There is no other city in the world that has such a strong connection with the Olympic Games. Athens, the____1____city of the first modern Olympics in 1896, ____2____ into the limelight (焦点) again on March 30,2008 ____3____ the flame for that year’s Olympic Games was ____4____ over to the Beijing Organizing Committee. The Olympic flame was ____5____ on March 24,2008 in Olympia, a place in southwestern Greece. In the ritual (仪式), actresses ____6____ as ancient Greek priestesses (女祭司) used a ____7____ to light the flame. The flame then was carried to the site of public ceremony and handed to the first ____8____, Greek taekwondo(跆拳道) athlete Alexandros Nikolaidis. He carried the flame to the ____9____ of the monument of Baron de Courbertin, the ____10____ of the modern Olympic Games.

Athens was named ____11____ Athena, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology (神话). It is also one of the world’s oldest cities with a history ____12____ at least 3,000 years. Athens was the ____13____ of arts, learning and philosophy in ancient times and is widely ____14____ to as the cradle (摇篮) of Western civilization.

The heritage of history is ____15____ evident in the city, represented by a number of ancient monuments and works of art. The Acropolis (卫城) is the city’s key ____16____. It overlooks the ____17____ city and dominates the skyline (天际). The main temple of the goddess Athena, ____18____ on the Acropolis, was Parthenon (帕台农神庙). And the National Archaeological Museum, the ____19____ important museum in Greece, holds a priceless ____20____ of treasure, with artifacts (古器物) of almost every culture, which flourished (繁荣) in the Mediterranean (地中海).

1. A. host                     B. traveled             C. ancient              D. oldest

2. A. made             B. got                    C. came                D. became

3. A. where            B. when                C. as                    D. that

4. A. carried           B. gave                  C. handed              D. passed

5. A. fired              B. lit               C. burned                     D. started

6. A. worn             B. acted                C. performed         D. dressed

7. A. mirror           B. reflection           C. cup                  D. pan

8. A. priestesses     B. founder             C. runner               D. player

9. A. foot               B. top                    C. front                 D. back

10. A. founder        B. inventor             C. discoverer         D. finder

11. A. by               B. after                       C. on                    D. in

12. A. dating          B. spanning           C. crossing            D. covering

13. A. center          B. city                   C. place                 D. site

14. A. regarded      B. mentioned          C. referred             D. considered

15. A. yet                     B. however            C. therefore           D. still

16. A. attraction     B. scene                C. entrance            D. platform

17. A. complete      B. whole               C. full                   D. total

18. A. set               B. lay                    C. built                  D. laid

19. A. most            B. more                 C. least                  D. less

20. A. gathering      B. storage              C. jewel                 D. collection

There is no other city in the world that has such a strong connection with the Olympic Games. Athens, the____1____city of the first modern Olympics in 1896, ____2____ into the limelight (焦点) again on March 30,2008 ____3____ the flame for that year’s Olympic Games was ____4____ over to the Beijing Organizing Committee. The Olympic flame was ____5____ on March 24,2008 in Olympia, a place in southwestern Greece. In the ritual (仪式), actresses ____6____ as ancient Greek priestesses (女祭司) used a ____7____ to light the flame. The flame then was carried to the site of public ceremony and handed to the first ____8____, Greek taekwondo(跆拳道) athlete Alexandros Nikolaidis. He carried the flame to the ____9____ of the monument of Baron de Courbertin, the ____10____ of the modern Olympic Games.

Athens was named ____11____ Athena, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology (神话). It is also one of the world’s oldest cities with a history ____12____ at least 3,000 years. Athens was the ____13____ of arts, learning and philosophy in ancient times and is widely ____14____ to as the cradle (摇篮) of Western civilization.

The heritage of history is ____15____ evident in the city, represented by a number of ancient monuments and works of art. The Acropolis (卫城) is the city’s key ____16____. It overlooks the ____17____ city and dominates the skyline (天际). The main temple of the goddess Athena, ____18____ on the Acropolis, was Parthenon (帕台农神庙). And the National Archaeological Museum, the ____19____ important museum in Greece, holds a priceless ____20____ of treasure, with artifacts (古器物) of almost every culture, which flourished (繁荣) in the Mediterranean (地中海).

1. A. host                     B. traveled             C. ancient              D. oldest

2. A. made             B. got                    C. came                D. became

3. A. where            B. when                C. as                    D. that

4. A. carried           B. gave                  C. handed              D. passed

5. A. fired              B. lit               C. burned                     D. started

6. A. worn             B. acted                C. performed         D. dressed

7. A. mirror           B. reflection           C. cup                  D. pan

8. A. priestesses     B. founder             C. runner               D. player

9. A. foot               B. top                    C. front                 D. back

10. A. founder        B. inventor             C. discoverer         D. finder

11. A. by               B. after                       C. on                    D. in

12. A. dating          B. spanning           C. crossing            D. covering

13. A. center          B. city                   C. place                 D. site

14. A. regarded      B. mentioned          C. referred             D. considered

15. A. yet                     B. however            C. therefore           D. still

16. A. attraction     B. scene                C. entrance            D. platform

17. A. complete      B. whole               C. full                   D. total

18. A. set               B. lay                    C. built                  D. laid

19. A. most            B. more                 C. least                  D. less

20. A. gathering      B. storage              C. jewel                 D. collection

Many people watched the lift-off of the space shuttle Columbia on March 21, 1982. But none watched more closely than eighteen-year-old Ted, as Ted’s insects were on board the shuttle.

The Shuttle Student Involvement Program invited students to make a science experiment. The experiment would be done by astronauts on the space shuttle.

Ted had always been interested in space and flight. Insect flight especially interested him. Ted noticed that insects need gravity to take off and land. They need gravity to fly in a straight line. But in space, there is no gravity. Could insects fly in zero gravity? That is what Ted wanted to find out.

Ted made an experiment called “Insect in Flight Motion Study”. He entered his experiment and soon news came that it was a winner.

A large team of scientists and engineers helped Ted get his experiment ready to fly. There were many questions to be answered first. What kind of insects would Ted use in his experiment? The insects would have to be strong enough to live on the shuttle for nine days without much food. What kind of container would hold the insects? Would the insects die during the shuttle flight?

After months of hard work, the “insectronauts” were chosen. A group of moths, flies, and honeybees were put into a special box and put onto the space shuttle. When Columbia flew into space, it was carrying insect passengers.

On March 24, astronauts Gordon Fullerton and Jack Lousma took out the box that held the insects. They began filming the insects with a special video camera.

When the space shuttle landed Ted was able to watch the video film of insects. Just as he thought, most of the insects did have trouble flying in zero gravity. The flies did well. But the moths’ flight seemed “uncontrolled”. They would often just hang in the air. The bees had the most trouble. They couldn’t fly at all! The film showed bees spinning around in all directions. Others were just floating about in the box.

Ted learned the answer to his question about insects’ flight in zero gravity. But he also learned a lot more. He learned about the hard work needed in making a successful experiment.

1.What does the underlined sentence “it was a winner” mean?

A．Ted could fly in space.                    B．Ted won a prize.

C．Ted’s experiment was accepted.           D．Ted won in a race.

2.What did Ted want to find out?

A．Whether the insects could fly in space.

B．Whether the insects could fly in a straight line.

C．Whether the insects could land after flying for a while.

D．Whether the insects could take off after resting for a while.

3.Of the three kinds of insects sent into space, which one flew worst in zero gravity?

A．The flies.          B．The honeybees.     C．The insects.        D．The moths.

4.Who did the experiment?

A．Ted himself.

B．Ted’s friend.

C．A large team of scientists and engineers.

D．Two astronauts on the space shuttle.

5.How did Ted learn the answer to his question about insects’ flight in zero gravity?

A．By asking the scientists and engineers.

B．By studying a book written by the astronauts.

C．By going into space and watching the insects’ flight himself.

D．By watching the video film made by the astronauts.

When he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain turned to Hannibal. The relationship between Hannibal and Twain began in November 1839, when Twain’s father decided to leave the village in Florida and move east about 35 miles to the somewhat larger and more prosperous Hannibal, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Twain marked his fourth birthday about a week after the family settled there. He showed little promise of becoming a long-term resident. However, because his health was so poor that his parents probably feared he would not survive childhood.

During the family’s first few years in Hannibal, Twain was too young to understand fully the changes going on around him. About the time the family moved into their new home. Twain’s health improved a lot. Instead of having to lead a quiet indoor life, he could roam the streets of Hannibal. Climb the surrounding hills, explore the area’s caves and splash about in local swimming holes. He reveled in his newfound freedom, spending nearly all his free time playing outdoors with the other boys in town and soon becoming a leader.

Twain’s carefree days did not last long, on March 24, 1847, his father died. For the next six years, his brother Henry, and his sister Pamela lived with their mother in the family home. Twain began taking odd jobs after school to bring in extra money. Within a year of his father’s death, he quit school and became an apprentice (学徒) printer, and when his brother Orion bought the Hannibal Journal in 1851, Twain went to work for him as a printer and editorial assistant. The stories he wrote for Orion’s paper, his first publications, taught him that he much preferred writing to typesetting. Thus, when he decided to leave Hannibal in May 1853, he already had an idea of his future career.

1. Why did little Mark Twain move and live in Hannibal?

A．Because he wanted to live in a larger and more prosperous city.

B．Because his father brought him there.

C．Because he wanted to wrote his novels there.

D．Because he wanted to become a long-term resident of Hannibal.

2. When did Mark Twain become healthy?

A．As soon as he arrived in Hannibal.

B．At the time when his family moved into their old home.

C．After his father died.

D．At the time when his family moved into their new home.

3. The last paragraph mainly tells us _________.

A．the happy childhood of Mark Twain

B．how Mark Twain became a famous writer

C．how Mark Twain to earn money to support his family

D．why Mark decided to leave Hannibal

Accidents happen, but when they destroy the delicate balance of nature and cause the whole world to suffer, they become disasters, and we  should do all we can to prevent them from happening again.
Bhopal chemical leak, December 1984, Bhopal, India
An explosion in the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas called methyl (甲基) isocyanate(异氰盐酸), which is used to make pesticides. The gas formed a cloud that killed 2500 people; another 50000- 100000 people became ill. Trees and plants in the area became yellow and brittle. The explosion was caused by a mechanical failure that was not noticed in time to stop it.
Exxon Valdez oil spill, March 1989, Alaska, U.S.
On March 24, 1989, 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound from the tanker Exxon Valdez when its hull hit a reef and tore open. The oil, which is not yet cleaned up after billions of dollars have been spent and the millions of birds, fish, and other wildlife have died, was caused by human error and could have been avoided.
Chernobyl, April 1986, USSR
At 1:23 A.M. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, the reactor blew at nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, ripping open the core, blowing the roof off the building, starting more than 30 fires, and allowing radioactive material to leak into the air. Some 31 people were killed and 200 people were treated for radiation poisoning. Still at risk are 135000 people from the 179 villages within 20 miles, of the plant who were exposed to the radiation before being evacuated. Glaring violations of safety rules were at the bottom of this tragic event.
Love Canal, 1953, New York, U.S.
Love Canal, a small town in upstate New York near Niagara Falls, was destroyed by waste from chemical plants. Beginning in 1947, chemical companies could legally dump their waste products into the canal. The area developed a foul smell, trees lost their bark, and leaves fell throughout the year. A health survey found that the drinking water contained excessive levels of 82 industrial chemicals, 7 of which were thought to cause cancer. The people of Love Canal had an unusually high rate of cancer and birth defects. Eventually, many of the houses had to be abandoned. Today, the town has been partly cleaned up and some families have moved back to the area.
Three Mile Island, 1979, Pennsylvania, U.S.
On March 28, 1979, the worst accident in U.S. nuclear reactor history occurred at the Three Mile Island power station, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. No one was killed, and very little radioactivity was released into the air when coolant (the fluid that keeps a machine cool) escaped from the reactor core due to a combination of mechanical failure and human error. After 10 years and $ 1 billion in cleanup costs, the lower extremes of the reactor are still so radioactive that workers must use remote - control equipment to remove the remaining fragment of fuel core.
【小题1】This passage mainly discusses_______.