If your cellphone suddenly stops working, don’t blame the service provider．The malfunction（故障） might well have been caused by something bigger -- a solar storm．Experts expect that Earth will see more solar activity in the near future．The malfunction of electronic devices will just one of the effects．
Sunspots（太阳黑子） serve as an indicator of the sun’s activity．For the past two years, sunspots have mostly been missing．Their absence, the most prolonged in nearly 100 years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise．
When the number of sunspots drops at the end of each 11-year cycle, solar storms die down and all become much calmer. This “solar minimum” doesn’t last long. Within a year, sunspots and solar storms begin to build toward a new crescendo, the next solar maximum.
What’s special about this latest cycle is that the sun is having trouble starting the next solar cycle. The sun began to calm down in late 2007, so no one expected many sunspots in 2008. They should return in 2010. Scientists have predicted that the next solar cycle could be the most active on record: more sunspots and more solar storms. However, sunspots are mostly missing now.
Since the earth is in close contact with the sun, strong solar activities can bring trouble to our life. People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Air travel and radio communications can be affected by strong solar activities. A big solar storm could cause 20 times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.
What the sun will do next is beyond our ability to predict. Most astronomers think that the solar cycle will go on but at low level. However, there is also evidence that the sun is losing its ability to produce sunspots. By 2015, they could be gone altogether.The sun watcher feel surprised at .
| A．the longest sunspots’ absence | B．the largest sunspot number |
| C．the malfunction of electronic devices | D．the serious damage by sunspots |
What does the underlined word “crescendo” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?
| A．small number | B．high level |
| C．usual cycle | D．fresh start |
We can infer that in the past two years .
| A．solar activities have brought much trouble to our life |
| B．the number of sunspots has increased to a large extent |
| C．the solar minimum took the place of the solar maximum |
| D．our cellphones have seldom been interrupted by the solar storm |
Which statement does the text lead you to believe?
| A．Solar activities do no harm to our daily life. |
| B．Hurricane Katrina is also a type of solar storms. |
| C．It’s difficult to predict sunspots. |
| D．From now on there’ re no sunspots. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The earth is in close contact with the sun. |
| B．Sunspots can cause trouble to our life. |
| C．Introduction of sunspots. |
| D．Introduction of the solar storm． |
Life comes in a package. This package includes happiness and sorrow, failure and success, hope and despair. Life is a learning process. Experiences in life teach us new lessons and make us a better person. With each passing day we learn to handle various situations.
Love
Love plays a pivotal role on out life. Love makes you feel wanted. Without love a person could go hayward and also become cruel and ferocious. In the early stage of our life, our parents are the ones who shower us with unconditional love and care, they teach us about what is right and wrong, good and bad. But we always tend to take this for granted. It is only after marriage and having kids that a person understands and becomes sensitive to others feelings. Kids make a person responsible and mature and help us to understand life better.
Happiness and sorrow
Materialistic happiness is short-lived, but happiness achieved by bringing a smile on others face gives a certain level of fulfillment. Peace of mind is the main link to happiness. No mind is happy without peace. We realize the true worth of happiness when we are in sorrow. Sorrow is basically due to death of a loved one, failure and despair. But these things are temporary and pass away.
Failure and success
Failure is the path to success. It helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way. Success brings in money, fame, pride and self-respect. Here it becomes very important to keep our head on out shoulder. The only way to show our gratitude to god for bestowing success on us is by being humble, modest, courteous and respectful to the less fortunate ones.
Hope and despair
Hope is what keeps life going. Parents always hope their children will do well. Hope makes us dream. Hope builds in patience. Life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour, because after every night there is a day. Nothing remains the same we have only one choice keep moving on in life and be hopeful. Life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is beyond our control. Tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be bright or dull. So the only alternative is work hard today, so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow.In which section can readers probably read the passage?
| A．Opinions. |
| B．Politics. |
| C．Education. |
| D．Lifestyles. |
How is the passage organized?
| A．In order of rules. |
| B．In order of frequency. |
| C．By making comparison. |
| D．In order of importance. |
What’s the general meaning of the last sentence of the whole passage?
| A．If you work hard, you’ll have a better life in the future. |
| B．When choosing between “today”and“tomorrow”,you’d better enjoy tomorrow. |
| C．What you only can choose is to work hard today rather than tomorrow. |
| D．Enjoying a better tomorrow is your only choice. |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To encourage people to love each other. |
| B．To tell people how to deal with happiness and sorrow. |
| C．To remind people of keeping having a beautiful dream. |
| D．To give readers some information about life. |
We’re trying to decide where to go on our vacation this summer. We usually go to the Lake Arrowhead for a few weeks, but we’d like to go somewhere else this year. We’re tired of doing the same thing summer after summer. Some friends of ours suggested that we go to Hawaii. That would be wonderful! I’m sure we’d enjoy a trip like that, but of course it’s out of the question. In the first place, it would be rather expensive, and in the second place, there wouldn’t be enough time. If we’re lucky enough to save some money between now and next summer, and if I’m lucky enough to get four weeks of vacation instead of two weeks, maybe we can go to Hawaii next year. As a matter of fact, if we wanted to plan a trip like that, it might be advisable to stay home this summer and not go any place. That’s one way we could begin to save some money for next year’s trip. Also, if we were to stay here, I could offer to work instead of taking two weeks off; then maybe my boss would suggest that I be given four weeks’ vacation next summer instead of two weeks.The author to spend their vacation this year.
| A．is going to Hawaii |
| B．will go to Lake Arrowhead |
| C．has decided to go nowhere |
| D．hasn’t decided where to go |
The sentence “it’s out of the question” means “ ”.
| A．it is possible | B．it is a question |
| C．it is impossible | D．it is not a question |
If the author wanted to make a trip to Hawaii, he might this year.
| A．save some money |
| B．stay at home |
| C．work rather than take two weeks off |
| D．all the above |
A trip to Hawaii that to Lake Arrowhead.
| A．costs much more than | B．costs as much as |
| C．takes less time than | D．takes as much time as |
People in the United States honour their parents with two special days: Mother's Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father's Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care to their children. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with childcare.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear carnations（康乃馨）. A red one symbolizes（象征） a living mother. A white one shows that mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honour their parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues(烤肉)for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is "the thought that counts". Greeting card stores, florists,candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respectfor their parents?
| A．Their parents bring them up. |
| B．Their parents give love and care to them. |
| C．Their parents educate them to be good persons. |
| D．Their parents passed away before they grew up. |
What do you learn from the passage?
| A．Mother's Day and Father's Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
Which do you think is RIGHT about "carnation" ?
| A．It only has two kinds of colour. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother's Dayor Father's Day. |
| C．It's a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sundayin May. |
The Chinese Antarctica(南极洲)expedition(探险队)returned to Shanghai on March 20 following a month living on the ice. It was the first time Chinese scientists had visited the Amery Ice Shelf—the longest ice shelf in the world.
The team collected ice samples and data on temperatures, which are necessary for research on global warming.
So far, about 27 countries have visited Antarctica for scientific research. Although the living conditions are very hard, many scientists have to stay there for long periods of time. So, how do they manage their lives on the ice?
Well, during the summer, the temperature in Antarctica reaches about-20℃. It falls to about-60℃in winter. So, even if there are 24 hours of sunshine, scientists must keep wearing all the correct clothes to protect them from the cold. These clothes include jeans, running shoes, jackets, long underwears, boots and woolen socks.
Although highly technical clothing provides much protection against the extreme cold, scientists often need to go outside when there is an icy wind blowing and the temperature is-30℃. Natural protection such as facial hair can also help.
“That’s why many researchers wear a beard. It really does keep you warm，”says German explorer Arved Fuchs.
Usually, the polar researchers have good meals. Some even have feasts(盛宴)on holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Day. Vegetables are always welcome and usually finished the quickest.
Life on the ice means living with other researchers in tight living space. Most people sleep in dorm(宿舍)style rooms. More remote field camps use separate tents. So, at least some researchers don’t have to put up with annoying snorers(打鼾者)．
But what do they do for fun in their spare time? There are actually a lot of things they can do. They watch movies, read tons of books, listen to music, have saunas(桑拿浴)，paint and ski. Some female researchers might even do some knitting.
It is important for a polar researcher to be in good physical condition. They can be required to climb to heights of more than 3, 000 meters. And the Antarctic atmosphere has less oxygen than that of any other continent.Why do some polar researchers wear beards? Because _______.
| A．they have no time to shave(刮脸)their beards |
| B．beards are helpful to keep warm |
| C．beards will come out soon when they are shaved |
| D．they think beards will make them look handsome |
The underlined phrase “put up with” probably means _______.
| A．hear |
| B．turn down |
| C．let out |
| D．suffer from |
Which of the following do you think is the most important one to a polar researcher?
| A．Clothes. |
| B．Meals. |
| C．Tents. |
| D．Health. |
The best title of the passage is _______.
| A．The Antarctica |
| B．The Chinese Antarctica Expedition Explored the Antarctica |
| C．Life in Antarctica |
| D．The Exploration of Antarctica |
There are many ways of defining success. It is accurate to say that each of us has our own ideas of success to the extent that each of us is responsible for setting our own goals and determining whether we have met these goals satisfactorily. Because each of us possesses unique differences in genetic ability and favorable environments in which to express these abilities, it is necessarily true that we must define success broadly.
For some people，simply being able to live their life with the least misery and sufferings is considered a success. Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep, enjoys his simple life with his family in the beauty of nature, and who is respected because he does a good job of achieving the goals expected of him and accepted by his family and his society. On the other hand, it seems that even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions, many of them seem to be miserable and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own standards of success. Because not all ventures can be successful, one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success, but if one has self-confidence it would be unfortunate to set one's goals at too low a level of achievement.
A wise man once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration(挫折）with his own professional success, “You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in traveling. Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park or riding the subway downtown,” The man added, "You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like，and to which you have given your best effort. ”Some rich people consider themselves unsuccessful because______.
| A．their life is busy and miserable |
| B．they haven't reached their own standards |
| C．they set their goals at too low a level |
| D．they are not rich in material possessions |
From the last paragraph we can tell that______.
| A．success means efforts and favorites pay off |
| B．success comes from great goal setting |
| C．success means achieving great goals |
| D．success has nothing to do with the distance of your travel |
The purpose of the passage is______.
| A．to give us a clear definition of what success is |
| B．to talk about how to achieve success |
| C．to state what our life goal is |
| D．to discuss the importance of goals |
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