阅读理解

　　The art of living is to know when to let hold fast and to let go for life is a paradox(自相矛盾的事物)．People always say：“A man comes to this world with his hand clenched(握紧), but when he dies, his hand is open．”

　　Surely we ought to hold fast to life, for it is wondrous, and full of beauties．We know that this is so, but all too often we recognize this truth only in our backward glance when we remember what was and then suddenly realize that it is no more．

　　A recent experience re-taught me this truth．I was hospitalized following a severe heart attack and had been in intensive care for several days．It was not a pleasant place．One morning, I had to have some tests．The required machines were located in a building at the opposite end of the hospital, so I had to be wheeled across the courtyard on a gurney(盖尼式床)．As we emerged from our unit, the sunlight hit me．That’s all there was to my experience．Just the ________ of the sun．And yet how beautiful it was-how warming, how sparking, how brilliant!I looked to see whether anyone else loved the sun’s golden glow, but everyone was hurrying, most with eyes fixed on the ground．Then I remembered how often I do the same, life’s gifts are valuable-but we are too careless of them．

　　Here then is the first pole of life’s paradoxical demands on us：never too busy for the wonder and the awe of life．Be reverent(虔诚的)before each dawning day．Hug each hour．Seize each golden minute．

1．What is the best title of the passage?(Please answer within 8 words)

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2．Please fill in the blank in paragraph three with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．(Please answer within 5 words)

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3．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

The machines needed were located in a building at the other end of the hospital．

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4．Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese．

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阅读短文，根据所读内容在表中的空格处填上适当的单词或短语,每空不超过3个单词。

　　There are two types of people in the world．Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy, the other becomes unhappy．This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds．

　　People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things．The pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine, the fine weather．They enjoy all the cheerful things．Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things．Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied．By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend(hurt)many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere．If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied．The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation．It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors．The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes．I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit．

　　Though in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck．Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect．This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments．If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success．Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes．If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrong doings．These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others．If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them．Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels．

阅读下面短文，简要回答问题。

　　Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent．H．W．Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．

　　Mr．Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy．He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers．After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands．How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials．However, because it was very expensive to transport(carry)them from Italy to the United States, Mr．Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home．This young man found great vein(岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada．

　　Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．

　　Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called“cloth of stone”．

1．Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word“asbestos”．

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2．What is special about asbestos?(回答词数不超过7个)

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3．What is the author’s main purpose in writing this passage?(回答词数不超过7个)

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阅读短文，根据所读内容在文后1－10的空格里填上适当的单词或短语。注意：每空不超过3个单词。

　　If people work to meet their needs, it would be good to know what these needs are．They are very simple．Dr．Maslow has suggested that people have only five needs．Every one has them, and everyone spends his or her life trying to satisfy them．Although we may try to satisfy our needs in different ways, we all are trying to satisfy the same needs．In a way, it is these needs, which are common to all people, that make us human．They seem to be a basic part of human nature．

　　The needs, which occur in the order shown below, can briefly be described as follows：

　　1．The Physiological Needs-Our needs for the things that keep our bodies alive-food, water, rest, air, elimination, etc．These needs come first．We must meet them or we will die．

　　2．The Safety Needs–First we need to stay alive, and then we need to be safe．There are two kinds of safety needs：the need to be physically safe and the need to be psychologically safe or secure．

　　3．The Belongingness Needs–Once we are alive and safe, we then try to satisfy our social need, a need to be with and accepted by other people．We discover our need for love．

　　4．The Esteem Needs–After our first three needs are fairly well met, we try to satisfy a fourth need．This is a need for recognition, respect, reputation．The need has two parts：self esteem(thinking well of ourselves)and the esteem of others．

　　5．The self–actualization Needs–The highest need of man is to actualize himself, to achieve his full potential, to become all that he might be．This need is one that no one ever satisfies completely, partly because we are too busy trying to satisfy our lower needs．

　　If Dr．Maslow is correct, those are the things we are after．Our work, rest, play–whatever we do–is done in an effort to meet one or more of those needs．

阅读下面短文，简要回答问题。

　　Recently, in the hope of earning both money and social experience, I became a door-to-door salesman．I once read a saying：“If somebody wants something of yours, you will be treated as warmly as spring, but if they don’t you may be treated as coldly as winter．”You may consider his an exaggeration, but if you are a salesman, it is clearly correct．You would never have found it to be so true if you hadn’t been a salesman．You needn’t stand doubtful looks and unfriendly comments; you needn’t listen to something completely wrong and nod to say that it was quite right; you needn’t always keep patience and a smile; you needn’t repeat the same sentences over again; you needn’t bear talking to somebody you disike…I did this work for a month; then I decided to give it up．Apart from the above reasons, I found I was paying too much attention to the job and thus lessening my study time．The latest test result proved that my grades were getting lower．Even worse, I had been sacrificing much time to join my classmates in college activities．Sometimes I felt lonely and unhappy because of both my study and my part-time job．Now I don’t think it is worth doing such a thing even though I was earning money at great cost．

　　Newspapers and magazines often publish stories about good students who do part-time work and keep high scores in class．But according to my experience, part-time work can have some strong bad effects on study．Most students don’t see the relationship between study and work in a correct way．In my opinion, if it isn’t must for financial reasons, students should be cautious about taking up a part-time job．In western countries even the children of very rich families take part in hard jobs during the summer vacation．

1．Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word“sacrificing”．

2．What’s the author’s opinion on work while studying?(回答词数不超过8个)

3．Who should take part-time jobs according to the text above?(回答词数不超过7个)

阅读下列短文，根据各小题的具体要求，简要回答问题。

　　CAIRO, Egypt(Reuters)April 24, 2006－Three explosions shook the Egyptian Sinai resort of Dahab on Monday, killing 23 people and wounding dozens of others, rescue and security officials said．

　　Witnesses saw smoke billowing up from the town’s tourist bazaar, and residents said they saw body parts and debris(残骸)on the street after an explosion at a restaurant．

　　People in the small beach and diving resort, which is popular with backpackers, described scenes of carnage(残杀，流血)and chaos(混乱)．

　　A cafe worker who was about 200 meters from the scene said：“We saw many dead people．People were screaming．People were being taken to hospital．Egyptians went to give blood．There were body parts．There’s police everywhere．”

　　“There are ambulances and cars taking people to hospital,”said another resident, who also did not want to be named．

　　The explosions took place at the Nelson Restaurant, the Aladdin Cafeteria and the Ghazala Supermarket, the Interior Ministry said．

　　The explosions took place in quick succession at about 7.15 p.m.(1715 GMT)．“There is smoke coming from the area and there are people running everywhere,”said one witness, who heard the blasts．

　　An official with the local ambulance service said many of the dead appeared to be foreigners．

　　Israeli divers often stay in the resort, but with the Passover Holiday over it is unlikely many were there．The Israeli ambassador in Cairo and Israeli authorities said they did not know of any Israeli casualties(伤亡)．

　　One visitor said police were stopping cars and buses leaving the resort and had imposed restrictions on movements in and out of backpacker camps in the area．

　　It was the third set of three explosions on the eastern coast of the Sinai peninsula since October 2004, when a group attacked the Hilton hotel in the border resort of Taba and two other resorts on the northeast coast, killing 34 people．

1．Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word “billowing”．

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2．What’s the result of the explosions in Dahab?(回答词数不超过10个单词)

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3．How many places experienced the explosions this time?(回答词数不超过4个单词)

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阅读填空

　　Millions of women use cosmetics, often called“make-up”．The cosmetics industry is one of the biggest in the world．Most large stores sell cosmetics, and there are always shops at airports selling them cheaply．

　　The word“cosmetics”refers to anything that people put on their faces to make them look better．Lipstick, face powder and cream, and eye make-up are the most popular．Although more women than men use cosmetics, there are cosmetics for men as well as women．

　　Some people even have cosmetic surgery to make their faces look different．They have the shapes of their noses and eyes changed．

　　The most widely used cosmetic is probably lipstick, as many women who do not wear any other make-up will often put on a little lipstick．

　　Lipstick is made by mixing together different oils and colors．The mixture is then allowed to get hard and is cut into the shape of a small pencil．When a woman presses the lipstick to her lips, the end of it becomes soft, and some of it sticks to her lips, giving them extra color．

　　Cosmetics were probably first used in India, but it was the Egyptians, six thousand years ago, who made the most use of them．Rich Egyptian women painted their eyes green and black．They used a red color to paint pretty designs on their fingernails, the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet．Pictures of Cleopatra always show her wearing a lot of make-up．

　　The Romans also used cosmetics．They liked to make their skin very white and to paint their eyes．They also used a kind of lipstick．

　　In England at one time, very rich women had baths in milk to make their skin beautiful．They also used a lot of sweet-smelling powder to stop people smelling their bodies, which were often very dirty because they did not wash very often or change their clothes．

阅读表达

　　If the sun has enough power to warm and light the whole earth, it must have enough power to do other things, too．Can we use the sun's abundant energy to supply electricity, or at least to perform the functions which electricity or other types of power usually perform?The answer is yes．

　　For example, people have for many years been using the reflected heat of the sun to cook．Solar cookers have been built with several curved(弯曲的)mirrors reflecting the sun and focusing its heat on the cooking component．This equipment can be used just like a gas or electric stove; it is more expensive to make but it does not need any fuel, and so costs nothing to use．Another possibility of using solar energy is in house heating．

　　The form of energy we use most is electricity, and every day more is needed．But electricity has to be made, too, and to make it, ____________ are required－oil, gas and nowadays even uranium(铀)．

　　The question which worries everyone today is ： how long will these fuels last?Nobody knows it for sure, but most experts think it will soon be difficult to obtain sufficient electricity from these sources．It is possible that the sun can make a contribution here, too．

　　Solar energy has already been used to produce terrific heat．In southern France a solar furnace has been built, where temperatures reach more than 3,000℃．This furnace is only used for experiments at present, but could be used to produce steam for a power station．

1．What is the main idea of the passage?(within 10 words)

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2．Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

The sun can also make it possible for us to get a large quantity of electricity instead of from other fuels．

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3．Please fill in the blank in the third paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．(within 10 words)

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4．Which can last longer, the ordinary fuels or the solar energy?What shall we do to have enough electricity?(within 30 words)

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5．Translate the underlined sentence in the second paragraph into Chinese．

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阅读表达

　　Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing．Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits．When you think of forgiveness, you probably don't think of it as being a health or medical problem．Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can _____________．

　　When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often gain special power．In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous．That's why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says being anger can harm your physical and mental health．Two new studies seem to show the same idea．

　　The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression．They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping．

　　So it doesn't matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things．Learning to let it go is important．Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help．Or just ask yourself if it's worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else．

　　Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it's OK．Instead, it's a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past．

1．What is the main idea of the passage?(within 10 words)

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2．Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

It is proved that tolerant people are more relaxed and healthy．

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3．Fill in the blank in Paragraph 1 with a proper phrase．(within 10 words)

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4．What does “forgiveness” mean when you deal with your bad experience?(within 10 words)

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5．Translate the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph into Chinese．

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阅读表达

　　Many contemporary amateur athletes and swimmers would have broken world records if they had taken part in the first Olympic Games．Since then, records have fallen so much in track, field and swimming events as performance has greatly improved．If records fall, it is usually due to better equipment, training and diet; but recently improvements have begun to slow down．In Sydney, only three runners achieved Olympic bests with no world records．Some experts predict a ceiling for many events, such as 9.5 seconds for the 100 metres－Maurice Greene's current record is 9.79 seconds．

　　However, past predictions are nearly always wrong．All the levels of performance predicted in the 1930s had been reached by the 1970s．Ron Maughan, from Aberdeen University, believes that if more people around the world took part in organised sport, more records would have fallen．

　　One factor is the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or“doping”．Ben Johnson would still be the 100 metres world record holder if he had not been caught taking drugs．Other records remain doubtful, like Florence Griffith's 100 metres record back in 1998．Did she take drugs?If current Olympic champion, Marion Jones, took such drugs, she would probably have broken that world record more than once．

　　Unless we are careful,“gene-doping”will be the next big threat．

　　For medical purposes, scientists have already found ways to build muscle and increase strength through gene therapy．If gene therapy were used now, it would be almost impossible to find out．In the future, genetically-modified athletes might be able to run the 100 metres in 8 seconds or the marathon in under two hours．

　　However, if a generation of genetic monsters(转基因怪物)were created, it would show that the whole point of sport has been lost．

　　It would be much better to forget the records and return to the original Olympic spirit－taking part is _______________．

1．What's the best title for the passage?(within 10 words)

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2．Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

The employment of “gene-doping” can hardly be discovered at present．

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3．Please fill in the blank in the last paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．(within 10 words)

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4．Do you think gene therapy is a good thing?Why or why not?(within 30 words)

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5．Translate the underlined sentence in the second paragraph from the bottom into Chinese．

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