A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment. The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he has to do at the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact, time is life itself. The unpunctual man is forever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable asset(财产)as well as others’. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or return calls or keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he cannot get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.

Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.

Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to do one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in chare of important tasks failed to be at their proper places at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.

1.What does the author think is the main difference between  a punctual person and an unpunctual person?

  A. A punctual person does everything ahead of time while an unpunctual person does everything behind schedule.

  B. A punctual person does everything at the right time while an unpunctual person seldom does anything at the correct time.

  C. A punctual person has a lot of appointments while an unpunctual person has few appointments.

  D. A punctual person has much time to do everything while an unpunctual person has little time to do anything.

2.According to the passage, the main reason that a person is always unpunctual is that____________. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.

  A. he has more work to do than other people

  B. he is always in a hurry when he works

  C. he doesn’t care much about time

  D. he always mismanages and wastes his time

3.According to the third paragraph, when you are invited to dinner, you should arrive there____________. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.

  A. after other guests have arrived

  B. before all other guests

  C. at the appointed time

  D. after the host has got things ready

4.Which of the following statements best describes the harm of unpunctuality?

  A. If you are an unpunctual person, you cannot be in charge of any important task.

  B. If your friends know that you are unpunctual, they may not see you again.

  C. Unpunctuality may bring about heavy losses for both public and private affairs.

  D. Unpunctuality may make you miss a lot of appointments and lose friends.

In western countries, especially in America, some social customs have lasted still today. For example, ladies first, that is to say, women in those countries are respected(尊重) in many ways.
In the U.S. and Europe, you will see men usually open doors for women and women generally walk ahead of men into a room or a restaurant unless the man have to be ahead of the ladies to choose the table, to open the door of a car or to give other services. On the street, men almost walk or across the street on the side of the ladies which is closer to traffic, but if a man walks with two ladies, he should walk between them.
【小题1】In this passage， “customs” especially refers to _______.

The well－known Rushmore National Monument in the United States is built on the Rush Moore Peak，1829 meters above sea level，of the Black Hills in the south－west of South Dakota. It is a group of huge stone statues of four American presidents，George Washington，Thomas Jefferson，Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. President Washington is the founding father of the country；the 3rd President Jefferson drafted the U. S. Declaration of Independence；the 16th President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and the26th President Roosevelt protected the average people’s right to compete fairly with trusts. All 1829 meters above sea level， made outstanding achievements for their country. They were pioneers of U. S. history.
The stone statues of presidents were built at the suggestion of an historian in the State of Dakota，with a view to carrying forward the U. S. pioneering spirit everlastingly.
The statues are 18meters high. They are the highest and greatest realistic stone statues in the world，taller than a 6－storied building and larger than the Great Sphinx of Egypt. The size of each head is 20sq mt，with a 20-meter- long face，a 7-meter -long nose，a 2.6-meter- wide mouth and two 1.5-meter -wide eyes. Though not facing the same direction，they are all lifelike and look ahead gravely in harmony with fixed gazes. On clear days，one can have a sight of the four presidents with their firm and steady expression at a distance of dozens of kilometers.
Since the stone sculpture is unique in style，the Monument is now the U. S. National Art Centre of Popular Education. Groups of people keep streaming everyday to the site for a visit and tourists across the world are also interested in taking a view of this great Monument.
52．Which statement is false according to the first paragraph?
A．The famous Rushmore National Monument is 1829 meters above sea level
B．All the four presidents made great contributions to London.
C．the group of statues are made of huge stones
D．The statues are built to honor the presidents in the U.S
53．Why were those four presidents chosen ?because the four presidents_____.
A．made great contributions to their country   B．were pioneers of US history
C．played an important role in the different periods of the American history
D．all of the above
54．What are the statues like?
A .They look like a 6-storied building   
B．They are like the great Sphinx of Egypt
C．They are like true men standing there
D．They are lifelike , looking ahead with fixed gazes
55．For what groups of people across the world come to visit the Monument? They come___.
A．to learn the U.S pioneering spirit   B．to look back upon the history of the U.S
C．to learn the art of sculpture        D．to enjoy the view of the Monument
56．The proper title of the paragraph may be ____.
A．The stone sculpture  B．the Spirit of the USA
C．A Place of Interest D．Four Presidents of America

For centuries people dreamed of going into space. This dream began to seem possible when high-flying rockets were built in the early 1900s.

In 1903 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky figured out how to use rockets for space travel. His plan was the first one in rocket science to use correct scientific calculation. About 30 years later, a U.S. scientist named Robert Goddard built the first rockets that could reach high altitudes. During World War II, German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. After the war, scientists from Germany went to the United States and the Soviet Union to help those countries build space rockets.

These two countries were soon racing to get to space first. Each of these countries wanted to prove that it was stronger and more advanced than the other one. Both countries also had powerful bombs. People in the United States were worried when the Soviets were first to launch a space satellite, which was called Sputnik. The Soviets were also first to send a person into space. Yury Gagarin orbited the earth in the Vostok I spaceship in 1961.

The US government set a goal for its space program to be the first country to put a person on the Moon. The U.S. space program built a series of Apollo spaceship. These vehicles were powered by huge Saturn 5 rockets. In 1969 Apollo II took three men to the moon successfully. Nell Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.

The Soviets may have lost the race to fly people to the Moon, but they built the first space station in 1971. The United States also built a space station. The space stations allowed people to live and work in space. Then the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated to hook two spaceships together in space. This action ended the "space race". Today a much larger space station, built by several countries together, orbits Earth.

Another new way to go to space is by space shuttle. A space shuttle, first made in the United States in 1981, looks like an airplane. Astronauts who fly spaceships have used shuttles to help put satellites into space.

Task-based reading 任务型阅读

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空不超过1个单词。

For centuries people dreamed of going into space. This dream began to seem possible when high-flying rockets were built in the early 1900s.

In 1903 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky figured out how to use rockets for space travel. His plan was the first one in rocket science to use correct scientific calculation. About 30 years later, a U.S. scientist named Robert Goddard built the first rockets that could reach high altitudes. During World War II, German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. After the war, scientists from Germany went to the United States and the Soviet Union to help those countries build space rockets.

These two countries were soon racing to get to space first. Each of these countries wanted to prove that it was stronger and more advanced than the other one. Both countries also had powerful bombs. People in the United States were worried when the Soviets were first to launch a space satellite, which was called Sputnik. The Soviets were also first to send a person into space. Yury Gagarin orbited the earth in the Vostok I spaceship in 1961.

The US government set a goal for its space program to be the first country to put a person on the Moon. The U.S. space program built a series of Apollo spaceship. These vehicles were powered by huge Saturn 5 rockets. In 1969 Apollo II took three men to the moon successfully. Nell Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.

The Soviets may have lost the race to fly people to the Moon, but they built the first space station in 1971. The United States also built a space station. The space stations allowed people to live and work in space. Then the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated to hook two spaceships together in space. This action ended the "space race". Today a much larger space station, built by several countries together, orbits Earth.

Another new way to go to space is by space shuttle. A space shuttle, first made in the United States in 1981, looks like an airplane. Astronauts who fly spaceships have used shuttles to help put satellites into space.