Death valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali（碱性）sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and bad water, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and it is the lowest point in the United States.

    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 ended with a disaster. Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the changes 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, every 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（泥雕）stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen.

1.The name of the valley comes from ________.

    A. an Indian name

    B.the local people

    C.a National Monument

D.the death of the miners

2. From the passage we can learn that ________.

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

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

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

D.people have changed the natural sights of the desert

3. From the passage we can see the writer ________ the Death Valley.

    A.is fearful of

    B.appreciates

    C.dislikes

    D.has never been to

Moon landing. The computer chip. Genetic engineering. The artificial heart. The achievements of U.S. scientists are known and admired throughout the world. But whether American highest position in research and technology will continue into the 21st century is far from certain. Thirty-two years after the Russians sent up Sputnik setting off a hot race to produce more and better U.S. physicists, the scientific pipeline is drying up. The reason for this crisis（危机）: American science education is in disorder.

    In an Educational Testing Service study of five countries and four Canadian provinces, American 13-year-olds graded last in math and nearly last in science.

How did America, birthplace of Thomas Edison and Wright brothers come to such a dangerous situation? One reason is lack of enough financial support for science education. After Sputnik, funding（基金）for the National Science Foundation, the leading U.S. founder of scientific research, shot up from 18 million dollars to 130 million dollars. By 1982 financing for NSFS education had fallen rapidly to zero.

To be sure, changeable funding is only one reason why U.S. scientists are becoming a scarce commodity（稀有商品）. The image of scientists is less lustrous than it was in the 50’s and 60’s when men and women in lab coats were seen as national heroes helping the U.S. beat the Russians to the moon. Today, the country’s brightest desire is to be bankers and lawyers, not chemists or rocket designers.

1.From the passage, we can know that the computer chip, genetic engineering are _______.

    A. examples of American scientific achievements

    B.names of modern technology

    C.seen everywhere throughout the world

    D.obtained by Russia

2.America is losing its highest position in research and technology because _______.

    A. American students are flowing to Canada

    B.men and women in lab coats are seen as national heroes

    C.Thomas Edison and Wright brothers died

    D.financial support for science education is not enough and scientists are less respected

3.According to the passage Sputnik is _______.

    A. a research project of National Science Foundation

    B.the name of an education department

    C.a scientific achievement of Russia

    D.a scarce commodity

4. The word “lustrous” in the last paragraph can be replaced by_______.

    A. difficult

    B.shinning

    C.smart

D.shocking

5.The main idea of the passage is that_______.

    A. America’s leading position in scientific research is in danger

    B.America’s needs more funding in scientific research

    C.the National Science Foundation needs financial support

    D.American students are not good in science

阅读理解

What Will Future Be like?

我们的未来会怎么样?

    提到人类未来的生活将会怎样，我想一千个人对此会有一千种不同的看法，但不外乎就是两种态度——乐观的或是悲观的。地球的未来究竟会怎样?科学家们的猜测也许是这样的……

  　Some experts are pessimistic when they think about the future. They say that，by then the population of the world will have doubled. We will have run out of many essential resources like oil and coal．We may have even run out of water to drink．Some experts believe that there will be no land left，because of the overcrowding．

    Others are far more optimistic．They say that life will be better than it is today．We may be living in better buildings and leading better lives than we are today．Life will certainly have become more mechanized．Machines will be doing many jobs that people do today．People will no longer be able to learn only one job in their life time．They will have to learn several．Perhaps a station will be built on the moon．People will be able to visit the moon as travelers. They may even spend their holidays in space，traveling by spaceship．

    Many people never think about the future．“I don't care．I'll be dead．”they say．But it is our duty to care because the world of that time will be the one of our children's children and their children after them.

    Notes

    pessimistic  adj．悲观的　　　　　　    double v．翻一番；增倍

essential adj．必要的；不可缺的　　　　 overcrowding n．拥挤

optimistic adj．乐观的；有信心的　　　　　　    mechanize v．机械化

    Comprehension questions

1．Some people are pessimistic about the future；others have a different idea about it．That is to say，they are _________．

2．Oil，coal，water and forest are essential _________．

3．The _________of the world will be so large that we will have to use all the land for housing．

阅读理解

Giving life and hope

    Orphans(孤儿)whose parents died of AIDS in Henan Province have been given new hope．Last week the provincial government answered the children's cries by promising 60 million yuan to improve schools，orphanages(孤儿院)and living conditions．But without the efforts of Dr．Gao Yaojie，these cries may never have been heard．

    “I’m a doctor and it’s my duty to cure diseases and save lives，”said the 77-year-old grandmother．Gao was named one of the 2003 People of Year on February 20 by CCTV after millions of people took part in an online poll. But in 1996，when she started to promote AIDS awareness，using money from her own pocket，her actions were widely misunderstood．

    “Although some of the children were born with born with HIV，90 percent of them were not infected(被感染)，”Gao said．“But people still reject(排斥)them．Many orphans change their names after finding a foster family(领养家庭)．”

    The horror of Henan's AIDS problem became known in 1996．Frequent and unsafe blood-selling by poor farmers in the late 1980s and early 1990s had caused HIV to spread through dirty needles and infected blood use．As a doctor，Gao believed she should help：over the last eight years she has visited over 1000 AIDS and HIV patients and published thousands of pamphlets on AIDS awareness．With her help，hundreds of orphans have returned to school or found foster families．

    “It's a disaster for the whole nation，not only for those innocent(无辜的)patients and their families，”she explained．Gao is delighted that so many childless families offer to foster orphans．But there is still much that can be done to support these children．“I hope that warm-hearted high school students will also reach out and offer a helping hand，”she said．

    Comprehension question：

    In what way has Dr．Gao Yaojie helped the orphans with AIDS?

阅读理解

供应大脑的正常血液量被切断后，人就会晕厥而不省人事，当人们被听到或看到所震惊时，就可能发生晕厥现象，针对不同的晕厥情况要采取不同的急救措施。

People faint when the normal blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut down. This can happen if they are surprised or shocked by sudden news or by something they see. Some people faint if they see others hurt. Some people faint in crowds. Others faint if they are in a room that is hot and stuffy.

If a person faints while standing, lay him down. If his face is pale, lift his feet. If he is sitting down when he faints, place his head between his knees. Loosen any tight clothing that might keep him from breathing easily. If possible, place a cold, wet cloth on his forehead.

We try to help a person who has fainted by _________.

A. tightening his muscles

B. rubbing his head

C. returning blood to his brain

D. holding him in an upright position

阅读理解

"Earthquake! "The word flashed in my brain. A roaring sound filled my ears. I tried to slide beneath my desk. The desk did a wild tap dance, slipping and sliding towards the center of the room. I twisted my body and grabbed at the windowsill behind me, somehow kicking free of my dancing chair. I tried to stand. My legs skated away as if on a bucking escalator.

　　 My fingers shaked, grasped and help the windowsill tightly. Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animal. I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare. Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs and desks. One girl was screaming. A boy was trying to claw his way across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl.

　　 My grip froze me to the windowsill.

　　 I cried aloud, "I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Save me, I'm not ready to die, I'm not ready!"

　　 I hunched forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers. I looked at the backs of my fingers and stupidly noticed the fragile pale hairs growing out of the pores. The fingers would soon cease to exist. Somehow the impending horror of my death was too terrible to even cry about.

　　  Suddenly, I became aware that the rocking had ceased. Perhaps I wasn't going to die.

1. The roaring sound was made by ________.

A. a wounded animal

B. people screaming

C. children running

D. an earthquake

2. When the narrator clenches his fingers he is ________

A. afraid

B. angry

C. injured

D. impatient

3. Paragraph 2 describes the_________

A. injuries suffered by the narrator

B. effects of a bad nightmare

C. disorder in the classroom

D. narrator's fear of death

4.At the end of the passage there is a feeling of______

  A. panic

B. hope

C. sorrow

D. excitement

阅读理解

Last Saturday a storm hit our village destroying fifteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged that owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or torn roofs. One person was killed, several were badly injured and taken to hospital, and a number of other people received smaller injuries. Altogether over two hundred people were homeless as a result of the storm.

　　  A farmer, Mr. Reap said that the storm started early in the morning and lasted over one hour. "I was in the kitchen with my wife and children,” he said, “when we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us. We managed to climb out. Then I saw that one of my children was missing. I went back inside and found him safe but very frightened. "

　　  Mrs. Liber said that her husband had just left for work when she noticed that her house was shaking. She rushed outside immediately with her children. "There was no time to take anything," she said. "A few minutes later, the roof came down. "

1. How many houses could no longer be lived in after the storm?

  A. Fifteen.　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Seven.

  C. Two hundred.　　　　　　　　    D. Twenty-two.

2. Some of the people were taken to hospital because ________

  A. they had been killed

  B. they had been badly injured

  C. they had received small injuries

  D. they were homeless

3. When the storm first began, Mr. Reap _________.

A. was inside the house　　　　   B. went back inside

C. had just gone to work　　　　  D. was in bed

4. When Mr. Liber's house fell down,_______ inside it.

A. his wife and his children were

B. only one of his children was

C. nobody was

D. the whole family were

5. Which of the following do you think is the best title for the text?

A. How the Storm Came About

B. Nothing Could Be Done About the Storm　　 .

C. Mr. Reap And Mrs. Liber Were Lucky

D. A Terrible Storm

阅读理解

How to Keep Strong

知识就是力量，这是人所共知的常识，但是我们必须记住，高超的才智需要健康的体魄，这样才智才能得到充分发挥。

    Knowledge is power．But there is one other thing that we must remember．A strong mind needs a strong body so as to make it most useful．

　　 There are a great many good exercises．They are helpful and healthful．Many of them may be taken indoors during rainy weather．Indoor exercises，however，are never as helpful as those taken out of doors in pure，fresh air．It is because in fresh air more oxygen is taken into our systems and more wastes are given off．The air in the house does not remain fresh very long．But out of doors it is usually fresh and pure．

    But what shall we play?  There are a number of games such as football，basketball and races．Any games with plenty of movement is good．The best are those which are played out of doors．

    Do not neglect your body．It is of as much importance as your mind．Our country now needs men with strong minds，good judgment，and sound bodies．

Comprehension questions：

1．A strong mind needs a strong body in _______to make it most useful．

2．_______ exercises are more helpful than those taken indoors．

3．Sound bodies means _______ or _______bodies

阅读理解

Table Manners in America

美国餐桌礼仪

    吃的礼节在不同的国度存在着明显的差异。如在我们中国家庭做客，主人会盛情款待你；你吃得越多，主人就会越高兴，还不时会给你添菜斟酒。但如果你把国内这些“挺有礼貌”的习惯带到美国，就可能会被认为不文雅或缺少修养……

    When eating at home with guests or eating out，there are several table manners that are generally observed．

    Most meals served in American homes are served “family style”； this means that food is placed on platters or in large bowls，and passed around to each person at the table，Each person takes a little food and puts it on his or her plate，and then passes the food to the next person．It is OK to ask for second helpings．

If you are treating your lady friend to a meal at a nice restaurant，it is polite to hold the chair for her while she sits down．Each person orders their own food and drinks，and it is polite to order items that are similar in price to the host’s order．Before beginning your meal，place your napkin over your lap，and remove it when the meal is completely finished。

It is polite to wait until everyone at your table is served before you begin eating；in some instances，it is best to wait until the host begin eating．It is not polite to rest your elbows on the table．Only one hand should be on the table for most of the meal，unless you need to cut meat or pass something．Americans do not chew with their mouths open，or speak when their mouths are full of food．When drinking alcohol，it is impolite to drink too much or get drunk．If you do not drink，you will usually not be pressured to do so，and you should likewise not pressure others to drink with you．

    Notes

    platter n．大浅盘　　　　　　　　 napkin n．餐巾

instance  n．例子　　　　　　    lap n．膝上

elbow  n．肘部　　　　　　　　  alcohol  n．酒；含酒精的饮料

likewise  adv．同样；也

Comprehension questions

1．In America，it is good manners _______when eating in a nice restaurant.

A．to order items that are similar in price to the host's order

B．to eat as much as you can

C．to put your elbows on the table

D．to eat and eat until only a little food remains on the table

2．When eating out，it is polite _______．

A．for you to order food and drinks for everyone

B．to put your napkin on the table

C．to speak with your mouth full of food

D．for everyone to order his or her own food and drinks

3．When drinking alcohol，_______．

A．you can put both your hands on the table

B．you can chew with your mouths open

C．you should not drink too much or get drunk

D．you are welcome to drink much or get drunk

阅读理解

Leisure and Private Life in England

英国的个人休闲生活

    在英国，工厂的假日都集中在七月中旬到八月中旬这段时间。英国人喜欢旅游，你知道他们一般到什么地方旅游，又是怎么去旅游的吗?

    In England，factory holidays are much concentrated in the period between mid- July and mid-August．State schools usually only have six weeks off in summer，from about mid-July to the end of August．

The coast is the most popular objective of English people for their annual holiday，but there are few new seaside hotels．Food in British hotels and restaurants is reasonably cheap, but rooms are not．Few English people rent houses or flats for their holidays，but one of the traditional ways of spending a summer holiday is in a boarding house．Some boarding-house keepers provide all meals for their guests．Others provide breakfast only．

The British may be conservative about the times at which they take their holidays，but they have shown themselves very ready to take to new places．They have always been pioneers in traveling far away, and Englishmen were among the first to climb many of the great Alpine summits．Now foreign travel is within reach of most working people，and each year more English men，women and children become familiar with some part of continental Europe．Many take their cars，often with tents，crossing the Channel by ferry；others use the travel agents’ plans for group travel. When they get home again，they talk endlessly of how they spent their leisure and private life．

Notes

leisure n．＆ adj．休闲(的)；空闲(的)

objective n．目标；目的

    conservative adj．保守的

    boarding-house n．供膳的寄宿处

    summit n．顶点；首脑

continental adj．大陆的；大陆性的

pioneer   n．先驱者；先锋

Comprehension questions

1．State Schools in England usually have ________for summer holidays．

A．a month　　　　　　　　   B．two month

C．42 days　　　　　　　　   D．fifty days

2．The prices of food in British hotels and restaurants are reasonably ________.

    A．cheap　　　　 B．expensive　　    C．high　　    D．low

3．The British people are fond of ________．

A．traveling far away for their holidays

B．staying at home for their holidays

C．renting houses for their holidays

D．talking about their work when they get home