Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet (喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures (建筑物) float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string (细绳), it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Switching off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space.
【小题1】What information can we get from the first passage?

A．It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.

B．Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.

C．It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.

D．The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic.

【小题2】The word “shoot” underlined in the 2nd passage probably means “__________”.

A．send for	B．move quickly
C．come out	D．grow quickly

【小题3】It can be inferred that without gravity __________.

A．buildings and other structures would float away

B．trees and buildings would not so easily fly off

C．something around your head would not float away

D．everything outside buildings would fly off into space

【小题4】Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage?

A．It takes seven hours to travel from London to New York.

B．The earth is moving at a high speed

C．Everything on the earth will float away if there’s no gravity.

D．Everything not attached to the earth would fly off in a straight line.

【小题5】Where can we most probably read this text?

A．In a research paper.

B．In a short story.

C．In a travel magazine.

D．In a student’s book.

Have you ever wondered?

1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?

It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet (喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.

2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?

Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures (建筑物) float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string (细绳), it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Switching off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space.

1.What information can we get from the first passage?

A．It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.

B．Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.

C．It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.

D．The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic.

2.The word “shoot” underlined in the 2nd passage probably means “__________”.

A．send for                              B．move quickly

C．come out                             D．grow quickly

3.It can be inferred that without gravity __________.

A．buildings and other structures would float away

B．trees and buildings would not so easily fly off

C．something around your head would not float away

D．everything outside buildings would fly off into space

4.Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage?

A．It takes seven hours to travel from London to New York.

B．The earth is moving at a high speed

C．Everything on the earth will float away if there’s no gravity.

D．Everything not attached to the earth would fly off in a straight line.

5.Where can we most probably read this text?

A．In a research paper.

B．In a short story.

C．In a travel magazine.

D．In a student’s book.

 

Before you can start speaking and writing in English, your brain must get enough correct English sentences. This is obvious（显而易见的）.

There are two ways to get correct English sentences: listening and reading. Both are good, but reading is much easier than listening. With the help of a good dictionary, you will be able to understand English texts much more easily than movies. If you just read one book in English, you will see that your English has become much better. English phrases will just come to you without thinking when you are writing or speaking.

This is true for hundreds of words and grammar structures（结构）. If you read in English, you can forget about grammar rules. Throw away your grammar book! You needn’t know the rules for the present perfect tense(现在完成时). Instead, read a few books in English, and soon you will feel that “I have seen Paul yesterday” is wrong. The only difference between you and native speakers is that they have heard and read more English sentences than you have.

1.From the first paragraph, we know that ________.

A．English is difficult to learn

B．if you have seen an English sentence, you can speak English

C．before you use English, you must know some English

D．everyone is a born English speaker

2.What is the best way to get correct English sentences according to the passage?

A．Speaking.	B．Writing.
C．Thinking.	D．Reading and listening.

3.In the writer’s opinion, we can grasp English grammar rules _______.

A．by reading English books	B．by reading grammar books
C．by writing and speaking	D．by learning grammar rules

4.The only difference between you and native speakers is that native speakers _______.

A．have parents as their English teachers

B．are born to know grammar rules and phrases

C．read and hear more English than you

D．have a gift in learning English

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．It is important for us to know English words.

B．Reading is important for us to learn English.

C．English grammar is not so important.

D．The best way to learn English is going to England.

 

附加题

任务型阅读 (10分)

    Moscow is the capital of Russian. The city has a long history and was founded more than 850 years ago. Moscow became the center of a unified (统一的) Russian country in the 15th century. ①One hundred years later it had grown into the capital of a strong kingdom.

For most of eight centuries, the Kremlin, at the very heart of Moscow, has been the seat of power (权力宝座) for the emperors and most recent presidents. For Western people, the round roofs of ST. Basil’s Cathedral have become the symbol of Russia. Around this center, there are a lot of high buildings. However, some older classical houses and impressive structures, such as the Bolshoi Theater are well kept here.

②21世纪，俄罗斯正在迅速发展。Although the Russians are paying more attention to the protection of most of the old structures, they are also creating new wonders in the form of buildings, shopping malls, and churches. ③Many of them are designed in both the ancient and modern Russian styles, especially in central Moscow.

根据短文内容，完成下列任务。

1. When was the city of Moscow founded according to the passage?

_____________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the symbol of Russia in Western people’s eyes?

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. 请将①处的英语翻译成汉语。_________________________________________________

4. 请将②处的汉语翻译成英语。_________________________________________________

5. 用“Russians”作主语，改写③处的句子，句意不变。

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

Have you ever wondered?
1.      Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon (大气现象) known as the jet stream (气流). The jet stream is a very high altitude (=" above" sea level) wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. So the planes moving at a constant air speed go faster from the west to the east when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite.
2.      What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures（建筑物）float away? What happened would depend on (依靠) how strongly the things were attached (吸附) to the earth. The earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Turning off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling (=" top" surface of a room). Most things outside would fly off into space.
【小题1】What information can we get from the first passage?

A．It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.

B．Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.

C．It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.

D．The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic.

【小题2】The underlined word “shoot” in the 2nd paragraph means “_________”.

A．send for

B．move quickly

C．come out

D．grow quickly

【小题3】It can be known that without gravity _________.

A．buildings and other structures would float away

B．trees and buildings would not so easily fly off

C．something around your head would not float away

D．everything outside buildings would fly off into space

【小题4】Where can we read this passage?

A．In a research paper.	B．In a short story.
C．In a travel magazine.	D．In a student’s book