D

To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains．But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain．Its first use was as a shade against the sun．

Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times．Probably the Chinese were the earliest to use it in the eleventh century BC．We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade．And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority．In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices．

In Europe, the Greeks were the earliest to use the umbrella as a sunshade．And the umbrella was allowed in common use in ancient Greece．But it is believed that the earliest persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans．

During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared．Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century．And again, it was considered a symbol of power and authority．In around 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England．

By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe．Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become  much lighter in weight．It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors．

1.The first use of umbrella was as ______________．

A．protection against rain                   B．shade against the sun

C．a symbol of power and authority            D．a symbol of honor and authority

2.In Europe, the umbrella was first used against rain ___________．

A．in Greece         B．in Rome           C．in England         D．in France

3.From the text, we can infer that _________．

A．the umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century．

B．no one knows why the umbrella was used in very ancient times．

C．once ordinary people had no right to use umbrellas．

D．during the Middle Ages the umbrella was common in Europe．

4.This passage talks mainly about ____________．

A．when and how the umbrella was invented．

B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe．

C．the development of the umbrella．

D．the history and use of the umbrella．

 

                                     D

To find out how the name Canada came about, we must go back to the 16th century. At that time, the French dreamed of discovering and controlling more land across the world. In 1535 Francois I, King of France, ordered a navigator (航海家) named Jacques Cartier to explore the New world and search for a passage to India.

Cartier first arrived at the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, which he wanted to explore. He did not know

what to expect but he hoped that this Gulf was just an arm of the ocean between two islands. If it

was, he would soon be on his way to the Far East. So he sailed upwards along the St. Lawrence

River. However, instead of reaching Asia he arrived at Quebec or Stadacona, as the Indians called

it. It was at this point that the term “Canada” entered the country’s history. Clearly the word

“Canada” came from an Indian word “Kanata”, which means village. Cartier first used it when he

referred to Stadacona or Quebec. What a huge “village” Canada is!

57. What was Cartier ordered to do?

A. To build a new country                  

B. To find the New World

C. To get in touch with the American Indians   

D. To know more about America and find a new way to Asia

58. When Cartier reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence he hoped ________.

A. he had got to the Far East             B. it was a water way to the New World

C. it was a water way to the Far East       D. he had sailed into the Pacific

59. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Quebec and Stadacona were tow islands.    

B. The Indian language for village is Stadacona.

C. Quebec and Stadacona were two villages in Canada. 

D. Stadacona was what the Indians called Quebec.

60. Canada was first used to refer to __________.

A. Asia     B. the New World       C. a village         D. Quebec

D

To what degree can a computer achieve intelligence (智力)? The answer to this question may lie in a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet．

If you ran into Smarter Child online , you would be surprised at this kid’s huge memory．It can recite many facts． For example , Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season．

He knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US．However , if you ask Smarter Child other questions , you get stranger answers．A question about Smarter Child’s age returns． “One year, 11 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds!” Asking where he lives gets , “In a clean room in a high-tech building in California．”

Smarter Child uses the vast information on the World Wide Web as his memory bank．To answer questions about spelling , for instance , Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online．For the weather , he visits www．intellicast．com．

Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet , an artificial being with the combined knowledge of , say , Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears could be born．However if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A．I．, Artificial Intelligence , he must overcome two problems．

The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are labeled in different ways．That’s why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather．It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself．

Another problem is that while Smarter Child can process (处理) information more exactly and faster than any human , he lacks common sense—a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious to any young child．

67．From the text we can infer that www．intellicast．com is a website___________．

       A．which is specially designed to help Smarter Child

       B．where we people can find Smarter Child

       C．where weather forecasts are made

       D．which is about artificial intelligence

68．It is probably most difficult for Smarter Child to_______．

       A．tell us how to spell a difficult word

       B．tell us how the American government is run

       C．provide us with a famous poem by Shakespeare

       D．learn how to tell right behaviors from wrong ones。

69．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

       A．Smart Child has his own memory bank big enough for all kinds of information．

       B．A．I．Artificial Intelligence is probably the name of a film about a boy-computer．

       C．Smart Child can recognize different files and find information needed on his own．

       D．We have similar product now which has the knowledge of Einstein , Nixon and Spears．

70．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

       A．A New Web Child       B．Smarter Child

       C．The Future of Internet    D．Intelligence Development

C

Of all the websites，one that has attracted attention recently is myspace.com．Most of this attention has come from the media and tells every reason why the website should be shut down．The threat of internet predators（窃掠者）is indeed a tough reality，but shutting down the site is not the answer．If myspace.com were shut down，another site would quickly take its place．Therefore，the right way is to teach teens how to use the site safely and educate them about who may be predators and how to avoid them.

The key to staying safe on the Internet is to make sure that your profile（个人资料）is secure．The simplest way is to change the privacy setting on your profile to “private”, which protects your information so that only the people on your friend list can view it．Although this is effective，it is not perfect．Predators can find ways to view your profile if they really want to，whether through hacking in or figuring out their way onto your friend list．Thus，you should never post too much personal information．Some people actually post their home and school addresses，date of birth，and other personal information, often letting predators know exactly where they will be and when．The most information that is safe is your first name and province．Anything more is basically inviting a predator into your life.

Another big issue is photos. I suggest completely skipping photos and never posting a photo of a friend online without asking permission．

Most importantly, never，under any circumstances，agree to a real-life meeting with anyone you meet online．No matter how well you think you know this person, there are no guarantees that they have told the truth．But you could feel free to chat with people you meet on the site, but just remember that not everyone is who they say they are．Hopefully，the next time you edit your profile，you’ll be more informed about the dangers of internet predators and take the steps to defend yourself.

50．Kids can avoid web predators successfully by_________.

A．attracting more public attention

B．shutting down the website “myspace . com”

C．showing the kids ways to try other sites

D．recognizing and getting away from them

51．The safest basic personal information that you can share online is_________.

A．your home address and birthday    B．school address and your first name

C．your first name and province       D．your province and cell phone number

52．We can learn from the passage that_____.

A．not everybody you meet on line is honest and reliable

B．it is not acceptable to post a photo of a friend on line

C．it is not safe by chatting with grown-ups on the website

D．only you and your friends can view your personal profile

53．What could be the best title of this passage?

A．Personal Safety                B．Web Safety for teens

C．Web Hackers in the past         D．Predators’ Tricks

A black hole is created when a large star burns out. Like our sun, stars are unbelievably hot furnaces (熔炉) that burn their own matter as fuel. When most of the fuel is used up, the star begins to die.

The death of a star is not a quiet event. First there is a huge explosion. As its outer layer is blasted off into space, the dying star shines as brightly as a billion suns.

After the explosion gravity pulls in what’s left of the star. As the outside of the star sinks toward the center, the star gets smaller and smaller. The material the star is made of becomes tightly packed together. A star is so dense that a teaspoon of matter from it weighs billion of pounds.

The more the star shrinks, the stronger the gravity inside it becomes. Soon the star is very tiny, and the gravity pulling it in is unbelievably strong. In fact, the gravity is so strong that it even pulls light into the star! Since all the light is pulled in, none can go out. The star becomes black when there is no light. Then a black hole is born!

That’s what we know about black holes. What we don’t know is this: What happens inside a black hole after the star has been squeezed into a tiny ball? Does it keep getting smaller and smaller forever? Such a possibility is hard to imagine.

But if the black hole doesn’t keep shrinking, what happens to it? Some scientists think black holes are like doorways to another world. They say that as the star disappears from our universe, it goes into another universe. In other words a black hole in our universe could turn into a “white hole” in a different universe. As the black hole swallows light, the white hole shines brightly—somewhere else. But where? A different place, perhaps, or a different time — many years in the past or future.

Could you travel through a black hole? Right now, no. Nothing we know of could go into a black hole without being crushed. So far the time being, black hole must remain a mystery.

Black holes are a mystery—but that hasn’t stopped scientists from dreaming about them. One scientist suggested that in the future we might make use of the power of black holes. They would supply all of Earth’s energy needs, with plenty to spare. Another scientist wondered if a black hole could some day be used to swallow earthly waste—a sort of huge waste disposal(处理) in the sky!

When the star begins to die ______.

A. there is no fuel left in it                                B. its outer layer goes into space first

C. a huge explosion will happen                         D. it doesn’t give off light any longer

Which of the following doesn’t help produce a black hole?

A. The gravity inside the star is very strong.        B. The light can’t go out of the star.

C. The star becomes smaller and smaller             D. The dying star shines very brightly.

The black hole ______.

A. continues becoming smaller and smaller all the time

B. goes into another universe and becomes a white hole

C. can pull in everything we know of in the world

D. will appear at another place at a different time

What’s the best title for this passage?

A. A New Scientific Discovery: Black Holes

B. How Do Black Holes Come Into Being?

C. What Are Black Holes?

D. Travel Through A Black Hole