Since life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better. Soon enough the time will come when you are too tired to move farther than the terrace of the best hotel. Go now.

No need, you may say, to tell that. But what I need to tell you is that you will meet with a surprising amount of opposition the moment you try to set out. Rubbish, you will reply. More people go abroad nowadays than ever before; never has travel, particularly among the young, been more strongly visit, of international exchanges. Perhaps not; but none of this, my dear young friends, is travel. Travel is not going on a round coach trip for $ 67 in all, or spending ten days at a hotel by the sea. Travel is when you want to see how much money and resources you have and then set out, alone or with chosen friends, to make an unhurried journey to a distant goal without a set date for your return.

Real travel, then, is independence in action, and is not liked by most parents. They don’t mind your going in a school party to Athens, because they know just where you are and when you’ll be back, and they can therefore permit you the imagination of freedom without for one second letting you beyond their control. But what they cannot bear is that you should travel all on your own, without giving them your address and return date. In fact, their fears are quite reasonable because that shows how much they love you. So in order to enjoy real travel and at the same time put your parents’ mind at ease. It would be really important for you to bear the following advice in mind.

5. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. People travel more than before.                                  

B. Young people are encouraged to travel abroad.

C. People should not go on a round coach trip for $ 67.

D. Educational visits should not be encouraged as they are not real travel.

6.What does real travel mean according to the writer?

A. It means telling your parents nothing about the travel   

B. It means not knowing where you want to go.

C. It means traveling to a distant goal in an unhurried manner.  

D. It means traveling without any plan.

7. Your parents allow you to travel in a school party because ________.

A. they want you to be truly free                       B. you are still under their control

C. they don’t have time to travel with you          D. they know it’s good for you

8. According to the writer, when you do real traveling, you should ________.

A. never mind how worried your parents are             

B. give your parents your address and return date

C. tell your parents details about your travel       

D. not let your parents worry about you

.
The journey to the moon had been the first step toward future exploration(探险) in space. The distance between the Moon and Earth is very short indeed when compared with the distances between Earth and the other planets. Mars, the nearest planet to Earth is millions of miles away. Traveling to the planets will be man’s next aim. Such travels will be more challenging than the trip to the moon and certainly more adventurous.
Recently, two American spaceships, Vikings 1 and 2, landed on Mars trying to discover whether that planet has any life on it. So far the signs of life on Mars has neither confirmed(确认) nor ruled out. Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus(金星) is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there. Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense(稠) and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Scientists believe man may find planets which have the same conditions as those we have on Earth , but man should realize Earth will be his only home for a long time and begin to love and care for it.
63. According to the passage, traveling to the planets will be ________.
A.  much easier and even more interesting  B.  far more exciting and dangerous
C.  man’s final aim                    D.  man’s first step
64. Which of the following is Not true?
A.  Mars is nearer to the earth than the moon.
B.  The moon is much nearer to the earth than Mars.
C.  Of all the planets, Mars is the nearest to the earth.
D.  All the planets are much farther to the earth.
65. From the passage, we can guess_____.
A.  there is life on Mars       
B.  there is no life on Mars
C.  the atmosphere of Mars is not so dense as that of Venus
D.  scientists will have little hope to find the answers
66. Man can live on under the conditions of _______.
A.  much too hot surface                   B.  the same pressure as we get on earth
C.  normal atmosphere as we have on earth     D.  both B and C

阅读理解

　　The journey to the moon had been the first step towards future exploration(探险) in space. The distance between the Moon and Earth is very short indeed when compared with the distances between Earth and the other planets. Mars, the nearest planet to Earth is millions of miles away! Travelling to the planets will be man’s next aim. Such travels will be more challenging than the trip to the moon and certainly more adventurous.

　　Recently, two American spaceships, Vikings 1 and 2, landed on Mars trying to discover whether that planet has any life on it. So far the signs of life on Mars has neither confirmed (确认) nor ruled out. Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus (金星) is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there. Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense (稠密的) and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the Earth’s atmosphere.

　　Scientists believe man may find planets which have the same conditions as those we have on Earth, but man should realize Earth will be his only home for a long time and begin to love and care for it.

1．According to the passage, traveling to the planets will be ________.

[　　]

A．much easier and even more interesting

B．far more exciting and dangerous

C．man’s final aim

D．man’s first step

2．Which of the following is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Mars is nearer to the earth than the moon.

B．The moon is much nearer to the earth than Mars.

C．Of all the planets, Mars is the nearest to the earth.

D．All the planets are much farther to the earth;

3．From the passage, we can guess ________.

[　　]

A．there is life on Mars

B．there is no life on Mars

C．the atmosphere of Mars is not so dense as that of Venus

D．scientists will have little hope to find the answers

4．Man can live on under, the conditions of ________.

[　　]

A．much too hot surface

B．the same pressure as we get on earth

C．normal atmosphere as we have on earth

D．Both B and C

5．Scientists think we should take care of our earth because ________.

[　　]

A．no other planets are to take the place of the earth

B．everything needed is provided by the earth

C．the only home of man will be the earth for a long time

D．the dream to find another home for man will come true

Dear sir,

I read your story (of the 4th February) about the cost of living in the country rather than in the town, and I agree with most of the points that you made. My husband and I lived in the middle of Horlton until two years ago — a seaside town of nearly five hundred thousand people. When my husband stopped working, we moved to our present house in a small village at the foot of Roland Hill, and there is no doubt that our costs are higher now.

I have to do my shopping in small shops, where the food is more expensive than in city supermarkets; it costs more to travel by bus; and because the men who come to mend the television or the washing machine, have to come farther, we have to pay them more.

But it does not cost us much to enjoy what is beautiful in the country; and peace and quiet are cheap. Many people spend a great deal of time and money driving into the country to enjoy the simple things of life; yet we can enjoy them just by going out of the front door. It costs more to live here than it did in Horlton but now life really is worth living.

Yours faithfully.

Edith Randall

1.What do you know about Horlton?

A. A quiet town not far from the sea.

B. A middle-sized town until two years ago.

C. A town with a population of nearly half a million.

D. A small village at the foot of Roland Hill

2. What Mrs Randall really wants to express in the letter is that _____.

A. it cost less to live in the country

B. it costs more to live in the country

C. living in the country is no better than in the town

D. she is quite satisfied with the life in the country

3.One can probably find this letter in _____.

A. a guidebook      B. a newspaper          C. a speech         D. a story book

4.According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. The letter is written by an unknown person.

B. This letter is a reply to the questions of 4th February.

C. Living in the country is better than living in the city.

D. The cost of living in the city is lower than that of the country. 

Relationships in general have gone downhill because of two factors: technology and our demanding drive for excitement.

Body language, especially eye contact, is very important to a relationship. With one glance we can tell the mood of a close friend, if they are happy or sad. Thus, visual contact has a major impact on the amount of understanding we have with another person and the amount of connection that can be achieved. However, when the telephone, email and message come into play, all of that human interaction is lost. We have increasingly less human contact and start lacking social skills because of a lack of communication.

Technology greatly influences our standpoint on how fast we think everything needs to be done. If you put a dollar in the soda machine, you expect the bottle to move forward and fall down to the bottom. You can' t count how many times you' ve smacked the machine if it went too slow for your expectations. You wanted instant results, immediate fulfillment.

Another shot against healthy relationships is everyone ' s demanding need for excitement. Society in general has increased its expectations for excitement. Little kids spending time playing outside together now replace that with hours of playing video games alone at home. On the weekends we seize every minute with " exciting" activities, rushing from one to the next. The effect on relationships from all these activities is that they take on more concern and that we have no patience for each other. Gradually we distance ourselves from our loved ones.

63. According to the author, good relationship mainly relies on communicating ______.

A. voice-to-voice   B. face-to-face     C. letter-to-letter       D. signal-to-signal

64. Which of the following is NOT true about the relationship going downhill? ______.

A. Visual contact is no longer commonly used in social connection

B. Technology makes us have less contact and lack social skills

C. We now pay much time and concern to "exciting" activities

D. The distance between us is gradually farther than before

65. The underlined word "smacked" in 3rd paragraph probably means ______.

A. clapped         B. hit              C. kicked           D. pushed

66. What can be the best title of the passage?______.

A. Relationships and Technology          B. Technology and Excitement

C. What Distance Our Relationships           D. Gestures Affect Relationships