It is December 25th, 2050. The people in the city are all celebrating Christmas. I’m the mayor of our city. My citizens* and I are holding a big party under the sea, though you wouldn’t believe it. But please do not feel excited, you should feel sad because we have to live under the sea. Because of the pollution, the earth has been completely destroyed, from top to bottom. The atmosphere* has no oxygen* and moisture*. As a result, the plants are burned by the strong sunlight with a great number of harmful rays. Of course, none of them are still alive. Not only no green, but also the temperature reaches about 121℃ all day even in winter because there is too much CO2 circling the earth.

  On the land, there is no life. Luckily, the sea is not destroyed by human. So, we have to move into the sea. At the bottom of the water, people have built many new cities. There is a lot of advanced* equipment* in each city. Computers are used to control all the machines, even the people’s life. We can also make the seawater into fresh water. There are two machines making oxygen. If they stop working for only one minute, more than 10 million people will die.

The population of our city is over 30 million and, of course, it is quite crowded. We have lots of high buildings and bridges. The roads are wide, too. Our cars are miniature* UFOs, don’t be surprised, it is true. At the bottom of the sea you can’t see anything, because there is no light all day. However, we have advanced lighting equipment so that we can see the “sun” under the sea. Of course, the advanced lighting equipment is very expensive. And if it doesn’t work, we can see nothing under the sea. What should we do then?

1.Where are they holding a big Christmas party?

   A. On the land        B. Under the sea     C. In high buildings      D. On the road

2.What controls people’s life under the sea?

   A. Machines         B. Computers        C. Advanced equipment   D. Human beings

3.Why do people have to live under the sea in 2050 according to the passage?

   A. It is interesting to build cities and live under the sea.

B. We have advanced lighting equipment so that we can see the “sun” under the sea.

C. There is no oxygen and moisture around the earth as it is destroyed.

D. We can make oxygen under the sea with the high technology.

4.What can we learn from this article ?

   A. The plants are burned by the strong sunlight with a great number of useful rays.

B. There will be no lives in the world in 2050.

C. People prefer to live under the sea in 2050.

D. We should protect our environment instead of destroying it.

5.What might the best title for this passage be                 .

A. A Christmas In The Future                B. A City Under The Sea

C. The Underwater Life                     D. The Future Life Under The Water

A man had seven sons, who were always quarreling. They left their studies and work, to quarrel among themselves. Some bad men were looking forward to the death of their father, to cheat them out of their property(财产) by making them quarrel about it.

The good old man, one day, called his sons around him. He laid before them seven sticks, which were tied together. He said, “I will pay a hundred dollars to the one who can break this bundle(捆).”

Each one tried their best to break the bundle. After a long but useless efforts, they all said that it could not be done.

“And yet, my boys,” said the father, “nothing is easier to do.” He then untied the bundle, and broke the sticks, one by one, with perfect ease.

“Ah!” said his sons, “It is easy enough to do it so; anybody could do it in that way.”

Their father replied, “As it is with these sticks, so it is with you, my sons. So long as you hold fast together and help each other, you will be much richer, and none can harm you.

“But if the brotherhood bundle is broken, it will happen to you just as it has to these sticks, which lie there broken on the ground.”

Home, city, country, all are property found,

When they hold tightly together.

50. How many sticks does the old man ask his sons to break?

A. 2.　　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. 3.　　 　　　　　　 C.5.　　 　　 D. 7.

51. Why was the old man able to break the sticks?

A. Because his sons helped him to do so. 　　　　　　　　　　　

B. Because he was strong enough to do so.

C. Because he was wise enough to untie the bundle.

D. Because the sticks were no longer as strong as before.　

52. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The old man was going to die soon. 　

B. The sticks were used as a tool to teach the sons a lesson.

C. The sons were all too stupid to take care of their property.

D. some bad men might get the property away from the old man.