阅读理解。
A lot of us lose life’s tough battles by starting a frontal attack—when a touch of humor might well enable us to win．Consider the case of a young friend of mine，who hit a traffic jam on his way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum about being late on the job．Although there was a good reason for Sam’s a being late—serious illness at home—he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn’t work any longer．His supervisor was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speech．
Yes，the boss was．Sam entered the office at 9：35．The place was as quiet as a locker room；everyone was hard at work．Sam’s supervisor came up to him．Suddenly，Sam forced a grin and stretched out his hand．“How do you do！” he said．“I’m Sam Maynard．I’m applying for a job，which，I understand，became available just 35 minutes ago．Does the early bird get the worm？”
The room exploded in laughter．The supervisor clamped off a smile and walked back to his office．Sam Maynard had saved his job—with the only tool that could win，a laugh．
Humor is a most effective，yet frequently neglected，means of handling the difficult situations in our lives．It can be used for patching up differences，apologizing，saying “no”，criticizing，getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face．For some jobs，it’s the only tool that can succeed．It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialog may start a quarrel．For example，many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people in any other forum．
1.Why was Sam late for his job？
A．Because he was ill．
B．Because he got up late．
C．Because he was caught in a traffic jam．
D．He was busy applying for a new job．
2.The main idea of this passage is ________．
A．Sam Maynard saved his job with humor
B．humor is important in our lives
C．early bird gets the worm
D．humor can solve racial discriminations
3.The phrase “clamped off” in Paragraph 3 means ________．
A．tried to hold back B．tried to set
C．charged D．gave out
4.Which of the following statements can we infer from the passage？
A．Many lose life’s battles for they are lacking in a sense of humor．
B．It wasn’t the first time that Sam came late for his work．
C．Sam was supposed to come to his office at 8：30．
D．Humor is the most effective way of solving problems．
阅读理解。
What makes a person a scientist？Does he have ways or tools of learning that are different from those of others？The answer is “no”．It isn't the tools a scientist uses but how he uses these tools which makes him a scientist．You will probably agree that knowing how to use a power is important to a carpenter．You will probably agree，too，that knowing how to investigate，how to discover information，is important to everyone．The scientist，however，goes one step further；he must be sure that he has a reasonable answer to his questions and that his answer he gets to many questions is into a large set of ideas about how the world works．
The scientist's knowledge must be exact．There's no room for half right or right just half the time．He must be as nearly right as the conditions permit．What works under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other times．If the conditions are different，any changes the scientist observes in a demonstration must be explained by the changes in the conditions．
This is one reason why investigations are important in science．Albert Einstein，who developed the Theory of Relativity，arrived at this theory through mathematics．The accuracy of his mathematics was later tested through investigation．Einstein's ideas were proved to be correct．A scientist uses many tools for measurements．Then the measurements are used to make mathematical calculations that may test his investigations．
1.What makes a scientist according to the passage？
A．The tools he uses． B．His ways of learning．
C．The way he uses his tools． D．The various tools he uses．
2.“…knowing how to investigate，how to discover information，is important to everyone．”The writer says this to show_______．
A．the importance of information
B．the difference between scientists and ordinary people
C．the importance of thinking
D．the difference between carpenters and ordinary people
3.A sound scientific theory should be one that_______．
A．works under one set of conditions at one time and also works under the same conditions at other times
B．leaves no room for improvement
C．doesn't allow any change even under different conditions
D．can be used for many purposes
4.What is the main idea of the passage？
A．Scientists are different from ordinary people．
B．The Theory of Relativity．
C．Exactness is the core of science．
D．Exactness and way of using tools are the keys to making of a scientist．
阅读理解。
South Africa hosted the fifth BRICS Summit in March 2013，which completed the first cycle of BRICS summits，BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the world's leading up-and-coming economies，namely Brazil，Russia，India，China and South Africa．The BRICS aims to achieve peace，security，development and cooperation．It also seeks to contribute to the development of humanity and build a more stable and fairer world．
The industry leaders from the business communities of the five countries agreed that the BRICS countries will actively support industrialization on the African continent in order to contribute significantly to its development and to expand trade links between Africa and BRICS．The global economic situation，though improving，continues to remain uncertain with the Euro-crisis a major concern．The task ahead is to build on these developments and BRICS countries remain committed to the cause of promoting sustainable growth．Greater economic cooperation among BRICS countries can be significantly important，which will prove beneficial for global economic growth．
According to Dr．Rob Davies，South African Minister of Trade and Industry，the African continent is recognized as the second fastest growing continent after Asia．There are four drivers of the economic growth in African continent．These are the boom in mineral products in the African continent，the development of the service industries，the benefit of not having the financial crisis，and infrastructure(基础设施）development．Davies also adds that other BRICS countries have advantage of large populations providing big home markets for their products．The South African population is small compared to other BRICS countries，but if you add up numbers on continent then you have a critical mass that can support the new industrial wave in Africa：That is why the South African needs to create large trading blocks across large parts of African continent．
1.“BRICS” refers to______．
A． the most active economy group in today’s world
B． the most powerful economies in western world
C． leading countries with fast development of humanity
D． the most stable and secure countries in the world
2.From the text we know that industrialization in Africa will______．
A．give financial supports to all African countries
B create trade opportunities for both Africa and BRICS
C make significant development in the powerful groups
D．expand sustainable economic cooperation in different continents
3.The author believes greater cooperation among BRICS will______，
A．promote global economic growth
B．bring more challenges
C．narrow the gap of development
D．solve Europe’s economic crisis
4.Which of the following is the driver of the economic growth in Africa？______．
A． The development of business industry
B． Protective exploration in mineral products
C． The recovery of the infrastructure
D． The benefits of having no financial crisis
阅读理解。
About 21，000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings．
Instead，they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers．The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools．” and that is about twice as many as two years ago．
The money for students to attend a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live．Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools．They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well．
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed．These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools．They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school．
Whatever the judgement of cyberschools，they are getting more and more popular．For example，a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall．It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen．
Children get free equipment for their online education．This includes a computer，a printer，books and technical services．Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary．
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another．But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time．They were guests of honor at their graduation．
1.What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschool？
A．They have to take long bus rides to school．
B．They study at home rather than in classrooms．
C．They receive money from traditional public schools．
D．They do well in traditional school programs．
2.What is a problem with cyberschools？
A．Their equipment costs a lot of money．
B．They get little support from the state government．
C．It is hard to know students' progress in learning．
D．The students find it hard to make friends．
3.Cyberschools are getting popular became _______．
A．they are less expensive for students
B．their students can work at their own speed
C．their graduates are more successful in society
D．they serve students in a wider age range
4.We can infer that the author of the text is _______．
A．unprejudiced in his description of cyberschools
B．excited about the future of cyberschools
C．doubtful about the quality of cyberschoois
D．disappointed at the development of cyberschools
阅读理解。
Up，Up，and Away！
An adventurer who became the first person to fly across the English Channel on a cluster of balloons has launched a house into the sky just like in the hit movie Up-in reparation for a more ambitious journey and a new record．
Fearless Trappe，from North Carolina，stepped into the cartoon themed home before flying above the Leon International Balloon Festival in Mexico more than a week ago．
The 38-year-old Trappe was using the event as a warm-up for his planned trans-Atlantic flight scheduled for next summer．He aims to complete the 2，500-mile journey in a seven-foot lifeboat carried by 365 huge helium balloons．
The brave man is learning to sail a lifeboat，in case he needs to ditch into the ocean during the danger-filled adventure．
He still fly at between 18，000 feet and 25，000 feet，beating his previous world altitude record of 21，600 feet，and must fly uninterrupted a distance ten times longer than his previous world record of 230 miles in order to succeed．
The adventurer Trappe，who holds records for crossing the Alps，flying the most cluster balloons，and the longest distance，has spent his entire career，building up to this ambitious plan．
“I didn’t wake up one day and think：‘I’ going to fly across the Atlantic，’”he said．“Every attempt before this was prepared for this fight，I’ve been training for a long time”．
1.The adventurer flew across the English Channel to__________．
A．test the balloons B．launch a house
C．shoot a hit movie D．prepare for breaking a record
2.To finish the journey，he will fly a distance of__________．
A．2500 miles B．18，000 feet
C．25，000 feet D．230 miles
3.About the ambitious journey，which is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A．When he will fly B．How high he sill fly
C．How far he will fly D．How long it will take him
4.How many world records does Jonathan hold?
A．Two B．Three
C．Four D．Five
5.What does he last paragraph imply?
A．Trappe can’t sleep worrying about the adventure
B．Trappe was born to set world records
C．Trappe always keeps his ambition in mind
D．Trappe never thought of crossing the Atlantic before
阅读理解。
Five years ago, when I taught art at a school in Seattle, I used Tinkertoys as a test at the beginning of a term to find out something about my students. I put a small set of Tinkertoys in front of each student, and said: “Make something out of the Tinkertoys. You have 45 minutes today—and 45minutes each day for the rest of the week.”
A few students hesitated to start. They waited to see what the rest of the class would do. Several others checked the instructions and made something according to one of the model plans provided. Another group built something out of their own imaginations.
Once I had a boy who worked experimentally with Tinkertoys in his free time. His constructions filled a shelf in the art classroom and a good part of his bedroom at home. I was delighted at the presence of such a student. Here was an exceptionally creative mind at work. His presence meant that I had an unexpected teaching assistant in class whose creativity would infect(感染) other students.
Encouraging this kind of thinking has a downside. I ran the risk of losing those students who had a different style of thinking. Without fail one would declare, “But I’m just not creative.”
“Do you dream at night when you’re asleep?”
“Oh, sure.”
“So tell me one of your most interesting dreams.” The student would tell something wildly imaginative. Flying in the sky or in a time machine or growing three heads. “That’s pretty creative. Who does that for you?”
“Nobody. I do it.”
“Really—at night, when you’re asleep?”
“Sure.”
“Try doing it in the daytime, in class, okay?”
1. The teacher used Tinkertoys in class in order to ________.
A. know more about the students
B. make the lessons more exciting
C. raise the students’ interest in art
D. teach the students about toy design
2. What do we know about the boy mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A. He liked to help his teacher.
B. He preferred to study alone.
C. He was active in class.
D. He was imaginative.
3. Why did the teacher ask the students to talk about their dreams?
A. To help them to see their creativity.
B. To find out about their sleeping habits.
C. To help them to improve their memory.
D. To find out about their ways of thinking.
