The greatest wonder of the natural world

When I arrived, it was early morning and it was raining. I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a path. In the east, the sky was becoming light, but beside the path, it was still very dark. I knew it was there, but there was nothing to see.

After about a kilometer, a stranger appeared in front of me. “Am I going the right way?” I asked. He knew where I was going. “Yes,” he replied. “you’ll get there in five minutes.” Finally, I came to some rocks, and stopped. I looked carefully over them, but it was still too dark to see anything.

Suddenly, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped. The sun rose behind me and beyond the rocks. I saw that the ground fell away and down to a river, far below me. I was on the edge of the Grand Canyon(大峡谷), one of the wonders of the natural world.

I looked down to the Colorado Riv er about 2 kilometers below me. If you put three tallest buildings in the world at the bottom of the canyon, they still won’t reach the top. Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon. How far is it? It’s 20 kilometers, maybe more. Finally, I looked to my left and to my right, and on both sides of the canyon disappeared into the distance…over 400 kilometers long. The Grand Canyon is not just big. It’s huge!

That morning on the edge of the canyon. I asked myself a question. It’s not “How deep is it?” or “How wide is it?” or “How long is it?” but “ Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder anywhere in the natural world?” I know the answer. But what do you think?

71. The passage may come from ____________________.

   A. a guidebook      B. a grammar book       C. a diary        D. a dictionary    

72. The writer was facing to the ___________ on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

   A. west           B. north           C. east             D. south

73. The writer asked himself a question about the Grand Canyon, “_____________”

   A. How deep is it?         B. How wide is it?  

C. How long is it?         D. Is it the greatest wonder?

74. According to the passage, which sentence is not right?

   A. The Grand Canyon is taller than three tallest buildings in the world.

   B. The Grand Canyon is much longer than 400 kilometers.

   C. The Colorado River was about 2 kilometers below the writer.

   D. The writer thinks the Colorado River is the greatest wonder of natural world.

75. The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is____________________.

   A. to give facts about the Grand Canyon

   B. to tell how he feels about the Grand Canyon

   C. to describe the Grand Canyon

   D. to tell people to visit the Grand Canyon       

The greatest wonder of the natural world

When I arrived, it was early morning and it was raining. I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a path. In the east, the sky was becoming light, but beside the path, it was still very dark. I knew it was there, but there was nothing to see.

After about a kilometer, a stranger appeared in front of me. “Am I going the right way?” I asked. He knew where I was going. “Yes,” he replied. “you’ll get there in five minutes.” Finally, I came to some rocks, and stopped. I looked carefully over them, but it was still too dark to see anything.

Suddenly, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped. The sun rose behind me and beyond the rocks. I saw that the ground fell away and down to a river, far below me. I was on the edge of the Grand Canyon(大峡谷), one of the wonders of the natural world.

I looked down to the Colorado Riv er about 2 kilometers below me. If you put three tallest buildings in the world at the bottom of the canyon, they still won’t reach the top. Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon. How far is it? It’s 20 kilometers, maybe more. Finally, I looked to my left and to my right, and on both sides of the canyon disappeared into the distance…over 400 kilometers long. The Grand Canyon is not just big. It’s huge!

That morning on the edge of the canyon. I asked myself a question. It’s not “How deep is it?” or “How wide is it?” or “How long is it?” but “ Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder anywhere in the natural world?” I know the answer. But what do you think?

71. The passage may come from ____________________.

　 A. a guidebook　 　 B. a grammar book 　　 C. a diary 　　　 D. a dictionary 　

72. The writer was facing to the ___________ on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

　 A. west 　　　　　B. north　　　　 　C. east　　　 　　 D. south

73. The writer asked himself a question about the Grand Canyon, “_____________”

　 A. How deep is it?　 　　　　　　　 B. How wide is it?　

C. How long is it? D. Is it the greatest wonder?

74. According to the passage, which sentence is not right?

　 A. The Grand Canyon is taller than three tallest buildings in the world.

　 B. The Grand Canyon is much longer than 400 kilometers.

　 C. The Colorado River was about 2 kilometers below the writer.

　 D. The writer thinks the Colorado River is the greatest wonder of natural world.

75. The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is____________________.

　 A. to give facts about the Grand Canyon　 　 B. to tell how he feels about the Grand Canyon

　 C. to describe the Grand Canyon　　　　 　 D. to tell people to visit the Grand Canyon　　　

These days, cars are designed using computers. Let’s look at how a new car is created.
First, several designers talk about the new car and any good ideas that they have. Then they sit down at their computers and draw many sketches. The best two or three drawings are chosen and then more detailed(细节的，详情的) drawings of cars are developed on the computer. You can change the size, shape or color of any part on the computer to see how the car would look and then (73 ) you can choose the best design.
Both the inside and the (71) ________of the car have to be designed. Part of the inside of the car is built so that the designers can sit in it. They can feel if there is enough room inside and if they can reach everything. Then some cars are built—there are more than 15 000 parts of a car to test.
(74) When everything is safe, the cars are made in the factory. Again, computers are used to make sure that all the parts are ready as they are needed. （72）The factory usually stays open all through the night so that the car production never stops.
【小题1】Fill in the missing word:
“Both the inside and the _____________of the car have to be designed.”
【小题2】The underlined phrase “stays open” means______________________. (Only in English）
【小题3】“You can choose the best design.” means:
The best design can __________  __________.
【小题4】Please translate the following sentence into Chinese:
“When everything is safe, the cars are made in the factory.”
__________________________________________________________________________
【小题5】The main idea of the passage is
____________________________________________________________________.

A small town named Bundanoon in Australia has decided to stop the sale of bottled water(瓶装水). They say that bottled water can cause environmental problems. Too many resources(资源) are used to make bottled water. When people finish drinking the water, the bottles will be thrown away and go into dustbins. So they require local people in the town to stop buying bottled water and use tap water to drink. Visitors are encouraged to get water from water stations in the main streets, and fill the water in bottles that can be used again. The decision has been supported(支持) by all the shopkeepers in the town. Bundanoon is the world’s first town that has got its shop selling bottled water. Probably we should follow the example. Let’s stop buying bottled water and use tap water！

Australian Town Bans(禁止) Bottled Water
Where bottled water is first banned	A small town with the ____61_______ Bundanoon
___62_____ bottled water is banned	To help solve environmental problems
What local people use for ______63____	Tap water, not bottled water
The place which visitors get water ___64	Water stations in the main streets
Other people who have supported the plan	______65____ the shopkeepers in the town

任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。（每空一词）

Studying abroad is an amazing experience, especially when you come to Australia as an overseas high school student. You can have a lot of fun here, especially on holidays.
There are many festivals in Australia. The most important one is obviously Christmas. Each year, the summer holidays at every high school last about two months from the beginning of December to February,  which covers the Christmas time. Since it is a long holiday, most overseas students love to fly back to their home countries to spend the time with their fami­lies and friends, but a few students still stay in Australia during the holiday to get part-time jobs. It is quite easy to find a part-time job at Christmas. Students often take part in another major social activity. They go to the beach to have fun in the sunshine. The summer in Australia is from December to February, so going to the beach in December is very popular among Australians.
Easter in March is another important holiday in the year. It actually combines(使结合) “Good Friday” and “Easter Monday”. Almost every shop closes on Good Friday. And people usually go to see Easter Show.
The Chinese New year is not a public holiday in Australia, so every Chinese student still continues to go to school to study and do his or her normal duties.

【小题1】 in Australia
When does summer begin in Australia?	In  【小题2】
In which season is Christmas in Australia?	In  【小题3】 .
What’s  【小题4】  activity in December in Australia?	【小题5】to the beach and  【小题6】 sunshine.
What do people do on Good Friday and Easter?	People   【小题7】 go shopping, but 【小题8】 go to see Easter show.
What do Chinese students do during the spring festival in Australia?	They   【小题9】  to do their   【小题10】 things.