So far no life has been found outside the earth, but while some scientists are actively searching for living things in outer space, others firmly believe there ____ .

A. mustn’t be                B. may not be               C. can’t be             D. won’t be

第三部分：阅读理解 (共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分)
Foreign Media Praise China's Earthquake Relief
The Wall Street Journal Asia Edition (U.S.), the Globe and Mail (Canada), the Guardian (U.K.), among other foreign news agencies, have recently published articles on China's earthquake relief. They have all praised the earthquake relief efforts made by the Chinese government.
The Wall Street Journal Asia Edition published an article on May 21 saying that on the eighth day of the most serious natural disaster to hit China in decades, rescuing survivors from the ruins had been quickly replaced by the formidable challenge of helping them. The article said that people overseas have been deeply impressed by earthquake relief efforts by the Chinese government.
The Associated French Press (AFP) reported on May 21 that China has become more open amid the campaign.
Aircraft loaded with relief supplies from Ukraine, Russia, the United States, Singapore and other countries have arrived in disaster areas in southwestern China.
The Associated Press (AP) published an article on May 21 reporting that China is making great efforts to deal with a formidable task caused by the earthquake how to provide temporary shelter for so many people. The article said that many tents have been built; and food and medical care are provided to the people whose lives have been completely disrupted (混乱) by the earthquake.
The Global and Mail of Canada published an article on May 20 that said the rapid earthquake relief work in Sichuan demonstrates China's powerful economic strength.
An article carried in the British Guardian said that one week after the Sichuan earthquake, China began a three-day national mourning period at 14:28 on May19, and all Chinese people stood in silence for three minutes in memory of the victims.
The ongoing search and rescue action is encouraged by one miraculous survivor after another. Chinese officials said that, so far, no epidemic had occurred after the earthquake.
1. How many press media are mentioned in the article?
A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. 6
2. What is the best title of the passage?
A. Foreign media praise China's earthquake relief
B. the rapid earthquake relief work in Sichuan demonstrates China's powerful
economic strength
C. the most serious natural disaster to hit China in decades
D. Tens of thousands of people’s lives have been completely disrupted by the
earthquake.
3. According to the passage, what is the most pressing task in the earthquake-hit areas?
A. rescuing survivors
B. providing temporary shelter and food for the victims
C burying dead bodies
D. clearing away the ruins
4. What is the possible meaning of the underlined word  “formidable” in paragraph 4?
A. very difficult     B. glorious     C. light   D. pressing

The West began to take more notice of the East.The fifth volume of an enormous work reassessing the Chinese contribution to science and technology is to be published next year.The first volume,which was published twenty years ago,set the tone for the whole work.In it,evidence was given to show that many inventions which,until then,western historians had claimed forEurope,were made first in China.The attempt to rewrite the intellectual history of the world was not received without protest by some reputable historians.However,the evidence that has been presented so far in the first four volumes has persuaded many historians who were skeptical at first.China’s invention of paper,printing,the magnetic compass and gunpowder has never been disputed,but this new history has added advanced bridge design,mechanical clocks,paddle boats and many other inventions to the list.

In the four volumes published so far no attempt has been made to explain why China has not kept up with the West in science and technology in modern times.It is probable that the answer is to be found in the social and economic history of China,where a static(稳定的) society under a relatively kind regime(政权) of scholar-gentry(贵族) contrasts with the potentially revolutionary and dynamic(有活力的) society of the West at the end of the Middle Ages.In recent years,the Chinese government has been making every effort to catch up with the West again,and there is little doubt that the gap is being reduced year by year.But will China avoid the West’s mistakes?

The first volume was published__________.

A.ten years ago             B.last year                    C.five years ago            D.twenty years ago

In Line 7,the word “skeptical” means _________.

A.doubtful                    B.worried                     C.sad                           D.angry

Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

A.Gunpowder.                     B.Needle.                            C.Paddle boats.             D.Bridge design.

The best title for this passage is _________.

A.China’s Inventions

B.Comparisons Between the East and the West

C.China Is Catching Up

D.Situations in China

Andrew Ritchie, inventor of the Brompton folding bicycle, once said that the perfect portable bike would be “like a magic carpet…You could fold it up and put it into your pocket or handbag”. Then he paused: “But you’ll always be limited by the size of the wheels. And so far no one has invented a folding wheel.”

It was a rare — indeed unique — occasion when I was able to put Ritchie right. A 19th-century inventor, William Henry James Grout, did in fact design a folding wheel. His bike, predictably named the Grout Portable, had a frame that split into two and a larger wheel that could be separated into four pieces. All the bits fitted into Grout’s Wonderful Bag, a leather case.

Grout’s aim: to solve the problems of carrying a bike on a train. Now doesn’t that sound familiar? Grout intended to find a way of making a bike small enough for train travel: his bike was a huge beast. And importantly, the design of early bicycles gave him an advantage: in Grout’s day, tyres were solid, which made the business of splitting a wheel into four separate parts relatively simple. You couldn’t do the same with a wheel fitted with a one-piece inflated （充气的） tyre.

So, in a 21st-century context, is the idea of the folding wheel dead? It is not. A British design engineer, Duncan Fitzsimons, has developed a wheel that can be squashed into something like a slender ellipse （椭圆）. Throughout, the tyre remains inflated.

Will the young Fitzsimons’s folding wheel make it into production? I haven’t the foggiest idea. But his inventiveness shows two things. First, people have been saying for more than a century that bike design has reached its limit, except for gradual advances. It’s as silly a concept now as it was 100 years ago: there’s plenty still to go for. Second, it is in the field of folding bikes that we are seeing the most interesting inventions. You can buy a folding bike for less than £1,000 that can be knocked down so small that it can be carried on a plane — minus wheels, of course — as hand baggage.

Folding wheels would make all manner of things possible. Have we yet got the magic carpet of Andrew Ritchie’s imagination? No. But it’s progress.

1.We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the Brompton folding bike        .

A. was portable

B. had a folding wheel

C. could be put in a pocket

D. looked like a magic carpet

2.We can learn from the text that the wheels of the Grout Portable        .

A. were difficult to separate

B. could be split into 6 pieces

C. were fitted with solid tyres

D. were hard to carry on a train

3.We can learn from the text that Fitzsimons’s invention        .

A. kept the tyre as a whole piece

B. was made into production soon

C. left little room for improvement

D. changed our views on bag design

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Three folding bike inventors

B. The making of a folding bike

C. Progress in folding bike design

D. Ways of separating a bike wheel

 Andrew Ritchie, inventor of the Brompton folding bicycle, once said that perfect portable bike would be “like a magic carpet... You could fold it up and put it into your pocket or handbag". Then he paused: “But you'll always be limited by the size of the wheels. And so far no one has invented a folding wheel."

It was a rare --- indeed unique --- occasion when I was able to put Ritchie right. A 19th-century inventor, William Henry James Grout, did in fact design a folding wheel. His bike, predictably named the Grout Portable, had a frame that split into two and a larger wheel that could be separated into four pieces. All the bits fitted into Grout's Wonderful Bag, a leather case.

Grout's aim: to solve the problems of carrying a bike on a train. Now doesn't that sound familiar? Grout intended to find a way of making a bike small enough for train travel: his bike was a huge beast. And importantly, the design of early bicycles gave him an advantage: in Grout's day, tyres were solid, which made the business of splitting a wheel into four separate parts relatively simple. You couldn't do the same with a wheel fitted with a one-piece inflated(充气的)tyre.

So, in a 21^st-century context, is the idea of the folding wheel dead? It is not. A British design engineer, Duncan Fitzsimons , has developed a wheel that can be squashed into something like a slender ellipse(椭圆) . Throughout, the tyre remains inflated.

Will the young Fitzsimons's folding wheel make it into production? I haven’t the foggiest idea. But his inventiveness shows two things. First, people have been saying for more than a century that bike design has reached its limit, except for gradual advances. It’s as silly a concept now as it was 100 years ago: there's plenty still to go for. Second, it is in the field of folding bikes that we are seeing the most interesting inventions. You can buy a folding bike for less than £1,000 that can be knocked  down so small that can be carried on a plane ―― minus wheels, of course ―― as hand baggage.

Folding wheels would make all manner of things possible. Have we yet got the magic carpet of Andrew Ritchie's imagination? No. But it's progress.

69 We can infer form Paragraph 1 that the Brompton folding bike____.

A. was portable

B. had a folding wheel.

C. could be put in a pocket.

D. looked like a magic carpet

70. We can learn from the text that the wheels of the Group Portable_______.

A. were difficult to separate.

B. could be split into 6 pieces.

C. were fitted with solid tyres.

D. were hard to carry on a train.

71. We can learn from the text that Fitzsimons`s invention_______.

A. kept the tyres as whole piece.

B. was made into production soon.

C. left little room for improvement.

D. changed our views on bag design.

72Which of following would be best title for the text?

A. Three folding bike inventors.

B. The making of a folding bike

C. Progress in folding bike design

D. Ways of separating a bike wheel