2 . Arriving at London Gatwick

Distance(距离) from central London: 28 miles/45 km
For travel information call: +44 (0)870 000 24 68.

How to get to the city centre

By train

The Gatwick Express goes from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria train and underground station in central London.

Trains go every 15 minutes and the journey to central London takes half an hour.

First Class tickets cost £ 25 (single), £ 48 (return).

Express Class costs £ 17 (single), £ 29 (return).

Southern Trains services run four times an hour to Victoria with a journey time of around 35 minutes.

By taxi

There are taxis outside the airport day and night. The journey to central London takes 55-70 minutes. A London taxi takes up to 5 people.

The average(平均的)cost from the airport to central London is £ 75- £ 100.

By car

Gatwick Airport is 28 miles (45 km) south of London. There are 4 car parks next to the airport and there are car rental (租赁) offices open from 8:00 to 18:00. The journey to London takes 60-75 minutes.

All cars pay a special £ 8 charge(收费) to go into central London.

By bus

National Express and EasyBus have services to central London. EasyBus services go every 20 minutes. The journey takes one hour and costs £ 2.

There is one National Express bus an hour. The journey takes 90 minutes and costs £ 7.60.

1. Someone in a hurry to Victoria station had better travel _____.

A．by train	B．by car
C．by taxi	D．by bus

2. What does traveling by taxi and car have in common?

A．They cost the same.	B．They're available at any time.
C．They require a special E 8 charge.	D．They take a similar period of time.

3. Which of the following goes three times an hour?

A．Gatwick Express.	B．National Express.
C．Easy Bus.	D．Southern Trains.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A short notice.	B．A travel guide.
C．A city introduction.	D．A TV advertisement.

3 . When Rachel Ratelle saw a news video of a burned koala trying to climb a tree to safety in fire-ravaged (火灾肆虐的) Australia, she decided to do something about it.

She looked up wildlife rescue and relief agencies in Australia to find out what they needed most. Besides donations, many organizations asked for hand-sewn (手缝的) and knitted pouches (袋子) and wraps for koalas and other animals that were burned or had lost their homes and parents in the fires.

This idea attracted Ratelle, but there was just one problem.

“I’d never sewn in my life,” said Ratelle, 17, a senior at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, US. “Giving money seemed like something too simple. But I wanted to directly help these animals by doing something myself, so I decided to learn how to sew.”

Over the next few months, Ratelle bought her own sewing machine and taught herself how to sew via videos online. Then she purchased 18 yards of fabric and sewed 25 pouches of different sizes and shipped them off to For Australian Wildlife Needing Aid (FAWNA), one of several relief organizations that have rushed to rescue koalas, kangaroos and other species suffering from burns.

A week later, she received a photo from FAWNA with a young joey (幼兽) in one of her larger pouches. “It made me feel like I contributed to the world and it showed how a simple act of kindness can go a long way,” said Ratelle, who hopes to study biology for a future career as a nurse practitioner.

“I plan to use my new sewing skills to help animals and people devastated (蹂躏) by natural disasters,” she said.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, it estimated that 1.2 billion animals have died, as a result of the bushfires, which have burned more than 26 million acres in Australia.

Several craft guild (手工业行会) websites around the world   have mobilized (动员) for Australian relief by making the animal pouches. Karen Newberry and her two daughters Madison, 12 and Rochelle, 8, from San Diego also offered their help in such a way. For Newberry, “it was a big push that made we crafters, sewers to realize there’s something more we can do than just make things for ourselves,” she said.

1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?

A．What inspired Ratelle to learn to sew.

B．What is needed to save koalas and other species.

C．The poor living conditions of wild animals in Australia.

D．Different ways to help koalas and other animals in Australia.

2. How did Ratelle feel when she received a photo from FAWNA according to the text?

A．Proud.	B．Calm.
C．Surprised.	D．Disappointed.

3. The statistics (统计数字) in Paragraph 8 are used to show ______.

A．how frequent the bushfires are in Australia

B．how harmful the bushfires are in Australia

C．the great varieties of wild animals in Australia

D．the difficulties facing relief organizations in Australia

4. What do Newberry’s words in the last paragraph suggest?

A．People should stay united through difficult times.

B．Life is not easy for crafters and sewers in Australia.

C．It is challenging for crafters and sewers to do relief work.

D．Crafters and sewers can do more to help animals.

4 . Our school library offers learning services, books and other thing that help all members of the school to become good thinkers and clever users of information. h is linked (连接)to the larger library in the city and the World Wide. Web, All these. services are. given according, to the requirements of the Public Library Manifesto(声明).

School library services must be given to all members of the school. Students of any age, class and grade can enjoy them. Different services must be given to those who are unable to use the main library services.

Users of the library must follow the rules made by the library workers to keep it clearn and tidy.The main rules are as fellows:

Opening and closing times:

Monday- Friday:9a m--- 9 p. m. , during term time

Saturday:9a. m. ---1 p. m. throughout the year.

Admission(允许进入) and borrowing:

Only people holding a library card shall be allowed to enter.

Members can borrow5 books at a time.

Behavior in the library:

Silence shall be kept as much as possible in the library. No other books can be taken into the library. Library workers can help members use the books and other things in the library.

1. Who should be given to the school library services?

A．All members of the school.	B．All members of the class.
C．All members of the grade.	D．All members of the library.

2. What can students do in the school library?

A．Get information from the Internet.	B．Read the Public Library Manifesto.
C．Clean the library with workers.	D．Work together with the teachers.

3. When can students read in the library?

A．8 a.m. to5 p. m. on Monday.	B．10 a.m. to 12:30 p. m. on Saturday.
C．9 a.m. to9 p. m. on Sunday.	D．9 a. m. to10 p. m. on Tuesday.

4. How many books can be borrowed at a time?

A．2.	B．3.
C．4.	D．5

5 . In my career as an educator and health care provider, I have worked with numerous children infected with AIDS. The relationships that I have had with these special kids have been gifts in my life. They have taught me so many things, but I have especially learned that great courage can be found in the smallest of packages. Let me tell you about Tyler.

Tyler was born infected with HIV; his mother was also infected. From the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medication to enable him to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a vein(血管) in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back. Medications were fastened to this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times, he also needed extra oxygen to support his breathing.

Tyler wasn't willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his medicine backpack. All of us were surprised at his pure joy in being alive and the energy it gave him. Tyler's mom often teased him by telling him that he moved so fast that she needed to dress him in red. That way, she could quickly spot him.

This terrible disease eventually wore down Tyler. He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV-infected mother. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to survive, Tyler’s mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that he would be with him soon in heaven.

A few days before his death, Tyler signed me over to his hospital bed and whispered, ''I might die soon. I'm not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Mom promised she's coming to heaven, too. I'll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me. ''

1. What does the writer think of his/her work according to Paragraph 1?

A．It's impressive.	B．It's regretful.
C．It's funny.	D．It's meaningless.

2. What happened to Tyler when he was five?

A．He was infected with HIV.	B．He was operated on.
C．He received a gift.	D．He became seriously ill.

3. How did the writer feel when seeing Tyler playing joyfully?

A．Light-hearted.	B．Encouraged.
C．Terrified	D．Amazed.

4. What can be inferred from the boy's last words?

A．He was grateful for the writer's kindness.

B．He felt sorry for his mom's death.

C．His mother had a deep affection for him.

D．He missed the red dress his mother promised him.

6 . When Stephen Mills spotted a dusty old safe (保险箱) in a museum in Canada, he thought he’d try to crack the code (破解密码), “just like in the movies”. But when he began turning the dial, he wasn’t expecting a Hollywood ending.

For years, anyone who visited the Vermillion Heritage Museum in Alberta would have passed by a large, black metal box. Staff knew it had come from the long-gone Brunswick hotel and was donated to the museum in the 1990s, but its code and contents remained a mystery for decades — until Mills unexpectedly cracked the code.

Mills, who lived in Fort McMurray, Alberta, was visiting the museum with his family last month over a holiday weekend. As they wandered around the exhibits with the museum guide, Tom Kibblewhite, they spotted the safe.

Kibblewhite told the family what he told all other guests: the 900kg black box with a silver dial had remained closed for generations. For years, the safe has confused volunteers at the museum. The manufacturer was unable to provide advice on how to open its thick door.

A locksmith (锁匠) once suggested that years of inactivity might have slowed down the gears, making it inoperable. But Mills, who is a “mechanically-minded person”, asked whether he could give it a try. “Kibblewhite kept saying no one had opened it and that it was a mystery what was inside,” Mills said. “I thought this would be a great thing to do for a laugh for the kids. Maybe they can find some interesting historical things in it — like a time capsule.”

After pressing his ear against the cool metal, he began spinning the dial. With numbers ranging from zero to 60, he turned clockwise (顺时针方向地) three times to 20, counter-clockwise two times to 40, and then clockwise one time to 60. He was astonished to hear a click. “I jumped up and told everyone I’m buying a lottery ticket (彩票),” he said.

1. What does the underlined sentence in the first paragraph mean?

A．He didn’t think he would open the safe.

B．The museum trip was like a Hollywood film.

C．He didn’t want to turn the dial in the beginning.

D．It was unbelievable for him to win a lottery ticket in the end.

2. What do we know about the safe?

A．The dial on the safe was broken.

B．It was a donation from a rich businessman.

C．It was one of the most valuable exhibits in the museum.

D．It has been long closed since it was brought to the museum.

3. Why did Mills compare the safe to a time capsule?

A．To tell people how fast time flies.

B．To remind visitors of the time limit.

C．To indicate the safe’s special meaning.

D．To explain the content of the safe.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Mills won a prize for cracking the code.

B．Mills had plenty of luck to break the code.

C．Mills knew what the code was in advance.

D．Mills tried a dozen times until he cracked the code.

7 . There are lots of ways to educate yourself on the Internet. You can find photos, documents, and films on almost any topic you can imagine. And at www.ted.com, you can access lectures by artists, scholars, designers, technicians and others.

TED began in 1984 as a conference that brought together individuals from the fields of technology, entertainment and design. It was intended to be a one-time event focusing on technology and design. The event ended up losing money, and it was six years before the founders tried it again. This time it worked, and since 1990, the TED conference has been an annual event. There are now two held every year, with topics as diverse as music, medicine, and money. Other specialized spin-off conferences address narrower issues.

The TED website came from a desire to share the conferences with the world, to “offer free knowledge from the world’s most inspired thinkers,” as the website puts it. The current version of the site was launched in April 2007, and contains videos of talks given at the TED conferences around the world. The talks are transcribed into hundreds of languages.

The TED website is owned by the Sapling Foundation, a non profit devoted to fostering the spread of great ideas. The Sapling foundation acquired TED in 2001. Since then, it has been focusing on using TED to broadcast ideas that might change the world.

TED, of course, isn’t immune to criticism. It’s been called elitist(精英) for its high ticket prices (more than 6,000 dollars total). It’s been accused by a few people of censorship for not publishing their talks. One controversial speaker was upset about being criticized by the conference’s host afterward.

The complaints, however, seem to be relatively few for such a large, long-running organization. And accusations of elitism ring hollow when so much is given away for free on TED’s website. Whatever its failings, TED is a source of inspirational information for those who seek it out.

1. What is the main topic of the article?

A．The case against TED.	B．What’s on TED today.
C．Pros and cons of www.ted.com.	D．What is TED.

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The TED conference came after the success of www.ted.com.

B．Two TED conferences are now held every year.

C．TED talks are available in many languages.

D．The Sapling Foundation owns www.ted.com.

3. From the last two paragraphs, we can infer that ________.

A．it is accepted to all involved that some TED talks might not be published

B．the host of the conference is one who plays a supportive role to the speakers

C．TED is criticized for giving special treatment to the wealthy or powerful

D．the negative comments on TED greatly affects its reputation

4. This author probably believes that________.

A．TED is elitist	B．TED is beneficial
C．TED isn’t important	D．TED is the best website

8 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A．Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B．Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C．Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D．Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.

2. The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ______.

A．keep her appointment with the eye doctor

B．meet her father who was already an old man

C．join in the holiday celebration of the company

D．finish her work before the deadline approached

3. The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

A．abandoned	B．lacked
C．avoided	D．taken

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．To Keep Emotional Well-being	B．To Prevent “If Only” Moments
C．To Follow the Most Useful Rule	D．To Achieve the Peace of Mind

9 . It was an autumn day, and 1 was standing in the kitchen, hanging my head over the counter and trying to figure out how many calories were in a bowl of homemade yogurt and fruit. And I felt annoyed.

I was 16, and my best friend and I had gone to our first Weight Watchers meeting. It was the trend in the mid-1980s，and even though I was an athlete, like many teen girls, I didn't necessarily like what I saw in the mirror. But after a week or so of recording every meal and snack and calculating the calories, I had had enough. I went back to my routine of chowing whatever I wanted, running and skiing, and let that be that. And it's still pretty much what I do; as long as the workouts are regular and the food is whole and balanced, my body's set point hasn't varied for years.

The weight loss trend of three decades ago−full of scales and counting calories−has fallen away. Now fasting is popular. The ways to keep fit vary: on the 5:2 diet a person eats for five days and fasts for two days each week, while the 18:6 refers 10 fasting for 18 hours and then eating within a six-hour window each day.

In this issue, Associate Editor Mark Barna tries to understand the science behind the fasting plans. Researchers have found that animals like monkeys age more slowly after years of eating less, and in the lab in humans, they saw improvements in a number of signs that indicate risk of some hard to cure diseases. The hope for healthy weight loss isn’t over yet, but at least now the calculators don’t have to be out at every meal.

1. What made the author annoyed?

A．Her body was not as strong as an athlete’s.

B．There were too many calories in the yogurt and fruit.

C．The Weight Watches meeting was not necessary for her.

D．She had to work out the calories in every meal and snack.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “chowing”?

A．Eating.

B．Doing

C．Cooking.

D．Choosing.

3. How do people keep fit now?

A．They limit the calories they take in.

B．They lose weight only.

C．They fast daily or weekly.

D．They eat enough every day.

4. What do we know about the researchers’ finding in this passage?

A．People grow more slowly if they eat less.

B．People are healthier if they eat less.

C．People have stopped losing weight now.

D．People calculate their food for every meal.

10 . Babies made from three people approved in UK

Babies made from two women and one man have been approved by the UK’s fertility regulator. The historic and controversial move is to prevent children from being born with deadly genetic diseases.

Doctors in Newcastle — who developed the advanced form of In Vitro Fertilization or IVF (人工授精) — are expected to be the first to offer the procedure and have already appealed for donor eggs. The first such child could be born, at the earliest, by the end of 2017.

Some families have lost multiple children to incurable mitochondrial (线粒体的) diseases, which can leave people with insufficient energy to keep their heart beating.

The diseases are passed down from only the mother, so a technique using a donor egg as well as the mother’s egg and father’s sperm has been developed.

The resulting child has a tiny amount of their DNA from the donor, but the procedure is legal and reviews say it is ethical (伦理的) and scientifically ready.

“It is a decision of historic importance,” said Sally Cheshire, chairwoman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). “I’m sure patients will be really pleased by what we’ve decided today.”

But some scientists have questioned the ethics of the technique, saying it could open the door to genetically-modified(转基因) ‘designer’ babies.

The HFEA must approve every clinic and every patient before the procedure can take place. Three-person babies have been allowed only in cases where the risk of a child developing mitochondrial disease is very high.

Prof Mary Herbert, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre, said, “It is enormously pleasing that our many years of research in this area can finally be applied to help families affected by these devastating diseases”.

“Now that we are moving forward towards clinical treatments, we will also need donors to donate eggs for use in treatment to prevent affected women transmitting disease to their children.”

Prof Sir Doug Turnbull, the director of the Welcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, said, “We are delighted by today’s decision. We will also provide long-term follow up of any children born.”

NHS England has agreed to fund the treatment costs of the first trial of three-person IVF for those women who meet the HFEA criteria, as long as they agree to long-term follow up of their children after they are born.

1. Why is it historically important to approve babies made from three people?

A．It helps couples who lose the ability to give birth to a baby.

B．It marks a foundation stone to change babies’ appearances before birth.

C．It stops deadly genetic diseases passing down to newly-born babies.

D．It turns out to be an advanced form of In Vitro Fertilization.

2. Which of the following is TRUE about mitochondrial diseases?

A．They pass down on to babies from their parents.

B．They prevent people’s heart from functioning normally.

C．Some children infected can be cured with proper treatment.

D．Babies can be infected with them through a donor’s egg.

3. How can a clinic or a patient be approved of applying the three-person baby technique?

A．Only when the baby to be born needs it to survive.

B．Only when the patient gets financially prepared.

C．Only when the clinic gets scientifically ready.

D．Only when the technique is ethnically accepted.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the approval of babies made from three people?

A．Supportive

B．Indifferent

C．Worried

D．Objective