Hello, I’m Vladislav. For my summer holidays, I usually stay in a country house near Moscow.

Last summer, my dad’s brother gave me a present — a blue bike. At that time I couldn’t ride it very well.

One day I got into an accident. But don’t worry, everything was OK, just some “little” injuries.

That day, I tried to ride my bike and suddenly it began to move very fast. I couldn’t stop the bike. So I fell into a ditch (沟) full of dirty water. When I thought I had had enough bad luck, a girl walked by. She saw the bike and me. I quickly stood up.

“Are you fishing here?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered. Then I said, “I’m making fish soup for dinner. Would you like to come?” To my surprise, she agreed.

After that we became friends. Now, we often send each other e-mails. She knows that I’m studying in China and she asks me questions about Chinese culture. I tell her my stories of China, and she says she wants to visit China, too. She even plans to study Chinese.

This is how, with the help of my bike, China got one more Russian friend.

根据短文内容，回答下列问题。

41. Who sent Vladislav a bike last summer?

42. What happened when Vladislav tried to ride his bike?

43. What did the girl think Vladislav was doing when she saw him by the ditch?

44. What made Vladislav surprised?

45. What does the girl say she wants to do in her e-mail to Vladislav?

When you look up into the sky at night, have you ever felt that your eyes are playing tricks on (捉弄) you? It seems that the stars are moving all the time.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. This twinkling effect is called scintillation (交光). Scintillation happens because of air movements in the earth’s atmosphere (大气). Light is “bent (弯曲的)” when it travels through different parts of the earth’s atmosphere. As the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving all the time, the light from the stars looks as if it is moving too.

The same thing also happens to things on the ground. On a very hot and shiny day, if you look at the road, the image in the distance is not clear and things move slightly. You can also see the same effect if you drop a rock into water. The rock appears a little unclear under the moving water.

This twinkling effect causes a lot of problems for astronomers (天文学家) since they cannot observe the stars clearly. A telescope (望远镜) was sent into space so that the air movements in the atmosphere could be avoided (避免). It took a long time to build the space telescope but finally in 1990, a huge space telescope called the Hubble Space Telescope was successfully sent into space. Since then, astronomers have many important observations that have helped people understand space better.

根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。 （10分）

(　 )36. What happens to the light from the stars we see when the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving?

　　 　　 A. It looks even brighter.　　　

B. It looks as if it is bent.

　　 　　 C. It looks as if it is moving.　　

D. It looks like drops of rain.

(　 )37. Scintillation also happens on 　　　　 according to the passage.

　　 　　 A. rainy days 　　 B. shiny days

　　 　　 C. cloudy days 　 D. windy days

(　 )38. What can you see when you drop a rock into the water?

　　 　　 A. The rock gets broken.　　　　

B. The rock becomes unclear.

　　 　　 C. The water becomes much polluted.

D. The water does not move anymore.

(　 )39. The underlined word “observe” means “　　　　”.

　　 　　 A. watch　　　 　 B. listen　　　 　 C. draw　　　 　 D. explain

(　 )40. Why is scintillation a problem for astronomers?

　　 　　 A. The stars never stay still.

B. It makes the stars too dark to see.

　　 　　 C. It makes astronomers feel too hot to work.

　　 　　 D. Astronomers cannot observe the stars clearly.

Food or friends? Lip salve (润唇膏) or iPod? What is the most important thing in the US teenagers’ lives today? Let’s take a look.

Some find that they can’t do without people.

“My biggest need is my friends. Without them, I wouldn’t do much,” said Adrian Fernandez, a 14-year-old boy.

With others, food always comes first.

“I do not think that I could live without chili con carne (辣子肉丁). I eat it every day. And if I didn’t have it, it’s all I would think about,” said Max Wu, an 8th-grade boy.

Sometimes, the things teenagers can’t do without are strange.

Take 14-year-old girl Hannah Sacchini for example. “I cannot live without lip salve, especially in winter,” said Hannah Sacchini. “I go mad if my lips get dry.”

Of course, today everybody uses mobile phones and computers. Some teens can’t live without these high-tech (高科技的) things.

Justin Beck, a 15-year-old boy, feels like this: “I would not be able to live without my iPod. I use it for so many different things. I always have it with me,” he said.

So, now we know the things US kids really must have. What about you and your classmates? What can’t you live without?

根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。 （10分）

(　 )31. To Adrian Fernandez, 　　　 is the most important.

　　　 A. a friend　　 　 B. lip salve　 C. a computer 　　　　 D. chili con carne

(　 )32. How often does Max Wu eat chili con carne?

　　　 A. Once a week.　　　　　 　 B. Every day. 　　

C. Twice a day. D. Three times a week.　

(　 )35. The passage mainly tells us 　　　.

　　　 A. what things the US kids really must have

　　　 B. what the US teenagers do every day at school

C. what the most important food in the US teenagers’ lives is

D. how the US teenagers’ lives are every day at school

The American Museum of Natural History

Address: Central Park West at 79th, St., New York

Tel: 212-769-5100

Traffic: located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the museum is conveniently reached by bus, underground or car.

Parking: There is a small parking place which charges only $7.75 per day, but is often full. Parking in the neighborhood is also limited.

Museum hours: 10:00 am to 5:45 pm Sunday through Tuesday; 10:00 am to 9:00 pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Admission: $3.20 for grown-ups, one-fourth for children, and free on Friday and Saturday evening from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

The museum is open every day of the year except Christmas and Thanksgiving.

 (   )26. The American Museum of Natural History is in 　　　.

       A. Philadelphie          B. Washington

       C. Boston              D. New York

(   )27. There is a parking place outside the museum, but 　　　.

       A. people cannot park their cars there

       B. it is not big enough to park all the cars

       C. it will cost you $7.75 per week

       D. nobody wants to park his car there

(   )28. If four grown-ups and four children want to pay a visit to the museum at 3:00 pm on Saturday, they will pay 　　　.

       A. $16      B. $19.2      C. $25.6     D. no money

(   )29. You can visit the museum 　　　.

       A. at 7:00 am on Monday  

       B. at 8:00 pm on Tuesday

       C. at 11:00 am on Sunday 

       D. at 10:00 pm on Friday

(   )30. From the passage, we can learn that 　　　.

       A. the museum lies in the east of New York

       B. the small parking place charges more than $8 a day for a car

       C. one can get to the museum by car, by under-ground or by bus

       D. the museum is the most popular one in America

Arnold Pointer, a professional fisherman from the south of Australia, set free (释放) a big female white shark that was 　 16　 in his large fishing nets. He thought she would have more and more babies. But now the fisherman is facing a(n) 　 17　 problem. The white shark is so 　 18　 to him that for nearly 2 years she hasn’t left him 　 19　 . She even follows him everywhere. 　 20　 this, Arnold Pointer can’t do fishing — all the fishes are scared at her, and he doesn’t know 　 21　 to do anymore.

It is hard to drive away such an almost 17-feet-long shark for Arnold Pointer. We all know the white sharks are protected 　 22　 the wildlife conservation. At the same time, some special feeling has been 　 23　 between Arnold and “Cindy”, the name the fisherman has given the white shark.

Arnold says, “Every time I stop the boat, she always comes to me, turns on her back and lets me pet (抚摸) her body and neck. She sings, turns her eyes, and moves her fins (鳍) up and down, hits the water 　 24　 .”

Cindy is 　 25 an interesting animal that Arnold has to try to go fishing in different places. Doesn’t Cindy know what her action means? Maybe she really doesn’t understand.

(　 )16. A. built　　　 　　 B. caught　　 　 C. killed　　 　　 D. invented　　　

(　 )17. A. strange 　　　 B. exciting　 　　 C. happy 　　　　 D. serious

(　 )18. A. thankful　　　 B. useful　　　 C. careful　　　 D. wonderful

(　 )19. A. alive　 　　　　 B. aloud 　　　　 C. alone　 　　　　 D. asleep

(　 )20. A. For instance　 B. Instead of　　 C. Such as　　 　 D. Because of

(　 )21. A. how　 　　　　 B. when 　　　　 C. what 　　　　 D. why

(　 )22. A. up　　　　 　　 B. on　 　　　　 C. by　　　　 　　 D. down

(　 )23. A. established　　 B. achieved　　 C. expected　　 D. increased

(　 )24. A. sadly　 　　　　　 B. normally　　 C. luckily　 　　　 D. happily

(　 )25. A. so　　　　 　　 B. such　 　　　 C. too　　 　　　D. much

— Could you please tell me 　　　　?

— In three days.

A. when will your course start　　　

　　　 B. when your course will start　　　

C. when your course started　　　　

D. when did your course start

— It only takes me 20 minutes to get here by bike. Why don’t you ride a bike as I do?

— 　　　　. I’m afraid I’ll have to ride a bike.

A. I agree　　 　　 B. I’d like to 　　　　 C. I don’t think so D. It’s not so easy

 I can’t tell when that house 　　　　 exactly, but it must be very long ago.

     A. is built          B. will build      C. was built        D. has built

— 　　　　 you 　　　　 out the physics problem, Kathy?

— Not yet, but I’m going to.

　　　 A. Do; work 　　　 B. Will; work 　 　　　 C. Had; worked　　 D. Have; worked

— John, could you please 　　　　 the black-board now? It’s your duty today.

— OK. I’ll do it right away.

　　　 A. not to clean　 B. to clean　　　 C. not clean　 　　　　 D. clean