My choice for a modern wonder of the world is the Simplon Tunnel in Switzerland. It’s actually two tunnels-railway tracks run through both of them.
They’re each almost twenty kilometers long. They’re not the longest tunnels in the world now, but they were when they were built, back in the beginning of the 20th century. The first one was started in 1898 and opened in 1906.The other one was started in 1912 and was opened in 1921, so each one was taken about eight years to build. The first tunnel was built by drilling in both directions-when the two drill-holes met in 1905, they were only two centimeters out of alignment. In those days, that was a tremendous achievement.
While it was being built, about 3,000 people worked on the construction every day. The working conditions weren’t very good-for example, it was often very hot inside and more than sixty people died during the building of the tunnel.
The tunnel joins Switzerland and Italy, and it has helped to make the travel between the two countries a lot easier than it was before. Now, people can put their car on the train and take it through the tunnel, so they don’t have to drive over the Simplon Pass.
I think this was a great thing to build all those years ago and it has made a big difference to the whole of that part of Europe.
1. The two tunnels took about ________ years to build.| A．eight | B．sixteen | C．twenty | D．forty |
| A．fantastic | B．natural | C．simple | D．general |
| A．About 3,000 people died during the building. | B．The tunnel connected France and Italy. |
| C．Cars can't be put on the train through it. | D．It was difficult to construct the tunnel. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
What is it in the picture? Is it an eggplant? In fact it’s a tomato, a purple tomato. The special kind of tomato was created by making changes to its DNA. Besides the unusual color, what’s really special about the tomato is that it has very high levels of antioxidants.
Antioxidants are found naturally in plants like blueberries, blackberries and red cabbages. Scientists believe antioxidants may help people fight against some illnesses. But tomatoes naturally only have a small amount of antioxidants in them.
British scientist Cathie Martin has been working on developing purple tomatoes for years. She wanted to see if she could create tomatoes with lots of antioxidants by changing the DNA of a tomato plant.
Dr. Martin added two genes from a plant called a “snapdragon”. Soon her plants were producing small purple tomatoes with lots of antioxidants. Even better, the tomatoes remained fresh almost twice as long as normal tomatoes.
Dr. Martin and some other scientists created a company. The company tested its tomatoes on mice that were likely to get cancer. The mice who were fed the purple tomatoes lived about 30% longer than the mice who were fed common tomatoes. Though that’s good news, tests on mice don’t always show what influence on humans will be like.
In recent years, Dr. Martin and her company have been working to get the agreement to grow and sell the purple tomatoes in the US. On September 7, the US government agreed. Dr. Martin and her company plan to introduce the tomatoes at farmers markets across the US in 2023. They also hope to sell the seeds to people who want to grow their own.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To bring in the subject. |
| B．To lead to a discussion. |
| C．To compare two vegetables. |
| D．To show the writer’s opinion. |
| A．To help British farmers. |
| B．To make tomatoes healthier. |
| C．To change the color of tomatoes. |
| D．To see how the DNA of a tomato changes. |
| A．They are much bigger. |
| B．They don’t go bad easily. |
| C．They are better for the environment. |
| D．They have a shorter growing season. |
| A．The purple tomatoes are not safe for humans to eat. |
| B．The mice got cancer after eating the purple tomatoes. |
| C．The company has decided to do tests on other animals. |
| D．The influence of the purple tomatoes on humans is not clear. |
3 . ① Going to the cinema is fun. However, in a time when technology has afforded us home video streaming services such as Netflixhy and Hulu, many people choose to stay at home to have fun. And they believe cinemas are going to have problems. Though those services might have a bad influence on the cinemas, I don’t believe the cinemas are going away anytime soon.
② As we all know, staying at home to watch films can save your money because the tickets for cinemas aren’t cheap. Besides, you can lie comfortably on a big sofa to watch films. And generally you can watch films for as long as you want. And you don’t need to worry that others will be angry when you laugh aloud.
③ But the cinema has the low lighting, the big screen, the surround sound etc. War movies especially benefit from being watched in cinemas. You can experience the war better and more closely. As well as war movies, action movies and superhero movies are also much better when seen on the big screen.
④Besides, you can enjoy the time with your friends and family when going to see a good movie. Therefore, you’d better not just watch a movie at home and then go to bed. you can hang out with your friends and share your latest news face to face based on going to see a movie together.
⑤Anyway, we are lucky enough to live in a time that benefits people who love to go out and those who love to stay at home. Netflix and other services will always be there for those who prefer to stay at home. But going to the cinema offers better experience, and it helps cinemas create more jobs. It’s a win-win. So why not see a cool movie at your local cinemas?
1. What influence do home video streaming services seem to bring?| A．Cinemas will soon disappear. |
| B．Cinema business is getting hurt. |
| C．Cinemas begin to offer better services to customers. |
| D．Films have become much funnier than before. |
| A．not all films are always interesting as well as popular |
| B．people can watch different kinds of films when free |
| C．cinemas should show different films at different times |
| D．some films are more amazing when watched in cinemas |
| A．To persuade us to join outdoor activities as often as possible. |
| B．To present the advantage of watching films at home. |
| C．To show us the reasons for the decline of theater. |
| D．To advise people to go to the theater. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
4 . On Dec. 9, 2021, three Chinese astronauts gave a science lecture 400 kilometers above Earth. Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, who are working abroad the Tiangong space station, showed millions of students their life there. They also did some fun science experiments. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Use it or lose it
The human body grows with the pull of Earth’s gravity. But in space, our bones and muscles don’t need to sustain our body’s weight. This will cause bone and muscle loss. NASA says that astronauts can lose up to 20 percent of their muscles after just a couple of weeks. That is dangerous because they will be too weak to work.
Astronauts have different ways to prevent this. During the lecture, Zhai introduced a special uniform Ye was wearing. It’s called a “penguin suit”. There are many elastic bands inside the suit. Wearing it, astronauts use their muscles to stretch the bands. This keeps their muscles strong.
▲ .
During another experiment, Wang made a water film. Then she added more water drops onto the film to make it a water ball. This can never happen on Earth. Why?
We need to first understand the surface tension of water. It is like a “skin” of water. The “skin” is there because water molecules are drawn to each other. Most of the time, gravity is too strong and it breaks the “skin”. But with zero gravity in space, the “skin” stays strong and the water ball will not break.
Water in space acts differently from water on Earth in other ways. For example, water will not flow downward if you try to pour it into a cup. That’s why astronauts usually drink water through straws in sealed bags.
1. What can we learn about the lecture from space?| A．It is a part of the astronauts’ daily work. |
| B．It took place in the Tiangong space station. |
| C．It is one of the astronauts’ ways to ask for help. |
| D．It took place 500 kilometers above Earth. |
| A．astronauts | B．muscles | C．bones | D．bodies |
| A．Space water is valuable | B．Space water is different |
| C．Space water is important | D．Space water is common |
| A．To raise people’s interest in space exploration. |
| B．To explain the importance of space experiments. |
| C．To ask readers to do more science experiments. |
| D．To introduce the space lecture given by Chinese astronauts. |
5 . A lot of people play sports, but very few people become sports professionals (专家). If sports aren’t going to be your future, then why should you play them? Why should you train every day? Why should you work hard and feel sore (酸痛的) the next day? Wouldn’t it be better to forget sports and only pay attention to your lessons? In fact, there are a lot of reasons to play sports.
First of all, sports are a great way to exercise. Exercising keeps you healthy and strong. It also helps you stay in a good condition. When you exercise, your body makes endorphins (安多芬) which give you more energy and make you feel happier.
Also, sports teach young people how to communicate and work as a team. They teach young people to respect (尊重) their coaches, teammates and players from the other team. Many reports say that sports help young people stay out of trouble. If a young person plays sports, he or she may have fewer problems. This is because sports teach people about rules. They also teach people that if they work hard, they might succeed.
Another good way of sports is that they make people leave their houses. These days, a lot of people spend too much time watching television and playing video games. When you play sports, you go outside and exercise in the sun. You take in fresh air. All of these things are important.
Maybe you’re not going to become a sports professional, but that doesn’t matter, sports will help you become a better and happier person.
1. In Paragraph 1, the writer leads into the topic(导入话题) by ________.| A．telling stories | B．listing numbers | C．giving examples | D．asking questions |
| A．Reports. | B．Sports. | C．Problems. | D．Rules. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Sports Are Just for Professionals. | B．Sports Teach People to Work Hard. |
| C．Sports Are Good for Everyone. | D．Sports Make People Go Outside. |
Hawaii is a truly beautiful place. Most people know Hawaii for its lovely beaches. However, Hawaii is also famous for hula, a special dance.
The Start
Hula started in Hawaii about 300 years ago. One hula teacher tells the story of how the dance started. “The hula started, as far as the story tells it, when a local girl Hiiaki and her good friend Hopoe went down to the beach, they noticed the waves and imitated. They used their hands like showing the waves.”
The Ban
Not everyone has always liked the hula. In 1820, some religious people from Western countries came to Hawaii. The visitors were very surprised because the dancers were not wearing many clothes. So the local government banned the dance. After that, most Hawaiians were not allowed to perform the hula in public for almost 60 years. But many dancers still performed it in secret. The dance was always there.
__________
At the moment, people of all ages want to study the old culture. As a result, more and more people are going to halaus. Halaus are special schools that teach hula in the traditional way. Kumano is a hula teacher. For him, the dance is a way to bring the best of old Hawaii culture to people today. Kumano says that the dance is not really about the body, but the mind. “For new dancers, the dancing means very little, because for Hawaiians today, many of them don’t speak the Hawaiian language. So, what I try to do is to bring to mind the real thing they see today.”
1. The underlined word “imitated” is the closest in meaning to ________.| A．learned from | B．asked about | C．thought of | D．found out |
| A．they didn’t like the story of how it started |
| B．they hardly noticed the waves in the dance |
| C．the dancers wore fewer clothes than usual |
| D．there have been secrets in the dance since 1820 |
| A．The Change. | B．The Future. | C．The Difficulty. | D．The Advantage. |
| A．Hula started in Hawaii about 30 years ago. |
| B．Hiiaki and her friend Hopoe acted out beaches. |
| C．No Hawaiians performed hula in public in 1890. |
| D．The real thing in the dance means a lot to Kumano. |
How to read a book is written by Charles Van Doren and Mortimer J. Adler, which is called the Bible in reading.
The writers give some tips to help people how to read a book correctly.
Firstly, reading is a positive way. The more you want to read, you more you get. Someone will get tired when reading books, for they pay little attention on the book.
Secondly, reading includes many parts. Reading is from basic reading, reviewing reading, analyzing reading to subject reading. Analyzing reading is the most important step. “What is the book talking about?” “How did the writer talk about the book?” “What is the relation between you and the book?” and so on.
What’s more, reading is a long process. When you read an important part, it is better to analyze the deep meaning that the writer wants to tell.
CONTENTS Preface PART ONE The levels of reading PART TWO The third level of reading: analyzing reading PART THREE Ways to read different kinds of reading matter PART FOUR Reading and the Growth of the Mind Appendix A. A Recommended Reading List Appendix B. Exercises and Tests at the Four Levels of Reading Index |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．How to read a book is the Bible of writing. |
| B．Reviewing reading is the most important part. |
| C．You’d better analyze the deep meaning of a book. |
| D．People will get tired when they read in a positive way. |
| A．PART ONE. | B．PART TWO. | C．PART THREE. | D．PART FOUR |
Located at the foot of Datang Mountain in Changping District of Beijing, the China Aviation Museum is Asia’s largest museum displaying aircraft relics. The collection has about 200 aircraft of over 100 types and more than 700 examples of weapons and equipment. You can see some research materials and participate in many aviation activities in person.
Its mark which is up to 9 meters high is the first thing you will see when you walk into the China Aviation Museum. It is a milky white pillar holding a white single-seat light fighter plane which appears to soar in flight.
The China Aviation Museum is divided into three large exhibition areas: Cavern Exhibition Hall, Open-air Exhibition Area, and Integrated Hall.
The Cavern Exhibition Hall is in the south of the mark. In this hall, you can get a good knowledge of the world’s great aviation treasures from ancient to modern aircraft and equipment. These exhibits are placed on two sides in time sequence. The right side not only exhibits aircraft which are famous in Chinese aviation history, the left side is a series of modern aircraft produced by China.
As you walk to the north from the mark, you cannot miss the Open-air Exhibition Area. The Hero Avenue runs through it and divides the area into two parts. There is an artificial lake on the left of the Hero Avenue. On the southern side of the lake planes which were used specially for great people are displayed. The right side of the Hero Avenue exhibits fighter planes, radar and helicopters.
All the way down to the Hero Avenue lies the Integrated Hall. In this hall it displays 28 real aircraft, over 550 models of various aircraft, missiles, antiaircraft artillery, radar etc, more than 200 pieces of small cultural relics, 20 audio and video demo tablets, 12 sand table scenes and 1850 pictures and photos. On the west side of the Integrated Hall lays a CS field camp, where you can have an unforgettable experience.
1. The underlined word participate in paragraph 1 means ________.| A．join | B．take | C．fill | D．hand |
| A．The Hero Avenue | B．Integrated Hall |
| C．Open-air Exhibition Area | D．Cavern Exhibition Hall |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．The visitors can play CS games in the Open-air Exhibition Area. |
| B．The planes used for great people are on the southern side of the lake. |
| C．The single-seat light fighter plane held by a pillar is the museum’s mark. |
| D．There are more than 200 types of aircraft in the China Aviation Museum. |
In today’s world, people are spending less and less time on things. A study shows that most visitors spend just 15 seconds on a website before moving on to other things. It’s easy to understand because there are millions of websites on the Internet. What will people do when they’re in museums full of great works of art? Will they slow down a little more? The answer is no.
Studies show that it takes most people ten seconds to look at a piece of art. At Tate Modern in London, it’s even worse. People there spend an average of just eight seconds on each artwork. And in that short time, the visitors also do another important thing—taking photos!
These years, museums are working to change this. Today, over 170 museums around the world are having “Slow Art Day”. Most of the museums taking part in “Slow Art Day” are choosing just a few works for their visitors to enjoy. They are asking their visitors to spend at least 5—10 minutes looking at just one work of art.
Slow Art backers think that when visitors spend more time looking at and studying the work of art, they will enjoy it more. By spending time, they can see more details about the work. Studying a work of art for more time can also help people get a better understanding of the artist’s ideas. Phil Terry, who started “Slow Art Day”, said, “By slowing down, it helps us to see art in a new way.”
1. Why do most visitors spend just 15 seconds on a website?| A．They don’t like it. | B．They are so busy that they don't spend more time on it. |
| C．There are too many websites on the Internet. | D．They don’t need to visit these websites. |
| A．there are great works of art | B．people love to take photos there |
| C．visitors spend less time on artworks there | D．the museum is taking part in “Slow Art Day” |
| A．fans | B．players | C．visitors | D．writers |
| A．The writer wants people to go to museums more often. | B．Studies show that most visitors spend five seconds on one work of art. |
| C．Slow Art helps visitors learn more about the artist’s ideas. | D．The museums joining in “Slow Art Day” usually have a lot of artworks. |
| A. The Grand Canyon National Park of the US is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It’s best-known for its size and depth. It shows beautiful wild flowers. | |
| B. If you like animals, you’ll like the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The “Big Five” live there. They are the lion, the African elephant, the African leopard, the black rhinoceros and the African buffalo. | |
| C. Green Island in Taiwan is an island in the Pacific Ocean with clear blue water around. Green Island has a lot of places of interest that make it a place where people like to go: seaside, a clean white beach, seawater and hot springs. | |
| D. Fraser Island is in Queensland, Australia. It is a very important and strange island because it is completely made of sand. The sand makes unusual shapes and some of the sandy rocks have different colors. | |
| E. Windsor Castle is a famous castle in England. It is a fantastic place to visit with the family. Kids will love pretending to be a king or a queen for a day. But you can’t take any photos inside the castle. |
