Most people consider skydiving (高空跳伞) a product of the 20th century, but its history actually goes further back than that. The Chinese attempted to parachute (跳伞) in the 10th century, a thousand years before we did. The Chinese did what we would today call base diving; that is, they jumped off a place that would allow them to float from a height to the ground.

The first person to attempt to parachute was a Frenchman named Jacques Garnerin. He jumped from his hot-air balloon at the end of the 18th century and did tricks on the way down and stupefied the crowds by landing safely on the ground. At the end of the 19th century, Kathie Paulus, a brave German woman, became famous for her skydiving skills.

Once the airplane was invented, skydiving took on a whole new form. The airplane made it possible to dive from greater heights at greater speeds, allowing for more range in the movements in the air. A woman named Tiny Broadwick became the first woman to jump from a plane in 1913 and dive free fall in 1914.

Skydiving was not called skydiving until the middle of the 1950s, when Ronald Young invented the word. It had been called parachuting before this and was mainly used by the military (军事) to land troops in inland locations, or for pilots to jump out of their planes when necessary. Once World War I was over, parachuting became a sport, which we now call skydiving.

After World War II, this activity became more a hobby than a military action. Soldiers were trained in parachuting and enjoyed the thrill so much that they continued on for fun. From this, teams and competitions were formed. Skydiving schools appeared in the late 1950s and now it is a recognized extreme sport enjoyed by many.

1.The underlined word “stupefied” in paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.

2.Who was the first woman to jump from a plane?

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

4.What can we infer from the passage?

5.What would be the best title for this text?

C

We all love festivals. But since culture develops differently in many places, some festivals are, to us, very strange. Let’s take a look at some unique(独特的)festivals around the world.

Cheese Rolling Festival (England)

The festival started in the 15^th century in May. When a round cheese is rolled, competitors run down the hill and try to catch it before it reaches the bottom. As the cheese can reach speeds of up to 112 km/h, it’s rare that someone catches the cheese. First to the bottom wins the cheese. But running down a very steep(陡峭的) hill behind a cheese can be dangerous. Eight people were injured in 1992.

Roswell UFO festival (New Mexico, US)

The Roswell UFO festival celebrates the anniversary(纪念日) of the “Roswell Incident”, when a UFO was said to have crashed(坠毁) nearby. Every year in July, experts, authors, researches and lecturers come to discuss the incident. The celebration also includes an alien parade, an alien costume contest, and an alien hot air balloon ride.

Hemingway Days (Florida, US)

This festival has normal stuff (材料，东西) like short-story readings and exhibits about the author. But the highlight (亮点) of the festival is definitely (一定地) the Hemingway look alike contest.

Imagine walking into a bar and being greeted by 20 middle-aged men who all look alike: stocky with thick white beards. The festival takes place in mid-July every year.

1.Which festival takes place in mid-July every year?

A．Cheese Rolling Festival.                   B．Roswell UFO festival.

C．Hemingway Days.                        D．All of the above.

2.Which festival may cause injuries according to the passage?

A．Cheese Rolling Festival.                   B．Roswell UFO festival.

C．Hemingway Days.                        D．None of the above.

3.Which of the following is right according to the passage?

A．All the three festivals are celebrated in America.

B．It’s common that someone catches the cheese in Cheese Rolling Festival.

C．It’s said that a UFO once crashed in New Mexico, US.

D．In Hemingway Days, you’ll see 20 old or young Hemingways

Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars，and say they could be protecting life from the planet's terrible environment.

The first caves discovered beyond the Earth appear as seven mysterious black dots on the pictures sent back by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.Each as large as a football field，they may be opening into natural caves below the Martian surface.

“If there is life on Mars，there is a good chance you'd find it in caves，” said Jut Wynne，one of the researchers who noticed the features while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program.

Jonathan Clarke，a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia，yesterday described the discovery as exciting.

One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusually warm，suggesting hot air trapped during the day is flowing out.

“Wow，that's a cave，” Dr.Clarke said excitedly.“People have been looking for these for a long time；now we have found them.”

He agreed such caves would be perfect places to hunt or life escaping from the bitterly cold，radiation?soaked(充满辐射的)，dry surface.

“Tiny drops of water could collect inside，” he said.“If there are gases coming out，they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria.A cave is also a protection from radiation；the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation.”

The caves probably formed when tube?shaped lava flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago.The outside of the tubes cooled，forming solid walls，while something hotter inside allowed the remaining lava to flow out，forming caves.

1What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．How the caves were formed on Mars.

B．How scientists found these caves in Mars.

C．Caves on Mars may be full of hot air or a sign of life.

D．Scientists have completely recognized the surface of Mars.

2We can learn from the passage that______.

A．water has already been found on Mars

B．the scientists found all the caves at night

C．it is certain that there is life in these caves

D．the surface of Mars is latterly cold，radiation?soaked and dry

3According to the passage，Dr.Clarke was so excited because ______.

A．such caves could provide energy for life

B．they had finally found the caves on Mars

C．such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life

D．scientists had long been looking for these caves

4Necessary condition for life on Mars mentioned in the passage may include______.

A．lava and energy

B．water and radiation from space

C．gases and lava

D．water and protection from radiation

The tea gardens in Sri Lanka are actually large estates(种植园). The best tea usually comes from plants grown on high grounds, the cool hilltops with rows and rows of tea plants. The plants are about one metre apart. The plant is often pruned so that it remains only 60 to 90 centimetres high. Pruning is important because it encourages the growth of tender shoots, or young leaves. It is from these shoots that the best tea is got.

Practically all the tea pickers are women. The estates prefer to employ women pickers because they are more careful. Their thin fingers can easily remove the twin leaves and new shoots from the plant, which are the parts used for processing(加工) tea. The pickers carry large baskets into which they throw their pickings. A skilled worker can harvest between 9 to 14 kilogrammes of tea leaves a day. Usually new shoots can be picked from the plants about every ten or fifteen days.

       Processing tea shoots into the familiar dry tea leaves requires great care and skill .There are various methods of processing depending on the type of tea required .For black tea ,the young green leaves are first spread out o shelves to dry. This process removes much of its water and the leaves become soft. After this ,the leaves are passed through heavy rollers .This operation will press the leaves for juices which give the tea both its colour and taste .Then the leaves are spread out on floors and left to ferment （发酵）under wet conditions. Fermentation develops the rich taste of black tea .The fermented leaves are then dried with a hot-air blower until they become rolled-up black leaves .The final step is to sort and grade them before the black tea is ready for sale to countries all over the world.

68．In the first paragraph ,the word “pruning” means       .

       A．regular cutting of the plants

       B．frequent watering

       C．regular use of chemicals

       D．growing the plants high in the mountain

69．One of the reasons why women are employed to do the picking is that        .

       A．they work harder than men do in the picking

       B．they can throw their pickings more easily into the baskets

       C．their fingers fit them better for the job.

       D．they can more easily find the twin leaves.

70．How many processing steps are mentioned in the last paragraph?

       A．Three.                 B．Four.                   C．Five.                   D．Six.

71．What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

       A．To introduce various methods of tea processing.

       B．To persuade readers to buy tea from Sri Lanka.

       C．To tell a story that had happened in the tea gardens.

       D．To inform readers of tea growing ,picking and processing.

Explore the State of California
California is one of the most interesting states of America that offers a lot of wonderful sceneries and fun attractions. It is also the most populated state and the third largest in land area. Anyone who has been to California would agree that it is indeed a place that offers a lot to tourists of all ages. Here are some top picks of the best places to visit in California State.
San Francisco Bay Area - Witness the famous San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge which is one of the city's landmarks; and enjoy the beauty of Fisherman's Wharf that offers a lot of seafood restaurants. You should not miss the city's world-famous Cable Car System which is by far the only manually operated cable car system in the whole world.
Yosemite National Park - This is one of the very first wilderness parks in the whole of America. It is known for its natural beauty and breathtaking sceneries. It offers a breath of fresh air away from the city life. Major places to visit include the Yosemite Falls, Sentinel Dome, El Capitan, Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point among many others.
Los Angeles - Explore the home of the L.A. Lakers and do not fail to visit the Disneyland which is one of the major attractions of the city. The warm weather in Los Angeles makes it possible to do a lot of outdoor activities especially during the summer months. It is a family-friendly place that offers a wonderful shopping and dining experience. For those who particularly love the city and night life, L.A. can offer the best of almost everything.
Napa Valley - With over a million visitors every year, Napa Valley is indeed a place you should not miss if you are in California. It is California's most popular wine growing region. You can also experience the Wine Train and hot air balloon ride over the valley.
【小题1】 From the first paragraph, we know that_____.

A．the State of California has the largest population in the US

B．California offers a lot to tourists of young people

C．California is also the largest in land area

D．California is the most interesting state of America