BEING an astronaut sounds cool, doesn't it? In space, they get to do some pretty amazing things, like floating in zero gravity(重力).
However, there are also plenty of things that astronauts can't do because of their weightless environment, and that's very sad. What's worse, they can't even let their sadness show, because it's impossible to cry in zero gravity.
Of course, astronauts can still produce tears. But crying is much more difficult in space, according to The Atlantic(大西洋月刊) in January. Without gravity, tears don't flow(流动) down out of the eyes like they do here on Earth. This means that when you cry in space, your tears have nowhere to go-they just stick(粘) to your eyes.
In May 2011, astronaut Andrew Feustel experienced this during one of his spacewalks. "Tears," he said, "don't fall off of your eyes...They just kind of stay there."
Besides making your vision(视线)unclear, this can also cause physical pain. Back on Earth, tears are supposed to bring comfort to the eyes. But that's not the case in space. The space environment dries out astronauts' eyes, and when tears suddenly wet the eyes, it can cause pain rather than comfort. "My right eye is stinging(刺痛) like crazy," Feustel told his teammate during the walk.
Since gravity doesn't work in space, astronauts need some extra help to get rid of（除去） the tears. Feustel chose to rub his eyes against his helmet to wipe(擦) the tears away. Another choice is to just wait-"When the tears get big enough they simply break free of the eyes and float around," astronaut Ron Parise told The Atlantic.
There are lots of small things-things like crying-that we are so used to on Earth. We usually take them for granted until they become a problem in a totally different environment, like space.  There, astronauts can't talk to each other directly. They also can't eat or drink in normal ways. They can't even burp (打嗝), because there is no gravity to hold the food down in their stomach. If they do burp, they just end up throwing up（呕吐）everything in their stomach, according to the UK National Space Center.
Therefore, perhaps it's only space explorers who can honestly say: "Gravity, you're the best."
【小题1】From Paragraphs 2 and 3 , we can know that_______.

One of my favourite things to do is hiking in mountains. Because nobody likes the idea of getting lost, I always prepare before every trip. But what’s the best navigation tool, a Global Positioning System (GPS) or a good old map and compass? Five of my friends and I hiked through the mountains on a trail I marked. One team of three carried a GPS, and the other team used a map and compass.

It took the GPS team 3 hours and 11 minutes to get through the whole hike, however, it took the map and compass team only 2 hours and 49 minutes. The biggest problem the GPS team met was that they lost the satellite signal (卫星信号) in some places. With no map or compass, they had to walk around until they were in a place where the signal was good. The map and compass team was able to spot (认出) different landmarks, compare them to their maps and then use the compass to point them in the right direction.

When I head out on my future hikes, I’m bringing a map, a compass and a GPS to show me the way.

1.The writer prepares before every trip because he doesn’t _________.

A．like the old map or compass

B．know how to use the GPS

C．want to get lost in mountains

D．want to get into the mountains alone

2.The two teams _________.

A．had the same navigation tool

B．went along the same trail

C．had the same problem

D．finished the whole hike at the same time

3.In the end, the writer found out _________.

A．the map and the compass were too old navigation tools to use any more

B．it wasn’t necessary to bring a map and a compass together with a GPS

C．the GPS had some bad points in hiking in mountains

D．he wouldn’t use a GPS any more

Daniel was always making excuses for forgetting to do things．His usual excuse was  “I was too busy” or “I didn't have time”．

    Daniel's parents were worried    1    him．“He mustn't go through life making excuses all the time，”his father said．“Nobody will believe him．He won't be able to  keep a  job．No bright girl will marry    2  ．”

    “I don't know  3  we can do．”said his mother．

    “I have a good  4  ，”his father said．“If this doesn't work，nothing will.”

    The next day was Daniel's birthday．When he thought of getting exciting presents，he couldn't wait．He woke up expecting his parents to wish him “Happy birthday!” but all they said was “Good morning，Daniel．Hurry up，  5  you'll be late for school．”  There were no presents，not even a card．He was very   6  ．

    “Never mind，”he thought．“They'll give me a  surprise after school．” But they didn't．Finally，at dinner he said to his parents，“Today is  7  ．”

    “Oh!” his father said．“So it is．I  8  ．”

    “So did I．”his mother said．

    “How could you forget?” Daniel asked．“ There must  9  a reason．”。

    “Well，yes，”his father said．“We have a really good excuse for forgetting your birthday，Daniel．We didn't remember your birthday 10  we were too busy．”  Poor Daniel．He never had a silly excuse for not doing something again!

    1．A．with                      B．about                   C．at                 D．in    

    2．A．he                         B．his                       C. him                  D．himself

    3．A．how                     B．why                    C．where             D．what

    4．A．excuse                  B．message               C．idea                D．news

    5．A．or                         B．and                    C．then                D．but

    6．A．happy             B．sad                      C．excited            D．grateful

    7．A．Sunday                  B．my birthday           C．Father's Day    D．July 2nd

    8．A．believed                 B．agreed                 C．forgot             D．remembered

    9．A．be                         B．is                        C．are                 D．have

    10．A．so that                 B．before                  C．although          D．because

When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music”, it doesn’t mean that he is going to hear a singer. It is something far less happy, as you are called in by your leader to explain why you did this and did that or why you did not do this or that.
At some time or another, every one of us has to “face the music”, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry words “I want to talk to you.” And only because we did not listen to him. What a bad thing it was!
In the middle or at the end of every term, we students have to “face the music”. The result of the exam will decide whether we will face the music or not. If you got a “D” in the exam, that means parents’ cold faces and the contempt(轻视) of the classmates.
“To face the music” is well-known to every American, young or old. It is at least 100 years old. It really means that you have to do something, no matter how terrible the whole thing might be, because you have no choice.
【小题1】“To face the music” means “to         ”.

Can you swim? Do you like swimming? Yes? Well, how can you learn to swim? I think the best way is to go into the water and learn. I’m afraid you’ll never learn to swim just by reading books about swimming or looking at others’ swimming. It’s the same with the English study. We must practice, practice and practice.

        Listening and speaking are very important for beginners. The children in English-speaking countries first listen to others. Then they try to imitate and speak. We can listen to English programs on the radio or watch them on TV. You may just understand a few words. It doesn’t matter. Just be relaxed, try to catch every word.

        Somebody may be a good listener. But he doesn’t speak. He’s afraid of making mistakes. You know we sometimes make mistakes when we speak Chinese. Don’t be afraid. We must be brave. If you really want to learn English well, you must try to speak with everyone so long as he knows English. Whether you know him or not is not important. When there’s nobody to talk with, you can talk to yourself in English. It’s interesting and also a good way to practice your spoken English. Remember, the more you speak, the fewer mistakes you’ll make.

        Reading and writing are more important for senior school students. First we must choose the books we’re interested in. A lot of reading will improve your language sense. This is the most important.

        Keep writing English diaries. We can also write English articles. You may even post them to English magazines. Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure is the mother of success.

        Easier said than done. Well, let’s do more practice from now on. I’m sure you’ll learn English well in this way.

1.You can learn to swim by_________.

A. reading books about it                B. looking at others’ swimming

C. having lessons on it                  D. going into the river to learn

2.We should learn English by__________.

A. listening and speaking                B. reading and writing

C.  A and B                          D. swimming

3. What will you do with mistakes when you speak?

A. Don’t make mistakes.                  B. Study hard

C. Try not to speak English                D. Don’t be afraid.

4.What’s important for senior school students?

A. Listening     B. Speaking      C. Reading and writing     D. Learning

5. We can listen to English __________, according to the passage.

A. for beginners.                       B. on the radio 

C. by writing English diaries             D. in English-speaking countries