Bexley Middle School eighth-graders won the grand prize at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition (TM) on Feb. 18 in Washington, D.C. They competed with 37 other schools across the country.
The students qualified for the national competition by winning a regional competition on Jan. 17 in Columbus. By winning the national event, the students earned an all-expenses paid trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., according to a Bexley school district news report.
Future City aims to stir (激发) interest in science, technology, engineering and math among young people. Bexley team members were Tom Krajnak, Abby Sharp, Wyatt Peery, Elizabeth Maher, Aaron Hutchinson and Truman Haycock. They work in teams under the guidance of a teacher, Margaret Englehardt, and a volunteer engineer, Mark Sherman, design and build a city of tomorrow. Mayor John Brennan presented the students during a recent Bexley City Council meeting. Each team in the Future City competition plans its city using Sim City software and creates a model to show a physical representation of one section of the city. Team members must write both an essay about the yearly theme and an abstract about their city. They also must make a presentation to judges.
Focusing on eco-responsibility, the Bexley team built “Novo-Mondum,” an Icelandic city in the year 2171. Krajnak said the team’s project included a new water system for each resident unit and a 500-word essay on using bacteria to purify water. “We used our essay and abstract (摘要) to build a model,” he said. “It was hard to organize which building would go where, what each building does and how to make it look good.”
Englehardt said her students did a good job answering impromptu (即席) questions during the regional competition. “They can think on their feet,” she said. Principal Harley Williams said the school is very proud of the students’ performance.
【小题1】.. From the passage we can learn that the grand prize winners will _________.

A．receive scholarship for further studies

B．get a free trip to Space Camp in Huntsville

C．earn a large sum of money for their designs

D．be admitted to universities without exams

A．always stand still in the competition

B．react very quickly to the questions

C．prepare for the questions in advance

D．take pride in the advisers’ performance

For most of us, our house is our home base, and having a happy and pleasant vibe (氛围) in all of our rooms is important.
1. ... Adding color to any room can help you feel more cheerful, and it can be done pretty quickly! Consider painting just one wall a lively color. A bright red, a peaceful green or even a lively yellow completely changes the feel.
2. ... First of all, think flower power! Fresh flowers are very easy to get at your local grocery market, and they make any room seem more alive. Plants have the same positive effect. Another way to celebrate life is to surround yourself with images of friends and family. Don’t keep your photos in albums or in your computer. Put them up on the walls to remind yourself of your favorite times and your favorite people.
3. ... The more points of light in any room, the better it will be. Especially as the days are getting shorter, having warm lighting will help you feel full of energy and alive through the winter months. In your bedroom, put a lamp on either side of your bed. Installing dimmers (调光器) is also a simple and inexpensive way to make the mood of a room easy to change. At dimmers.net, for example, you can get a dimmer for just $17.75.
4. ... You begin and end almost every day in your bedroom, so make the room comfortable! Have proper bedding and pillows (枕头). Keep your bedroom as tidy as possible, and remove anything that will interfere with your sleep. Get your new pillows and bedding at bedbathandbeyond.com.
5. Take control It’s this simple: Clear space =" A" clear mind. Keep desktops, countertops and tabletops open. Put the papers, files and other things away. Not only will your home feel cleaner, it will feel a whole lot bigger!
1. What’s the purpose of this passage?
A. To tell us what is a good life.  
B. To tell us how to decorate our houses.
C. To give us some tips on how to have a better mood.
D. To tell us how to have a happy and comfortable home.
2. What does the underlined phrase “interfere with” mean?
A. Get in the way of.                    B. Protect from.
C. Deal with.                       D. Keep away from.
3. Match each of the first four tips with one of the following titles.
a. Get comfortable.
b. Celebrate life.
c. Let there be light.
d. Color your way to happiness.
A. 1-d 2-c 3-a 4-b                  B. 1-a 2-b 3-c 4-d
C. 1-d 2-b 3-a 4-c            D. 1-d 2-b 3-c 4-a
4. In which section of a newspaper would you most probably read this passage?
A. Teaching.          B. Family.      C. Housing.   D. Life.

请阅读下列某书店各书架的相关信息：
Section A: Do-It-Yourself Section---On these shelves customers can find the latest manuals on how to do everything from building a computer to constructing your own home.
Section B: Sports & Leisure Section--Stocks a large range of the latest books on your favorite sporting teams and events. Pick up the perfect Father's Day present here.
Section C: Humor Section--A great selection of joke books, funny stories and wonderful real life adventures that are sure to keep the reader laughing for days.
Section D: Business & Finance--Students, business people or anyone interested in the world of commerce are certain to find the book they are after here. We have special subsection for international trade and e-commerce.
Section E: Biography--Find out about the lives of your favorite sports stars, singers, actors and other famous people from today and the past. Learn what they had to go through to become successful and the effect it had on their lives.
Section F: Education--Has a huge range of textbooks and supplementary material covering all the major high school and university subjects. Buyers showing their student cards receive a 15% discount on all purchases from this section.
阅读下列关于各书籍的信息，匹配书籍与其所应放置的书架：
【小题1】The Delighted Eye--by Prof. John Nash--The 1994 Nobel Prize Winner for Economics, whose ideas have influenced a generation of the world's greatest economic minds, tells his life story: growing up in a small town in America, becoming one of America' s most influential mathematicians and his battles with mental illness.
【小题2】Mother Tongue: The English Language -- by Bill Bryson-- Bryson ' s book is a journey through the history and different aspects of the English language, one that is both informative and hugely entertaining. As with most of Bryson's books, fun comes before facts and readers will be left with a smile on their faces.
【小题3】Into Thin Air--by John Krakauer--is a riveting first-hand account of a disastrous race to the top of Mount Everest.  In March 1996, "Outside" magazine sent veteran journalist and experienced climber John Krakauer to join the team led by the famous Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of the race eight people were dead.
【小题4】 Ready Made: How to Make (Almost) Everything--by Shoshena Berger and Grace Hawthorne--beautifully written with great factual information. The theme behind this book is re-use, re-claim, re-cycle and there are many detailed easy-to-do projects for the reader to try such as making a photo frame from a book cover or a pot for your plants from plastic shopping bags.                             
【小题5】The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron--by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind--As the title suggests the authors cover the rise of the American electricity company to become one of the 10 richest companies in the world and its spectacular fall into dishonor and bankruptcy. A perfect guide on what not to do in business.

信息匹配（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。
Section A: Do-It-Yourself Section -- On these shelves customers can find the latest manuals(手册) on how to do everything from building a computer to constructing(building) your own home.
Section B: Sports & Leisure Section -- Stocks a large range of the latest books on your favourite sporting teams and events. Pick up the perfect Father’s Day present here.
Section C: Humour Section -- A great selection of joke books, funny stories and wonderful real life adventures that are sure to keep the reader laughing for days.
Section D: Business & Finance - Students, business people or anyone interested in the world of commerce are certain to find the book they are after here. We have special subsection for international trade and e-commerce.
Section E: Biography - Find out about the lives of your favourite sports stars, singers, actors and other famous people from today and the past. Learn what they had to go through to become successful and the effect it had on their lives.
Section F: Education - Has a huge range of textbooks and supplementary material covering all the major high school and university subjects. Buyers showing their student cards receive a 15% discount on all purchases from this section.
阅读下列关于各书籍的信息，匹配书籍与其所应放置的书架：
【小题1】The Delighted Eye - by Prof. John Nash - The 1994 Nobel Prize Winner for Economics, whose ideas have influenced a generation of the world’s greatest economic minds, tells his life story: growing up in a small town in America, becoming one of America’s most influential mathematicians and his battles with mental illness.
【小题2】 Mother Tongue: The English Language - by Bill Bryson - Bryson’s book is a journey through the history and different aspects of the English language , one that is both informative and hugely entertaining. As with most of Bryson’s books, fun comes before facts and readers will be left with a smile on their faces.
【小题3】Into Thin Air - by John Krakauer - is a riveting first-hand account of a disastrous race to the top of Mount Everest. In March 1996, `Outside’ magazine sent veteran journalist and experienced climber John Krakauer to join the team led by the famous Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of the race eight people were dead.
【小题4】ReadyMade: How to Make (Almost) Everything - by Shoshana Berger - beautifully written with great factual information. The theme behind this book is re-use, re-claim, re-cycle and there are many detailed easy-to-do projects for the reader to try such as making a photo frame(相框) from a book cover or a pot for your plants from plastic shopping bags.
【小题5】The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron - by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind - As the title suggests the authors cover the rise of the American electricity company to become one of the 10 richest companies in the world and its spectacular fall into dishonour and bankruptcy(破产). A perfect guide on what not to do in business.

　　How many coins nave you got in your pocket right now? Three? Two？ A bent one？

　　With a phonecard you can make up to 200 calls without any change at all.

　　（1） What do you do with it?

　　Go to a telephone box marked（you guessed it） “phonecard”.Put in your card, make your call and when you’ve finished, a screen tells you how much is left on your card.

　　（2） Now appear in a shop near you.

　　Near each Cardphone place you’ll find a shop where you can buy one. They’re at bus, train and city tube stations（地铁）.

　　Many universities, hospitals and clubs. Restaurants and gas stations on the highway and shopping centres. At airports and seaports.

　　（3） No more broken payphones.

　　Most broken payphones are like that because they’ve been vandalized（故意破坏）. There are no coins in Cardphone to excite thieves’ interest in it. So you’re not probably to find a vandalized one.

　　Get a phonecard yourself and try it out ,or get a bigger wallet.

　　　The passage is most probably ________ .

　　A. a warning

　　B. a note

　　C. an advertisement（广告）

　　D. an announcement

　　　There are three sections（部分） in the passage. Which section do you think is about why phonecards are good?

　　A. Section 1．　　　　　　　　　　B. Section 2．

　　C. Section 3．　　　　　　　　　　D. None.

　　Choose the right order or the steps under“How do you use a phonecard”.

　　a. Put in your phonecard.

　　b. Look at the screen to find out how many calls you can still make.

　　c. Go to a telephone box marked “Phonecard”.

　　d. Make your call.

　　A. a, b, c, d　　　　　　　　　　　 B. c, a, d, b

　　C. a, d, c, b　　　　　　　　　　　 D. c, d, a, b