1、Passage 1Up，Up，and Away！An adventurer who became the first person to fly across the English Channel on a cluster of balloons has launched a house into the sky just like in the hit movie Up-in reparation for a more ambitious journey and a new recordFearless Trappe，from North Carolina，stepped into the
2、 cartoon themed home before flying above the Leon International Balloon Festival in Mexico more than a week agoThe 38-year-old Trappe was using the event as a warm-up for his planned trans-Atlantic flight scheduled for next summerHe aims to complete the 2，500-mile journey in a seven-foot lifeboat ca
3、rried by 365 huge helium balloonsThe brave man is learning to sail a lifeboat，in case he needs to ditch into the ocean during the danger-filled adventureHe sill fly at between 18，000 feet and 25，000 feet，beating his previous world altitude record of 21，600 feet，and must fly uninterrupted a distance
4、ten times longer than his previous world record of 230 miles in order to succeedThe adventurer Trappe，who holds records for crossing the Alps，flying the most cluster balloons，and the longest distance，has spent his entire career，building up to this ambitious plan“I didnt wake up one day and think：I g
5、oing to fly across the Atlantic，”he said“Every attempt before this was prepared for this fight，Ive been training for a long time”1The adventurer flew across the English Channel to_Atest the balloons Blaunch a houseCshoot a hit movie Dprepare for breaking a record2To finish the journey，he will fly a
6、distance of_A2500 miles B18，000 feet C25，000 feet D230 miles3About the ambitious journey，which is NOT mentioned in the passage?AWhen he will fly BHow high he sill fly CHow far he will fly DHow long it will take him4How many world records does Jonathan hold?ATwo BThree CFour DFive5What does he last p
7、aragraph imply?ATrappe cant sleep worrying about the adventureBTrappe was born to set world recordsCTrappe always keeps his ambition in mindDTrappe never thought of crossing the Atlantic beforePassage 2Every day we go to school and listen to the teacher，and the teacher will ask us some questionsSome
8、times，the classmates will ask your opinions of the work of the classWhen you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics，remember that they must be able to hear what you are sayingYou are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends-you are in
9、 a slightly unnatural situation where a large group of people will remain silent，waiting to hear what you have to sayYou must speak so that they can hear you-loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourselfRemember，too，that it is the same if you are called
10、to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet youThe person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease but the situation is somewhat different from that of a ordinary conversationYou must take special care that you can be heard1When you sp
11、eak to the class，you should speak _Aas slowly as possible Bin a low voice Cloudly Dforcefully2Usually，when you speak to the class，the class is _ Anoisy Bquiet Chaving a rest Dserious3 The situation in the class is _ that in your house Anot very different from Bsometimes the same as Csometimes not th
12、e same as Dnot the same as4If you are having a conversation with an official，the most important thing for you is _Ato show your ability Bto be very gentle Cto make sure that you can be heard Dto put the official at ease5The main idea of this passage is _Athat we should talk in different ways in diff
13、erent situations Bthat we must speak loudlyCthat we must keep silent at any timeDthat we must talk with the classPassage 3About 21，000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildingsInstead，they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on com
14、putersThe Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools” and that is about twice as many as two years ago The money for students to attend a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they liveSome educators say cyberschools receive money that should
15、support traditional public schoolsThey also say it is difficult to know if students are learning wellOther educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speedThese people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schoolsThey s
16、ay learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from schoolWhatever the judgement of cyberschools，they are getting more and more popularFor example，a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fallIt will serve children in the sta
17、te of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteenChildren get free equipment for their online educationThis includes a computer，a printer，books and technical servicesParents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessaryStudents at cyberscho
18、ols usually do not know one anotherBut 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first timeThey were guests of honor at their graduation1What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschool？AThey have to take long bus rides to sc
19、hool BThey study at home rather than in classroomsCThey receive money from traditional public schoolsDThey do well in traditional school programs2What is a problem with cyberschools？ATheir equipment costs a lot of money BThey get little support from the state governmentCIt is hard to know students p
20、rogress in learningDThe students find it hard to make friends3Cyberschools are getting popular became _ Athey are less expensive for students Btheir students can work at their own speedCtheir graduates are more successful in society Dthey serve students in a wider age range4We can infer that the aut
21、hor of the text is _Aunprejudiced in his description of cyberschools Bexcited about the future of cyberschoolsCdoubtful about the quality of cyberschoois Ddisappointed at the development of cyberschoolsPassage 4South Africa hosted the fifth BRICS Summit in March 2013，which completed the first cycle
22、of BRICS summits，BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the worlds leading up-and-coming economies，namely Brazil，Russia，India，China and South AfricaThe BRICS aims to achieve peace，security，development and cooperationIt also seeks to contribute to the development of humanity and build a mor
23、e stable and fairer worldThe industry leaders from the business communities of the five countries agreed that the BRICS countries will actively support industrialization on the African continent in order to contribute significantly to its development and to expand trade links between Africa and BRIC
24、SThe global economic situation，though improving，continues to remain uncertain with the Euro-crisis a major concernThe task ahead is to build on these developments and BRICS countries remain committed to the cause of promoting sustainable growthGreater economic cooperation among BRICS countries can b
25、e significantly important，which will prove beneficial for global economic growthAccording to DrRob Davies，South African Minister of Trade and Industry，the African continent is recognized as the second fastest growing continent after AsiaThere are four drivers of the economic growth in African contin
26、entThese are the boom in mineral products in the African continent，the development of the service industries，the benefit of not having the financial crisis，and infrastructure(基础设施）developmentDavies also adds that other BRICS countries have advantage of large populations providing big home markets fo
27、r their productsThe South African population is small compared to other BRICS countries，but if you add up numbers on continent then you have a critical mass that can support the new industrial wave in Africa：That is why the South African needs to create large trading blocks across large parts of Afr
28、ican continent1“BRICS” refers to_Athe most active economy group in todays worldBthe most powerful economies in western worldCleading countries with fast development of humanityDthe most stable and secure countries in the world2From the text we know that industrialization in Africa will_Agive financi
29、al supports to all African countriesB create trade opportunities for both Africa and BRICS C make significant development in the powerful groupsDexpand sustainable economic cooperation in different continents3The author believes greater cooperation among BRICS will_，Apromote global economic growth B
30、bring more challengesCnarrow the gap of development Dsolve Europes economic crisis4Which of the following is the driver of the economic growth in Africa？_AThe development of business industryBProtective exploration in mineral productsCThe recovery of the infrastructureDThe benefits of having no fina
31、ncial crisisPassage 5What makes a person a scientist？Does he have ways or tools of learning that are different from those of others？The answer is “no”It isnt the tools a scientist uses but how he uses these tools which makes him a scientistYou will probably agree that knowing how to use a power is i
32、mportant to a carpenterYou will probably agree，too，that knowing how to investigate，how to discover information，is important to everyoneThe scientist，however，goes one step further；he must be sure that he has a reasonable answer to his questions and that his answer he gets to many questions is into a
33、large set of ideas about how the world worksThe scientists knowledge must be exactTheres no room for half right or right just half the timeHe must be as nearly right as the conditions permitWhat works under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other timesIf the co
34、nditions are different，any changes the scientist observes in a demonstration must be explained by the changes in the conditionsThis is one reason why investigations are important in scienceAlbert Einstein，who developed the Theory of Relativity，arrived at this theory through mathematicsThe accuracy o
35、f his mathematics was later tested through investigationEinsteins ideas were proved to be correctA scientist uses many tools for measurementsThen the measurements are used to make mathematical calculations that may test his investigations1What makes a scientist according to the passage？AThe tools he
36、 uses BHis ways of learningCThe way he uses his tools DThe various tools he uses2“knowing how to investigate，how to discover information，is important to everyone”The writer says this to show_Athe importance of informationBthe difference between scientists and ordinary peopleCthe importance of thinki
37、ngDthe difference between carpenters and ordinary people3A sound scientific theory should be one that_Aworks under one set of conditions at one time and also works under the same conditions at other timesBleaves no room for improvementCdoesnt allow any change even under different conditionsDcan be u
38、sed for many purposes4What is the main idea of the passage？AScientists are different from ordinary peopleBThe Theory of RelativityCExactness is the core of scienceDExactness and way of using tools are the keys to making of a scientistPassage 6A lot of us lose lifes tough battles by starting a fronta
39、l attackwhen a touch of humor might well enable us to winConsider the case of a young friend of mine，who hit a traffic jam on his way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum about being late on the jobAlthough there was a good reason for Sams a being lateserious illness at homehe decided that t
40、his by-now-familiar excuse wouldnt work any longerHis supervisor was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speechYes，the boss wasSam entered the office at 9：35The place was as quiet as a locker room；everyone was hard at workSams supervisor came up to himSuddenly，Sam forced a grin
41、 and stretched out his hand“How do you do！” he said“Im Sam MaynardIm applying for a job，which，I understand，became available just 35 minutes agoDoes the early bird get the worm？”The room exploded in laughterThe supervisor clamped off a smile and walked back to his officeSam Maynard had saved his jobw
42、ith the only tool that could win，a laughHumor is a most effective，yet frequently neglected，means of handling the difficult situations in our livesIt can be used for patching up differences，apologizing，saying “no”，criticizing，getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing faceFor som
43、e jobs，its the only tool that can succeedIt is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialog may start a quarrelFor example，many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people in any other forum1Why was Sam late for his job？ABeca
44、use he was ill BBecause he got up lateCBecause he was caught in a traffic jamDHe was busy applying for a new job2The main idea of this passage is _ASam Maynard saved his job with humorBhumor is important in our livesCearly bird gets the wormDhumor can solve racial discriminations3The phrase “clamped
45、 off” in Paragraph 3 means _Atried to hold back Btried to set Ccharged Dgave out4Which of the following statements can we infer from the passage？AMany lose lifes battles for they are lacking in a sense of humorBIt wasnt the first time that Sam came late for his workCSam was supposed to come to his o
46、ffice at 8：30DHumor is the most effective way of solving problemsPassage 7BEIJING，March 9The central government will require an additional three years of use for official vehicles for ministers and governors to reduce the costs of purchasing new cars，media have reportedThe new rule has been applied among all Party and government departments nationwide，the Beijing News reported on TuesdayThe new rule has not yet been made public，said Li，a member of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference National CommitteeUnder the old rules，the cars u
