A Train Floating On Air

A train that floats on air? It's not magic — it's magnets (磁). And it's close to reality.

         In Virginia USA the fall of 2002, a train with no wheels traveled on air and carried college students across their campus. In Japan, a whisper-quiet railway engine hovered and raced at 350 miles per hour using magnets and electricity as the power. And in China, a magnet train line linked Shanghai with nearby Pudong Airport.

These trains use magnetic levitation (悬浮) technology, “maglev” for short. They use the same rules as the magnets you pick up at home or school: opposite poles of magnets attract each other, and like poles repel each other.

How does it work?

Powerful magnets on the bottom of the train repel magnets on the track, which is actually just a magnet-filled guiding way. With a magnetic field of sufficient force, the train will go hovering on air, which seemed impossible to us in the past.

When an electrical current is sent through the track, the train moves. Turn the current backwards and the train slows down.

Maglev doesn't rely on the friction (摩擦力) of wheels on track, so it can climb a much steeper hill than a traditional train. And it can travel easily in snow and ice, something that could bring normal trains to a screaming stop.    

60.   This passage is about __________.

         A. maglev                   B. magnets                C. levitation               D. electricity

61.   Which of the following is a repelling action?

         A.                                B.                                C.                                D.

62.   What can we learn from the text?

         A. A magnet-filled guiding way is formed inside a maglev train.

         B. Instead of electricity, magnets are used as the power of a maglev.

         C. Maglev trains can climb hills with the help of magnet wheels.

         D. Electric currents decide the movements of a maglev train. 

63.   What is the difference between a maglev train and an ordinary train?

         A. A maglev train can climb mountains without power while an ordinary one can’t.

         B. A maglev train can travel in college campus while an ordinary train is not allowed.

         C. Travelling without a track, a maglev train is safer and smoother than an ordinary one.

         D. Floating on a track, a maglev train is faster, quieter than an ordinary railway train.

A latest national survey has found that over half of China's netizens (网民) are suffering from various mental problems although some 62 percent of them claim at the same time that they are happy on the whole anyway.

This is the result of China's first White Paper on Netizens’ Health Conditions issued on Wednesday by 39.net, China's largest authoritative website on health sciences. It is the first most comprehensive health survey on netizens’ health situation ever conducted in China in ten years’ time. The white paper came out after two months of online and offline research that involved over 150 thousand netizens, covering topics and questions on health knowledge, mental situation, sense of health, and living habits.

According to the white paper, more than 70 percent of China's netizens say they are suffering from mental problems such as bad memory, anxiety, depression, and a lack of confidence. And a similar 72 percent of them also say they are often suffering from diseases like insomnia, dizziness, joint degeneration and achings. Meanwhile, another 53 percent of netizens believe that white collar employees who have bigger work pressures are more likely to catch mental problems.

The white paper adds, doing almost no sports and spending long time surfing online lead to the above mentioned health problems among netizens. Only 9 percent of netizens take up sports on weekends while over 40 percent stay home, surfing. And only 16 percent netizens can assure more than eight hours’ sleeping daily.

At present, China has a netizen population of 162 million, with a monthly consumption of 186 yuan, or about 25 dollars, on Internet surfing.

The national survey on netizens’ health situation ________.

A. was conducted on Wednesday      B. was carried out online and offline

C. is conducted every year      D. covered about half a million netizens

Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined part “white collar”?

A. White clothes.         B. Office workers.     

C. White offices.       D. White people.

All the following factors have been mentioned to cause the health problems among netizens EXCEPT ________.

A. shopping online         B. spending long time online

C. heavy work pressures         D. doing no sports

What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. China has a large netizen population.

B. The Internet has a negative influence on people.

C. Many netizens in China have mental problems.

D. How to surf the Internet safely and healthily.

A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for charity(慈善).

Terence, an experienced traveller who has been to Iraq, will be the guest of honour on aviation(航行) legend Burt Rutan’s Spaceship One when it flies above Earth. The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his return the cuddly toy will be auctioned off(拍卖) in aid of the North Air Ambulance Appeal(北部空中救护服务中心).

Spaceship One is the world’s first private spacecraft, and is competing for a prestigious space travel prize. Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), Graham Pickering, said “flying officer” Terence had been handed over to the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him ever since.

He said, “Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off. We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft, trying parachuting and even looking drunk and disorderly. When the RAF finally discharge him he will be a very rare bear indeed—we just hope he does not burn up on re-entry to Earth.”

GNAAS, which needs charitable donations of more than ￡2m a year, has three air ambulances(空中救护机).

Peter Bond, spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society, said Terence’s safety was not guaranteed. He said, “This is a new and experimental craft and this will only be the second time it has flown. During its first voyage it developed technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved.”

Since May, Terence has spent time with members of 100 Squadron(空军中队) based at RAF Leeming in Basra, Iraq, and at air shows with performing fighter planes.

Spaceship One will fly 100km (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface, just breaking through the planet’s atmosphere.

If it repeats the feat(技艺) inside two weeks, it will claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize set up to encourage the private space flight business.

Terence is ________.

A. a real bear living in England           B. an experienced astronaut

C. an air force officer                         D. a toy bear

We can infer that________.

A. after this space flight, Spaceship One will get the $10m Ansari X-Prize

B. it is dangerous for a spaceship to re-enter the earth atmosphere

C. Terence will be very safe on the flight

D. Spaceship One is just an ordinary plane

Which of the following is true of Spaceship One?

A. Spaceship One is the world’s first spacecraft.

B. The purpose of its flight is to collect money for the charity.

C. The purpose of its flight is to compete for a prestigious space travel prize.

D. Spaceship One has never flown.

Which of the following is the best title?

A. Teddy bear astronaut to lift off        B. Spaceship One to lift off

C. Space flight                                 D. The toy bear will be auctioned off

A 61-year-old woman was saved on Saturday evening by Russian rescuers after being buried for up to 127 hours in rubble in the quake-ravaged southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Local residents told Russian rescuers that there was someone alive under two collapsed residential buildings in Dujiangyan, a city southeast of the epicenter of Monday's earthquake.

The rescuers explored the buildings with dogs and machines. Then, they cut out a section of the floor, and successfully pulled out the woman.

The woman was in good condition and was still able to think clearly. She was still able to move her hands and feet and could still speak.

The Parsurvivor had lived on the first floor of the six-story building. And she was buried in the debris of the concrete ceiling after the quake.

The unidentified woman was the first survivor found by foreign rescue teams. A total of 237 rescuers from Japan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore are currently in Sichuan, aiding the disaster relief efforts.

The Russian rescuers are still trying to save a second possible survivor trapped in the debris of the building.

Into the sixth day since the devastating earthquake, China's worst in more than 30 years, rescuers, including more than 130,000 troops, were still struggling to pull possible survivors from debris of collapsed houses, schools and factories.

61. The passage mentions the following EXCEPT_______.

A. how old the survivor is

B. where the survivor lived

C. how long the survivor was trapped

D. what the survivor’s name is

62. The underlined word “debris” in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by _______.

A. ruins              B. centre                     C. middle     D. surrounding

63. The best title for the passage should be _______.

A. Russian rescue team save a woman in Dujiangyan

B. Russian rescuers find a survivor in China's quake

C. Woman saved by Russian rescuers 127 hours after quake

D. Miracle rescues save buried people in Dujiangyan

D

Cost of American Wars