Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.

Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?

Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around India was on an elephant.

Reporter: What did you do next?

Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.

Reporter: How long did it take to find a suitable elephant?

Chris: Not too long. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about 6, 000 dollars.

Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?

Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1, 200 km away. It took us 64 days to complete the journey.

Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?

Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. Btu that got better quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!

Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?

Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.

1.Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from __________.

A．a visit to a zoo

B．an elephant expert from India

C．the photos of elephant

D．an old friend who lived in India

2.The elephant expert told Chris __________.

A．when to buy an elephant

B．how to feed an elephant

C．where to sell his elephant

D．how to ride an elephant

3.Chris decided to go to Sonepur because __________.

A．it is a very interesting place

B．he would be able to sell Tara there easily

C．elephants cannot be sold anywhere else

D．it would take only a short time to get there

4.When Chris arrived at the market in Sonepur, __________.

A．he realized that he did not really want to sell Tara

B．he visited some shopkeepers

C．he sold Tara to a national park

D．he decided to take Tara home with him

 

It was early morning. Peter Corbett helped Mark Wellman out of his wheelchair and onto the ground. They stood before El Captain, a huge rock almost 1.2 kilometers high. Mark had long dreamed to climb El Captain when he was a child. At the age of twenty?one, he had fallen while climbing mountain, losing his legs. But he never lost his love for life.?
Mark knew he couldn't finish the climb alone, but his friend Peter would be there to lend a helping hand. They thought it would take seven days to reach the top. Now Peter climbed about 30 meters up and hit a piton(岩钉) into the rock. Fastening(拴紧) one end of a 50?meter rope(绳子) to the piton, he let the other end of the rope fall down. Mark caught the rope and fastened it to his belt. He next reached above his head and fastened a T-bar(丁字铁) to the rope. Mark took a deep breath, pushed the T?bar up almost as far as his arms could reach, and began the first pull?up. High above, Peter let out a cheer, “You're on your way.”?
For the first four days the two men progressed upward(向上) without accident. But on the fifth day, a very strong wind began to blow, making it hard for Mark to hold on to his rope. But Mark kept on pushing up the T-bar and pulling himself up.?
It took them one day more than they had expected. But as the two heads appeared the group of people waiting on the top went wild with joy.?
Mark Wellman showed that if you set your heart and mind on something, no wall is too high, no dream impossible.
【小题1】 With the help of his friend, Mark could climb up El Captain about  meters in height each day.?

A．300

B．150

C．50

D．30?

【小题2】While climbing, Mark .?

A．carried the T-bar on his back and stepped upward?

B．pushed up the T-bar and pulled himself up?

C．sat in his wheelchair and pushed himself up?

D．held on to the rope drawn up by his friend?

【小题3】Which is the correct order of the steps before Mark's climbing??
a. push up the T-bar
b. tie the rope to his belt?
c. hit the piton into the rock
d. fasten the T-bar to the rope?
e. tie the rope to the piton?

A．c?e?b?d?a	B．e?c?a?b?d
C．e?b?d?c?a	D．b?d?e?c?a?

【小题4】Which of the following is true of Mark Wellman? ?

A．He realized his dream without anyone helping him. ?

B．He was badly injured when he climbed El Captain. ?

C．He dreamed to climb up El Captain for a long time. ?

D．He climbed up the rock by using a tool for the disabled.?

【小题5】What can we learn from the passage??

A．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

B．Dreams will come true in the end. ?

C．Each step is important to success.

D．Nothing can stop a strong will.?

We had one class for computers when I was in school, which was also introduced new in school and all the students did not attend it. I took it because I had free period and was interested in taking it. In those days we could not image that computers will become so important in our lives otherwise most of the students would have joined the computer class.
Computers are beneficial for almost anyone and the present generation is growing in an atmosphere(氛围) where you need the computers for doing almost everything .If they are not made computer literate(精通) they will lag behind in all the activities. Nowadays almost all schools have some kind of computer courses for the students so that they learn the fundamentals of the computer. It will not be possible to do it if they don’t have computer classes. Most of the homes have personal computers now and most children are already aware of the basics before they join school.
Computing courses are also good for adults who are not familiar with the computer as most of the jobs which are available today have the use of computer in some way or the other. Adults who have not used the computer before are generally quite anxious, but an easy computing course will be able to change the way they think in a few weeks.
If you are interested, you can join a computing course which is longer and teaches you more than the basics, but you may have to spend more time in the completing course. They are very useful courses as it teaches you ways to use the fundamental programs which are typically used in various jobs.
It is also possible you may like to do the computing course for enjoyment as some of the classes are also free .There are courses which charge a fee for skills like graphic design and photo editing . They are a lot of fun too and may also be useful when you do a job , depending on the kind of career ，someone you choose or have . You will find these courses in the colleges, as well as online, if you already are familiar with the use of computer.
【小题1】Most of the students didn’t attend the computer course probably because         .

A．they were not interested in computer

B．they were busy with their homework

C．they thought computers were useless

D．they didn’t have computers at all

【小题2】Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?

A．The number of the computers is larger than before.

B．The computers are very important in our daily life.

C．The students are forced to learn computer at school.

D．Everyone has a personal computer at home.

【小题3】According to this passage most of the jobs can be done by    .

A．attending computing courses

B．changing the way people think

C．learning all aspects of the computer

D．using the computer

【小题4】The underlined pronoun “it” (in paragraph 4) refers to        .

A．the computer course	B．the usage of word
C．the basic program	D．the word processing

【小题5】Which of the following is TRUE according to the last paragraph?

A．It costs some money to learn skills of computer.

B．All the classes for enjoyment are free online.

C．Photo editing is always useful to your job.

D．It is difficult to look for computer courses.

Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at
his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.
Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?
Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a
photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around
India was on an elephant.
Reporter: What did you do next?
Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to
carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He
taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.
Reporter: How long did it take to find a suitable elephant?
Chris: Not too long. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about 6, 000 dollars.
Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?
Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern
India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants
can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1, 200 km away. It took us 64 days to
complete the journey.
Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?
Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. Btu that got better
quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!
Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?
Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain
and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an
elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I
gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.
【小题1】Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from __________.

A．a visit to a zoo	B．an elephant expert from India
C．the photos of elephant	D．an old friend who lived in India

【小题2】 The elephant expert told Chris __________.

A．when to buy an elephant	B．how to feed an elephant
C．where to sell his elephant	D．how to ride an elephant

【小题3】Chris decided to go to Sonepur because __________.

A．it is a very interesting place

B．he would be able to sell Tara there easily

C．elephants cannot be sold anywhere else

D．it would take only a short time to get there

【小题4】 When Chris arrived at the market in Sonepur, __________.

A．he realized that he did not really want to sell Tara

B．he visited some shopkeepers

C．he sold Tara to a national park

D．he decided to take Tara home with him

Chinese space trainer Wang Yuan has been chosen as one of the volunteers for the Mars-500 test project. He was very happy to be chosen and will accept the meaningful challenge(挑战) Another five volunteers are all space lovers., including three Russians, an Italy-Colombian and a Frenchman. They are about to feel what it’s like to travel to Mars, only without leaving the earth. They are locked up together for a year and a half under a similar condition to the red planet during the whole process. So the experiment is called Mars-500.

When reporters asked what they would miss most during the 520-day special life, French trainer Charles said:”For me, it will be mainly my family, the sun and fresh air.”

The Mars-500 test will be in a special building in Moscow, Russia. Although the people won’t leave the building, they will fell as if they are on a real trip to the Mars. The most difficult thing will be to be separated(分离) from the people that they used to live with. The trainer won’t see sunsets, sunrises, won’t feel rain for 18 months. That will be hard.

The main task is to study the “Man and environment”. It’ll care about the astronauts’ getting experience and physical effects. The 520-day-test is divided into three parts,the first 250days to Mars, the middle 30days of landing on Mars, the last 240 days to return to the earth. Everyone will stay there alone for a long time and will work lonely. They will have to make decisions themselves and only then report to the earth, and the earth will tell them whether they do the right thing or not.

Each astronaut is preparing for the great challenge. It is learned that they will be launched（发射）early in June. And the experiment will end in November 2011.

1. _______ members were chosen as volunteers.

A．Five              B．Six               C．Three            D．Four

2. The most difficult thing for the trainers is ______.

A．no vegetables to eat

B．they can’t watch TV

C．they can’t see many people

D．they must lie all day

3. Mars-500 test will be done in ______

A．Moscow                              B．a red planet

C．November                             D．Xichang

4. It will take trainers _______ days to land on Mars.

A．250              B．30               C．240              D．520

5. Which sentence is NOT true about the 520-day-test?

A．The trainers won’t see rain or snow

B．The experiment will begin in June.

C．Trainers are all astronauts.

D．Trainers will report to the earth.