On the day of a big event, many people came to Big Bend Mountain to watch. John Henry and the salesman stood side by side. Even early in the day, the sun was burning hot.

The competition began. John Henry kissed his hammer and started working. At first, the steam-powered drill worked two times faster than he did. Then, he started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. In the mountain, the heat and dust were so thick that most men would have had trouble breathing. The crowd shouted as clouds of dust came from inside the mountain.

The salesman was afraid when he heard what sounded like the mountain breaking. However, it was only the sound of John Henry at work. Polly Ann and her son cheered when the machine was pulled from the tunnel of the mountain. It had broken down. Polly Ann urged John Henry to come out. But he kept working, faster and faster. He dug deep into the darkness, hitting the steel so hard that his body began to fail him. He became weak, and his heart burst.

John Henry fell to the ground. There was a terrible silence. Polly Ann did not move because she knew what had happened. John Henry’s blood spilled over the ground. But he still held one of the hammers. “I beat them,” he said. His wife cried out, “Don’t go, John Henry.”“Bring me a cool drink of water,”he said. Then he took his last breath.

His friends carried his body from the mountain. They buried him near the house where he was born. Crowds went there after they heard about John Henry’s death.

Soon, the steam drill and other machines replaced the steel-drivers. Many laborers left their families to look for work. They took the only jobs they could find. As they worked, some sang about John Henry.

What does the big event mentioned in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A.John Henry’s work on a machine.

B.A competition between John Henry and a salesman.

C.John Henry’s work with his hammer and the steel.

D.A competition between John Henry and a drill.

The underlined word “tunnel ”in Paragraph 3 probably means “           ”.

A.flat ground                B.big rock             C.underground passage         D.hard metal

What happened to John Henry when he fell to the ground?

A.He was tired and had to have a rest.

B.He had heart trouble and was dying.

C.He was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.

D.He was injured slightly and was bleeding.

What do we know about John Henry?

A.He won the competition finally.        B.He was buried under the mountain.

C.He loved his work very much.          D.He said nothing before his death.

What can we infer from the passage?

A.Humans can never beat machines.            B.John Henry was regarded as a hero.

C.Laborers hated machines very much.        D.It was easy for laborers to find work.

Producing money requires both artistic and technological skills． Dollar bills are made so that they are interesting to look at but very hard to copy． In total, there are sixty-five separate steps required to make a dollar bill．

The money making process begins when． a yearly order is sent by the Federal Reserve Board． That order will then be divided in half． Half will be done here in Washington, D．     C．and the other half will be done in Fort Worth, Texas． Next, the Bureau orders special paper which is actually cloth since it is 75% cotton and 25% linen．

This paper is made so that it can last a long time． And, it is made with details that make it hard to copy． For example, bills contain security threads． These narrow pieces of plastic are inside the paper and run along the width of the bill． This special paper is also made with very small blue and red fibers．

Once the money is printed, guillotine cutters separate the sheets into two notes, then into individual notes． The notes are organized in "bricks," each of which contains forty one-hundred-note packages． The bricks then go to one of twelve Federal Reserve Districts, which then give the money to local banks． Ninety-five percent of the bills printed each year are used to replace money that is in circulation, or that has already been removed from circulation．

You may know that America's first president, George Washington, is pictured on the one- dollar bill． But do you know whose face is on the two, five, ten, twenty, fifty and one hundred-dollar bills? They are, in order． President Thomas Jefferson, President Abraham Lincoln, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, President Andrew Jackson, President Ulysses Grant and statesman Benjamin Franklin．

The average life span of a one-dollar bill is twenty-one months． But a ten-dollar bill lasts only about eighteen months． The one hundred-dollar bill lasts the longest, eighty-nine months． One popular question is about the two-dollar bill． This bill is not printed very often． This is because many Americans believe two-dollar bills are lucky, so they keep them． 

1.During money production, we must consider all EXCEPT that it must                    .

A．last a long time

B．be hard to copy

C．be interesting to look at

D．be done by the president's order

2.We can learn from the passage that the security threads                    .

A．are narrow pieces of plastic

B．are pressed outside the bills

C．are longer than the width of the bills

D．are actually made of cotton and linen

3.How many presidents are printed on the American money?

A． Four                 B． Five                C． Six             D． Seven

4.Why are the two-dollar bills not made often?

A．Because no one wants them．

B．Because their material is a bit more expensive．

C．Because they aren't used in America any more．

D．Because they aren't damaged quickly like other bills．

An earthquake happens when two plates rub (碰撞) together.  The earth plates travel in different directions and at different speeds. If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other,  pressure builds up until the plates break apart. This process causes the ground to move. It is an earthquake. In other words, earth-quakes are the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by the earth’s rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth. The strain within the rocks is suddenly released (释放).

The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and the time it is happening. If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property. If it hits a large city, there may be many in-juries and much destruction. Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now. Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage.

Actually, there are several million small earth-quakes every year.  Large earthquakes such as the 1964 Alaskan quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale cause millions of dollars in damage. In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earth-quakes around the world — including 240,000 in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China.

A 60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation that continues for years after the first tremor (小震). In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua. Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it.

The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster. It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs. In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage. An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path.

Which of the following is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A. An earthquake comes from inside the earth.    B. The earth has great energy in storage.

C. How the earth plates move.                 D. How an earthquake happens.

How many examples are used in the passage to show the damage and destruction earthquakes cause?

A. Three.              B. Four.         C. Five.       D. Six.

Which of the following is mentioned to show that an earthquake can kill too many people?

 A. The 1976 Tangshan earthquake.     B. The 1964 Alaskan quake.      

C. The 1972 Managua earthquake.      D. The 1906 earthquake.

The underlined word “ensuing” in the last paragraph probably means ______.

A. causing too much heat and great damage  B. causing many injuries and much destruction

C. happening as a result of another event   D. happening suddenly and unexpectedly

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-1ived．

 Within a few seconds，electric bulbs dim(变暗)and flicker(闪烁)，then become unusually bright for a few seconds．Then all the lights second  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(磁扬)，the result could be terrible for humans.

But there’s no need to run  for cover from solar winds．  They do not harm 1ife 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 line,  and pipelines，causing blackouts and fuel leaks(泄漏).  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(电报)systems in Europe and  North America．

 So, for humans，the sun is  a  double-edged sword． Without1 the sun, there would  be no 1ife  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 1ives from time  to time．    

10．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．

11．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

12．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．1f it weren’t’t for our reliance on technology, solar flares probably wouldn’t affect us．

13．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

A breathtaking trick potentially left over from our ancestors might be found in us — the ability to sense oxygen through our skin.

Amphibians, animals such as frogs that can live both on land and in water, have long been known to be capable of breathing through their skin. In fact, the first known lungless frog that breathes only through its skin was discovered recently in the rivers of Borneo.

Now the same oxygen sensors found in frog skins and in the lungs of mammals (哺乳动物) have unexpectedly been discovered in the skin of mice.

“No one had ever looked,” explained Randall Johnson, a biologist researcher.

Mice and frogs are quite distant relatives, so the fact they have these molecules (分子) in common in their skin suggests they might well be found in the skin of other mammals, such as humans.

“We have no reason to think that they are not in the skin of people too,” Johnson said.

These molecules not only detect oxygen, but help increase levels of vital red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. Normal mice breathing in air that is 10 percent oxygen—a dangerously low level similar to conditions at the top of Mount Everest, and about half that of air at sea level. However, mice that had the oxygen sensor HIF-1a genetically removed from their skin failed to produce this hormone (荷尔蒙) even after hours of such low oxygen.

These findings, if they hold true in humans, suggest one could raise the level of oxygen circulating inside the body. This could help treat lung diseases and disorders such as anemia (贫血症) without injecting drugs, which make up a multibillion-dollar market, Johnson said.

Athletes also often try to get more oxygen delivered to their muscles in order to improve their performance. They often do this by training at high altitudes or in low-oxygen tents. The new study suggests they might want to expose their skin as well as breathing in low-oxygen air to improve their performance. “It’s hard to say what exactly might be done, however—there’s a lot we don’t know yet,” Johnson explained.

The scientists detailed their findings in the April 18 issue of the journal Cell.

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

A．It has long been expected oxygen sensors exist in mice’s skin.

B．People have to surf the Internet to read detailed findings.

C．It has been proved that these findings help treat lung diseases.

D．Johnson believes that Oxygen sensors also exist in human skin.

2.One of the functions of the molecules mentioned above is _______.

A． increasing level of oxygen                B．improving athletes’ performance

C．detecting oxygen                       D．carrying oxygen around the body

3.What is Johnson’s attitude to the application of the findings to the athletes’ training?

A． Hesitating        B．Doubting          C．Positive           D．Negative

4.The best title of the passage may be _______.

A． Humans Might Sense Oxygen Through Skin

B．Frogs And Mice Are Distant Relatives

C．First Known Animal Breathes Through Skin

D．Great Findings Benefits Athletes A Lot