In 1901, H．G．Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon．When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities．They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met．In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise．“Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H．G．Wells could only imagine travel to the moon．In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon．People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon．However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one．A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it．
Underground systems are already in place．Many cities have underground car parks．In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas．The “Chunnel”, a tunnel（隧道） connecting England and France, is now complete．
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities．” The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on．A solar dome（太阳能穹顶） would cover the whole city．
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space．The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness．H．G．Wells’ “moon people” would agree．Would you?The explorers in H．G．Wells’ story were surprised to find that the “moon people” _____．
| A．lived in so many underground cities |
| B．knew so much about the earth |
| C．understood their language |
| D．were ahead of them in space technology |
What does the underlined word “it” refer to?
| A．Discovering the moon’s inner space． | B．Traveling to outer space． |
| C．Meeting the “moon people” again． | D．Using the earth’s inner space． |
What sort of underground systems are already here with us?
| A．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas． |
| B．Offices, shopping areas, power stations． |
| C．Gardens, car parks, power stations． |
| D．Tunnels, gardens, offices． |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Alice Cities—cities of the future． | B．Space travel with H．G．Wells． |
| C．Building down, not up． | D．Enjoy living underground． |
The city can seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying about their own business, a person can feel alone among the millions of others.
There is a popular view that in cities, strangers are less likely to help an elderly person cross a street or call the police when they see a bike being stolen. Recently, a New Yorker named Casey Neistat did an experiment. He chained up his bike in several public places, then "stole" it in a number of obvious ways, such as using a hacksaw (钢锯). He filmed everything to see whether other New Yorkers would try to stop a shameless bike theft. The result? People just walked on by.
Is this evidence of an immoral, selfish urban society? Not necessarily. According to another recent study, the way city people mind their own business is about other factors besides morality (道德).
This is called the Bystander Effect, the theory that city people do not react because of the urban enviromnent they live in.
Psychologist Dr. Harold explained why people did not involve themselves in Neistat's bike theft experiment with the Bystander Effect.
First, people who live in cities are surrounded by so much activity that they stop noticing what is going on around them. Second, they are less easy to surprise and assume every activity has a logical explanation.
"The third is that people notice it, but they don't know what to do," he continued. "And the fourth is fear — they know they should do something, but they're afraid to challenge someone with a hacksaw."
A lack of concern is only a small reason why people don't take action, concludes Dr. Harold.
Despite the results of Neistat's experiment, there is also evidence of a sense of team spirit that connects people in cities. All it takes is a funny joke or a shared interest to start a conversation with someone at a bus stop. When city folk are in trouble, they come together for support — famously in New York on September 11, 2001.
City society is different, but that doesn't mean it's cold or mean — it just means it's busy! Casey Neistat fihned everything in the experiment with the purpose of .
| A．proving that he was not the thief |
| B．telling people that bike theft was immoral |
| C．finding out who had a sense of right and wrong |
| D．making his experiment well-known to the public |
We can infer from the third paragraph that morality .
| A．can partly explain a selfish urban society |
| B．is what our society should pay special attention to |
| C．is the only factor that leads to a selfish urban society |
| D．is the root of the Bystander Effect mentioned in the passage |
The underlined part September 11, 2001 in Paragraph 9 serves as .
| A．a reminder of the sad memories |
| B．a way to prove Dr Harold's Bystander effect |
| C．evidence that city life can be really dangerous |
| D．an example to show team spirit connecting city people |
As can be inferred from the passage, the writer probably .
| A．criticizes the loss of morality in urban society |
| B．feels sad about the result of Neistat's experiment |
| C．thinks city people are too busy to care about others |
| D．disagrees that city life sometimes can be cold and mean |
Seth DeBolt is a plant scientist at the University of Kentucky US. He and other scientists wanted to find a source of fuel that poor people in rural areas of developing countries could use to make electricity.
The United Nations Development Program says a billion and a half people have no electricity. A billion others have an undependable supply.
Professor DeBolt went on a study trip to rural Indonesia. He saw that there was very little waste in the use of agricultural products. Everything that farmers grew was used for something. Even the remains of fruit that people did not eat were fed to chickens.
Little waste meant there was little that could be used for fuel. Growing a separate fuel crop would take land away from food crops. That was something Professor DeBolt did not want to do.
DeBOLT said, "The people at most risk with respect to energy poverty, typically they're the same people who have food insecurity issues as it is. And then any change in availability would be most damaging to that group of people."
But he found one item that was in plentiful supply and would not create competition between food and fuel. Coconut shells are generally thrown out. Yet Professor DeBolt says it has an "excellent" heating value. All someone needs is a way to release that energy.
DeBolt says he and his team see possibilities for coconut power. "Coconuts are growing here and these are the areas where there is possibility for energy poverty to be eased at least in part by these small-scale production systems."
The researchers say these systems could provide as much as thirteen percent of the energy needs of a country like Indonesia. Other tropical countries with large crops of coconuts and similar fruit could benefit, as well.
But DeBolt says this is not a perfect solution. There are technical questions, like how to safely deal with the dangerous waste produced in the process. And there needs to be money to get these projects started.Professor DeBolt went on a study trip to rural areas of developing countries to .
| A．help farmers make full use of waste |
| B．seek certain materials to make electricity |
| C．persuade farmers to grow more coconuts |
| D．find a suitable place to carry out the experiment |
DeBolt thought it was not a good idea to grow fuel crops because .
| A．there are plenty of coconuts |
| B．local farmers have no interest in it |
| C．it would make food problems worse |
| D．fuel crop has little use for local farmers |
The last two paragraphs mainly tell us that coconut power .
| A．needs further experiments and efforts |
| B．can help solve energy problem perfectly |
| C．will cause technique and money problems |
| D．has drawn Indonesia's government attention |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Make Full Use Of Coconuts | B．Make Power From Coconuts |
| C．A Perfect Solution | D．Food And Energy Problems |
Some expressions in English can be really puzzling. Have a look at the following to see how it challenges your brainpower.
Homeric laughter
The "Homer" in this expression is the Greek poet. People laugh differently. Some laugh silently, while others tend to laugh loudly. "Homeric laughter" refers to laughter of the latter kind. It is at times uncontrollable, and the entire body shakes during the process. This kind of laughter is called Homeric laughter because this is how the gods laughed in Homer's classics.
A three-ring circus
When you refer to a situation as being a three-ring circus, you are saying that it is a situation of complete confusion. There are so many activities taking place all together that they leave you confused or annoyed. The expression comes from the world of entertainment — the circus. The area where the artists perform their acts is called the "ring". In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings". The audience had to decide which "ring" they wanted to focus on.
In the swim (of things)
When someone is in the swim of things, the individual is actively participating in the things happening around him, as in "I've been ill, but soon I’ll be back in the swim of thing." In the world of fishing, fishermen use the word "swim" to refer to the section of the lake/river where fish can be found in plenty. So, if you are a fisherman and wish to catch a lot offish, where would you be? You would be "in the swim".
Chickens have come home to roost
The word "roost" refers to the place where birds rest. It could be anything — the branch of a tree, a henhouse, etc. The expression is normally used to mean that the bad things that someone did in the past have come back to bite or upset the individual. In other words, one has to face the consequences of the deeds done in the past. The original form of this 700-year-old expression was "curses are like chickens; they always come home to roost".Which of the following can best describe the picture?
| A．Homeric laughter | B．A three-ring circus |
| C．In the swim (of things) | D．Chickens have come home to roost |
What does the underlined word "simultaneously'(Paragraph 3) mean?
| A．At the same time. | B．Step by step. |
| C．All of a sudden. | D．One after another. |
lf you want to know more about such expressions, which website will you probably visit?
| A．www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/China.html |
| B．www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/university.html |
| C．www.chinadaily.com.cn/culuture/language.html |
| D．www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/fashion.html |
The passage is written to .
| A．tell readers some old and interesting stories |
| B．indicate the development of English phrases |
| C．correct some misunderstandings about words |
| D．explain the meanings and origins of some phrases |
Ever since Jerusha started her college, she began to write letters. Through a series of letters, from freshman to senior in college, she shared her life and study with an unknown gentleman, who never wrote back. Here is the very first letter.
| Dear Mr. Kind, Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a train. It's a funny experience. I never rode in one before. College is the biggest, most confusing place — I get lost whenever I leave my room. I will tell you more later when I'm feeling less puzzled. Now I want to write a letter first just to get me familiar to you. It seems strange to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It seems strange for me to be writing letters at all — I've never written more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if they are not a model kind. Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very serious talk. She told me how to behave, especially towards the kind gentleman who is doing so much for me. I must take care to be very respectful. I have been thinking of you a great deal this summer; having somebody take an interest in me after all these years makes me feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable feeling. I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imaqination has very little to work upon. There are just three things that I know: I .You are tall. II .You are rich. III. You hate girl. I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only that's rather unpleasant to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's unpleasant to you, as though money were the only important thing about you. Maybe you won't stay rich all your life; But at least you will stay tall all your life! So I decide to call you Dear Daddy-long-legs. I hope you won't mind. It's just a private pet name — we won't tell Mrs. Lippett. The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is divided by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. There it goes! Lights out. Good night. You can see how strictly I obey rules due to my training in the John Grier Home. Yours most respectfully, Jerusha Abbott |
Which of the following is NOT the reason for Jerusha to write the letter to Mr.Kind?
| A．To get her familiar to him. |
| B．To present her thankfulness to him. |
| C．To share her brand-new college life with him. |
| D．To apologize to him for not writing letters too often. |
If Mrs. Lippett learned that the writer calls the man she writes to Daddy-long-legs, she would probably .
| A．burst into laughter | B．think it acceptable |
| C．criticize the writer | D．inform the man |
By "when I think about you, my imagination has very little to work upon.", the writer intends to tell us that .
| A．the man she writes to is dull and boring |
| B．she is not familiar with the one she writes to |
| C．it is not interesting at all to write to a stranger |
| D．she lacks imagination when it comes to writing a letter |
Jerusha was probably while she worked on the letter.
| A．curious | B．light-hearted | C．serious | D．skeptical |
Friendship—Seven Tips on How to Make Friends
Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Friendship offers companionship, improves an individual self-worth and promotes good health. However making new friends comes easy for some people but for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage. Below are some helpful tips on how to make and keep friends.
Associate with others. The first step to making friends is associating with other people. Health clubs, places of worship and charities are some places where you can meet new people and build friendship. But attending these places is not enough. You will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member.
Be cheerful. A smile on the face is a sure way to attract new friends as people are always drawn to a cheerful disposition. No one wants to keep company with someone who constantly looks upset.
Start a conversation. Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends. Do not wait to be spoken to；you can always start the conversation. Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people regardless of the environment or circumstance.
Stay in touch. For a friendship to grow you need to stay in touch. There are several ways of staying in touch with your friends and these include SMS, phone calls and online social networking sites.
Do things together. Choosing friends with common interest is important in establishing friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together and hanging out will always be a pleasant experience. The less you have in common with your friend the more likely the friendship will not grow.
Let it grow. It is a good thing to stay in touch but try not to choke your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and eventually they may not want to be your friend anymore. The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.
Enjoy your friendship. The best way to enjoy your new friends is to allow them to be themselves. Try not to be critical of them and try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be.
| Theme |
Friendship, which has a positive （76） __________on people’s life, is a very important human relationship. |
| （77） _______ on making and keeping friends |
Be （78）__________with people by going to public places. Take an active part in activities to create （79） __________for others to know you. |
| （80）__________a smile all the time to make others willing to get close to you. |
|
| Try to have a conversation with others （81）__________ of environment or circumstance. |
|
| Contact your friends in some ways, （82）__________ SMS, phone calls and online social networking. |
|
| Choose friends whose interests are （83） __________to yours, which will bring you pleasant experiences when you do things together. |
|
| （84）__________ calling or visiting friends too frequently and leave friendships grow naturally. |
|
| Remember not to find fault with or （85）__________your friends, and make them as what they are. |
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