In many stories on TV and in science-fiction books, men travel to faraway stars. They have quick, easy journeys. But so far, men have been able to reach only the earth’s own moon.Suppose a man wanted to reach a distant star. Even if he traveled his whole life, he would have to move faster than the speed of the light. Nothing can move that fast except light itself.Strange things happen to an object when it moves rapidly. The object weighs more. An object moving at 86 percent of the speed of light is twice as heavy as it is at rest. A stick appears shorter. A clock runs more slowly. A man would not age so fast as he would on the earth.Light travels more than 186,000 miles a second, or about 11 million miles a minute. In one year, light travels six trillion miles. That great distance is called a light-year. It is used to measure distance in space.The star closest to our sun is Alpha Centauri. It is more than four light-years away. If one traveled at the speed of light, he could make a round trip to Alpha Centauri in nine years. But, even at that speed, he could not reach Alcaid (北斗星) in the handle of the Big Dipper. A one-way journey to Alcaid would take almost 200 years1．In this passage the words “closest to our sun” means the star（）.A、the earth we live onB、Alpha CentauriC、the Big DipperD、the moon2．A one-way journey to Alcaid would take（）.A、about nine yearsB、less than four yearsC、almost 200 yearsD、less than 100 years3．Why do we measure the distance in light-years instead of miles?（）A、Units of light-years sound better.B、Using light- years reduced the number of figures used.C、We used to measure distance in light-years long ago.D、We do not make mistakes when we use light-years.4．If a stone moved at the speed of light, it（）.A、would weigh twice more than it is motionlessB、would weigh as much as it is on earthC、would weigh less than it is on earthD、would not have weight at all5．This story is mainly about （）.A、the distance between the sun and the other starsB、the problems of traveling to faraway starsC、what happens when we travel faster than the speed of lightD、the tool we use when we go to faraway stars

第1题

We sometimes hear that essays are an old-fashioned form, that so-and-so is the "last essay

ist", but the facts of the marketplace argue quite otherwise. Essays of nearly any kind are so much easier than short stories for a writer to sell, so many more see print, it's strange that though two fine anthologies (collections) remain that publish the year's best stories, no comparable collection exists for essays. Such changes in the reading public's taste aren't always to the good, needless to say. The art of telling stories predated even cave painting, surely; and if we ever find ourselves living in caves again, it (with painting and drumming) will be the only art left, after movies, novels, photography, essays, biography, and all the rest have gone down the drain--the art to build from.

Essays, however, hang somewhere on a line between two sturdy poles: this is what I think, and this is what I am. Autobiographies which aren't novels are generally extended essays, indeed. A personal essay is like the human voice talking, its order being the mind's natural flow, instead of a systematized outline of ideas. Though more changeable or informal than an article or treatise, somewhere it contains a point which is its real center, even if the point couldn't be uttered in fewer words than the essayist has used. Essays don't usually boil down to a summary, as articles do, and the style. of the writer has a "nap" to it, a combination of personality and originality and energetic loose ends that stand up like the nap (绒毛) on a piece of wool and can't be brushed flat. Essays belong to the animal kingdom, with a surface that generates sparks, like a coat of fur, compared with the flat, conventional cotton of the magazine article writer, who works in the vegetable kingdom, instead. But, essays, on the other hand, may have fewer "levels" than fiction, because we are not supposed to argue much about their meaning. In the old distinction between teaching and storytelling, the essayist, however cleverly he tries to conceal his intentions, is a bit of a teacher or reformer, and an essay is intended to convey the same point to each of us.

An essayist doesn't have to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, he can shape or shave his memories, as long as the purpose is served of explaining a truthful point. A personal essay frequently is not autobiographical at all, but what it does keep in common with autobiography is that, through its tone and tumbling progression, it conveys the quality of the author's mind. Nothing gets in the way. Because essays are directly concerned with the mind and the mind's peculiarity, the very freedom the mind possesses is conferred on this branch of literature that does honor to it, and the fascination of the mind is the fascination of the essay.

According to the passage the changes in readers' taste ______.

A．contribute to the incompatibility of essays with stories

B．often result in unfavorable effect, to say the least

C．sometimes come to something undesirable, of course

D．usually bring about beneficial outcome, so to say

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第2题

Visitors from space may have landed on our planet dozens, even hundreds of times during th

e long, empty ages while Man was still a dream of the distant future. Indeed, they could have landed on 90 percent of the earth as recently as two or three hundred years ago, and we could never have heard of it. If one searches through old newspapers and local records, one can find many reports of strange incidents that could be interpreted as visits from outer space. A stimulating writer, Charles Fort, has made a collection of UFO sighting in his book! One is tempted to believe them more than any modern reports, for the simple reason that they happened long before anyone had ever thought of space travel. Yet at the same time, one can't take them too seriously, for before scientific education was widespread, even sightings of meteors, comets, auroras, and so on, gave rise to the most incredible stories, as they still do today.

According to the passage, visitors from space may have landed on the earth ______.

A．long before man had dreamed of it

B．long before there were human beings

C．in the last few hundred years

D．after the space age began

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第3题

听力原文：Edgar Poe, an American writer, was born in 1809. His parents were actors. Edgar w

听力原文： Edgar Poe, an American writer, was born in 1809. His parents were actors. Edgar was a baby when his father left the family. He was two years old when his mother died. He was taken into the home of a wealthy business man named John Allen. He then received his new name, Edgar Allen Poe. As a young man, Poe attended the University of Virginia. He was a good student, but he liked to drink alcohol and play card games for money. As an unskilled game player, he often lost money. Since he couldn't pay his gambling losses, he left the university and began working for magazines. He worked hard, yet he was not well paid, or well known. At the age of 27, he got married. For a time it seemed that Poe would find happiness, but his wife was sick for most of their marriage, and died in 1847.

Through all his crises, Poe produced many stories and poems which appeared in different publications, yet he didn't become famous until 1845, when his poem, The Raven, was published. There is a question, however, about Poe's importance in American Literature. Some critics say Poe was one of America's best writers, and even had a great influence on many French writers. But others disagree. They my Poe's work is difficult to understand and most of his writing de scribes very unpleasant situations and events. Edgar Allen Poe died in 1849 when he was 40 years old. It is said that he was found dead after days of heavy drinking.

(33)

A．His father caught a serious disease.

B．His mother passed away.

C．His mother left him to marry a rich businessman.

D．His father took to drinking.

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第4题

Alice Walker makes her living by writing, and her poems, short stories, and novels have wo

n many awards and fellowships for her. She was born in Eatonton, Georgia. She went to public school there, and then to Spelman College in Atlanta before coming to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College, from which she graduated in 1966. For a time she lived in Jackson, Mississippi, with her lawyer husband and her small daughter. About Langston Hughes, American poet, in her first book for children, she says, "After my first meeting with Langston Hughes I promised I would write a book about him for children someday. Why？ Because I, at 22, knew next to nothing of his work, and he didn't scold me; he just gave me a pile of his books. And he was kind to me; I will always be grateful that in his absolute warmth and generosity he fulfilled my deepest dream of what a poet should be. "

"To me he is not dead at all. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him or speak of him. Once, just before he died, when he was sick with the flu, I took him a sack full of oranges. The joy I felt in giving that simple gift is never decreased by time. He said he like oranges, too."

What is the main topic of the passage？

A．Alice Walker's reflections on Langston Hughes

B．The influence of Alice Walker on the writing of Langston Hughes

C．Langston Hughes book about Alice Walker

D．A comparison of the children of Alice Walker and that of Langston Hughes

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第5题

There are stories about two U.S. presidents, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, which at

tempt to explain the American English term OK. We don’t know if either story is true, but they are both interesting. The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education. In fact, he had difficulty reading and writing. When important papers came to Jackson, he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said. If he approved of a paper, he would write “all correct” on it. The problem was that he didn’t know how spell, so what he really wrote was “ol korekt”. After a while, he shortened that term to “OK”. The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born, Kinderhook, New York. Van Buren’s friends organized a club to help him become President. They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club, and anyone who supported Van Buren was called “OK”. The author_______________. A. believes both of the stories

B. doesn’t believe a word of the stories

C. is not sure whether the stories are true

D. is telling the stories just for fun

According to the first story, the term “OK”________________.A.was approved of by President Jackson

B.was the title of some official documents

C.was first used by President Jackson

D.was an old way to spell “all correct”

According to the passage, President Jackson________________.A.couldn’t draw up any documents at all

B.didn’t like to read important papers by himself

C.often had his assistants sign documents for him

D.wasn’t good at reading or spelling

According to the second story, the term “OK”______________.A.was the short way to say “Old Kinderhook Club”

B.meant the place where President Van Buren was born

C.was the name of Van Buren’s club

D.was used to call Van Buren’s supporters in the election

According to the second story, the term “OK” was first used____________.A.by Van Buren

B.in a presidential election

C.to organize the Old Kinderhook Club

D.by the members of the “Old Kinderhook Club”

请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析，谢谢！

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第6题

He was a qualified doctor who rarely practised but instead devoted his life to writing. He

once said: "Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my lover. " Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a great playwright and one of the masters of the modern short story.

When Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School in 1879 , he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family. After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.

As a writer he was extremely fast, often producing a short story in an hour or less. Chekhov's medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference (冷漠) many of his characters show to tragic events. In 1892, he became a full-time writer and published some of his most memorable stories.

Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of life in small town Russia. Tragic events control his characters who are filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair.

It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov's stories and plays. He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters. Chekhov's work combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity (敏感) of an artist.

Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s. One of his famous stories, The Man in a Shell (《装在套子里的人》) , about a school teacher's extraordinarily orderly life, was selected as a text for Chinese senior students.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ______.

A．had a lawful lover

B．was an illegal writer

C．used to be a lawyer

D．was a competent doctor

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第7题

根据以下资料，回答下列各题： Years ago，Charlie，a highly respected orthopedist and a mento

r of mine，found a lump in his stomach．He had a surgeon explore the area，and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer． He went home the next day，closed his practice，and never set foot in a hospital again．He focused on spending time with family and feeling as good as possible．Several months later，he died at home．He got no chemotherapy，radiation，or surgical treatment．Medicare didn’tspend much on him． It’s not a frequent topic of discussion，but doctors die，t00．And they don’t die like the rest of us．What’s unusual about them is not how much treatment they get compared to most Americans，but how little．Of course，doctors don’t want to die；they want to live．But they know enough about modern medicine to know its limits．Almost all medical professionals have seen what we call“futile care”being performed on people．That’s when doctors bring the cutting edge of technology to bear on a grievously ill person near the end of life．The patient will get cut open，perforated with tubes，hooked up to machines，and assaulted with drugs．I cannot count the number of times fellow physicians have told me，in words that vary only slightly．“Promise me if you find me like this that you’ll kill me．” How has it come to this—that doctors administer so much care that they wouldn’t want for themselves？The simple，or not—s0—simple，answer is this：patients，doctors，and the system． To see how patients play a role，imagine a scenario in which someone has lost consciousness and been admitted to an emergency room，and shocked and scared family members find themselves caught up in a maze of choices．When doctors ask if they want“everything”done．they answer yes．Then the nightmare begins．Feeding into the problemare unrealistic expectations of what doctors can accomplish．For example，many people think of CPR as a reliable lifesaver when，in fact，the results are usually poor． But of course it’s not just patients making these things happen．Doctors play an enabling role，too．The trouble is that even doctors who hate to administer futile care must find a way to address the wishes of patients and families．Imagine，once again，the emergency room with those grieving family members．They do not know the doctor．Establishing trust and confidence under such circumstances is a very delicate thing．People are prepared to think the doctor is acting out of base motives，trying to save time，or money，or effort，especially if the doctor is advising against further treatment. It's easy to find fault with both doctors and patients in such stories，but in many ways all the parties are simply victims of a larger system that encourages excessive treatment.In some unfortunate cases，doctors use the fee．for-service model to do everything they can，no matter how pointless．to make money．More commonly，though，doctors are fearful of litigation and do whatever they’re asked to avoid geeing in trouble． The real problem the author is concerned about in this article is________．

A.the overtreatment for dying patients

B.the different attitude of doctor and patients toward death

C.the disproportionately high medicare expenditure in America

D.the unequal and non．transparent doctor—patient relationship

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第8题

Newspapers, along with reporting the news, instruct, entertain, and give opinions. An impo

rtant way for reading a large, big-city newspaper is knowing how to take it apart. Can you find these separate sections: world news, national and local news, sports, business, entertainment, opinions, classified ads？ Does your paper have other sections？

News stories give facts, not the author's opinions. Editorials do the opposite, you can expect an editorial to take sides. Some newspaper editorials have a by-line with the author's name, but many newspapers have unsigned editorials. These reflect the opinions of the publisher or editor.

You can be a better reader if you know what to expect in a newspaper. For example, you can expect headlines to omit unnecessary words. You can expect to find the most important facts in the lead paragraph(the first paragraph) of a news story. You can expect important news items to be on the front page. You can expect less important items to be on the inside pages.

Most of all, the more you know about the current news, the more you will understand what is in the newspaper; important stories are generally presented one day and followed up on following days. So, an important way for reading newspapers is reading one frequently.

A good way to read a large newspaper is______.

A．to do some paper-cutting

B．to read it from cover to cover

C．to find separate sections

D．to predict what is inside the newspaper

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第9题

In the United States many have been told that anyone can become rich and successful if he works hard and has some good luck.

Yet, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tries to look as rich and as successful as his neighbors.

The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American by the name of Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself: he began earning $125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. Young Momand was very proud of his riches. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. But just moving there was not enough. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horse riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. Momand and his wife could not do that.

The race ended for them when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They left their wealthy neighborhood and moved back to an apartment in New York City.

Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “keeping up with the Joneses”, because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

Every city has an area where people want to live because others will think better of them if they do. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses, because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

6. The writer of the selection believes（）.

A. many people in the United States think anyone can become rich if he works hard and has some good luck

B. anyone in the United Sates can become rich if he works hard and has some good luck

C. he can become rich in the future

D. anyone in the United States can become rich

7. Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because（）.

A. they want to be as rich as their neighbors

B. they want others to know or to think that they are rich

C. they don’t want others to know they are rich

D. they want to be happy

8. It can be inferred from the story that rich people（）.

A. like to live in apartments

B. like to live in New York City

C. like to live outside New York City

D. like to have many neighbors

9. Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because Jones is（）.

A,. an important name

B. a popular name in the United States

C. his neighbor’s name

D. not a good name

10. According to the writer, it is（）.

A. correct to keep up with the Joneses

B. impossible to keep up with the Joneses

C. interesting to keep up with the Joneses

D. good to keep up with the Joneses

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第10题

The first hotels were very different from today's hotels. They were small inns built along

the road. Later, as people began to travel by train, hotels were built in the centers of large cities. Usually located near railroad stations, these hotels were many stories tall and had hundreds of rooms.

Although trains were a popular means of travel for some time, automobiles slowly began to take their place. Automobile travel caused problems for city hotels, which did not have enough parking space for so many cars.

People who traveled by automobile needed a different kind of hotel. They needed places to stay that were near highways and had room to park. Motorists did not like to drive in heavy city traffic to reach a hotel. The answer to the motorists' problems came when a new kind of hotel was built. These new buildings were called motels, a word made from the first part of MOTORIST and the last part of HOTELS.

Motels were much smaller than hotels. Built on ground level, often in separate units, they were more convenient for people traveling. The separate units also made them quieter than hotels, best of all, there was more than enough room for cars to park. ,

Now, many big hotels in the cities are being torn down. They can no longer make enough money to stay in business. In their place, many small motels have been built on the outskirts(近郊) of cities. Motels have become a big business in the United States.

The first hotels were built______.

A．with hundreds of rooms

B．around the city centers

C．near railway stations

D．quite close to roads.

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第11题

The Silk Road is 61________ name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa

and Asia. People 62 ________(reach) these different places along these roads. Scientists believe 63________ people began to travel the Silk Road about 3,000 years ago. The Silk Road covered almost 6,500 kilometers. It went from Rome to China, that is, from the West to the Far East. Merchants travelled along the Silk Road to carry silk, of course. They also carried and traded things 64________ spices, cloth, jewels and gold.

During 65________ (it) busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries 66 ________(meet) each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of 67 ________(value) things and new ideas. While 68 ________(travel) the Silk Road, people shared goods, stories, languages and cultures.

In modern times, the old Silk Road routes are still used, but now they 69________ (cross) by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even a silk route museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000 70 ________(object) from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.

61____________

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析，谢谢！

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