A: For years some people have been saying that railways are dead. They say, “Trains are slow, and they lose money. Motorcars and planes have made them unnecessary.”

B:    1.   . I think in these days of expensive oil, railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes.

A: Right. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they are much cheaper than planes.

B:    2.   . A plane goes in a straight line, and so does a railway.

A: What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another.    3.   . Nor does it hold you up as a car does in heavy traffic.

B:    4.   . Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey. We’ve just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 160 miles an hour and more.

A：5.

A. So railways will have very bright future, I dare say. 

B. It doesn’t leave you as a plane does, miles and miles from the city center.

C. Far from being dead, railways are developing very quickly.

D. Trains are really slower than planes. 

E. And they have much in common with planes.

F. But it is far from the truth. 

G. Trains are really more comfortable than planes.

 

A black hole is created when a large star burns out. Like our sun, stars are unbelievably hot furnaces (熔炉) that burn their own matter as fuel. When most of the fuel is used up, the star begins to die.

The death of a star is not a quiet event. First there is a huge explosion. As its outer layer is blasted off into space, the dying star shines as brightly as a billion suns.

After the explosion gravity pulls in what’s left of the star. As the outside of the star sinks toward the center, the star gets smaller and smaller. The material the star is made of becomes tightly packed together. A star is so dense that a teaspoon of matter from it weighs billion of pounds.

The more the star shrinks, the stronger the gravity inside it becomes. Soon the star is very tiny, and the gravity pulling it in is unbelievably strong. In fact, the gravity is so strong that it even pulls light into the star! Since all the light is pulled in, none can go out. The star becomes black when there is no light. Then a black hole is born!

That’s what we know about black holes. What we don’t know is this: What happens inside a black hole after the star has been squeezed into a tiny ball? Does it keep getting smaller and smaller forever? Such a possibility is hard to imagine.

But if the black hole doesn’t keep shrinking, what happens to it? Some scientists think black holes are like doorways to another world. They say that as the star disappears from our universe, it goes into another universe. In other words a black hole in our universe could turn into a “white hole” in a different universe. As the black hole swallows light, the white hole shines brightly—somewhere else. But where? A different place, perhaps, or a different time — many years in the past or future.

Could you travel through a black hole? Right now, no. Nothing we know of could go into a black hole without being crushed. So far the time being, black hole must remain a mystery.

Black holes are a mystery—but that hasn’t stopped scientists from dreaming about them. One scientist suggested that in the future we might make use of the power of black holes. They would supply all of Earth’s energy needs, with plenty to spare. Another scientist wondered if a black hole could some day be used to swallow earthly waste—a sort of huge waste disposal(处理) in the sky!

When the star begins to die ______.

A. there is no fuel left in it                                B. its outer layer goes into space first

C. a huge explosion will happen                         D. it doesn’t give off light any longer

Which of the following doesn’t help produce a black hole?

A. The gravity inside the star is very strong.        B. The light can’t go out of the star.

C. The star becomes smaller and smaller             D. The dying star shines very brightly.

The black hole ______.

A. continues becoming smaller and smaller all the time

B. goes into another universe and becomes a white hole

C. can pull in everything we know of in the world

D. will appear at another place at a different time

What’s the best title for this passage?

A. A New Scientific Discovery: Black Holes

B. How Do Black Holes Come Into Being?

C. What Are Black Holes?

D. Travel Through A Black Hole

A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe（预订） to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.

The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted（转变） from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.

"The industry continues to chip （击破）away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.

What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?

A. some American families      

B. those who hold out one’s opinions

C. those who have been surveyed    

D. those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently

Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.

A. they show too much concern about the cost

B. they can find little value of it

C. they do most YouTube-watching at work

D. the Internet doesn’t reach their homes

From the passage we can infer that _____________.

A. It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users

B. people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more

C. many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home

D. more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005

According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?

A. making the Internet look more similar to TV set

B. applying the Internet more to entertainment

C. providing more pay-TV programs

D. chipping away at the core of non-subscribers

Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Web develops with technology

B. The present situation of web

C. Many Americans see little point to web

D. It is urgent to promote web service

“A lot of learning comes through play,” says Mardy McGarry, 52, who has been a special education teacher for 28 years. But her students were too often left out. She had seen the wood chips and sand of traditional playgrounds stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks. When she wanted to build a playground for children with special needs，she knew it wouldn’t take long to develop interest in it around the small fishing village. But she never expected that 2,800 people — a third of the town—would all be willing to make a great effort to bring her vision to life.

McGarry started doing some research into play equipment and contacting design companies and she also found a piece of land available. When the city council(市议会) agreed to set aside an area for a playground, she also asked physical and professional therapists(治疗专家) for their investment. And she turned to her friend, Sue, for help. “Neither of us is good at maths, which is why $450,000 didn’t sound like a lot of money,” McGarry says of the initial estimate.

Her Kiwanis Club came through with $7,000，and that’s when the grassroots movement really got started. One woman gave $25,000 and had her company match it. Soon, smaller businesses were joining in. There was a silent effort to collect money. The local Pieper Family Foundation offered to donate half of the remaining $170,000. All McGarry needed was 500 volunteers to work six 12-hour days.

On September 16, 2008, the first day of construction, they came. Two women heard about the project on the way to work and took the day off to help. A couple in their 80s operated their tractors. Ten-year-olds cleared up the mess. “None of them was paid. It was truly an amazing week,” says McGarry. Only three building managers were paid. Volunteers with “building experience” became coordinators(协调人); those who could operate power tools formed a separate group. One team served meals donated from local restaurants and churches, and another organized activities for the children of volunteers.

Today, Possibility Playground is one of the most popular destinations in Ozaukee County. All children, including the ones with special needs, play shoulder to shoulder. “Some playgrounds have special equipment in a different section. Here, you see all the kids in the same playground, all having fun.”

It’s exactly what McGarry imagined. “People used to ask, ‘Why do you want to build a playground just for children with disabilities?” She says, “It’s only when you build a playground for children with disabilities that you build one for all children.”

It didn’t occur to Mardy McGarry that __________.

A. her plan would soon draw the interest of people in the small village

B. so many people would volunteer to help her realize her dream

C. she would meet with so many difficulties in raising funds

D. the playground would be the most popular destination in Ozaukee County

We can learn from the fourth paragraph that __________.

A. the playground was finished in September 2008

B. everything was well prepared, apart from the volunteers

C. everyone worked unpaid, except for three building managers

D. the playground is so popular that it is overcrowded all the time

It can be inferred from the text that __________.

A. Mardy McGarry is a famous architect in the small town

B. Sue was forced to join in the project because of her son

C. people always ignore the real needs of disabled children

D. Mardy McGarry’s vision has been successfully accomplished at last

What would be the best title for this text?

A. Mardy McGarry: A Woman with Great Determination.

B. Cooperation: The Greatest Power in Overcoming Any Difficulty.

C. Show Real Concern for Poor Disabled Children.

D. Make it Matter to Build a Playground for Disabled Children.

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead．“We can do without railways” people say，as if motorcars and planes made the railways unnecessary．We all keep hearing that trains are slow，that they lose money，that they’re dying．But this is far from the truth．In these days of expensive oil，the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes．If you want to carry people or goods from place to place，they’re cheaper than planes．And they have much in common with planes．A plane goes in a strange line and so does a railway．What is more，it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another．It doesn’t 1eave you as a plane does，miles and miles from the city center．It doesn’t hold you up as a car does，in endless traffic jams．And a single train can carry goods which no plane or motorcar could ever do．Far from being dead，the railways are very much alive．Modern railway lines give you a smooth，untroubled journey．Where else can you eat well，sleep in comfort，feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning．For we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 1 50 miles an hour and more．Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorways we can't use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can't fly in for the same reason.

Some people think the railways are dead for many reasons except that ______   ．

  A．planes and motorcars will take the place of trains  B．oil is expensive today

  C．trains are slow                              D．railways lose money

The writer’s idea seems to be that ______   ．

  A. we can do without railways    B．trains have much in common with motorcars and planes

  C．motorcars and planes are not as good as trains D．trains are as good as motorcars and planes

According to the writer，which of the following is NOT true?

  A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane．

  B．The railway station is usually at the center of a city．

  C．When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center．

  D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does．

From the underlined sentence at the end of the passage，we can infer that    ．

  A．1ess and less people will take planes and motorways in the future

  B．the people have known that the train is better than planes and motorways

  C．trains will be more popular in the future

  D．nobody likes spending much money on motorways