In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of comet(彗星).When the fragments(碎片)landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions were watched by scientist here on earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet?

　 The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the earth. The news has caused panic.

　 On 17 July, a fragment four kilometers wide enters the earth’s atmosphere with a huge explosion. About half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned. The waves moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia.

　 Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the earth, but the north won’t escape for long. Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived.

　 Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the earth. The dinosaurs(恐龙)were on the earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believed that the earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn’t survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end?

1. Which of the following in NOT true according to the author’s description of the disaster in

　 2094?

　 A. The whole world becomes extremely cold.

　 B. All the coastal cities in Africa are destroyed.

　 C. The whole mankind becomes extinct.

　 D. The visit of the comet results in war.

2. Why does the author mention dinosaur at the end of the passage?

　 A. Because they could only live in the warm climate.

　 B. Because they once dominated the earth.

　 C. Because their extinction indicates future disasters.

　 D. Because dinosaurs and humans never live in the same age

3. In writing the passage, the author intends to ____.

　 A. give an accurate description of the possible disaster in the future

　 B. prove that humans will sooner or later be destroyed

　 C. tell the historical development of the earth

　 D. warn of a possible disaster in the future

4. It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a(n) ____.

　 A. horror story　　　　　　　　 B. news report

　 C. research paper　　　　　 D. article of popular science

完形填空

　　A couple from Minneapolis, in the north, decided to go to Florida, in the south, for a long weekend during one particularly icy cold winter. They both had jobs, and had 1 managing their travel schedules（日程安排）It was decided the husband would fly to Florida on a Thursday, and his wife would 2 him the next day. Upon arriving as 3 , the husband checked into the 4 There he decided to 5 his laptop（computer）and send his wife an email back in Minneapolis. However, he 6 left off one letter in her 7 and sent the e-mail without 8 his error.

　　In the 9 in Houston, a widow（寡妇）had just returned from her husband’s burial service He was a minister of many years who had been“called home to glory”following a heart 10 （died and gone to report in heaven）. The widow checked her e-mail, 1l messages from family and friends. Upon 12 the first message, she was so shocked as to fall to the floor, The widow’s son 13 into the room, found his mother on the floor and saw the computer 14 which read:

阅读理解

　　Tokyo: Three snakes, whose poison could kill a person in ten minutes, are guarding a blue star sapphire (蓝宝石)worth nearly six hundred thousand dollars at a Japanese exhibition of jewels sent from an Indian museum.

　　“Normally it would be forbidden to let these poisonous snakes guard exhibiton objects, but it's different this time because the jewels are being exhibited at a hotel. ”a police official said.

　　Exhibition officials said that a person bitten (咬)by one of these snakes would need at least 80m1 of an anti-poison medicine to be saved. Medicine was being kept ready at a nearby hospital.

　　The star sapphire and other valuable jewels worth a total of one million dollars are on show behind glass. Hundreds of visitors came to see the special blue star sapphire and were surprised when they saw the sixty-centimetre-long brown guards.

1．Using snakes at exhibitions of valuable objects is ________.

[　　]

A．quite normal

B．never allowed

C．often necessary

D．usually forbidden

2．The jewels were being shown in ________.

[　　]

A．an Indian hotel

B．an Indian museum

C．a Japanese hotel

D．a Japanese museum

3．Why were the snakes and jewels at the same exhibition?

[　　]

A．They were both special things from India.

B．The snakes were to keep the jewels safe.

C．The organizers wanted to do something unusual.

D．People liked to visit an exhibition guarded by snakes.

4．Many visitors came to the exhibition because ________.

[　　]

A．the snakes were on show

B．so many jewels were being exhibited

C．exhibition officials said it was special

D．they were interested in seeing a famous jewel

5．If the visitors were bitten by one of the poisonous snakes, he ________.

[　　]

A．would be saved by anti-poison medicine

B．would be dying soon

C．would feel nothing serious

D．would run away as soon as possible

A visit to a doctor’s office costs from fifteen to fifty dollars. It is almost impossible for people to pay for medical care they need. Many people in the United States think that doctors are overpaid. Most doctors, however, disagree. They say that they were required to study medicine for a long time. Tuition(学费)for many years of medical education costs lots of money. Doctors say that it is necessary for most medical students to borrow money from a bank to pay their tuition. Because this money must be repaid to the bank, young doctors need to receive a lot of money for their work. So they charge(收费)people high prices for medical care.

Therefore, it’s possible that the high cost of medical care in America is unnecessary. Because high tuition is one cause of high costs, one way to lower costs would be to have medical schools that are free or have lower tuition.

1．Some people don’t have their medical care they need because　　   .

A. they are not willing to pay the doctors high tuition

B. they don’t think it necessary to have medical care

C. they don’t want to spend much money on it

D. they haven’t got enough money to pay for it

2．The reason for the high medical cost mentioned(提到)in the article is　　   .

A. tuition in medical schools is high

B. the price of medicine is high

C. doctors are overpaid

D. doctors must pay money to banks

3．One way to lower the cost of medical care would be　　   .

A. not to see a doctor

B. to pay doctors less money

C. to let medical students have free or partly free medical education

D: To forbid(禁止)doctors to ask their patients for too much money

4．The main idea of the article is that __________.

A. a visit to a doctor’s office may cost as much as $15 to $50 in US

B. the cost of medical care is the main reason for the high costs in US

C. medical care in the United States costs a lot of money because doctors want to be rich

D. the high cost of tuition in medical schools is one reason for the high cost of medical care in America

5． The cost of medical care in the United States is very high. What does the writer think about it?

A. He agrees that doctors are overpaid.

B. He thinks it a big problem and suggests a way to settle it.

C. He doesn’t think medical students should borrow money from banks.

D. He doesn’t think it necessary for medical students to study for a long time.

III．阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节     阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of different generations．Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves．

    That’s because we group people by age．We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes．Why?

　　We live away from the old for many reasons．Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of aging and dying．It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes．Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most．

　　Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old．And we have discovered that they often save the young．

　　A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people．At first her children were disappointed．But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit．Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．“My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said．

　　The young, in turn, save the old．Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded．People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair．Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure．

　　Grandparents are a special case．They give their grandchildren a feeling of security(安全) and continuity．As my husband put it, “My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end．” Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents．“My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said．A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting．

41．Now in an American family, people can find that _____．

　　A．children never live with their parents

　　B．not all working people live with their parents

　　C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren

　　D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

42．What may be the reason why old people are left alone?

　　A．The old don’t like to live in a big family

　　B．The young can’t get enough money to support the old

　　C．Different generations have different lifestyles

　　D．The old are too weak to live with the young

43．The fact the reporter told us shows that _____．

　　A．old people in America lead a hard life

　　B．old people in America enjoy banana bread

　　C．she had no time to take care of her children

　　D．old people are easy to get along with

44．Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _____．

　　A．they had never seen a baby before

　　B．the baby was clever and beautiful

　　C．the baby brought them the image of life

　　D．the baby’s mother would take care of them

45．Why are some children quieter,calmer and more trusting?

         A．Because they have relationships with their grandparents

         B．Because their worried parents ask them to act like that

         C．Because they have nothing to worry about

         D．Because their teachers ask them to act like that