Domestic airline passengers will be able to make phone calls and send e-mails from the sky from next year, a local carrier has said.
Shenzhen Airlines said on Monday it has signed an agreement with Geneva-based On-Air to provide passengers with in-flight communications services on all its planes by the end of 2009. The service will be introduced on three aircraft ahead of the 2008 Olympics, on two routes----from Shenzhen to Beijing and Shenzhen to Shanghai, the airline said.
Passengers will be able to use their own electronic devices to send e-mails and short messages, make calls and surf the Internet, it said. The service is expected to be of particular interest to business travelers.
According to a survey at the end of last year, China had 4.55 million mobile-phone subscribers. Ninety-three percent of those polled said they wished they could send and receive e-mails and messages while on a plane.
Despite the introduction of the new service, passengers will still be prevented from using their cell phones and laptops when the plane is taking off and landing, or flying at less than 3,000 m above sea level, the official said.
The official said the new service would not lead to an increase in ticket prices, but users of Chinese mobile-phone services will be charged the international roaming rate for any calls made from the sky.
Shenzhen Airlines is the first Chinese carrier to provide such in-flight communications services. Its president, Li Kun, said installing the facilities will cost 4.5 million yuan ($596,000) per aircraft. However, the project still needs to be approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, a source said.
1. According to the report, passengers can on the plane by the end of 2009.
A. make phone calls B. surf the Internet
C. send short messages D. all of the above
2. We can learn that the new service will be introduced .
A. on two routes B. in two cities C. after the Beijing Olympics D. on two aircrafts
3. Passengers will still be prevented from using their cell phones in the following situations except_______.
A. when the plane is taking off B. when the plane is landing
C. when the plane is flying at less than 3,000 m in above sea level
D. when the plane is flying at 4,000 m above sea level
4. It can be inferred that the new service will probably cause .
A. higher ticket prices B. lower ticket prices C. higher cell phone fee D. lower cell phone fee
5. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Domestic airline needs to improve their service.
B. Domestic airline will make phone calls and e-mails available.
C. Chinese mobile-phone services will help domestic airline.
D. Chinese mobile-phone will charge more.
四、阅读理解 （共15 小题，30分）
阅读下面四篇短文，从各题A、B、C、D 四个选项中选出最佳答案。
I like friends who share my happiness and sorrow,and who possess wings of their own and fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate(照亮)me and help me to express my love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say,“Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend. He was in despair(失望) and I was in despair, but our friendship was based on the idea that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we felt awful at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and visited many wonderful places. We walked until our despair disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had a remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters to each other in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think: “Yes, I must tell…” We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist(心理学家), who will only fill up the healing(愈合的) silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend.
1. In the eighth grade, what did the author do while her classmates started developing proper social behavior?
A. Become serious about her studies. B. Went to her friend’s house regularly.
C. Learned from her claamates at school. D. Wrote poems and stories with her friend.
2. In Paragraph 3, “We gave London to each other” probably means “______”.
A. our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us
B. we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London
C. our unpleasant feelings about London disappeared
D. we parted with each other in London
3. According to Paragraph 4, the author and her friend
A. call each other regularly B. have similar personalities
C. write stories D. sometimes dream about each other
4. In the darkest moments, the author wants to
A. seek professional help B. be left alone
C. stay with her best friend D. break the silence
5. What is a good title for the passage?
A. Unforgettable Experiences B. Remarkable Imagination
C. Lifelong Friendships D. Noble Companions
三、完形填空 （共20小题，20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从各题A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳答案。
When I come across a good article in reading newspapers, I often want to cut and keep it. But just as I am about to do so I find the article on the __36__ side is as much interesting. It may be a discussion of the way to __37__ in good health, or __38__ about how to behave and conduct oneself in society. If I cut the front article, the opposite one is likely to __39__ damage, leaving out half of it or keeping the text __40__ the title. Therefore, the scissors would __41__ before they start, __42__ halfway done when I find out the __43__result.
Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time, both worth your __44__. You can only take up one of them, the other has to wait or be __45__ up. But you know the future is unpredictable --- the changed situation may not allow you to do what is left __46__. Thus you are __47__ in a difficult position and feel sad. How __48_nice chances and brilliant ideas should gather around all at once? It may happen that your life __49__ greatly on our preference of one choice to the other.
In fact that is what __50__ is like: we are often __51__ with the two opposite sides of a thing which are both desirable like a newspaper cutting. It often occurs that our attention is drawn to one thing only ____52____ we get into another. The __53__ may be more important than the latter and give rise to a divided mind. I __54__ remember a philosopher’s remarks: “When one door shuts, another opens in life.” So a casual __55__ may not be a bad one.
36 A. front B. same C. either D. opposite
37 A. get B. keep C. lead D. bring
38 A. advice B. news C. a theory D. a report
39 A. suffer B. reduce C. prevent D. cause
40A. on B. for C. without D. off
41A. use B. handle C. prepare D. stay
42 A. or B. but C. so D. for
43 A. satisfying B. regretful C. surprising D. impossible
44 A. courage B. strength C. attention D. patience
45A. given B. held C. made D. picked
46 A. near B. alone C. about D. behind
47 A. filled B. attracted C. caught D. struck
48 A. dare B. come C. deal D. do
49 A. improves B. changes C. progresses D. goes
50 A. study B. society C. nature D. life
51 A. faced B. supplied C. connected D. fixed
52 A. before B. after C. until D. as
53 A. following B. next C. above D. former
54 A. still B. also C. once D. almost
55 A. treatment B. action C. choice D. remark
----John and I will celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary next month.
----Oh,_________!
A. cheer up B.well done C.go ahead D.congratulations
---I am sorry. I should not have been so rude to you.
--- You _________ your temper but that’s Ok.
A. have lost B. had lost C. did lose D. were losing
Research ________out at Livepool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don’t use the sense of direction, we’ll lose it.
A. to carry B. carrying C. being carried D.having carried
