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

Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.

People in California love to talk about “zero-emissions（排放）vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants most all use fire to make it. Apart from the few people who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators（发电机）. Generators are fueled by something--usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants. There are a few wind farms and geothermal（地热） plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.

In other words, those "zero-emissions" cars are likely coal-burning cars. Because the coal is burned somewhere else, it looks clean. It is not true. It's as if the California Greens are covering their eyes—“If I can't see it, it's not happening.”  Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it. But when you take that gas（or another fuel）and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat--at the generator, through the transmission lines, etc.

A gallon of gas may drive your car 25 miles. But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won't get you nearly as far -- so electric cars burn more fuel than gasoline-powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from wind or geothermal, or solar, then an electric car truly would be clean. But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don't use much of those energy sources.

　　In addition, electric cars' batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill. And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads. When it's a power plant, though，all the junk is in one place. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.

1.What’s the main idea of the passages?

2.Which of the following words can replace “be clueless about” in Paragraph 2?

3.The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our car run _________.

4.In the author’s opinion, compared with cars using gas, electric cars are more __________.

5.It can be inferred from the passage that __________.

The island Fiji has always been around me in my life. My parents met in Fiji when my father was a teacher as a Peace Corps volunteer and my mother a student. They taught me about its people, culture, foods and religious beliefs.
At the age of two, I made my first trip across the Pacific Ocean to Fiji. My mother and I made that trip unexpectedly because my grandma was ill and longed to see her American granddaughter. Although I have few memories of that first trip, I do remember grandma braiding(编辫子) my hair every day. The brush gliding through my hair is a feeling I will treasure forever because she passed away soon. I returned to America when I was five years old. This time I had a brother, Martin, who was two.
I resisted my third trip to Fiji when I was 15, being a teenager who did not want to spend the summer away from friends. It was this trip, however, that made me realize that Fiji is not just a place to visit but a part of who I am. The smells and sounds and sights came back to me, but the best part was getting to know my relatives.
Vishal was one cousin I quickly bonded with(与…合拍). Born two days before me, I had only known him through pictures before. Though raised oceans apart in different cultures, we talked and laughed about everything from American sports to Fijian dancing. I was able to form close ties with all my cousins, and when I talk about them now, it’s as if I have known them my whole life. Spending time with them helped me understand the traditions and values my mother grew up with. Hospitality (热情) and care and respect for family members are central values in Fijian culture.
I truly enjoyed learning about my roots during this trip. Fuji is just like a second home, and I will never forget the time I have spent there.
【小题1】From the passage, we can learn that ______________________.

1. the author’s parents had been classmates before
2. the author had lived in Fiji for about five years
3. the author had no memories of her grandma
4. people value family in Fijian culture

1. she didn’t want to separate from her brother
2. she didn’t know her cousins there very well
3. she didn’t want to separate from her American friends
4. her grandma had passed away

1. He is younger than the author.
2. The author had met him on her first trip to Fiji.
3. He and the author had lots of common interests.
4. He and the author held different opinions about Fijian culture.

       阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

       Nearly two decades has passed , I still remember my favourite professor, James Sehwartz. Whenever he smiles ,it’s as if you’d just been told the funniest joke on earth .Almost all his students are his friends, and almost all his students know his life story.

       When James was a teenager ,his father   36   him to a fur factory where he worked . This was during the Great Depression. The   37  was to get James a job.

       He entered the factory ,and immediately felt as if the   38   had closed in around him. The room was dark and hot , the windows covered with dust, and the   39   were packed tightly together ,running like trains. The fur hairs were flying ,   40   a thickened air ,and the workers,

  41   the pieces of fur together , were bent over their needles   42  the boss marched up and down the rows ,searching for them to go faster .James could hardly   43  . He stood next to his father ,frozen with fear ,hoping the boss wouldn’t   44  at him , too.

       During lunch break ,his father took James to the boss and pushed him in front of him,   45 if there was any work for his son. But    46  there was barely enough  47  for the adult labours ,for no one would give it up once he takes a job.

       Thus , for James, it was a   48  . He hated the place. He made a   49  that he kept to the end of his like: he would never do any work that brought    50  to someone else ,and he would never allow himself to    51   money off the seat of others.

       “What will you do?” his mother , Eva , would ask him.

       “I don’t know,” he   52  say. He ruled out law ,because he didn’t like  53   , and he ruled out medicine , because he couldn’t take the    54  of blood.

       “What will you do?”

55  , my best professor I ever had became he thought it was the job not to hurt anybody.

36．A．sent   B．took  C．carried      D．admitted

37．A．situation   B．condition  C．idea   D．way

38．A．lights       B．doors C．chances     D．walls

39．A．goods       B．workers    C．machines  D．vehicles

40．A．creating    B．sending     C．taking       D．disturbing

41．A．collecting B．pulling     C．drawing    D．sewing

42．A．as     B．after  C．if      D．though

43．A．breathe     B．see    C．walk D．hear

44．A．attack       B．scold C．rush  D．scream

45．A．doubting   B．questioning      C．asking      D．demanding

46．A．also   B．still   C．yet    D．even

47．A．time  B．work C．office       D．occupation

48．A．comforting      B．regretting  C．blessing    D．forgiving

49．A．request     B．promise    C．plan  D．arrangement

50．A．harm B．injury       C．damage     D．inconvenience

51．A．pay   B．save  C．make D．let

52．A．should      B．would       C．could D．might

53．A．police       B．lawyers     C．judges      D．government

54．A．sight B．feel   C．sense D．scenery

55．A．Generally B．Luckily     C．Eventually       D．Basically

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息，请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。
在中学生夏令营中，以下同学以其观点组织各自的讨论和交流组。
A． Cao A'min, 18
Xuanhua No 1 High School, Hebei
Keeping pace with teachers is a good way to study．Teachers are experienced and their plans are systematic．But remember to work m a way that suits you．It's also important to team from past mistakes．Keep a notebook to make a record of the mistakes you make - it'll help you avoid making the same ones later．
B．Zhang Zilu, 17
Xinyu No 1 High School, Jiangxi
This time of life may be hard, but you're not alone．You may be busy studying, but you can show your care by calling yow friends or sending a short message．Don't let your friendships die．Some boys and girls in my class were in love, but I'd advise against a relationship at this stage．
C. Zhan Yu, 17
Huanggang High School, Hubei
It’s as important to live well as it is to study well, I think. I went to bed no later than 11:30 pm. It put me in the right mood for the next day. I didn’t follow a special diet (饮食), but I did make sure I ate a nutritious  breakfast each day.
D. Ju Shuntian, 18
Yantai Economic and Technological Development Zone Senior High School, Shandong
The person who plays well, studies well. Having a lot of schoolwork doesn’t mean having to give up on every other activity. I played basketball or took a walk to relax when I felt tired. Time out is not a waste of time but helps you study more efficiently.
E. Zhang Qingzhou, 17
　　Dongtai High School, Jiangsu
Besides taking the big exam, you have other choices for college. I took the independent enrollment (自主招生) exam held by Peking University and some other students even prepared to study abroad. Pay attention to any relevant information you can find, whether it’s from school, the news media or another source.
F. Wu Dandan, 18
Liaocheng No. 1 High School, Shandong
Besides learning from the textbooks, students can also learn a lot from traveling from place to place. In different places you will see different things, meet different people and have different experiences. If you are curious enough, you can explore deeper into the area and obtain more useful information, which serves as your new knowledge.
下面同学各自感兴趣的内容或需要解决的问题，请配对他们最适合参加的讨论组。
【小题1】Zhang Xu is an active and energetic boy who enjoys many sports like swimming, football, badminton, cycling and jogging. He has a lot of friends at school and they often spend a lot of time on rivers, fields and mountains. Is it good to spend so little time in the library? How to allocate time between academic lectures and outing? That's his problem.
【小题2】Xiao Lili has much difficulty m catching up with her classmates m chemistry and physics. But her superiority lies in music and English, so she is dreaming of becoming a professional singer. She hopes that her strong points can help pave her way to future success. "Can I go to a musical college without taking NMET?" she wonders.
【小题3】Guo Jie is a hardworking boy but, unfortunately, he gets low marks in every test. He is always busy with his own study plan. When he didn’t finish his work the earlier day, he will bury his mind in his work to fulfill his plan, ignoring the teacher’s lectures. “How can I raise my marks?” he is puzzled.
【小题4】Song Siwei is a slim and pretty girl, who works hard at all her lessons. But she was so absorbed in her studeies that she is even unwilling to tear herself off at meal times. She is always the last to leave the classroom and the first to arrive. She starts to feel dizzy and have headaches. “What might happen to me?” she wonders.
【小题5】Zhang Lan is a charming girl who is active both in the classroom and on the sports field. She is kind to all her classmates. Some boys in her class tend to talk to her at every possible opportunity and even invite her to meals. That makes her pleased but costs her quite some time. She doesn’t know whether it is right to accept kindness from the boys.