A: For years some people have been saying that railways are dead. They say, “Trains are slow, and they lose money. Motorcars and planes have made them unnecessary.”

B:    1.   . I think in these days of expensive oil, railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes.

A: Right. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they are much cheaper than planes.

B:    2.   . A plane goes in a straight line, and so does a railway.

A: What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another.    3.   . Nor does it hold you up as a car does in heavy traffic.

B:    4.   . Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey. We’ve just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 160 miles an hour and more.

A：5.

A. So railways will have very bright future, I dare say. 

B. It doesn’t leave you as a plane does, miles and miles from the city center.

C. Far from being dead, railways are developing very quickly.

D. Trains are really slower than planes. 

E. And they have much in common with planes.

F. But it is far from the truth. 

G. Trains are really more comfortable than planes.

A

For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you’re expecting isn’t exactly the top priority— rather, it’s making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother’s regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus’ health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.

The finding is a bit surprising, because exercise is known to lower the risk of insulin resistance（胰岛素抵抗），a condition eventually leading to diabetes（糖尿病）. Although insulin resistance is a detriment in healthy adults, it turns out to be helpful for proper fetal（胎儿）development. In pregnant women, this condition means nutrients get shunted to the growing baby.

The question is: could a mother’s exercise put her developing baby’s food supply at risk? Past studies looking at the effect of exercise on birth weight have been inconclusive, and none have really investigated the influence of exercise on the mother’s sensitivity to insulin. So the University of Auckland’s Dr. Paul Hoffman and his team decided to study 84 first-time mothers, who were of normal weight on average, and track any effects aerobic exercise(有氧运动) might have on their insulin sensitivity and, ultimately, on their babies’ birth weight. Researchers asked some women to exercise on a stationary bicycle for at least 40 minutes per session, up to five times each week, starting in the 20th week of pregnancy; the other women were not specifically asked to exercise. When the two groups and their babies were compared, the team found that women who bicycled regularly gave birth to babies who were on average 150g lighter than those born to the non-exercising mothers. In both groups, however, the babies were of healthy weight, and there was no difference in the mothers’ weights.

Generally speaking, babies on the lower end of the normal weight range are considered healthier and less prone to developing diabetes and obesity than heavier ones, so this was an encouraging result. Even more reassuring was that regular exercise did not seem to affect the flow of nutrients to the growing babies in the womb.

41. According to the new study, a pregnant woman’s regular exercise may _______.

  A. bring benefits to a baby’s growth

  B. lower the risk of insulin resistance

  C. put her baby’s food supply at risk

  D. help her keep slim and healthy

42. What does the underlined word “detriment” mean in the second paragraph?

  A. Something that brings good.

  B. Something that brings damage.

  C. Something that brings obstacles.

  D. Something that brings development.

43. What is the purpose of the experiment carried out by Dr. Paul Hoffman?

  A. To investigate the influence of exercise on pregnant women.

  B. To find out what aerobic exercise can benefit a baby’s growth.

  C. To make sure of the effects exercise may have on babies’ birth weight

  D. To compare the differences between mothers who exercise and who don’t

44. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

  A. Lighter babies are generally believed to be healthier than heavier ones.

  B. Non­－exercising mothers will definitely give birth to heavier babies.

  C. No studies have looked at the effect of exercise on birth weight before.

  D. Some women studied were asked to exercise regularly while some don’t.

45. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

  A. All mothers should take aerobic exercise.

  B. Moms who exercise give birth to lighter babies。

  C. Exercise reduces the risk of insulin resistance.

  D. Heavier babies are more likely to develop diabetes.

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火红的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.    

The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. "It's getting late," she thought, "I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am."

She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn't understand what was going on.    

She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: "Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking." Ellen was her mother but－where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents' room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different－she wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas.     

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared."

Three days later Jennifer came back home      .

A. at sunrise         B. at sunset      C. at night              D. at midday

What does the underlined phrase "This thought" most probably mean?

A. The idea of going back home.           

B. Her anxiety about her parents.     

C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.     

D. The feeling of getting back home safely.

Her father didn't take care of the garden because      .

A. he was busy looking for her   

B. he had to look after his wife

C. he was not strict with his job        

D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden

What can we infer from this passage?

A. In fact Jennifer's mother had been sick for days.     

B. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.     

C. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.     

D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.

A tourist comes out of the airport．There are a lot of taxis，but the tourist asks every taxi—driver his name．He takes the third taxi．It costs￡5 from the airport to the hotel．“How much does it cost for the whole day?” the tourist asks．“￡100”，says the taxi-driver．This is very expensive，the tourist accepts the price．

    The taxi—driver takes the tourist everywhere．He shows him all monuments and all the museums．In the evening they go back to the hotel．The tourist gives the taxi-driver￡100 and says，“What about tomorrow?” The taxi-driver looks at the tourist．“Tomorrow? It’s another￡ 100 tomorrow．”But the tourist says，“That’s OK．If that’s the price，that is the price．See you tomorrow．”The taxi—driver is very pleased．

    The next day the taxi-driver takes the tourist everywhere again．They visit all the museums and all the monuments again．And in the second evening they go back to the hotel．The tourist gives the taxi—driver another￡100 and says，“I’m going home tomorrow．”The taxi-driver is sorry．He likes the tourist and，above all，￡100 a day is good money．“So you are going home．Where do you come from?” he asks．

    “I come from New York．”

    “New York!” says the taxi-driver，“I have a sister in New York．Her name is Susannah．Do you know her?”

    “Of course 1 know her．She gave me￡200 for you．”

The tourist is______   ．

  A．an Englishman    B．a Frenchman    C．a Swedish D．an American

The tourist asks every taxi—driver his name because______    ．

  A．he is afraid of being cheated      B．he wants to remember all of the taxi—drivers’names

  C．he knows of one of the taxi-drivers D．there is a friend of his among the taxi drivers

Why is the taxi-driver very pleased with the tourist?

  A．None but the tourist agrees to the price given without arguing with him．

  B．His sister knows the tourist．

  C．His sister has brought so much money to him．

  D．He wants to be the guide of the tourist．

We can conclude that ______  ．

  A．the tourist will give the taxi-driver another￡200

  B．the tourist makes fun of the taxi—driver

  C．the tourist will give the taxi—driver half of the sum

  D．the taxi-driver insists that the tourist should pay him another￡200

For years we have been told that encouraging a child’s self-respect is important to his or her success in life. But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect. Praise-sholic kids  who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek to same kind of approval from friends when asked if they want to go in the backseat of the car.

The implication(含义) of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she succeed but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores she highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.

Social psychologist Carrol Dweck, PhD, tested the effects of overpraise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.

“Praising attributes(品质) or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges, ” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they’s better quit while they’re ahead.”

The underlined words “Praise-sholic kids” refers to kids who are ______.

   A. tired of being praised             B. worthy of being praised

   C. very proud of being praised        D. extremely fond of being praised

The author quoted(引用) Dr. Dweck’s words in the last paragraph in order to make the article

_____. 

A. better-known      B. better-organized    C. more percussive   D. more interesting

We can infer from the passage that _____.

   A. praise for efforts should be more encouraged

   B. praise for results works better than praise for efforts

   C. praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life

   D. praising a child’s abilities encourage him or her to take on challenges