阅读理解

　　Stephen Hawking, the disabled author of A Brief History of Time is launching his second journey to China in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province. His first visit was over 10 years ago.

　　The great theoretical scientist has been invited to attend a state-of-the-art mathematics research institute at Zhejing University, Hangzhou-based Dushi Kuaibao reported.

　　On Sunday evening, he made his début at a press conference held at Shangri-La hotel, Hangzhou. Hawking appeared at about 5:00 p.m. with his wife.

　　The 50-year-old man answered a total of nine questions with the help of his computer.

　　“Experts in theoretical science are dispersed around the world, but we need communication. I am very glad that the world’s first-class conference is being held in China this time,”he said.

　　“I find the real universe much more interesting than the one in the film Star Wars ,” Hawking joked.“I encourage young people to study theoretical physics first if they are interested in it.”

　　Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity implied (隐含) space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great scientific development of the first half of the 20th century.

　　One consequence(结果) of such a unification theory would be that black holes would not be completely black, but emit (放射) radiation and eventually evaporate (蒸发) and disappear. Another conjecture (推 测) is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.

　　But the talented man who has produced such rich work suffers serious Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) (肌萎缩性脊髓索硬化). He is one of the 350,000 sufferers in the world. The disease kills over 100,000 people every year.

　　“I like life and I love life, my family and music give me the greatest happiness,”smiled Hawking, who can only move three fingers.

　　In the coming year, Hawking said he is scheduled to write a new edition of A Brief History of Time for young children.

　　“A Brief History of Time is my first book for common people. But I later found that I could write it in a more simple way,”he answered,“So I decided to rewrite it so that all people can read it easily.”

1．It is obvious that Hawking ________.

[　　]

A．comes to China for the first time

B．has never been to China before

C．has been to China twice

D．hopes to come to visit China one day

2．What do the underlined words“are dispersed”in the fifth paragraph mean?

[　　]

A．Live together.

B．Live far away from.

C．Know each other better.

D．Have connection with each other.

3．From the passage we know the nature of Hawking’s being ________.

[　　]

A．determined and humorous

B．learned and humorous

C．learned and shy

D．disabled

4．It can be inferred that Hawking ________.

[　　]

A．greatly improved Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity

B．knows a lot about Einstein’s theory

C．has A Brief History of Time published recently

D．loves nothing but his study on universe

阅读理解：

　　The word "hello" is probably used more often than any other one in the English language． Everybody in the United States and elsewhere uses the word, again and again, every day of the week．

　　The first thing you hear when you pick up the phone is "hello" unless the caller is an Englishman, who might say, "Are you there?"

　　Where did the word come from? There are all sorts of beliefs． Some say it came from the French, "ho" and "la" "Ho, there!" This greeting may have arrived in England during the Norman Conquest in the year 1066．

　　"Ho, there" slowly became something that sounded like "hallow", often heard in the 1300's, during the days of the English poet ,Geoffrey Chaucer．

　　Two hundred years later, in Shakespeare's time, "hallow" had become "halloo"． And later, sounds like "halloa", and "halloo" were often used by sailors and huntsmen． "Halloo" is still used today by foxhunters．

　　As time passed, "halloo" and "halloa" changed into "hullo"． And during the 1800's this was how people greeted each other in America．

　　The American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, is believed to be the first person to use "hello" in the late 1800's, soon after the invention of the telephone．

　　At first, people had greeted each other on the telephone with "Are you there?" They were not sure the new instrument could really carry voices．

　　Tom Edison, however, was a man of few words． He wasted no time． The first time he picked up the phone he did not ask if anyone was there． He was sure someone was, and simply said, "Hello．"

　　From that time on only about 100 years ago, the "hullo" became "hello", as it is heard today．

　　Strangely enough, when the first telephone system was put in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878, people did not say "hello" or "hullo" or even "halloo"． They answered the phone the way sailors hail a ship, "Ahoy, anoy there!" Thank God, that telephone greeting did not last long．

　　Of course, there are other ways Americans greet one another． Not long ago, people often said, "How are you ?" when they first met someone． This later became "hiyah"． Then, someone thought that two syllables were too much and "hiyah" became "hi"． Laziness is a strong force in changing language．

　　Answering a telephone call in America still presents problems, however． Telephone companies think that Thomas Edison's short "hello" is too long． Why waste time? The phone companies say． Simply pick up the phone, give your name, and start talking．

1．The word "hello" came from ______．

[　　]

A．an unknown origin　　 　B．old English

C．the German　　　　　　　D．the French

2．The writer thinks that, if used on the telephone, "Ahoy" is a word that ______．

  [ ]

A．sounds sincere

B．is pleasant to the ear

C．sounds sincere

D．sounds awkward and unsuitable

3．Expressions like "hello" and "hi" have entered the English language because short words ______．

[　　]

A．sound better

B．save the speakers time and energy

C．add varieties to the language

D．express the meaning more clearly

4．According to telephone companies, the best way to answer a telephone call is ______．

[　　]

A．to say "hello" to the caller

B．to say "hi" to the caller

C．to start talking immediately

D．to listen without saying anything

5．The topic sentence in the last but one paragraph is " ______ ．"

[　　]

A．Of course, there are other ways Americans greet one another

B．Laziness is a strong force in changing language

C．Not long age, people often said, "How are you?" when they first met someone

D．Then, someone thought that two syllables were too much and "hiyah" became "hi"