Space travel is nothing new. The first spacecraft with a human was sent up into space in 1961. Since then, people have not only traveled to space, but also many of them have lived there in space stations for some time.
The Soviet Union(前苏联) sent the first space station into space in 1971. This space station was called Salyut 1. Salyut 1 was designed as a place where people could live while they observed space and did experiments. The first group of astronauts lived there for 23 days. The Soviet Union went on to make seven more Salyut space stations. At about the same time, the United States built its own space station, called Skylab.
Astronauts visited and often lived in these space stations for a short time. However, it wasn’t until the late 1980s when The Soviet Union sent the Mir space station that people began to live in space for a longer time. Mir stayed in space from 1989 until 2001, when it was decided that the space station was too old and no longer safe to live in.
Living in space stations seems to be fun, but astronauts face many problems. One of them is food. All the meals on space station are put together on Earth and sent there by space shuttle. Because the food has to last a long time (sometimes up to three months), a lot of it has to be stored in cans. The space station does not have a fridge, but it has a cool room to keep fruit and vegetables fresh. Astronauts also eat many other foods such as dried meat that do not need special care.
Without the help of gravity, sitting down to eat can be tough. Astronauts sometimes have to fix themselves to the wall while eating. They also have to be very careful to that food does not float away.
【小题1】Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “observed” in Paragraph 2?

Teaching English as a foreign language is very popular for many travellers. In March I started teaching English in Thailand.
I really love teaching. I knew it could be a lot of fun, especially with my students who are 3-5 years old. But I had no idea just how much I would actually enjoy it. The only reason I started was simple - it was an easy way to make money.
I had no idea Thai children could speak English so well at such a young age. My children could describe colours, shapes, body parts, days of the week and classroom objects!
Two things changed after working. The first one was in the first weeks of teaching, I liked to have my lessons planned out, but things didn't go as expected. Now I am happy to walk into a classroom with whatever I need for the subject.
I guess the other thing would be how much the children trust me. 18 weeks ago these children were unconfident and pretty shy, but now they can't wait to get involved.
In 6 months I have no idea where I will be, but right now I love teaching and enjoy working with the kids every day. Will I teach again - I'd like to think so!

1. 1.

   Where is the writer most probably from?

   1. A.
      Korea
   2. B.
      England
   3. C.
      China
   4. D.
      Japan
2. 2.

   Which of the following is NOT the writer's student?

   1. A.
      May, 4 and a half, who can tell different shapes
   2. B.
      Wilton, 3, who can tell different colors
   3. C.
      Nick, 5, who can count from one to one hundred
   4. D.
      Leonie, 6, who is good at English grammar
3. 3.

   Which of the following is TRUE?

   1. A.
      The writer might be short of money when he traveled in Thailand
   2. B.
      All the children in the writer's class are very naughty
   3. C.
      The writer will never be a teacher again
   4. D.
      The writer never has classes in the classroom
4. 4.

   What is the meaning of the underlined word "unconfident" in Chinese?

   1. A.
      粗心大意的
   2. B.
      缺乏信心的
   3. C.
      不切实际的
   4. D.
      骄傲自满的
5. 5.

   What is best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      Teaching is a good job
   2. B.
      How clever the Thailand children are!
   3. C.
      My travel experience in Thailand
   4. D.
      First time as an English teacher in Thailand

　　Only a hundred years ago, people seldom traveled far out of their birthplace. Books were very expensive and there were few national（国家的）newspapers and no radio or TV. In fact, most people spent their time talking and listening. And only a little reading and writing went on and many people were unable to read and write. For this reason, native dialects（方言）grew up and people spoke as their parents and grandparents did. A Cornwall woman who traveled just as far as London would find that people spoke a complete different language.

　　Sometimes it is hard to take in just how much things have changed. You always have books around, read magazines and newspapers, have different TV or radio programs. You and everyone around you, often travel not just in British islands but all of the world. Modern science has changed our life and distances（距离）have been made shorter. It might have taken a Cornwall woman three days to travel to London. Now it takes less than two hours by air, less than four by train and less than six by road.

　　The result of this is that the language we use is becoming more national and the dialect are dying out. Writing, printing（印刷）and broadcasting（广播）have speeded up this change as one dialect has come to be used by more and more people. This is the dialect called Standard（标准的）English which was first used outside London in the south and east Midlands.

A．people wouldn't like to leave their birthplace

B．there were neither books nor newspapers

C．most people couldn't read and write

D．people learned to read and write from their family members

A．London was not far from her birthplace

B．London was a strange city

C．she could easily understand London people

D．she could hardly understand London people

A．watching TV and listening to the radio

B．reading books and magazines

C．traveling just within the British islands

D．traveling over tile world

A．distances have been made shorter by modern science

B．it takes a Cornwall woman less time to travel to London

C．the capital of England has been moved to a place near Cornwall

D．people mustn't speak dialect in England

A．dying out slowly

B．used by more and more people

C．used in east Midlands only

D．used by London people only