CHONGQING: A total

solar eclipse (日蚀） brought darkness to many places along the upper reaches of China’s

longest river, the Yangtze, at 9:15 am Wednesday. The moon’s shadow blocked out the sun, leaving only the solar corona (日冕) visible in west China’s Chongqing Municipality and Guang ’an City in neighboring Sichuan Province. The cities turned off many street lights to allow the public to better observe the total eclipse, which lasted about four minutes.

The July 22 eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st Century. It is expected to pass across China from Tibet to the coastal city of Shanghai, where 300 million people live. Millions of eclipse-watchers crowded to the banks of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers early Wednesday to observe the spectacle. However, the weather in many Chinese cities along the full solar eclipse path is not favorable for observing the phenomenon, according to the China Meteorological Administration’s (气象局) forecast at 8 am.

Zhu Jin, head of the Beijing Astronomical Observatory (天文观测台), said although overcast (阴天) conditions blocked the view along the lower stream of Yangtze, the shadow of the moon was visible moving behind the clouds. The full solar blackout could be seen at 9:30 am from an observatory site in Anji, east China’s Zhejiang Province, a site chosen by Jay Pasachoff, head of the Solar Eclipse Working Group of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), and more 200 astronomers from more than 20 countries. “The weather is clear enough to observe the complete duration of the solar eclipse here in Anji. The forecast of the time of the eclipse proved to be accurate, ” said Zhang Hongqi, chief researcher of the National Astronomical Observatories.

It was raining in Shanghai, when the eclipse occurred at 9:35 am. The city put extra police on streets, and more than 30 police ships patrolled (巡逻) the coast. Only street lamps were left on, as the city turned off all landscape lighting to allow people to watch the solar eclipse.

1. Which of the following is RIGHT?

A. More than 20 foreign astronomers observed the eclipse.

B. The eclipse is the longest one in the history.

C. The eclipse brought darkness to many places in China.

D. The weather was clear enough for people to observe the eclipse.

2. The best place to observe the full solar blackout at 9:30 am could be in___________.

A. Chongqing　　　 B. Sichuan

C. Zhejiang　　 D. Shanghai

3. The following has the same meaning as the underlined word EXCEPT____________.

A. went somewhere in large numbers

B. moved in a large crowd

C. gathered together

D. talked with each other excitedly

4. You can see the passage in a (n)__________.

A. newspaper 　　　　 B. guidebook

C. advertisement　　　 D. magazine

5. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Many cities turned off the lights on the streets to observe better.

B. The weather in some places isn’t favorable to observe the eclipse.

C. Shanghai sent out the police to observe the eclipse.

D. The eclipse attracted many astronomers from all over the world.

I received an invitation to dinner from my friend，and with my work 　　　　，I gladly accepted it.

Children find meanings in their old family tales.

When Stephen Guyer’s three children were growing up, he told them stories about bow his grandfather, a banker,　 1　 all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times　 2　 his strong-minded grandfather was nearly　 3　 , he loaded his family into the car and　 4　 them to see family members in Canada with a　 5　 ,“there are more important thins in life than money. ”

The 6　 took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to a　 7　 house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was 8　　 that his children ,a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset. To his surprise, they weren’t　 9　　 , their reaction echoed （共鸣） their great-grandfather’s. What they 10　 was how warm the people were in the house and how 11　　 of their heart was accessible.

Many parents are finding family stories have surprising power to help children　 12　 hard times. Storytelling expects say the phenomenon reflects a growing 13　　 in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in a storytelling events and festivals.

A university　 14　 of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids’ ability to Ks15　 parents’ stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

The 16　 is telling the stories in a way children can 17　　 . We’re not talking here about the kind of story that　 18　 , “When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow. ” Instead, we should choose a story suited to the child’s 19　 , and make eye contact （接触） to create “a personal experience”,. We don’t have to tell children

20 they should take from the story and what the moral is . ”

1. A. missed　 　 B. lost　 C. forgot 　 D. ignored

2. A. when　 B. while C. how　 D. why

3. A. friendless　 B. worthless C. penniless D. homeless

4. A fetched　 　 B. allowed　 C. expected D. took

5. A. hope　 B. promise　 C. suggestion 　 D. belief

6. A. tale　 B. agreement　 　 C. arrangement 　 D. report

7. A. large　 B. small　 　 C. new　 D. grand

8. A. surprised B. annoyed C. disappointed D. worried

9. A. Therefore B. Besides C. Instead D. Otherwise

10. A. talked about　 　 B. cared about C. wrote about D. heard about

11. A. much B. many C. little　 D. few

12. A. beyond　 B. over　 C. behind 　 D. through

13. A. argument B. skill　 　 C. interest D. anxiety

14. A. study　 　 B. design　 C. committee　 D. staff

15. A. provide　 B. retell　 C. support D. refuse

16. A. trouble　 B. gift C. fact　 D. trick

17. A. perform　 B. write C. hear D. question

18. A. means　 　 B. ends C. begins 　 D. proves

19. A. needs B. activities 　 C. judgments　 　 D. habits

20. A. that　 B. what　 C. which　 　 D. whom

James’s New Bicycle　

James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully __1__ the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! __2__ on earth was he going to get the __3_ of the money?　

He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was __4__ to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no __5__ asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to __6__.　

There was only one way to get money, and that was to __7__ it. He would have to find a job. __8__ who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice, who usually had __9__ on most things.　

“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr. Clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”　

That was the _10__ of James’s odd-job（零工） business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the __11__ of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the __12__ of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the __13__ increased and he knew that he would soon have __14__ for the bicycle he longed for.　

The day __15__ came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He __16__ no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode __17__ home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard __18__ for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more __19__ he had bought it with his own money. He had __20__what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.　

难易度：难

1. A. cleaned　　　 B. covered　　 C. counted　　　　 D. checked　

2. A. How　 B. Why　 C. Who　 D. What　

3. A. amount　 B. part　 C. sum　 D. rest　

4. A. brave　 B. hard　 C. smart D. unfair　

5. A. point B. reason　 C. result　 D. right　

6. A. split　 B. spend　 C. spare　 D. save　

7. A. borrow B. earn　 C. raise　 D. collect　

8. A. Or　 B. So　 C. For　 D. But　

9 A. decisions B. experience 　C. opinions D. knowledge　

10. A. beginning B. introduction　 C. requirement　 D. opening　

11. A. similarity B. quality　 C. suitability　 D. variety　

12. A. brand　 B. number C. size　 D. type　

13. A. effort　 B. pressure C. money D. trouble　

14. A. all　 B. enough　 C. much　 D. some　

15. A. finally B. instantly C. normally D. regularly　

16. A. gave　 B. left　 C. took　 D. wasted　

17. A. patiently B. proudly　 C. silently　 D. tiredly　

18. A. applying　 B. asking　 C. looking　 D. working　

19. A. since B. if　 C. than　 D. though　

20. A. deserved B. benefited C. achieved D. learned

We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects(缺陷) that can never be changed. “I’m impatient.” “I’m always behind.” “I always put things 　　1 !” You’ve surely heard them. Maybe you’ve used them to describe　　　 ___2　 .

These comments may come from stories about us that have been 　3　 for many years—often from 　4　 childhood. These stories may have no 　5　 in fact. But they can set low expectations for us. As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical (操作机械的) skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life.” How did these expectations　 6　 my development? I was never 　7　 to work on cars or be around　 8　 . When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test. My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!

Six years later,　 9　 , I was at California University, working on my doctors degree. One of my professors, Dr. Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do. On the positive side, I　 10　 down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking.” On the　 11　 side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills.”

Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills. I explained my life 　12 and told him about my 　13　 performance on the Army test. Bob then asked, “　 14　 is it that you can solve 　 15　 mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”

Suddenly I realized that I didn’t 　16　 from some sort of genetic defect. I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to 　17　 . At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been　 18　 my belief that I was mechanically hopeless. And it wasn’t just the Army test, either. I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true. 　19　 , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can do well in almost 　20　 we choose.

1. A. away 　　　　　 B. off 　　　　　　　 C. up 　　　　　　　　　 D. down

2. A. them 　　　　 B. myself 　　　　　 C. yourself 　　　　 D. others

3. A. said 　　　　　 B. spoken 　　　　　 C. spread 　　　　　 D. repeated

4. A. as long as 　 B. as far back as 　 C. as well as 　　　 D. as much as

5. A. basis 　　　　 B. plot 　　　　　　　 C. cause 　　　　　　　　　　 D. meaning

6. A. lead 　　　　　 B. improve　　　　　　 C. affect 　　　　　 D. change

7. A. encouraged B. demanded 　　 C. hoped 　　　　　 D. agreed

8. A. means 　　　 B. tools 　　　　　　 C. facilities 　　　　 D. hammers

9. A. therefore 　 B. somehow 　　　 C. instead 　　　　　 D. however

10. A. settled 　　 B. turned 　　　　　 C. took 　　　　　　　　　　 D. got

11. A. passive 　　　 B. active 　　　　　 C. negative 　　　　　 D. subjective

12. A. experiences 　　　 B. trips 　　　　　　　　　　 C. roads 　　　　　　 D. paths

13. A. unexpected B. poor 　　　　　　 C. excellent 　　　 D. average

14. A. When 　　　 B. What 　　　　　　 C. How 　　　　　　　 D. Why

15. A. complex 　 B. advanced　　　　　 C. common 　　　　 D. primary

16. A. arise 　　　　 B. separate　　　　　　 C. suffer 　　　　　 D. come

17. A. believe 　　 B. suspect 　　　　 C. adopt 　　　　　　 D. receive

18. A. weakening B. strengthening 　 C. abandoning 　 D. accepting

19. A. As a result 　　　 B. At the same time C. In addition 　　 D. On the contrary

20. A. anything 　　 B. something 　　 C. nothing 　　　　 D. all