The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space showed it as a solid ball covered by brown land masses and blue-green oceans. We had never seen the Earth from that distance before. To us, it appeared as though the Earth had always looked that way and always would.   Scientists now know, however, that the surface of the Earth is not as permanent as we had thought.

Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents moves about the Earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the Earth’s outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again.

Only since the 1960s have scientists really began to understand that the planet Earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents—a science called plate tectonics.

The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War One, Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He proposed that the two continents might have been one and then split apart.  

Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago, explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and South Africa. What the explorers did not do, but Wegener did, was to investigate the idea that the continents move.

4. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage?

A. The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space.

B. Human’s recognition of the earth’s surface.

C. The German scientist Alfred Wegener.

D. The early explorers’ discovery.

5. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. We didn’t see the Earth from far away until we saw the picture taken in the space.

B. Our ancient thought that the surface of the earth is still.

C. Alfred Wegener was not the first person to investigate the idea that the continents move.

D. The coastline of India and Africa fit together.

6. The last word of the third paragraph “tectonics” mean “________”.

A. study of construction                             B. study of architecture        

C. earth surface                                         D. structural geology

7. What did the explorers find?

A. The coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together.

B. The coastlines of North America and Africa could fit together.

C. The east coastlines of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together.

D. The coastlines of North America and India could fit together.

The Blind Boy

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a    11       which said: I am blind, please help. There were only a few    12   in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his    13    and dropped them into the hat. He    14    took the sign, turned it around and wrote some words. He    15    the sign so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to    16   . A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had     17    the sign came to see how things were. The boy     18     his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said: “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said in a different way, though.” What he had written was: “Today is a (n)    19    day and I cannot see it.”

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both sign simply said the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so    20    that they were not blind.

       Should we be surprised that the second sign was more    21    ?

Be thankful for what you have. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1,000 reasons to    22   . Face your past without regret(后悔).    23    your present with confidence(自信). Prepare for the    24    without fear. Keep the faith（信念）and    25  the fear.

A. cover          B. sign         C. board             D. note

A. cashes         B. treasures      C. pennies           D. coins

A. pocket         B. can          C. backpack          D. case

A. still           B. then          C. already           D. yet

A. put on         B. put out        C. put off           D. put back

A. mix up        B. show up       C. fill up            D. make up

A. changed       B. prepared       C. supported         D. reached

A. realized       B. recognized     C. felt               D. discovered

A. average       B. successful      C. harmonious        D. beautiful

A. happy        B. disappointed    C. lucky             D. strange

A. effective      B. brave          C. surprising         D. scientific

A. smile        B. exist          C. survive            D. prove

A. Look into     B. Search for       C. Deal with         D. Depend on

A. tomorrow     B. adventure       C. future            D. sunrise

A. preserve      B. charge          C. keep             D. drop

“Creativity is the key to a brighter future,” says education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.

If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as of great importance: a new type of tape. Drew worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Drew improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking about and developing new ideas.   

Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence. The fact that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.

Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can’t recognize ways to use it in new situations. They may know the rules correctly but they are unable to use them to work out practical problems.

It is important to give children choices. From the earliest age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it’s choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money. This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble.

What did the company where Drew once worked learn from its mistake?

   A. They should encourage people to work a longer time.

   B. People should be discouraged to think freely.

C. People will do better if they spend most of their work time developing new ideas.

D. It is necessary for people to spend some of their work time considering and improving new ideas.  

According to the passage, creativity is ________.

A. something that most people are born with

B. something that depends mainly on intelligence

C. a way of using what one has learned to work out new problems

D. something that is not important to the character of a person at all

Why do schools tend to fail to encourage creativity?

A. They give children too many choices.

B. They are not strict enough with children.

C. They care too much about examination marks.

D. They don’t understand the importance of education.

Which of the following skills is the most important in developing creativity?

   A. Reading.     B. Writing.     C. Mathematical skill.      D. Decision-making.

“Creativity is the key to a brighter future,” say education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.

If Dick had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as of great importance: a new type of tape. Dick worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Dick improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking about and developing new ideas.

Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence. The fact that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.

Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can’t recognize ways to use it in new situation. They may know the rules correctly but they are unable to use them to Work out practical problems.

It is important to give children choices. From the earlier age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it’s choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money. This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble.

What did the company where Dick once worked learn from its mistake?

  A. They encouraged people to work a longer time.

  B. They discouraged people to think freely.

  C. They asked people to spend all their work time developing new ideas.

  D. They encouraged people to spend some of their work time considering and improving new ideas.

Creativity is something __

   A. that people are born with

   B. that depends on intelligence

   C. that is a way of using what one has learnt to work out new problems

   D. that is not important at all

Why don’t schools try to encourage creativity?

   A. They don’t understand the importance of education.

   B. They don’t want their students to make mistakes.

   C. They pay too much attention to exam marks, language and mathematical skills.

   D. They think it more important to remember some information.

What should the parents do when their children decide how to spend their money?

   A. Try to help them as much as possible. B. Take no notice of whatever they do.

   C. Leave them as they are.   D. Help them if their decision is wrong, but not too much..

What is the basis of 'sick' humor? Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up. The sense of humor is mysteriously connected with national characteristics. A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears.

 Most funny stories are based on comic situations. In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal appeal. No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Chaplin's early films. However, a new type of humor, which comes largely from US, has recently come into fashion. It is called 'sick humor'. Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent death or serious accidents. Many people find this sort of joke distasteful. The following example of 'sick humor' will enable you to judge for yourself.

A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas. From the moment he arrived there, he kept on begging his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home. He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital and missing the fun. Though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery was slow. On Christmas day, the man still had his right leg in plaster. He spent a miserable day in bed sadly. The following day, however, the doctor comforted him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good.

The man took heart and sure enough, on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble（蹒跚）along to a party. In order to make up for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him. In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals. He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.

The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________.

A. he thought he would miss the New Year’s Eve celebration

B. the doctor had failed to cure him

C. he hated the hospital and his roommates

D. being unable to walk, he could not enjoy himself.

The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humor” is that________.

   A. the man should have said how much he hated hospitals

   B. the man had not got a leg to stand on

C. no sooner had the man been out of hospital than he had to go back in again

D. being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebration

What can you learn about the man from the story?

A. The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him.

B. He had to go to hospital again though he hated it.

C. On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party.

D. At the party, he enjoyed himself but only drank a little.