How would you like an easy way to earn $2,500? All you have to do is to sit around and wait for your meals. There's a catch however. You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week. There are no books or television or radio for amusement. You can't leave until the week is up. And a camera will be recording your every move.

  Two people actually took the job. The idea came from Rob Thompson, a video artist. He wanted to make a film about the way animals are  treated. His goal was  to raise people's awareness of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food.

He decided to pay $5,000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to live like chickens for a week.

  To Rob’s surprise, quite a few people answered his advertisement. He had interviewed and selected Eric, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, and Para, a 24-year-old chemist. The plan was for them to spend seven days together in a chicken cage that was six feet long and three feet wide. A camera would record their experiences, which would take place in an art museum.

  The week was long and difficult. They slept on a hard wooden floor. They couldn't stand up without hanging their heads. They ate vegetables and drank water from a garden hosepipe. Their only privacy was a toilet surrounded by a curtain. There were no sinks, mirrors, or toothbrushes in the cage. Their only inspiration was the two framed checks that hung on the wall outside the cage. Visitors who came here were warned, “Do not feed the humans.”

   Finally it was over, and Para and Eric appeared from their cage. They had survived the week, and they each had a $2,500 check in their hands. When Rob Thompson opened the cage,  Eric  came  out,  changed  into  clean clothes, and ate a chocolate bar right away. “It's great to be able to stand up,” he said. Para just changed her clothes and left. After a week of visitors and reporters watching her, she

didn't want to talk to anyone.

1.What kind of person is Rob Thompson?

   A. He is curious about people's personal life.

   B. He is kind-hearted to animals.

   C. He hates people around.

   D. He likes to help poor people.

2.The underlined word “catch” probably means _____.

   A. unsolved problem                                  B. surprising wonder

   C. unbelievable fact                                    D. hidden difficulty

3.Rob offered the money because he wanted _____ .

   A. to see if there were any people who would like to live in a cage

   B. to show the public how terrible animals' life could be

   C. to make more money by publishing the recorded videotapes

   D. to improve housing conditions of working people like Eric

4.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

   A. Easy Way to Earn $ 2,500.                     B. Do Not Feed the Humans.

   C. Living Like a Chicken.                    D. Getting Along Well Anyway.

 

 

As you may expect, life in space is much different from life on earth. So of course people need some time to get used to it. How do they live, work and play up there?

         Space food keeps getting more like the food we eat at home on the earth. In the past, astronauts could eat only freeze-dried food. But now the space station has water, microwave ovens and fridges. So astronauts can eat more usual kinds of food, like fruit, vegetables and ice cream!

         All people in the ISS（国际空间站）have their own rooms. There’s no gravity, so they have to attach themselves to their beds, or they’ll float away! That may seem like a hard way to sleep, but astronauts say that sleeping in space is actually not too bad.

         This is more important in space than on Earth. There’s not much gravity in space. Astronauts don’t stand up, sit down or walk in space, so their muscles don’t have to work much. They exercise on bikes and other machines for about two hours every day while they’re in space. In this way, they can still keep strong and healthy when they get back home.

         Easy things like brushing your teeth can be hard in space with low gravity. Water doesn’t flow out of a tap, it floats in a bubble（水泡）! Astronauts used a special hose（软管）to take showers. And when they’re finished, they use a vacuum（真空的）hose to suck the dirty water off of their bodies. How do you go to the toilet in space? They use a special “air toilet”. It uses air, not water, to take everything away.

         What do astronauts do when they aren’t working? They read books, play cards, listen to music or send e-mail to their friends and family. Sometimes they just sit and look out the window. Doesn’t sound like much fun? But what if you could see planet Earth out of your window, with a sunset or sunrise every 45 minutes?

1． Which of the following can be the title of this passage?

         A. Life In Space.        B. Space Food. C. Showers In Space.        D. A Visit To Space

2．From this passage we know that _______.

         A. astronauts eat quite different food in space from what they eat on the earth

         B. astronauts ate only fruit in space in the past

         C. astronauts can only eat freeze-dried food now

         D. astronauts can only eat fruit and vegetables now

3．Astronauts attach themselves to bed so as to ________.

         A. keep themselves warm                                             B. prevent themselves from floating away

         C. have a good sleep                                                       D. feel better

4．Astronauts have to do exercise for two hours every day because ________.

         A. they have nothing to do in space                  B. they are told to do so

         C. they do so to keep healthy                              D. they do so to prevent them from sleeping

5．From the last paragraph we can guess that ________.

         A. the sun moves fast around the earth

         B. the earth circles round the sun very fast

         C. the earth is very small

         D. the spaceship circles round the earth once every 90 imnutes

 

Homelessness is a huge problem all over the world. It’s said that each day there are about 1 million people living on the streets in the US. It is a serious problem which should be dealt with effectively.
There are two main reasons for people leaving their homes: poverty and less affordable houses due to bad economic conditions. Other reasons include: domestic violence, divorce, and mental illness. Living without a home makes people main targets of violence activities and besides, these homeless people have to face the following difficulties on a daily basis.
They have to move about, carrying their belongings, which makes it difficult for the charity and the government to help them. They have limited access to bathrooms and restrooms and are forced to live in dirty conditions, making them easy to be attacked by diseases. They have limited access to health-care facilities in case of emergency, and almost no access to education as they have no money. They are often ill-treated by society, which makes them unfriendly, often ending up being involved in activities connected with crime like selling drugs or guns.
Homelessness is not something that happened overnight --- it has been in the country for decades. The society usually believes those living on the street to be mentally unstable. This belief is partially true. Most of them are normal people just like you and me.
The federal government is doing all it can to help but it is not enough, so the ordinary citizens have to stand up and try to help whenever it’s possible. There are various organizations, such as charity organizations that are working constantly to make sure that homeless people find a shelter to live in. the united efforts have helped millions of people return to their normal lifestyle. However, there is still a long way to go before a better situation is created for all the homeless.
【小题1】Homeless people suffer from all the following except __________.

A．violent activities

B．disease attack

C．moving a lot

D．heavy work

【小题2】The homeless are usually treated as __________.

A．having mental problems	B．a danger to society
C．physically disabled people	D．being too lazy to do anything

【小题3】Which of the following are mentioned to help solve the problem of the homeless?
① the government ② homeless people ③ charity organizations ④ the ordinary citizens

A．①②③

B．①③④

C．①②④

D．②③④

【小题4】What can we learn from the passage?

A．Most homeless people died of hunger and cold.

B．The homeless should work hard to change their own situation.

C．The homeless problem is a serious problem that need solving effectively.

D．The homeless people have nothing to take when they move about.

I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling（叛逆）．I wish it were so．At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents．You should be learning to stand on your own feet．But take a good look at the present rebellion．It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents．Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching(紧握）at one another's hands for reassurance．

They claim they want to dress as they please．But they all wear the same clothes. Then set off in new directions in music．But somehow they all end up with listening to the same record together．Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that many people are doing it．They have come out of their cocoon（茧） into a larger cocoon．

It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and go his or her own way．Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market．These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be． 

And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children．All this adds to a great barrier(障碍） for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path．

But the barrier is worth climbing over．The path is worth following, You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party．You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records．You may have some thoughts 'that you don't care to share with your classmates at once, well, go to it．Find yourself．Popularity will come-with the people who respect you for who you are．That is the only kind of popularity that really counts．

1.In this passage, the author wants to tell         .

A．teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves

B．readers how to be popular with people around

C．parents how to control and guide their children

D．people how to understand and respect each other

2.According to the author, many teenagers think they are brave enough to act on their own, but in fact, most of them            ．

A．have much difficulty understanding each other

B．lack confidence

C．dare not cope with （处理） problems single-handed

D．are much afraid of getting lost

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．There is no popularity that really counts．

B．What many parents are doing is helping their children find their own paths．

C．It is bad for a teenager to disagree with his or her classmates．

D．Most teenagers claim that they want to do what they like to, but they are actually doing the same．

4.What does the author think of advertisements?

A．Convincing．               B．Influential.

C． Instructive．              D．Authoritative（权威的）．

5.During the teenage years, one should learn to       .

A．differ from others in as many ways as possible

B．get into the right reason and become popular

C．find one's real self

D．rebel against parents and the popularity wave

 

短文改错（本题有10小题，每小题1分，共10分）

Dear Mum and Dad,

    I expect you are surprised at hearing from me so soon.

The fact is I can’t come home this Saturday                            76.          

as I plan. I have had an accident and hurt my                           77.          

back, and it is not serious. What happened was                         78.          

this. I was riding in the street with Mike when                          79.         

I felt down and lay on my back. I thought it a                          .80         

great joke at the first. But when I tried to stand up,                   81.         

I felt a pain on my back and could hardly move.                       82.         

  Don’t worry about me. Mike and his family is               83.         

so kind to me. I will better soon and there is no need                    85.         

for you to come there. I will write to you again soon.               85.