The World's Largest Insect
This giant insect can be used as a toy.
A child ties one end of a string to a stick and the other end around the "neck" of an insect. Holding the stick, the child lets the insect go. With a loud whirring sound, the insect takes off, pulling the string in a large curve over the child's head. The child laughs as the stick jumps around. The child is African, and the toy is the African Goliath beetle, the largest insect in the world.
The Goliath is a true insect because it has six legs and a body that is divided into three parts. Like all beetles, it has two pairs of wings. The front pair are thick and stiff and protect the back pair, which are soft. It is these soft back wings that make the beetle fly forward. They also cause the loud whirring sound the beetle makes when it flies. To steer, the beetle twists and turns its legs the same way you steer a bike by turning its front wheel.
African children often use the Goliath beetle as a toy. Although it is over 15 centimeters long, it is quite harmless. The African Goliath beetle is _______.
| A．the world's largest insect |
| B．a toy used in many parts of the world |
| C．the only insect found in Africa |
| D．the world's smallest insect |
What made the whirring sound that the child heard?
| A．The curved string. | B．The beetle's soft wings. |
| C．The beetle's six legs. | D．The beetle's body. |
We know the Goliath beetle is a true insect because it _______.
| A．makes a whirring sound when it flies | B．has both soft and hard wings |
| C．has six legs and a body with three parts | D．can fly |
When flying, the Goliath steers by_______.
| A．turning its soft back wings |
| B．twisting and turning its hard front wings |
| C．twisting and turning its legs |
| D．twisting and turning its whole body |
I was in a strange city and I didn't know the city at all and what is more，I could not speak a word of the language. After having spent my first day in the town-centre，I decided to lose my way on my second day, since I believed that this was the simplest way of getting to know the strange city.
I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops then got it off and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough. Then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived and even then I pronounced it badly.
I stopped to ask a friendly-looking newspaper-seller. He smiled and handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. The policeman listened to me carefully, smiled and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I thanked him politely and began walking in the direction he pointed.
About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside.
The only thing left for me to do was to find the nearest railway station,The writer believed that if you wanted to get to know a strange city .
| A．you should go everywhere on foot |
| B．you should have a map |
| C．you should ask people the way |
| D．you should get lost |
The newspaper-seller ________
| A．could understand what he said |
| B．didn't know what he said |
| C．laughed at him |
| D．didn't want to take the money |
The writer's real trouble was that .
| A．he couldn't speak the language |
| B．he followed the policeman's direction |
| C．he took the wrong bus |
| D．he left the town-centre |
The policeman .
| A．didn't help him |
| B．pointed at him |
| C．didn't understand what he really meant |
| D．didn’t know the way |
Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe.
“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer — “That’s not a problem here.” — Mahoney began to feel uneasy.
“No crime whatsoever?” comments Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it.” Nor should he: in 2008 the U.S. Department of Education had reports of nearly 600,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to colleges,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation.”
But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics （统计数字) by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be obvious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc., the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group.
To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.
The Mahoneys visited quite a few colleges last August ______.
| A．to express the opinions of many parents |
| B．to choose a right one for their daughter |
| C．to check the cost of college education |
| D．to find a right one near a large city |
It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colleges
______.
| A．receive too many visitors |
| B．mirror the rest of the nation |
| C．hide the truth of campus crime |
| D．have too many watchdog groups |
We learn from the text that “the honest ones” in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges ______.
| A．that are protected by campus security |
| B．that report campus crimes by law |
| C．that are free from campus crime |
| D．the enjoy very good publicity |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Exact campus crime statistics. |
| B．Crimes on or around campuses. |
| C．Effective solutions to campus crime. |
| D．concerns about kids’ campus safety. |
Anyone for rocket salad? The Chinese are now growing huge vegetables from seeds they sent into space.
If you are the type who worries about the air miles travelled by fruits and vegetables, these beauties aren’t for you. It's because they have travelled a little further than most.
The seeds from which they grew were fired into space, where they orbited the earth for two weeks. Once they returned they were grown in hothouses, producing the monster kinds seen here.
China, which is behind these space fruits and vegetables, says they could be the answer to the world's food crisis.
The 21-pound tomatoes, nine-inch chillies, 15-stone pumpkins and large watermelons growing at the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ hothouses can feed many more than their smaller cousins, and may have more nutrients, the scientists say.
Researcher Lo Zhigang said, "Traditional agricultural development has taken us as far as we can go and demand for food from a growing population is endless. Space seeds offer the opportunity to grow fruits and vegetables bigger and faster."
He admitted he and his colleagues could not explain why time in orbit caused the seeds to change genetic structure. But they guessed exposure to the cosmic (宇宙的) radiation that attacked the spacecraft in orbit, as well as the near zero gravity conditions, microgravity, could play apart.
"We don't think there's any threat to human health because the genes themselves do not change; just their order changes," he said. "With genetically-modified (GM) crops you have seen environmental problems because they have added genes that can damage other organisms. But with space seeds they don't gain genes; they can only lose them."
He also claimed the Vitamin C content in some space vegetables was nearly three times higher than in common vegetables, while levels of zinc are also increased.
Western scientists are doubtful. NASA researchers who have experimented with seeds in space say there is not enough benefit to show the cost is reasonable. What do the underlined words "these beauties" in Paragraph 2 probably refer to ______?
| A．Beautiful views along the air routes. |
| B．Travelling experiences in space. |
| C．Seeds fired into space. |
| D．Giant vegetables. |
We can infer from Lo’s words in Paragraph 6 that _______.
| A．our conventional agriculture has developed too slowly. |
| B．we are asking too much from nature |
| C．space seeds may help meet our demand for food |
| D．we'll grow crops in space in the future |
Why the seeds changed their genetic structure _______.
| A．remains to be proved |
| B．is discovered by Lo Zhigang |
| C．has something to do with the conditions in hothouses |
| D．is due to the radiation that attacked them directly |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Western scientists’ doubt is unreasonable. |
| B．Westem scientists don’t believe that Chinese scientists have succeeded in the experiment. |
| C．Western scientists have proved space seeds to be of no benefit. |
| D．Western scientists think the cost of space seeds outweighs the benefits. |
Transport Guide
The Brisbane City Council(BCC)is responsible for bus and ferry services within the city limits and suburbs，Most buses will either arrive at the city or an interchange where connecting buses can be caught.BCC buses operate from 5：30 am to 11：00 pm Monday to Thursday and 5：30 am to 12：00 am on Fridays.On weekends and public holidays buses operate less frequently. Prepaid bus tickets can be purchased from the QUT (Queensland University of Technology)bookshop，the campus newsagency.most other newsagencies and general stores，and any BCC Customer Service Centre.Shortterm students at QUT cannot use their ID cards to gain a discount fare on BCC public transport.You will need to buy an adult ticket to travel.Bus fares are dependent on the number of zones you have to travel.There are several types of tickets：
| Zone |
Cost(AUD) |
|||||
| Single |
Daily |
Offpeak Daily |
Tentrip Saver |
Weekly |
Monthly |
|
| 1 |
2.50 |
4.20 |
3.50 |
16.80 |
16.80 |
67.20 |
| 2 |
2.90 |
5.00 |
4.10 |
20.00 |
20.00 |
80.00 |
| 3 |
3.30 |
5.80 |
4.70 |
23.20 |
23.20 |
92.80 |
Single：one way ticket to reach your destination，including transfers within 2 hours.
Daily: unlimited travel within the zones.
Offpeak Daily：discounted unlimited travel between 9：00 am and 3：30 pm and after 7：00 pm
Monday to Friday，and all day on weekends and public holidays.
Weekly：unlimited travel within the zones for one week from the date of issue.Monthly：unlimited travel within the zones for one calendar month from the date of issue.
Tentrip Saver: 10 trips at any time within the zones on buses and ferries only.
Transport routes，timetables and fare information are available from：
Public Transport Information Centre
69 Ann Street (corner of George St)
Brisbane City
Phone 13 12 30(Transport Information Service)
The transport guide above is most likely provided by________.
| A．Public Transport Information Centre |
| B．the Brisbane City Council |
| C．Queensland University of Technology. |
| D．BCC Customer Service Centres |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．buses are scheduled as usual on weekends and public holidays |
| B．regular students at QUT need to buy adult tickets |
| C．prepaid tickets can be bought from the Public Transport Information Centre |
| D．Tentrip Savers can be used at offpeak time |
An exchange student staying at QUT for five days has to travel between zones every day.What type of ticket would he probably buy?
| A．Single. | B．Weekly. | C．Offpeak Daily. | D．Tentrip Saver. |
Clothes can make phone calls, play music, dial your pal's number, keep you warm during cold weather and operate your computer.
This is not a fantasy. A British company, called electrotexiles, has created a wide range of clothes—clothes tha have minds of their own ! Scientists, working for the company, have invented a kind of fabric that can be mixed with flexible electronic materials to create intelligent clothing. The results are electronic garments.
If you think the weather has to be wired to different devices, think again. These designer clothes are wirefree, soft to touch and washable! Like any electronic device, these hightech clothes have to be powered. Currently, a tiny ninevolt battery serves the purpose. But the researchers hope that in the near future the clothes will generate electricity by using body heat. These clothes are 100% shockproof, they say.
The electrotexiles team has also created the world's first cloth keyboard. These keyboard can be sewn into your trousers or skirt. To use this device, you will have to sit down and tap on your lap! These “laptap” devices are all set to take over laptop computers!
Another useful garment is the shirtcummobile phone. This handy invention enables drivers to chat comfortably with others at the wheel! Other popular electronic wears include the denim (牛仔布) jacket with flexible earphones sewn into the hoop and the electronic ski jacket with a builtin heater. The ski jacket is also programmed to send signals to a satellite. This technology is known as global positioning system and can be used to track lost skiers and wandering kids.
Having completed the cloth keyboard, scientists have already started to work on a new project—a necktie that can be used as a computer mouse. What is the next? Do you have any idea?
The electronic garments are similar to other electronic devices in that ________.
| A．they feel smooth and soft |
| B．they use electricity as power |
| C．they can be washed in water |
| D．they are made from flexible materials |
How will researchers improve these hightech clothes?
| A．Body heat will be used as power. |
| B．The wearer will not get shocked. |
| C．A tiny ninevolt battery will work. |
| D．They will get charged automatically. |
The main purpose of the text is________.
| A．to advertise for an English company |
| B．to predict the future trend of the products in the company |
| C．to show how rapidly science develops |
| D．to introduce some intelligent (智能的) clothing in the company |
It can be inferred that the author's attitude towards the company is ________.
| A．negative (消极的) | B．casual | C．optimistic | D．doubtful |
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