A Train Floating On Air

A train that floats on air? It's not magic — it's magnets (磁). And it's close to reality.

       In Virginia USA the fall of 2002, a train with no wheels traveled on air and carried college students across their campus. In Japan, a whisper-quiet railway engine hovered and raced at 350 miles per hour using magnets and electricity as the power. And in China, a magnet train line linked Shanghai with nearby Pudong Airport.

These trains use magnetic levitation (悬浮) technology, “maglev” for short. They use the same rules as the magnets you pick up at home or school: opposite poles of magnets attract each other, and like poles repel each other.

How does it work?

Powerful magnets on the bottom of the train repel magnets on the track, which is actually just a magnet-filled guiding way. With a magnetic field of sufficient force, the train will go hovering on air, which seemed impossible to us in the past.

When an electrical current is sent through the track, the train moves. Turn the current backwards and the train slows down.

Maglev doesn't rely on the friction (摩擦力) of wheels on track, so it can climb a much steeper hill than a traditional train. And it can travel easily in snow and ice, something that could bring normal trains to a screaming stop.    

Which of the following is a repelling action?

       A.                        B.                        C.                        D.

     What can we learn from the text?

A. Electric currents decide the movements of a maglev train. 

B. A magnet-filled guiding way is formed inside a maglev train.

       C. Instead of electricity, magnets are used as the power of a maglev.

       D. Maglev trains can climb hills with the help of magnet wheels.

What is the difference between a maglev train and an ordinary train?

       A. Floating on a track, a maglev train is faster, quieter than an ordinary railway train.

       B. A maglev train can climb mountains without power while an ordinary one can’t.

       C. A maglev train can travel in college campus while an ordinary train is not allowed.

       D. Travelling without a track, a maglev train is safer and smoother than an ordinary one.

A little stream flowed down from a high mountain far, far away through many villages and forests, until it reached a desert. The stream then thought, “I’ve been through countless obstacles. I should have no problem crossing this desert!” But when she decided to start her journey, she found herself gradually disappearing into the mud and sand. After numerous tries, she found it was all in vain and was very upset. “Maybe it’s my destiny(命运) ! I’m not destined to reach the vast ocean in the legend, ” she murmured sadly to herself.

At this time, a deep voice came, saying, “If a breeze can cross the desert, so can a river.”

It was the voice of the desert. Unconvinced, the little stream replied, “That’s because a breeze can fly, but I can’t.”

“That’s because you stick to what you are. If you’re willing to give it up, and let yourself evaporate （蒸发） into the breeze, it can take you across, and you can reach your destination,” said the desert in its deep voice.

The little stream had never heard of such a thing. “Give up what I am now and disappear into the breeze? No! No!” She could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before. Wouldn’t it be self-destruction to give up what she was now?

“How do I know if this is true?” asked the little stream.

“The breeze can carry the vapor across the desert and release it as rain at an appropriate site. The rain will form a river again to continue its course,” answered the desert very patiently.

“Will I still be what I am now?” asked the little stream.

“Yes, and no. Whether you’re a river or invisible vapor, your inner nature never changes. You stick to the fact that you’re a river because you don’t know your inner nature,” answered the desert.

Deep down, the stream vaguely remembered that before she became a river, it was perhaps also the breeze that carried her halfway up a high mountain, where she turned into rain and fell onto the ground and became what she was now. Finally the little stream gathered her courage and rushed into the open arms of the breeze, which carried her to the next stage of her life.

Perhaps you can try asking yourself these questions: What is my inner nature? What is it that I cling （紧抓） to? And what is it that I really want?

1.When reaching the desert at first, the little stream was ________ to cross it.

A．upset  B．confident    C．pessimistic  D．hesitant

2.The desert suggests that the stream ________ in order to cross the desert.

A．change its form            B．disappear into the desert

C．stick to what it is D．turn to another stream for help

3.Finally the stream successfully crossed the desert with the help of ________.

A．the rain       B．the desert   C．the breeze  D．the mountain

4.In the text the writer compares the stream to ________.

A．the Truth     B．the courage   C．the course of life      D．the obstacles in life

A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.

One  1 they arrived to find the schoolhouse was on fire. They dragged(拖) the senseless(无意识的) little boy out of the burning building more dead than alive. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely  2  .

But the brave boy didn’t want to die. He made up his  3 that he would survive somehow, and to the amazement of the doctor, he did survive. When the  4 was past, the mother was told that he would be a lifetime cripple(跛子) with no  5  of the lower part of his body at all.

Once more, the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a  6  . He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor(运动神经的) ability. His thin legs were all but lifeless.

Finally he returned from the  7  . Every day his mother would massages(按摩) his little  8 , but there was no feeling. Yet his  9  that he would walk was as strong as ever.

One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the  10 to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He walked his way to the white   11 .With great  12 , he raised himself up on the fence(篱笆) . Then, he began dragging himself along the fence and  13  that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence.  14  through his daily massages and his iron determination, he did  15 the ability to stand up, then to walk by himself and then to run. This determined young man, Dr Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile!

1.                A．afternoon       B．evening         C．noon D．morning

2.                A．die            B．survive         C．fail  D．recover

3.                A．mind           B．heart           C．idea D．view

4.                A．disease         B．disaster         C．danger   D．failure

5.                A．effect          B．use            C．good D．work

6.                A．cripple         B．patient         C．trouble   D．winner

7.                A．school         B．home          C．factory   D．hospital

8.                A．hands          B．legs            C．arms D．feet

9.                A．decision        B．dream          C．promise  D．determination

10.               A．street          B．school         C．yard  D．shop

11.               A．fence          B．wall           C．houses    D．door

12.               A．job            B．time           C．effort D．success

13.               A．promised       B．decided        C．insisted   D．predicted

14.               A．Frankly         B．Finally          C．Actually   D．Secondly

15.               A．build          B．improve        C．choose    D．develop

A boy walked along Carver Street, singing a sad song. He walked with his head down. Once he looked up and noticed the sign across the empty street, painted on the side of an old house. On the sign a big woman with yellow hair and a five-mile smile held out a big bottle. “Coca-Cola. Drink-Cola-Cola,” the sign said.

　　“Boy!” the silence was cut by a sudden cry. He turned around quickly to see who had called.

　　An old woman was standing at her door.

　　“You boy! Come here this minute!”

　　Slowly the boy   1onto the cold flat stones leading to the old woman’s house. When he arrived at her house, she   2out her hand and wrapped（缠住）her   3old fingers around his arm.

　　“Help me inside, boy,” she said. “Help me   4to my bed. What’s your name?”

　　“Joseph,” he said.

　　The old woman on the bed tried to   5up, raising herself on her elbow（肘）. Water    6from her eyes and mouth. The sight of her made Joseph feel   7.

　　“I’m dying, Joseph. You can see that, can’t you? I want you to write a   8for me. There’s paper and pencil on the table there.”

　　Joseph looked down at the   9, and then looked out of the window. He saw the sign again, “Coca-Cola. Drink Cola-Cola.”

　　“I want my silver ring to   10to my daughter.”

　　Joseph bent his small body over the table and   11the pencil slowly across the paper.

　　“There’s my Bible（圣经）,” the old woman said. “That’s for my daughter, too. I want a   12Christian burial（基督葬礼）with lots of singing. Write that down, too. That’s the last   13of a poor old woman.”

　　The boy laboured over the paper. Again he looked out of the window.

　　“Here. Bring it here so I can   14it.”

　　Joseph found the Bible, and,   15the paper inside, laid it next to the bed.

　　“  16me now, boy,” she sighed. “I’m tired.”

　　He ran out of the house.

　　A cold wind blew through the   17window, but the old woman on the bed   18nothing. She was dead. The paper in the Bible moved back and forth in the wind.   19on the paper were some childish letters. They   20the words, “Coca-Cola. Drink Coca-Cola.”

1.A．rushed B．struggled        C．hurried      D．stepped

2.A．reached    B．let              C．pushed           D．pointed

3.A．firm           B．smooth           C．dry              D．fresh

4.A．back           B．up               C．away    　       D．ahead

5.A．sit            B．get              C．stand            D．wake

6.A．fell           B．burnt            C．burst            D．ran

7.A．ill            B．sick             C．unpleasant       D．funny

8.A．letter         B．note             C．will             D．message

9.A．table          B．pen                  C．paper            D．woman

10.A．send    　    B．go                   C．belong           D．come

11.A．moved 　  B．drew             C．used             D．pulled

12.A．great       B．merry     　   C．splendid         D．real

13.A．hope  　  B．chance           C．opinion          D．wish

14.A．sign  　      B．read             C．remember         D．copy

15.A．setting   B．hiding           C．placing          D．laying

16.A．Hold     B．Leave            C．Excuse           D．Pardon

17.A．large       B．open           C．small            D．pretty

18.A．did　         B．saw              C．felt                 D．knew

19.A．Described B．Printed          C．Recorded         D．Written

20.A．formed    B．spelled          C．organized        D．repeated

    A certain hunter had found a piece of forest where there were plenty of animals to hunt．The only trouble was that the place was very difficult to get to．

    He returned from his first 36 to the place in late autumn，and could not get back until the snows melted(融化)in the following 37．Then he went to the pilot of a small plane，who earned his living by 38 hunters over parts of the country 39 were no roads and no railways，and asked him to take him back to his 40 piece of forest．

    The pilot did not knowⅡle place，so the hunter 41 it to him on the map．“42 there is nowhere to land there，mall!”said the pilot．“I have flown 43 that part of the country on my way to other places，and I know that we can’t land anywhere between this river and these mountains．”

    “I thought you were a 44 pilot，”said the hunter．“Some of my friends said you could land a plane on a stamp．”

    “That’s 45 ，”answered the pilot．“I can land a plane where nobody else call．But I 46 you there is nowhere to land in the place you ale talking about．”

    “And what if I tell you that another pilot 47 land me here last spring?”said the hunter．

    “Is that 48 ?”asked the pilot．

    “Yes，it is．I swear(起誓)it．”

    Well，this pilot could not let himself be 49 by another，so he agreed to take the hunter．

    When they reached the place，the hunter 50 out a small spot(地点)without trees in the middle of he forest，with a steep rise(陡峻的斜坡)at one end．The pilot thought that there was51 room to land there，but the hunter said that the other pilot had done so the year before，so52 went the plane．When it came to the rise，it turned right over on its53．As the hunter climbed out．He 54 and said，“yes，that is exactly how the other pilot managed55 last time．”