When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety…But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-Kilometer- an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．

　 “Storm chasing (追逐)”is becoming an increasingly popular hobby，especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to l,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．

　  Although anyone can do it，storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm  can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm - chasing vacations during the storm season．

　  Even then，storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％driving，”says Daniel Lynch，who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you

Can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen，and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”

　  However，for storm chasers，it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm，it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life，”says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”

1.For storm chasing，the first thing storm chasers do is to　　　 ．

A．head straight for the center of the storm

B．get into the car for safety

C．wait patiently for the storm to develop

D．collect information about a coming storm

2.Beginners of storm chasing are advised　　　　

　 

A．not to drive in a heavy rain

B．to do it in an organized way

C．not to get too close to a storm

D．to spend more time on it in summer

3.By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph，the author means that　　　

A．storm chasing costs a lot of money

B．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

C．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

D．a storm presents the greatest show on Earth

4.What can we learn from the text?

A．Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment．

B．Many storm chasers get killed in the storms．

C．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world．

D．Storm chasing is only fit for young people

 

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。

　　Darwin was a great scientist．He studied living things in the world．

　　He said，“There are thousands of different living things．But in the past，the number was smaller．In the far past，a still smaller number．And at the be-ginning，perhaps only one．”

　　Darwin waited a long time before he put these things into a book．He always tried to add more and more facts；he wanted his ideas about evolution（进化）to be right．

　　It took him many years to write the book．At the beginning，people bought every copy．However，men of churches fought against Darwin's ideas．His story of the world was different from theirs．So either Darwin or the men of the churches must be wrong．But the churches didn't bring any new facts，or better ideas．They only brought angry words．

　　Later，Darwin wrote a book about the evolution of man．He said that man is also a kind of animal．And again，Darwin didn't just write down his own ideas，he filled his book with facts to support his theory．We know now that he was right．It's now widely believed that there have been mankind on our earth for more than a million years．We have found some of the palaeoanthropic（远古人的）bone fossils（化石）and those of other living things millions of years ago．These bone fossils have told us about the evolution of living things．

　　Like any other animal，man has slowly evoluted through time．But we can't find the bone of man like us from a few million years ago．The world's animals were different then．

　　But the bones can take us backwards（向后）through time into the past．And

they can help us with our study of the evolution of life．

1．Darwin believed that ________．

[　　]

A．there were living things in the past

B．there would be a small number of living things in the future

C．the number of living things had always been growing

D．there were one thousand living things in the past

2．The men of the churches ________．

[　　]

A．had new facts

B．had better ideas

C．agreed with Darwin

D．were angry with Darwin's theory

3．There were ________in Darwin's book．

[　　]

A．only view points

B．only facts

C．both viewpoints and facts

D．angry words

4．The men's bone fossils are important because ________．

[　　]

A．they help us with the study of the evolution of life

B．they prove that everything Darwin said was true

C．they show what men looked like in the past

D．they tell us that there were men a few million years ago

When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety…But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-Kilometer- an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．
　 “Storm chasing (追逐)”is becoming an increasingly popular hobby，especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to l,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．
　  Although anyone can do it，storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm  can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm - chasing vacations during the storm season．
　  Even then，storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％driving，”says Daniel Lynch，who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you
Can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen，and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
　  However，for storm chasers，it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm，it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life，”says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”
【小题1】For storm chasing，the first thing storm chasers do is to　　　 ．

A．head straight for the center of the storm

B．get into the car for safety

C．wait patiently for the storm to develop

D．collect information about a coming storm

【小题2】Beginners of storm chasing are advised　　　　
　 

A．not to drive in a heavy rain

B．to do it in an organized way

C．not to get too close to a storm

D．to spend more time on it in summer

【小题3】By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph，the author means that　　　

A．storm chasing costs a lot of money

B．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

C．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

D．a storm presents the greatest show on Earth

【小题4】What can we learn from the text?

A．Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment．

B．Many storm chasers get killed in the storms．

C．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world．

D．Storm chasing is only fit for young people

The Mother Goose Stories, so well known to children all over the word, are commonly said to have been written by a little old woman for her grandchildren. According to some people, she lived in Boston, and her real name was Elizabeth Vergoose. Her son-in-law, a printer named Thomas Fleet, was supposed to have published the famous stories and poems for small children in 1719. However, no copy of this book has ever been found, and most scholars doubt the truth of this story—and doubt, moreover, that Mother Goose was ever a real person. They point out that the name is a direct translation of the French “Mere I’ Oye.” In 1697 the Frenchman Charles Perrault published the first book in which this name was used. The collection contains eight tales, including “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” and “Puss in Boots.” But Perrault did not originate these stories; they were already quite popular in his day, and he only collected them.

In 1729 there appeared an English translation of Perrault’s collection,Robert Samber’s Histories or Tales of Past times, Told by MotherGoose(London,1729), which introduced “Sleeping Beauty”, “Little Red-hood”, “Puss in Boots”,”Cinderella” and other Perrault’s tales to English-speaking audiences. These were fairy tales(童话)。 John Newbery published a book of English rhymes，Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle( London, undated,1765), which switched the focus from fairy tale to nursery  rhymes, and in English this was until recently the primary meaning for Mother Goose.A book of poems for children entitled Mother Goose’s Melody was published in England in1781, and the name “Mother Goose” has been associated with children’s poetry ever since.

1.What is supposed to have happened in 1719?

　 A.　Elizabeth Vergoose wrote the first Mother Goose Stories.

　 B.　 The Mother Goose Stories were translated into French.

　 C.　 Thomas Fleet published the Mother Goose Stories.

　 D.　Charles Perrault published the first Mother Goose Stories.

2. Most scholars consider Mother Goose to be _________.

　　 A. a real person                                                 B. a translation from French

 　　C. a collection by Elizabeth Vergoose          D.　 a book written by a little old woman

3.When Perrault published the first book in 1679, _______.

　　 A. no story of the book had been known to people

　　 B. some stories of the book were already well known

　　 C. few people were interested in the stories of the book

　　 D. stories like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” became popular

4.The name used in the first book published in 1679 is supposed to have been _______.

　A. Mother Goose         B. Charles Perrault C. Elizabeth Vergoose  D. Mere I’ Oye 

5.When people talk about Mother Goose, they refer to,___________

     A.    a printer of Boston          B. a kind of animal

     C.    children’s  poetry            D. the  French “Mere L’oye

 

[l]When you have a question about something, where do you go? For many people the answer is simple．They go online to a search engine like Google or Yahoo．But what about people in rural or underdeveloped areas who ___________________?

　 [2]A consultant in California, Rose Shuman, has found the answer．Her solution is Question Box．Question Box is a service that provides answers—free of charge—for people who cannot search the Internet directly．

　 [3]Question Box began two years ago in India．As Rose Shuman said: "You just push a button, a big green button, and that will connect you directly to our operators who are sitting in front of computers, and speak your language．And you can ask them any sort of question you want, and they'll look it up in English or in Hindi, or whatever the main language is, and translate the answer right back for you．"

　 [4]The service is currently offered in two villages．The latest version of the box uses mobile phone technology and solar panels in case the electrical power fails．Rose Shuman said the aim was to make the box as easy as possible for users．

　 [5]Question Box has expanded to Uganda where the Internet service has proved slow also ask about current events and many other subjects．It's believed that Question Box will play an important part in the development of undeveloped areas.

1. What's the main idea of this passage? （no more than 15 words

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　

2. Please fill in the blank in Paragraph 1 with proper words. （no more than 8 words）

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

3．Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning with the following?

　 The newly-invented Question Box works with the help of mobile phone technology and the use of solar energy in case of electricity failure．

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

4. Sum up the three steps to get the information you need from Question Box．（no more than 10 words for each）

　 ①We　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　 ________　 .

　 ②We　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 _________ .

　 ③The operators　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 .

5. Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 into Chinese.