When I was in medical college, I went camping with some of my friends. The season was summer; therefore, we chose to go to the seaside. After arriving there, we rent a room and left our luggage there. We finished lunch and then decided to rent a boat because the sea and the weather were beautiful.

We started to row, but about one mile out, the weather suddenly changed. Although the weather was not good, we didn't want to give up, but finally my friends and I agreed that we should go back. We tried to change the boat's direction, but as soon as we changed it, the oarlock (桨架)broke. Therefore, we were unable to turn back. We had to wait for help because we couldn't do anything.

After seeing the change of weather, we shouldn't have continued to row, but it was too late. We regretted(后悔) it. The sea changed a lot, the waves got very high, and the boat began to shake like a cradle(摇篮). One of my friends started to cry; another started to vomit(呕吐). Three hours passed, and nobody came to help us. We were just praying.

Fortunately, after five long hours of waiting, two big boats came to rescue us and we escaped. If they hadn't come to get us, we would have crossed the border between Turkey and Greece because the border was very close.

This story is the most exciting story of my life because we could have died, but luck was with us and we escaped.

1.What does the author mainly tell us in this passage?

A．An experience at sea.

B．An exciting experience when swimming.

C．The changeable weather at the seaside.

D．It is dangerous to boat at sea.

2.When did they begin to go boating in the sea?

A．In the morning.     B．In the afternoon.    C．In the evening.     D．At night.

3.What they regretted was that ______ when the weather changed.

A．they went camping at the seaside           B．they went on rowing

C．the waves got very high                   D．they started too late

4.One of his friends started to vomit because _________.

A．he came down with a disease              B．they stayed three hours at sea

C．the boat shook too much                  D．nobody came to help them

Although Thomas Edison created the technologies behind three major 21st century industries  electrical power，recorded music and movies—his greatest invention may have been the modern method of inventing．He basically came up with the modern system of research and development．Edison was not the only scientist doing research in his garage but someone who gathered around him a team of creative scientific minds．Edison’s 1aboratories were the forerunners（ 先驱）of Apple，Google and Microsoft．

Yet for a11 his scientific gifts，he was no Steve Jobs or Bill Gates．He once said，“Anything that won’ t sell，I don’ t want to invent．” But Edison，unlike Jobs or Gates，had no real sense of what the public wanted or how to change his discoveries into products that might sell．It took him years to understand that the phonograph（ 留声机）was not a business tool but an entertainment invention．He helped create movies but resisted the idea that people might want to go into a theater to watch one．

We chose Edison this year because we need his example now more than ever．Though we live in a time of great reformation，the U．S．is in danger of losing its advantage in science and technology．American investment（ 投资）in research and development has not increased as a percentage of GDP since the mid一1980s，while the government’ s share has been dropping．And this is at a time when China is rapidly increasing its money on research and development．The U．S．was once among the 1eading nations．Now it ranks near the bottom of the 23 nations that collect such data．We hope that Edison’ s story might not only encourage reformation but also inspire more

young Americans to study science and engineering．

The first paragraph is mainly about         .

    A．the number of Edison’ s great inventions

    B．Edison’ s special personal characters

    C．Edi son’ s modern system of research

    D．Apple．Google and Microsoft and their forerunners

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A．A11 the things Edison invented sold well．

    B．Edison wanted to invent things that sold well．

    C．Edison’ s inventions were not valuable for being unpopular．

    D．Edison had a gift for changing his discoveries into best sellers.

The author’ s main purpose is to    ．

      A．inform US of the danger the USA is in

      B．get young Americans to study science

      C．be in honor of Edison for his contributions

      D．tell US how important Edison’ s inventions are

We can infer from the text that    ．

    A．the USA is no 10nger advanced in science and technology

    B．the USA falls behind China in research and inventions

    C．more and more young Americans will be interested in science

D．China is spending more and more money on research and development

V Reading
Ellas’ story
My name is Ellas .I am a poor black worker in South Africa .The time when I first met Nelson Mandela was a very difficult period of my life .I was twelve years old . It was in 1952 and he had opened a black law firm to advise black poor people on their problems .
I began school at six . The school where I studied only two years was three kilometers away. I had to leave, because my family could not continue to pay the school fees and the bus fare .I could not read or write. After trying hard ,I got a job in a gold mine, This was a time when one had got to have a passbook to live in Johannesburg. Sadly I did not have this passbook because I was not born there and I was worried about whether I would be out of work.
The day when Nelson Mandela told me what to do and helped me was one of the happiest days of my life .He told me how to get the correct papers so I could stay in Johannesburg .I never forgot how kind he was and when he organized the ANC Youth League ,I joined it as soon as I could .He said:
“The last thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws stopping our rights and progress, until today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at all.”
It was the truth .Black people has no vote and could not choose who ruled them .The parts of town where they lived were places decided by white people .They could not get jobs they wanted .The places there they were sent to live were the poorest areas in South Africa .No one could grow food there .In fact as  Nelson Mandela said:
“…we were put in a position in which we had either to accept we were less important ,or fight the Government .We chose to attack the law .We first broke the law in a way which was peaceful ;when this was not allowed… only then did we decide to answer violence with violence.”
As a matter of fact, I do not like violence… but in 1963 I helped him blow up some government buildings .It was very dangerous because if I was caught I could be put in prison for years .But I was happy to help because I knew it was to realize our dream of making black and white people equal.
1 Read the text and answer the following questions.
1) When and where was the writer born?
2) What difficulty did he meet when he worked in a gold mine in Johannesburg?      
3 )why did Mandela organize the ANC Youth League?      
4 )What position were the black in and what did they do

Window
Bill and John，both seriously ill，lived in the same room at Marie Hospital．John lived next to the only window of the room and was allowed to  36 in his bed and watch for an hour every day．But Bill had to spend all his time  37 on his back．
They became friends soon and talked for hours every day．They spoke of their families，their children，their hobbies，and their  38 in the American army．Each day John would sit up and  39 to his roommate Bill what he could see outside the window．
Through John’s description，Bill’s world was  40 and brightened by all the activities and colors of the outside world．The window overlooked a beautiful park with a lovely  41 ,John told Bill．Ducks played on the water  42 children sailed their model boats．And a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance．As John described all these  43 ,Bill would close his eyes and  44 the picturesque scene．Bill was recovering  45 . However，John became weak day by day．
Late one night，Bill was lying in bed  46 the ceiling when John began to cough seriously．Then doctors and nurses rushed to the room．Thirty minutes later, John  47 coughing．Now，there was only silence—  48 silence．
The following morning，Bill was moved to the bed next to the window at his request．Slowly and
  49 ，he supported himself up on one elbow （胳膊）to take the first look．But to his  50 ，he could see nothing but a  51 wall．
Only at that moment did he begin to realize that the pursuit（追求）of happiness was a matter of  52 ．It was a positive attitude we chose to express．It was not a gift that was  53 to our doorstep each morning，nor did it come through the window．It was all inward journey．Whether a man is happy or not depends on his own thoughts  54 anything outward．
So Bill began to describe the  55 world to his new roommate that he saw through the only window of the room.

Dear Customers,

I love slipping (滑落) into a comfortable chair for a long read—as I relax into the chair, I also relax into the author’s words, stories and ideas. The physical book is so elegant that it disappears into the background, and what remains is the author’s world.

Today, we at Amazon are excited to announce Mindle, a wireless, portable reading device with instant access to more than 90,000 books, magazines and newspapers.

We’ve been working on Mindle for more than three years. Our top design objective was for Mindle to disappear in your hands—to get out of the way—so you can enjoy your reading. We also wanted to go beyond the physical book. Mindle is wireless, so whether you’re lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds. No computer is needed—you do your reading directly from the device.

We chose the same wireless technology used in advanced mobile phones. But unlike mobile phones, there are no monthly wireless bills, no service or data plans, and no yearly contracts. There is no software to install (安装，设置)。 We want you to get lost in your reading and not in the technology.

Mindle uses a new kind of display called electronic paper. Sharp and natural with no strong light, reading on Mindle is nothing like reading from a computer screen. Mindle weighs only 10.3 ounces—less than paperback—but can carry two hundred books.

Enjoy learning about Mindle and many thanks!

                                           Jeff Bezos Founder & CEO

1.This passage most probably is a(n)________.

A. advertisement

B. news story

C. lab report

D. letter of thanks

2.From the passage we learn that Mindle is a device which ________.

A. has neither wires nor weight

B. is operated by a computer

C. disappears while you read

D. can find a book within one minute

3.With the device, the reader is able to ________.

A. enjoy reading when driving a car

B. improve reading skills

C. gain access to free software

D. get rid of heavy books made of paper

4.Different from mobile phones, Mindle________.

A. has a much more friendly screen

B. can work in the absence of electricity

C. doesn’t involve regular bills

D. is wireless and can be used anywhere.