Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air, which we call the atmosphere. The atmosphere is the mixture of gases and other materials that surround the Earth in a thin, mostly transparent（透明的）shell. It is held in place by the Earth's gravity. It reaches over 560 kilometers (348 miles) from the surface of the Earth, so we are only able to see what occurs fairly close to the ground. Early attempts at studying the nature of the atmosphere used clues from the weather, the beautiful multi-colored（有多种不同颜色的）sunsets and sunrises, and the twinkling of stars. With the use of sensitive（灵敏的）instruments from space, we are able to get a better view of the functioning of our atmosphere.

　　Life on Earth would not be possible without the atmosphere. Obviously, it provides the oxygen we need to breathe. But it also serves other important functions. It moderates（缓和）the planet's temperature, reducing the extremes that occur on airless worlds. For example, temperatures on the moon range from 120℃ (about 250℉) in the day to －170℃ (about －275℉) at night. It also recycles water and other chemicals. The atmosphere also protects us by absorbing（吸收）and scattering（驱散）harmful radiation from the sun and space. Of the total amount of the sun's energy that reaches the Earth, 30％ is reflected back into space by clouds and the Earth's surface. The atmosphere absorbs 19%. Only 51% is absorbed by the Earth's surface.

　　The density（密度）of air also decreases rapidly with altitude. At 3 km (2 miles) air density has decreased by 30%. People who normally live closer to sea level experience temporary breathing difficulties when traveling to these altitudes. The highest permanent human settlements are at about 4 km (3 miles) .

(1)The atmosphere is ________ .

[　　]

A．the cloud that surround the earth

B．a mixture of gases and other materials

C．the oxygen we need to breathe

D．a thin, mostly transparent shell

(2)Temperatures on the moon vary greatly between day and night probably because ________ .

[　　]

A．the density of air on the moon is so tow

B．it is very far from the sun

C．it doesn't have the atmosphere as the earth.

D．it has a lot of radiation

(3)What is the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A．What the atmosphere is and the functions of it（作用）.

B．What the atmosphere is made up of.

C．The density of air decreases with altitude.

D．The atmosphere can moderate the temperatures on the earth.

(4)From the last paragraph we may know that ________ .

[　　]

A．the density of air in the areas close to sea level is thinner than that in the mountainous areas

B．the higher people live, the better the air is

C．the density of air in the mountainous areas is thinner than that in the coastal areas

D．people like to live in the high altitude rather than in the low altitude

　　Is there life on Mars（火星）? We do not know. But we are sure that earth people do not live on Mars. Earth people need oxygen to breathe. There is almost no oxygen on Mars. It is uncertain exactly how life arose on Earth, so it is difficult to determine how common such mechanisms are. But if life also arose on Mars, this would show that those mechanisms operated not just once, but twice, arguing that life may well be common elsewhere.

　　Living on Mars would be like living on a very high mountain. There would be little air. It might be 50 degree above zero at noon and 100 degree below zero at night.

　　Many people think there may be plants on Mars. We know that Mars has carbon. This is a kind of material found in all plants and animals on earth. Through a telescope, Mars looks red. In some places, it seems gray. At times, the gray colour turns gray--green, then brown, then gray again. The gray-green colour may be a kind of plant life changing colour with seasons.

　　Mars is a spectacular（引人入胜）place, and will remain so even if it is finally proved to be lifeless. Today, we don't know for sure if there is or ever was life on Mars. But one thing is certain--one day, there will be.

　　Will man go to Mars one day? If they do, they will have to take along their own oxygen, food, clothing, and shelter（住所）.

(1)What do you think is the main reason why men can't live on Mars? Because ________ .

[　　]

A．living on Mars is like living on a high mountain

B．here is no oxygen on Mars

C．there are not any plants or animals on Mars

D．on Mars it is too hot at noon and too cold at night

(2)The story does not say this, but from what we have read, we can tell that ________ .

[　　]

A．someday we may know if there is life on Mars

B．men must take food and clothing with them when they go to Mars

C．people on Mars need no air to breathe

D．the plants on Mars are red

(3)The main idea of the whole story is that ________ .

[　　]

A．there may be life on Mars

B．earth people could live on Mars

C．Mars turns its colour with seasons

D．man will one day land on Mars

(4)Which of the following does this story lead you to believe? ________ .

[　　]

A．Some earth people have already visited Mars

B．There is a lot of oxygen and carbon on Mars

C．There may be strange forms of life on Mars

D．Mars is earth people's future home

　　If Earth, Venus（金星）and Mars（火星）all started out with water on their surfaces, why don't Venus and Mars still have liquid water on their surfaces?

　　Earth, Venus and Mars probably all began with similar amounts of water. Mars still has some of its water--but it's frozen underground. Scientists aren't sure how much water Venus had on its surface, and when that water was lost. Theories suggest that Venus once had abundant water--maybe even a large ocean.

　　But Venus lost its water--due to what's called a“runaway greenhouse effect”. Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas--in other words, it traps heat. Water vapor may have caused Venus to heat up--which increased evaporation（蒸发）on the planet's surface--which increased warming even further. It eventually got so hot on Venus that all the surface water evaporated.

　　Today Venus is covered by thick clouds composed of droplets of sulfuric acid（硫磺酸）and carbon dioxide--another strong greenhouse gas. The planet's nearness to the sun and its greenhouse effect keep the planet very hot--about 900 Fahrenheit--or hot enough to melt lead.

　　When speaking of the possibility of liquid water on other planets, some scientists refer to the“Goldilocks problem”. That is, Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold, and Earth is just right.

(1)Which of the following statements can best describe the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A．Earth, Venus and Mars probably all began with similar amounts of water.

B．Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas.

C．It explains why Venus and Mars don't have liquid water on their surfaces.

D．It tells the fact that Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold, and Earth is just right.

(2)Venus lost its water because ________ .

[　　]

A．the water evaporated

B．the water is frozen underground

C．it once had very little water

D．it is covered by thick clouds

(3)From the passage,“greenhouse effect”is ________ .

[　　]

A．the effect of growing plants in a greenhouse

B．caused by the nearness to the sun

C．caused by the loss of water

D．the effect as a result of heat being trapped

(4)The meaning of the underlined word“abundant”in the first paragraph is most similar to ________ .

[　　]

　　There are two basic differences between the large and the small firms. In the small firm you operate primarily through personal contacts. In the large firm you have established“policies”,“channels”of organization, and fairly rigid procedures. In the small firm you have, moreover, immediate effectiveness in a very small area. You can see the effect of your work and of your decisions right away, once you are a little above the ground floor. In the large firm even the man at the top is only a cog in a big machine. To be sure, his actions affect a much greater area than the actions and decisions of the man in the small organization, but his effectiveness is remote indirect, and difficult to see at first sight. In a small and even in a middle-sized business you are normally exposed to all kinds of experiences, and expected to do a great many things without too much help or guidance. In the small one the danger is of becoming a jack-of-all trades and master of none. In the large one it is of becoming the man who knows more and more about less and less.

　　There is one other important thing to consider: do you derive a deep sense of satisfaction from being a member of a well-known organization-General Motors, the Bell Telephone System, the government? Or is it more important to you to be a well-known and important figure within your own small pond? There is a basic difference between the satisfaction that comes from being a member of a large, powerful, and generally known organization, and the one that comes from being a member of a family; between impersonal grandeur（大的）and personal of ten much too personal-intimacy; between life in a skyscraper and life in a crossroads gas station.

(1)In a large enterprise, ________.

[　　]

A．new technology is employed quickly

B．all people work efficiently

C．one's effectiveness is felt very slowly

D．one can get promotion easily

(2)In the first paragraph, a“jack-of-all-trades”means ________.

[　　]

A．a person who doesn't know anything about business

B．a person who is very capable as a businessman

C．a person who knows a little bit of everything

D．a person who is very knowledgeable about trade

(3)We can conclude from the first paragraph that the writer ________.

[　　]

A．prefers to work for a large firm

B．does not mention his own preference

C．prefers to work for a small firm

D．is against anything that goes to its extreme

(4)In the second paragraph, the contrast（对比）between the organization and the family is employed to show ________.

[　　]

A．how necessary a deep sense of satisfaction is

B．what satisfaction means to different types of people

C．how families may differ from one another

D．what large firm can offer to ordinary families

　　The group of tourists walking through Stockholm's old street never knew what hit them. As they admired Swedish art works in a storefront window, one of their mobile phones chirped（唧唧叫）with an anonymous（匿名）note:“Try the blue sweaters. They keep you warm in the winter.”

　　The tourist had just been“bluejacked”--secretly sent a text message using short-range wireless technology called Bluetooth.

　　The more people get Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones--both sender and receiver need them for this to work--the more there is likely to be mischievous（恶作剧的）messaging.

　　Websites are already offering tips on bluejacking, and collections of astonished reactions quickly turn up on the Internet. One site, www. bluejackq. com, was set up by a British teenager.

　　“I bluejacked three or four people, ”says 13-year-old Ellie in UK, who runs the site and makes bluejacking a daily affair. Bluetooth has a range of about nine metres. Ellie used it to send a note to a man in a cafe asking how his coffee was and saying that she liked his wife's glasses.

　　Ellie says he looked here and there to try to figure out where the message came from, even sending text messages back and forth with his wife, but to_no_avail.

　　Bluetooth is fast becoming more common on new mobile phones, though Forrester Research says at present only 9 percent of phones in Europe have such a function.

　　The technology is handy for people wanting to use wireless headsets with their phones or for sending data by phone to Bluetooth-enabled printers.

　　When Bluetooth is activated（激活）, it seeks out other equipped mobile phones by itself and sets up a link. Bluetooth phones can be set to block anonymous messaging, but people who carry them don't necessarily know that.

(1)What is mainly discussed in the text? ________

[　　]

A．The meaning of the word“bluejack”.

B．The technology called Bluetooth.

C．Anonymous messages.

D．Tips on bluejacking.

(2)When a tourist was“bluejacked”, he or she might ________.

[　　]

A．receive an anonymous and often mischievous message

B．send others a text message using shortrange wireless technology called Bluetooth

C．be persuaded to buy a blue sweater

D．get a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone

(3)We may learn from the text that ________.

[　　]

A．with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones people can send anonymous notes to friends far away

B．13-year-old Ellie makes bluejacking to earn some money by advertising

C．not many people in Europe now carry Bluetooth mobile phones

D．It's not easy for activated Bluetooth to set up a link with other equipped mobile phones

(4)What does the underlined phrase“to no avail”( paragraph 6) probably mean? ________

[　　]

(5)People often receive anonymous messages though they don't want to because ________.

[　　]

A．many of them probably don't know how to block such messages

B．it's not necessary for people to know how to block such messages

C．their phones are not able to block anonymous messaging

D．it's just impossible for people to reject any messages

　　Learning begins the minute we were born. Our first teachers are our families. At home we learn to talk, dress, and feed ourselves. We learn these and others by following.

　　Then we go to school. A teacher tells us what to learn and how to learn. Many teachers teach us and we pass many exams. Then people say we are educated.

　　Are we really educated? Let's think about the real meaning of learning. Knowing facts（事实）doesn't mean being able to solve（解决）problems. Solving problems needs creativity（创造力）, not just a good memory. Some people who don't know many facts are good at solving problems.

　　Henry Ford is a good example. He left school at 15. Later when his company couldn't build cars fast enough, he solved the problem. He thought of the assembly line（装配线）.

　　Today the answer seems simple. Yet think of the many university graduates（毕业生）who never solved that problem.

　　What does a good teacher do? Does he give students facts to remember? Well, yes, we must remember facts. But a good teacher shows how to find answers. He brings us to the stream（溪水）of knowledge, so we can drink. When we are thirsty we know where to go.

　　Think of a computer. It stores much information, but it can't think. It only obeys commands（指令）. We say a person hasn't learned unless he can use what he has learned.

(1)The best title for this passage is ________.

[　　]

(2)The main idea of this passage is ________.

[　　]

A．most university graduates are well educated

B．solving problems needs creativity, not a good memory

C．the real meaning of learning doesn't only mean knowing facts, but how to use what we have learned

D．Henry Ford sets us a good example in solving problems

(3)By giving us the good example, the writer tries to tell us that ________.

[　　]

A．though Henry Ford had little schooling, he became the owner of a company

B．only a poor person like Henry Ford can be successful

C．university students should learn from Henry Ford

D．those who are not well educated may solve hard problems

(4)Who does the writer think has learned? ________

[　　]

A．A person who can make good use of his knowledge.

B．Someone who has a good memory.

C．Anyone who can recite the facts he has learned.

D．A university graduate（毕业生）.

　　When he first began his speaking career, Mark Twain recalled, he used a full page of notes to keep him from getting mixed up. He would write down the beginning of key sentences, to take him from one point to another and to protect him from skipping（遗漏）. For a typical evening's lecture, he would write and memorize key beginnings．

　　The plan failed. Twain would remember the sentences, all right, but forget their order. He would have to stop, consult（参考）his notes, and there-by spoil the spontaneous（自然）effect of the whole speech.

　　Twain then decided to memorize not only key sentences, but also the first letter of each sentence. This initial-letter（首字母）method didn't work either. “I kept track of the fingers for a while”, he wrote in his essay, “then I lost it, and after that I was never quite sure which finger I had used last.”

　　He considered licking（舔）off the inked letters as he went along with the speech. People noticed he seemed more interested in his fingernails than his subject; one or two listeners would come up afterwards and ask what was wrong with his hands.

　　Mark Twain tried several ways in making speeches, but failed. Then his great idea came--why not draw some pictures? So he began.

　　Having once drawn the pictures, he found he could throw them away. He discovered that, having once made a series of drawings, he could recall their image at will． From that day, Twain was able to speak without notes, and the system never failed him. Each portion of his speech would be represented by a picture. He would draw them, all strung out（使……排成行）in a row, then look at them and destroy them. When the time came to speak, there was the row of images sharply in his mind.

(1) The main idea of the passage is ________ .

[　　]

A．how Mark Twain began his speaking career

B．how Mark Twain remembered the key sentences

C．what Mark Twain's initial-letter method was

D．what Mark Twain's speechmaking strategy（策略）was

(2) Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

[　　]

A．Twain used notes to keep him from getting mixed up.

B．Twain wrote down the beginning of key sentences to protect him from skipping.

C．Twain read the first sentence of each part aloud to keep him from forgetting.

D．Twain drew a series of pictures to help him to remember his speech draft.

(3) In the last paragraph, the underlined word“image”means ________ .

[　　]

(4) From the passage, we can infer ________ .

[　　]

A．Mark Twain made great success in his speech

B．Mark Twain didn't make any success in his speech

C．Mark Twain was very famous for his speechmaking methods

D．Mark Twain found the best way to make a speech

　　Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

　　The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1894) was a pinnacle in Twain's career--not only as author, but as critic（批评家）. In that book, Twain had attacked racism with irony. In the following years, he spoke out on themes of morality（道德）, religion, and politics while still, somehow, eliciting（引起）laughter.

　　After the Spanish-American War（1898）, Twain became an ardent（激烈的）anti-imperialist（抗击帝国主义者）; he was especially critical of Belgium's role in the Congo（刚果）and the policy of the United States in the Philippines. Twain was not always funny, and not always well received, but, he was always repeated. By the close of his career, the New York Times estimated that Twain was quoted（引用）in common conversation more often than any other American, including Ben Franklin and Abe Lincoln. Ernest Hemingway（海明威）stated what generations of readers were convinced （确信）of, that“All modern American literature comes from on book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There is nothing before. There has been nothing as good since .”

(1)The underlined word“pinnacle”in the first paragraph means ________ .

[　　]

A．very famous

B．the most successful part in literary

C．the most lowest point

D．the mountain top

(2)What is the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A．Mark Twain was the best famous writer in America.

B．Mark Twain was not always funny.

C．Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was Mark Twain's most successful, powerful, exciting book.

D．Mark Twain was more famous than any other American.

(3)Which of the following statements is right?

[　　]

A．All American literature comes from on book named Huckleberry Finn.

B．American writing began from the book named Huckleberry.

C．There has been nothing as good as the book Huckleberry Finn since Mark Twain's times.

D．All modern American literature comes from on book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.

　　Mark Twain (whose real name was Samuel Clemens) was born in Missouri and grew up close to the banks of the Mississippi River. Clemens started out as a printer, setting type in Iowa, New York City, Philadelphia, and other cities. Clemens then turned to piloting a steamboat on the Mississippi River until the American Civil War. In 1861, Clemens served briefly as a soldier in the Confederate（联盟）army. Later that year, Clemens moved to Nevada and began writing articles as a newspaper reporter.

　　In 1863, Clemens began signing his articles with the pseudonym（笔名）Mark Twain. In 1865, Twain finished his first story,“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, which became an instant hit.

　　In 1870, Twain married Olivia Langdon, and they later moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Some famous writings followed, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) , A Tramp Abroad (1880) , The Prince and the Pauper (1882) , A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court(1889) .

　　Twain's masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) remains an icon（偶像）of American literature.

　　Later works include Puddn' head Wilson(1894) , Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc(1896) , and the short story “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”(1899) .

　　In his later years, Twain became a celebrity, becoming known for wearing white suits wherever he went.

　　Although known primarily as a humorist during his life, scholars now regard his work as some of the best and most authentic（可信的）in American literature. His portraits of pre-civil war America, and his use of spoken language in his novels dominate（占优势）Twain's legacy（遗产）.

(1)Mark Twain's masterpiece is ________ .

[　　]

A．The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

B．A Tramp Abroad

C．The Prince and the Pauper

D．The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

(2)Mark Twain became a famous person in his later years for ________ .

[　　]

A．his works

B．his humor

C．spoken language

D．wearing white suits wherever he went

(3)The underlined word“hit”in the second paragraph means ________ .

[　　]

　　The city of Venice, in Italy, is one of a kind. It is built on more than 120 islands, just off the coast. The islands are small and close together. The waterways between them are used as streets. They are called canals.

　　In this watery world, people use boats to get from place to place. Gondolas to place, small boats that are moved with one oar（桨）, were once the only boats used in the canals. But today motorboats make getting around faster; there are still lots of gondolas, though. Many visitors go to Venice all the year round. And they like to ride in the old-style（老式）boats.

　　If you aren't going far in this city, it's easier to go on foot. There are hundreds of narrow footpaths. About 100 low bridges connect the footpaths and islands. But these bridges cause problems for the boaters. When the sea tide（潮）is high, the canal water rises. People in the boats must duck to fit under bridges.

(1)After reading the first paragraph, we can come to the conclusion that ________.

[　　]

A．all the buildings in Venice are help up（抬高）on seawater

B．there's no land in the city of Venice

C．the streets in Venice are all lined with waterways

D．nobody can be seen walking in the streets of Venice

(2)It is clear that ________.

[　　]

A．all the Venetian people ride in boats with one oar to get from place to place

B．gondolas are the only boats used in the canals

C．the ways of getting round in Venice are different from those in any other city

D．motorboats have taken the place of gondolas in Venice now

(3)Which of the following statements shows no difference between itself and the passage? ________

[　　]

A．All the Venetian people like to ride in the old-style boats.

B．Neither cars nor buses are used in Venice.

C．Citizens in Venice don't walk much.

D．Gondolas rides are much more expensive.

(4)Which of the following statements leads us to the conclusion that traveling around Venice by gondolas can be slow? ________

[　　]

A．Gondolas, small boats that are moved with one oar, were once the only boats used in the canals.

B．But today, motorboats make getting around faster.

C．But these bridges cause problems for the boaters.

D．People in the boats must duck to fit under bridges.

(5)The word“duck”in the last sentence means ________.

[　　]

A．bend one's head in order not to be hit

B．go quickly under water for a short time

C．swim as a duck does

D．dive suddenly like a duck