I love science and science fiction. Like many science fiction fans, I am fascinated by the possibility of time travel. However, one must combine romance with reasoning and look into the chances of time travel critically.

First of all, we must remember the whole universe is in motion. If we want to go back to yesterday, our "time machine" has to move back in time and space. If someone claimed he was at home when he suddenly travelled 200 years back in time, he either had an illusion or made the story up. Two hundred years ago, Earth was in a different place in space, so how can you travel back 200 years without moving in space? Don't get me wrong. I am not knocking the genius of science fiction writers. H.G. Wells's "The Time Machine" is a great work of fiction, but that’s all. I have read many other time travelling science fiction stories since reading H.G. Wells, but none address this problem of displacement.

My own argument for the impossibility of time travel is that physical states of the past no longer exist and those of the future are not here yet. To be able to move back and forth in time requires everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen everywhere in the whole universe at every single moment in time－past, present, and future－to be stored as a "reality" somewhere－like the save game file of a computer game that contains every single byte of information of the game at the point it was saved, but you would need an almost extremely large file and almost extremely many of them－so it can be re-entered and communicated with, and not just light signals for viewing. To me, I don’t buy it.

1.Which of the following can be the best title?

    A. How to make time travel possible?

    B. Why am I fascinated by time travel?

    C. Why do I think time travel is not possible?

    D. How to explain the possibility of time travel?

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “illusion”?

    A. success          B. dream                C. switch               D. support

3. According to the author, which of the following is RIGHT?

    A. We can go back to the past by time travel.

    B. People can travel to the future by moving in space.

C. “The Time Machine” is nothing more than a science fiction.

    D. Everything that happened, is happening and will happen can be stored somewhere.

4.In the author’s opinion, time travel might be possible if                            .

    A. people could combine romance with reasoning

    B. people could stop the movement of the whole universe

C. people could use time machine under the instruction of H.G. Wells

    D. people could “save” everything in the past, present and future in a certain space

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity,” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’re a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump(树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’s not about going to a temple to burn some incense(香) hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups; those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper,” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”, in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?

  A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

  A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She is a British talk show host.

C. She became successful by her own effort.

D. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life.

3.The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show __________.

  A. man can conquer nature

B. luck is in your own hand

C. bad luck can turn into good

D. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

It was the first mow of winter -- an exciting day for every, child but not for most tether. Up until now, l had been able to dress myself for recess（课间休息）, but today I would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher at Princess Elizabeth School near Hamilton, Ontario, had been through first snow days ,tony times in her long career, but I think struggled still remember this one.

I managed to get into my wool snow pants. But I straggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and it made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes. At least my hat and matching scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots. In her calm, motherly voice she said, "By the end of winter, you will be able to put on own boots. “ I didn’t realize at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence.

I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected the adult to do an the work. After mush wiggling and pushing, she managed to get first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.

I announced，“They’re on the wrong feet．”With the grace that only experience can bring，she struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again．Then I said，“These aren’t my boots．you know．”As she pulled the offending boots from my feet，she still managed to look both helpful and interested．Once they were off．I said，“They are my brother’s boots．My mother makes me wear them，and I hate them!” Somehow，from long years of practice，she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying little girl．She pushed and shoved．less gently this time，and the boots were returned to their proper place on my feet．With a great sigh of relief，seeing the end of her struggle with me，she asked，“Now，where are your gloves?’’

I looked into her eyes and said．“I didn’t want to lose them．so I put them into the toes of my boots．”

60．According to the passage，the little girl got      from her brother．

A．the wool snow pants and the jacket    B．the jacket and the boots

C．the jacket and the hat                D．the boots and the gloves

61．What made it so hard for the teacher to help the little girl put her boots on?

A．The gloves in the toes of the boots．    B．The slowness of the teacher．

C．The wrong size of the boots．              D．The unwillingness of the girl．

62．It can be inferred that before the little girl finally went out to enjoy the first snow of winter，the teacher had to help her put on her boots       ．

A．once    B．twice    C．three times  D．four times

63．Which of the following sentences from the text BEST indicates that the teacher is very considerate?

A．In her calm，motherly voice she said，“By the end of winter，…”（Paragraph 2）

B．With the grace that only experience can bring，she struggled to…（Paragraph 4）

C．…．she still managed to look both helpful and interested．（Paragraph 4）

D．…，she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying little girl.（Paragraph 4）

    Who’s in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it’s other people – society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course．We were brainwashed．We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us．As Oscar Wilde puts it，“Most people are other people．Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions，their lives a mimicry(模仿)，their passions a quotation．”
So when people tell us how wonderful we are，it makes us feel good．We long for this good feeling like a drug—we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can．Therefore，we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives，failing to do the things we really want to．Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting theirfix(一剂毒品)，we worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval．
But just as with any drug，there is a price to pay．The price of the approval drug is freedom--the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think．People have their own agenda，and they come with their own baggage and，in the end，they’re more interested in themselves than in you．Furthermore，if we try to live by the opinions of others，we will build our life on sinking sand．Everyone has a different way of thinking，and people change their opinions all the time．The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process．
So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way--make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think．We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values—not values imposed from the outside by others，but innate values which come from within．If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others，we will live a more authentic，effective，purposeful and happy life．
67．What Oscar Wilde says implies that        ．
A．we have thoughts similar to those of others
B．most people have a variety of thoughts
C．other people’s thoughts are more important
D．most people’s thoughts are controlled by others
68．What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph?
A．Changing opinions may cost us our freedom．
B．We may lose ourselves to please others．
C．We need to pay for what we want to get．
D．The price of taking the drug is freedom．
69．It can be concluded from the passage that         ．
A.  it’s better to do what we like
B．we shouldn’t care what others think
C．we shouldn’t change our own opinions
D．it's important to accept others’ opinions
70．The author tries to persuade the readers to accept his arguments mainly by      .
A．analyzing causes and effects         
B．providing examples and facts
C．discussing questions               
D．making suggestions

Armed only with iPhones, the inventive rock band Atomic Tom has gone viral（广为流传） by way of the New York subway． The band has scored an Internet hit with the video to the song “Take Me Out．”

Singer Luke White says the production was a top-secret operation．

“We didn't tell anyone about this． It was completely top-secret from our family, from our friends, from our label, our management, everybody． So the first time that people saw this video was last Friday when we put it on YouTube,” explained White．

Since uploading the video to YouTube, band members have spent several days refreshing the page to watch the number of hits rise．

The video has also made its way around Twitter as many people have shared it with their friends．

“I mean, it still hasn't quite hit． It's just kind of blowing our minds right now that we're getting this: many people are fond of it, and they're sharing it with their friends． We don't know what it's like really to have something that's viral, so all of this is very new to us．” said Eric Espiritu, the lead guitarist of the band．

White explains how the video came together:

“We did our research with the applications（ 应用程序） and found applications that worked out really well with the instruments and then we plugged them all into, plugged our phones into mini-battery powered amplifiers（扩音器） that we put underneath our seats, and we did a lot of, you know, practices, in terms of figuring out what the balance of the sound and like who was overpowering, who was too loud or who was too soft．”

The idea for the video came from Espiritu's younger brother Benjamin． The younger Espiritu directed the video from his initial concept through the final edit and upload to the Internet．　

“I've seen a lot of the music applications come out, and I've never actually had the chance to play with them," says Ben Espiritu． "When I started hearing about how they sound and everything, I thought it might be unique to take it one step further and then create an entire band just performing solely（单曲） on the iPhones, and I thought it would be a pretty cool idea．”

Ben says the success of the band’s music video is a credit to the talent and ability of the musicians, but it's also a sign of the times．

“It really comes down to seeing something different, seeing something unique, and I think that that's always, in any type of art form, what will speak to people, and I think it does reflect the times that we live in, taking a smart phone and then being able to turn it into an instrument, not only just an instrument, but making it sound really good．”

1. Who first saw the video of the song “Take Me Out”?

   A． Their friends                                     B． The people on line   

    C． Their family                    D． Their management

2. What is the band members’ attitude towards the sudden fame?

   A． They are thrilled．

   B． They are quite used to it．

   C． They are kind of confused．

   D． They are so excited as to tell everyone they know．

3. How did the video come into being?

   A． The band copied from it other musicians．

   B． It had already existed in the iPhones before they bought them．

    C． The band created it with the help of the applications in the iPhones．

    D． The band made full use of the traditional instruments to make the song．

4. What is the significance of the success of the band's music video?

    A． It has introduced us several talented musicians．

    B． It has made the musicians into millionaires．

    C． It teaches the young a big lesson．

    D． It reflects the talent and ability of the musicians and the times that we live in．