September 21, 2050----At a press conference today it was announced that the first tourist heading for Mars will be the 38-year-old US businessman Patrick Clifford. He will leave the earth in the  launching window of June 2052 and set his foot on the surface of Mars in November, together with the other 6 astronauts assigned for the mission to further explore the planet.

Patrick has now two years of training ahead of him to get ready for the trip. Not only will he spend five months in getting to Mars, but another 600 days there before he can go back home.  Patrick was of course very excited, “ This has been my dream since I was four, and seeing the first man on Mars 20 years ago made me realize that it was possible.”

To be able to pay the $ 1. 3 billion for his ticket for the trip Patrick sold his majority stake (股份) in the company his father had built. “I know that my father would have been proud of me if he had still been alive today, he knew what this means to me”, says Patrick. There is no risk though that you will find Patrick begging in your street corner when he comes back, but it is said that he was paid twice as much for his part of the company.

So, how is he going to spend his 600 days on the red planet? “Well, since I don’t have a job when I get back after selling the company, I have plenty of time to come up with a new business idea”, he says and laughs. If he brings a shovel（铁锹）he can start building the first hotel there, but maybe he shouldn’t expect too many guests until someone can offer a cheaper ticket.

1.How long will Patrick Clifford be away before he comes back?

A．About five months   B．About two years    C．About 600 days     D．About 750 days

2.The underlined part in Paragraph 3 means that          .

A．the trip will turn Patrick into a beggar

B．Patrick will get much money from the trip

C．we needn’t worry about Patrick’s economic condition

D．it’s likely that Patrick will be very poor after he comes back

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Patrick is an optimistic man

B．A total of six people will go to Mars

C．Patrick’s father felt excited at the news

D．Patrick will spend all his money on the trip

B
As a teenager of the digital era, it is really hard to say no to fantastic electronic gadgets(电子产品). Many of us can’t get through a day without using our mobile phones or checking our e-mails. No matter if we’re “@home”, “@school” or“@play”, living without technological toys seems more and more unthinkable.
However, although gadgets bring convenience, many of us can start to feel stressed out by them. And, a lot of electronics are fairly expensive. Fashionable gadgets come and go in the digital age in the blink of any eye. So, think twice before you pulling out your wallet.
Here are some of the most popular gadgets and their pros and cons:
Pros: Laptops have made our lives much easier. You can take your books, movies, music and homework everywhere.
Cons: They cost at least 4,000 yuan! If you only want to share photos or games with your friend, then a flash memory stick is a great cheap alternative.
Pros: As well as carrying your favourite music, a video MP3 player can play up to 150 hours of movies and TV programmes.
Cons: The price—sometimes more than 2,000 yuan—is the first concern. Secondly, though music is really important to young people, ask yourself if video is really necessary. A regular MP3 player is a lot cheaper. And remember, don’t let the loud volume damage your hearing.
Pros: New mobile phones combine traditional functions with a digital camera, MP3 player and even a radio. Some can also send and receive e-mails.
Cons: Always trying to keep up with the latest model can be a waste of money. There are always new, improved phones coming out. Don’t be a fool. Do you really need all these functions? Think twice before you buy.  
60. According to the writer, which of the following statements is true?
A. Teenagers can’t live through a day without fantastic electronic gadgets.
B. Teenagers can hardly live happily without electronic gadgets.
C. Teenagers’ life is full of expensive electronic gadgets.
D. It’s all but impossible for many teenagers to live without fantastic electronic gadgets.  
61. What conclusion can we draw from the passage?
A. Never buy the most updated gadgets.  
B. You should buy the gadgets with as many functions as possible.
C. We needn’t always pay the most part to buy the most up-to-date gadgets with many functions.
D. Never buy the latest model, it’s much too expensive.
62. Choose the statement most similar in meaning to the underlined sentence in Paragraph2.
A. Fashionable gadgets are updated in the digital times in a flash.
B. Fashionable gadgets are transported everywhere in the digital age in the blink of any eye.  
C. People keep buying and throwing away expensive fashionable gadgets in the digital age in the blink of any eye.  
D. People use all kinds of fashionable gadgets all the time in the digital age.
63. What do the words “pros and cons” mean in the selection?
A. Agreements and disagreements.
B. The views that are favoured and not favoured by people.
C. Benefits and bads.  
D. Advantages and disadvantages.

阅读下面短文，根据以下提示：1）汉语提示，2）首字母提示，3）语境提示，在每个空格内填入一个适当的英语单词，并将该词完整地写在右边相对应的横线上。

所填单词要求意义准确，拼写正确。

We high school students do have some growing pains,

but we can get rid of them correctly and wisely. ______,              1.___________

some of us are upset about their body styles and ______(外貌)         2.___________

but it’s not important at all. We needn’t care about it. It

is one’s inner___________(美) that matters.                        3.___________

Second, we sometimes seem to be m_______                       4.___________

by our teachers, parents and classmates. Faced with

this, we can find a proper time to have a heart-to-heart talk with

them, trying to _______(去除) the misunderstanding.                5. _______

Some of us have fewer friends. I think _____ open-minded                   6. ____

and friendly will do you _____. Third, we may fall behind            7._______

others, which makes us stressed. Actually we can encourage

_______ (自己) to work efficiently. At last, some of us                         8.__________

haven’t much pocket money, _____ they feel unhappy                 9. ______

Isn’t it strange? So long as we have some, that’s enough.             

And we can learn _______ to spend money!                         10.__________

It does not have to be January 1^st to give yourself a chance to make the most out of your day. Every day is a new day and a fresh start to learn, grow, develop your strengths, free yourself from past regrets or hurts, and move forward older and wiser. Every day gives you a chance to reinvent (重新审视) yourself. It is never too late to change things that are not working in your life.

   Each day is a new beginning and a piece of blank paper. How would you like to create your day? What would you like to paint on it? If you wake up in a negative mind, you are more likely to paint a dark picture throughout the day, and your picture will not show hope, happiness and joy.

   If you take each day to think actively, and have a positive intention（意图） for how you would like to create your day, how would your life be different? What can daily positive intentions do for you? Every day you will give yourself the gift of an “attitude of gratitude(感恩)”.

   Each day is a chance to look at things in a different way. You can experience each day in the beauty of the world－and the beauty of you who are in it! You find yourself changing from “I can’t” to “I can”. With a focus on positive intentions, you feel you are full of power and more like a “winner” than a “loser”.

  You pay more attention to the present, and will be more likely to live fully in the present each moment of each day. After all, the past is a great place to visit, but you don’t want to live there! So how about starting each day taking a moment to think of a positive intention for the day?

1.The first paragraph mainly tells us      .

A. We should make every day a new start.

B. January 1^st is the most important day.

C. Learning is helpful in reinventing ourselves.

D. We needn’t change ourselves at all.

2. If you have daily positive intentions, you will      .

A. get a positive result                                   B. have a busy life

C. get gifts from others                                  D. be a complete loser

3.From the passage we can learn that      .

A. past regrets or hurts can make you older and wiser.

B. think actively and you will be a winner, not a loser.

C. the present is not where you should live for ever.

D. positive intentions for each day are of great help.

No one is glad to hear that his body has to be cut open by a surgeon（外科医生） and part of it taken out． Today， however， we needn't worry about feeling pain during the operation． The sick person falls into a kind of sleep，and when he awakes，the operation is finished. But these happy conditions are fairly new．It is not many years since a man who had to have operation felt all its pain．

   Long ago， operation had usually to be done while the sick man could feel everything． The sick man had to be held down(压制，控制) on a table by force while the doctors did their best for him． He could feel all the pain if his leg or arm was being cut off， and his fearful cries filled the room and the hearts of those who watched．

   Soon after 1770, Josept Priestley discovered a gas which is now called “laughing gas”．Laughing gas became known in America．Young men and women went to parties to try it．Most of them spent their time laughing，but one man at a party，Horace Wells，noticed that people didn't seem to feel pain when they were using this gas．He decided to make an experiment on himself．He asked a friend to help him．

   Wells took some of the gas，and his friend pulled out one of Well’s teeth．Wells felt no pain at all．

   As he didn't know enough about laughing gas，he gave a man less gas than he should have. The man cried out with pain when his tooth was being pulled out．

   Wells tried again，but this time he gave too much of the gas，and the man died．Wells never forgot this terrible event．

It is ＿＿＿＿ since a man being operated felt all the pain．

   A. a few more years   B. not long    C. few years     D. two thousand years

Long ago，when the sick man was operated on, he ＿＿＿＿．

   A. could feel nothing           B. could not want anything

   C. could feel all the pain        D. could do anything

Using the laughing gas，the people did not seem to ＿＿＿＿．

   A. be afraid of anything    B. feel pain   C. want to go to the parties    D. be ill

If a man took less laughing gas than he should have when an operation went on，he ＿．

   A．felt nothing  B. felt very comfortable  C．still felt pain      D．would die

One who took too much of the laughing gas ＿＿＿．

   A.would laugh all the time       B.would die 

C.would never feel pain         D.would be very calm