Unwanted tires can be a fire threat．People who like to set fires often start a large hill of tires

burning．Some tires buried with other waste materials under town of dirt (unclean matter) may become uncovered．When this happens, the tires can trap water．They may become a home for insects or small animals that carry disease.

    Unlike many products, tires are built to last a long time．They do not break down easily．Tires are made of strong rubber．The rubber is strengthened by metal wires or other man- made material.

    Some tires that are still safe for road use can be repaired by companies that produce tires．The repaired tires can be put back on cars and driven safely for many more kilometers.

    However, many used tires cannot be repaired．In some areas, they are collected and given to companies that re - use them．The recycling companies have machines that melt down or rip tear with force the tires．The remaining particles then are used to make other products.

    Some rubber products made from recycled tires include asphalt (沥青) used to cover streets or play areas for children．Other recycled material can be used to produce chemical additives (添加剂) that help grass grow in open - air sports centers.

1．The reason why used tires should be recycled is that ________.

A．insects living in room in used tires may spread disease

B．used tires piled together may cause a fire if lighted

C．used tires should be made good use of and changed into useful material

D．people are too poor to buy new ones

2．The population of the United States may be ________.

A．290,000,000

B．480,000,000

C．250,000,000

D．120,000,000

3．Now, we can recycle used tires by means of ________.

A．repairing

B．reusing

C．making other products

D．all above

4．The underlined word ‘threat’ means ________.

A．fact

B．hidden danger

C．cause

D．warning

5．The title of the passage is ________.

A．Used Tires Are Dangerous in Many Countries

B．Used Tires Are Increasing in the World

C．Recycling Used Tires

D．People Are Working at Ways to Deal with Used Tires

1．With great effort on the part of schools, universities, and colleges throughout the country  ________.

A．everyone can enter science and mathematics

B．everyone can be a lawyer, an engineer and a doctor

C． the number of women scientists and mathematicians is small

D．few girls can be lawyers, engineers and doctors

2．The reason why the percentages of women in law, in engineering and in medicine are lower than those of men is that ________.

A．women are good at doing housework

B．women have to raise their children

C．men are wiser than women

D．women don’t have equal rights with men and have to face discriminations (歧视)

3．Which is right according to the passage?

A．Women have equal rights with men in the U．S.

B．Women still have a long way to go to win equal rights with men.

C．Women have faced no discriminations.

D．Women are much weaker than men.

    Long ago the Panamint Indians called this place “Tomesha”——the land of fire．Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849 when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story．Today Death Valley has been declared a Notional Monument (纪念碑) and is crossed by several well - marked roads where good services can be found easily．Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place.

    Here nature created a lot of surprising scenes, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors．One of the most astonishing and variable parts of Death Valley is the Devil’s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from terrible dreams．Sand sculptures (沙雕) stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen.

1．________ is the lowest place in the desert.

A．Tomesha

B．Death Valley

C．Nevada

D．Radwater

2．The name of the valley comes from ________ .

A．an Indian name

B．the death of the miners

C．the local people

D．a National Movement

3．From the passage we can learn that ________.

A．no one had ever known the desert before the miners

B．it’s still not easy to travel across the desert

C．people can find gas stations, cafes and hotels in the desert

D．people have changed the natural sight of the desert

4．Devil Gold Course is famous for ________ .

A．the frequent wind

B．the colors of the sand

C．dream- like sight

D．the sand sculptures

5．From the passage we can see that the writer ________ the Death Valley.

A．．makes Britain a good area for wild animals

B．is fearful of

C．dislikes

D．is tired of

    Something you may notice about the British country is that in many areas it changes a lot in a short distance．A short drive from the Wye Valley, for example, could take you to the Black Mountains in one direction or the Forest of Dean in another．In fact the changing view is one of the nicest things about traveling through Britain.

1．From the passage we learned the term “British country” means ________.

A．the broad area outside cities and towns

B．both the land and people of Britain

C．the land occupied by the British nation

D．the British state with its land and population

2．The Black Mountains and the Wye Valley are ________.

A．on the two opposite sides of the Forest of Dean

B．in the same direction from the Forest of Dean

C．in a different direction from the Forest of Dean

D．as far away from the Forest of Dean as each other

3．Wild animals and plants are carefully kept safe ________.

A．on the Black Mountains

B．in the Wye Valley

C．in the Forest of Dean

D．in the National Parks

4．The public footpaths ________.

A．are the routes to London

B．permit free walking

C．lead you to the parks

D．were made by people who walked up and down

5．That the sights become sharply different within a short distance ________.

A．is the pleasant character in Britain

B．is the cause that makes you lost

C．is why Britain is not so large

D．makes Britain a good area for wild animals

    One of my friends has a large German shepherd named Jack．These dogs are often very intelligent．Every Sunday afternoon, my friend takes Jack for a walk in the park．Jack likes these long walks very much.

    One Sunday afternoon, a young man came to visit my friend．He stayed alone in the park．He walked around the room several times and then sat down directly in front of the visitor and looked at him．But the visitor paid no attention．He continued talking．Finally, Jack couldn’t stand it any longer．He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later．He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he held the man’s hat in his mouth.

    German shepherds aren’t the only intelligent dogs．Another intelligent dog is a Seeing Eye dog．This is a special dog which helps blind people walk along the streets and do many other things．We call these dogs Seeing Eye dogs because they are the “eyes” of the blind people and they help them to “see”．Seeing Eye dogs generally go to special schools for several years to learn to help blind people.

The writer tells the story about the dog Jack to show that ________.

A．it, like many other dogs, always tried to please its own master

B．it, unlike many other dogs, always wanted its master to please it

C．it was more intelligent than many other dogs

D．it was the most faithful dog of his friend’s

    Senna was widely considered the world’s best race- car driver．He began his Formula One career when he was 24．He was world champion three times, and his 41 victories on the international circuit were second only to“ the 51 of France’s Alain Prost”．Senna’s 65 Formula One starts in the pole position——reserved for the driver with the fastest qualifying time——was a record.

    Formula One cars are among the fastest in the world, reaching a speed of 240 mph．Senna, with his reputation for winning at any cost, knew the risks．But he was willing to push the limit．He had always pushed himself mercilessly in pursuit of greatness in a sport that snubs danger and worships the speedometer．“I think as time goes by, you have to exploit your own limits and the machine’s limits,” he said in a 191 interview.

    Senna’s death shocked his countrymen．In his hometown of Sao Paulo, he was buried with the honors normally reserved for heads of state．The government declared a three-day period of mourning, and television networks dropped their scheduled programming to broadcast the arrival of his body at the airport and a daylong homage．Some mourners wrapped themselves in the Brazilian flag and painted their faces black．Confetti and rose petals (花瓣) rained upon Senna’s body．Speed killed Senna, but he was and will always be the country’s foremost symbol of national pride.

1．Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A．A Hero

B．Ayrton Senna

C．The Best Race-car Driver

D．Speed Kills the Hero

2．What do you think the word “whiz” means in the passage?

A．Make

B．Drive

C．Move very fast

D．Manage

3．Senna was considered to be the country’s foremost  symbol  of  national  pride  because  ________.

A．he was considered the world’s best racecar driver

B．he got more victories than France’s Alain Prost

C．of his spirit of pursuing the greatest speed and winning at any cost

D．of his early death

    Until that moment all the maps he had known had located (标出位置) Japan in the middle of the picture and had colored it red; yet when he got to British, he found that the country in the middle of the map was Britain and that it, too, was painted red.

    What my friend found was a displacement(移换位置）of his country, and, therefore, of himself as well．That is to say, his country was no longer in its familiar place and he no longer knew where he stood: he was “disoriented”.

“To be disoriented” means to lose ________.

A．one’s heart

B．control

C．one’s interest

D．one’s sense of position

    One day, he came across in the paper an advertisement for a leading actor to appear in the film named “Wedding Feast”．Full of excitement, he answered the job ad by telephoning the director of the film, Mr. Li An．It was this telephone call that had changed all his life．At last the director decided him to be the very person for the role．That he could he chosen owed much to his good command of English, natural manners and low pay for his work in the film.

    The film “Wedding Feast” proved to be a hit．It won the German Golden Bear Award and entered the competition for one of the Oscar Academy Awards．Also, it was the first Taiwan film that was permitted to be shown in the U．S．Thanks to the film, Zhao Wenxuan became popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong and southeast Asia.

    In 1994, Mr. Zhao acted as a leading role in the Hong Kong film “Red Rose and White Rose”, in which many film stars like Ms Chen Chong from the U.S．and Ms Ye Yuqing from the local area participated．This film was named for 10 prizes of the Taiwan Golden Horse Prize and at last it was awarded five prizes for the best play, actress and music．Zhao has regarded the film as one of his favorite films since he stepped into the acting circle.

    Since 1993, Mr. Zhao has taken part in the shootings of 13 films, most of which are thought highly of.

    Mr. Zhao said that Taiwan should think to cooperate much with the mainland in おthe film producing industry and it would benefit each other．In recent years he often came to the mainland for film shooting．He has just completed his performance in the film “Love Affairs” directed by Mr. Li Xin, a director from the Shanghai Film Studio.

1．When he was very young, Zhao Wenxuan ________.

A．was a movie fan

B．wanted to be a photographer

C．would love to be an actor

D．was eager to be a painter

2．Why could Zhao Wenxuan play the leading role in the movie “Wedding Feast” ?

A．Because he liked to see films very much.

B．Because he was a famous actor at that time.

C．Because he could speak English very well, acted naturally and didn’t care much about low pay for his work in the movie.

D．Because the director of the movie knew him very well.

3．The underlined word “career” in the fourth sentence of the first paragraph means ________.

A．profession

B．post

C．life

D．interest

4．The text suggests that ________.

A．“Wedding Feast” is just an ordinary film

B．the film “Wedding Feast” disappointed people greatly

C．Zhao Wenxuan became a famous movie star because of the film “Wedding Feast”

D．a lot of Taiwan films are shown in the U．S．every year

5．From the text it can be inferred that ________.

A．one’s success is frequently closely connected with a favorable chance

B．it is never too late to learn

C．know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat

D．there is no limit to knowledge

    Amy moved to London, borrowed some money, and learned to fly．Nobody, however, wanted to hire a female pilot．She decided alone to go to Australia to prove that she could fly as well as any men．Her parents lent her money to buy an airplane.

    Amy started on May 5,1930．Her flight took her over Vienna, Istanbul, and Baghdad．In a sandstorm, she had to make an emergency landing in the desert．Six days later, she arrived in India, beating the record by two days．In Burma she landed on a football field in bad weather．She finally reached Australia．The propeller (螺旋桨) broke during her last landing, and she had to crash land.

1．Amy was ________ .

A．a shy girl

B．a very successful typist

C．a clever and active girl

D．a successful pilot

2．Nobody wanted to hire a female pilot because ________.

A．women were hardly believed to be pilots

B．people had to consider the flight safety

C．women were looked down upon then

D．women were considered rather weak

3．Amy had to land in the desert because ________.

A．of the bad weather

B．the propeller was damaged

C．her friends were waiting there

D．she was worn out

4．Amy borrowed some money ________ ．Which of the following is NOT true?

A．from her parents

B．to buy an airplane

C．to spend learning to fly

D．from her teachers

5．How did she land in Australia?

A．She landed at a surprising speed

B．She succeeded in landing

C．She was obliged to land

D．She was pleased with landing

The word “plates” in this article might mean　　　　   

A.盘子

B.金属板

C.横木板

D.铜牌