阅读理解

　　Space tourism might be the dream of many people on the planet, but a journey to space is not is not as easy as simply buying some tickets at a travel search engine; it is only reserved for the privileged few that can afford the cost．．One of the options that impressed me most is the one offered by a company called Space Adventures．

　　What they have in place is a space tourism program that slows you to travel with the Soyuz to the International Space Station(ISS)．The trip starts a few months in advance with intensive training dealing mainly with gravity operations, fight control and survival activities．

　　When all tins training is over, your space trip begins．The trip can be planned exactly according to your needs, whether you’re going for scientific research , or simply for an adventure．I doubt whether you will find any other kind of trip that has such a thorough preparation period beforehand．

　　One of the great things to do, even if it makes your space trip a bit more expensive, is that you could go on a space walk during your trip．That would definitely be a good opportunity to dance outside with your loved one to a slow waltz…Sorry, I forget there’s no sound in space!

　　Whatever option you choose, the only obstacle you might face is the cost．All The other requirements seem to be less than those for getting a visa to a foreign country．Generally your height should be between 160 and 185 cm, your weight between 50and 95 kg and be in good health．

　　Finally ,in answer to the question you’ve been wondering about．Granted, space tourism is expensive, but exactly how expensive would a normal scheduled flight to the ISS cost?Would you believe it costs between ＄30 and ＄40 million?A Russian language course is included!

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Some disabled people use a special card when they park their cars．These are called disabled placards, which are removable signs that can be hung from the rear-view(后视)mirror of a car．These placards are only supposed to be for disabled people．

　　These placards are meant to help disabled people in a number of ways．They allow the person to in special parking spaces．They can also be used when disabled people are being dropped off or picked up．Disabled people can even use them to park without having to pay．

　　Parking officials think that some people are cheating．Not all people who have these placards are disabled．Today, one in sixteen drivers in Californis carries the sign．There are a lot more people who have disabled placards today than then years ago．An official from the DMV(加州车辆管理局)says that there are many reasons for the increase．As people get older, They may develop health problems and need to have one．There are also other reasons why more drivers have them today．Finally, there are a number of people who have them that should not．

　　Last year the DMV cancelled more than 25,000 permits．They found that lots of people who had the disable placards had died．These permits are no longer valid．

　　Some people are worried that the system being abused．They are worried that access to the program could be limited because of the misuse．More rules could make it harder for people with real disabilities to get these placards．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Long ago, there was a time when parents told children to read slowly ad loudly to understand everything they read．While, a lot of things have changed．Now, learning experts and teachers ask students to read faster and understand important points．Here are a few tips for students who have every little time, but a lot to learn．

　　Making a time table

　　Your timetable should have separate time for eating, playing games,exercise, reading the newspaper and studying You should not only make a timetable, but also do according to it．

Taking notes

　　Taking notes is an important part of learning．You need to take lecture notes and notes from your textbooks．Read the notes before going to bed．This helps you memorize the lessons elearly

Reading technlques

　　You need to read fast and learn more things．Here are some advice on fast reading．Take a quick look them cover to cover to find out the important units．Take a quick look over the units, and find the important points．Becausedd the speed of reading, and pass your eyes through the top of the letters and not through the center．Don’t go back to read a word or a sentence．

How to increase memory

　　Try to understand completely what you read or hear．Repeat what you hear or read in your mid．A single word can help you remember a whole idea．

How to increase concentration

　　Mental concentration is important to memory and better learning．You should separate a specific place and a specific time of the day for reading．Sit straight．It increases your concentration．

Good conditions for learning

　　A silent location that you don’t use for sleeping, eating or entertainment purpose is the best place for reading．Taking exercise daily is good for students．It increases concentration．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Last week, while visiting my dad with my daughter, we went to a restaurant for dinner．When we were seated, my dad asked the waitress if there were any soldiers eating at the restaurant．Then waitress said there was a soldier having dinner with his friend．My dad told the waitress to tell the soldier and his friend that their dinner was paid for!He also said that he did not want to be known as the benefactor(施主)．

　　Then waitress later commented on my dad’s thoughtful behavior saying that she had never seen anything like this before．At a local college, she had studied opera and so shen used this to thank my dad by performing a piece from The Pearl Fisherman．Her voice brought me to tears because it sounded perfect!

　　After a while, the soldier appeared at out table(I don’t know how he knew my dad paid the bill for him．)and said that he would be sent to the front the next morning and that he could not leave this country without saying “thanks” to my dad．My dad replied that it was he who wanted to say “thanks”．They shook hands as the soldier left．

　　Before we left, the waitress came by again．She did a magic show as another way to show her “thanks” to my dad．Her show was really great．My dad left her a note with email address asking for her next performance time in addition to a ＄50 tip．

　　Everyone witnessed something exemplary(可作榜样的)in the human spirit that night．I can only hope to see more of this in the future．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Marriages improve after children grow up and move out, according to an academic study, which suggests an“empty nest”is not always a bad thing．

　　Popular wisdom has it that parents'relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop, because they feel they have lost their purpose in life．However,a new study by researchers at the University of California,Berkeley, has found that many couples actually feel happier when their children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together．

　　In total, 123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying,when they were bringing up babies, once their children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61, when almost all had“empty nests”．

　　Although not all said they were happier in general, most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home．Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together,but because they were able to enjoy each other's company more．

　　One of the participants in the study,which is published in the jourmal Psychological Science, said：“Once the kids grow up…there's some of that stress removed…that responsibility removed, so things are a little more relaxed．”

　　Psychologist Sara Gorchoff,who carried out the investigation, said：“The take-home message for couples with young children is‘hang in there'．”Her co-author Oliver John added：“Don't wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner．”

　　However,Dr Dorothy Rowe, from the British Psychological Society, said the effects of living in an“empty nest'”will depend on the parents'relationship with their children．“If yod're just waiting for them to leave home so you Can get on with your life, then of course you'11 be pleased to see them go,”she said,“But if you've built your life around your children you'11 be terribly lonely．”For some parents, their world falls apart when their Children leave．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Science．And technology students in China and the US have a1ong way to go before they call develop a deep understanding of scientific reasoning,researchers have found．

　　As part of a research to compare science education in China and theUS, LeiBao,a professor from the Departmenr of Physics of the Ohio State University, gave 5,760; freshmen in three US and four Chinese univeristies two tests to evaluate content knowledge and another to assess scientific reasoning

　　Though Chinese students did better than their US counterparts in the first two tests that Emphasized on learning facts,both groups“scored relatively poorly”on the third test,designed to Assess their ability ot systmatically explore a problem, the results showed．

　　Lei Bao said that the finding challenges conventional wisdom, which holds that teaching science facts will improve students'reasoning ability．“Our study shows that, contrary to what many people would expect, even when students are thoroughly taught the facts, they don't necessarily develop the reasoning skills they need io succeed．”IBao said：‘“Because students need both knowledge and reasoning,we need to explore teaching methods that target both．”

　　‘The current education systems and asessment of China and the US do not emphasize on deep understanding of scientific reasoning in the disciplines of science; technology,engineering and mathematics(STEM), the study concluded．

　　Bao explained that reasoning is good skill for everyone topossess-not just scientists and engineers：The general public also need good reasoning skills in order to correctly interpret scientific findings and think rationally．STEM students need to excael at scientific reasoning in order to handle open-ended real-world tasks in their future careers in science and engineering．

　　How to boost scientific reasoning?The study suggests that educators must go beyond teaching science facts if they hope to boost students'reasoning ability．Bao points to inquiry-based leaming．where students work in groups, question teachers and design their owu investigations．This teaching technique is growing in popularity worldwide．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　In 2007．five young people in the American state of Massachusetts developed an idea．The team knew that the world is filled with mobile phones．About eighty percent of all people are said to live within reach ofa wireless telephone signal．

　　The idea was to use mobile phones and the Internet to connect job seekers with employers．The young people wrote a business plan and formed a company called Assured Labor．

　　Assured Labor won a development competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)．Three of the founders were graduate students there．

　　Assured Labo ris an electronic market place．It has two parts．One is for; the Unied States．That operation was launched in January in Boston．It links pe'ople with employeis offering temporary jobs．

　　The other arm of the business is for developing markets．That operation is meant to help people get mbfe permanent jobs．A representative is currently building partnerships with universities, and international compaines in Central America．

　　Assured Labor's presidenL David Reich, says the companies now place job advertisements on radio or in newspapers．Some even drive around in cars with loudspeakers announcing that jobs are available．He says the companies are interested．in having more modem hiring practices．

　　Through Assured Labpr,companies will list open positions on the Internet．People who think they could do the job could reply by text messags or on their cellphones．

　　This is how the system works in Boston．

　　The jobs available include house cleaning．dog walking and home repai．People who want their house cleaned, for example, can look online at a list of twenty housekeepers．The list tells what services．they offer, and how much they want to be paid．People need two letters praising their work to get on the list of service providers．

　　The employer chooses workers they would like jto hire, The company then sends the workers a text or e-mail message so they can respond quickly to an offer．

　　After a job is completed, the employer and employee rate each other, The rating is kept for future use．Assured Labor is not charging anyone, right now,but the plan is to have employers pay for the service．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

阅读理解

　　On an－airplane, a spacecraft or a man-made satellite, there is usually an installad device called the“biack box”Made of a special kind of material．it would remain unbroken, even if the entire craft were blown to pieces．The box records some important data,which provide clues as to what changes had occurred before the real thing came along and help to discover the causes of the disaster．

　　The black box．Therefore, becomes the last piece of evidence left．More often,it reveal a Schocking fact that many aircrafts met their disasters only beeanse of a simple but fatal mistake Some hadn't been supplied with sufficient fuel; others crashed due to a bird flying in their paths．In many cases．the pilot had been tired．In 1986, the famous US space siadttle Challenger exploded soon after launch, because a screw on it was a bit loose!

　　An idea thus occurs to me：if a human being was equipped with a similar device,tracking all the subtle inner Changes that had taken place over time, the results could astonish the world Newspapers carry no few sueh stories from day to day－cases of graft or bribe-taking(行贿或受贿), how－innocent maIl was robbed and killed,and so on．A fatal error,committed by a criminal at a particuiar point in his life, may have arisen from a small quarrei or out of envy．The number of those who were bom evil and deliberately sent themselvas to the“gallows(绞架)”is in fact extremely small．The disappointment towards the last moment of their life is no different from a struggl against an aircraft crash！

　　Behave properl in small matters and take best care of the soul-this, I'insist,is the message from that mysterious box planted deep inside human souls

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　The first field season is now over at the hut village of the workmen who built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings．However, the archaeologists working on the excavation(挖掘)have found that they still have a great deal to do．The sun, the wind and tourists have left their mark on the village, originally discovered by Bernard Bruyhre in 1935．

　　“From our modern perspective, it is upsetting to see how the village was first excavated and then left to be destroyed．Passers-by have used the huts as rubbish dumps and restrooms,”says Jaana Toivari－Viitala, a teacher at the University of Helsinki．“Fortunately, while we still have some surface cleaning to do, conservation are off to a good start．”

　　The hut viliage offers rare insight into everyday life in ancient Egypt．

　　“In the early twentieth century, archaeologists were only interested in the tombs of kings．The workmen's huts they discovered were seen as a necessary evil in the quest for the real trea sures．”

　　“Now several international research groups on different excavations are examining everyday life and work in the Valley of the Kings．This seems to be a trend in archaeology right now．”Toivari-Viitala says．

　　Her research group wants to find out why the hut village was built on the slope of a mountain, halfway between the construction site and Deir-el-Medina．They are also interested in how many workers lived in the village at a time, when they lived there, and what their role was in the construction work．

　　“Comparing the names found in the village and in Deir-el-Medina provides useful information．Judging from the construction methods, settlement in the village can be divided into two separate periods：the initial settlement and a later one．”

　　For the time being, much is up to guessing, but Toivari-Viitala believes that the coming four field seasons, three months each, will see results．

　　“The working conditions are not nearly as difficult as I thought they would be．The cool winds in the mountains nicely alleviate the heat．”

　　The research group working on the“Workmen's huts in the Theban mountains”project is planning to return to the Valley of the Kings in October．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Every time an election rolls around, people want to know what each candidate's stance(立场)is on the issue that are important to them．In deciding which candidate 1 want to vote for, there are two main issues for me：the economy and education．

　　These issues are important to me because they affect me the most right now．The economy affects everyone, and education is important because t am about to enter college．When I looked at how each candidate views these issues, one man stood out to me, and that is Demoeratic candidate Barack Obama．

　　I like a11 of Senator Obama's ideas for improving the economy．He wants to bring the troops home from Iraq, thereby saving the ＄12 billion we spend there every month．Anotller point that Obama makes is that the United States'current energy policy is hurting the econmny．He believes thal if new energy bills are passed, it will help tile U．S．get out of its currenr economic slump, and I agree．With these ideas and strategies, I slrongly believe that Obama can improve the current state of the economy．

　　Obama also has a plan to improve education．He believes that we need to start educating children at a young age．He also hopes to close the gap of achievement between students,which means improving schools that need help．He wants to pay teachers more and treat them like professionals, but in exchange he calls for higher responsibility．

　　Obama also has a plan to make college more affordable．He wants public colleges to be free for students who maintain a“B”average during high school．And he plans to give a ＄4,000 tax credit for college and university students who complete 100 hours of community service each year·I belleve these ideas to improve education are good enough and will help many students．

　　Therefore, there is no longer any doubt in my mind who will be receiving my vote：Barack Obama．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)