NANJING, June 13,2009 (Xinhua) – China will see the longest total solar eclipse (日食) in 500 years on July 22, a scientist said Saturday.

The most important time of the total eclipse was expected to

begin from 9:00 a.m. to 9:38 a. m. (Beijing Time), said Wang

Sichao, a research fellow with the Nanjing – based Purple

Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“The total eclipse will l ast up to six minutes, which is the longest

one that can be seen in China in almost 500 years from 1814 to 2309,” Wang said.

He said viewers in parts of eleven provinces in China's southwestern, central-southern and eastern areas, such as Tibet, Hunan and Jiangsu, will be able to witness the total solar eclipse, while in most parts of Shanghai, viewers can see the spectacular phenomenon. For viewers in other provinces, including Beijing, they can observe a partial eclipse, he said.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is caught between the sun and the earth while each of them moves along their fixed orbits. In a total solar eclipse, the sun, the moon and the earth are directly aligned as the sun swings into the cone of shadow cast by the moon.

Wang said the next total solar eclipse that can be seen in China will fall on March 20 th, 2034.     "But it can only be seen remote provinces, such as Tibet and Qinghai. It cannot not be compared with the upcoming one -- in terms of duration and number of cities that can see the eclipse," he added. The last total solar eclipse visible in China took place on Aug. 1 last year. It was observed in northwest China and lasted two minutes in Yiwu County of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the best place to see the phenomenon.

72．According to the report, the total eclipse on July the 22 nd will last         .

A．over a month                                                    B．about 38 minutes

C．about 6 minutes                                              D．less than 30 minutes

73．Viewers can possibly witness the total solar eclipse in            .

A．Liaoning                   B．Sichuan                    C．Beijing                      D．Xinjiang

74．When a total solar eclipse happens,          .

A．the moon goes into the shadow cast by the sun

B．the earth stays between the sun and the moon

C．the sun temporarily moves into the moon’s orbit

D．the sun is in a line with the moon and the earth

75．Which is the best title for this report?           .

A．China to witness longest total solar eclipse in 500 years

B．The most important total solar eclipse will favor China

C．The beginning time of the total solar eclipse is expected

D．China has been the best place to witness the solar eclipse

Sorry to say,our brains naturally start slowing down at the Cruelty young age of 30.It used to be thought that this couldn’t be helped,but new studies show that people of any age can train their brains to work faster.“Your brain is a learning machine,”saying University of California scientist Dr. Michael Merzenich.Given the right tools,we can train our brains to act like they did when we were younger.All that’s required is the practice designed just for the purpose:a few exercises for the mind.

Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to speed up the process(过程) in which the brain deals with information (positscience.com).Since much of the data we receive comes through speech,the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to better speed and accuracy(准确性).

Over the course of training,the program starts asking you to distinguish(辨别) sounds (between“dog”and“bog”,for example) at an increasingly faster speed.It’s a bit like tennis instructor,says Merzenich,hitting balls at you—faster and faster to keep you challenged(受到挑战).You may start out slow,but before long you’re pretty quick.

The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic.If you ask your brain to learn,it will learn.And it may even speed up while in the process.

To keep your brain young and plastic you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and excite you:playing table tennis or bridge,doing crossword puzzles,learning a language...“When it comes to preventing ageing,you really do ‘use it or lose it’,”says Barbara Sahakian,professor at Cambridge University.

Dr.Merzenich’s training method mainly depends on ______.

A.speech training

B.computer languages

C.the activities one joins in

D.the information being dealt with

By saying “the brain at any age is highly plastic”,the writer probably means the brain can be ______.

A.used                                                            B.mastered

C.developed                                                     D.researched

What can we learn from the text?

A.Practice makes a quick mind.

B.Brain research started ten years ago.

C.Dr. Merzenich is a scientist in computer.

D.People believed nothing could stop the brain slowing down.

Which of the following agrees with the writer’s idea?

A.The training methods work better for the old.

B.People should use the brain to stop it from ageing.

C.The training of the brain should start at an early age.

D.It’s necessary to take part in as many activities as possible.

A student and his teacher were walking through the forest. The student was disturbed(扰乱) by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest（不安）. He asked his teacher, “Why most people’s minds are restless, and only a few have a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind ?”

   The teacher looked at him, smiled and said, “I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away denovo”. This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly, “Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?" The fly answered, "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?" The elephant stopped eating and said, “My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed(沉湎于) in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew（咀嚼）it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."

   The student's eyes opened wide and smile rose on his face. "I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm".

   "Yes, that's right", answered the teacher, "The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind".

1. How did the elephant drive the fly away?

  A. With its long tail.           B. With its long ears.  

C. With its strong legs         D. With its long trunk.

2.The reason why the elephant stayed calm and still was that _______.

   A. it didn’t have a sense of direction

   B. it was too heavy to move around like the fly

   C. it paid much attention to things around it

   D. it concentrated (集中) on what it was doing

3.The underlined word “denovo” in the second paragraph probably means _______.

A. in total   B. in common   C. once again   D. as usual

4. The main purpose of the passage is to tell the readers _______

A. the relationship between the mind and attention

B. how to make use of the five senses

C. people should stay calm and still

D. only the elephant can control the mind and attention

F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24,1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St. Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton. University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.

His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary : “ My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary. ”

This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925,which quick brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection lf short stories All the Sad Young Men.

However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The love of the last Tycoon in 1940.While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism.

1. How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage ?

A. 5             B. 6            C. 7                D. 8

2.Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life according to the passage?

a. He became addicted to drinking.

b. He studied at St. Paul Academy.

c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.

d. The Great Gatsby won high praise. 

e. He failed to reorder his life.

f. He joined the army and met Zelda.

A. f-c-e-a-b-d                   B. b-e-a-f-c-d    

C. f-d-e-c-b-a                       D. b-f-c-d-e-a

3.We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald            .

A. had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama.

B. was well educated and well off before he served in the army

C. would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down

D. helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital

4.The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about_______  .

A. Zelda’s personal life

B. Zelda’s illness and treatment

C. Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham

D. Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary (文学的)world