2 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize in no more than 60 words the main idea of the passage and how it is illustrated. Use your own words as far as possible.

English in the Third Millennium

Two thousand years ago English did not exist. A thousand years ago it was a language used by less than two million people. Now it is the most influential language in the world spoken by more than a billion people on the planet, as their first second or third language. English currently dominates science, business, the mass media and popular culture. For example, 80% of emails on the Internet are in English. But where will English be at the end of the third millennium?

One view is that English is going to become even more important as a global language dominating the world’s trade and media while most other languages will become localized or just die out. At present over half the world’s 6500 languages are in danger of extinction. Another view is that English is already breaking up, as Latin did into several languages. There are already dictionaries of the 'New Englishes’ such as Australian English full of words that a British English speaker would not recognize.

Hopefully, neither of these things will happen. Although different varieties of English will continue to develop around the world, standard English will survive for international communication. In addition, the frightening prospect of a culturally uniform world totally dominated by one language is impossible. Already, other languages are fighting back against the iron grip of English on the Net. Governments around the world are also starting to protect smaller languages and recognize the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity. English will probably stay in control for a long time, at least while the USA remains the top superpower, but it definitely won’t become the only language in the world

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4 . I’m 16. On a recent night, while I was busy thinking about important social issues, like what to do over the weekend and who to do it with, I overheard my parents talking about my future. My dad was upset — not the usual stuff that he and Mom and, I guess, a lot of parents worry about like which college I’m going to, how far away it is from home and how much it’s going to cost. Instead, he was upset about the world his generation is turning over to mine, a world he fears has a dark and difficult future — if it has a future at all.

He sounded like this: “There will be a pandemic that kills millions, a devastating energy crisis, a horrible worldwide depression and a nuclear explosion set off in anger.”

As I lay on the living room couch, eavesdropping on their conversation, starting to worry about the future my father was describing, I found myself looking at some old family photos.

There was a picture of my grandfather in his Citadel uniform. He was a member of the class of 1942, the war class. Next to his picture were photos of my great-grandparents, Ellis Island immigrants. Seeing those pictures made me feel a lot better. I believe the world my generation grows into is going to get better, not worse. Those pictures helped me understand why.

I considered some of the awful things my grandparents and great-grandparents had seen in their life times: two worlds wars, killer flu, a nuclear bomb. But they saw other things, too, better things: the end of two world wars, the polio vaccine, passage of the civil rights laws. They even saw the Red Sox win the World Series—twice.

I believe that my generation will see better things, too — that we will witness the time when AIDS is cured and cancer is defeated; when the Middle East will find peace and Africa grain, and the Cubs win the World Series — probably, only once. I will see things as inconceivable to me today as a moon shot was to my grandfather when he was 16, or the Internet to my father when he was 16. Ever since I was a little kid, whenever I’ve had an awful day, my dad would put his arm around me and promise me that “tomorrow will be a better day.” I challenged my father once, “How do you know that?” He said, “I just do.” I believe him. My great-grandparents believed that, and my grandparents, and so do I.

1. On a recent night, the author’s dad was upset about________.

A．the high college tuition fees

B．the coming dark and difficult future

C．a different future for the author’s generation

D．the long distance between the college and the author’s home

2. According to the passage, which of the following statement is TRUE?

A．People of different generations have every confidence in their future.

B．If you open your heart, you will see that goodness is everywhere.

C．Though the world was full of awful things, it would get better.

D．The terrible things around us could be a threat to the future generation.

3. What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．Whatever hardships you are suffering, you can expect a better future.

B．Whenever possible, never hesitate to challenge your parents.

C．Whether you believe or not, wonders will definitely happen.

D．However challenging life is, try to take control of it.

4. Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “inconceivable”?

A．Imperceptible.

B．Undebatable.

C． Unimaginable.

D．Unacceptable.

6 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages 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.

Scientists and engineers     1     (prepare) for possible travel into interstellar space, the area in between stars, in the distant future. Experts believe it will likely take many years before the technology and equipment are developed     2     (send) humans to this unexplored area of space. But if it does happen, massive spaceships     3     carry humans on long trips to distant stars.

Two American researchers, Andrew McKenzie from the University of Kansas and Jeffrey Punske of Southern Illinois University, have explored one possible problem with such travel. They considered the possibility     4     changes in human language could develop over time, thus       5     (cause) major communication problems with people on Earth.

Languages naturally changes as communities grow more isolated from each other, the researchers noted in the paper. The long isolation of a community could lead to enough differences in language to make     6     impossible for community members back home to understand.

The researchers noted that in addition to new words being used, the language of people traveling on spaceships and living in colonies     7     (experience) many other changes. For example, the sounds of different letters would likely change over time, affecting not only individual words, but the whole grammatical system.

The researchers say one possible solution to     8     (limit) communication problems would be to include language experts on spaceship crews. Another suggestion is to use sign language as a form of communication. McKenzie added that space travelers might question whether it is even worth trying to learn how to communicate with people on Earth. But he believes there will always be a need,even     9     it is very limited. "You have to learn a little Earth English to send messages back, or to read the instruction manuals and information     10     came with the ship," he said.

7 . Dr. Donald Sadoway at MIT started his own battery company with the hope of changing the world's energy future．It's a dramatic endorsement（支持）for a technology most people think about only when their smartphone goes dark．But Sadoway isn't alone in boasting about energy storage as a missing link to a cleaner, more efficient, and more equitable energy future．

Scientists and engineers have long believed in the promise of batteries to change the world．Advanced batteries are moving out of specialized markets and creeping into the mainstream, signaling a tipping point for forward-looking technologies such as electric cars and rooftop solar propels．

The ubiquitous（无所不在的）battery has already come a long way, of course．For better or worse, batteries make possible our mobile-first．lifestyles, our screen culture, our increasingly globalized world．Still, as impressive as all this is, it may be trivial compared with what comes next．Having already enabled a communications revolution, the battery is now poised to transform just about everything else．

The wireless age is expanding to include not just our phones, tablets, and laptops, but also our cars, homes, and even whole communities．In emerging economies, rural communities are bypassing the wires and wooden poles that spread power．Instead, some in Africa and Asia are seeing their first light bulbs illuminated by the power of sunlight stored in batteries．

Today, energy storage is a $33 billion global industry that generates nearly 100 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year．By the end of the decade, it's expected to be worth over 50 billion dollars and generate 160 gigawatt-hours, enough to attract the attention of major companies that might not otherwise be interested in a decidedly pedestrian technology．Even utility companies, which have long viewed batteries and alternative forms of energy as a threat, are learning to embrace the technologies as enabling rather than disrupting．

Today's battery breakthroughs come as the world looks to expand modern energy access to the billion or so people without it, while also cutting back on fuels that warm the planet．Those simultaneous challenges appear less overwhelming with increasingly better answers to a centuries-old question: how to make power portable．

To be sure, the battery still has a long way to go before the nightly recharge completely replaces the weekly trip to the gas station．A battery-powered world comes with its own risks, too．What happens to the centralized electric grid, which took decades and billions of dollars to build, as more and more people become "prosumers," who produce and consume their own energy on site?

No one knows which——if any——battery technology will ultimately dominate, but one thing remains clear．The future of energy is in how we store it．

1. What does Dr. Sadoway think of energy storage?

A．It involves the application of sophisticated technology．

B．It is the direction energy development should follow．

C．It will prove to be a profitable business．

D．It is a technology benefiting everyone．

2. What is most likely to happen when advanced batteries become widely used?

A．Mobile-first lifestyles will become popular．

B．The globalization process will speed up．

C．Communications will take more diverse forms．

D．The world will undergo revolutionary changes．

3. In some rural communities of emerging economies, people have begun to _______________．

A．find digital devices simply indispensable

B．communicate primarily by mobile phone

C．light their homes with stored solar energy

D．distribute power with wires and wooden poles

4. What does the author imply about the centralized electric grid?

A．It might become a thing of the past．

B．It might turn out to be a "prosumer"．

C．It will be easier to operate and maintain．

D．It will have to be completely transformed．

8 . Directions：Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

The future of the press?

Interesting things are happening in press. Newspaper circulation in Europe is falling and Ireland and the UK have experienced the biggest drop.     1     Global newspaper sales are increasing and revenue from ads is still very strong. Nevertheless, it is clear that newspapers need to change to meet the demands of a rapidly changing readership in a digital world.

The industry in Europe has made a number of changes, such as introducing more colour and moving from the big broadsheets to the much more user-friendly tabloid（娱乐小报）size. The greatest innovation has been the introduction of online newspapers, which have boomed since their introduction a little over ten years ago.     2     On the one hand, it is clear from the massive increase in online readers that e-papers are popular. On the other hand, their financial future is not so certain. This is basically because most people are not prepared to pay for online news. In fact, if it wasn’t for advertising, online newspapers would have a very hard time indeed.

A growing number of people are reading electronic newspapers instead of the print press and with good reason. First of all, they can read the news whenever they want. Secondly, readers are free to explore a subject as much or as little as they want. Thirdly, it is the perfect medium for‘real-time’news.     3     Readers were able to get minute-by-minute coverage at any hour of the day. Only 24-hour news on TV could compete with that.

The general view is that the future‘paper’will be a multimedia mix. Advanced technology and programming software will allow the user to create their own‘news package’. And it will arrive instantaneously, fed by superfast internet connections. The reader will receive up-to-the-minute news about everything from their local traffic problems to updates on news of specific interest to them. Nobody knows for sure what will happen, but as one expert put it,‘we won’t be saying“Here is the news”, we will be saying,“    4    ”’

A．But are online papers here to stay?

B．The news is everywhere.

C．Take, for example, the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.

D．But how different are online papers from printed ones?

E．Despite this, the news isnt all bad for the industry.

F．Here is your news.

9 . Directions:Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
最近，在一本英文旅游杂志上刊登了国际空间站(TSS-- International Space Station)将在2020年对游客开放的信息（见下表)。如果有可能（具备足够的时间和金钱)，你是否会去争取成为第一批游客。请谈谈你的理由。
Information About the Trip to ISS
Number of visitors 2 every year
Length of stay 30 days (at most)
Cost $ 27000 per night (stay)
$ 40 million (transport)
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10 . What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question，you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-­technology（生物技术）. With the help of new medicine，the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents，murder and war. Today’s leading killers，such as heart disease，cancer，and aging itself，will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes，the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells（细胞） are the basic units of all living things，and until recently，scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells，such as those of brain cells，would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100，medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so，people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs（器官）. The medicine，made up of the basic building materials of life，will build new brain cells，heart cells，and so on－in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence，but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
1. According to the passage，human death is now mainly caused by ________.

A．diseases and aging	B．accidents and war
C．accidents and aging	D．heart disease and war

2. In the author’s opinion，today’s most important advance in technology lies in（在于） ________.

A．the Internet	B．medicine
C．brain cells	D．human organs

3. Humans may live longer in the future because ________.

A．heart disease will be far away from us

B．human brains can decide the final death

C．the basic materials of cells will last forever

D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine

4. How long can humans live in the future according to the passage?

A．Over 100 years.

B．More than 120 years.

C．About 150 years.

D．The passage doesn’t tell us.