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.
【小题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

【小题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.

【小题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

【小题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

【小题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.

 阅读短文

The Hawaii Volcanoes(火山) National Park is on the island of Hawaii, it has two active volcanoes. One is Mauna Loa, which means “Long Mountain”. Mauna Loa is the world’s most massive volcano. The other is Kilauea. It is next to Mauna Loa and it is the most active volcano in the world.

.   76     The park is open 24 hours a day year round. There are no plants or trees on the fields and no protection from the sun, so you must bring sunglasses. You can visit it anytime.

.   77     The best way go get to the park is to take Highway 11. From the airport at Hilo, Highway 11 will take you southward across the eastern part of the island.

.   78     The Kilauea Visitor Center is a quarter mile from the park entrance. There, you can learn about the island’s geological, natural, and cultural history. From some areas in the park, you can see volcanic activity.

.   79     Do not climb on, collect, or alter any rocks or rock structures. Also, do not feed the endangered nene, Hawaii’s state bird.

从A、B、C、D中选择正确的选项作为文章第2~~5段的小标题，并填入第76~~79四个空格中。

1._________   2._________ 3.___________  4.____________

A. What to obey     B. How to get there    C. What to see       D. When to visit

5.Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park       B. Hawaii State Bird

C. Hawaii Famous Beach               D. Hawaii Huge Rock

 

People cannot reach an agreement on the use of science and technology. For example, will radiation from electronic equipment destroy the environment? Should medical scientists change gene structures to prevent genetic disease or to create “more perfect” human beings? While people are arguing about these and others, technology continues to influence our everyday lives—the home, health and education, entertainment and communication, and so on.
Some people carry on active social lives with computers —their own or the ones in public places like cafes, social centers, libraries, and so on. Communicating with others in chat rooms,  computer users can get to know people they might never meet in traditional ways. With live online video connections, two people with cameras in their computers can see and talk to each other from separate places.
With modern telephone technology, most people stopped writing lettters—especially personal letters and notes. But now, writing to communicate has returned in electronic form, or e-mail, which is a way of sending messages from one computer to another. For some computer users, the wish to communicate intelligently or creatively with others makes them want to write better.
Computer technology has also made it possible to run a house electronically. From turning lights on and off to starting the coffee and cooking the hot meal, computers are taking care of people at home. Many modern machines have computer chips that allow their owners to program them. For instance, you can “instruct” a microwave oven how to cook a dish. Most entertainment equipment operates with computer technology too. Computers can even start cars automatically so that on cold winter mornings you can get into a warmed-up vehicle and drive off.
Although much of the technology in our everyday lives has good effects, there are some uses that raise questions. For example, are interactive media ( i.e., a combination of television, telephone, and computer) going to control minds, cause people to forget about family life and personal relationships? What effects will the genentic engineering of food have on people’s health? High-tech medical treatments can make a person live a much longer life, but can they improve the health and happiness of human beings? Only time will tell, but, in the meantime, science and technology will continue to move forward. 
【小题1】What does the underlined word “ chips” mean?

A．thin pieces of potatoes

B．small holes

C．small pieces of wood

D．central parts

【小题2】 We can know from the passage that _________.

A．technology never stops changing our everyday lives

B．with computers each of us can live a comfortable life

C．people can do more activities with computers

D．the more you use computers, the better you might write

【小题3】 What can we infer from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A．The longer you live, the happier you are.

B．High-tech medical treatments can’t improve our health and happiness.

C．High-tech medical treatments can’t help us with everything.

D．The writer questioned high-tech medical treatments somehow.

【小题4】What is the best title for the passage?

A．Science and New Technology	B．Computers Change Our Lives
C．Everyday Uses of Technology	D．Only Time Will Tell

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。

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________