The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space showed it as a solid ball covered by brown land masses and blue-green oceans. We had never seen the Earth from that distance before. To us, it appeared as though the Earth had always looked that way and always would. Scientists now know, however, that the surface of the Earth is not as permanent (永久的) as we had thought.

Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents moves about the Earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the Earth's outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again.

Only since the 1960s have scientists really began to understand that the planet Earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents－a science called plate tectonics.

The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War One, Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He proposed that the two continents might have been one and then split apart.

Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago, explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and south Africa. What the explorers did not do, but Wegener did, was to investigate the idea that the continents move.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The coastline of India and Africa fit together.

B.Our ancient thought that the surface of the earth is still.

C.Alfred Wegener was not the first person to investigate the idea that the continents move.

D.We didn't see the Earth from far away until we saw the picture taken in the space.

2.The last word of the third paragraph "tectonics" means" "______".

A.study of building B.study of the earth structure

C.study of the earth surface D.study of designing

3.What did the explorers find?

A.The east coastlines of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together.

B.The coastlines of North America and Africa could fit together.

C.The coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together.

D.The coastlines of North America and India could fit together.

Does Fame Drive You Crazy?

Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today's star, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world's attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.

According to psychologist Christina Villareal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. "Over time," Villareal says, "they feel separated and alone."

The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B.C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.

Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their "story" alive forever.

If fame is so troublesome, why aren't all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.

Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.

1.It can be learned from the passage that stars today ________.

A.are often misunderstood by the public B.care little about how they have come into fame

C.spend too much on their public appearance D.can no longer have their privacy protected

2.What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A.Great heroes of the past were generally admired.

B.Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids.

C.The problem faced by celebrities has a long history.

D.Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers.

3.What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?

A.Lack of favorable chances. B.Not enough social recognition.

C.Availability of modern media. D.Huge population of fans.

4.What is the author's attitude toward modern celebrity?

A.Sincere. B.Sympathetic.

C.Disapproving. D.Unbelieving.

阅读短文，回答问题

Why Alice is still wonderful

Have you ever read the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? When British writer Lewis Carroll dropped Alice down the rabbit hole in 1865, he had no way of knowing what it would lead to (how popular it would be). The girl and her friends in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland have become well-known around the world. More than 100 versions of the book have been published. More than two dozen adaptations of the story have been made into movies. Millions of people are fascinated by the story and the characters in it.

Why have Alice and her friends kept us fascinated with them for so long? Why is the story so attractive?

One reason is that many people think the 7-year-old girl is our inner child. She is the child that we ever dreamed to be. Alice is the center of the book. She's brave, curious and always wants to move ahead to the next adventure. When she meets problems or even is attacked, she never once thinks of asking her parents for help. Instead, she tries to solve the problem in her own way. Maybe this can explain why the story is so welcomed by kids and teenagers. Because nowadays, they have been over protected by their parents and can't live in a world of their own. Alice is the child they really want to be.

Besides, the attractive setting in the book is another reason. The story is set in an imaginative world. Many things that don't exist in the real world can be found in the story. In the book, Alice can be 3 inches (7.6cm) tall and stand up on her tiptoes. She even finds a blue caterpillar smoking on a mushroom. Kids and teenagers are really attracted by the strange and imaginative world in the story.

The wonderland world makes us connect Alice's adventures with our own childhood. No matter how old you are, there is always a child living in your heart.

1.Who is the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland written by?

2.How many versions of the story have been published?

3.Why is the story so attractive?

4.Does the story make us think of our own childhood or adulthood?

5.What's the passage mainly about?

题目①

假如你是李华，你被邀请在学校的英语俱乐部的周末活动中发言。请你以“He/She Helped Me with My English．" 为题，简述在你学习英语过程中遇到的困难，谁帮助了你，以及你的感受。

提示词语：English, difficult, remember, correctly, pronunciation, …

提示问题：1. What difficulties did you meet when you studied English?

2. Who helped you with your English and how did she or he help you?

3. What do you think of it?

______ Helped Me with My English.

Teachers and fellow students,

I'm greatly honored to give a speech here. _____________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

题目②

某英文报纸以"A Sentence I Like Best"为题征文，请你投稿。请从下面的三句话中选出你最喜欢的一句，并结合自己的经历谈谈你喜欢它的理由。

1. Bright is the Moon over My Home Village.

2. Helping people is not a burden, it's an opportunity.

3. If I want to be excellent, I am the one who can make that happen.

提示词语：tradition, culture, poor, plan, confidence,...

提示问题：1. Which sentence do you like best?

2. What experience did you have?

3. Why do you like the sentence?

A Sentence I Like Best

_______________________________________________________________________

The TV play Story of Yanxi Palace is fantastic. I have never seen such_______ interesting one.

A.a B.the C.an

Hurry up, _________ you’ll miss the train.

A.but B.or C.and

The little girl has _________ finished reading the book you lent her.

A.already B.yet C.still

He tried to avoid _________ by his father.

A.seeing B.to see C.being seen

The two companies came to an_____ about the project on the meeting.

A.agreement B.action C.ability