1 . Surtsey was born in 1963.Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain's(船长)feet. He noticed a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano(火山)was breaking out. Red-hot rocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom(底部)of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November. Scientists flew there to watch. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967.It was 175 meters high and 2 kilometers long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came. Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world.

1. Surtsey is ______.

A．an island not far from Iceland	B．a new volcano
C．a fishing boat	D．a place in Iceland

2. Scientists flew there ______.

A．to watch the birth of the island	B．to save the fishing boat
C．to learn about the island	D．to build a house

3. When did scientist fly there to watch?

A．Before the volcano broke out.	B．As soon as the volcano broke out.
C．About four days after the volcano broke out.	D．After the volcano stopped rushing up.

4. Put the following sentences in correct order.
a. The captain found the boat was moving.
b. A new island appeared in the sea.
c. Fire, smoke and rocks were seen rushing up.
d. A fishing boat was near Iceland.
e. The island grew quickly.

A．d-a-c-b-e

B．a-b-c-d-e

C．a-b-e-c-d

D．b-e-d-a-c

5. The best title of this article is ________.

A．A new island	B．The birth of an island
C．A new world	D．Scientists discovered Surtsey

2 . 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.

3 . 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.

4 . If you exhibit positive characteristics such as honesty and helpfulness, the chances are that you will be thought as a good-looking person, for a new study has found that the perception (认知) of physical attractiveness is influenced by a person's personality.

The study, which was led by Gary W. Lewandowski, has found that people who exhibit negative characteristics, such as unfairness and rudeness, appear to be less physically attractive to observers. In the study, the participants viewed photographs of opposite-sex individuals and rated them for attractiveness before and after being provided with information about their personalities.

After personality information was received, participants also rated the probability of each individual's becoming a friend and a dating partner. Information on personality was found to significantly change the probability, showing that cognitive (认知的) processes modify (修改) judgments of attractiveness.

"Thinking a person as having a desirable personality makes the person more suitable in general as a close relationship partner of any kind," said Lewandowski.

The findings show that a positive personality leads to greater expectation of becoming friends, which leads to greater expectation of becoming romantic partners and, finally, to being viewed as more physically attractive. The findings remained consistent regardless of how "attractive" the individual was formerly thought to be or of the participants' current relationship status.

"This research provides a positive outcome by reminding people that personality goes a long way toward determining your attractiveness; it can even change people's impressions of how good-looking you are," said Lewandowski.

1. In the study the participants were required to ______.

A．try to make friends with each other

B．try to prove positive characters make people more attractive

C．exhibit negative characters such as unfairness and rudeness

D．rate one's attractiveness by photos before and after knowing her or his personality

2. What's the CORRECT order of how cognitive processes modify judgments of attractiveness?
a. find a person with a positive personality
b. view the person more physically, attractive
c. want to make friends with the person
d. want to be his/her romantic partner

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

3. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?

A．The research reminds people to pay more attention to the personality.

B．Personality can change people's impressions of one's appearance.

C．The judgment of one's attractiveness always stays unchanged.

D．Positive personality may lead to more friends.

4. The passage is written in a(n)             tone.

A．subjective

B．objective

C．skeptical

D．negative

5 . From boyhood he was interested in Astronomy, and while at Cambridge he would sit up at night to watch the stars. But he was dissatisfied with the telescopes of those days because they didn't show him a clear picture of things. At first he thought there must be something wrong with the lens（镜头）. But no matter how hard he tried to improve the lens, the trouble was still there.

This set Newton thinking. He began to study the nature of light and colours. In the end he found that sunlight, or white light, is actually made up of a row of colours. He counted seven colours in all. This was of course a great discovery. But Newton still wasn't satisfied. His mind was busy with another problem. Before Newton's time, scientists had already discovered that the sun, not the earth, was the centre of the universe, and they knew that the earth and the other planets moved round the sun. But they couldn't explain why this was so until Newton gave the answer.

One autumn evening while Newton was sitting under an apple tree thinking over these problems, he saw the moon rise in the sky. Why, he asked himself, should the moon round the earth, never leaving the same path? At that moment, he heard an apple drop from the tree. Why should the apple drop to the ground? Why didn't it go sideways or fly up? There seemed to be only one reason: The earth was drawing it-that is the force of gravity. If a stone is tied to the end of a string and whirled around, it flies round and round in circles because of the string. In the same way, the force of gravity, thought Newton, must be the force that keeps the moon going round the earth and the planets round the sun.

1. This passage tells us_________.

A．Newton gave the right answer to the making up of the sunlight

B．Newton found that the moon goes round the earth

C．how Newton made two of his greatest discoveries

D．why Newton made two of his great discoveries at home

2. Give the right order of the events given in the passage.
a. Newton found that sunlight is made up of a row of colours.
b. Newton wondered why the apple didn't go sideways.
c. Newton decided that the force of gravity keeps the moon going round the earth.
d. Newton tried every means to improve the lens.
e. Newton counted the number of colours.

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

3. Which of the following is the nearest in meaning to "But they couldn't explain why this was so until Newton gave the answer."?

A．But Newton gave the answer because they couldn't explain why.

B．But Newton couldn't explain why unless they gave the answer.

C．But it was Newton who gave the answer.

D．But Newton was the first to give the answer.

6 . The clockwork radio is the only radio that doesn’t need electricity. It works by turning the handle (手柄)for a minute. Nowadays, thousands of these radios are made every day. They are bought by people in some places, where there isn’t any electricity. The clockwork radio was invented in 1991 by Trevor Bayliss, a British inventor. He had the idea within half an hour while he was listening to some news in the radio about Africa: some Africans were dying of AIDS and there was no easy way to send them information about the disease. The first one he made ran for 14 minutes before needing to turn the handle again, but one year later, it improved. However, people didn’t know it until it appeared on a television programme called Tomorrow’s World.

At the beginning, no one would help Trevor develop his idea for a new kind of radio. Finally, in 1994，his invention was shown on the TV programme, and afterwards, a South African businessman watched it and decided to help him. The first Freeplay radios were built in South Africa in 1995. Since then, the radios have been a great success. And then Trevor has become famous. He has been given many awards(奖品)，including one from Nelson Mandela.

Mr. Bayliss, whose latest project is a wind-up walking stick, created a website offering inventors suggestions on patenting (专利)and marketing. After that, he also invented electric shoes, which produce electricity as you walk. And the self-weighing suitcase is also his invention- you pick it up and the handle tells you how much it weighs. That’s very useful when you go to the airport.

1. When did the radio appear on Tomorrow’s World?

A．In 1991.

B．In 1992.

C．In 1994.

D．In 1995.

2. Which of the following is the right order of the events for Mr. Bayliss?
a. He invented electric shoes.                                        b. He met a South African businessman.
c. His clockwork radio was welcomed by people.              d. He improved his radio.

A．acdb.

B．bcda.

C．cadb.

D．dbca.

3. Why did Mr. Bayliss create his website?

A．To introduce his ideas about inventions.	B．To help inventors with their patents.
C．To sell the clockwork radios.	D．To show his awards on it

4. What is the text mainly talking about?

A．The invention of the clockwork radio.	B．The good use of the clockwork radio.
C．Mr. Bayliss’ patent protection.	D．Mr. Bayliss’ inventive ideas.

7 . My father, who was always drunk and angry, beat me more and more every day. He always locked the door when he went away and kept the key in his pocket. One day I found an old saw (锯子) that he hid in the roof. When I was alone in the house, I started to make a hole on the floor under the big table.

The next day my father said, "Huck, go to the river and catch some fish for breakfast. Quickly! And don't try anything. Remember, I’m watching you!"

While I was fishing by the river, I saw an empty boat nearby.

"A boat!" I thought, happily, "This is my chance to escape. I'll hide the boat near some trees and use it tonight!"

When my father went to town that afternoon, I got my saw and started to work on the hole. It was late afternoon when I finished making the hole.

"I did a good job, "I thought, looking at the hole. "Now I'll get my father's gun. I have a plan. "

I looked outside the window and there was nobody there. I quickly escaped through the hole. Then I ran into the woods to hunt a wild pig. Luckily, I found one. I shot it and took it back to the house and let the pig's blood fall on the wooden floor of the house. Then I pulled some of my hair out and put it on my father's ax (斧子)with some of the pig's blood.

I took the pig's body outside and put it in a big bag with some rocks, and threw it into the river.

"This way people will think ▲ !" I thought. "They'll come and look for my body in the river." This idea made me smile.

I waited until it was dark and got into the boat and went to Jackson's Island. I knew about Jackson's Island because Tom, Ben, Joe and I had a lot of fun adventures there.

(Adapted from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain）

1. What's the correct order of the following?
①Huck hid a boat.     ②Huck found a saw.   ③Huck went fishing.   ④Huck killed a wild pig.

A．①④②③

B．③②①④

C．②①③④

D．②③①④

2. Which of the following is the best to fill in the blank"     "?

A．my father went away and I'm sad	B．the pig's blood is mine and I'm dead
C．I killed the wild pig and I'm brave	D．my friends helped me and I'm lucky

3. Huck went to Jackson's Island because he wanted to_______.

A．meet his friends	B．look for the treasure
C．take an adventure	D．escape from his father

4. According to the passage, what is Huck like?

A．Brave and clever.	B．Funny and helpful.
C．Lazy and careless.	D．Boring and stupid.

8 . Donating blood is a simple thing to do, but it can make a big difference in the lives of others. The donation process from the time you arrive until the time you leave takes about an hour. The donation itself is only about 8—10 minutes on average. The steps in the process are:

Step 1: Registration

1. Our staff and volunteers will sign you in and go over basic eligibility (资格) and donation information.

2. You will read information about donating blood, and will be asked to show a donor card，driver’s license, or other form(s) of ID.

Step 2: Health History & Mini-Physical

1. You will answer some questions during a private and confidential interview about your health history and places you have traveled.

2. We will check your temperature, pulse, blood pressure and hemoglobin (血红蛋白) level present in a sample of blood.

Step 3: The Donation

1. We will clean an area on your arm and insert a brand new clean needle for the blood draw. This feels like a quick pain and is over in seconds.

2. The actual donation takes about 8—10 minutes, during which you will be seated comfortably. Certain donation types, such as platelets (血小板) or red cells can take up to 2 hours.

3. When approximately a pint of blood has been collected, the donation is complete and a staff person will place a bandage on your arm.

Step 4: Refreshments

1. After donating, you should have a snack and something to drink in the refreshments area. You can leave the site after 10—15 minutes and continue with your normal daily activities.

2. Enjoy the feeling of accomplishment knowing that you have helped save lives.

1. Which of the following can be a proper title for the passage?

A．The process of blood donation

B．The benefits of blood donation

C．The importance of blood donation

D．The preparations for blood donation

2. During the Registration, a blood donor will be asked to        .

A．go over his basic donation information

B．show something to prove his identity

C．answer some questions about his health history

D．have his temperature and blood pressure checked

3. What is the right order of the events in Step 3?
a. clean an area on the donor’s arm
b. let the donor sit comfortably
c. place a bandage on the donor’s arm
d. draw the blood
e. insert a needle

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

9 . In the office of the German prime minister Angela Merkel, there is a picture of Catherine the Great, the legendary (传奇的) Russian Empress. When asked why she has the picture, Merkel says, "She was a strong woman". Many say the same of Merkel.

The most powerful woman in the world, according to US Forbes magazine, was in China last week. She came to discuss trade and environmental issues with China's top leaders. Germany's first woman leader is known as a brave and practical statesman (政治家).

Even since her time at school, she had the habit of getting everything in order. Every day before doing her homework she would clean the desk and think about what to do next. "I prefer a long time for full preparations to make my decision. But once I decide, I will stand up for what I believe, "Merkel said. Perhaps it was good habits that helped her do well in her studies. At 32, she got a doctor degree in physics and then she worked as a researcher.

However, the life of a scholar couldn't put off her love of politics. While working in labs, Merkel took time off to read political books and at last joined a political party. "Her calmness helped her stand out in the party. She could always find a way out while others felt hopeless," said one of her old friends.

In her first big political job as Minister for the Environment in 1994, her scientific background proved very useful. In 2005 she became Germany's youngest prime minister since the second World War.

Now half way through her four-year term, the 53-year-old woman has made a name for herself both in Germany and abroad. At the EU summit (欧盟峰会) in 2005 when France quarreled with Britain over the EU budget (预算), some people believed the EU was close to breaking down. But Merkel didn't give up. She shuttled (穿梭) between the heads of the two powers and had them reached an agreement.

"Strength comes from composure (镇定) and courage. Many people say I am a strong woman. But I would rather say I have perseverance, "said Merkel.

1. Why does Merkel put a picture of Catherine the Great on the wall of her office? ______

A．Because Catherine the Great is beautiful.

B．Because Merkel wants to be a strong woman too.

C．Because Merkel likes the drawing skill of it.

D．Because it is very expensive.

2. What is the correct order of the following events? ______
a. became the German Chancellor (总理)
b. got a doctorate (博士学位) in physics and then she worked as a researcher
c. joined a political party
d. took part in the EU summit
e. worked as Minister for the Environment

A．bcade

B．cbdae

C．bcead

D．cbaed

3. Which statement is NOT true according to the passage? ______

A．Merkel usually hurries to make a decision when facing difficulties.

B．At the EU summit in 2005, the relationship between French and Britain was in tension (紧张).

C．Merkel is a well-known leader all over the world.

D．She is outstanding because of her calmness.

4. What is the best title for the passage? ______

A．An excellent lecturer	B．Germany's iron lady
C．The change of a scholar	D．The youngest chancellor

10 . Kincaid looked at his watch: eight-seventeen. The truck started on the second try, and he backed out, shifted gears, and moved slowly down the alley under hazy sun. Through the streets of Bellingham he went, heading south on Washington 11, running along the coast of Puget Sound for a few miles, then following the highway as it swung east a little before meeting U.S Route 20.

Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. He liked this country and felt unpressed stopping now and then to make notes about interesting possibilities for future expeditions or to shoot what he called “memory snapshots.” The purpose of these causal photographs was to remind him of places he might want to visit again and approach more seriously. In later afternoon he turned north at Spokane, picking up U.S. Route 2, which would take him halfway across the northern United States to Duluth, Minnesota.

He wished for the thousandth time in his life that he had a dog, a golden retriever, maybe ,for travels like this and to keep him company at home. But he was frequently away; overseas much of the time and it would not be fair to the animal. Still, he thought about it anyway. In a few years he would be getting too old for the hard fieldwork. “I must get a dog then.” He said to himself.

Drives like this always put him into a sentimental mood. The dog was part of it. Robert Kincaid was alone as it’s possible to be—an only child, parents both dead, distant relatives who had lost track of him and he of them, no close friends.

He thought about Marian. She had left him nine years ago after five years of marriage. He was fifty-two now, that would make her just under forty. Marian had dreams of becoming a musician, a folksinger. She knew all of the Weavers’ songs and sang them pretty well in the coffeehouse of Seattle. When he was home in the old days, he drove her to the shows and sat in the audience while she sang.

His long absences—two or three months sometimes—were hard on the marriage. He knew that. She was aware of what he did when they decided to get married, and both of them had a vague sense that it could all be handled somehow. It couldn’t when he came from photographing a story in Iceland and she was gone. The note read, “Robert, it didn’t work out. I left you the Harmony guitar. Stay in touch.”

He didn’t stay in touch. Neither did she. He signed the divorce papers when they arrived a year later and caught a plane for Australia the next day. She had asked for nothing except her freedom.

1. Which route is the right one taken by Kincaid?

A．Bellingham—Washington 11—Puget Sound—U.S Route 20—U.S Route 2—Duluth

B．U.S. Route 2—Bellingham—Washington 11—Puget Sound—U.S Route 20—Duluth

C．U.S. Route 2—U.S Route 20—Duluth –Bellingham—Washington 11

D．Bellingham—Washington 11—U.S. Route 2—U.S Route 20—Duluth

2. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．Kincaid’s parents were dead and he only kept in touch with some distant relatives.

B．Kincaid would have had a dog if he hadn’t been away from home too much.

C．Kincaid used to have a golden retriever.

D．Kincaid needed a dog in doing his hard fieldwork.

3. Why did Kincaid stop to take photos while driving?

A．To write “memory snapshots”

B．To remind himself of places he might want to visit again.

C．To avoid forgetting the way back.

D．To shoot beautiful scenery along the road.

4. What can you know about Marian?

A．She died after five years of marriage.

B．She was older than Kincaid.

C．She could sing very well and earned big money.

D．She was not a professional pop singer.

5. We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ________.

A．Marian knew what would happen before she married Kincaid.

B．Kincaid thought his absence would be a problem when he married Marian.

C．It turned out that Marian could not stand Kincaid’s absence and left him.

D．After Marian left him, they still kept in touch with each other.