“Just take a deep breath.” “Don’t think about it.” “You’re more likely to die in a car wreck on the way to the airport than you are in a plane crash.” These are just some words given to people with a fear of flying. But as Tom Cruise, playing Lt. Daniel Kaffee in the movie A Few Good Men, said, “I get sick when I fly because I’m afraid of crashing into a large mountain. I don’t think Daniel will help.”
But there’s a new application that just may. Today, the VALK Foundation, a Dutch group that’s a partnership between KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and the University of Leiden, launches the app in the US. The VALK Foundation was one of the first centers for research and fear-of-flying treatment in the world and is the organizer of three world conferences on fear of flying.The foundation said the app, called Flight App VALK, is the first scientifically-developed, web-based treatment for people who suffer from mild to moderate fear of flying.
“The fear of flying application we have created aims to transfer all of the knowledge we have developed through our program into a mobile application that will help ease travelers’ fears,” said Dr. Lucas van Gerwen, director of the VALK Foundation. Dr. van Gerwen is also a psychologist and professional pilot with more than 30 years experience.
The foundation said up to 30% of adults are fearful fliers. The Flight App is designed to help relax passengers before and during flights by educating users about flight safety and turbulence. It explains the sounds and sensations they can expect during departure, flight and landing. And, if a passenger’s flight stress reaches a panic level, they press a special panic button which provides audio and written information to help decrease stress levels. Most importantly, the Flight App can be used during the flight in the airplane mode. Once downloaded, the program does not require Internet connection in the air.
【小题1】By saying the words at the beginning of the passage, people are expected to ______.

   It is midnight on September 22, 2012. The sky above Manhattan，New York is filled with a curtain of colorful light. New Yorkers are fascinated by the beautiful aurora (极光). However, their fascination is short-lived.
Within a few seconds, electric bulbs dim and flicker (闪烁), then become unusually bright for a few seconds. Then all the lights go out. Within 90 seconds, the entire eastern half of the US is without power.
Besides the US, Europe, Japan and China are also hit by the same terrible event. It is a violent solar flare (太阳耀斑) ,150 million kilometers away on the surface of the sun.
Science fiction? No. A report funded by NASA and issued by the US National Academy of Sciences in January this year says it could happen.
A massive solar flare is most likely on a spring or autumn night in 2012, according to the report.
Solar flares are huge explosions on the surface of the sun. In a matter of just a few minutes they heat material to many millions of degrees and release as much energy as a billion megatons (百万吨) of TNT explosives. Solar flares release a stream of charged high-energy particles (粒子). They are called “solar winds”.
If one solar “wind” should hit the Earth’s magnetic shield (磁场), the result could be terrible for humans.
But there’s no need to run for cover from solar winds. They do not harm life on Earth, they only affect the way we live, especially since we depend so much on modern technology. They can pump extra electricity into power lines and pipelines, causing blackouts and fuel leaks. Solar winds are also known to affect mobile phone operations and may disrupt wireless Internet services.
Moreover, solar winds can prevent normal satellite operations, and disrupt radio communications and navigation systems such as the Global Positioning System.
Auroras are powered by solar wind. This wind blows past the Earth at about 400-700 km per second and creates storms in the Earth’s magnetic environment. In the polar regions these explode into southern or northern polar lights.
The most serious solar storm that hit Earth in history happened in 1859. It caused the failure of telegraph systems in Europe and North America.
So, for humans, the sun is a double-edged sword. Without the sun, there would be no life on Earth. Without the sun, Earth would be a frozen dark ball floating in space. However, on the other hand, the sun can disorder our lives from time to time.
56. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. It introduces to readers the advantages and disadvantages of the sun.
B. It describes a science fiction set in Manhattan on 22 September 2012.
C. It shows readers the way in which solar winds form inside the sun.
D. It explains what solar flares are and their effects on human life.
57. The first two paragraphs are written ____.
A. to show a beautiful scene in a true story
B. to describe the beautiful scenery of Manhattan
C. to describe the power problem around the world
D. to introduce the topic of this passage
58. What can we conclude from the passage?
A. Solar flares will do great harm to those who are using the Internet.
B. Solar flares cannot reach as far as the polar regions.
C. Solar flares are huge explosions that happen inside the sun.
D. But for our reliance on technology, solar flares wouldn’t
affect us so much.
59. Solar winds will likely affect us in the following ways EXCEPT that ____.
A. normal satellite operations will be stopped
B. the lights in the areas affected will go out at the same time
C. people on the streets will be struck to death
D. some navigation systems will be out of order

Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all times, really
did fools' experiments?  
Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish?
Sometimes people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution (解决办法) to a problem. Sometimes they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.
Charles Darwin didn’t settle for (满足于) just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.
Suppose you drop two sheets of paper which are exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight little ball and let it drop along with the other sheet. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn't be worth anything.
But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understanding of physics ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.
Science sometimes stops to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, what we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations (基础) of science.
68. “Sometimes people think they already know the answer to a question.” This means that _________.
A. they are already told the answer
B. the question is so important that everyone should know the answer
C. they are already to answer such a question by others
D. the question is simple enough for them to answer
69. From the passage, we learn that Charles Darwin _________.
A. did many fools' experiments
B. enjoyed doing simple experiments
C. was not satisfied with what he knew
D. tried to prove that Galileo and Newton were sometimes wrong
70. The underlined phrase “set aside” most probably means “________”
A. throw away        B. store up     B. put to use       D. realize
71. The author of the passage tries to ________.
A. convince(使…信服) us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and  Newton are the greatest scientists in the world
B. draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things
C. prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed
D. draw our attention to everyday happenings around us

If a person tells you that something is “the real McCoy”，he is telling you it is the real thing，not a copy or replacement．There is nothing false about “the real McCoy”．It is the best that can be found．

    There are different ideas on how the expression came into common use．Perhaps the most popular story is about a famous boxer，Charles Kid McCoy，a one-time world famous welter-weigh champion．One day，McCoy was having a drink in a bar with a lady friend．A man came up and began to talk to her．He was not a nice man．

    McCoy wanted no trouble．He asked the man to leave．He said．“I'm Kid McCoy．”McCoy thought his name was so well-known that he didn’t need to say more．But the man did not believe him．“Oh，yeah?” he said．“Well，if you are Kid McCoy，then I am George Washington!” And he continued to speak to the prize-fighter’s friend in all unpleasant way．

    McCoy hit the man with a fist－not hard－actually it was really a light touch．But the man fell to the ground，unconscious．Ten minutes later，when he came to sense，he called out. “That was the real McCoy!” And so，as told by kid McCoy，that was how the expression “the real McCoy” got started．

    There are other versions，however．One is that the expression goes back to the days of prohibition（禁止）when it was illegal in the United States to sell whiskey．Although whiskey was against the law，many sold it．And many sold bad whiskey．They were not afraid to do so，because there was so little that anybody could do about it．Buying whiskey，good or had，was as illegal as selling it．

    But there was one whiskey dealer who was honest．His name was McCoy．He refused to sell bad whiskey．He sold  only the best imported whiskey．His product became recognized as the best．It was called “the real McCoy”．

    The expression survived prohibition days and soon became a general term．One way or another，no matter how the expression began，“the real McCoy” is an expression that everyone understands．It means the one and only—the best one．They are indeed words of special praise．

1.What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

    A．It is about the exact meaning of the version．

    B．It tells how a person gets his name．

    C．It shows how to tell the real from the false．

    D．It explains how to find the best．

2.In the third paragraph，“the prize-fighter” refers to______．

    A．a champion                   B．George Washington

    C．a fellow                     D．McCoy

3.Which of the following is TRUE about the days prohibition?

    A．A national law forbade the sale of alcoholic drinks．

    B．Bad whiskey was not allowed to sell．

    C．People at that time preferred nothing but whiskey．

    D．The days of prohibition resulted in MeCoy’s selling wine．

4.What is the main idea of the whole passage?

    A．The story of a famous boxer．

    B．The general use of the version．

    C．The expression and its story．

    D．The friendship between an athlete and a seller．

.
Part Ⅰ starts with a brief introductory chapter and then takes up Style and Organization, covering them in that order because skill or lack of skill in style affects all writing, while much technical writing is so short as to offer no problems of organization. These chapters are followed by one on Mechanics, covering matters of form that are peculiar(独有) to technical writing or else crop up in it with abnormal frequency.
The chapter on Special Problems, which follows, performs a double function. It provides writing assignments that may be used while the study of style, organization, and mechanics is still under way, and it explains ways of handling certain problems that may arise during the writing of reports, proposals, and other longer forms. We have also expanded the treatment of technical articles — recognizing the potential contribution of article writing to the career of the writer and the value of the article to science and technology.
In Part Ⅱ, a change of emphasis at one point is reflected in the new title for Chapter 8, Nonformal Reports — Their Variation in Form and Purpose, which was formerly called Special Types of Reports. Though certain special types of reports are still discussed, additional emphasis is given to the fact that there does not exist any universally accepted set of types, under which all reports can be classified.
Two other extensive changes have been made in Part Ⅱ: The chapter on Proposals, which first appeared in the second edition, has been rewritten and substantially expanded so as to cover that important subject more thoroughly. Also, an entirely new chapter, Oral Presentation of Technical Information, has been added. Though a study of this chapter is no substitute for training in public speaking, we believe that its recommendations can nevertheless be of substantial assistance to those who use this book on the numerous occasions when they will be called upon to present their ideas in person before a small group or a large audience.
?1.The passage is most probably a preface to ____.
?A. a technical writing handbook   B. a handbook on composition
?C. a book on a literary writing    D. a scientific paper
2. In Part I, the writer arranges the chapters in the order of ____.
? A. Introduction—Organization—Special Problems—Style—Nonformal Reports
? B. Introduction—Style—Organization—Special Types of Reports—Mechanics
? C. Introduction—Style—Organization—Mechanics—Special Problems
? D. Introduction—Style—Proposals—Special Problems—Mechanics
?3.You can find some writing exercises in ____.
? A. the chapter on Organization        B. the chapter on Style
? C. the chapter on Special Problems     D. the chapter on Proposals
?4. According to the passage, the chapter on Oral Presentation of Technical Information appears in ____ of the book.
? A. Part Ⅰ of the first edition
? B. Part Ⅱ of the second edition
? C. Part Ⅰ of the second edition
? D. Part Ⅱ of the third edition
?5. Which of the following is not true of Part Ⅱ of the new edition?
? A. There isn’t the chapter on Special Types of Reports.
? B. The chapter on Oral Presentation of Technical Information is rewritten and expanded.
? C. The chapter on Proposals is a revised chapter.
? D. There is a change of the title of Chapter 8.