1 . “Two centuries ago, Lewis and Clark left St. Louis to explore the new lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase,” George W. Bush said, announcing his desire for a program to send men and women to Mars. They made that journey in the spirit of discovery. America has ventured forth into space for the same reasons.
Yet there are vital differences between Lewis and Clark’s expedition and a Mars mission. First, they were headed to a place where hundreds of thousands of people were already living. Second, they were certain to discover places and things of immediate value to the new nation. Third, their venture cost next to nothing by today’s standards. A Mars mission may be the single most expensive non-wartime undertaking in U.S. history.
Appealing as the thought of travel to Mars is, it does not mean the journey makes sense, even considering the human calling to explore. And Mars as a destination for people makes absolutely no sense with current technology.
Present systems for getting from Earth’s surface to low-Earth orbit are so fantastically expensive that merely launching the 1,000 tons or so of spacecraft and equipment a Mars mission would require could be accomplished only by cutting health-care benefits, education spending, or other important programs—or by raising taxes. Absent (缺乏)some remarkable discovery, astronauts, geologists, and biologists once on Mars could do little more than analyze rocks and feel awestruck (敬畏的) staring into the sky of another world. Yet rocks can be analyzed by automated probes without risk to human life, and at a tiny portion of the cost of sending people.
It is interesting to note that when President Bush unveiled (公开) his proposal, he listed these recent major achievements of space exploration: pictures of evidence of water on Mars, discovery of more than 100 planets outside our solar system, and study of the soil of Mars. All these accomplishments came from automated probes or automated space telescopes. Bush’s proposal, which calls for reprogramming some of NASA’s present budget into the Mars effort, might actually lead to a reduction in such unmanned science—the one aspect of space exploration that’s working really well.
Rather than spend hundreds of billions of dollars to hurl (投) tons toward Mars using current technology, why not take a decade or two or however much time is required researching new launch systems and advanced propulsion (推进力)? If new launch systems could put weight into orbit affordably, and advanced propulsion could speed up that long, slow transit (运输) to Mars, the dream of stepping onto the red planet might become reality. Mars will still be there when the technology is ready.
1. What do Lewis and Clark’s expedition and a Mars mission have in common?| A．Instant value. | B．Human inhabitance. |
| C．Venture cost. | D．Exploring spirit. |
| A．great achievements have already been made in Mars exploration in America. |
| B．American people’s well-being will suffer a lot if it is carried out. |
| C．its expense is too huge for the government to afford. |
| D．unmanned Mars exploration sounds more practical and economical for the moment. |
| A．Going to Mars using current technology is quite sensible. |
| B．A Mars mission will in turn promote the development of unmanned program. |
| C．Bush’s proposal is based on three recent great achievements of space exploration. |
| D．The achievements in space exploration show how well manned science has developed. |
| A．Risky as it is, a Mars mission helps maintain America’s position as a technological leader. |
| B．A Mars mission is so costly that it may lead to an economic disaster in America. |
| C．Someday people may go to Mars but not until it makes technological sense. |
| D．A Mars mission is unnecessary since the scientists once there won’t make great discoveries. |
2 . On a bright sunny day, I stared my day off by volunteering at the L. A. Food Bank. My reason for volunteering at the food bank was to satisfy my need to help others and leave a
By helping pack food items. I was able to make as significant impact on my community by helping people fight
| A．change | B．message | C．blank | D．chance |
| A．established | B．examined | C．entered | D．equipped |
| A．shabby | B．steady | C．tidy | D．noisy |
| A．check in | B．give up | C．show off | D．move out |
| A．aid | B．duties | C．awards | D．test |
| A．appointed | B．begged | C．forced | D．persuaded |
| A．consumed | B．inspected | C．searched | D．replaced |
| A．abandoned | B．delivered | C．packed | D．explored |
| A．represent | B．shelter | C．deserve | D．contain |
| A．studio | B．factory | C．museum | D．theatre |
| A．bank | B．list | C．step | D．row |
| A．quickly | B．secretly | C．casually | D．anxiously |
| A．burden | B．thought | C．regret | D．interest |
| A．recognize | B．welcome | C．help | D．visit |
| A．focus | B．respect | C．wisdom | D．ambition |
| A．understood | B．counted | C．led | D．heard |
| A．leadership | B．technical | C．social | D．business |
| A．prove | B．discover | C．stress | D．guarantee |
| A．fear | B．loneliness | C．hunger | D．doubt |
| A．direction | B．identity | C．belonging | D．satisfaction |
3 . It seemed interesting that on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s departure for France, the Indian and French governments issued similar statements on the prospects of an agreement on the purchase of the Rafale aircraft: that no single deal should be allowed to overshadow the Prime Minister’s visit. Indeed, India-France relations are much bigger than any one contract; they represent the cultural affinityl (密切关系) and historic relations between two vibrant (醒目的) democracies. The items on the Prime Minister’s agenda reflected the range of commonalities — from the preservation of ancient architecture to the development of Puducherry and Chandigarh as smart cities; from the construction of semi-high-speed railway lines to cooperation on a space mission to Mars; from discussing anti-terror training to tackling climate change through renewable technologies and a robust nuclear partnership. The economic aspect of the relationship has been ignored for too long. Although more than a thousand French companies have a total investment of about $20 billion in India, bilateral trade is worth just $8 billion. While all this deserved attention, it was disappointing that the Prime Minister put the spotlight back on defence ties by making a surprise announcement on the purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft as the highlight of his talks with President Francois Hollande. If the outright purchase was a crucial military necessity, it could have been discussed a few weeks before or after the visit, as a political push for the deal was secondary to the technical specifications and delivery requirements. Moreover, the deal, which involves purchasing products off the shelf abroad, detracts from Mr. Modi’s “Make in India” initiative (主动性).
The breakthrough on the Areva nuclear equipment deal, on the other hand, shows the positive outcome of Mr. Modi’s and Mr. Hollande’s political push, combined with a “Make in India” twist. As in the case of Indo-U.S. nuclear negotiations, Mr. Modi and Mr. Hollande decided to clear the logjam by splitting the problem into different silos — allowing for separate mechanisms for the pricing issues and for the technical and legal aspects. The supplementary deal involving Areva and L&T producing heavy forging metal casing for nuclear reactors is an important step in localising some of the expensive parts. During his visit to Canada, where he hopes to sign a deal for uranium supplies, Mr. Modi means to take forward his plan to increase nuclear energy production. Given this objective, it may be useful for him to round off the visit by discussing his nuclear energy plans in Germany as well, which is now winding down on nuclear power but is at the cutting edge of nuclear safety research for the European Pressurised Reactors that are being considered for India.
1. Which of the following got the whole attention other than many important deals?| A．Cooperation on a space mission to Mars. | B．Anti-terror training. |
| C．Purchase of Rafale Fighters. | D．General VK Singh’s remark on the Press. |
| A．Preservation of ancient architecture. |
| B．Development of Puducherry and Chandigarh as smart cities. |
| C．Construction of semi-high-speed railway lines. |
| D．All of the above. |
| A．The Big Deal | B．Modi’s Success | C．Modi’s tour to France | D．Rafale and beyond |
| A．A long traffic jam during Prime Minister Modi’s visit. |
| B．A state of mind where you cannot decide what to do. |
| C．A situation that seems like unable to be settled. |
| D．A place from where The French President used to work. |
1．描述此现象；
2．给出合理建议（至少三点）。
注意：
1．写作词数应为80左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
参考词汇：理性地追星worship stars rationally
Worship Stars Rationally
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Teen Becomes A Local Hero
When Sydney Raley headed into her weekend shift on Saturday, December 18, she likely expected to do more of the same: Stand at the drive-through window, take orders over the headset, and hand each customer their meal with a smile.
In fact. that’s exactly how it started. Sydney Raley has been working at MC Donald’s for about seven months and so far, it’s been her typical after-school job. The day had been mostly normal -making coffee, making drinks, and going into the lunch rush.
But a few hours into her shift. things took a dramatic turn. After handing a customer some of their food, Sydney let them know that more would be coming as soon as it was ready. But just seconds later, she noticed a terrible look of panic spread across the woman’s face. Then came the coughing. She was coughing like crazy and was speechless. Her daughter was in the passenger seat and looked extremely confused and frightened.
Sydney immediately knew she was choking. The first aid training Sydney received more than four years ago hit her. Most 15-year-olds might panic at the sight of this. But not Sydney. Instead, the teen remained calm and quickly shouted to both her manager and the woman’s daughter to dial 911. Then, she dove through the drive-through window and came to the rescue.
The teen pushed the driver’s side door forcefully open and got the choking woman to her feet. Then she dug down deep into her memory bank to recall everything she learned from her Red Cross babysitter class-which she’d taken four years earlier. All that training of how to use the Heimlich maneuver(哈姆立克急教法)immediately kicked in. Still, she had never actually had to use the life-saving technique before, and after a few tries, it wasn’t quite working. Luckily, another customer was just a few feet away in the parking lot.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
She shouted to that man for assistance.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The story has made headlines throughout the country.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. 很高兴他对中国文化感兴趣。
2. 介绍其中一个节气——立春Beginning of Spring
3. 欢迎他亲自来中国感受传统文化。
1. 注意：词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
Dear James,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
1. 日期；2.起源；3.节日活动(约会，送礼物，女性乞巧等)。
注意:1.词数100左右:
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯，
3.参考词汇legend传说，dexterity灵巧
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8 . How to Feel Connected
It's easy to feel disconnected from what is going on around you in today's fast-paced world.
Consider why you feel disconnected. Knowing what is making you feel disconnected can help you choose the best ways to address it.
Interact with people in person. Technology is a great way to stay in touch, but sometimes you need to spend time with other people in person.
Your loved ones could feel shy, so you may never know how to improve your relationship unless you ask the right questions. Asking them to open the doors can give you some insight on what you can do. Learning this information can help to strengthen your bond.
Show your commitment to them. Simply showing up and being there for your loved ones says a lot about how much you value your relationships. Putting in the time shows them that you are committed and want to stay connected.
Show appreciation. A simple “thank you” goes a very long way. Unfortunately, it is something that people who are close often take for granted. Telling someone you appreciate their time, love, and efforts can strengthen your bond and help you to become more connected.
| A．Ask others what they need from you. |
| B．Sometimes you can feel isolated and distant from the ones you love. |
| C．Be brave to express your love. |
| D．Reach out to people to schedule a time to get together. |
| E．Attending family events, or simply visiting someone once a week can help to strengthen your relationship and keep it strong. |
| F．Targeting your efforts toward those issues allows you to close that distance more effectively. |
| G．You can have a gift delivered to friends on special occasions. |
9 . Did you ever have to say “no” to somebody? Such as a classmate who asks to go to lunch with you? New research suggests that, at least socially, a rejection (拒绝) should not include an apology. In other words, saying you are sorry does not make the person being rejected feel any better. In fact, it might make the rejected person feel worse. That is surprising. Many people consider it to be good manners to say they are sorry when they turn down a request.
Gili Freedman is doing some related research at Dartmouth College. For her research, she asked over 1,000 people to respond to different examples of social rejection. In one example, the researchers asked people for their reaction (反应）after a person named Taylor asked to join a co-worker who went out to lunch every Friday. And Taylor was told “no”. But in some cases, the person rejecting Taylor offered an apology. In other cases, the people doing the rejection did not say they were sorry. People were asked how they would feel if they were being turned down, just as Taylor was. Most said they would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology than a rejection without an apology.
Freedman said the reason is that apologies make people feel like they need to say that the rejection was okay— even when they felt like it was not okay. Rejection without an apology lets them express their feelings of disappointment, hurt or anger more easily. Freedman also said that an apology often makes the person doing the rejection feel better—even as it makes the person being rejected feel worse.
Her research deals only with social communication. A business situation might be very different. “If a manager rejects a job interviewee or a boss must tell an employee that he or she is being fired from a job,” Freedman said, “reactions to apologies may be different.”
1. Why do people say they are sorry when they express rejection?| A．Because they think it is more polite. |
| B．Because they think it helps them express their dislike better. |
| C．Because they think apologies are the basis of communication. |
| D．Because they think it sounds more comfortable for the listener. |
| A．rejected others without an apology |
| B．offered an apology when rejecting others |
| C．would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology |
| D．were asked to answer the question in different situations |
| A．It makes the rejection more acceptable. |
| B．It makes a good impression on the listener. |
| C．It makes the communication more pleasant. |
| D．It makes the person doing the rejecting feel better. |
| A．The effect of an apology during a rejection. |
| B．Gili Freedman’s research on business situations. |
| C．A rejection with an apology in a business situation. |
| D．The difference between a social situation and a business one. |
10 . Shortly after its opening on the first day of Chinese New Year, The Wandering Earth began to gain momentum. In a little over a week, it made 2.8 billion yuan in the
As a genre (类型), Chinese science fiction has
My parents were the type who tried to steer me in the direction of non-fiction and the classics. They believed that science fiction and fantasy were “unrealistic nonsense” and would
The world is changing. There may very well be a time when Earth is no longer able to
| A．outdoor | B．domestic | C．depressed | D．global |
| A．achievement | B．compliment | C．surprise | D．priority |
| A．embarrassing | B．extreme | C．risky | D．complicate |
| A．contributed to | B．taken over | C．made up | D．lagged behind |
| A．Personally | B．Obviously | C．Fortunately | D．Hopefully |
| A．confidence | B．ambitions | C．suspicions | D．misunderstandings |
| A．damage | B．rot | C．form | D．swing |
| A．In addition | B．For instance | C．In fact | D．As a result |
| A．compound | B．investigation | C．memory | D．appeal |
| A．imagined | B．operated | C．restored | D．invented |
| A．combination | B．perspective | C．definition | D．consequence |
| A．mystery | B．restriction | C．connection | D．reality |
| A．protect | B．sustain | C．double | D．estimate |
| A．willing | B．thrilled | C．forced | D．allowed |
| A．Though | B．If | C．Since | D．Before |
