题目内容
Although man has known asbestos （石棉） for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．
Mr.Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy． He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands.How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials． However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr.Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）, in the province of Quebec in Canada．
Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”．
1.Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A．Asbestos mined in Canada B．Fireproof matter
C．A “wonder” mineral D．A new roofing material
2.Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______．
A．going into roofing business B．carrying asbestos from Italy
C．sending a trained scientist D．showing the use of asbestos gloves
3.Which is the most important characteristic of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
A．It is like thread． B．It feels soapy．
C．It burns easily． D．It is unusually heavy．
4.The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______．
A．show the need for more scientists
B．compare asbestos with other minerals
C．increase the sales of asbestos
D．present facts about asbestos
单词拼写（共10小题；每小题0.5分，满分5分）
1.While reading, please pay much a__________ to your pronunciation
2.Many rare animals are in d________, because they are being hunting for.
3.To be h_________, I don’t like your hairstyle, for it is quite strange.
4.A special machine was made to s_________ difficult problems.
5.If we combine health with a balanced d_______, we will be full of energy every day.
6.He expressed it in the __________ （形式）of music.
7.They achieved their ___________ (目标)of increasing sales by five percent.
8.The government insists that the plan will not do any________(伤害) to the environment.
9.You should a__________ （道歉）for your rudeness to the teacher in the class.
10.With the government’s aid，those________(影响)by the earthquake have moved to the new settlements.
单词拼写（每小题0.5分，满分5分）
87．After the accident with the sled, I s to my knees knowing that somehow I had to put my tent up for shelter.
88．Drivers are supposed to f their seat –belts while driving on the highway.
89．There were so much beautiful j that it was hard to choose.
90．Everybody admires him for his fine s of humour（幽默）.
91．Earth Day is a celebration of life and our planet. It r us to care about the world and learn to respect life and nature.
92．It’s time for us to make a d where we should go to have a picnic on Sunday.
93．In some countries, children will go on egg h during Easter.
94．Many people today make choices about their eating habits b on what they believe.
95．She said she never r spending ten hard years paying off the debts.
96．In West Africa, people celebrate a new harvest with days of dancing and
o fruit to their ancestors and gods.
III. 阅读 (共两节，满分40分)
第一节：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
As goods and services improved, people were persuaded to spend their money on changing from old to new, and found the change worth the expense. When an airline equipped itself with jets, for example, its costs (and therefore air fare) would go up, but the new planes meant such an improvement that the higher cost was justified. A new car (or wireless, washing machine, electric kettle) made life so much more comfortable than the old one that the high cost of replacement was fully repaid. Manufacturers still cry their goods as persuasively as ever, but are the improvements really worth paying for? In many fields, things have now reached such a high standard of performance that further progress is very limited and very, very expensive. Airlines, for example, go to enormous expense in buying the latest prestige jets, in which vast research costs have been spent on relatively small improvements. If we abandon these vast costs we might lose the chance of cutting minutes away from flying times; but wouldn’t it be better to see airfares drop dramatically, as capital costs become relatively insignificant? Again, in the context of a 70 m. p. h. Limit, with lines of cars traveling so close as to control each other’s speeds, improvements in performance are actually irrelevant; improvements in handling are unnecessary, as most production cars grip（抓牢） the road perfectly, and comfort has now reached a very high level. Small improvements here are unlikely to be worth the thousands that anybody replacing an ordinary family car every two years may have spent on them. Let us instead have cars — or wireless, electric kettles, washing machines, television sets — which are made to last, and not to be replaced. Significant progress is obviously a good thing, but the insignificant progression from model-change to model-change is not.
1. The author is obviously challenging the social norm (社会规范) that ________________.
A. it is important to improve goods and services
B. development of technology makes our life more comfortable
C. it is reasonable that prices are going up all the time
D. slightly improved new products are worth buying
2. According to this passage, airfares may rise because ______________.
A. the airplane has been improved
B. people tend to travel by new airplanes
C. the change is found to be reasonable
D. the service on the airplane is better than before
3. According to the author, passengers would be happier if they ____________.
A. could fly in the latest model of good planes
B. could get tickets at much lower prices
C. see the airlines make vital changes in their services
D. could spend less time flying in the air
4. When manufactures have improved the performance of their products to a certain level, then it would be _______________.
A. justified for them to cut the price
B. unnecessary for them to make any new changes
C. difficult and costly to further better them
D. insignificant for them to cut down the research costs
5. In the case of cars, the author advises that we _____________.
A. cancel the speed limit B. further improve their performance
C. change models every two years D. improve their durability (耐久性)
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
This week in our Foreign Student Series，we talk about getting an American education online．A student named Hendra has written to us from Indonesia asking about a good online university．Finding the right online program requires research．Talking to advisers and recruiters（招募者）can help．Keep in mind，though，that they might have a financial interest to direct you to certain programs．
The Council on Higher Education Accreditation（CHEA）recognizes a group in Washington，D．C．，to accredit（授权）schools that offer distance learning．One hundred and ten programs in the United States and six other countries are accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council．
We asked the executive director，Michael Lambert，for advice on choosing a distance learning program．He says the first thing is to go on the CHEA Web site to find if a school is accredited．The address is c-h-e-a dot o-r-g．Next，make sure the school offers what you need．Do you need a degree，or will a certificate or license be enough?
Another consideration is cost．Often the published price does not include all the costs --like books．Technology requirements can also add to the costs．Will you need to get new software or a high-speed Internet connection or even a new computer to take the classes you want?
Also，consider the level of interaction that an online program offers．You might never meet the teacher or other students in person．
Finally，and this is our own advice，find out what others say on the Internet for comments or news stories about schools that interest you．Just remember that what people say is not always fair or true．
56．This passage is probably from ________．
A．a magazine B．a newspaper
C．a text book D．a radio program
57．This passage is mainly about ________．
A．how to get an American education online
B．what to learn in an American university
C．the introductions to schools offering distance learning
D．the advantages of online education
58．What else should be taken into consideration about cost besides the published price?
A．The cost for books and technology requirements．
B．The cost for books and a new computer．
C．The cost for new software and a high-speed Internet connection．
D．The cost for technology requirements and even a classroom．
59．How can you find the information about schools accredited to offer distance learning easily?
A．Ask the members of CHEA． B．Go on the website of chea.org．
C．Ask Michael Lambert for help． D．Talk to advisers and recruiters．
60 According to Michael Lambert，________．
A．to get a certificate or a license is much easier than to get a degree
B．it’s not fair for the schools to charge extra money beside the published price
C．the level of interaction that an online program offers is quite considerable
D．people’s comments about schools are always unbelievable
