You never see him, but they're with you every time you fly. They record where you are going, how fast you're traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally. Their ability to endure almost any disaster makes them seem like something out of a comic book. They're known as the black box.
　When planes fall from the sky, as a Yemeni airliner did on its way to Comoros Islands in the India ocean on June 30, 2009, the black box is the best bet for identifying what went wrong. So when a French submarine (潜水艇) detected the box's homing signal five days later, the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed.
　In 1958, Australian scientist David Warren developed a flight-memory recorder that would track basic information like altitude and direction. That was the first mode for a black box, which became a requirement on all U.S. commercial flights by 1960. Early models often failed to withstand crashes, however, so in 1965 the box was completely redesigned and moved to the rear of the plane – the area least subject to impact – from its original position in the landing wells (起落架舱). The same year, the Federal Aviation Authority required that the boxes, which were never actually black, be painted orange or yellow to aid visibility.
　Modern airplanes have two black boxes: a voice recorder, which tracks pilots' conversations, and a flight-data recorder, which monitors fuel levels, engine noises and other operating functions that help investigators reconstruct the aircraft's final moments. Placed in an insulated (隔绝的) case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thick panels of stainless steel, the boxes can stand massive force and temperatures up to 2,000℉. When submerged, they're also able to emit signals from depths of 20,000 ft. Experts believe the boxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, are in water nearly that deep, but statistics say they're still likely to turn up. In the approximately 20 deep-sea crashes over the past 30 years, only one plane's black boxes were never recovered.
64. What does the author say about the black box?
A. It is an indispensable device on an airplane.　

B. The idea for its design comes from a comic book.
C. Its ability to avoid disasters is incredible.
D. It ensures the normal functioning of an airplane.
65. What does the underlined word in the 3rd paragraph mean?　

A. witness 　　 B. experience　　 C. resist　 D. ensure
66. Why was the black box redesigned in 1965?

A. New materials became available by that time.

B. Too much space was needed for its installation.
C. The early models didn't provide the needed data.
D. The early models often got damaged in the crash.
67. What do we know about the black boxes from Air France Flight 447?
A. There is an urgent need for them to be reconstructed.
B. There is still a good chance of their being recovered.　

C. They have stopped sending homing signals.
D. They were destroyed somewhere near Brazil.

This Teaching Assistant Level 3 course is designed for people who either are, or wish to become a teaching assistant. Teaching assistants carry out their tasks under the direction of the class teacher. This is a fully supported home study course, and the help is available whenever you need it --- either online or over the phone. There is a huge demand for teaching assistants around the country but also many thousands of applicants for these positions. Having this Teaching Assistant Level 3 qualification will help you stand out from other applicants. Our Level 3 Teaching Assistant course is similar to the NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) Level 3 because it is an equivalent (同等的) level of learning.

The teaching assistant is able to contribute in four main areas:

Supporting the teacher

Supporting the pupil

Supporting the school

Supporting the curriculum

The salary a teaching assistant is expected to earn a year:

London fringe (外围):￡16,856 - ￡26,052

Outer London: ￡18,789 - ￡27,992

Inner London: ￡19,893 - ￡29,088

Rest of England and Wales: ￡15,817 - ￡25,016

The fee and the time of enrolment (入学)

Enroll for only a ￡35 deposit. Teaching Assistant Level 3 is only ￡345. To help you on your way towards achieving your qualification, we are offering all of our potential students a ￡115 reduction in their enrolment fees for June. The normal fee for this course is ￡460 but for this month it has been reduced to only ￡345. There has never been a better time to start learning and take that first step towards a brighter future!

100% money back guarantee, if you are not satisfied. That’s why we’ll happily give you your money back on any course returned within 7 days. It’s easy for you to enroll now by telephone 01223 923 913. You can get free friendly help and advice from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, on Monday to Friday. Call 01223 923 915.

60. How can people study this Teaching Assistant Level 3 course?

A. Go to the night school.                    B. Go to the full-time school.

C. Study at home at any time.                      D. Study at weekends or vacations.

61. What’s the teaching assistant’s task?

A. Listening to the teacher’s lecture all the time.    

B. Only helping teachers prepare their lessons.

C. Helping promote effective learning and teaching.

D. Often giving lessons in place of the formal teacher.

62. If a teacher assistant earns ￡28,000 a year , he probably works in ______.

A. downtown Wales              B. the fringe of London

C. outer London               D. downtown London

63. How much should you pay in June if you have paid the deposit?

A. ￡35                   B. ￡310           C. ￡345                  D. ￡460

It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.
   I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, and my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!
   Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email, and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we do without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.
   Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb comes from an adjective not a noun. 

  Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ll start using it myself! 　
56. “I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means          .
   A. it was a firm arrangement　　　　　       B. he prefers a pencil to a pen
   C. the arrangement should be written as a diary  D. it was an uncertain arrangement
57. A website address can be easily found if it has been______.
   A. favorited    B. messaged    C. emailed      D. texted
58. Which of the following has not been used as a verb yet?
   A. message    B. mobile        C. email         D. page
59. The best title for this passage is____.
   A. Technology and Language.　　    　 　B. Development of the English language
   C. New Technology and New words        D. New Verbs from Nouns

　 This is a part from US President Barack Obama’s speech on May 14 at Bamard College in New York.

　 … My last piece of advice – this is simple, but perhaps most important: 36 . Nothing worthwhile is easy. No one of achievement has avoided failure – sometimes catastrophic failures. But they keep at it. They learn from mistakes. They don’t 37 .

　 When I first arrived on this 38 , I was with little money, fewer options. But it was here that I tried to find my place in this world. I knew I wanted to make a difference, but it was 39 how in fact I’d go about it. But I wanted to do my part to 40 a better world.

　 So even as I worked after graduation in a few 41 jobs here in New York, even as I went from motley (鱼龙混杂的)apartment to motley apartment, I 42 .

　 … And I wish I could say that this perseverance came from some innate (天生的)toughness in me. But the truth is, it was 43 . I got it from 44 the people who raised me. I grew up as the son of a single mom who struggled to put herself through 45 and make ends meet. She had a marriage that fell apart; 46 went on food stamps at one point to help us 47 . But she didn’t quit. And she earned her degree, and made sure that 48 scholarships and hard work, my sister and I earned 49 .

And 50 , I met a woman who was assigned to advise me on my first summer job at a law firm. And she gave me such good advice that I married her. And Michelle and I gave everything we had to balance our careers and a 51 family. We made that marriage work.

… So 52 it’s starting a business, or running for office, or 53 an amazing family, remember that making your 54 on the world is hard. It takes patience. It takes commitment. It comes with plenty of 55 and it comes with plenty of failures.

36. A. compete B. persevere C. struggle D. preservation

37. A. rest　　　　　　　　　 B. decline　　　　　　　　　　 C. quit　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. regret

38. A. campus　　　　　　 B. downtown　　　　 C. farm　　　　　　　　　　　 D. country　　

39. A. confident　　　　　 B. uncertain　　　　　　　　 C. ambitious　　　　　　　　 D. proud

40. A. shape　　　　　　　　 B. instruct　　　　　　 　　　 C. organize　　　　　　　　　 D. lead

41. A. amazing　　　　　　 B. disturbing　　　　　　　　 C. meaningful　　　 D. unsatisfactory

42. A. reached out B. put out　　　　　　　　　　 C. gave out　　　　　　　　　 D. made out

43. A. presented B. structured C. learned D. created

44. A. copying B. detecting C. persuading　　　　 D. watching　

45. A. life　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. work　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. school　　　　　　　 D. business

46. A. yet B. even C. still D. also

47. A. get by B. come by C. get along　　　　　　　　 D. come along

48. A. during　　　　　　　　 B. through　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. across　　　　　　　 D. over　

49. A. mine B. us C. ours D. hers

50. A. for the time being B. long before　　　　　　　 C. up to now　　　　　　　 D. later on

51. A. young B. poor C. weak　　　　　　　　　　　 D. strong

52. A. as if B. if C. whether　　　　　　　　　 D. unless　　　　　　　

53. A. rising　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. raising　　　　　　　　　　 C. arousing　　　　　　　　　 D. arising

54. A. view B. stay C. remark　　　　　　　　　　 D. mark

55. A. goals B. advantages C. shortcomings　　　　　 D. setbacks

 All the photographs in this book, _______ stated otherwise, date from the 1970s.

   A. until      B. once       C. if          D. unless

Since people are fond of humor, it is as welcome in conversation as _______ else.

   A. anything     B. something     C. anywhere     D. somewhere

 Everyone wants to live in a beautiful, comfortable and “livable” place, but not

______ know where it is.

A. all     B. some      C. either       D. both

 ______ in color, the garden looks dull in this late fall.

   A. Lack      B. Lacked    C. Lacking      D. To lack

--- Albert, I have a favor to ask you.

--- _______.

　 A. It’s a pleasure　 B. Go ahead　　 C. Help yourself　　 D. It doesn’t matter

 “The moment ______ soon,” he thought to himself, waiting nervously.

    A. is coming     B. was coming      C. came       D. has come