One of my first memories as a child in the 1950s was a discussion I had with my brother in our tiny bedroom in the family house in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
We had heard in school about a planet called Pluto. It was the farthest, coldest, and darkest thing a child could imagine. We guessed how long it would take to die if we stood on the surface of such a frozen place wearing only the clothes we had on. We tried to figure out how much colder Pluto was than Antarctica, or than the coldest day we had ever experienced in Pennsylvania.
Pluto, which famously was downgraded from a “major planet” to a “dwarf planet”(矮星) in 2006, captured our imagination because it was a mystery that could complete our picture of what it was like at the most remote corners of our solar system
Pluto’s underdog discovery story is part of what makes it so attractive. Clyde Tombaugh was a Kansas farm boy who built telescopes out of spare auto parts, old farm equipment and self-ground lenses. As an assistant at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Tombaugh’s task was to search millions of stars for a moving point of light, a planet that the observatory’s founder thought existed beyond the orbit of Neptune. On February 18, 1930, Tombaugh found it. Pluto was the first planet discovered by an American, and represented a moment of light in the midst of the Great Depression’s dark encroachment(入侵).
Pluto is much more than something that is not a planet. It’s a reminder that there are many worlds out there beyond our own and that the sky isn’t the limit at all. We don’t know what kinds of fantastic variations on a theme nature is capable of making until we get there to look.
1.Why did Pluto become famous in 2006 according to the passage?
A. Because it lost its major planet status
B. Because it disappeared in the sky
C. Because it was discovered by an American
D. Because it was proved to be the coldest planet in the universe
2.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. An American Scientist: Clyde Tombaugh
B. Pluto was First Discovered by a Boy
C. Pluto’s Strange Romance
D. The Days I Spent with My Brother in Pennsylvania
3.What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
A. Clyde Tombaugh discovered the darkness in the Great Depression
B. Pluto was the only planet that was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh
C. Clyde Tombaugh’s job was to build telescopes for Lowell Observatory
D. Clyde Tombaugh’s telescopes used for searching stars were very simple
The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” --and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer--which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet--used the title in 2008. A lovely bear--popular in the US and UK--that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London’s Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce(电子商务) first came into use.
Most “I” products are targeted at(针对) young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “I”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition(定义),” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便).” adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “I” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade(十年).
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.
1.We can infer that the Independent's "i" is designed at .
A. old readers B. young readers
C. fashionable women D. engineers
2.The underlined word “ambiguous” means “ “.
A. popular B. clear
C. uncertain D. unique
3.Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are .
A. portable B. environmentally friendly
C. advanced D. recyclable
4.The writer suggests that .
A. “i” products are often of high quality
B. iTeddy is alive bear
C. the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products
D. the popularity of “i” products may not last long
假如你叫李华，你的朋友John暑假在中国探亲，你看到报纸上的一则招聘广告，为当地举办的中国文化艺术节招募志愿者。请你给组委会写一封邮件推荐你的朋友John，内容包括：
1. 介绍你的朋友John；
2. 他的意愿与打算；
3. 期待回复。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头及结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Sir/ Madame,
I happened to read about your ad asking for volunteers for the coming Chinese Art Festival.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删减：把多余的词用斜线( \ )划掉。
修改：在错词下面划一横线, 并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2. 只允许修改10处, 多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Six months ago, Xie Lei boards a plane for London. It was the first time she left her country. She wanted to finish a business qualification in an university. Now she is in her preparation year, what she thinks is of great beneficial. She sometimes feels like a child, for she has to learn of almost everything when it comes to use English. Xie Lei lives with a host family who give her lots of advices, which makes her feel a great comfort. Her tutor used to encourage him to contradict the authors she read. Now, she is very independent and a more autonomous learner and fitting in good.
California is the third 1.(large) state in the USA and it is the most multicultural state. About 15,000 years ago, the first 2.(settle) crossed the Bering Strait and arrived in California. The Native Americans suffered 3.(great) after the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century. In the 18th century, California 4.(rule) by Spain until 1821 when the people of Mexico gained their independence 5.Spain. California then became part of Mexico. But after the American-Mexican war in 1846, California was given to the USA.
In 1848, gold was discovered in California,6.attracted people from all over the world to arrive there 7.(achieve) their dreams of becoming rich. In 1850, California became 8. 31st state of the USA as a multicultural society.9. (attract) by the climate and lifestyle, more and more people from different parts of the world have been immigrating to California,10.(include) Asians, Africans and Europeans.
I’ve always had strong opinions of how love should be expressed, but others have their own ways of showing care.
What I ______ most about visiting my boyfriend’s parents is the loud tick of the clock in the dining room as we ______ ate our meal．With so little conversation I was quick to regard his family as ____．When we got into the car to go home, his father suddenly appeared．_____, he began to wash his son’s windscreen．I could feel he is a ____man through the glass.
I learned another lesson about ______a few years later．My father often ____ me early in the morning．“Buy Xerox．It’s a good sharp price,” he might say when I answered the phone．No pleasant _____ or inquiry about my life, just financial instructions. This manner of his angered me and we often ____．But one day, I thought about my father’s success in business and realized that his______for my financial security lay behind his short morning calls．The next time he called and told me to buy a stock，I______him．
When my social style has ______with that of my friends, I’ve often felt disappointed．For example, I always return phone calls _____ and regularly contact my friends．I expect the same from them．I had one friend who ______called, answering my messages with short e-mails．I rushed to the ______: She wasn’t a good friend! My anger grew as the holidays approached．But then she came to a gathering I _____ and handed me a beautiful dress I had fallen in love with when we did some window-shopping the previous month．I was shocked at her thoughtfulness, and ____ for how I’d considered her to be uncaring．Clearly I needed to ____ my expectations of friends.
Far too often, I ignored their ____ expressions, eagerly expecting them to do things in my way .Over the years, however, I’ve learned to ____ other persons’ love signs.
1.A. admire B. enjoy C. remember D. forget
2.A. excitedly B. silently C. nervously D. instantly
3.A. cold B. friendly C. attractive D. polite
4.A. Proudly B. Secretly C. Carefully D. Violently
5.A. boring B. caring C. funny D. stubborn
6.A. value B. respect C. love D. courage
7.A. warned B. telephoned C. visited D. interrupted
8.A. excuse B. meeting C. apology D. greetings
9.A. fought B. encouraged C. quarreled D. laughed
10.A. concern B. blame C. regret D. pride
11.A. thanked B. ignored C. held D. praised
12.A. associated B. conflicted C. agreed D. linked
13.A. in order B. in turn C. without delay D. without doubt
14.A. rarely B. regularly C. usually D. normally
15.A. judgment B. suggestion C. decision D. condition
16.A. opened B. refused C. hosted D. invited
17.A. depressed B. regretful C. fascinated D. pitiful
18.A. develop B. own C. find D. change
19.A. pleasant B. common C. unique D. familiar
20.A. give B. read C. write D. send
