As motorways become more and more blocked up with traffic, a new generation on flying cars will be needed to ferry people along skyways. That is the conclusion of engineers from the US space agency and aeronautical firms, who envision future commuters traveling by “skycar”.

These could look much like the concept skycar shown in the picture, designed by Boeing research and development. However, such vehicles could be some 25 years from appearing on the market. Efforts to build flying vehicles in the past have not been very successful. Such vehicles would not only be expensive and require the skills of a trained pilot to fly, but there are significant engineering challenges involved in developing them. “When you try to combine them you get the worst of both worlds: a very heavy, slow, expensive vehicle that’s hard to use,” said Mark Moore, head of the personal air vehicle(PAV) division of the vehicle systems program at Nasa’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, US. But Boeing is also considering how to police the airways-and prevent total pandemonium(吵杂狂乱的喧闹)-if thousands of flying cars enter the skies.

“The neat, gee-whiz part is thinking about what the vehicle itself would look like,” said Dick Paul, a vice president with Phantom Works, Boeing’s research and development arm. “But we’re trying to think through all the consequences of what it would take to deploy(散开) a fleet of these.”

Past proposals to solve this problem have included artificial intelligence systems to prevent collisions between air traffic. Nasa is working on flying vehicles with the initial goal of transforming small plane travel. Small planes are generally costly, loud, and require months of training and lots of money to operate, making flying to work impractical for most people. But within five years, Nasa researchers hope to develop technology for a small plane that can fly out of regional airports, costs less than $100,000(??55,725), is as quiet as a motorcycle and as simple to operate as a car.

Although it would not have any road-driving capabilities, it would bring this form of travel within the grasp of a wider section of people. The new technology would automate many of the pilot’s functions. This Small Aircraft Transportation System(Sats) would divert pressure away from the “hub-and-spoke(中心辐射型)” model of air travel. Hub-and-spoke refers to the typically US model of passengers being processed through large “hub” airports and then on to secondary flights to “spoke” airports near their final destinations.

The best title for this text would be      .

A. Developing Skycars   B. The Traffic Jams in the Sky

C. How to Guide Flying Cars in the Sky  D. What Flying Cars Will Look Like

The underlined word “envision” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “     ”.

A. see  B. expect   C. think    D. announce

When engineers develop the skycars, they have to deal with the following difficulties except      .

A. how to fly out of regional airports

 B. how to prevent the disorder of the airways

C. how to reduce expenses and the vehicle’s weight

D. how to fly the skycars to enter skies

Now Nasa researchers’ aim is to      .

A. make big flying cars

B. work out the plan——how to transform small plane travel

C. develop a new kind of small plane different from the traditional one

D. build a new kind of small plane with road-driving abilities


第三部分  阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
My father and I were very close .I loved pleasing him ,and he was always proud of my success .If I won a spelling contest at school, he was on top of the world .Later in life whenever I got a promotion(提升),I’d call my father right away and he’d rush out to tell all his friends .In 1970,when I was named President of the Ford Motor Company ,I don’t know which of us was more excited .Like many native Italians ,my parents were very open with their feelings and their love—not only at home ,but also in public .Most of my friends would never hug their fathers .But I hugged and kissed my dad at every opportunity—nothing could have felt more natural .He was a curious man who was always trying new things .He was the first person in Allentown to buy a motorcycle. Unfortunately, my father and his motorcycle didn’t get along too well .He fell off it so often that he got rid of it just a month after buying it. As a result, he never again trusted any vehicle with less than four wheels, Because of that motorcycle. I wasn’t allowed to have a bicycle when I was growing up .Whenever I wanted to ride a bike, I had to borrow one from a friend .On the other hand ,my father let me drive a car as soon as I turned sixteen.
56.When I won a contest at school, my father would___________.
A.tell all his friend about it                 B.feel most happy over it
C.get very surprised at it                  D.be much more excited than I
57.Which of the following statement shows that my father was a curious man?
A.I wasn’t allowed to have a car when I was growing up.
B.He was the first person in town to buy a motorcycle.
C.He was always proud of my success.
D.He was very open with his feelings and his love.
58.My father trusted no vehicle with less than four wheels because___________.
A.he did not like the way I always borrowed bicycles from friends
B.he thought that cars were faster than motorcycles
C.he liked every new model made by the Ford Motor company
D.he had trouble in riding his motorcycle
59.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.My father loved his motorcycle .He rode through the dirty streets of Allentown every day.
B.I wasn’t allowed to have a bicycle when I was young, but when I was just 16 I was allowed to drive a car .
C.My father was always proud of what I did .He was very pleased when I won a spelling contest at school.
D.My father bought a motorcycle, but got rid of it because he fell off it so often.


A thief returned a mobile phone and thousands of yuan he had stolen from a woman after receiving 21 text messages from her, a local newspaper reported.
Pan Aiying, a Chinese teacher at Wutou Middle School in Qihe County, in East China’s Shandong Province, didn’t think her text messages would help to get her belongings(财物) back.
A young man riding a motorcycle robbed her of her bag, in which there was her mobile phone, bank cards and 4,900 yuan, as she was riding her bicycle home on Saturday evening.
Pan said at first she considered calling the police, but then decided to try to persuade(说服)the young man to return her bag. Pan called her lost phone with her friend’s, but couldn’t get through. So she began sending messages.
“Hey, I’m Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you.” Wrote Pan in her first text message, which got no answer. “Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To make mistakes is human. Correcting your mistake is more important than anything.” Pan wrote in another message.
She gave up hope after sending 21 text messages without any answer and planned to call the police the next morning. However, as she left her home on Sunday morning, Pan found her stolen bag lying in the courtyard. Nothing was lost.
“Pan: I am sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so kind even though I stole from you. I’ll correct my ways and be an honest person,” said a letter left with the bag.
1. Where was Pan Aiying robbed?
A. In the school.   B. At home.   C. In the courtyard.   D. on her way home
2. Why didn’t Pan Aiying call the police at first?
A. Because she thought the police wouldn’t help her.
B. Because it was too late at that time.
C. Because she wanted to communicate with the thief first.
D. Because her friend asked her not to.
3. How long was Pan Aiying’s bag missing?
A. About two days.                      B. About 12 hours.  
C. About one day and a half.               D. About 24 hours.
4. From the news we can learn that ____________.
A. the young man would not steal any more
B. Pan Aiying didn’t give up hope after sending 21 text messages
C. the young man would pay a visit to Pan Aiying personally
D. Pan Aiying teaches English in a middle school in Shandong Province

Heather Mills McCartney lives an admirable life, attending celebrity parties, meeting regularly with the rich and famous and doing meaningful work for charity. All who work with her admire and respect her. But Heather’s life hasn’t always been so easy. When Heather was only 9 years old, her mother abandoned her and her two brothers. At the age of 13, she ran away from home and ended up living on the streets in London. Eventually, however, her exceptional beauty led to a career in modeling. At that time, Heather also began helping with the war relief efforts in former Yugoslavia. Through her modeling and relief work, she soon became famous.
But in August 1993, at age 25 her life changed once again. She was crossing the street in London when a motorcycle crashed into her. She was so badly injured that the doctors had to cut off her left leg. After that, she discovered she frequently needed to change her artificial limbs. It was expensive and she felt it was a waste to just throw away the old one. It occurred to her to set up an organization that could deliver used artificial limbs to Yugoslavia and other war-torn countries. It was through her charity work that she met her husband Paul McCartney.
Throughout her life, Heather has risen above problems and focused on helping others. Her work with artificial limbs even earned her a nomination(提名) for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Heather’s persistence and determination are what impresses anyone who knows her. Heather believes anyone can make a positive difference in the world.
【小题1】This passage is mainly about _________.

A.Heather’s miserable lifeB.Heather’s contribution to the world
C.Heather’s success in her workD.Heather’s belief in life
【小题2】Heather began her modeling career _________.
A.due to her mother’s encouragement
B.after her brothers abandoned her
C.because of her excellent intelligence and performances
D.because she was especially beautiful
【小题3】Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
A.Heather won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
B.Heather began her charity work while working as a model.
C.Her artificial limbs had to be replaced continuously.
D.Heather has never been defeated by her problems.
【小题4】From the passage we can infer that people admire and respect Heather because
_________.
A.she had a lot of misfortunes during her childhood.
B.she was a world-famous model
C.she is determined and never gives in
D.she made a great difference in the world

After the quake hit northeast Japan on March 11, many moving stories that I saw with my own eyes happened around me.

I had to walk home since all the  21  had stopped after the earthquake. On my way home I 22  an old lady at a bakery shop who was giving out free bread, which made my heart  23 . A man was holding a sign that said, “Please use our 24 .” He was 25  his house for people to go to the restroom.

My friend wanted to  26  others. He stood in the cold with a sign “If you’re okay with a motorcycle, I will  27  you to your house.” And then I saw him take one gentleman home, all the way to a faraway place! 

The next day I drove to  28  my car with gas. There is a lack (缺乏) of 29  now and many gasoline stations are either closed or have very  30  lines. I got  31 , since I was behind 15 cars. Finally, when it was my 32 , the man smiled and said, “ 33  this situation, we are only giving $30 worth gas per person. Is that all right?” “ 34 . I’m just glad that we are all able to  35 ,” I said. His smile gave me so much comfort.

I saw a man at the evacuation (疏散) center 36  when people brought food to him. It was the first time in three days that food was brought to their center. However, after he wiped the tears, his next 37  surprised me. “I am very 38  that we are provided with food. But people in the city next to us haven’t  39  any food at all. Please go to that center as well.” And when hearing that, I realized there is a bright future on the other side of this  40 .

1.                A.rescue         B.life            C.traffic    D.business

 

2.                A.missed         B.caught          C.noticed   D.heard

 

3.                A.kind           B.soft            C.broken   D.warm

 

4.                A.toilet          B.hotel           C.hospital   D.house

 

5.                A.selling          B.opening        C.repairing  D.building

 

6.                A.encourage      B.change         C.save D.help

 

7.                A.drive          B.follow          C.lead D.send

 

8.                A.start           B.fill             C.check    D.wash

 

9.                A.information      B.gas            C.food D.salt

 

10.               A.direct          B.fine           C.long  D.thin

 

11.               A.worried        B.lucky          C.sad   D.angry

 

12.               A.time           B.turn           C.duty  D.decision

 

13.               A.Except for      B.Together with    C.Because of D.Instead of

 

14.               A.Not at all        B.Of course       C.No way    D.Never mind

 

15.               A.share          B.offer           C.learn D.choose

 

16.               A.singing         B.eating          C.smiling    D.crying

 

17.               A.words          B.roles           C.ways  D.promises

 

18.               A.sure           B.grateful        C.surprised  D.proud

 

19.               A.bought         B.wasted         C.prepared  D.received

 

20.               A.disaster        B.chance         C.center    D.city

 

 

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