “ ___________ ”.
A. discover or find something new and important.
B. make a way through using force.
C. (of the sun or moon ) appear from behind (clouds).
D. suddenly change (from a slower to a faster pace)
69. Based on the research of Dr Ruth Richards of Harvard University, we can conclude that .______
A. great artists and scientists often suffer from mental problems
B. the patients’ close relatives were much more creative than the patients and a normal group
C. psychiatric patients have more creativity than the average people
D. it is our genes that determine the link between creativity and mental illness
70. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Among the 5,000 creative Germans, more people suffer from mental diseases.
B. There is a strong link between mental problems and creativity.
C. Psychiatric patients make greater contributions than common people.
D. The key to the link between creativity and mental illness is in our genes.
71. What is the writer’s attitude toward madness?
A. Madness is harmful to the whole society.
B. A little creative madness is good for us all.
C. All the talented people are mad.
D. Only the people with mental illness have more creativity.
C
Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a busy motorway. But still there is a danger that grows every year. Airliners get larger and larger. Some airplanes can carry over 300 passengers. And the air itself becomes more and more crowded. If one large airliner struck into another in mid-air, 600 lives could be lost.
From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screens. Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb, and when to come down. The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London-Heathrow may deal with 2,500 planes a day. Not all of them actually land at the airport. Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there. Even a small mistake on their part could cause a terrible accident.
Recently such a disaster almost happened. Two large jets were flying towards the airport. One was carrying 69 passengers from Toronto, the other 176 passengers from Chicago. An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other. He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb. But he made a mistake. He ordered the wrong plane to do this. So, instead of turning away from the second plane, the first plane turned towards it. Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane. They avoided each other by the smallest part of a second. The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool. This is an example of the danger that grows every year.
63. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Traveling by air is as safe as by car.
B. Traveling by air is not as safe as by car.
C. Traveling by car is as dangerous as by air.
D. Traveling by car is more dangerous than by air.
64. The air traffic controllers of an airport ____________ .
A. control all the planes flying near the airport
B. give orders to planes leaving the airport
C. only deal with the planes that want to land there
D. are ordered to handle 2500 planes a day in England
65. The danger of air crashes grows every year because ___________ .
A. airliners are getting larger and air traffic is becoming heavier
B. a pilot does not always hear a controller’s order
C. a controller is likely to make more and more mistakes
D. airports can hardly serve the growing number of airplanes
66. The example in the passage is to show that _________________ .
A. air traffic controllers are often careless
B. air traffic controllers should pay much attention to avoiding accidents
C. it is difficult for airplanes to avoid terrible accidents
D. two planes should not fly too close to each other
B
The desire to make explorations is born with man. Wherever his imagination goes, man also has a strong wish to go. A large part of human history is connected with the exploration of the world in which we live. Again and again people have set out with surprising courage and patience to look into unknown regions(地区) and lands to see what had not yet been seen. With kites, balloons and aircraft they left the ground to pass through the lower atmosphere. Now the outer space receives their attention.
Why should man take the trouble of(不怕麻烦) conquering(征服) space? It is hard to list the specific practical benefits that will result in. But one knows, from past experience in other areas, that man will surely see and discover new things in space that will increase our scientific knowledge, and this new knowledge will find its way into valuable practical uses. What we learn about man himself, from his experience in space, and from the effects of space and the space flight environment on him, will be extremely valuable. The new techniques developed to carry out the exploration of space, and to keep man alive in space, will certainly find practical uses in everyday life in some way. The areas that will benefit are manifold.They include communication, transportation and travel, food production, materials, fuels and many others. But to say definitely(肯定地) just what the practical results will be is almost impossible.
59．The man idea of the first paragraph is that________.
A．man desires to explore what is unknown
B．man often goes wherever his dreams go
C．man is no longer interested in the study of the land and sea now
D．man’s history is his exploration of the world
60．The underlined word "manifold" in the second paragraph probably means________.
A．vast B．variousC．valuable D．practical
61．The author seems to be in favor of (赞成)________.
A．doubting the necessity of the space exploration
B．the exploration of space
C．exploring more in space than in other areas
D．his experiencing in space
62．In the last sentence of paragraph 2 the phrase "practical results" refers to the results___________.
A．that are gained from experience
B．that can be learned as knowledge
C．that can benefit us human beings
D．that help us make further exploration
第三部份： 阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
A
Some people think that they will get ill if they use their brains (大脑) too much.. It is not true. Through many studies, scientists show us that the more you use your brains, the better it will be, and the cleverer you will become.
Of course, if you want to keep your mind clear and active, you must take a proper rest and study properly. To the teenagers, using their brains in the morning is good for their health.
There are many ways to rest. One is a peaceful rest. Sleep is a peaceful rest. Another is an active rest. For example, take a walk outdoors, do more exercises every day. To change the way of the brains’ activities is also a good way to rest.
In everyday life, to eat some eggs, meat, fresh vegetables and fruit（水果）is also good for the brains.
Wish you a wise man and a happy life.
56. According to the writer of the passage, our brains should be used _________.
A. hardlyB. seldom C. more often D. at times
57. Which is true?
A. Illness comes from the fact the brains are used too much.
B. Fruits are the most important for the brains.
C. The brains will be better if they are used often.
D. Sleep is the only way of having a rest.
58. Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?
A. How to use your brains B. How to rest
C. How to become a wise manD. Keep your mind clear