Britons stranded（搁浅）at sea or in flooded homes could find a real-life prince riding to their rescue. Prince William announced on Monday that he is to train to be a full-time pilot with the Royal Air Force's Search and Rescue Force (SARF).

William, who is currently a Lieutenant（中尉）in the Army's Household Cavalry Regiment（皇家骑兵团）, will transfer to the RAF and begin an 18-month training course in January 2009.

If successful, he will become a fully operational Search and Rescue pilot in 2010, flying Sea King helicopters at one of the six SARF units based in Britain.

"The time I spent with the RAF earlier this year made me realize how much I love flying," the prince, who spent two weeks with a SARF team while on work experience in 2005, said in a statement.

"Joining Search and Rescue is a perfect opportunity for me to serve in the Forces operationally, while contributing to a vital part of the country's Emergency Services."

It means he will follow a similar career to that of his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was a Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands war.

The Search and Rescue teams' main duty is to recover RAF personnel but in peacetime they mainly respond to civilian emergencies, dealing with more than 1,000 calls a year.

The units deal with incidents ranging from helping those trapped by sudden major floods to rescuing people lost while out walking on hills.

William, who has spent the last year on secondment（借调）to the various branches of the military to prepare for his future role as head of the armed forces, received his RAF wings （飞行勋章）following a four-month stint（持续的工作）with the service earlier this year.

However, his time with the RAF was clouded when the Defense Ministry was forced to fend off criticism for allowing the prince to fly military helicopters to a bachelor party for his cousin and to the family home of his girlfriend Kate Middleton.

Prince William wanted to be a full-time pilot because _____.

  A. he liked flying

  B. he would like to do something in the country’s Emergency Services

  C. many Britons were in danger at sea waiting for rescue

  D. he had much experience in flying

According to the passage, _____.

  A. the Falklands war broke out in 2005

  B. Prince William served in the Army’s Household Cavalry Regiment in 1982

  C. Prince Andrew is serving in SARF now

  D. William would finish his training course in June 2010

It can be inferred from the passage that______.

  A. the RAF is an army that rescues its soldiers during wartime

  B. either Andrew or William is interested in flying

  C. there are many floods happening in Britain

  D. the prince saving the people in danger is no longer fairy tale

The author’s opinion on William’s joining RAF is ______.

  A. enthusiastic     B. doubtful     C. negative    D. pessimistic

What is the purpose of the author by mentioning what the prince had done before in the last paragraph?

  A. The author wants to say that Prince William pays much attention to his family and friends

  B. The author suggests that the Defense Ministry was criticized when William flew for his private business

C. William had a hard time when he went against his leaders

  D. The author has the worry that Prince William is likely to get the Defense Ministry into trouble again.

Government officialsare______ people and they should____the people heart and soul.
     A. servants of; serve                  B.service for; serve 
C. servants of; serve for               D.servants for; serve of

＿＿＿the people have become the master of their own country＿＿＿science can really serve the people.

A.It is only then； that     B.It was that； when

C.It is only when； that     D.It was when； then

During a recent holiday I visited Dusseldorf, a city in the former West Germany. The nine-day trip left a deep impression   1   me. I arrived at Dussedorf airport at 7 pm. It was already  2  outside. The first thing I needed to do was to find a place to  3   . I decided to telephone the youth hotel. But to use the phone I needed some   4   , I asked a lady for help. To my  5   she gave me three coins to use. But all the phones in the   6   needed phone cards. And phone cards could only be bought at post offices during the   7   . I was   8   I would not be able to call the hotel. An old gentleman helped me. He couldn’t speak English   9   understand that I needed to   10   a phone call. He showed me where the phone was and inserted  11   phone carD. I called the youth hotel and found a place to stay that night.

The   12   of the German people made me feel that I was not   13   my first day in Germany wasn’t as  14   as I expecteD. Whenever I went, I asked people for   15  . It surprised me that   16   every young German could speak English fluently. Older Germans couldn't speak English very well, but they would try to help me   17   they coulD. One middle-aged man I asked for directions even   18   me to the place I was looking for.

My   19   in Germany totally changed my impression of Germans. Now I think the people couldn't be more 20    .  

1.  A. on      B. for     C. to      D. about

2. A. late       B. dark   C. light   D. early

3. A. visit      B. eat     C. stay    D. keep

4. A. cards     B. information      C. money       D. coins

5. A. joy        B. disappointment C. emotion      D. surprise

6. A. hotel   B. airport       C. city    D. pavement

7. A. night      B. daytime     C. trip    D. rush-hour

8. A. afraid    B. sure   C. glad   D. eager

9. A. or B. but     C. and    D. so

10. A. make   B. have   C. do      D. answer

11. A. another B. a        C. my     D. his

12. A. use      B. success      C. care   D. kindness

13. A. really   B. nearly out of     C. far from    D. close to

14. A. interesting   B. good C. bad    D. busy

15. A. direction     B. distance     C. travel        D. serve

16. A. almost        B. even   C. only   D. already

17. A. whenever    B. whatever   C. wherever   D. however

18. A. drove   B. reached     C. moved       D. came

19. A. experience         B. victory      C. visit    D. memory

20. A. friendly       B. unfriendly        C. cold-hearted      D. valuable

The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the Americans from being discovered by the people of Europe.

Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it. One idea was that it reached out to “the edge of the world.” Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth. Another idea was that at the equator the ocean would be boiling hot.

The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200km) wide.

Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual. For so large an ocean it has very few islands. Also, it is the world’s saltiest ocean.

There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers. It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. On the average the water is a little more than two miles (3.2km) deep, but in places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This “deep” measures 30,246 feet-almost six miles (9.6km).

One of the longest mountain ranges of the world rises from the floor of the Atlantic. This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean. The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands.

Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. In the days of sailing vessels(船) the crew were afraid they would be becalmed(停滞不前) here. Sometimes they were.

Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs float down from the Far North across the paths of ships.

We now have such fast ways of traveling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!

Which world is the Old World?

A. Africa               B. Europe                     C. Asia                  D. All of above

What caused people to be unwilling to explore the Atlantic?

A. There are no ships big enough to get across the Ocean.

B. Sailors were afraid of being lost in the Ocean.

C. The Atlantic Ocean was very unusual because it has few islands and the saltiest water.

D. Many incorrect ideas such as “the edge of the world”, “the equator with boiling hot water”, made people think the Ocean was full of danger.

What is the topic of the fifth paragraph?

A. How deep the water is

B. How to measure the water in the Atlantic Ocean

C. How much water the Ocean holds.

D. How rain affects the Ocean water.

We can learn from the text that ______.

A. the Atlantic is the largest ocean on earth

B. one of the longest mountain ranges lies in the Atlantic

C. the Atlantic has a lot of islands in it

D. sailing on the Atlantic Ocean is always quiet, smooth and safe