The world is not hungry, but it is thirsty. It seems strange that nearly 3/4 of the earth is covered with water while we say we are short of water. Why? Because about 97% of water on the earth is sea water which we can’t drink or use for watering plants directly. Man can only drink and use the 3% the water that comes from rivers and lakes. And we can’t even use all of that, because some of it has been polluted.

Now more water is needed. The problem is: can we avoid a serious water shortage later on? First, we should all learn how to save water. Secondly, we should find out the ways to reuse it. Scientists have always been making study in this field. Today, in most large cities water is used only once and then runs to the sea or rivers. But it can be used again. Even if every large city reused its water, still there would not be enough. What could people turn to next?

The sea seems to have the best answer. There is a lot of water in the sea. All that needs to be done is to get the salt out of the sea water. This is expensive, but it’s already in use in many parts of the world. Scientists are trying to find a cheaper way of doing it. So you see, if we can find a way out, we’ll be in no danger of drying up.

1.The world is thirsty because ___________.

2.Which of the following is TRUE?

3.From the passage we learn that __________.

The dream of flying into outer space, cherished by the Chinese people for centuries, will soon come true.

　　China launched its fourth unmanned spacecraft （飞船）“Shenzhou Ⅳ” on December 30 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu Province. It was the 27th consecutive（连续的 ）and successful launch of China - made rockets since October 1996. This launch has made it more realistic for China to send a person into space on its own following Russia and the USA.

　　Qi Faren，leading designer of the spacecraft system, said all the functions （功能） designed for manned flights have withstood （经受住）the test of three previous, successful launches and return landings of the “Shenzhou” spaceships.

　　China launched the “Shenzhou Ⅰ ”, “Shenzhou Ⅱ ”and “Shenzhou Ⅲ ”spacecrafts in 1999,2001 and 2002 respectively.

　　“Shouzhou Ⅳ” was to make it a more comfortable place in which astronauts can live and work. All parts of the application system for manned flight are aboard the “Shenzhou Ⅳ”craft in all test flights.

　　China’s manned flight programme began in 1992. A number of unmanned test flights will be launched before Chinese astronauts are sent into space.

　　Leading scientists in charge of China’s manned space programme said the successful launch of the “Shenzhou Ⅳ” laid a solid foundation for the country’s future task of sending Chinese astronauts to outer space.

　　The spacecraft returned to the earth on January 5, after completing seven experiments in space.

　　Officials at the centre said that“ Shenzhou Ⅴ”, a manned spacecraft, is expected to be launched later this year.

1.How many countries can send a person into space on its own by now？

2..China’s manned flight programme began in ________.

3.As a matter of fact, ________ .

4..Which is the most suitable title for the passage?

America is growing older. Fifty - eight years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. To day, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect（影响）American society in many ways—education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has made us a very different society—one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior（行为） is suitable（合适）at various , ages.

　　A person s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29 - year - old university president or a 35 - year -old grandmother, or a 70 year - old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.

　　Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother— or my father— was at my age. ”No one says“Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

1.It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America ________ .

2.The underlined word “one” refers to ________ .

3.“Act your age” means people should ________ .

4.If a 25 - year - old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it ________ .

It is difficult for parents of nearly every family to teach their children to be responsible （有责任的）for housework, but with one of the following suggestions, you really can get your children to help at home.

　　If you give your children the impression that they can never do anything quite right, then they will regard themselves as unfit or unable persons. Unless children believe they can succeed, they will never become totally independent.

　　My daughter Carla’s fifth - grade teacher made every child in her class feel special. When students received less than a prefect test score, she would point out what they had mastered and declared firmly they could learn what they had missed.

　　You can use the same technique when you evaluate （评价）your child’s work at home. Don’t always scold and give lots of praise instead. Talk about what he has done right, not about what he hasn’t done. If your child completes a difficult task, promise him a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad.

　　Learning is a process（过程）of trying and failing and trying and succeeding. If you teach your children not to fear a mistake of failure, they will learn faster and achieve success at last.

1.The whole passage deals with ________.

2.The author thinks that________.

3.The article gives us a good suggestion about how to evaluate（评价）your child’s work at home. That is to ________.

4.The author advises readers to________.

On April 11 Lincoln, Mrs Lincoln and two friends were spending night in talk, when Lincoln suddenly began to discuss his dreams. “I had one the other night. About 10 days ago I went to bed very  36 . I had been up   37  for important letters from the White House for a long time. I could not have been   38  in bed when I fell into sleep. I soon began to   39  . There seemed to be a dead silence about me. Then I heard sobs(抽泣)，  40  a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and   41  downstairs. There the silence was broken by some pitiful(令人可怜的) sobbing, but the mourners(送葬者)were   42 .I went from room to room, no living person was in sight; but the same mournful sounds of distress(悲痛) met me as I   43 along. It was light in all the rooms;  44  was well known to me，but   45 were all the people who were sobbing as if their hearts would   46 ? I was puzzled and frightened. What could be the   47  of all this? I kept on walking until I arrived at the East Room, which I   48 . Before me was a dead body. Around it were soldiers who were acting as   49 ; there were some people   50  pitifully. ‘‘Who is dead in the White House?” I asked.

“The president，” was the answer.

“It’s   51 !”I said to myself and was surprised. How did he die?”

“He was killed by an assassinator (暗杀者)!” was the answer.

“  52  came a loud burst of crying from the crowd，which woke me from my dream. I slept   53 that night, and although it was  54  a dream I have been rather angry about it   55 .”

Tom ____his homework yesterday, because he was in hospital all day.

We used to work in the same office and we _________ have coffee together.

 _____ all the inventions have in common is ______ they have succeeded.

The new machine，if _________ properly，will work at least ten years.

—What were you doing when the telephone rang?

—I ______ away my books and ______ to bed.