Recently, a solar-powered (太阳能动力的) plane took to the sky for the first time. It passed an important test on the way to travel around the world.
The plane took off from an airport in Switzerland. It slowly rose above the fields and into the sky.
“There has never been an airplane of that kind that could fly — never an airplane so big, so light, using so little energy,” said Bertrand Piccard, a leader of the project.
During the 90-minute flight(飞行), the plane did several turns. It climbed nearly 1.6km above the countryside.
Engineers plan to 
test a night flight before July. Then they will use the results of the tests to build a second plane. They plan to travel around the world in that plane in 2012.
“We want to fly it day and night with no fuel (燃料),” Piccard said.
Piccard and pilot(飞行员) Andre Borschberg will take the plane around the world. They will make a few stops to change places and rest after a long time in the air — and to show off their airplane
.
The plane will fly at 70 km per hour on average(平均). That is faster than a bike and slower than a car. The pilots will keep the plane in the air for up to five days at a time.
1.The passage is probably taken from _____________.
A. a postcard B. a newspaper C. a comic book D. an advertisement
2.The solar-powered plan
e ________________.
A. is big and heavy B. uses much energy
C. passed the first testD. will have a night flight after July
3.How long will it take the solar-powered plane to travel 140 km?
A. About a day and a night. B. About 5 days.
C. About 2 hours. D. About 90 minutes.
4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned(提到)in the passage?
A. During the 90-minute flight, the solar-powered plane reached a height of 1.6km.
B. The solar-powered plane is slower than a car and faster than a bike.
C. Maybe the solar-powered plane will fly with no fuel.
D. It took a long time to build the solar-powered plane.
5.The passage mainly talks about ___________________.
A. the solar-powered plane
B. the speed of the solar-powered plane
C. how to make the solar-powered plane
D. the world travel of the solar-powered plane
"The only thing holding you back is yourself. Never say never", said a rising 17-year-old singer, Justin Bieber, who was just an ordinary boy in Canada a few years ago.
After the accident of falling from the 18th floor and lying in the snow for three hours, my hands were frozen and my spinal cord (脊髓)was seriously injured. All the doctors and professors in the famous hospitals in Beijing told me that there was little chance for my hands and my body to recover (康复).
After half a year of medical treatments and recovering exercises , I could not make any more progress for over a year . What was worse , I suffered a lot from depression ( 绝望).On top of this , I suffered from insomnia , I couldn’t f
all asleep the whole night. Hopelessly , mom and I came back to my hometown, which is small town in Guangdong.
At that time , I thought that I would never be able to walk again. I would never love and be loved. I would never be able to earn even a penny. I would never be able to repay the kindness I got from my parents and many nice people .
Life was meaningless.
Now two years has passed.My hands are 80% recovered.I can even type faster than a healthy person ! Up to now, I have worked for a company as an interpreter for half a year already. Although I don’t earn as much as before, I am able to pay for the food and clothes I need. What’s more , I even have extra money to buy thanksgiving presents for my parents and my boyfriend. Through my blogs( 博客) , many people get to know me and like me.I can bring happiness to them. I can help those who are still suffering from depression and the 
pain of ill
nesses by chatting with them….You see, I am living a meaningful life and I am happier than ever I could have dreamed.
So, my friends, never say never. As long as you are alive , there is always hope and possibilities. It is never too late to take action to realize your dreams.
1.What’s the writer’s present job?
A. A singer B. A typist C. A professor D. An interpreter
2.Why does the writer use Bieber’s song in the first paragraphy?
A. Because the song is beautiful.
B. Because the writer likes the song.
C. Because the song is taught by her mother.
D. Because the song is what she exactly wants to express.
3.What does the underlined word “ insomnia” in the third paragraph mean in Chinese?
A. 失眠 B. 失忆 C.麻木 D.低烧
4.All of the following words can be used to describe the writer’s present life EXCEPT____________.
A. helpful B. meaningful C. painful D. hopeful
5.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the writer is TRUE?
A. She gets a lot of help through her blogs.
B. She is in love with a young man at present.
C. She got medical treatment soon after the accident.
D. She had no job and earned little before the accident.
A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).
“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll s
how you what real flying is!”
One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.
Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments(评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.
The swan pretended(假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?”“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life…”
The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.
1.What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. The crow showed off its flying skills.
b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.
c. The crow laughed at the swan’s flying.
d. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.
e. The crow challenged the swans and a strong young swan accepted it.
A. e, c, d, a, b B. a, e, c, d, b C. c, e, a, d, b D. e, a, d, c, b
2.What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Tired. B. Angry. C. Frightened.D. joyful.
3.Why did the crow keep touching the water?
A. It was showing another flying skill.
B. It was struggling to keep itself from falling into the water.
C. It was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.
D. It was enjoying itself by doing so.
4.What can we infer(推断) from the passage?
A. The crow didn’t know flying.
B. Flying skills were useless.
C. The swan saved the crow because they were good friends.
D. The swan was better at long-distance flying than the crow.
5.What does the story tell us?
A. No pains, no gains.B. The early bird catches the worm.
C. Pride goes before a fall.D. Practice makes perfect.
There is a saying, “China has the best teahouses in the world and Chengdu has the best teahouses in China.”Chengdu has not only many teahouses but also the special ways of serving and drinking tea.
As soon as the visitors enter the teahouses, the waiters or waitresses will greet them with teapots and cups in their hands. The cups often have special covers and saucers(茶碟). The covers can keep the water warm.
People who go to the teahouses are not all thirsty. Retired(退休)people pay a little money to the teahouses and then sit there all day long to chat with others. Sometimes, people have parties in the teahouses. They eat fruit and sunflower seeds(瓜子)while they chat and return home when they are tired. Teahouses are also good places for people to talk about businesses. Some of the teahouses even have stages for performances, such as storytelling, cross talk and Sichuan Opera. Sometimes when people have a quarrel, a mediator(调解员)will bring them to the teahouse. After their problem is solved, the person who is wrong will pay for the tea. It is interesting that as soon as the quarrelers enter the teahouse and sit down to drink tea, they have almost calmed down. With the help of the mediator, their problems can be easily solved then. Maybe we can say the teahouses have some special social functions.
1.Chengdu has the best teahouses in China in China because_______________ .
A. there are many people in Chengdu teahouses
B. the serving of the teahouses in Chengdu is very special
C. there are many old men in Chengdu teahou
ses
D. the cups in Chengdu teahouses are old
2.People in Chengdu’s teahouses may __________while they are drinking according to the passage.
A．enjoy interesting stories B．watch movies
C．listen to Beijing Opera D．quarrel in loud voice
3.Who will pay for the tea after the mediator solve some problems?
A．The mediator himself B．The person who caused the problem
C．All the persons in the teahouse D．The owner of the teahouse
4.This passage mainly talks about ________________ .
A. how to make tea
B. how to open a teahouse
C. the special function of the teahouses
D. the special way of enjoying tea
5.This passage is taken from some newspaper. Which part do you think it is from?
A．The sports part. B．The news part.
C．The culture part. D．The education part.
Jenny, from Germany, spent some time traveling in India. While she was there, she stayed with her Indian friend, Leela. However，there was a language barrier (障碍) for her there . It was very __ _ for her to communicate in the new environment, which was very different from ___ of her own country .
One day , together with Leela ,
Jenny went to __ an orphanage(孤儿院) . All the children there were very young. At first, Jenny was not sure _____ she could have a way to communicate with them. She went over to the children ____ and sat beside them. After some time, one of the children __ her. She felt a little relaxed and smiled _____. Then she went _____ to the child. She slowly put her are around the child and started a song in German .The child kept smiling and started repeating the words after her. The words that came from the little mouth were different from those that Jenny sang, but the rhythm was the same. Jenny sang a little __ and the child followed her again. Wanting to join in the another child went up to Jenny and started singing the rhythm . Then more children joined . They _ many smiles together .
From the other side of the hall , Leela was smiling and watching them. Noticing Leela’s ___ _on her, Jenny had an _ feeling from her heart :“ See, I don’t have any language barriers here. We __ speak and communicate!” At that moment , she understand : We are all simply human and we have ability to connect each other .
1.A. nice B. dangerous C. difficult D. easy
2.A. these B. those C. this D. that
3.A. show B. visit 
C. build D. improve
4.A. that B. if C. when D. why
5.A. slowly B. early C. hardly D. easily
6.A. looked at B. laughed at C. shouted at D. smiled at
7.A. at B. to C. back D. again
8.A. closed B. close C.closely D. towards
9.A. singing B. writing C. saying D. playing
10.A. much B. many C. more D. most
11.A. club B. talk C. fun D. dance
12.A. forgot B. remembered C. shared D. missed
13.A. hands B. eyes C. influence D. question
14.A. excited B. exciting C. interesting D. scared
15.A. can B. must C. need D. should
--- Could you tell me ? --- Certainly. In 20 minutes.
A. when will the train to Beijing leave
B. when the train to Beijing would leave
C. when the train to Beijing left
D. when the train to Beijing will leave
