Stephen Hawking, a world famous British physicist, will write a children’s book with his daughter. Hawking said the book will be “a bit like Harry Potter” but without the magic. “It explains the wonders of the universe（宇宙）,”said Hawking , while he was on a visit to Hong Kong last week .

Hawking, 64 , is probably the world’s most famous scientist after Albert Einstein . He is an expert on black holes. He has put his whole life into digging into the beginning (and the end) of the universe.

        “My goal is simple,” Hawking once said. “It is to completely understand the universe, why it is and why it is there at all.”

        Hawking has a bad illness that stops him from moving or talking. For a period of time , he had no way to communicate except by blinking（眨眼）.

        Now he sits on a wheelchair with a computer by his side. To communicate, he moves two fingers to control the computer’s mouse. He selects his words from the screen , which are then spoken by a voice synthesizer（音响合成器）.

        “I have had the disease for most of my life,” Hawking once said. “Yet it has not stopped me from being successful at my work

        Although Hawking is such a disabled man, he made great achievements. He has received may awards and prizes for his work over the years. This includes winning the Albert Einstein Award. It is the highest achievement in theoretical physics （理论物理）.

1、The book that Stephen Hawking will write is         .

       A．the same as Harry potter                   B．quite different from Harry Potter .

       C．about the magic .                             D．about science

2、From text we can learn          .

       A．Hawking is more famous than Einstein

       B．Hawking is less famous than Einstein

       C．Both Hawking and Einstein are very famous

       D．Neither Hawking nor Einstein is famous

3、What does the underlined pronoun “it ” stand for ?

       A．the goal .           B．The magic.        C．The universe.       D．The book.

4、According to the text , which of the following statements is the fact ?

       A．Hawking has received many awards and prices except the Albert Einstein Award.

       B．The illness keeps him from moving and talking.

       C．He communicates with others by speaking.

       D．The illness stopped him from being successful.

5、What is the best title for the text ?

       A．Stephen Hawking                             B．A Famous Book

       C．Live as Hawking Does     D．A Clever Man

Rita stepped into the cool, moving water. She pushed a black inner tube(内胎) in front of her. She had a worried look on her face because she had never floated down a river before.
“Let me hold your tube while you climb on,” said her father. He smiled at her. “There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day to be in the river, isn’t it?”
Rita looked out across the water. People were floating by on tubes. Some talked and laughed as they floated easily down the river. Others leaned(倚靠) back with hats pulled over their faces. None of them looked terrified.
“We’ll stay together,” said Rita’s father. “I’ll hold on to your rope(绳子).”
“Will we go very fast?” Rita asked.
“No,” said Dad. “We’ll move slowly for a while, and then it will get a little faster near the river’s bend(拐弯). Don’t worry, Rita. You’ll be fine.”
Rita looked at her tube. It gently(轻轻地) moved up and down in the water. She saw a girl of her own age float by. The girl seemed to be having fun. Suddenly Rita’s worries disappeared（消失）.
“I’m ready to climb on and ride, Dad,” she said.
【小题1】The underlined word “floated” in the reading means “________”.