The wheel was one of man’s first inventions and yet it has also proved one of the most useful. So wide and varied are the uses of the wheels, in machines and vehicles of all kinds, that it is difficult to imagine what the world would be like without them. It is surprising to hear it said, therefore, that the wheel’s importance will perhaps be greatly reduced by the end of the century by an invention so new as to be still unnamed.
The invention is a machine the floats above any surface on a cushion of air. The cushion is formed when air is blown into this saucer, the machine rises to a height that may vary from a few inches to a few feet.
Industry is already using one form of the inversion to deal with heavy loads. It can lift them. with ease and since there are no wheels, and therefore no friction , they can be put into motion with the touch of a finger.
The new invention, however , is having a great effect on transport, Not only does it make expensive road systems unnecessary, but it enables vehicles to travel well over land or water. This unique to reach most destinations has given rise to the prediction that wheeled vehicles may be uncommon at the end the century as aeroplanes were at the beginning.
1. The first paragraph tells us that______.
A. the wheel was man’s earliest invention.
B. the wheel’s usefulness has yet to be proved.
C. wide wheels have a variety of important uses.
D. a new invention may make wheels less important.
2. The phrase “with the touch of a finger” in the third paragraph means______.
A. without difficulty                   B. by electricity .
C. without friction                    D. by hand.
3. The passage tells us that the new invention __________.
A. is more important for industry than for transport.
B. will one day be used instead of aeroplanes.
C. makes it possible to travel without using roads.
D. will replace wheeled vehicles using roads.
4. According to the passage, the new invention _______.
A. will soon get a name                        B. can go almost anywhere
C. is lighter than air                             D. was uncommon a century ago

He only finished fourth in this year's Super Boy talent show. But it didn't stop him capturing (俘获) the hearts of thousands of fans. He can hit high notes with ease. And he is very modest. Zhang Jie,25,shed(流) sweat and tears all the way through the competition, but he never gave up.

“No matter how life treats him, he always fights back bravely ,”said Wu Chunyan, a Senior 2 student in Hubei. “He has never lost his dream of being a singer.” The road to fame is always rocky, and Zhang is no exception. As a college student he was majoring in tourism. He was considering becoming a tourist guide after graduation until he entered a singing competition.

His life changed after he competed in My Show. He won first place and signed with a record company. “I was very excited and regarded it as a way to take me closer to my dream,” he said. But the company gave him little money to make music and slowly began to ignore him. Zhang even borrowed money to buy costumes. “Life has its ups and downs. But the tough (艰难的) reality only makes me stronger,” he said.

He forgot he was once a champion of a talent show and joined Super Boy. His decision got support from his family who worked hard to make ends meet. His mother sold rice noodles on a street in his hometown, but she said she would “support him forever.”

“I have the dream to buy a large house for my parents, where my mom can get a large window sill (窗台) to grow flowers,” said Zhang.

Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

   A. An easy way to success            B. A rocky path to success

   C. A clever boy                     D. A successful boy  

From the passage, we can know that _________.

   A. he once won the first place in Super Boy talent show.

   B. he finished fourth in My Show.

   C. he is an exception on his way to fame.

   D. after signing with a record company, he didn’t get much money.

When he met with difficulty in a record company, he decided to _______.

   A. join Super Boy                   B. tell the others he was a champion  

   C. give up on his way to success       D. quarrel with the boss

Before he joined in a singing competition, his dream was to become________.

   A. a great scientist                  B. a good college student 

   C. a famous singer                  D. a tourist guide

People like to look in the mirror often when they have a young and beautiful face. However, when one grows old, nobody wants to see their wrinkled old face in the mirror any more. So, many old people seldom look at their faces in the mirror. This is completely wrong.
According to Wu Zhenyun, a professor from the Psychological Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a person’s willingness to look in the mirror can reflect his or her mentality. When people don’t care too much about their age, they will try to carry themselves with ease and natural poise (姿态). They don’t mind looking in the mirror to see their own faces. Some people even love to look in the mirror from time to time to see whether they keep a good appearance. In this way, mirror becomes their best friend that help them to look confident.
On the other hand, some people are afraid of being old. They don’t want to see the wrinkles on their face and their hair turning grey. So they don’t want to look in the mirror. This actually reflects a negative attitude they hold towards life. In the long term, they might suffer from psychological pressure or some sort of depression, which is actually not a wise act.
“ Everyone can make themselves look charming at every age stage. If one is confident, one will always look beautiful, it shows that they accept themselves.” professor Wu said.
Mirror cannot only give confidence to one. By looking in the mirror, one can even find the traces of some diseases from one’s own face.
67.Why does the mirror become the best friend for some people?
A. Because it brings much confidence to them.
B. Because it makes them more beautiful.
C. Because it tells whether they are clean or not.
D. Because it helps them find their own faults.
68.The fact that some people are afraid of looking in the mirror reflects that______.
A. they suffer from metal disease  B. they treat life in a negative way      
C. they are too ugly              D. they can’t bear the pressure of being old
69. The text tells us that______.
A. if you are willing to look in the mirror you are getting old
B. everyone can become attractive at any age
C. confidence can make a person look beautiful
D. old people will accept the reality when they are old
70. The writer wrote this passage to______.
A. advise people to look in the mirror constantly
B. reflect different attitude towards looking into a mirror
C. introduce a way of finding signs of disease from one’s face
D. analyze why people like and dislike to look in the mirror

All plant cells are capable of taking up water. Even dead ones do to a certain degree. Absorption（吸收）of water by dead cell walls makes wood become larger. In common land plants, the living cells of roots take up most of the water. Land plants without roots do exist, however. Those greenish-yellow lichens（苔藓）you see on rocks in the high mountains have no roots. Half a billion years ago, when water plants started to enter the land, the first land plants did not have roots.
Even among the flowering plants, one finds rootless forms. These flowering plants are “the higher plants” because they evolved（进化）recently and are thus considered higher on the evolutionary scale（进化度）. In the Peruvian desert, there grows one of these rootless higher plants, a bromeliad. It is a relative of the pineapple. Even if this plant had roots, they would be of no use, because where the plant grows, it never rains. The plant gets its water only from the dew（露水）it collects at night, when its leaves cool off. Such rootless plants, of course, can be moved with ease, but they will only grow when they are placed out in the open. If they are placed too near a house, the radiation from the heat of the house prevents the leaves from cooling and so prevents dew from forming, and the plant dies. In the southern United States and in Puerto Rico, one sees bromeliads growing high above the streets on the insulation（绝缘物）of electric wires. These plants get their water from rain, and the only soil they ever come in contact with is the dust that may blow on their leaves.
64．From the passage we know that the evolutionary scale is graded according to _______ .
A. evolutionary cycles  B. heights and depths
C. time        D. kinds
65．The “bromeliad” is a plant that _______ .
A．has useless roots             B. is a pineapple
C．can grow anywhere  D. takes up water through its leaves
66．The most suitable title for this passage is “_______ ”.
A. Absorption of water by plants   B. Rootless plants
C. Plants in the desert       D. Higher plants

They leap from helicopters or speeding boats, bringing aid to swimmers who get into trouble off Italy’s popular beaches.

For these dog lifeguards, the doggie paddle （狗刨式游法）does just fine.

These “lifedogs” tow a buoy(救生衣) that victims can grab, or a raft they can sit on to be towed back to shore, and unlike their human counterparts(与对方地位相当的人), they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.

With millions flocking(人群) to Italy’s crowded beaches each summer, the Italian Coast Guard says it rescues about 3,000 people every year — and their dog helpers are credited with saving several lives.

It takes three years for the canines to reach expert rescue status, and currently 300 dogs are fully trained for duty, said Roberto Gasbarri, who co-ordinates the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards program at a centre outside of Rome in the seaside town of Civitavecchia.

“Dogs are useful in containing the physical fatigue（疲劳） of the lifeguard, to increase the speed at which casualties（遇难者） are retrieved（找到并衔回）, to increase the security of both the casualty and of the lifeguard,” Gasbarri said.

The Civitavecchia centre is one of a dozen around the country for the school founded more than 20 years ago in the northern province of Bergamo by Ferruccio Pilenga, whose first trainee was his own Newfoundland.

The school will train any breed（品种）, as long as they weigh at least 30 kilograms, but Labradors, Newfoundlands and golden retrievers are most commonly used because of their natural instinct for swimming. Each dog works in tandem with（同 ……合作） a human lifeguard, who also acts as the animal’s trainer.

1.Which of the following can act as the best title fo the passage?

  A. Dogs to the Rescue                B. Dogs Are Good at Doggie Paddle

  C. The Wonderful Performance of Dogs  D. Dogs: Our Loyal Friends

2.What advantage do these life-dogs have over human lifeguards in a rescue?

  A. Dog can swim very fast                      B. Dogs can finish rescue work with ease.

  C. Dogs can finish the great work free of charge.    D. Dogs can easily be trained

3. Which of the following is TRUE about the Civitavecchia center according to the text?

A. Any breed can be trained there.

  B. The ones who have the gift for swimming are welcomed.

  C. After a better training, the dogs can work alone.

  D. It is the only place for training dog lifeguards in the school.

4.What does the writer want to tell us in the 4^th paragraph?

  A. Without the dog lifeguards, 3,000 people would lose their lives every year.

  B. The buautiful beaches attract millions of people every year.

  C. Dog lifeguards play an important part in a rescue.

  D. Italy is a famous place of interest.