Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device (装置) which uses satellites (卫星) to find the user’s position (位置). It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting(环绕…运行) the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate. Also there will be new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost anywhere.
1.GPS can help you find your position, can’t it?
2.What does a GPS look like?
3.How many things are mentioned that GPS devices can be put into?
4.Why do some people think GPS devices will be popular in the future?
5.What is the use of ground stations?
6.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
An 8-year-old Miami boy, Joshua Williams, is president of his own non-profit organization---Joshua’s Save the World. His organization provides food and clothes for p 1.
people and families in Miami and the neighboring areas.
Joshua has r 2. thousands of dollars for his organization. He started to help the hungry when he was just 5. He was in his mother’s car when they passed a beggar. Joshua asked his mother to stop so that he could give him $20. “It’s my m 3. . I want to help him, Mum,” Joshua recalled. One year later, he created his organization with the help of his mother and Francine Hanna, a local businesswoman. “He just thought that was what he wanted to do,” his mother said. “And there was nothing that could s 4. him.”
The organization now provides clothing, furniture and food for the poor people in America. At the same time, Joshua never misses a c 5. to encourage other people to follow what he did whether at church or on the streets. Earl Laird lost his job two years ago and hasn’t managed to get a n 6. one. Without money, he can’t pay for the flat and has to live on the street. He depends on food from Joshua’s Save the World. “Joshua is an angel (天使) from God,” he said.
Joshua has won Miami’s “Do the Right Thing” award and the “Kids Who Care” competition, which awarded him a $1,000 note. Even though he has a 7. done plenty, he said that his
mission (使命)to provide for the poor is far from finished. “I want to get a team together,” Joshua said. “I want my team to go out and give food to people who have a need for it. I want to spread love to countries in Africa.”
Mary, a 22-year-old young woman, stands in the kitchen of the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel inManila, preparing a cake. It would seem to be for a cook, but Mary is not normal. She has no hands.
Her disability (残疾), however, only slows her down while working. Using other parts of her body, Mary can cut grapes and strawberries into pieces. “When I first saw Mary, I was worried she might hurt herself when using a knife, but that has never been a ,” says the boss of the hotel. “She does not get special treatment and works just as hard as the rest of the cooks.”
Mary has come a long way since the day in September 2002 when she and her uncle were attacked by two men, who were trying to force her family off their land. The 11-year-old girl passed out (晕倒) as she tried to herself from the attack. After she came to her sense, she found her uncle dead and saw her arms broken. Later, the doctors did an operation. They saved her life but could not save her hands.
In 2006, with the help of the family, Mary went to live at the House with No Steps, a Manila rehabilitation (康复) and training centre for disabled people. She learned how to write and do housework there. And more , she became used to her disability. She believed she could live a normal life although she was disabled. She thought she had something important to do in life because she was alive after the terrible attack. After she finished high school, she took a two-year Hotel and Restaurant Management course because she had enjoyed cooking since she was a little girl.
Mary didn’t shy away from the attention when she was reported on television. “I wanted others living with disabilities to believe it’s to live a normal life,” Mary says. “It is difficult to make a living, but I don’t lose hope. I believe nothing is impossible if you dream and work hard.
1.A. attractive B. natural C. necessary D. important
2.A. moment B. way C. problem D. topic
3.A. save B. keep C. prevent D. protect
4.A. strangely B. importantly C. suddenly D. politely
5.A. yet B. already C. just D. still
6.A. possible B. excellent C. simple D. exciting
Old George selected his food in the supermarket more carefully than NASA chose its astronauts. When he left the cashier, he was pleased to think that he had saved 80 cents today.
At the exit, the cold wind made him think of his gloves. He looked for them in his coat and pants but could not find them anywhere. He had bought the black gloves at a good price, for just $35, years ago. They were soft and very comfortable. He had taken great care looking after them, so they were in good condition.
George, calm on the outside but mad on the inside, re-entered the store. He followed the same route he had walked before. Several minutes of searching turned out to be in vain (徒劳). His black gloves were gone. “People have changed,” he said to himself. “Years ago, if somebody picked up something lost, they would give it back. Not any more!”
He stared at anybody wearing black gloves to see if they looked like his. On his way to the dairy section, he noticed a lady wearing a pair of black gloves. He sped up and in three seconds was in front of her. But when the surprised woman looked over, his eyes dropped, for her gloves were just far too small to be his. He went over to the cashier to ask if she had received any lost gloves, but she said no. He finally walked out into the street.
A few days later, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before getting on the subway, he stepped into the supermarket again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. “What color are they?” the woman in the office asked. “Black,” he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men’s leather gloves. “Are they?”
“Yes! Those are mine,” George exclaimed, his eyes full of joy.
1.The author tells us that ________ in the first paragraph.
A. George was very poor
B. George was very strange
C. every cent was important to George
D. George was careless in shopping
2.The underlined phrase “in good condition” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.
A. excellent without damage B. healthy
C. attractive D. good-looking
3.George searched for his gloves in a mad way because ________.
A. they were a precious gift given by his friends
B. they were bought at a high price in a big store
C. he could not find other gloves as good as this pair
D. he would rather not spend money on another pair
4.When George realized he had probably lost his gloves, he ________.
A. thought someone had found his gloves and kept them
B. was calm and confident that he could get his gloves back
C. thought that there were more thieves nowadays than before
D. looked for his gloves everywhere including in the lost and found office
5.How do you think George felt when he finally left the supermarket without finding his gloves?
A. silly B. disappointed
C. horrible D. tired
6.When George entered the supermarket again a few days later, he ________.
A. decided to buy a better pair B. wanted to try his luck
C. held no hope at all D. felt very hopeful
Complete the following sentences as required (根据所给要求，完成下列句子。每空格限
填一词) (共14分)
1.Mike lent his new bike to his friend yesterday. (改为否定句)
Mike ________ ________ his new bike to his friend yesterday.
2.The flats in that housing estate are rather expensive. (改为感叹句)
________ ________ the flats in that housing estate are!
3.We usually hold our school sports meeting in early November. (对划线部分提问)
________ ________ you usually hold your school sports meeting?
4.I hope you’ll have a good time during your stay in Hainan Island, Tim. (保持句意基本不变)
I hope you’ll ________ ________ during your stay in Hainan Island, Tim.
5.How can I go to the nearest supermarket? Do you know? (合并成一句)
Do you know how ________ ________ go to the nearest supermarket?
6.My father grows tomatoes in the field every year. (改为被动语态)
Tomatoes ________ ________ in the field every year.
7.traveling, my, likes, us, weekends, with, son, at. (连词成句)
____________________________________________________.
Complete the sentences with the given words in their proper forms (用括号中所给单词的适当形式完成下列句子。每空格限填一词) (共8分)
1.One of my cousins works as a _______ in that company years ago. (manage)
2.A friend of _______ is going to visit us during the Spring Festival. (we)
3.The _______ Olympic Games was held in 2012 in London. (thirty)
4.It rained so _______ that we had to change the date of our outing. (heavy)
5.My cousin said he was _______ enough to be chosen as an exchange student. (luck)
6.Several wonderful _______ were made at the national conference. (speech)
7.We _______ the question so excitedly that we couldn’t go to sleep last night. (discussion)
8.Many _______ houses have been built for the tourists in this area recently. (wood)
