We were on the way from Hutchinson to Chicago for a short spring break. For many years I had wanted to take my family on the train. We all had been to Chicago four years ago, and the kids loved it. Chicago is one of my favorite cities, too, so the thought struck me again last fall to ride the train to Chicago. Of course, flying would have been faster. But I don’t think flying is easier, especially these days, with all the security and waiting in lines at airports.
Though we were tired in the middle of the night, the kids got on the train with the exhilaration of this adventure. “We’re moving,” my son William shouted happily with big eyes as the train began to pull away from the Hutchinson station.
I removed my shoes and lay down to try to finish my night’s sleep. The sleeper car would have better enabled that, but the ordinary train seats were not too bad. An airline flight is a more miserable experience for me: not enough room, two hours of pain with my knees almost touching my chin, the hard seatback in front cracking my kneecaps (膝盖) with every move of the body planted in front of me. On the train I could almost outstretch all of my 6-foot-2-plus body in the generous legroom.
The journey didn’t feel at all as long as it was. We all found the train ride a joy. The car ride would have felt every minute of 13 hours. But on the train you are free to walk around, sit in the observation carriage for a while and enjoy the scenery out the windows, have a nice meal in the dining car, read a book, or play a board game.
In short, the train is all about enjoying the trip, which isn’t something I do so much when traveling by airline or by car, when the trip seems more of a mission (任务) to get there than an experience to enjoy along the way.
Chicago offers much to do for a family. This time, getting there was half the fun.
【小题1】We can learn from the first paragraph that _____.

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!

  51. Besides the body requirements, which of the following is most likely to stop someone from going into space?

A . Their knowledge.    B . The  climate .   C . The  cost .  D. A visa

  52．Which of the following statements best describes the main idea of this passage？

A．Space tourism― a dream made reality？

B．Are you ready for space tourism？

C．How to participate in a space tourism program.

D．Why only a few privileged persons can afford space trips.

53．The word “that” in the fourth paragraph refers to           ．

A．a space walk                      B．a space tourism program

C．a space trip                        D．a space dance

54．According to the passage, who is most likely to take part in the space tourism program?

A．Mike, a millionaire, who is about 170 cm in height and weighs 98 kg. He is in good health

B．Julia, a model, whose height is 165 cm  and weight is 48 kg. She has heart disease.

C．Ivan, an office workers, is 175 cm in height and weights 70 kg. He is in excellent health condition.

D．Steven, a wealthy businessman who is very healthy, has a height of 178 cm and weighs 80 kg.

55．What’s the author’s tone in writing this passage?

A．Disapproving.    B．Humorous.   C．Positive.    D．Indifferent.

Adventure is in my blood. And I had been considering how I was going to celebrate my high school graduation. I didn’t just want a small    in the backyard. I started thinking about doing a solo    somewhere out of the ordinary. I took out    and drew the 1,500-mile route along which I would be    from the northernmost point in Norway to the southernmost section of Sweden. When I    my plans with my dad, he    as I thought he would. Because I get my adventurous    from him, he was all for it.

   I had only been away from my    three days now, but there was an inner    going on inside of me. Part of me was homesick and doubting whether I    could make it. The other part of me was ready to      to myself and my family that I could do it by myself.

   On the road, I met another      who was quite a bit older than I was. He had started his journey      by bike at the southern part of Norway and had just finished. I could tell he had a great sense of      . It encouraged me not to      .

  As I listened to my      artists on my MP4 player, I pedaled (踩踏板) with my feet. There was      around me for miles.      , that wasn’t entirely true. There were mosquitoes--- millions of them. My arms were so dotted with      that they looked like a topographical map (地形图). But, however      it would be, nothing could stop my advance towards the destination. As you know, adventure is in my blood.

1.A. meeting    B. party     C. conversation          D. lecture

2.A. flight  B. interview       C. trip        D. performance

3.A. instructions        B. maps     C. magazines     D. newspapers

4.A. walking       B. biking   C. flying     D. running

5.A. shared       B. compared     C. prepared       D. changed

6.A. left     B. sighed   C. agreed  D. cried

7.A. stories        B. hobbies         C. skills      D. spirits

8.A. home          B. school   C. hotel     D. office

9.A. request      B. activity  C. battle    D. discussion

10.A. certainly  B. reasonably    C. usually  D. really

11.A. turn B. reply     C. prove    D. adapt

12.A. driver       B. jogger   C. bicyclist         D. pilot

13.A. slowly      B. alone    C. patiently        D. worriedly

14.A. humour   B. direction       C. satisfaction   D. balance

15.A. calm down        B. break down  C. speed up       D. give up

16.A. personal          B. favourite       C. professional  D. successful

17.A. nobody    B. everybody    C. anything        D. everything

18.A. Firstly       B. Eventually     C. Actually        D. Fortunately

19.A. wounds    B. cuts       C. dots       D. bites

20.A. boring      B. difficult         C. complex        D. confusing

Adventure is in my blood. And I had been considering how I was going to celebrate my high school graduation. I didn’t just want a small __21___ in the backyard. I started thinking about doing a solo ___22___ somewhere out of the ordinary. I took out ___23___ and drew the 1,500-mile route along which I would be ___24___ from the northernmost point in Norway to the southernmost section of Sweden. When I ___25___ my plans with my dad, he ___ 26___ as I thought he would. Because I get my adventurous ___27___ from him, he was all for it.

   I had only been away from my ___28___ three days now, but there was an inner ___29___ going on inside of me. Part of me was homesick and doubting whether I ___30___ could make it. The other part of me was ready to ___31___ to myself and my family that I could do it by myself.

   On the road, I met another ___32___ who was quite a bit older than I was. He had started his journey ___33___ by bike at the southern part of Norway and had just finished. I could tell he had a great sense of ___34___. It encouraged me not to ___35___.

  As I listened to my ___36___ artists on my MP4 player, I pedaled (踩踏板) with my feet. There was ___37___ around me for miles. ___38___, that wasn’t entirely true. There were mosquitoes--- millions of them. My arms were so dotted with ___39___ that they looked like a topographical map (地形图). But, however ___40___ it would be, nothing could stop my advance towards the destination. As you know, adventure is in my blood.

1.A. party          B. meeting         C. conversation          D. lecture

2.A. flight  B. interview       C. performance         D. trip

3.A. instructions        B. maps     C. magazines     D. newspapers

4.A. walking       B. flying     C. biking    D. running

5.A. compared  B. shared  C. prepared       D. changed

6.A. agreed       B. sighed   C. left        D. cried

7.A. stories        B. spirits    C. skills      D. hobbies

8.A. hotel B. school C. home    D. office

9.A. battle          B. activity  C. request          D. discussion

10.A. certainly  B. really    C. usually  D. reasonably

11.A. turn B. reply     C. prove    D. adapt

12.A. driver       B. jogger   C. bicyclist         D. pilot

13.A. alone        B. slowly   C. patiently        D. worriedly

14.A. humour   B. direction       C. balance          D. satisfaction

15.A. calm down        B. break down  C. speed up       D. give up

16.A. favourite B. personal        C. professional  D. successful

17.A. nobody    B. everybody    C. anything        D. everything

18.A. Firstly       B. Actually         C. Eventually    D. Fortunately

19.A. wounds    B. cuts       C. bites      D. dots

20.A. boring      B. confusing      C. complex        D. difficult