We put together a list of the best American books．Here are five that have helped define（阐明,说明）the national character．Most are from a century or so ago．but they still entertain，teach，and inspire．

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

It was first published in 1851．It is about the adventures of Captain Arab as he searches for white whales．It draws us into a universe full of attractive characters and stories

The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1918 Adams came from one of America’s most famous political dynasties．In his book，he provided insights（洞悉）into his family, including his experience as private secretary to his father who was minister to England during the American Civil War．

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

It was published in 1855．Whiteman wanted to praise the new country in a new voice．By doing this he showed the great changes that had taken place in the American literary world during his lifetime．

Poems by Emily Dickinson

Dickson was all enthusiastic poet whose works have had a great influence on modem poetry．She often used dashes（破折号）and sporadic capitalization（零星的大写）of nouns．She was considered as one of the greatest American poets in the 19th century．

The song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It was first published in 1855 and is Longfellow’s most popular and most recognized poem．It is about the heroic life and death of a magic American Indian．

1．According to the passage，The education of Henry Adams______．

A．is about the author’s family’s experience   

B．shows readers a world full of fascinating stories   

C．was finished and won an award in 1918

D．mainly tells us about the American Civil War   

2．Walt Whiteman’s purpose in writing．Leaves of Grass was to______．

A．show the improvement of literature in the world

B．reflect（反映）mc great changes in America

C．praise the country in a new voice

D．Show people his talent and heroic life

3．If you want to learn some new ways of writing poems，yon should read a book written by______．

A．Walt Whiteman                                 B．Emily Dickinson

C．Henry Adams                                            D．Herman Melville

4．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Herman Melville was an enthusiastic poet and writer

B．Of the five books mentioned in the passage, four are poems

C．Leaves of Grass and The Song of Hiawatha were published in the same year

D．Of the five books mentioned in the passage，Moby Dick was published last．

The Mysterious Universe

By Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop

How did the universe begin? How big is it? What is dark matter? Cosmologist（宇宙哲学家）and expert supernova（超新星）hunter Alex Filippenko hopes that supernovas can help us answer some of these questions. But first we’ve got to find them! Join Alex and his team as they go on the hunt with huge telescopes and banks of computers.

The Time and Space of Uncle Albert

By Russell Stannard

What would you say if your uncle asked you whether you would like to go into space? You’d say, “When do I leave?”, just like the girl in this story. Gedanken is speeding across the universe trying to help her uncle answer some questions, such as “How big is space?” and “Where does gravity come from?” Along the way she also discovers how to get heavier without getting fat, how to live forever without knowing it, and the strange things that can happen when you go really fast.

George’s Secret Key to the Universe

By Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking

When George chases his pet pig through a hole in the fence, little does he expect that he will soon be riding a comet（彗星）around Saturn（土星）. But just as he discovers the joys of space exploration with the computer Cosmos, which can open doors anywhere in the universe, everything starts to go wrong. When George’s lest-favorite teacher steals Cosmos and traps his friend’s dad in a black hole, can George set things right in time?

A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky

By Michael Driscoll

With a telescope or without one, this book can get you started exploring planets, stars and even strange stuff like time, space, and black holes. The universe is a big place, but this book comes with a handy star finder that you can take out with you at night to help you find your way around the stars. Look up and discover the universe!

1.According to the text, Alex Filippenko ______.

A. invented huge telescopes

B. is looking for supernovas

C. doesn’t need many computers

D. knows a lot about dark matter

2.What do we know about George’s Secret Key to the Universe？

A. It is a sad story

B. It is about a pet pig

C. It is a co-authored book

D. It is based on a real life story.

3.Which book would you read if you want to know about gravity?

A. The Mysterious Universe

B. The Time and Space of Uncle Albert

C. George’s Secret Key to the Universe

D. A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky.

4.What do the four books have in common?

A. They have the same topics?

B. They are intended for adults.

C. They have the same number of characters

D. They leave many questions to the readers

Should we try to contact and make friends with other beings in the universe? Certainly not，says British physicist Stephen Hawking．
“If aliens（creatures from other planets）ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans,’’ said the 68-year-old disabled scientist in a new Discovery documentary (纪实性电视节目) on April 25．
The program pictures an imagined universe where other life forms in huge spaceships hunt for resources after using up all those on their home planets．
“Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads(游牧民)，looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach，”warned Hawking．
On the probability of other life forms existing, he says, “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly reasonable.”
Hawking’s concerns have frightened some people and been met with disagreement from other researchers．Paul Davies, author of the book Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence，thinks Hawking’s reasoning is wrong.
He argues that since Earth is about 4.5 billion years old，if intel1igent life is likely , communities of other beings may have been there for a very long time．
“If resources are the factor, then at least one group of aliens would surely have visited Earth as a destination mil1ions of years ago．
Even if other life forms do come to Earth in the near future, Davies believes comparisons with are wide of the mark(离谱的).
68. What is the article mainly about? 
A. Other life forms coming to our planet．
B. Scientific evidence of other life forms．
C. Earth as the only place where human beings can survive．
D. Hawking’s belief that other life forms may exist in the universe．
69. Which of the following ideas is opposed to Hawking’s view?
A. Other life forms exist in the universe．
B. 0ther life forms may be more intelligent than human beings．
C. We should try to contact other 1ife forms from other planets．
D. Other life forms may exist in more than one part of the universe．
70. Paul Davies didn’t agree with Stephen Hawking ,believing that ________．
A. the universe is running out of resources
B. humans are the best creatures in the universe.
C. it is a good idea to avoid meeting with other life forms   
D. Davies doesn’t think it proper to compare aliens with Columbus
71. Hawking referred to Christopher Columbus as an example to ____．
A. inspire interest in the universe      
B. draw attention to other planets in the universe
C. warn people to watch out for other life forms
D. urge further exploration of the universe~

“How to Train Your Dragon” by British author Cressida Cowell is one of the best pieces of children’s literature. A child can make a whole alternative universe with a vivid imagination and Toothless, the hero’s hunting dragon, thus turning a rainy day into an adventure of a lifetime. However, if you have never read the book but instead choose to see the film version, you might think you were seeing a new-age war movie meant for adults rather than children.

Let’s look at “Where the Wild Things Are” for further discussion. The story centers around a lonely eight-year-old boy named Max, who sails away to an island. Creatures living there declare Max their king.

What an amazing piece of children’s literature! A treasure for every child’s library. Yet, children were crying in the movie theatre. Owls were falling from the sky, chicken’s arms were being torn off, and a child was running around a dark abandoned world fighting evil as the only human. It was almost as if Hollywood could not imagine children enjoying a movie for its basic literature content. Hollywood might be right. But more and more its audiences are complaining that there is an increased amount of violence in children’s stories today than in the past.

While there appears to be a trend in our society to make more violence more accessible to younger children, books and literature are generally an exception. I truly believe that children’s literature has become more vivid, and more colorful. This is a great treasure for the children, and is certainly not violent. What has changed the children’s stories of today is not the writers, but the film industry. In some way, children’s literature is just being strangely twisted. I wonder how much influence the author have over this.

1.The Text is mainly about ________.

A. two good books for children                            

B. how a book is adapted into a film

C. whether children should go to movies

D. whether children’s literature is getting more violent

2.It can be inferred that the film “Where the Wild Things Are” is _______.

A. moving          B. frightening                       C. interesting                       D. amazing

3.According to the text, the author thinks that ________.

A. the film industry’s treatment of children’s literature is wrong

B. writers should provide more colorful works for children

C. there is an increase in violence in children’s literature

D. children should read books rather than see films.

4.How does the text mainly develop?

A. By inferring.                                       B. By giving explanations.

C. By providing examples.                    D. By making comparisons.

Should we try to contact and make friends with other beings in the universe? Certainly not，says British physicist Stephen Hawking．

“If aliens（creatures from other planets）ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans,’’ said the 68-year-old disabled scientist in a new Discovery documentary (纪实性电视节目) on April 25．

The program pictures an imagined universe where other life forms in huge spaceships hunt for resources after using up all those on their home planets．

“Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads(游牧民)，looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach，”warned Hawking．

On the probability of other life forms existing, he says, “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly reasonable.”

Hawking’s concerns have frightened some people and been met with disagreement from other researchers．Paul Davies, author of the book Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence，thinks Hawking’s reasoning is wrong.

He argues that since Earth is about 4.5 billion years old，if intel1igent life is likely , communities of other beings may have been there for a very long time．

“If resources are the factor, then at least one group of aliens would surely have visited Earth as a destination mil1ions of years ago．

Even if other life forms do come to Earth in the near future, Davies believes comparisons with are wide of the mark(离谱的).

68. What is the article mainly about? 

A. Other life forms coming to our planet．

B. Scientific evidence of other life forms．

C. Earth as the only place where human beings can survive．

D. Hawking’s belief that other life forms may exist in the universe．

69. Which of the following ideas is opposed to Hawking’s view?

A. Other life forms exist in the universe．

B. 0ther life forms may be more intelligent than human beings．

C. We should try to contact other 1ife forms from other planets．

D. Other life forms may exist in more than one part of the universe．

70. Paul Davies didn’t agree with Stephen Hawking ,believing that ________．

A. the universe is running out of resources

B. humans are the best creatures in the universe.

C. it is a good idea to avoid meeting with other life forms   

D. Davies doesn’t think it proper to compare aliens with Columbus

71. Hawking referred to Christopher Columbus as an example to ____．

A. inspire interest in the universe      

B. draw attention to other planets in the universe

C. warn people to watch out for other life forms

D. urge further exploration of the universe~