1 . When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she fought to find a place to sleep on the street. But she beat these terrible setbacks（挫折） to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry （录入）into Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story”.

Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up with two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough  food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just l5 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died. She decided to do something about it.

Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. “What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, and by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.

She admitted that she used envy （妒忌）to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that “next to nothing could hold me down”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time. ”

Liz wants moviegoers（常看电影的人） to come away with the idea that changing your life is “as simple as making a decision”.
1. In which order did the following things happen to Liz?
a. Her mother died of AIDS.
b. She got admitted into Harvad.
c. She worked at a petrol station.
d. The movie about her life was put on.
e. She had trouble finding a place to sleep.

A．c, a, e, b, d	B．a, b, c, e, d
C．c, d, b, a, e	D．b, e, a, d, c

2. What actually made her go towards her goal?

A．Envy and encouragement.

B．Willpower and determination.

C．Decisions and understanding

D．Love and respect for her parents.

3. What does Liz mean by saying “What drove me to live on...I had only experienced a small part of the society”?

A．She had little experience of social life.

B．She could hardly understand the society.

C．She would do something for her own life.

D．She needed to travel more around the world.

4. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Why Liz loved her parents so much.

B．How Liz made efforts to change her life.

C．What a hard time Liz had in her childhood.

D．How Liz managed to enter Harvard University.

2 . ①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.
②Issac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.
③During World War II, Mr Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.
④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.
⑥Mr Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.
⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at the age of 81. He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.
1. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?
a. He began learning music in an institution.
b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.
c. He visited the Soviet Union.
d. He met with Chinese musicians.
e. He performed for American soldiers.

A．a,e,c,d,b

B．a,e,b,c,d

C．e,a,b,c,d

D．e,a,c,d,b

2. Paragraph 2 is mainly about ________.

A．how Stern began to learn music	B．how Stern began his musical career
C．Stern’s early education	D．Stern’s achievement in music

3. Which of the following statements about Stern is TRUE?

A．He was an activist in opposing war.

B．He was active in cultural exchanges between countries.

C．He had an interest in both playing music and making films.

D．He made a lot of money from music.

4. The Underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to ________.

A．someone who supports young musicians

B．someone who wants to be a musician

C．someone who has a gift for music

D．someone who plays a certain kind of instrument

5. Whichf the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?

A．	B．
C．	D．

3 . The French submarine is called Le Triomphant, meaning “the winner”. The name of the British submarine is Vanguard, meaning “the leading position in an army”. It’s clear from the submarines’ names that they were made for victory.

However, it was an accident, rather than a victory, that led these two submarines to recently make news headlines across the world.

On February 16, Britain and France admitted that two of their nuclear — armed submarines, HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant, collided while deep in the Atlantic in early February. Both submarines were on secret patrols (巡逻) and carrying nuclear arms when they collided.

Le Triomphant had no idea that it had run into HMS Vanguard until several days later. The French navy at first believed that Le Triomphant had hit an “object, probably a container (集装箱)”.

Investigations have begun to work out how such a collision could have happened. Both submarines are equipped with state-of-the-art (最先进的) technology that is supposed to find other submarines. Yet, neither submarine saw the other until it was too late.

One idea being considered was that their anti-sonar (抗声呐) equipment, which hides submarines, was just too effective in hiding one from the other.

Submarines use sonar to sense what is in the sea near them. Sonar is a submarine’s ear. Many sea animals use sonar as well. Dolphins produce high-pitched (声调高的) clicks. When these clicks hit an object, some of the sound will echo (发出回声) back to the “sender”. By listening to the echo and working out the time it took before the echo came back, the dolphin can work out how far away the object is.

There are two kinds of sonar: active sonar, which sends out signals, and passive sonar, which listens for signals with extremely sensitive microphones.

The two submarines were designed to be very quiet and as hidden as possible because a submarine’s job description (工作职责) is not to be found. Many modern submarines do not use active sonar, only passive sonar. This makes it very difficult for a submarine to “hear” if another submarine is near.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense (国防部) has said the collision did not lead to any radioactive leaks (放射物泄漏). The chance of a full nuclear explosion was almost impossible. However, experts say that if the walls of the submarines had broken, or a fire had been started, there could have been a major disaster.

A senior British Navy source told The Sun newspaper that the possible consequences of such a collision were “unthinkable”.

“It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. That would have been a national disaster.” he said.

1. What has made HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant well known recently?

A．Their names carried very positive meanings.

B．They collided in the Atlantic this February.

C．They are both equipped with advanced technology.

D．They are both nuclear-armed submarines.

2. What’s the probable reason for the accident?

A．The two submarines were moving at a high speed.

B．Their anti-sonar equipment was too effective.

C．They were not equipped with active sonar.

D．The submarines were designed to be too quiet.

3. Which of the following is the right order in which the dolphin senses the object’s position?
a. The sound hitting the object.
b. Producing high-pitched sound.
c. The sound echoing back.
d. Working out the time to come back.
e. Receiving the sound.

A．b—a—c—d—e	B．d—a—e—c—b
C．b—c—d—a—e	D．b—a—c—e—d

4. Which of the following is NOT true about the passage?

A．Both of the submarines carried nuclear arms when they collided.

B．Many modern submarines do not use passive sonar so as to be as hidden as possible.

C．The collision may have caused a disaster if a fire had been started.

D．There would have been a nuclear explosion if the two submarines had collided harder.

4 . Is it possible that the sinking of the Titanic was caused by a ghost? A lot of the story below is true… but did it really happen quite like this?
Our story begins not in the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic, but rather thousands of miles away in Egypt. It is here, perhaps, that we can find the start of the mystery of the Titanic, in the year 1910, in the great city of Cairo.
One day, a famous professor of Egyptian history called Douglas Murray was staying in Cairo, when he was contacted by an American adventurer.
The American had something unusual to offer Murray, something that was certain to thrill him: a beautiful ancient Egyptian mummy case, containing the mummy of an Egyptian queen. It was over 3000 years old, but in beautiful condition — gold, with bright paintings on it. Murray was delighted with both the object and the asking price. He gave the man a cheque immediately.
The cheque was never cashed. That evening the American adventurer died. For his part, Murray arranged to have the treasure sent back to Britain. However, it was not long before he learnt more about the beautiful mummy case: On the walls of the tomb in which it had been discovered, there were messages which warned of terrible consequences to anyone who broke into the tomb. Murray was disbelieving of these warnings until a few days later, when a gun he was holding exploded in his hand, shattering his arm. The arm had to be cut off.
After the accident, Murray decided to return to his homeland. On the return journey, two of his companions died mysteriously, and two servants who had handled the mummy also passed away. The now-terrified Murray decided he would get rid of the cursed case as soon as he arrived in London. A lady he knew named Janet Jones said she would like it, so he gave it to her. Shortly afterwards, Jones’ mother died, and she herself caught a strange disease. She tried returning the mummy, but naturally Murray refused it. In the end, it was presented to the British Museum.
Even in the museum, the mummy apparently continued to cause strange events. A museum photographer died shortly after taking pictures of the new exhibit; and a manager also died for no apparent reason. In the end, the British Museum decided to get rid of the mummy too. They sold it to a collector in New York.
At the start of April 1912, arrangements for the transfer were complete, and the mummy began the journey to its new home. But the New Yorker never received the mummy or its case. For when the Titanic sank, one of the objects in its strong room was the mummy case. Or so they say.
1. In Paragraph 5, the underlined word “cursed” is closest in meaning to ________.

A．forgotten

B．uncommon

C．unlucky

D．expensive

2. In what order did the following events occur?
a. The case was given to the British Museum.
b. Janet Jones caught a mysterious illness.
c. Murray’s arm was cut off.
d. The mummy case was sold to an American.
e. A man who took a picture of the case died.
f. Warnings were written on the tomb’s walls.

A．f, c, b, a, e, d	B．c, f, b, a, e, d
C．d, f, b, c, a, e	D．f, a, c, b, e, d

3. According to the passage, where is the Egyptian mummy now?

A．At the British Museum.	B．In New York.
C．In Egypt.	D．Under the sea.

4. What’s the main purpose of this passage?

A．To introduce an important historical event to readers.

B．To entertain readers with a story of mystery.

C．To warn readers about the dangers of mummies’ curses.

D．To inform readers about the true cause of the Titanic’s sinking.

5 . It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes. More often the doctors can' t fix the damage. Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain. The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain.
Dr. Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help. He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain.
Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs, then he operated on them. He made the monkeys' blood go through a machine. The machine cooled the blood. Then the machine sent the blood back to the monkeys' brains. When the brain' s temperature was 10°C, Dr. White stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before. They were healthy and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them.
1. The biggest difficulty in operating on the damaged brain is that _______.

A．the time is too short for doctors

B．the patients are often too nervous

C．the damage is extremely hard to fix

D．the blood-cooling machine might break down

2. The brain operation was made possible mainly by _______.

A．taking the blood out of the brain

B．trying the operation on monkeys first

C．lowering the brain' s temperature

D．having the blood go through a machine

3. What is the right order of the steps in the operation?
a. send the cooled blood back to the brain
b. stop the blood to the brain
c. have the blood cooled down
d. operate on the brain

A．a,b,c,d	B．c,a,b,d
C．c, b, d, a	D．b, c, d, a

4. With Dr. White's new idea, the operation on the damaged brain _______.

A．can last as long as 30 minutes

B．can keep the brain's blood warm

C．can keep the patient's brain healthy

D．can help monkeys do different jobs

6 . O. Henry, born in Greensboro, North Carolina, was the pen name of William Sydney Porter. His father, Algernon Sydney Porter, was a physician. When William was three years old, his mother died, and he was raised by his grandmother and aunt. William was a good reader, but at the age of fifteen he left school, and worked in a drug store and later on a Texas farm. After that, he moved to Houston, where he had a number of jobs, including that of bank clerk. After moving to Austin, Texas, in 1882, he married.
In 1884 he started a humorous weekly The Rolling Stone. When the weekly failed, he joined The Houston Post as a reporter and columnist（专栏作家）. In 1897 he was put into prison over some financial（财务的）dealings. While in prison, William started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret. His first work, Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking(1899), appeared in McClure’s Magazine. After serving three years of the five years’ sentence，he changed his name to O. Henry, hoping to forget his bitter past.
O. Henry moved to New York City in 1902 and from December 1903 to January 1906 he wrote a story a week for the New York World, and also published the stories in other magazines. His first collection, Cabbages and Kings, appeared in 1904. Many other works quickly followed, such as The Gift of the Magi and The Furnished Room. O. Henry’s best- known work is The Ransom of Red Chief. His stories always have surprising endings. He published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime.
O. Henry’s last years were shadowed by drinking, ill health, and financial problems. In 1907, he experienced a failed marriage. In 1910, O. Henry died after an illness.
1. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．A brief introduction to O. Henry.

B．O. Henry’s career and marriage.

C．How O. Henry became a well-­known writer.

D．O. Henry’s best- known works.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that O. Henry ________.

A．didn’t like to study during his childhood

B．had little parental love as a child

C．was very interested in medicine and farming

D．took up only one job after he moved to Houston

3. O. Henry spent some time in prison because _______.

A．he got involved in some problems connected with money

B．he joined The Houston Post as a reporter and columnist

C．his weekly The Rolling Stone failed

D．he couldn’t earn enough money to support his daughter

4. Which is the right time order for the following events in O. Henry’s life?
① He moved to New York City.
② He joined The Houston Post.
③ Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking came out.
④ The Furnished Room came out.
⑤ Cabbages and Kings appeared.

A．①②③④⑤	B．②①③⑤④
C．③②①④⑤	D．②③①⑤④

7 . London has become a cycle friendly zone after the launch of a new bike hire scheme. It has been designed to encourage more people to cycle in and around central London.
So how does it work? First you have to sign up to the scheme to be sent a key. The key will unlock one of the bikes, which are kept at docking stations in and around central London. You have to pay an access fee for the key and then you pay as you go, for the length of time you use the bike.
Transport for London, which runs the scheme, is hoping to have 6,000 bikes and 400 docking stations in place by the end of the year. The new hire system is hoping to ease congestion (拥挤) in London and is expected to create up to 40 ,000 extra cycle trips a day into the city centre. London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the scheme and said London had been 6ifilled with thousands of gleaming machines that will transform the look and feel of our streets and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses".
However, there have been a few problems since the scheme was launched last Friday. On the first day some people found they couldn't dock their bike properly and their usage of the bike had not registered. Transport for London did admit they had been expecting a few "teething problems" and have said they wouldn't charge for the first day as a "gesture of goodwill". Some other people have criticized the lack of docking stations and locks for the bikes as well as the price it costs to hire the bicycles.
Despite the comments, the green-thinking London Mayor still seems very positive about things, saying, "My campaign for the capital to become the greatest big cycling city in the world has taken a big pedal-powered push forwards. "
1. London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the new bike scheme in order to______.

A．reduce the air pollution of the city

B．deal with the city's traffic problems

C．increase employment opportunities

D．encourage the citizens to take exercises

2. If you want to hire a bike, in which order will you do?
a. pay for the key to a bike
b. sign up as a member to get a key
c. cycle in and around central London
d. pay for the bike according to the time you use it

A．b→a→c→d	B．b→d→c→a
C．d→c→b→a	D．d→b→c→a

3. All the following are the problems of the scheme EXCEPT_____.

A．the high cost to hire a bike

B．docking the bikes properly

C．not registering their usage of the bikes

D．not charging for the first day of the scheme

4. From the passage, we can infer that_______.

A．the cycling revolution is not successful

B．all the citizens in London support the scheme

C．the London Mayor is confident in the scheme

D．the scheme will be cancelled because of the problems

8 . Suppose that we lined up our roughly 14 million United States businesses in order of size, starting with the smallest, along an imaginary road from San Francisco to New York. There will be 4,500 businesses to the mile, or a little less than one per foot. Suppose further that we planted a flag each business. The height of the flag pole represents the yearly volume of sales (销量) , each $ 10, 000 in sales in shown by one foot of pole.

The line of flagpoles is a very interesting sight. From San Francisco to about Reno, it is almost unnoticeable, a row of poles about a foot high. From Reno eastward the poles increase in height until, near Columbus, Ohio - about four - fifths of the way across the nation - flags fly about 10 feet in the air.

But as we approach the eastern terminus (终点) , the poles suddenly begin to mount (升高) . There are about 300, 000 firms in the country with sales over $ 500, 000. These firms take up the last 75 miles of the 3,000 - mile road. There are 200, 000 firms with sales over $ 1 million. They take up the last 50 miles. Then there are 1, 000 firms with sales of $ 50, 000, 000 or more. They take up the last quarter of a mile before the city limits, flags flying at cloud height, 5 , 000 feet up .

At the very gate of New York, on the last 100 feet of the last mile , we find the 100 largest industrial firms . They have sales of at least $ 1.5 billion, so that their flags are already miles high. Along the last 10 feet of road , there are 10 largest companies . Their sales are roughly $ 10 billion and up : their flags fly 190 miles in the air , almost in the stratosphere (平流层) .

1. What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?

A．To tell the reason why the largest firms are in New York.

B．To show the geographical distribution (分布) of the United States businesses.

C．To provide a general idea of the size of businesses in the United States.

D．To tell us how the United States businesses are arranged.

2. What’s the correct order of the following places from east to west?

A．San Francisco, Reno, New York, Columbus.

B．San Francisco, Reno, Columbus, New York.

C．New York, Columbus, Reno, San Francisco

D．New York, Reno, Columbus, San Francisco

3. Among the four parts of the imaginary road , which part , considering all the firms in it , has the largest total volume of sales ?

A．The last 75 miles.	B．The last 50 miles.
C．The last 100 feet of the last mile.	D．The last quarter of a mile

4. Which of the following diagrams (图表) shows the right order of size of the US businesses , according to the text ?
S =" San" Francisco   R =" Reno"   C =" Columbus"   N =" New" York   H =" height"   F = feet

A．

B．

C．

D．

9 . What will power your house in the future？Nuclear，wind，or solar power？According to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US，it might be leaves — but artificial (人造的) ones.
Natural leaves are able to change sunlight and water into energy. It is known as photosynthesis (光合作用)．Now researchers have found a way to imitate this seemingly simple process.
The artificial leaf developed by Daniel Nocera and his colleagues at MIT can be seen as a special silicon chip with catalysts (催化剂)．Similar to natural leaves，it can split water into hydrogen and oxygen when put into a bucket of water. The hydrogen and oxygen gases are then stored in a fuel cell，which uses those two materials to produce electricity，located either on top of a house or beside the house.
Though the leaf is only about the shape of a poker card，scientists claimed that it is promising to be an inexpensive source of electricity in developing countries. “One can imagine villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology,” said Nocera at a conference of the American Chemical Society.
The artificial leaf is not a new idea. The first artificial leaf was invented in 1997 but was too expensive and unstable for practical use. The new leaf，by contrast，is made of cheap materials，easy to use and highly stable. In laboratory studies，Nocera showed that an artificial leaf prototype (原型) could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity.
The wonderful improvements come from Nocera's recent discovery of several powerful，new and inexpensive catalysts. These catalysts make the energy transformation inside the leaf more efficient with water and sunlight. Right now，the new leaf is about 10 times more efficient at carrying out photosynthesis than a natural one. Besides，the device can run in whatever water is available；that is，it doesn't need pure water. This is important for some countries that don't have access to pure water.
With the goal to “make each home its own power station” and “give energy to the poor”，scientists believe that the new technology could be widely used in developing countries，especially in India and rural China.
1. Which of the following orders correctly shows how the artificial leaf is used to produce electricity?
a．artificial leaves split water into hydrogen and oxygen
b．the hydrogen and oxygen gases are stored in a fuel cell
c．the artificial leaves are put in water
d．the fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity

A．c，a，b，d	B．c，b，a，d
C．b，c，a，d	D．c，a，d，b

2. The purpose of the scientists at MIT in developing the new artificial leaf is to________.

A．build up more power stations in the world

B．provide cheaper energy for developing countries

C．offer people in developing countries access to pure water

D．gain a deeper understanding of the photosynthesis process

3. The main idea of this passage is ________.

A．an introduction to the history of artificial leaves

B．a mixture of water power and solar energy

C．giving energy to the poor

D．an invention copying photosynthesis

10 . A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of them fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
Gerner manages school facilities （设施） for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes （样品）; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation （朝向）,”Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of the most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.
1. How did the architects react to Gerner’s design requirements?

A．They lost balance in excitement.	B．They showed strong disbelief.
C．They expressed little interest.	D．They burst into cheers.

2. Which order of steps is followed in carrying out the project?

A．Assessment — Prototype — Design — Construction.

B．Assessment — Design — Prototype — Construction.

C．Design — Assessment — Prototype — Construction.

D．Design — Prototype — Assessment — Construction.

3. What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County?

A．The large size.	B．Limited facilities.
C．The desert climate.	D．Poor natural resources.

4. What does Gerner think of the ideas of green schools?

A．They are questionable.	B．They are out of date.
C．They are advanced.	D．They are practical.