In the 19th century，trains were the best way to travel long distances（距离） over land．Trains were fast and convenient．In the 20th century，airplanes replaced trains for long﹣distance travel．Today，however，high﹣speed trains are attracting（吸引）passengers again．
France has a train called the TGV．TGV is"Train a Grande Vitesse"in French，which means"high﹣speed train"．A TGV train operates at speedup to 300km/h．The passengers can travel from Paris to Marseilles in only four hours．
The first country to have a high﹣speed train is Japan．The Bullet train offers a fast，smooth ride between Tokyo and other major cities in Japan．This train operates at speed up to 210km/h and can travel between Tokyo and Osaka in just three hours．
China has the worlds longest high﹣speed rail network with over 19，369.8km of track（轨道） in service from December 2014．China's high﹣speed rail system also includes the world's longest line，the 2.298km Beijing﹣Guangzhou high﹣speed railway．China's high﹣speed trains are marked with"CRH"（China's railway high﹣speed）．They are also called Hexie Hao．The fastest trainsets，CRH380BL，reached the highest test speed of 487.3km/h．
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案．
56．What does the underlined phrase" at speed"in the second paragraph mean．
| A． |
fast |
| B． |
late |
| C． |
slowly |
| D． |
deeply |
57．The first country to have a high﹣speed train is ．
| A． |
China |
| B． |
Japan |
| C． |
France |
| D． |
America |
58．which is the world's longest high﹣speed railway line？
| A． |
The line from Beijing to Shanghai． |
| B． |
The line from Paris to Marseilles． |
| C． |
The line from Beijing to Guangzhou． |
| D． |
The line from Tokyo to Osaka． |
59．The highest test speed of GRH380BL was ．
| A． |
210km/h |
| B． |
over double the speed of the Japanese Bullet train． |
| C． |
300km/h |
| D． |
more than double the speed of the French TOV train． |
60．What's the main idea of this passage？
| A． |
The development of the French TGV train． |
| B． |
The history of the Japanese Bullet train． |
| C． |
The tests of the Chinese CRH380BL trainsets． |
| D． |
The introduction of high﹣speed trains． |
Are you looking for some new and exciting places to take your kids (孩子) to? Try some of these places:
Visit art museums. They offer a variety of activities to excite your kids' interest. Many offer workshops for making land-made pieces, traveling exhibits, book signings by children's favorite writer, and even musical performances and other arts.
Head to a natural history museum. This is where kids can discover the past from dinosaur(恐龙) models to rock collections and pictures of stars in the sky. Also, ask what kind of workshops and educational programs are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up.
Go to a Youtheater. Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors. Pre-show play shops are conducted by area artists and educators where kids can discover the secret about performing arts- Puppet(木偶)making and stage make-up are just a couple of the special offerings you might find.
Try hands-on science. Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country. These science play-lands are great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They'll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through while pushing buttons, experimenting, and building. When everyone is tired, enjoy a fun family science show, commonly found in these museums.If a child is interested in the universe, he probably will visit
| A．a Youtheater | B．an art museum |
| C．a natural history museum | D．a hands-on science museum |
What can kids do at a Youtheater?
| A．Look at rock collections. | B．See dinosaur models. |
| C．Watch puppet making. | D．Give performances. |
What does "hands-on science" mean in the last paragraph?
| A．Science games designed by kids. |
| B．Learning science by doing things. |
| C．A show of kids' science work. |
| D．Reading science books. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A science textbook. | B．A tourist map. |
| C．A museum guide. | D．A news report. |
Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced still swim as well as ever ever since. A man when he gets back who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins "Twinkle, twinkle, little star"。remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
One explanation is the law of over learning , which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, additional learning trials(尝试)increase the length of time we will remember it.
In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overleam.
The multinlicatinn tables(乘法口诀表)are an excention to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.
The law of overleaming explains why cramming(突击学习)for an examination. though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned.A little overlearning. on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future development.What is the main idea of paragraph I?
| A．People remember well what they learned in childhood. |
| B．Children have a better memory than grown-ups. |
| C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words. |
| D．Stories for children arc easy to remember. |
The author explains the law of overleaming by_________.
| A．presenting research findings |
| B．selling down general rules |
| C．making a comparison |
| D．using examples |
According to the author, being able to use multiplication tables is_______.
| A．a result of overlearning |
| B．a special case of cramming |
| C．a skill to deal with math problems |
| D．a basic step towards advanced studies |
What is the author's opinion on cramming?
| A．It leads to failure in college exams. |
| B．It's helpful only in a limited way. |
| C．It's possible to result in poor memory. |
| D．It increases students' learning interest. |
A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn’t want to have to go back there every night. So she rented an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show, because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter’s bill. At the bottom of it were the words: “Four hours watching Miss Ball sing and dance: $3,” with this note: “After 5 p.m., I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings.” In this article, “Miss Ball” was the name of _______.
| A．a place where people sang and danced |
| B．a dance party |
| C．an actress |
| D．a ball |
The actress gave the painter two tickets, hoping ________.
| A．he would be pleased |
| B．he would ask less money for his work |
| C．he would charge more money for his work |
| D．he would praise her musical show |
After the painter got the tickets from the actress, he _______.
| A．sold them for $3 | B．went to watch the musical show |
| C．paid $3 for them | D．was very thankful to her |
Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence (智力) developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. In some degree, our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no education can make a genius (天才) out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich environment. Therefore, the limits(限度) of person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This point of view, now is held by most experts.
It is easy to show that intelligence is something that we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligence. If we take two strangers by chance from the population, it seems that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If, on the other hand, we compare two twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory separately where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this shows that environment as well as birth plays an important part. This result is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence.How is man’s intelligence given?
| A．At birth. |
| B．Through education. |
| C．Both at birth and through education. |
| D．Neither at birth nor through education. |
According to the passage, if a child is born with low intelligence, what might happen to him later?
| A．Become a genius. |
| B．Still become a genius if he should be given special education. |
| C．Reach his intelligence limits in rich environment. |
| D．Never reach his intelligence in his life. |
What can we learn from the example of the twins going to a university and to a factory?
| A．The importance of their intelligence. |
| B．The role of environment on intelligence. |
| C．The importance of their jobs. |
| D．The part that birth plays. |
What statement is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．No education can help make a genius. |
| B．Personality is important as intelligence which was given to people at birth. |
| C．People who have similar degree of intelligence must be relatives. |
| D．Environment influences people in intelligence developing. |
How does the writer make his idea clear?
| A．By giving explanation. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By giving figures(数字). | D．By giving suggestions. |
Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez passes away at 87.
Nobel Prize winning Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez passed away on April 17 in his home in Mexico City at the age of 87, local media reported.
Colombian Ambassador(大使)to Mexico Jose Gabriel Ortiz confirmed(确认) the news.
The author of the famous novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude(孤独),” an outstanding work of literature(文学) that introduced the world to magic realism(魔幻现实主义), had been checked into a hospital on April 3 to be treated for the serious disease.
Garcia Marquez, who worked as a reporter for many years before dedicating himself to writing fictions, had been living in Mexico City since the 1960s.
A master(大师) of magic realism, along with Latin American writers Julio Cortazar, Juan Rulfo, Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, Garcia Marquez, wrote many well-known novels, such as “No One Writes to the Colonel” and “Autumn of the Patriarch.”
“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” his masterpiece(杰作) published in 1967, has been translated into 35 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. (Xinhua, April 18, 2014)Where can we possibly read the passage?
| A．In a movie poster. | B．In a sports magazine. |
| C．In a newspaper. | D．In a comic book. |
What happened to Gabriel Garcia Marquez on April 17?
| A．He won the Nobel Prize. |
| B．He died in Mexico City. |
| C．He celebrated his 87th birthday. |
| D．He met the Colombian Ambassador. |
What was Garcia Marquez before he started writing fictions?
| A．A Nobel Prize winner. |
| B．A master of magic realism. |
| C．A reporter. |
| D．An ambassador. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined words “dedicating himself to”?
| A．奉献给 | B．全神贯注于 |
| C．坚持 | D．竭尽全力于 |
Which of the following is the most famous novel written by Garcia Marquez?
| A．Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out. |
| B．No One Writes to the Colonel. |
| C．Autumn of the Patriarch. |
| D．One Hundred Years of Solitude. |