C1Matt Mason has seen the future—and it’s fun. Mason likes thinking about how machines can make our lives easier by doing the work we hate, such as cleaning. He shows a hard floor cleaning system（系统）that’s built into the wall: it will blow dirt to a part of the room where it will be collected by a vacuum（吸尘器）. Then the system will drop some cleaner on the floor and an arm will mop（用拖把擦）it up. ―This may trouble you,‖ says Kara, an expert in Mason’s company. ―But you can program it to come on at 3 a. m., and it will just wet-mop the floor for you.‖When it comes to the kitchen, Bruce Beihoff, another expert at Whirlpool, is sure that in a few years, robots will be doing most of the boring work, freeing us to relax. ―More than just fun, future kitchens will be environmentally friendly,‖ he says. ―A ne w system will be built in the house which can recycle energy （能量）lost from your kitchen to make the whole home warm.‖―The fridge will be the center of the home,‖ says Daniel Lee, a market expert. The fridge will have a touch screen （触摸屏幕）where you can watch TV, surf the Internet, check your e-mail, keep a shopping list and order vegetables. ―Y our fridge is the first place you go in the morning and the last place at night,‖ says Lee.Ever wonder why a 1.9-meter man and a 1.6-meter woman have to cookmeals on counters（工作台）of the same height. ―The height was decided over50 years ago, according to the height of ordinary women,‖ says Jane Langmuir,an expert of cooking machines. ―But times have changed. We have made a newcounter where you press a button and it moves to whatever height you want.‖ At the same time, Ted Selker at MIT’s Counter lab has made the Dishmaker which lets you make dishes and bowls out of plastics at home. After each meal, the dishes are changed straight back into plastics.57. How many inventions are mentioned in the passage?A. Three.B. Four.C. Five.D. Six.58. In future, if you want to clean your house, you will ________.A. have a recycling system built in the wallB. get up early to start your cleaning systemC. use your fridge to give orders to a cleanerD. leave the work to a kind of cleaning machine59. What is future kitchen work like?A. Terrific and relaxing.B. Easy and interesting.C. Enjoyable and exciting.D. Funny and amazing.60. From the passage, we know ________.A. people will have more and more time enjoying themselvesB. future kitchens can provide all the energy for our life every dayC. the fridge can be found in the center of a future houseD. people must be expert at computers to use these inventions57. C 58. D 59. B 60. AC2Each year Ben is glad when school is closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Ben knows that this day honors an important man, but Ben does not feel connected to him. However, the small-world theory (理论) connects Ben to Dr. King. Ben’s mom (0) has a close friend, Amy (1). Amy’s uncle, Mark (2), once met and spoke to John Carter (3), the son of President Jimmy Carter (4). Jimmy Carter knew Dr. King (5). In a way, Ben is only ―five people away‖ from Martin Luther King Jr.The small-world theory says that everyone in the world is connected through a short chain (链条) of people they know. Another name of this chain is degrees of separation. Each degree is a step that separates a person from someone he or she does not know. There are zero degrees of separation between a person and the people he or she knows directly. This means that there are zero degrees between Ben and his mom. There is one degree of separation when just one person separates someone from a person he or she does not know. Ben knows his mom, but he hasn’t met her close friend Amy. Therefore, Ben is one degree away from Amy. As the chain continues, Amy’s uncle, Mark, is two degrees. John Carter is three degrees, and his father is four degrees. Dr. King is five degrees away from Ben. The theory says that there are no more than six degrees of separation between any two people in the world.The small-world theory has a lot to do with math. The theory assumes (假定) that each person knows 100 people. Each one of those 100 people knows 50 different people. Each of those 50 people knows another 50 people, and so on. When someone continues the calculation to six degrees, it is like this: 100 × 50 × 50 × 50 × 50 × 50 = 31.25 × 109. This number is greater than 31 billion (a billion = a thousand million). There are over 6 billion people in the world. These numbers show it is possible that six degrees of separation could include everyone in the world.Does the small-world theory work? No one has ever proved it. Maybe the theory just invites people to think a little more about their places in the world.8. Ben is two degrees away from ________.A. Jimmy CarterB. John CarterC. AmyD. Mark9. What is the meaning of ―degrees of separation‖ in Paragraph 2?A. The chain to connect people.B. The relations between people.C. The steps of knowing strangers.D. The separation between strangers.10. What is the small-world theory mainly about?A. How far Ben is away from Dr. King.B. How many people one can get to know.C. How people are connected in the world.D. How the degrees of separation are set up.11. We can learn from the article that ________.A. the small-world theory worksB. more research is needed to prove the theoryC. six degrees are needed to know the strangersD. the writer’s purpose is to help people find out their places8. D 9. A10. C 11. BC3Many textbooks are not written in the kind of English that we speak every day. In fact, sometimes the reading is so difficult that it almost seems like a foreign language. In a way, it is the language of science. Y ou should not expect to be able to read a difficult science passage the same way you read an interesting story; you should not expect to read it easily and all at once. Instead, you may have to read it several times through, catching on the meaning of difficult words, going back over difficult sentences, and finally putting the whole thing together. Do not be discourages if the whole passage don’t make sens eto you at first. Y ou need to pick it apart patiently until you can understand it.These are the steps to follow when you are reading something difficult:✧ 1. Start to read normally until you run into a sentence that doesn’t make sense to you.✧ 2. When a se ntence doesn’t make sense, go back and read it again more slowly.✧ 3. Look for any word you don’t know in the sentence. Try to understand their meanings using wordparts and context clues(上下文线索). If necessary, look them up in the dictionary.✧ 4. Look at the next few sentences to see if they explain more about the sentence you are working on.Do not read very much farther ahead until you understand what is being said.✧ 5. Finally, read the sentence again. Try to put it into simpler words.✧ 6. Read through the passage once. Try to understand all the hard parts well. Then read the wholepassage once more at a usual speed. This helps you to put all ideas together.The stops sound a lot harder than they are. It is really just the normal way good readers understand anything that is difficult to read. After you have done the best you can this way, you should always feel free to ask for help from your teacher, if you have one.54. The underlined phrase ―run into‖ means ________.A. work outB. come acrossC. look intoD. pass by55. From the passage, we can know ________.A. we should look up new words before readingB. it is sometimes difficult to read a science passageC. the six steps are helpful in learning spoken EnglishD. interesting stories help readers to improve their English56. The massage is mainly about ________.A. steps of studying scienceB. difficulties in reading scienceC. ways of reading science passagesD. researches on science and English54. B 55. B 56. CC4What do you do if you’re stranded （处于困境的）on a lonely island? Surely you need to find a way to get in touch with the outside world. Y our best chance of Body signals（信号）.Pilots from different countries understand body signals if they have the correct training. When you wave your arms up and down in a straight line, it means ―yes‖. When you point downwards and swingyour arm from side to side, it means ―no‖. If you want the pilot to know that it’s safe to land, push your hands out in front of you and bend（弯曲）your knees. If you want to say that it’s not safe to land, put your arms in the air and move them to one side.Smoke signalsThe smoke from a fire can be seen from far away, so it’s a good way to draw attention. If the weather is dry, it isn’t hard to start a fire. Remember, however, that fires can be very dangerous if they get out of control. Never light a fire unless you’re sure that it can’t spread. .If the ground is dark, light smoke can be seen more easily. Green grass and leaves produce light smoke.Ground-to-air signalsIt’s a good idea to build some signals, too. Use large pieces of wood to make the symbols（标记）. If you can’t find any wood, use earth. Some useful symbols are:F―I need food and water‖.II―I need medicine‖.I ―I am badly hurt‖.X―I am unable to move from here.‖Pilots’ repliesIf the pilot lowers the plane’s wings from side to side, this means ―message received and understood‖（At night, the pilot flashes the plane’s green lights.）If the pilot flies the plane in a clockwise circle , this means ―message received but not understood‖.（At night, the pilot flashes the plane’s red lights.）However, there is no signal which means ―message not received‖. Why not?54. Which picture means ―it’s not safe to land‖?55. What can we learn from the passage?A. Swinging your arm from side to side means ―yes‖.B. If the ground is dark, light smoke can’t be seen.C. If you need some medicine, make a symbol ―II‖.D. The pilots make replies with a blue light at night.56. What is the passage mainly about?A. The explanation of building signals on an island.B. The importance of building signals on an island.C. Ways of sending out signals on a lonely island.D. Ways of receiving signals from a lonely island.54. D 55. C 56. CC5Recent research from the Pew Internet Project suggests that 90% ofAmericans aged from 12 to 17 use the Internet, and 51% of those teensuse social networks. However, there are many possible problems withsocial networking sites and the teenagers who use them.Apart from the social advantages, social networking sites can beused to record school research, develop artistic talents and experiment with other forms of subject creation. They provide a way to communicate with others who share the same interests and to get helpful advice on ongoing projects.Along with these advantages come some dangers. For example, most social networking sites are open to all, especially MySpace, which is the most popular social network among teens in America. It means that they could be put in unpleasant and frightening situations.A greater danger is that teens may become objects of the people with secret purposes. The secrecy of some social networking sites makes it easy for dangerous people to find young teens and invite them into dangerous conversations. It's easy for them to pretend as teens and draw children into dangerousreal-world communication as well. Then further hurt might be on its way.Another danger is identity stealing, which can happen when teens share too much information about their names, dates of birth and locations.Therefore, it's very important to make sure teens are safe when they use social networks.Many of the same rules that work for online chat work for these sites:※Don't use your real name.※Don't give out personal information to people you don't know. A last name and a town are enoughfor a bad guy to find where you are.※Don't believe that people are who they say to be.※Immediately end any communication that makes you uncomfortable mid report it to a parent.Only if you are sure of your safety, can you enjoy the fun brought by social networking. Besides, trying to deal with all problems on your own can lead to terrible results. Remember, asking your parents or school officials for help doesn't mean you are unable to do anything but wiser than many others.55. How many dangers of using social networks are mentioned in the passage?A. 2.B. 3.C. 4.D. 5.56. The writer takes MySpace as an example to show that ________.A. students could be put into unreal situations on the InternetB. teenagers are facing unknown dangers on the social networksC. Internet provides more social websites to American teenagersD. social networks are very popular among teenagers in America57. We can infer from the passage that________.A. the dangers are similar when chatting online and surfing social networksB. more than half American teenagers aged from 12 to 17 use social networksC. teens who ask for help are wiser when meeting problems on social networksD. there are more disadvantages than advantages for teens to use social networks55. B 56. B 57. AC6It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea.My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.Being on the boat, we found there was something meters away. When moving nearer, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it — there aren’t any whales along the coast. The storm must have driven them there, where the sea water was so dirty that nothing could live in it.The little baby whale — actually as big as our boat — was stuck and could not move. The mother went down into the wate r and came up suddenly, making big waves. ―She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,‖ my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat to the other side and, heading theboat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the baby whale turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They made great efforts to swim towards the deep sea but failed and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them to the sea. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe — and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the deep sea.In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Today, I still look back to that golden day at sea.54. The story happened on a ________ day.A. rainyB. stormyC. sunnyD. cloudy55. In Paragraph 2, the writer says ―I’m so glad I did.‖ because ________.A. he knew where he could see whalesB. he liked fishing in the sea very muchC. he experienced how the whales were savedD. he spent the whole weekend with his family56. Which of the following is true according to the passage?A. The mother whale was as big as the boat.B. The mother whale trusted the writer’s father.C. The mother whale asked the writer’s family for help.D. The mother whale led her baby to the sea successfully.57. By telling the story, the writer wants to tell us that ________.A. saving lives makes people happyB. it’s a good experience to go fishingC. we should live with animals happilyD. keeping sea water clean is important54. C 55. C 56. B 57. AC7Hueco Tanks State Historical Park is home to thousands of Native American paint ings and drawings. Ancient works of rock art dating back thousands of years lie within caves hidden in the hills. Thepaintings at Hueco Tanks have lasted for centuries.The walls tell stories of many people and many times for at least 10, 000 years. Several different groups of people have traveled through and lived in the area. These groups often left their mark with rock paintings and drawings. Scientists have studied these ancient works of art to learn more about the people who made them. Scientists believe that around 6, 000 BC a group now known as the Desert Archaic people occupied (占有) the area. The earliest of their drawings are simple wavy and straight lines. Later drawings show scenes of people holding spears (矛) while deer and other animals run around them.Around 1, 000 AD the Mogollon people lived in the area. The Mogollon were farmers. More than most farmers, the Mogollon valued water. For them water held great meaning. This group of farmers painted many pictures of water flowing over the land and rain with lightning.The Mescalero Apaches created some of the most recent rock art at Hueco Tanks. They stayed in the area for a short time around 1, 600 AD. Spanish explorers had arrived in North America by this time. Many of the cave paintings from this period show Spanish soldiers on horses.In 1849 the California Gold Rush was well under way. Some people traveled through hot, dry West Texas as they made their way to California’s goldfields. Hueco Tanks provided water and shade (阴凉处) for these travelers. Many of these travelers put their names and dates on the rocks at Hueco Tanks. These writings are still found on the rocks today.In May 1970 Hueco Tanks was made a state park, giving the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department control of the area.The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is using technology to help take care of the rock art. By studying these works of art, visitors and scientists can learn much about the lives of some early Native Americans.54. Which of the following may be the drawn by the Desert Archaic people?55. What can we learn from the passage?A. Desert Archaic people raised many animals.B. Mogollon people considered water very important.C. The Mescalero Apaches created most of the painting.D. People began to protect the paintings in 1970.56. The passage is an introduction of ________.A. the Native American’s lifeB. the history of Hueco TanksC. the development of the MidwestD. the rock arts at Hueco Tanks54. A55. B 56. DC8In March last year, the car I was driving was involved (卷入) in a serious accident with another car on a country road. I soon found myself at the center of a crazy activity, in the middle of doctors, policemen and passers-by. A large can opener was used to get me out of my broken car and into an ambulance(救护车).Over the next eight hours, I was taken to hospital, tested with X-ray and diagnosed (诊断) with a broken neck. Knowing that I’d been saved from death encouraged me throughout the long wait in the hospital and helped me deal with the countless visitors.Only after I was sure that the last friend had left, could I direct my energies inwards. Flying in and out of my line of vision during my hospital stay was the Red Cross lady, a gentle presence in white who,from time to time, came in to offer cups of tea. After the visitors had gone, she came up to me and checked if I was all right.I found myself telling her everything about the accident, my fears for my family as a result of my injuries (伤)—about my whole life. While I waited for an ambulance to take me to another hospital, she stood by my bed and held my hand as I off-loaded all the emotion I’d hidden from my family. She listened, quiet and patient.Even now, the knowledge that I have the ways to get in touch with her provides me with great comfort. I look forward to a day in the near future when my angel (天使) and I can meet again, in happier situation.In times of danger, faith (真诚) can encourage us. My faith in human nature called back by the kindness of a stranger has helped to ease my journey back to health.54. What happened to the writer in the accident?A. She was hit by a car.B. She was held in her car.C. She was caught by the police.D. She was thrown into a can.55. The underlined word ―off-loaded‖ means ________ in the passage.A. spoke outB. put downC. showed offD. turned over56. The most important result of the Red Cross lady’s faith was that ________.A. the writer got well more quicklyB. the writer missed her very muchC. the writer became much happierD. the writer had her own faith back54. B 55. A56. DC9The rising costs of health care have become a problem for many countries in the world. To deal with this problem, it is reported that a big part of the government’s health budge（预算）has been used for health education and disease prevention instead of treatment. Actually, many kinds of diseases are preventable in many ways and preventing a disease is usually much cheaper than treating it. For example, people could avoid catching a cold if they dressed warmly when the weather starts getting cold. But many people get sick because they fail to do so, and have to spend money seeing a doctor.Daily habits like eating more healthy food would have kept millions of families from becoming bankrupt（破产）if the patients had taken ways for early prevention. For example, keeping a balanced diet （均衡饮食）, such as not consuming too much animal fat and trying to have enough vegetables andfruits, seems to be quite important.One very effective and costless way of prevention is regular（定期的）exercise, which is necessary for a healthy mind and body. Regular exercise, such as running, walking, and playing sports is a good way to make people feel better.In addition, health education plays a key role in improving people’s health. By giving people more information about health, countries could help people understand the importance of disease prevention and ways to achieve it. For example, knowing one’s family medical history is an effective way to help keep healthy. Information about health problems among close relatives will make them aware of what they should do to prevent certain diseases through lifestyle changes, which will work before it is too late.However, paying more attention to disease prevention does not mean medical treatment is unimportant. After all, prevention and treatment are just two different means toward the same effect. In conclusion, we could save money on health care and treat patients more successfully if our country spends more money on health prevention and education.54. What’s the meaning of the underlined word ―consuming‖ in Paragraph 2?A. A voiding.B. Producing.C. Eating.D. Cooking.55. What’s the best title of the passage?A. Health or Illness?B. Exercise or Illness?C. Prevention or Education?D. Prevention or Treatment?56. We can learn from the passage that ________.A. more health education should be givenB. dressing warmly can prevent diseasesC. a balanced diet is cheaper than regular exerciseD. the government’s health budget should be increased54. C 55. D 56. AC10I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave mygift behind because I wanted the gift that my older sister Maria had.My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning,Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed behind to finish a drawingof a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top gymnast (体操运动员). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners’ class.If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear that I didn’t have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.During this time, drawing and painting—which had been my two favorites—all but left my mind. It must have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just would not give up.At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms. White. ―Alice, you won the contest!‖ she said loudly.―Really?‖ was all I could r eply.―Y es,‖ Ms. White said. ―They’re going to give you a prize. And that’s not all. The winner is also accepted into Wildale’s Summer Fine Arts Institute.‖ I couldn’t believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists were accepted each summer.That ni ght I didn’t go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria’s gift, not mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.54. Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.A. she had been good at sportsB. her sister’s show was perfectC. she hated drawing and paintingD. her parents wanted her to do so55. How did Alice feel about learning gymnastics at last?A. Satisfied.B. Worried.C. HopefulD. Regretful.56. From the story, we can infer that ________.A. Alice’s parents disagreed with her choice of gymnasticsB. Alice did not realize her gift in drawing and painting at firstC. Alice spent a hard time preparing for the art contest in the townD. Alice couldn’t believe the news that she got the prize for painting57. What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?A. We should value our own gifts.B. It takes time to find one’s gifts.C. We could develop different gifts.D. It’s never too late to show our gifts.54. B 55. D 56. B 57. AC11We asked what you wanted to change or improve in 2011 and you answered—some with larger than life plans, others with simple but practical choices. Here are some answers.Aisha Khan: I’ll pay the schooling cost for a child whose parents can’t afford it and continue doing so until the child finishes Y ear 12. I’d like to lead the child through university and get him to agree to do the same for another child once he gets a well-paying job.Anna Thomas: My 12-year-old son and I are going to write to each other. I am also making a record of all the letters I have ever written and I am creating a history of this family that our grandchildren—both his and mine—can share.Siti Rahmah: I have not given my parents much money; no jewelry (珠宝) for my mum and no nice shirts for my dad. I know they don’t ask for these things. They only want me to visit them more often, but I don’t have time and money. So, my 2011 resolution (决定) is to make lots of money and to be a great daughter.Carrie Anne: I will make the effort for more ―me‖ time, spending good time doing things that I like instead of pleasing others.Kimberly C Sombrito: This year l will live in Z E R O.Z: Zero regret in lifeE: Enjoy life to the fullestR: Re-invent myself in and outO: Open my heart to endless possibilitiesRamisa Dhaka: My 2011 New Y ear resolutions are1. Help the poor street children by giving my old sweaters to them2. Make my own bed and prepare my own lunch3. Help my grandmother look after her garden54. Who wants be a great daughter in 2011 according to the passage?A. Rahmah.B. Anne.C. Khan.D. Dhaka.55. How many people have talked about helping others here?。
