2 . Ieoh Ming Pei, one of the last great modernist architects (建筑师), has died aged 102. Although he worked mostly in the United States, Pei will always be remembered for a European project: his redevelopment of the Louvre Museum in Paris in the 1980s.

Pei was the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre in its long history, and at the beginning his designs were fiercely opposed. But in the end, the French—and everyone else—were won over. His glass pyramid outside the Louvre, completed in 1989, is now one of Paris’ most famous landmarks.

Pei was born in China in 1917 into a wealthy family. His father was a banker. His artistic mother—a calligrapher and musician—had a greater influence on him. Despite not speaking English, he moved to the US at the age of 18 to study at Pennsylvania, MIT and Harvard. He worked as a research scientist for the US government during World War Two, and went on to work as an architect, founding his own firm in 1955. He carried on working well into old age, creating one of his most famous masterpieces (代表作)—the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar—in his 80s.

He had designed buildings, hotels, schools and other structures across North America, Asia and Europe. His other work includes Dallas City Hall and Japan’s Miho Museum. His style was influenced by his love of Islamic architecture. His favoured building materials were glass and steel, with a combination of concrete (混凝土)．

He won a variety of awards and prizes for his buildings, including the AIA Gold Medal, the Praemium Imperiale for Architecture. In 1983 Pei was given the fifth Pritzker Architecture Prize for giving the 20th century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms. He used his $100，000 prize money to start a scholarship fund for Chinese students to study architecture in America. In person, Pei was always neatly dressed, good­tempered, charming and unusually modest.

1. What do we know about Pei and his work on the Louvre Museum?

A．The French approved of his designs at first.

B．Pei was the only foreign expert employed by the Louvre.

C．Pei made use of glass in his designs.

D．Pei retired after completing the work.

2. What words can be used to describe Pei according to the passage?

A．Productive and humorous.

B．Generous and modest.

C．Determined and outgoing.

D．Attractive and responsible.

3. What can be the best title of the passage?

A．The Louvre Pyramid Architect Died Aged 102

B．Prizes Awarded to Pei

C．Landmarks Created by Pei

D．A Famous Architect Donated His Prize Money

3 . Oct. 15th was International White Cane Safety Day. You may have never heard of it, but it was a day to remember for Peng Baier of Nanjing Foreign Language School. After school that day, he visited the local Disabled Persons’ Federation (残疾人联合会). He wanted to know about the sales and feedback (反馈) of his newly­published book, How to Help a Disabled Person.

Since he lives with his disabled grandparents, he understands that life can be hard for this group of people. Peng decided to write the book because he wanted to create a better life for disabled people in China.

“Crossing the street is a big problem for them,” Peng said. “Speeding cars, people walking in a hurry, bikes on the sidewalk—accidents can happen everywhere for the blind. That’s why we hardly ever see disabled people on the street, even though there are millions of disabled people in China.”

Peng’s book with pictures is easy to understand. It is a guide to the right and wrong ways to treat disabled people. The left­hand pages show the reader the right way; the right­hand pages point out mistakes that are commonly made.

The teenager had 2, 000 copies of his book printed. With the help of the Disabled Persons’ Federation, he gave them to the disabled community. “The book is bilingual, so foreigners can also use it,” said Peng.

Peng put great efforts into the book. For example, he interviewed many disabled people to get first hand materials. He also studied textbooks from different schools for the disabled. Peng finally completed his handbook, but he still had the problem of getting it printed. How did a high school student raise money needed for that?

With a smile, Peng said how he went about it. “I visited three local companies, dressed up in a suit and tie. I was lucky. The companies were warm­hearted and willing to give me a hand.”

1. Why is Peng able to understand the hard life of the disabled people?

A．Because he was born disabled.

B．Because he has a disabled friend.

C．Because he lives with his disabled grandparents.

D．Because he once read a book about the disabled.

2. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Written in two languages.

B．Using different pictures.

C．Very easy to understand.

D．Very popular around the world.

3. Peng put a lot of efforts into the book except ________.

A．raising the money needed

B．giving away his pocket money

C．interviewing many disabled people

D．studying textbooks for the disabled

4. What words can best describe Peng?

A．Devoted and honest.	B．Brave and confident.
C．Kind and helpful.	D．Friendly and lovely.

4 . What do you plan to do when you retire? Keep working? Get more exercise? Or learn something new? You may put them on hold. There's a chance that, sooner or later, you might have to move further than you were thinking, as far as Mars.

On Thursday, National Geographic will show the first-ever Mars show home, giving earthlings (地球人)an idea of what their life could look like on the Red Planet. In the not-so-distant year of 2037, the igloo-shaped structure could be the home of your future.

It shows a house built using recycled spacecraft parts and Martian soil, called regolith, which has been microwaved into bricks. Some parts of the home are recognizable — a kitchen, a bedroom — but there are fundamental differences that are important to human survival.

As the Martian atmosphere is around one hundredth as thick as the Earth’s, people will need permanent (永久的) shelter from the sun；society will move largely indoors. Most buildings will be connected by underground passages and the houses won't have windows. The homes will have simulated solar lighting, or natural light that has been bent several times. Walls will need to be 10 to 12 feet thick, to protect people from dangerous rays (光线)that can pass through six feet of steel, and a double air-locked entrance to keep the home under proper pressure.

"We don’t think of our houses as things that keep us alive, but on Mars your house will be a survival centre, 99 says Stephen Petranek, author of How We’ll Live on Mars. This is not just the stuff of sci-fi. “10 to 20 years from now there will certainly be people on Mars,” Petranek says.

“We’ve had the technology for 30 years to land people on Mars, but we haven’t had the will, ”Petranek says. But two main factors have “completely swung public attitudes”.

The private companies’ participation has forced government agencies to speed up their game, and influential films such as Gravity and The Martian have caught society’s eye.

1. What do the underlined words "put them on hold" in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Put them off.	B．Give them away.
C．Carry them through.	D．Take them seriously.

2. What can we infer about the show home from the text?

A．It has no windows or doors due to security concern.

B．Its design presents the idea of environmental protection.

C．It has thick walls keeping the home under propel pressure.

D．Its underground passages connect all the buildings together.

3. According to Petranek, what has sped up the process of sending people to Mars?

A．The development of related technology.

B．The competition from private companies.

C．The great influence of the Mars show home.

D．The popularity of influential books on Mars.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Living on Mars: Possible or Not	B．Sending People to Mars: Yes or No
C．First-Ever Show Home: How Is It Made	D．Future Home on Mars: What Will It Be like

5 . Fights at school have become an increasingly familiar sight for children. You should know what to do if you are in a fight, or see a fight at school.     1    

You should try to get away if you can. If you know someone is coming up behind you to attack, turn toward the person with your hands up in front of your body and loudly say “stop” before walking away.     2     If the person doesn’t stop, cry for help by calling out the name of a teacher whose office is nearby.

    3     In some school areas, everyone involved in a fight can be punished, no matter who started it.

What should you do if you see a fight? You mustn’t jump in to break up a fight or help a friend. If you get involved in a fight，you may suffer injuries and punishment.     4     It’s a good choice to find an adult or call the police. Shout loudly to break up the fight or warn that an adult is coming.

    5     It only provides temporary（临时的）relief for the attacker and causes more trouble. If you are concerned about fights at school, the best thing you can do is talk to an adult who will listen and take action.

A．Violence never solves problems.

B．You should support one side for good reason.

C．There’re a few ways for you to protect yourself.

D．The attacker usually stops when you’re running fast.

E．Loud voice can usually make the attacker calm down.

F．You can do something if a fight breaks out at school.

G．Fighting, even in self-protection, should always be a last choice.

6 . One evening, two young men were walking in the street together. They tried to find a chance to steal something.
The clock struck twelve. Most of the people went to bed. Quickly they came to a house and it seemed that everyone in the house had fallen asleep. Standing at the front gate, one said in English to the other in a low voice. You wait here. I'll walk around to the back door and then get into the house."
Suddenly out of the house ran a dog, barking at them. The two men were very frightened and ran away as fast as they could. Finally, they stopped at a lonely place. The man said breathlessly, "It's too bad. I hadn't expected that the dog could understand English."
1. Why did the two men walk in the street one evening?

A．they couldn't fall asleep.

B．they wanted to steal something.

C．they would like to take a walk.

D．they went to visit their friends.

2. From the sentence "one said in English to the other in a low voice", we know that ____.

A．he didn't know English

B．he liked speaking English quietly

C．he couldn't speak aloud

D．he was afraid of waking up others

3. The dog ran out of the house and barked at them only because _______.

A．it understood English	B．it knew them
C．it found someone outside	D．both B and C