NASA postpones Discovery landing

    After orbiting the earth for nearly two weeks, astronauts aboard space shuttle Discovery were told to circle the planet for another day as bad weather in Florida forced NASA to delay Monday’s scheduled landing.

   The astronauts had powered up their space-craft and were awaiting word from Mission Control to fire their breaking rockets and head for home when controllers announced early Monday that low clouds over Cape Canaveral would postpone the landing.

   When cloud cover still threatened after the second of two landing opportunities, NASA officials rescheduled the landing for Tuesday, when they would consider two alternative landing sites in addition to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

  Before the weather deteriorated, Discovery had been set to land before dawn. Its return to the earth would have concluded the first shuttle flight since Columbia disintegrated while re-entering the earth’s atmosphere 21/2 years ago.

Discovery’s 13-day flight to the international space station may be the last one for a long while. NASA grounded the shuttle fleet after a slab(板层)of insulating foam(绝缘泡沫) broke off  Discovery’s external fuel tank during liftoff---the very thing that doomed(使…遭厄运) Columbia and was supposed to have been corrected. Discovery was the first shuttle to visit the station since 2002.

   As a result of Columbia, Discovery’s crew inspected their ship for damage on five different days and also tested repair techniques developed since the tragedy.

 

56.According to the report we know Discovery planned to land on  ______.

  A. another day                      B. Tuesday

  C. 13th                                 D. Monday

57.The astronauts received word from Mission Control _______.

  A. once                                 B. twice      

  C. three times                        D. we don’t know

58.The underlined word deteriorated in the fourth paragraph means:

  A. 好转        B. 正常       C. 恶化        D. 晴朗

59.The reason Columbia disintegrated(碎裂)is that________.

a)        Fuel tank was broken off

b)        Fuel used up

c)        It landed the wrong site

d)        It received no signal from Mission Control

60.How many shuttle flights returned to the earth before Columbia?

  A. One        B. Two      C. Three     D. We have no idea

Braking and Stopping

   Two important factors that influence the distance you take to stop a car are how quickly you react to danger and the speed at which you are traveling.

   The average reaction time (from the time driver sees danger to when he/she applies the brakes) is two seconds. Reaction time is affected by the driver’s levels of tiredness, alcohol and concentration(集中注意力).

   Braking distance ( the distance travelled after the driver has applied the brakes) depends on factors such as your speed, type of brakes, type pressure and tread(车胎花纹), vehicle weight, wind speed, slope(坡度) of the road, surface smoothness and the driver’s braking technique.

Remember: As your speed doubles, your total stopping distance more than doubles.

   At 60km/hr a vehicle will travel 34 meters while the driver is reacting to the danger, and another 21 meters before the car comes to a stop. Total stopping distance is 55 meters.

   Total stopping distances shown in the graph are for vehicles with good brakes, on a dry smooth level road surface, and fitted with good tyres with the correct depth of tread.

 

53. If I am driving at 100 km/hr, my total stopping distance is about _____.

   A. 58m          B. 100m      C. 56m      D. 113m

54. If I am driving at 70 km/hr, the distance I travel after I apply the brakes is about ______.

   A. 39m          B. 28m         C.70m      D. 67m

55. If I am alert (警觉) and my car is in good condition, my total stopping distance will be ______ if I am tired and my car is in bad condition.

  A. more than                   B. less than     

  C. the same as                  D. greater than

   It was not yet eleven o’clock when a boat crossed the river with a single passenger who had obtained his transportation at that unusual hour by promising an extra fare. While the youth stood on the landing-place searching in his pockets for money, the ferryman lifted a lantern(灯笼), by the aid of which, together with the newly risen moon, he took a very accurate survey of the stranger’s figure. He was a young man of barely eighteen years, evidently country bred(长大的), and now, as it seemed, on his first visit to town. He was wearing a rough gray coat, which was in good shape, but which had seen many winters before this one. The garments under his coat were well constructed of leather, and fitted tightly to a pair of muscular legs; his stockings of blue yarn must have been the work of a mother or sister, and on his head was a three-cornered hat, which in its better days had sheltered the grayer head of the lad’s father. In his left hand was a walking stick, and his equipment was completed by a leather bag not so abundantly(丰富) stocked as to inconvenience the strong shoulders on which it hung. Brown, curly hair, well-shaped-features, bright, cheerful eyes were nature’s gifts, and worth all that art could have done for his adornment(装饰). The youth, whose name was Robin, paid the boatman, and then walked forward into the town with a light step, as if he had not already traveled more than thirty miles that day. As he walked, he surveyed his surroundings as eagerly as if he were entering London or Madrid, instead of the little metropolis(都市)of a New England colony.

 

48.What time of the year was it in this story?

A. spring           B. summer       C. fall      D. winter

49. The boatman was willing to take Robin across the river because _____.

A. He wanted to make extra money

B. He saw that Robin was young and rich

C. He was going to row across the river anyway

D. He felt sorry for him because Robin looked poor

50. The stockings that Robin wore were obviously ______.

A. well worn                    B. very expensive    

C. handmade                    D. much too big

51. How far had Robin traveled?

A. over thirty miles                 B. from Madrid

C. from a nearly town             D. from London

52. At what time of day did Robin cross the river?

  A. morning                         B. midday

  C. late afternoon                  D. night

In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Of these, only about a half a dozen generate(产生) the strong, circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that give them hurricane status(状况), and several usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people.

  The great storms that hit the coast start as innocent(无害的) circling disturbances(搅动) hundreds---even thousands ---of miles out to sea. As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the trade winds. When conditions are just right, warm, moist air flows in at the bottom of such a disturbance, moves upward through it and comes out at the top. In the process, the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat that is converted(变换) to energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to swirl(漩涡) in a counter-clockwise(逆时针方向) motion.

  The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but it contains almost more power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released by a hurricane’s rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months. Water, not the wind, is the main source of death and destruction(毁灭) in a hurricane. A typical hurricane brings 6-to12-inch downpours resulting in sudden floods. Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea-the mountains of water moving toward the low-pressure hurricane center. The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore.

 

44.When is an ordinary tropical storm called a hurricane?

  A. When it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas

  B. When it hits the coastline

  C. When it is more than 75 miles wide

  D. When its winds reach 75 miles per hour

45What is the worst thing about hurricanes?

  A. the destructive effects of water

  B. the heat they release

  C. that they last about nine days on the average

  D. their strong winds

46The counter-clockwise swirling of the hurricane is brought about by _____.

  A. the low-pressure area in the center of the storm

  B.the force of waves of water

  C. the trade winds

  D. the increasing heat

47.  Apparently the word downpour means _______.

   A. heavy rainfall                

   B. dangerous waves

   C. the process of water to the hurricane center 

   D. the energy produced by the hurricane

                                Taichi with English narration

   A veteran(资深的) Taichi teacher, about 38, teaches the basic 24 movements, pushinghands and self-defense techniques, suitable for the beginners and intermediate level.

   Time:10:00-12:00 a.m., every Sunday morning

   Place: Bamboo Garden Hotel, No 24, Xiaoshiqiao Hutong, jiu Gulou Street, Northwest of Drum Tower in the downtown.

   Fee: 60 yuan each time

Chinese ink & water painting class

   To learn the techniques of painting a bird, flower, or lady with brushes. The Chinese philosophy and culture will also be included

   Time: 7:00-9:00p.m. every Wednesday

   Place: Library Bar, first floor, Tower B of East Gate Plaza(广场),right behind the poly plaza at the East Second Ring Road.         Fee: 60 yuan each week

                                     Big-bowl-tea

   Ten yuan (US$1.2) for a cup of Chinese tea and live performance of Peking Opera is the tempting offer up for grabs at Dawancha (big-bowl-tea) Theatre, a new branch of Lao She Tea house.

   The atmosphere of a traditional Chinese tea-house of the past is evoked(引起羡慕) with window seats overlooking Tian’an Men Square.

   Place: east side of north end of Qianmen Dajie, facing Arrow Tower

   Tel: 318-4723,  6318-2107

Acrobatic(杂技) show

The Tianqiao area of Beijing won its name as the city’s major outdoor performance site for acrobatics shows before the founding of New China in 1949. Acrobatic shows are still staged every evening in a theatre located in the Tianqiao area. The shows, put on by the Beijing Acrobatics Troupe, include many national or world award-winning programmes.

Time: 7 p.m., daily

Place: Wansheng Theatre

Price: 100 yuan (Us$ 12.0)

Tel: 65287750 ext 198

 

41. If you are a sport lover you can go to _______.

A. Library Bar                       B. Bamboo Garden Hotel

C. Lao she Tea-House            D. Wansheng Theatre

42. Which item is the cheapest and most relaxed to spend your leisure time?

A. Taichi with English narration

B. Chinese ink & water painting class

C. Big-bowl-tea

D. Acrobatic

43.Which of the following is NOT true?

 A. You can enjoy acrobatic shows every day at 7 p.m. in the open air.

B. You can see live performance of Peking Opera while enjoying Chinese traditional tea

C. You don’t have to worry about the language problem to attend Taichi if you are an Englishman

D. Chinese ink &water painting class is probably open to learner from outside China

Home, sweet home

It was December 22.The bitter wind swept the countless snowflakes across my front yard. My dad was sweeping the_21_____. His nose was red as a cherry. With every breath he took, a white puff__22_______into the air.

    Inside, my mother was_23______ the last of the boxes. As I entered the front door, the __24_____ that after today I wouldn’t enter through that door ever again_25______ a hole in my stomach. I picked up my dog and sat Indian style with him in my lap on the_26_____, wooden floor. I had no 27______but to sit on the floor , for there was no longer any furniture occupying my house. I sat there in a daze(恍惚) , just 28______. There was no reason for my s to make me ,a once _29_____12- year- old kid ,_30_____.I had two best friends right across the street; I did well in school and I always kept my room clean._31_____, this was” my house” . By no means did I want a couple of _32___ living there .These  recurring(重复) thoughts_33_____ around in my mind and I couldn’t find an answer.

Out of the front window I could see the orange top of a truck pulling in the cleaned driveway and I knew it was the other U- Haul. Instantly three men came__34____ in the back door like the third World War was starting .

    I watched__35_____ as the men ,my mother and my dad loaded the truck .My dog even winced(畏缩) as he stared out of the window .I wondered if he was_36______, too, or if he just wished to play outside in the snow,

My mum came in , looking solemn(凝重) for my sake ,I imagined . She turned_37____ the overhead light, put the_38_______ in my arm and took me out of the back door. A totally __39____feeling filled my heart. For the first time in my life, I wondered what_40______ would be to me tomorrow.

 

21. A. stairs

B. garden   

C. sidewalk  

D. driveway

22. A. escaped

B. flew  

C. rose  

D. flowed

23. A. piling  

B. packing

C. collecting

D. locking

24. A. idea  

B. dream

C. thought

D. worry

25 A. cut  

B. burned

C. shot   

D. made

26 A. cold  

B. wet  

C. broken  

D. messy

27. A. choice  

B. way  

C. solution

D. means

28 A. dreaming

B. thinking  

C. staring  

D crying

29. A. diligent  

B. clever  

C. happy   

D. honest

30 A. remain  

B. cry   

C. suffer   

D. move

31. A. However

B. Besides  

C. Therefore  

D. Yet

32. A. neighbors

B. strangers  

C. visitors   

D. elders

33. A. came  

B. traveled  

C. danced  

D. flowed

34. A. running

B. laughing  

C. talking   

D. whistling

35. A. curiously

B. motionlessly  

C. carefully  

D. helplessly

36. A afraid  

B. angry  

C. sad   

D. lonely

37. A. down  

B. off   

C. on    

D. up

38  A. box  

B. dog   

C. bag   

D. hand

39. A. excited

B. eager   

C. empty  

D. mixed

40. A. life   

B. school   

C. home  

D. world

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