2 . THE FATHER OF CHINA’S AEROSPACE

Perhaps no other scientist has had a greater impact on China’s aerospace science than Qian Xuesen. Described by the authors of the Story of Qian Xuesen as a man with “great scientific thought and scientific spirit” who was patriotic and served his homeland with effort, achievement, and devotion, Qian was an extremely well-respected man.

Born in Hangzhou in 1911, Qian attended schools in Beijing and then entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Railway Mechanical Engineering. However, after the Songhu Battle broke out in 1932, Qian made the decision to switch his major to aviation because he realised that China needed its own powerful air force to protect and defend the country.

Qian went to the United States in 1935 to pursue his graduate studies. Over the course of the 1930s and 1940s, Qian became a pioneer in American jet and rocket technology. As a graduate assistant at the California institute of Technology during the 1930s, Qian helped conduct important research into rocket propulsion, and in the 1940s, he and several other people founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, now one of NASA’S leading space-exploration centres.

After overcoming some difficulties during his final few years in the US Qian returned to China in 1955. He received a hero’s welcome from his homeland and was put in charge of not only developing China’s rocket science but also its space and missile programme. At that time, China was poor and its rocket science was undeveloped. No institute or university in China offered rocket science as a major, and there were no talents or experts in this field in China. Nevertheless, Qian did not let that discourage him from taking on the challenge. When asked “Can we Chinese possibly make missiles?” his reply was a determined “Why not? We Chinese are able to make the same things that other people make.”

Under Qians leadership, China developed the Dongfeng missiles, followed by the first generation of Long March rockets. In 1970, China successful launched its first man-made satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, from a Long March rocket. Because much of the technology behind the Shenzhou rockets can also be traced back to Qian’s research, Qian earned the name of “the father of Chinas aerospace.”

Qian read a lot and was extremely knowledgeable, especially in the area of frontier science research. However, what might have made him such an outstanding and creative scientist was probably his strong interest in other things, such as music and drawing. His deep appreciation for art often gave him inspiration in his scientific research.

On 31 October 2009, the whole country was saddened by Qians death, and people honoured and remembered him in different ways.

A WORLD OF PURE THOUGHT

Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous and gifted scientists in physics. Most people are familiar with images of him in his wheelchair unable to move and using a computer to talk. Since he came down with a disease which caused him to lose the use of most of his muscles his world became one of abstract thought.

Hawking first achieved fame when he was still healthy enough to walk, as a graduate student in physics at Cambridge University in 1964. In general there were two main theories on the origin of the universe. The first was the steady state theory, which holds that the universe has no beginning or end. The other was the big bang theory, which holds that the universe began at a single point in time and space. The biggest champion of the steady state concept was Fred Hoyle, a professor at Cambridge. During the question and answer period after one of Hoyle’s lectures, Hawking stood up and pointed out that Hoyle had made a mistake in his maths. Once the maths was corrected, it showed that the big bang theory — and not the steady state theory — was true. Hawking’s own work on the big bang theory was soon proven by astronomers with telescopes. A star was born.

So, what made Stephen Hawking a genius? Besides being brilliant, he was brave, though sometimes careless in what he said or did. He was willing to say what others were afraid to say, and to dream of what others were afraid to dream about. Furthermore, he was quite determined. This had helped him as a scientist, and had helped him even more in his fight against his disease. Above all, Hawking was willing to admit his faults. This odd combination of characteristics had made him one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Ⅰ. 阅读文章，明确文章主旨。

1. The text is mainly about __________________________________.
2. The Father of China’s Aerospace

para 1: _____________________________

para 2-5: _____________________________

para 6: _____________________________

para 7: _____________________________

3. A World of Pure Thought

para 1: _____________________________

para 2: _____________________________

Para 3: _____________________________

Ⅱ. 根据文章，回答以下问题。

4. Why was Qian called “the father of China’s aerospace”?

________________________________________________________________________________

5. How was Hawking’s own theory proven correct?

________________________________________________________________________________

3 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

A funny thing happened to Arthur when he was on the way to work one day. As he walked along Park Avenue near the First National Bank, he heard the sound of someone trying to start a car. He tried again and again but couldn’t get the car moving. Arthur turned and looked inside at the face of a young man who looked worried.

Arthur stopped and said, “It looks like you’ve got a problem.”

“I’m afraid so. I’m in a big hurry but I can’t start my car.”

“Is there something I can do to help?” Arthur asked. The young man looked at the two suitcases in the back seat and then said, “Thanks. If you’re sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could help me get these suitcases into a taxi.”

“No trouble at all. I’d be glad to help.”

The young man got out and took one of the suitcases from the back seat. After placing it on the ground, he turned to get the other one. Just as Arthur picked up the first suitcase and started walking, he heard the long loud noise of an alarm.

It was from the bank. There had been a robbery (抢劫)!

Park Avenue had been quiet a moment before. Now the air was filled with the sound of the alarm and the shouts of people running from all directions. Cars stopped and the passengers joined the crowd in front of the bank. People asked each other, “What happened?” But everyone had a different answer.

Arthur still carrying the suitcase, turned to look at the bank and walked right into a young woman in front of him.

She looked at the suitcase and then at him. Arthur was surprised. “Why is she looking at me like that?” he thought. “The suitcase! She thinks I’m the bank thief!”

Arthur looked around at the crowd of people. He became frightened, and without another thought, he started to run.

注意：续写的词数应为150左右。
Paragraph 1:

As he was running, Arthur heard the young man shouting behind, “Stop! Stop!” _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

The taxi stopped in front of the police station. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A．differences   B．privileged   C．exploring   D．account   E．amazement F．research   G．strongly   H．unthinkable   I．separately   J．recognize   K．education

Perri Klass and her mother, Sheil a Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co-writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped（重叠）.

Perri notes with     1     how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s: both have fulltime careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read. They also love to travel ---- in fact, they often take trips together. But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big     2     in circumstance and basic nature.

A child of the Depression（大萧条）, Sheil a was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered     3     a luxury for girls. Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished. Perri, on the other hand, grew up     4     in the New Jersey suburbs of the1960s and 1970s. For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is     5     while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.

Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheil a take turns     6     the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together. Sheil a describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing     7     fieldwork. Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy. Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long-hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories.

Looking deep into the lives they have lived     8     and together, Perri and Sheil a tell their mother-daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other. A written     9     in two voices, Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet（二重奏） that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will     10     .

5 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The world’s     1    (famous) heart surgeon, the Egyptian Professor, Sir Magdi Yacoub, has transplanted more hearts than anyone else. To the countless people whose lives he     2    (transform) and saved, he is a hero. Professor Yacoub     3    (inspire) in his work by his father, who was a general surgeon.

Now 66 years old, professor Yacoub still retains his energy and extraordinary enthusiasm for his career. For 43 years, he has dealt with desperate patients whose combination of poor diet, inactive lifestyle and stress overload have caused them to ask for his help.     4     all these experiences, he is very aware of the role of good nutrition and regular exercise in maintaining good health. He eats very well and swims early each morning.

Professor Yacoub’s life is always hectic (狂热的).     5     a donor heart has suddenly been found, then an operation has to take place quickly. He works long hours; he says there are no regular hours for a heart surgeon, as the surgery     6     take place when it needs to be carried out.

For relaxation, professor Yacoub enjoys     7    (garden) and even grows orchids. One dream of     8     is to go to the Amazon one day     9    (see) the rare plants there. He is patron of the Chain of Hope charity, which aims to take medical expense to the developing world. Specialist teams give their time free and travel all over the world to places such as Mozambique and Jamaica to train local surgeons in techniques that     10    (save) lives. This charity also brings needy children to the West necessary heart surgery.

9 . 课文内容填空

With the development of society, chemical pesticides and artificial fertilisers have been in     1     use in farming for many years. They can help fight crop     2     and increase production. However, they can cause many problems     3    . For instance, pesticides can kill     4     bacteria and insects and crops grown with chemical fertilisers usually grow     5     to be full of nutrition. As a result, many people worry they may make them ill and even cause cancer.

To tackle this problem, farmers use natural waste as     6     and they often change the kind of crop grown in each field every year and they also plant diverse crops that use different     7     of soil to help keep it rich. But organic farming is nowhere near able to     8     the high demand for food. Therefore, there is still a long way to find a     9     solution that puts sufficient food on the dinner table while keeping people and the environment as     10     as possible.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Chinese Online Literature Gains in Popularity Overseas

Thanks to our country’s push to help Chinese culture go overseas, many Chinese online literature companies have been gaining influence overseas in recent years through the     1    (establish) of online platforms. According to a recent report, the number of overseas readers of Chinese online literary works     2    (rise) to more than 31.9 million.

Many overseas readers even write online novels by imitating Chinese online literary works. Logan,     3     young man living in Texas of the United States, is a big fan of China’s online literature.     4    (inspire) by Chinese online literary works, he began to write his own online novels. “I draw inspiration from Chinese online novels. Classic Chinese literary works,     5    (particular) Journey to the West, are also the inspiration for some of the characters in my novels,” he said.

“Human beings love stories, and some values of heroes in stories     6    (share) by people around the world,” an employee of China Literature said, adding that heart-warming stories with ambitious characters and traditional Chinese culture elements are     7    (attract) to overseas readers.

    8     translation of mainstream Chinese books may be struggling, English language readers of popular online writings are funding their own translations. For some Western readers,     9    (check) whether or not the latest chapter of their favorite online serial has been translated from Chinese     10     English is the first thing they do in the morning.