In May 1987 the Golden Gate Bridge had a 50th birthday party. The bridge was closed to motor traffic so people could enjoy a walk across it. Organizers expected perhaps 50，000 people to show up. Instead， as many as 800，000 crowded the roads to the bridge. By the time 250，000 were on the bridge， engineers noticed something terrible： the roadway was flattening under what turned out to be the heaviest load it had ever been asked to carry. Worse， it was beginning to sway（晃动）. The authorities closed access to the bridge and tens of thousands of people made their way back to land. A disaster was avoided.
The story is one of scores in To Forgive Design： Understanding Failure， a book that is at once a love letter to engineering and a paean （赞歌） to its breakdowns. Its author， Dr. Henry Petroski， has long been writing about disasters. In this book， he includes the loss of the space shuttles （航天飞机） Challenger and Columbia， and the sinking of the Titanic.
Though he acknowledges that engineering works can fail because the person who thought them up or engineered them simply got things wrong， in this book Dr. Petroski widens his view to consider the larger context in which such failures occur. Sometimes devices fail because a good design is constructed with low quality materials incompetently applied. Or perhaps a design works so well it is adopted elsewhere again and again， with seemingly harmless improvements， until， suddenly， it does not work at all anymore.
Readers will encounter not only stories they have heard before， but some new stories and a moving discussion of the responsibility of the engineer to the public and the ways young engineers can be helped to grasp them.
"Success is success but that is all that it is，" Dr. Petroski writes. It is failure that brings improvement.
（1）What happened to the Golden Gate Bridge on its 50th birthday？
| A． |
It carried more weight than it could. |
| B． |
It swayed violently in a strong wind. |
| C． |
Its roadway was damaged by vehicles. |
| D． |
Its access was blocked by many people. |
（2）Which of the following is Dr. Petroski's idea according to paragraph 3？
| A． |
No design is well received everywhere. |
| B． |
Construction is more important than design. |
| C． |
Not all disasters are caused by engineering design. |
| D． |
Improvements on engineering works are necessary. |
（3）What does the last paragraph suggest？
| A． |
Failure can lead to progress. |
| B． |
Success results in overconfidence. |
| C． |
Failure should be avoided. |
| D． |
Success comes from joint efforts. |
（4）What is the text？
| A． |
A news report. |
| B． |
A short story. |
| C． |
A book review. |
| D． |
A research article. |
While I was on a trip to Papua New Guinea to take underwater photographs, I asked a local dive guide to help me find a pygmy sea horse(侏儒海马). I wanted to take a picture of it. These sea horses can be red or yellow-and-orange. The red pygmy sea horse lives on only one type of coral, a red sea fan that grows at depths below ninety feet.
This depth made the job even tougher. As the pressure on my body increased, I had to breathe harder, which used my air supply faster. So the deeper I dived, the shorter my time underwater.
I had a lot to do. First, I had to find the pygmy sea horse’s special type of fan .Then I had to look over the whole fan with my magnifying glass(放大镜) to see if a sea horse lived on it. If not, I had to find another fan—all the while keeping an eye on my oxygen supply. The second fan rewarded me with a find. The dive guide held the magnifying glass so I could have my first look at the tiny fish.
My next challenge was to focus my camera on such a small subject. The dive guide pointed at the tiny creature. I looked through the viewfinder(取景物) on my large underwater camera housing(相架), found the guide’s finger, and followed it to the sea horse.
It was hard to hold ourselves steady because both of us were floating in mid-water, but our system worked. I could hardly contain my excitement as I focused on the eyes of the cutest sea horse imaginable.What do we learn about the red pygmy sea horse?
| A．It lives on red sea fans only. | B．It swims very quickly. |
| C．It lives nine feet deep. | D．It usually floats in mid-water. |
From Paragraph 3 we learn .
| A．how the author swam under water | B．how the author found a sea horse |
| C．why the author dived with a guide | D．why the author used a magnifying glass |
While the author was taking pictures of the sea horse, .
| A．she felt extremely nervous | B．her camera didn’t work well |
| C．the guide helped focus the camera | D．the sea horse was swimming away |
Why did the author write the passage?
| A．To study the natural habitat of sea animals. |
| B．To explain why sea horses are endangered. |
| C．To tell us how to be an underwater photographer. |
| D．To show us how she took pictures of a sea horse. |
A traveller was staying in an Egyptian village. One day, she held up her camera to take pictures of the children. Suddenly the young ones began to shout at her. The traveller's face turned red and she apologized to the head for what she was doing, and told him she had forgotten that people in some places believed a person would lose his soul(灵魂) if his picture was taken. She explained to him the operation of a camera for a long time. Several times the head tried to say something, but he couldn't. When she believed that the head didn't fear any longer, the traveller then let him speak. With a smile, he said, "The children were trying to tell you that you forgot to take off the lens(镜头) cap!" The children shouted when the traveller was taking pictures of them because _______.
| A．they didn't want to stop playing |
| B．the traveller forgot to take off the cap on her head |
| C．they didn't want to have their pictures taken |
| D．the traveller was not doing well with her camera |
The traveller made an apology to (向……道歉) the head because _______.
| A．she thought it was not right to take people's pictures without telling them beforehand(事先) |
| B．the children would lose their souls |
| C．she had stayed in the village too long |
| D．she didn't take a picture of the head first |
The traveller explained how to use a camera to the head because _______.
| A．the head was very interested in her camera |
| B．the head wanted to learn to take pictures |
| C．she was afraid of the head |
| D．she wanted the head not to worry about what she was doing |
When the head smiled, it's clear that _______ .
| A．the children wanted to play with her |
| B．the traveller didn't know what the children meant |
| C．he wanted the traveller to tell him something else |
| D．the traveller didn't let him speak |
James is a good student and he has lots of friends，but he also has a problem．Some older boys are bullying(欺负)him at school．James is very unhappy and he doesn't know what to do about it．Here are some suggestions to him and other teenagers in this situation．
Don't feel worried．It's not your fault(过错)! Being bullied can make you feel very lonely and angry，but you are not alone．Don't feel that you have to hide the problem．You should find a person you can trust，and tell them．It might be your teacher，your parents，or even your friend's parents．After you tell someone，you will get some support and feel some relief(解脱)．
Speaking to an adult might make you nervous，but here are other things you can do．Some people express their feelings more easily on paper．Write a letter to someone or keep a diary．Include all the details about what the bullies do, as well as when and where the bullying happens．You can use it as proof to show what is going on．And it is a wonderful idea to show your letter or diary to a teacher or another responsible adult．Then the bullies will feel very afraid if their names appear in a letter!
Also，don't show you are sad and don't try and fight with the bullies. You could get in trouble yourself. Ignore them and just walk away. The bullies will soon stop.What do you think the text is trying to tell us?
| A．What to do about being bullied. | B．How to be a good student at school. |
| C．What to write well in a diary. | D．How to give suggestions to teenagers. |
Why does the text advise you not to feel worried if bullied?
| A．Because you are not alone. | B．Because it is not your fault. |
| C．Because someone has known about it. | D．Because you' re doing something wrong. |
You'd better go and find a person you can trust and ____.
| A．know what happens | B．learn from them | C．ask for help | D．make them lonely |
When you leave home to go and live somewhere else, you naturally take your own personality and cultural ways with you. When you arrive in a new country with a different culture you can experience different kinds of feelings and reactions. For example, you may feel confused and nervous, and like to depend on others.
If you do experience these things, then you are probably experiencing culture shock. For example, coming to Australia from another country certainly gives you a chance to face many new things: the buildings look different, and the food is not what you are used to. You may not be able to speak with other people confidently.
Learning to function effectively in a new culture is not easy. Meanings in cross-cultural situations are often unclear. This can be stressful because you are not sure what others expect of you or what you can expect of them. In these situations it is natural to feel anxious and frustrated(挫折). If you recognize that these feelings are a normal part of the experience of living away from “home”, you may be able to deal with them more efficiently. Your sense of humor and openness will also help. As you gain greater understanding of the new culture, you can expect the stress to disappear.
Dealing with culture shock needs a special effort, but it is the most important to remember that you are not alone in your feelings of distress. Most people in their first weeks and months in a new country experience similar reactions.This passage mainly tells us _______.
| A．How to adapt（适应） to a new environment | B．how to live in Australia happily |
| C．how to study in a new environment | D．how to avoid being nervous |
Why do people have many kinds of feelings in a new country?
| A．Because they are surprised at everything they see. |
| B．Because buildings are very beautiful. |
| C．Because culture shock does have a great effect on them. |
| D．Because they have to learn something quickly. |
The stress may disappear slowly as you __________.
| A．have the ability to get along well with others |
| B．can know more about the new culture |
| C．can consider the stress to be normal |
| D．are humorous and have a good mood |
Which of the following is the most important thing in dealing with culture shock?
| A．Your efforts. | B．Your attitude. | C．Your feelings. | D．Your humor. |
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This is an advertisement of ___________.
| A．inquiring(询问) English learning | B．setting Open University |
| C．introducing famous teachers | D．attracting students |
As a student of the Open University, you don’t need to ________.
| A．buy any course materials | B．have lessons all the time at the university |
| C．choose which course to learn | D．pay any money for your study |
The Open University can supply you with _________.
| A．a course for training your English | B．a classroom and a library for study |
| C．different kinds of free instructions | D．different jobs to choose from |
We can learn from the text that ________.
| A．OU courses are popular in Britain |
| B．money for learning must be paid off at one time |
| C．we can’t telephone the university during the night |
| D．people can’t be employed without finishing OU courses |
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