A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for charity(慈善).

Terence, an experienced traveller who has been to Iraq, will be the guest of honour on aviation(航行) legend Burt Rutan’s Spaceship One when it flies above Earth. The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his return the cuddly toy will be auctioned off(拍卖) in aid of the North Air Ambulance Appeal(北部空中救护服务中心).

Spaceship One is the world’s first private spacecraft, and is competing for a prestigious space travel prize. Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), Graham Pickering, said “flying officer” Terence had been handed over to the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him ever since.

He said, “Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off. We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft, trying parachuting and even looking drunk and disorderly. When the RAF finally discharge him he will be a very rare bear indeed—we just hope he does not burn up on re-entry to Earth.”

GNAAS, which needs charitable donations of more than ￡2m a year, has three air ambulances(空中救护机).

Peter Bond, spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society, said Terence’s safety was not guaranteed. He said, “This is a new and experimental craft and this will only be the second time it has flown. During its first voyage it developed technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved.”

Since May, Terence has spent time with members of 100 Squadron(空军中队) based at RAF Leeming in Basra, Iraq, and at air shows with performing fighter planes.

Spaceship One will fly 100km (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface, just breaking through the planet’s atmosphere.

If it repeats the feat(技艺) inside two weeks, it will claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize set up to encourage the private space flight business.

Terence is ________.

A. a real bear living in England           B. an experienced astronaut

C. an air force officer                         D. a toy bear

We can infer that________.

A. after this space flight, Spaceship One will get the $10m Ansari X-Prize

B. it is dangerous for a spaceship to re-enter the earth atmosphere

C. Terence will be very safe on the flight

D. Spaceship One is just an ordinary plane

Which of the following is true of Spaceship One?

A. Spaceship One is the world’s first spacecraft.

B. The purpose of its flight is to collect money for the charity.

C. The purpose of its flight is to compete for a prestigious space travel prize.

D. Spaceship One has never flown.

Which of the following is the best title?

A. Teddy bear astronaut to lift off        B. Spaceship One to lift off

C. Space flight                                 D. The toy bear will be auctioned off

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Wranglers（争吵者） and Stranglers（扼杀者）

Years ago there was a group of brilliant young men at the University of Wisconsin, who seemed to have amazing creative  36   talent. They were would-be poets, novelists, and essayists. They were extraordinary in their   37    to put the English language to its best use. These promising young men  38   regularly to read and critique (评论) each other's work. And critique it they did!

These men were merciless with one another. They  39   the minutest literary expression into a hundred pieces. They were heartless, tough, even mean in their  40   .The sessions became such areas of literary criticism that the  41   of this special club called themselves the “Stranglers (扼杀者)”.

In order to  42   , the women of literary talent in the university  43   to start a club of their own, one comparable to the Stranglers. They  44   themselves the “Wranglers (争论者)”.They, too, read their  45   one another. But there was one great difference. The criticism was much softer, more  46   , more encouraging. Sometimes, there was almost no criticism at all. Every effort, even the weakest one, was   47   .

Twenty years later an alumnus (男校友；男毕业生) of the university was making an exhaustive (详尽的；彻底的)  48    of his classmates' careers when he   49    a vast difference in the literary accomplishments of the Stranglers as opposed to the Wranglers. Of all the  50   young men in the Stranglers, no one had made a significant literary   51    of any kind. From the Wranglers had come six or more successful   52   , some of national renown (名望；声誉) such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who wrote The Yearling.

Talent between the two？Probably the same. Level of   53   ？Not much difference. But the Stranglers were strangled, while the Wranglers were determined to give each other a(an)   54   .The Stranglers   55    an atmosphere of argument and self-doubt. The Wranglers highlighted the best, not the worst.

1.A. architectural              B. artistic                   C. literary                  D. musical

2.A. strength                      B. ability                    C. performance       D. power

3.A. gathered                             B. organized    C. challenged           D. collected

4.A. turned                        B. translated    C. combined    D. divided

5.A. appreciation              B. criticism                C. assessment           D. judgment

6.A. leaders                       B. organizers  C. members              D. arrangers

7.A. participate                           B. practice                C. succeed                D. compete

8.A. determined               B. agreed                  C. promised     D. dreamed

9.A. regarded                             B. called                    C. thought                 D. recognized

10.A. works                        B. letters                   C. books                    D. papers

11.A. fantastic                            B. critical                   C. positive                 D. serious

12.A. required                            B. spared                   C. made                     D. encouraged

13.A. experiment             B. study            C. analysis                 D. judgment

14.A. reflected                           B. resolved               C. explained    D. noticed

15.A. optimistic                          B. confident              C. bright                    D. honest

16.A. achievement                    B. influence              C. contribution         D. improvement

17.A. engineers                          B. writers                  C. doctors                 D. lawyers

18.A. courage                             B. patience               C. education    D. skill

19.A. reward                     B. favor            C. honor                    D. lift

20.A. ruined                      B. lightened              C. promoted             D. enjoyed

 

FFather was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes，hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better. paid job. Except. for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.
Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing，fine food and vacation abroad.
However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he took another course in an open university.
Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Happily, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium.  Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients.
 Over again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
As expected, Father's hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take any more courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to
his family, and it was a promise.
Father did not wake up the next day.
【小题1】Father worked and studied very hard because ________.

A．he had to support his family

B．he was enthusiastic in attending classes

C．he wanted to bring his family a better lire

D．he had to so as to reduce his family’s complaint

【小题2】What CAN’T Father get through his hard work?

A．Family time.

B．Higher education.

C．Better housing.

D．Vacation abroad.

【小题3】How would the family feel when “Father did not wake up the next day”?

A．To their joy, Father can have a good rest in the end.

B．They should have stopped Father from working so hard.

C．Thank God, Father can stay home with them.

D．There is no point working hard for a better life.

【小题4】What is the function of the italicized(斜体)paragraphs in this passage?

A．To make readers show sympathy for Father.

B．To show how stubborn Father was.

C．To make readers fee l how hard Father worked.

D．To imply a sad ending to the story.

For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D．Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Is there a job for you after college? What does the world of work keep in store for you? That   50   in large measure on who you are.

If you’ve enjoyed your studies in English and history,   50  , you’ll be glad to know that in a recent survey by Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York State, a majority of CEOs said that the liberal arts (文科) are essential for   52   critical thinking and problem-solving skills．If you thought college was for acquiring specific work skills, only 37 percent of the CEOs in the survey agree with you.

If you plan to start your career as a secretary, be aware that this job is undergoing tremendous   53  ．In offices where secretaries have not already been eliminated, the

  54   role of a clerk is now unrecognizable．Most bosses   55   their own mails and meetings and travel plans, thanks to e-mail and the Internet, so secretaries are   56   taking on higher-level tasks such as drafting contracts and handling customer service problems．Those willing to expand their   57   should do well.

If you are a woman interested in law enforcement (执法), note that some states and cities are working hard to reach   58   standards for female applicants．Although most small suburban police departments are deeply traditional, and some are   59   even to employ woman, among the nation’s largest forces about 15 percent of the officers are female, five times as many as a generation ago.

Degrees in sports management are also   60  ．Two hundred U.S colleges and universities, 10 times as many in 1985, now   61   undergraduate courses in sports management, and some have advanced degree programs．At some school you can also combine an MBA in sports management with a law degree.

  62  , if you’ve set your sights on a traditional MBA, take heart．MBA recruitment (招聘) is way up, and salaries are   63  ．But money isn’t all today’s MBAs are looking for．A recent study of nearly 1,800 MBA students in the United States and Canada found that 68 percent   64   the statement, “My family will always be more important than my career.”

1.A．concentrates        B．depends         C．takes             D．passes

2.A．by comparison        B．as a result         C．for instance        D．in return

3.A．developing          B．discouraging      C．confirming D．appreciating

4.A．troubles            B．pains         C．tests            D．changes

5.A．active               B．small             C．useful             D．traditional

6.A．await                B．handle           C．transfer         D．classify

7.A．increasingly         B．unwillingly C．diligently D．intentionally

8.A．horizons            B．activities        C．organizations    D．operations

9.A．medium            B．high              C．fair             D．legal

10.A．keen              B．resolved          C．reluctant          D．qualified

11.A．on display           B．at an end          C．at rest            D．on the rise

12.A．cancel             B．offer              C．register           D．drop

13.A．Contrarily         B．Consequently    C．Finally             D．Strictly

14.A．competitive        B．moderate         C．fixed          D．regular

15.A．give out            B．agree with        C．wonder about    D．focus on

 

At a psychology conference in England years ago, a woman said to me: “I’ll knock you up in the morning.” I was taken aback by her strange suggestion, but it occurred to me that I might not have understood what she really meant. As it turned out, what she had meant was, “I’ll knock on your door in the morning so that we can meet for breakfast to discuss the panel we’re on.”
This example of the difference in the meaning of “knock you up” in British and American English shows the complicated situations that can result from cultural misunderstandings. A cultural misunderstanding occurs when something — a word, gesture, object, social context, or almost anything you can think of — has a different meaning in two cultures. Sometimes the misunderstandings get resolved, sometimes they lead nowhere, and sometimes they can become the starting point of something much more extreme, from love to war.
Race is one area where cultural misunderstandings are common. We Americans tend to assume that racial categories are biological rather than social, so it may not occur to us that people from other cultures have a different set of racial concepts and classify themselves and us differently. Some African Americans complain that certain immigrants from other countries, such as Haiti or Jamaica, “act as if they aren’t black.” The cultural misunderstanding is that, in the immigrants’ countries of origin, they would never describe themselves as “black”. This doesn’t mean that they think they are white. It just means that their cultures have more categories, like marabou or grimaud in Haiti, or fair or brown in Jamaica, than are used in the United States. Meanwhile, white people in America, unaware of this cultural diversity, sometimes refer to all darker-skinned people as “black” without realizing that an issue exists.
Resolving cultural misunderstandings can clear the air or even lead to laughter. Sometimes, though, when it comes to race, unidentified cultural misunderstandings can create tension, unhappiness and distrust.
【小题1】The main purpose of the first paragraph is to       .

A．show that language misunderstandings would cause big problems

B．show the differences between British and American English

C．explain in general what cultural misunderstandings are

D．introduce the idea of cultural misunderstandings with a story

【小题2】The underlined word “resolved” probably means       .

A．complicated

B．settled

C．accepted

D．noticed

【小题3】We can learn from the passage that cultural misunderstandings      .

A．mostly come from body language

B．are the most serious social problem in the US

C．can cause negative feelings among people

D．can be cleared up with laughter

【小题4】What is the author’s opinion about cultural misunderstandings?

A．There’s no need to notice racial differences.

B．Haitians prefer to be described as fair or brown.

C．Cultural misunderstandings based on racial categories may be difficult to spot.

D．Americans are especially likely to misunderstand people from other cultures.