Long long ago people made fires from lightning(闪电)。 But they had to keep the fire burning, for they couldn’t start it again if there was no lightning. Later, they found out hitting two piece of stone together could make a spark (火花). The spark could fire dry leaves. In this way they could make the fire again if it went out. Them people also learned to make a fire by rubbing. They made a hole on a big piece of wood and put a smaller stick into the hole. They turned the stick again and again. After a few minutes they got a fire.

As years went by, people learned other ways to make a fire. Sometimes they used the heat from sun. they held a piece of glass in the right way and made a piece of paper on fire.

About two centuries ago, people began to make matches (火柴). Matches brought people a quick and easy way to make fire. Today matches are still being used, but people have more new ways to make fires. One of them is to use an electric fire starter. Of course an electric fire starter is much more expensive than a box of matches. But it is more useful.

1.A spark can _________.

2.We can also get a fire by _________.

3.Matches have been used _________.

4.From this passage we know _______.

5.Choose the right order of the ways to make fires people got to know _________.

a. with a match   b. from the sun   c. from lightning 

d. by rubbing   e. with an electric fire starter.

Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.

Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not ex­pected to live through the first winter. But with his mother’s care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.

After his father’s death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.

In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.

Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.

At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

1.In his childhood, Mark Twain, ________.

A．learned a lot at school

B．he often went swimming with other boys

C．his mother often worried about his safety

D．he often played games with other boys

2.Which of the following shows the right order about Mark Twain?

a. He became a miner.           b. He worked as a printer.

c. He got into debts.             d. His father died.

e. He became a full-time writer.    f. He joined the army.

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

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

3.In order to make a living, Mark Twain _______.

A．first worked as a printer

B．did many kinds of work

C．wrote stories in the beginning

D．joined the army after he worked in a mine

4.Before his death, Mark Twain _______.

A．became a white man                     B．was in low spirits

C．liked to buy all kinds of clothes             D．had nothing on

Islamabad, Pakistan, June 22^nd---Two mountain climbers surprisingly survived (幸免于) a fall of over 500 feet on the 25,530-foot mountain in Pakistan, Saturday. The two climbers were climbing an ice-covered wall of the mountain when they suddenly lost their footing and fell about 560 feet to a narrow snow-covered ledge(悬崖突出部分) below. “We were lucky that ledge was there,” said the climbers, “Otherwise, we would have fallen over 2,000 feet.” If the ledge had not been there, the two climbers almost certainly have met their death. “It’s a wonder,” the climbers said, “that we landed on the ledge, and the snow was loose enough to cushion(缓冲) our fall. We’re thankful that we survived.”

When a reporter asked them if they planned to give up mountain climbing after their narrow escape(九死一生), the two climbers replied, “Not at all. We’ll be going back up there just as soon as we get out of the hospital.”

1. The mountain climbers survived because _____.

A. they had fallen only 500 feet down     B. of the ledge and the loose snow on it

C. of their strong bodies                 D. they were very good climbers

2. If there had not been the snow-covered ledge, _____.

A. they wouldn’t have fallen down           B. they would have them wounded

C. they would have lost their lives           D. they would fall into the deep snow

3. How high was the ledge from the foot of the mountain?

A. 2,560 feet high          B. 2,000 feet high  

C. 25,530 feet high         D. More than 1,400 feet high 

4. Choose the right order which shows what happened to the two climbers.

a. talked with a reporter           b. lost their footing 

c. was sent to a hospital           d. fell to a ledge     

e. started to climb an ice-covered wall

A. b-d-c-e-a          B. e-d-b-c-a        C. e-b-d-c-a       D. a-c-b-d-e

Scientists have not come close to understanding all the different kinds of life on the planet, but US researcher Craig Venter is already working on creating the first artificial life.
Venter and his researchers made a breakthrough this August. They successfully moved the DNA of one type of bacteria(细菌) to a yeast(酵母) cell, changed it, then put it into another bacterial cell.
“Bacteria have systems that protect them from foreign DNA,” Venter explained to the BBC. In the experiment, the team managed to block this system.
The experiment was performed on a simple type of bacteria called Mycoplasma mycoides. The team took the bacteria’s genes and put them into a yeast cell.
Putting the DNA in a yeast cell allowed the team to change the genes----in this case, taking out a gene that was not necessary for the bacteria to live.
They then put the gene into a host bacteria cell. The cell went on to divide normally, producing new healthy bacteria.
In January, the team created artificial genes of a new type of bacteria. Their next goal is to put the artificial DNA into a host cell to create a new species, according to a report in Science magazine.
“If we don’t make any errors, I think it should work and we should have the first artificial species by the end of the year,” Venter said in the report.
The first artificial life from is likely to be a simple man-made bacteria, to prove that the technology can work. But that form will be followed by more complex bacteria that turn coal into cleaner natural gas, or algae that can take in carbon dioxide and change it into fuel.
Many scientists think it’s good news to have this artificial life, but others are worried that the technology to create new organisms might end up in the wrong hands, with dangerous results.
【小题1】Craig Venter and his team are working to ______.

The earliest films are quite different from the present ones.They were very short，lasting only one minute.To see simple action films of trains，crowds on the street and similar subjects，people needed to pay only one cent.

Later，a new method was used to produce magical effect and to tie a story together.The method was to put the beginning of one scene upon the end of the scene before.In 1903 a film was made about a train robbery.Many of the actions took place at the same time.The scenes moved smoothly from one to another.This was the earliest successful film.In that film，scenes filmed at different places and times were put together naturally.

A short time later，there appeared a whole hour of short comedy，travel and so on.These films were usually simple，rough and even vulgar.

In the beginning，actors in the films weren’t allowed to have their names known publicly.It was because producers were afraid actors would ask for more money once they became well known.But later producers found that films with popular actors in them could be sold at a higher price than those without popular actors in them.After 1910，actors were allowed to use their own names and won high fame.

51.Which of the following does not describe the character of the oldest films?

A.The actions in the films were not complex.

B.People didn’t need to pay much money to see a film.

C.The films didn’t show the people on the street to the audience.

D.The films didn’t last long.

52.From the passage which of the following statements are about the first most successful film?

a.It was made in 1903.

b.It was about a robbing happening in a train.

c.A new method was used to make the film.

d.Many actions happened at the same time but people could see them one by one in the film.

e.All the actions were filmed in a train.

f.There was no sound in the film.

g.The film lasted shorter than an hour.

A.a，b，c，d，e，f，g　　　　                     B.a，b，c，d，g

C.a，b，d，e，f　　　　                               D.a，b，c，d，e，g

53.The underlined word“vulgar”in the third paragraph means______.

A.ill mannered，in bad taste    B.gentle manned，in good taste

C.interesting                 D.educative

54.Why did producers not allow actors to make their names famous to the public in the beginning?

A.Fame is a magnifying（放大）glass.

B.Fame is the last infirmity（weakness）of noble minds.

C.The more a man has，the more he wants.

D.The more famous one is，the more he gets.

55.Which is true according to the passage?

A.The more famous the actors are，the better a film must be.

B.Since 1910 actors have been more and more famous.

C.The films at present last as long as the old ones.

D.Films began during last century.