The ISS project is a partnership of five - the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.

At the moment, no program for its use nor any money has been put in place to support the platform beyond 2015.  

One of the biggest issues stopping an agreement on station-life extension（延长期） is the human spaceflight examination ordered by US President Barack Obama.

The Americans are developing a new vision for space exploration, and the rockets and spacecraft they will need to start it. The future of US joining in the ISS is closely tied to the result of the examination.

Mr Dordain, the European Space Agency's (Esa) Director General, said no one partner in the ISS project could alone call an end to the platform. A meeting would be held in Japan later in the year where he hoped the partners could get something clearly going forward. He said it was also necessary the benefits（成效） were increased and the costs were reduced. Increasing the benefits could include finding new uses for the station.

Esa has called for ideas on how to use the ISS as a platform for Earth observation（观测站）. Mr Dordain said the agency had received about 20 very good proposals.

On the issue of reducing costs, there were many ideas on the table, he explained.

He also questioned whether it was necessary for the station to have six astronauts at all times. If there were periods when little maintenance（维修） was required or the experiment load was light, could the ISS run on a smaller group of people, he suggested.

Construction of the space station should finish this year. Next month, two components built in Europe - a connecting node and a robotic control room - will be flown to the platform by the US shuttle Endeavour.

Tranquility and the Cupola, as they are known, will complete the non-Russian side of the ISS.

1.Why will America joining in the ISS be tied to the result of the examination?

A．Because America is the greatest power among them

B．Because America provides most of the money

C．Because they need America’s rockets and spacecraft

D．Because Obama ordered the human spaceflight examination

2.According to Mr Dordain, how should they do to reduce costs?

A．To find new uses for the station

B．To make little maintenance

C．To reduce the experiment load

D．To have fewer astronauts sometimes

3.Where do you think you can read this passage?

A．In a story book                         B．In a handbook

C．In an advertisement                     D．In a newspaper

Introduction to Letters to Sam

Dear Reader,

     Please allow me to tell you something before you read this book．When my   1, Sam, was born, my heart was filled with joy．I had been sitting in a wheelchair for 20 years before then, and I have been  2ill many times．So I wondered if I would have the  3to tell Sam what I had  4.

     For years I have been hosting a program on the  5and writing articles for a magazine． Being  6to move freely, I have learned to sit still and keep my heart  7, exchanging thoughts with thousands of listeners and  8．So when Sam was born, I  9to tell him about school and friendship, romance and work, love and everything else．That’s how I started to write these  10．I hope that Sam would  11them sooner or later.

     However, that expectation  12when Sam showed signs of autism (自闭症) at the age of two．He had actually stopped talking before the discovery of the signs．He  13to communicate with others, even the family members．That was  14for me but didn’t stop me writing on．I realized that I had even   15now to tell him．I wanted him to  16what it means to be “different” from others, and learn how to fight against the misfortune he’ll  17as I myself, his grandfather, did．I just  18if I could write all that I wanted to say in the rest of my life.

     Now,   19the book has been published, I have been given the chance．Every chapter in the book is a letter to Sam: some about my life, and all about what it means to be a   20.

                                                                 Daniel Gottlieb

1.A．son                         B．nephew               C．brother                D．grandson

2.A．seriously                  B．mentally              C．slightly                D．quietly

3.A．ability                      B．time                    C．courage               D．responsibility

4.A．written                    B．suffered              C．observed             D．lost

5.A．radio                       B．television             C．stage                   D．bed

6.A．ready                      B．unable                 C．anxious               D．eager

7.A．warm                      B．broken                C．closed                 D．open

8.A．hosts                       B．visitors                C．readers                D．reporters

9.A．began                      B．stopped               C．forgot                 D．decided

10.A．letters                    B．emails                 C．books                 D．diaries

11.A．find                       B．read                    C．collect                 D．keep

12.A．developed              B．disappeared          C．changed              D．arrived

13.A．tried                      B．refused                C．regretted             D．hoped

14.A．exciting                 B．acceptable           C．strange                D．heartbreaking

15.A．less                       B．everything           C．more                   D．nothing

16.A．understand             B．explain                C．believe                D．question

17.A．fear                       B．face                    C．know                  D．cause

18.A．felt                        B．guessed               C．saw                    D．doubted

19.A．as                         B．once                   C．though                D．if

20.A．teacher                  B．child                   C．man                    D．writer

 Just like your stomach, even your mind is hungry. But it    36   lets you know,because you keep it   37   thinking about your dream lover, favorite star and many   38not-so-worthy things. So it silently begins to focus on your needs and never let   39grow. When mind loses its   40   to grow, creativity gets a full stop. Hunger of the mindcan be actually satisfied   41   plenty of reading. Now   42   reading and not watchingTV?    43    reading has been the most educative tool    44    by us right from the childhood. Just like that, to   45   other aspects of our life, we have to take help of reading. You have countless books in this world which   46   answer all your questions. Once you read a book, not only do you   47   your eyes through the lines, but your mind decodes (译解) it and   48   it to you. The interesting part of the book is   49   in your mind as a seed. Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new   50  . The same seed if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things,   51   which you would have never thought in your wildest dreams! This is   52   but creativity. More the number of books you read, your mind will   53  like never before.Also this improves your speaking skills greatly and   54   your vocabulary largely. Within no   55  , you start speaking English or any language fluently with your friends or other people and you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time.

　　Jules Verne's most famous book is “Twenty Thousand League under the Sea”.  (A “league” is an old word   1   about three miles.) In those days submarines (潜水艇) had not been   2  but he describes an underwater ship very like a modem    3   The captain of the submarine in this book   4   Captain Nemo (which means “no man”) and he and his men have    5   strange adventures and find many strange things    6   the bottom of the ocean. This book has been made into a film.   7   you have seen it.

　　  In all his books Jules Veme used his scientific knowledge as well as his imagination in describing future inventions.   8  he was wrong, of course, but    9   the accuracy (准确) of his descriptions is very clever.

　　  He was a very good   10   .  His characters often   11    surprising and sometimes impossible things but they always seemed   12   real people. Sometimes they are very likeable and amusing   13  . Two of these were Mr. Fogg, the hero of “Around the World  14   Eighty Days”,  and his servant.  In this book Mr. Fogg made a bet that he would travel   15   around the world in eighty days. This may seem easy to you. Nowadays we go around the world in   16   than eighty hours but in those days there were no planes or even cars. Mr. Fogg and his servant traveled in many different   17   , even on an elephant at one time! If you want to know whether Mr. Fogg won his bet or not, you   18   read the book. It has been written in   19   English which you can easily read. The book,  20   has been made into a film.

1. A. meaning　　　　      B. including　　　　    C. referring  　　　　     D. speaking

2. A. made　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. discovered　　　　   C. produced    　　　　　　   D. invented

3. A. ship      　　 　　   B. boat　　        　　  C. plane   　　    　　 D. submarine

4. A. is made　　       　　B. is called　　   　　      C. is cried　　 　　     D. is shouted

5. A. few　　 　　  　　　　B. any   　　   　　　　  C. many   　　   　　　　 D. little

6. A. in　　　　　　　　  B. near　　        　　  C. at   　　  　　　　 D. under

7. A. Perhaps       　　　　B. So   　　　　　　  C. Then  　　　　  　　 D. Since

8. A. Always　　　　　　  B. Seldom     　　　　  C. Some times 　　　　  D. Sometimes

9. A. still　　　　　　　　 B. always　　      　　  C. never 　　　　   　　 D. often

10. A. story-teller  　　   　　B. sailor 　　　　　　   　　  C. captain　　　　   D. pilot

11. A. wanted　　      　　B. made       　　　　  C. did    　　　　 　　 D. sent

12. A. are　　   　　　　 　　B. to be       　　　　  C. that　　　　　　  D. as if

13. A. characters   　　  　　B. women    　　   　　  C. men    　　　　　　  　　 D. children

14. A. in　　　　　　　　 B. for　　　　　　　　  C. on　　  　　 　　 D. during

15. A. in the way　　  　　　　　　  B. all the way　　 　　     C. by the way　　　　    D. on the way

16. A. much　　　　　　  B. little　　　　　　    C. many   　　    　　 D. less

17. A. roads　　　　   　　B. paths　　　　　　   C. ways     　　　　 D. countries

18. A, should　　  　　  　　B. would      　　　　  C. could    　　　　 D. might

19. A. simple       　　　　B. good　　 　　　　  C. correct  　　　　　　  　　 D. difficult

20. A. too　　　　　　    B. either　　　　　　   C. however　　　　  D. but

　　  In all his books Jules Veme used his scientific knowledge as well as his imagination in describing future inventions.   8  he was wrong, of course, but    9   the accuracy (准确) of his descriptions is very clever.

　　  He was a very good   10   .  His characters often   11    surprising and sometimes impossible things but they always seemed   12   real people. Sometimes they are very likeable and amusing   13  . Two of these were Mr. Fogg, the hero of “Around the World  14   Eighty Days”,  and his servant.  In this book Mr. Fogg made a bet that he would travel   15   around the world in eighty days. This may seem easy to you. Nowadays we go around the world in   16   than eighty hours but in those days there were no planes or even cars. Mr. Fogg and his servant traveled in many different   17   , even on an elephant at one time! If you want to know whether Mr. Fogg won his bet or not, you   18   read the book. It has been written in   19   English which you can easily read. The book,  20   has been made into a film.

1. A. meaning　　　　      B. including　　　　    C. referring  　　　　     D. speaking

2. A. made　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. discovered　　　　   C. produced    　　　　　　   D. invented

3. A. ship      　　 　　   B. boat　　        　　  C. plane   　　    　　 D. submarine

4. A. is made　　       　　B. is called　　   　　      C. is cried　　 　　     D. is shouted

5. A. few　　 　　  　　　　B. any   　　   　　　　  C. many   　　   　　　　 D. little

6. A. in　　　　　　　　  B. near　　        　　  C. at   　　  　　　　 D. under

7. A. Perhaps       　　　　B. So   　　　　　　  C. Then  　　　　  　　 D. Since

8. A. Always　　　　　　  B. Seldom     　　　　  C. Some times 　　　　  D. Sometimes

9. A. still　　　　　　　　 B. always　　      　　  C. never 　　　　   　　 D. often

10. A. story-teller  　　   　　B. sailor 　　　　　　   　　  C. captain　　　　   D. pilot

11. A. wanted　　      　　B. made       　　　　  C. did    　　　　 　　 D. sent

12. A. are　　   　　　　 　　B. to be       　　　　  C. that　　　　　　  D. as if

13. A. characters   　　  　　B. women    　　   　　  C. men    　　　　　　  　　 D. children

14. A. in　　　　　　　　 B. for　　　　　　　　  C. on　　  　　 　　 D. during

15. A. in the way　　  　　　　　　  B. all the way　　 　　     C. by the way　　　　    D. on the way

16. A. much　　　　　　  B. little　　　　　　    C. many   　　    　　 D. less

17. A. roads　　　　   　　B. paths　　　　　　   C. ways     　　　　 D. countries

18. A, should　　  　　  　　B. would      　　　　  C. could    　　　　 D. might

19. A. simple       　　　　B. good　　 　　　　  C. correct  　　　　　　  　　 D. difficult

20. A. too　　　　　　    B. either　　　　　　   C. however　　　　  D. but