In May 1987 the Golden Gate Bridge had a 50th birthday party. The bridge was closed to motor traffic so people could enjoy a walk across it. Organizers expected perhaps 50，000 people to show up. Instead， as many as 800，000 crowded the roads to the bridge. By the time 250，000 were on the bridge， engineers noticed something terrible： the roadway was flattening under what turned out to be the heaviest load it had ever been asked to carry. Worse， it was beginning to sway（晃动）. The authorities closed access to the bridge and tens of thousands of people made their way back to land. A disaster was avoided.
The story is one of scores in To Forgive Design： Understanding Failure， a book that is at once a love letter to engineering and a paean （赞歌） to its breakdowns. Its author， Dr. Henry Petroski， has long been writing about disasters. In this book， he includes the loss of the space shuttles （航天飞机） Challenger and Columbia， and the sinking of the Titanic.
Though he acknowledges that engineering works can fail because the person who thought them up or engineered them simply got things wrong， in this book Dr. Petroski widens his view to consider the larger context in which such failures occur. Sometimes devices fail because a good design is constructed with low quality materials incompetently applied. Or perhaps a design works so well it is adopted elsewhere again and again， with seemingly harmless improvements， until， suddenly， it does not work at all anymore.
Readers will encounter not only stories they have heard before， but some new stories and a moving discussion of the responsibility of the engineer to the public and the ways young engineers can be helped to grasp them.
"Success is success but that is all that it is，" Dr. Petroski writes. It is failure that brings improvement.
（1）What happened to the Golden Gate Bridge on its 50th birthday？
| A． |
It carried more weight than it could. |
| B． |
It swayed violently in a strong wind. |
| C． |
Its roadway was damaged by vehicles. |
| D． |
Its access was blocked by many people. |
（2）Which of the following is Dr. Petroski's idea according to paragraph 3？
| A． |
No design is well received everywhere. |
| B． |
Construction is more important than design. |
| C． |
Not all disasters are caused by engineering design. |
| D． |
Improvements on engineering works are necessary. |
（3）What does the last paragraph suggest？
| A． |
Failure can lead to progress. |
| B． |
Success results in overconfidence. |
| C． |
Failure should be avoided. |
| D． |
Success comes from joint efforts. |
（4）What is the text？
| A． |
A news report. |
| B． |
A short story. |
| C． |
A book review. |
| D． |
A research article. |
Henry works in a factory. He comes from a poor family and was in school for only four years. He has to do the hard work, but he is paid less. He likes to watch football matches very much and spends much time on them.
One afternoon there was a big football match on the playground. He borrowed some money from his friend and hurried there. There were a lot of people there. And all the tickets were sold out. He was sorry for it. He saw a pole outside the playground and climbed it quickly. A policeman came and said, “It is dangerous to stay on it! Come down!”
“Wait a minute, please!” Henry said and just at that moment the policeman heard cheers on the playground and asked in a hurry, “which team has kicked a goal?” “Ours!” “Wonderful! You can stay there. But take care!” The policeman said happily and left. When the match would be soon over, he came back again and asked, “who has won?” “Theirs, 3:2.” “Come down,” the policeman said angrily. “ Such a match is not worth watching!”
Henry had to come down. But soon they heard cheers again. The policeman said in a hurry, “Climb up quickly and see who has kicked a goal.”From the passage we know that _________.
| A．Henry doesn’t like his work |
| B．Henry comes from a rich family. |
| C．Henry is paid less |
| D．Henry doesn’t like the policeman |
Henry failed to get a ticket for the match that day because ___________.
| A．all the tickets were sold out |
| B．he didn’t want to buy a ticket |
| C．he had no time to buy a ticket |
| D．he had no money to buy a ticket |
The policeman asked Henry to come down the pole at first because ____________.
| A．the other team kicked a goal | B．Henry had no ticket |
| C．their team kicked a goal | D．it was dangerous |
From the third paragraph, we can guess that _____________.
| A．the policeman wanted to teach Henry a lesson. |
| B．the policeman was also a football fan. |
| C．the policeman didn’t like Henry. |
| D．the policeman tried to please Henry |
Language-learners who say they never or hardly ever use dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. So they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations (翻译) of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables (音节), they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.Students who never use dictionary speak well but write poor, because_______
| A．They can’t remember words. |
| B．They may make mistakes. |
| C．They are not interested in writing. |
| D．They are afraid of writing. |
According to the passage, which of the following is right?
| A．Students who never use dictionary can speak well and write well. |
| B．Whatever new words you meet while reading, just look them up in the dictionary. |
| C．Small two-language dictionaries are bad for learning English. |
| D．An English word only has one translation. |
When does the writer advise students to use a good dictionary in reading?
| A．At the beginning of the reading |
| B．At the end of the reading |
| C．During the first reading |
| D．After the first reading |
This passage mainly tells us .
| A．that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries |
| B．what were the defects (缺点) of small two-language dictionaries |
| C．why students should use large college edition dictionaries |
| D．what dictionary students should choose and how to use it |
Which is not mentioned in this passage?
| A．How to make good use of a dictionary. |
| B．When to use a dictionary. |
| C．How to improve spoken English. |
| D．How to practice reading fast. |
“This is the BBC News at Eight O’ Clock.”
…
“Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.”
“The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20thanniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.”
“Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006. ”
“About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors(剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.”
…
“And now it’s time for Morning Music.”The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t ________.
| A．take photos |
| B．visit the Great Wall |
| C．visit the Summer Palace |
| D．have a football match |
This year during the first three days of the May Golden Week, it cost Chinese people ___________ yuan more than that of last year.
| A．260 billion | B．120 billion | C．140 billion | D．20 billion |
Which of the following is not talked about in the news?
| A．The robot can help with shopping bags. |
| B．A Japanese company invented the robot. |
| C．The robot was tested at a shopping centre. |
| D．There are such robots in people’s homes now. |
The underlined word “anniversary” means .
| A．founding |
| B．yearly return of the date of an event |
| C．university |
| D．the new beginning of something important |
Which of the following is a game?
| A．Rock Paper Scissors | B．May Golden Week |
| C．Shopping assistant robot | D．A visit to the school |
At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because _______.
| A．it is very easy |
| B．it is very exciting |
| C．Joseph Merlin’s instruments |
| D．it is very popular |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________. .
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot |
| B．he was full of different ideas and dreams |
| C．he invented the first roller skates |
| D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin |
| C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. |
| B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. |
| D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Joseph Merlin’s Story |
| B．How Roller Skating Was Invented |
| C．A Surprising Entrance to the Party |
| D．Violin and roller skating |
When he was a boy, Tim was much influenced（影响） by the books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result, Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic (诊所) of a local doctor where he was supposed to help to wrap up medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.
During the war Tim served in the Navy (海军) as a surgeon (外科医生). “That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it.” In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus, while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was saving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside, working under an old doctor who was popular in the area, but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the young man many opportunities to go on working as a life-saver.Tim decided to be a doctor when he was________.
| A．fourteen | B．fifteen |
| C．serving in the Navy | D．working in clinic |
Tim decided to become a doctor mainly because________
| A．his father wanted him to be so. |
| B．his father was a surgeon. |
| C．he had read many books about medicine. |
| D．he had chances to know many doctors and know about what doctors did. |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．during the war, Tim was a surgeon in the Navy. |
| B．he taught the country people simple facts about medicine in California. |
| C．after the war, he married the old doctors’ daughter. |
| D．Tim worked as a life-saver after war. |
From the passage we can infer(推出) that Tim_________.
| A．was sent to Europe during the war. |
| B．was not afraid of blood. |
| C．decided to give up his doctor career. |
| D．regarded himself as a life-saver. |
The passage is mainly about________
| A．Tim’s life story | B．Tim’ dreams | C．Tim’s marriage | D．Tim’s patients |