Big Ben, the landmark of London, a clock famous for its accuracy and chimes(和谐的钟声), stopped working for 90 minutes, an engineer said Saturday.
People do not know why the 147-year-old clock on the banks of the River Thames stopped at 10:07 p.m. Friday. It continued keeping time, but stopped again at 10:20 p.m. and remained silent for about 90 minutes before starting up again, a spokeswoman for the House of Commons said.
There has been speculation(推测) that a recent period of hot weather may have been to blame(责备). Temperatures in London reached 90 ℉on Saturday, and forecasters called it England’s hottest day in May since 1953.
The clock has experienced occasional problems. In 1962, snow caused the clock to stop before the New Year. In 1976, the clock stopped when a piece of its machinery broke. Big Ben also stopped on April 30, 1997, and once more three weeks later.How many times has Big Ben stopped up to now?
| A．Three | B．Five | C．Six | D．Eight |
The probable reason for Big Ben stopping working this time is ________.
| A．high temperature | B．low temperature |
| C．broken machine | D．heavy snow |
The passage mainly talks about ________.
| A．Big Ben’s history |
| B．the solution to Big Ben’s problem. |
| C．the landmark of London |
| D．Big Ben’s silence |
People tend to think of computers as isolated machines, working away all by themselves. Some personal computers do without an outside link, like someone's secret cabin in the woods. But just as most of homes are tied to a community by streets, bus routes and electric lines, computers that exchange intelligence are part of a community local, national and even global network joined by telephone connections.
The computer network is a creation of the electric age, but it is based on old-fashioned trust. It cannot work without trust. A rogue (流氓) loose in a computer system called hacker is worse than a thief entering your house. He could go through anyone's electronic mail or add to, change or get rid of anything in the information stored in the computer's memory. He could even take control of the entire system by inserting his own instructions in the software that runs it. He could shut the computer down whenever he wished, and no one could stop him. Then he could program the computer to erase any sign of his ever having been there.
Hacking, our electronic-age term for computer break-in is more and more in the news, intelligent kids vandalizing（破坏）university records, even pranking (恶作剧) about in supposedly safeguarded systems. To those who understand how computer networks are increasingly regulating life in the late 20th century, these are not laughing matters. A potential for disaster is building: A dissatisfied former insurance-company employee wipes out information from some files; A student sends out a "virus", a secret and destructive command, over a national network. The virus copies itself at lightning speed, jamming the entire network thousands of academic, commercial and government computer systems. Such disastrous cases have already occurred. Now exists the possibility of terrorism by computer. Destroying a system responsible for air-traffic control at a busy airport, or knocking out the telephones of a major city, is a relatively easy way to spread panic. Yet neither business nor government has done enough to strengthen its defenses against attack. For one thing, such defenses are expensive; for another, they may interrupt communication, the main reason for using computers in the first place.
1. People usually regard computers as __________.
A. part of a network B. means of exchanging intelligence
C. personal machines disconnected from outside
D. a small cabin at the end of a street .
2. The writer mentions “ a thief ”in the second paragraph most probably to .
A. show that a hacker is more dangerous than a thief
B. tell people that thieves like to steal computers nowadays
C. demand that a computer network should be set up against thieves
D. look into the case where hackers and thieves are the same people
3. According to the passage , a hacker may do all the damages below EXCEPT .
A. attacking people’s e-mails . B. destroying computer systems .
C. creating many electronic-age terms .
D. entering into computer systems without being discovered
4. By saying “ Now exists the possibility of terrorism by computer ”(the underlined ) the writer means that _______.
A. some employees may erase information from some files
B. students who send out a “ virus ”may do disastrous damages to thousands of computers
C. some people may spread fear in public by destroying computer systems
D. some terrorists are trying to contact each other using electronic mails
Section One
The city is an accumulation of human civilization. Just as the American social philosopher (哲学家) Lewis Mumford put it, it is a special system which, fine and compact, has been designed to preserve the fruits of human civilization. Many Western languages have developed their versions of the term “civilization” from the same Latin (拉丁语的) word “civitas”(meaning “city” ), and it is by no means a coincidence. The city has played a significant role in the perfection of order in human society.
Section Two
The emblem, showing the image of three people ― you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind. Inspired by the shape of the Chinese character “世” (meaning the world), the design conveys the organizers' wish to host an Expo which is of global scale and which showcases the various urban cultures of the world.
Section Three
Created from the inspiration of Chinese character “人”, the design roots deeply in Chinese culture. It tells the world the eternal core (永恒的核心) and theme of Shanghai World Expo will be always human. The mascot “Haibao” will become the messenger for the theme of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China “Better City, Better Life”.
The basic structure of the Chinese character “人” in which each stroke supports each other also shows the concept that the beautiful life should depends on mutual-help. If the human are willing to support one another, the harmony among human, nature, and society will be available. Such an urban life will be nice.
Haibao’s confident smile is expressing his sincere greeting from China ― “World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!”
1. Which correctly matches the sections with the pictures they describe?
| Pictures |
 |
 |
 |
| A. |
Section One |
Section Two |
Section Three |
| B. |
Section Two |
Section Three |
Section One |
| C. |
Section Three |
Section Two |
Section One |
| D. |
Section Three |
Section One |
Section Two |
2. In Section Three, the second paragraph explains how the creation is connected with the _____ of the Chinese word “人”.
A. story B. meaning C. shape D. usage
3. The underlined word “stroke” in the second paragraph of Section Three means ______.
A. one of the ideas a word has B. a line made by a writing tool
C. a member of a family or the society D. a person who has met with trouble
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
“Can I see my baby?” asked the happy new mother. The bundle （婴儿包）was placed in her arms and when she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped—the baby had been born without ears. Time, however, proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect except his appearance.
One day when he rushed home from school and threw himself into his mother’s arms, he cried out bitterly, “A boy, a big boy … called me — a f-…freak.” She sighed, knowing that his life was to be endless of heartbreaks.
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift for literature and music.
The boy’s father had a talk with the family doctor. Could nothing be done? “I believe we could graft（移植）on a pair of outer ears, if they could be donated,” the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by. Then, “You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret.” said the father.
The operation was a brilliant success. His talents blossomed into genius. School and college became a series of successes. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. “But I must know!” he urged his father. “Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him.” “I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know … not yet.” The years kept the secret, but the day did come … one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket（棺材）. Slowly and tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to let out the secret.
1. The story is mainly about _______.
A. how a boy had new ears through an operation
B. what a devoted parent privately did for the child
C. how a disabled boy turned into a useful person
D. why a donator made a sacrifice to a bright boy
2. The underlined word “freak” in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to “_______”.
A. slow-acting person B. good-looking child
C. badly-behaved student D. strangely-shaped creature
3. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The agreement was between the donator and the family.
B. The boy was so popular that he was made class president.
C. Finally the boy came to know who the donator was.
D. The mother donated her ears to her son after she died.
4. What moral lesson can we draw from this reading?
A. Real love lies in what is done unknown rather than what is done known.
B. It is up to parents to help their children heart and soul.
C. True beauty lies only in the heart not in appearance.
D. It is a virtue（美德）for young generations to learn to be grateful.
第二卷（两部分，共35分）第一节：对话填空（满分10分）请认真阅读下面对话，并根据各题所给首字母的提示，在方框的右栏标有题号的横线上，写出一个英语单词的完整. 正确的形式，使对话通顺。W: What can I do for you, sir? M: Well, I’ve just got （76） o_________ an international flight, and I’m not sure which mode of transport I should make use of on my trip. So I need some （77）a____________. W: Go on, please. M: I’m planning to travel to some famous places ---- Beijing, Xi’an and Guilin in China. Which mode of transport is the （78）b______ for me? W: Well, that （79）d___________ on how much time and money you’re going to spend on your trip. M: I see. I’m traveling at my （80）e________, so I want to save both time and money spent on my way. W: Oh, I know what you mean. （81）N________ that you are in Beijing, you should visit the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Imperial Palace and Tian Anmen Square as well. During your trip in Beijing, make use of the underground （82）w_________ is faster and cheaper. M: How can I get to Xi’an? You know I have to go to Beijng after I’ve finished all my traveling. W: It’s much （83）c____________ to take train to Xi’an than to fly. In my opinion, you should take the train to Xi’an and then to Guilin. You will not （84）o_________ save money but have a beautiful scenic trip. After that, fly directly from Guilin to Beijing. M: Good! That’s a really good idea. I’ll do as you have （85）s_________. Thanks a lot.
A survey has found that in adolescence (青春期) a lack of physical activity is connected with emotional and behavioral problems. More than 7,000 teenagers in Finland took part in the survey that judged their levels of physical activity and mental and emotional health. Boys who reported less than one hour of physical activity a week were more likely to be anxious and sad than boys who were more active. Girls who were not active had similar problems, and were more likely than boys who were not active to have sleep problems and break school rules.
The researchers concluded that both boys and girls who are not active are more likely than active ones to have social and attention problems.
“Adolescence is already a difficult stage of life-emotionally, mentally and physically,” study author Marko T.Kantomaa said in the American College of Sports Medicine.
“Mixing that with negative mental and emotional effects brought on by lack of physical activity does not help young people enter adulthood smoothly. Physical activity could be a highly effective and relatively easy way to help that transition and could lead to healthy habits for one’s whole life,” Kantomaa said.
Researchers said that evidence suggests that an increase in physical activity helps reduce problems of sadness and anxiety in both adolescents and adults. “It seems that there is a psychological(心理的)and physiological(生理的)connection that helps explain the beneficial effects of exercise on mental health,”Kantomaa said.
1. The first paragraph leads us to believe that________.
A. a lack of physical activity may cause many mental problems
B. a lack of physical exercise is common among teenagers
C. girls have more physical and mental problems than boys
D. inactive boys are more likely to break rules than inactive girls
2. Which of the following problems may NOT be caused by a lack of activity according to the passage?
A. Anxiety. B. sleeplessness. C. Inattention. D. unkindness.
3. From the passage we can conclude that___________.
A. boys take more physical exercise than girls
B. teenagers who aren’t active spend a lot of time studying
C. plenty of physical activity is effective in developing healthy habits
D. physical exercise is the only way to cure mental problems
4. The underlined word “transition” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to“_______”.
A. change B. condition C. balance D. activity
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