Have you ever wondered?

1.Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?

It can take five hours to go west-east from New York(NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon know as the jet(喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes movement a constams air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when the air moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.

2 What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?

  Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something round your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the strong go of the string. Things not attacked to the Earth would fly off in a straight line . People in buildings would suddenly shoot  upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things would fly off into space.

1.What information coa we get from the first passage?

       A.tis the iet stoomn that affeets how fast airplanes fly.

       B.Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.

       C.It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.

       D.The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atantic.

2.The word“shoot”underlined in the 2nd passage probably means“__________”.

       A.send for

       B.move quickly

       C.come out

       D.grow quickly

3.It can be interred that without gravity_________.

       A.buildings and other structures would float away

       B.trees and buildings would not so easily fly off

       C.something around your head would not float away

       D.everything outside buildings would fly off into space

4.Where can wemost probably read this text?

       A.In s research paper

       B.In a tort story.

       C.In a travel magazine.

       D.In a student’s book.

Three boys and three girls boarded the bus to Fort Lauderdale, dreaming of golden beaches as the gray cold of New York disappeared behind them. They noticed an old man, who sat in front of them, dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit, never? ? ? , and his dusty face? ? ? his age.?

He was ? ? in his seat like a stone, and the young people began to? ?? about him, trying to? ? his life and his age. Deep into the night, outside Washington, one of the girls went up to him and introduced herself. “Want some wine?” He took ?? the glass and drank.

Slowly and ? ? ? he told his story. His name was Vingo, he had been in? ? ? in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home. “When I was in prison I wrote to my wife,” he said. “I told her that I was going to be away for a long time, and that if she couldn't? ? ? it, if the kids kept asking questions, if it? ? ? too much, she could just forget me, I'd understand.”

“Last week, knowing I would be? ? ? , I wrote her again. We used to live in Brunswick and there's a big oak tree just as you come into town. I told her that if she would? ? ? me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I'd? ? ? and come home with her. If she didn't ? ? ? me, forget it, no handkerchief, and I'd go on through.”

  “Wow,” the girl exclaimed. She told the others, and soon all of them put their faces against the window, waiting for the ? ? ? of Brunswick.

Then Brunswick was ten miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming ? ? ? , all except Vingo. Vingo sat there? ? ? , looking at the oak tree. It was almost ? ? ? with yellow handkerchiefs, 20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, a tree that stood like a huge flag of ? ? , blowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, the old man rose and? ? ? his way to the front of the bus to go home.

1.A. moving??????? ????????????? B. leaning???????? ????????????? C. stopping???????? ????????????? D. heading

2.A. proved??????? ????????????? B. masked???????? ????????????? C. betrayed??????? ????????????? D. abandoned

3.A. rooted???????? ????????????? B. annoyed?????? ????????????? C. relaxed?????????? ????????????? D. alarmed?

4.A. hear???????? ????????????? B. care????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. wonder????????? ????????????? D. speak

5.A. bother???????? ????????????? B. describe???????? ????????????? C. imagine????????? ????????????? D. know

6.A. away????????? ????????????? B. in???????????? ????????????? C. out???????????? ????????????? D. over

7.A. terribly??????? ????????????? B. eagerly?????????? ????????????? C. painfully???????? ????????????? D. casually

8.A. hospital??????? ????????????? B. prison???????? ????????????? C. company???????? ????????????? D. work

9.A. support??????? ????????????? B. believe???????? ????????????? C. stand??????????? ????????????? D. ignore

10.A. lasted???????? ????????????? B. influenced???????? ????????????? C. cost??????????? ????????????? D. hurt

11.A. hopeless???? ? ????????????? B. convenient????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. successful?? ????????????? ????????????? D. free

12.A. take????????? ????????????? B. refuse??????????? ????????????? C. call??????????? ????????????? D. write

13.A. get out??????? ????????????? B. get off????????? ????????????? C. get on?????????? ????????????? D. get in

14.A. remember????? ????????????? B. believe?????? ????????????? ????????????? C. miss???????? ?? ????????????? D. accept

15.A. entrance?????? ????????????? B. beauty????????? ????????????? C. existence??????? ????????????? D. approach

16.A. amazingly????? ????????????? B. joyfully???????? ????????????? C. definitely????????? ????????????? D. desperately

17.A. shocked??????? ????????????? B. puzzled???????? ????????????? C. terrified???????? ????????????? D. depressed

18.A. covered??????? ????????????? B. surrounded????? ????????????? C. spotted????????? ????????????? D. dotted

19.A. wishes???????? ????????????? B. welcome??????? ????????????? C. victory?????? ????????????? ????????????? D. success

20.A. felt??????????? B. forced??????????? ????????????? C. made???????????? D. pushed

 

The house was quiet at 5 a.m. and Tim’s mother was asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer broke the quiet. He’d dreamt of the cave last night. The purring (轻微颤动声) of the freezer had been the sea.

Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He’d eat after he’d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.

He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches ---but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches, she’d want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table.

Gone to Michael’s Back tonight .Tim.

The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn’t up. Even the highway up the hill was quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and sweet.

The sandhills still breathed heat from yesterday’s sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves.

The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched across the sea. The sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.

Over the first rocks, along to the point, Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky.

He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious now? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn’t go in all the way …

1.What did Tim do at the beginning of the story?

A.He left the house quietly     B. He had breakfast at home.

C. He left a note on the freezer.  D. He put a sweater in his schoolbag.

2."He settled for some biscuits” ( in Paragraph 3 ) means that Tim_______.

A. left home looking for some biscuits

B.felt like eating  biscuits rather than sandwiches

C. had to take biscuits instead of sandwiches  

D. could only find some biscuits in the kitchen

3.What made it possible for Tim to see the entry to the cave?

A. The height of the first rocks

B. The ups and downs of the waves

C. The change in the position of the sun

D. The vast stretch of the sunlit beach

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?

A. The sea looked like a piece of gold.

B. Seabirds flew away when Tim arrived.

C. Tim was the only person on the beach.

D. The sky got dark as Tim reached the cave.

5.In the story, Tim’s mood changed from        .

A. loneliness to craziness  B. anxiousness to excitement

C. helplessness to happiness    D. eagerness to nervousness

 

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.

In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this, I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.

On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute(降落伞), then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.

 Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.

1.What happened to the author in 2001?

A. She flew an airplane.

B. She entered a competition.

C. She went on a hot air balloon ride.

2.The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to       .

A. make her argument persuasive

B. show her admiration for him

C. compare their health condition

D. build up her own reputation

3. How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A. Excited.         B. Regretful.           C. Nervous.         D. Scared.

4.What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A. The beautiful clouds.                    B. The wonderful view.

C. The company of Jay.                      D. The one-minute free fall.

5.What is the best title of the passage?

    A. Impossible is nothing.                   B. A dream made come true.

    C. An unforgettable skydiving.              D. I Went Skydiving at 84!

 

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