In June, 2007, a group of students from eight high schools in Winnipeg, the capital of Canada’s Manitoba province, will begin test-launching (试发射) a satellite the size of a Rubik’s cube.

The one-kilogram Win-Cub satellite, named for its home city and its shape, will be put into low orbit. Once in space, it can perform for a few months or up to several years, communicating information that could help find the signs of earthquakes.

There are 80 similar satellite projects worldwide, but this is the first high-school based program of its kind in Canada. 30 Manitoba high school students are having a hand in designing and building the satellite, in cooperation with aerospace (航空航天的) experts and 10 students from the University of Manitoba, and with support from two other organizations.

The Win-Cube project is not something that goes on a piece of paper; it is real-world engineering, allowing high school students to have an opportunity to learn more about the exciting world of engineering through their participation in this challenging program. It is also taken as a wonderful example of the unique partnerships within Manitoba. Designing, building and launching a satellite with high-school participation will bring this world-class educational project into reality and Manitoba closer to space

 “These Manitoba high school students deserve congratulations for their enthusiasm, innovation (创新), and a strong love for discovery,” said Education, Citizenship and Youth Minister Peter Bjomson. “We want to make science more relevant, interesting and attractive to high school students by showing them how classroom studies can relate to practical experience in the workplace or, in this case, in space,” Bjomson added. 

The Win-Cube program is mainly named at inspiring a strong desire for discovery on the part of the students. It also shows Manitoba’s devotion to research and innovation and the development of a skilled workforce—all important drivers of knowledge-based economic growth.

1. According to the passage, the Win-Cube satellite is        .

  A. named after Manitoba and its shape               

B. intended for international communication

  C. designed like a Rubik’s cube both in shape and size 

  D. challenged by university students around the world

2. According to Mr. Bjomson,        .

  A. those Manitoba high school students are worth praising

  B. the study of space can be practically made in classrooms

  C. Manitoba high schools are famous for the study of space

  D. scientific research is too far away from high school students

3. The primary purpose of the project is to        .

  A. find the early signs of earthquakes            

B. relate studies to practical

  C. help high school students study real-world engineering

  D. inspire a strong desire for discovery among the students

4. Which of the following statements is WRONG?

A. In Canada there are 80 similar satellite programs in all.

B. These students will have an opportunity to learn more about engineering through the project.

C. These high school will have a strong love for discovery and be interested in science.

D. This Win-Cube program is very successful in Canada.

5. The best title for this passage may be        .

A. Manitoba School                          B. Win-Cube Program

C. Space Co-operation                         D. Satellite Launching

Range

At present，there are five network firms---China Telecom，China Unicom，Jitong Communications，China Netcom and China Mobile---that are allowed to operate IP services in China．Each company has its advantages in service.

Charge

As the Ministry of Information Industry co-ordinates，the charges of IP calls of the five companies are the same，0.30 yuan per minute for DDD calls．4．80 yuan per minute for IDD calls，2.50 yuan for calls from the mainland to Hong Kong，Macao，and Taiwan，and 1.50 yuan from Shenzhen to HK，Zhongshan and Zhuhai to Macao．IP callers don’t enjoy discounts on holidays．

China Telecom has the widest coverage．All cities in China with telephone access and most countries in the world are open to China Telecom’s IP card．

China Unicom’s IP card can reach 29 cities nationwide and more than 130 countries and regions worldwide．Jitong IP can access(接通)12 cities in China and over 70 countries and regions worldwide．

China Netcom’s IP card can reach 14 cities in China and 149 countries and regions in the world.

China Mobile’s IP card is open to only six cities nationwide but can access more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.

Voice quality

China Telecom realizes its IP service by the public Intermet,therefore net congestion(拥挤)and voice delay may sometimes disturb conversations.The other four companies have their private data networks，which help to increase transmission speeds and improve voice quality.

Other services

China Telecom，Jitong and China Mobile offer account transfer services．Users can transfer the remaining sum of money on one card to another card.

Jitong and Netcom Link their services with bank cards．One can enjoy IP’s service without an IP card．Bank card users can make IP phone calls with their bank card numbers，so they needn’t buy new IP cards and remember the new numbers again and again．

As for customer service，China Telecom，China Unicom and China Mobile provide free hot line service，while Jitong and Netcom charge for their services.

1.Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?   

A．China Unicom charges IDD calls more than the other four firms．

B．China Mobile’s coverage is the least of the five firms．

C．China Telecom accesses many more cities nationwide than the other four．

D．China Netcom is the only one to be allowed to operate IP service．

2.If we want to access more foreign countries and regions with better voice quality，we’d better choose         IP card．

A．China Unicom’s

B．China Netcom’s

C．China Mobile’s

D．China Telecom’s

3.When enjoying IP service，         .

A．Jitong users needn’t buy IP cards

B．China Telecom users needn’t buy new IP cards

C．Netcom users have to link with a bank

D．China Mobile users have to pay for their hot line service

4.The passage mainly talks about         .

A．differences between the five IP fims

B．foundation of China’s five IP firms

C．development of China’s five IP firms

D．organization of the five IP firms

 

The amount of carbon taken in by growing plants increased from 1982 through 1999 as

temperatures rose and the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased. But a new study

in Friday ’ s edition of the journal Science found a drought - related decline in such plant growth

from 2000 to 2009，even though temperatures continued to climb.

As drought caused by warming reduces the land ’ s ability to take in carbon，the result could

be more carbon dioxide left in the atmosphere，and thus more warming，Zhao Maosheng from the

University of Montana explained in a telephone interview.

“This is a pretty serious warning that warmer temperatures are not going to endlessly improve

plant growth ’” co - author Steven Running，also from the University of Montana ’ said in a

statement. “ We see this as a bit of a surprise，and potentially significant on a policy level because

previous interpretations suggested global warming might actually help plant growth around the

world, “ he said.

Instead, he and Zhao found a small but measurable decline of about 1%，compared to a 6%

increase in the past decade.

Their study，based on the data collected by NASA satellites，found that north areas continued

to increase plant growth，thanks to warmer temperatures and a longer growing season.

Someone commented, "This past decade’ s net decline in earthly productivity suggests that a

complex relationship between temperature, rainfall, cloudiness, and carbon dioxide, probably in

combination with other factors such as nutrients (营养）and land management，will determine

future patterns and trends in productivity.，^，

1.From the first paragraph, we can learn in the recent decade or so.

A.     the emission(排放)of carbon hasn’ t been reduced

B.     draught has been causing loss of soil and water

C.     carbon dioxide levels have been rising

D.     the rise of temperature doesn' t promote the plant growth

2.Zhao Maosheng really worried that__ .

E.      more and more land will be abandoned

F.     the climate becomes warmer and warmer

G.    the emission of carbon dioxide increases

H.    draught further reduces the number of the plants

3.Steven Running made his statement to__ .

I.       confirm Zhao' s views on the influence of temperature rise

J.      urge the government to take necessary measures

K.     warn the people to strengthen the plant protection

L.     support Zhao* s views on lhe plant production

4. We can infer from the passage that______ .

A.     global warming will determine the future productivity

B.     various factors play a key role jointly on future productivity

C.     earthly productivity actually increased in the past decade

D.     temperature rise has had no effect on future producticity patterns

 

 

A new hotel is set to open in a faraway village in northern Sweden，which intends to change the simple treehouse into a world—class hotel for travelers who enjoy special designs．

       Treehotel，which lies in Harads about 60 km south of the Arctic Circle，will be made up of four rooms when it opens on July 17th：the Cabin，the Blue Cone，the Nest and the Mirrorcube．

       Two more are due to open in October—the UFO and A Room With a View．

       “Our goal in five years is to have 24 rooms from 24 different architects(建筑师)，”says Treehotel co-founder Kent Lindvall，who came up with the idea along with his wife Bfitta．

       The first six rooms were designed by five different architects. The Mirrorcube which stands four meters high and four meters wide has drawn widespread attention as it will be connected to a singletree．

       ‘‘It’s an interesting building．You cannot find anything like this in the world today．It’s really special，”says Lindvall，as he stands next to the room’s mirrored outer wall．

       ‘‘Everything will reflect(映照)in this—the trees，the birds，the clouds，the sun，everything．So it should be invisible nearly in the forest．’’

       Lindvall says a special film will be put onto the glass which will be seen by birds。

       ‘‘This is untouched forest and—we want to leave it as it is．"says Selberg，another co-founder．

       She adds．’’If we’re lucky we might see a bear．I think what’s exciting here is that we’re just 60 km below the Arctic Circle which means there’s a good possibility to have the northern lights in the winter and during the during the summer of course you have the midnight sun.”

The aim of Treehotel is “feel free in a tree” and the experience will cost up to 4,200 Swedish crowns ($555,50)for two guests in the Mirrorcube, which is designed to hold up to four guests.

What do we know about Treehotel in Harads from the text?

      A．The hotel will provide six rooms in July.

      B．It’s 60 km away from t11e Arctic Circle.

      C．It is specially designed by one architect．

      D．It was once all ordinary family treehouse．

Why is the Mirrorcube kown by many people?

      A．It will be joined to one tree only.

      B．It is in a distant village in Sweden．

      C．It’s designed by a famous architect.

       D．Its outer wall is covered with mirror.

A special film will be used to

       A．take in light    B．protect birds  C．seize animals         D．keep off bears

What is the text mainly about?

       A．A modem building．      B．A Swedish village．

       C．A faraway village． D．A special treehouse．

Nine out of 10 people have run up unsecured debt and many fear they will never be able to pay back what they owe, a survey has claimed.

       Around 89% of people aged between l|8 and 35 said they owed money on a credit card, loan or overdraft, the research showed．

       A third of people admitted they did not think- they would ever be debt-free, 54% of whom said they would always need to borrow money in order to fund the lifestyle they wanted．

       One in five of these people also claimed they were not worried about the possibility of their debts being passed on to their next of kin if they died before they were repaid．

       Just over half who owed money said they did not feel in control of their debt, with 8% admitting they had needed to ask for help with repayments from a friend or family member．Eight out of 10 people also told the research for discount website MyVoucherCodes．co．uk that they thought it was too easy to borrow money through their bank or on credit cards．

       Farhad Farhadi, MyVoucherCodes．co．uk’s personal finance expert, said: "The majority of British adults owe money m some way, shape or form, but to see that almost a third think they'll never be free c ^ from debt is quite alarming．

       "When borrowing money from any source, how you are going to repay it should always be in the back of your mind．

       "A lot of people don't-really think about 'die consequences of borrowing money and it can be easy to get complacent, but keeping it all under control should be a priority from the off．Only borrow what you really think you can afford to pay back．"

The best title for this passage is_________．

       A．I'll die in debt, say one in three     B．Desperate British

       C．The beginning of the end          D．Borrowing money from any source

Which of the following is NOT true?    

       A．Most British adults are in debt in some v/ay．

       B．It is hard for the British to borrow money through their bank．

       C．Lots of people do not take repaying money seriously．

       D．This passage is a warning for the British．

What does the underlined phrase mean?  

       A．end with                B．from the start  

      C．ever since              D．fore ever

What does Farhad mean by saying "the majority of British adults owe money in some way, shape or form"? 

       A．It is natural to owe money m Britain so there in no need to worry．

       B．It is natural to owe money in Britain as long as you are in control．

     C．It does not matter to owe money in Britain if you are rich enough．

       D．It seems that the British enjoy owing money in some way．