Edmund Halley was an English scientist who lived over 200 years ago. He studied the observations of comets(彗星)which other scientists had made. The orbit of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not figure it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.

       However, Halley had a friend named Isaac Newton, who was a brilliant mathematician. Newton thought he had already worked out that problem, but he could not find the papers on which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse(椭圆形).

       Now Halley set to work. He figured out(解决，计算出)the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by scientists. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearance had been 75 to 76 years apart.

       This seemed very strange to Halley. Three different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the ore his thought that there had been three different comets as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.

       It was an astonishing idea! Halley felt certain though to make a prediction(预言)of what would happen in the future. He decided that this would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley’s prediction could be tested. In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet had been called Halley’s comet, in his honor.

5 Edmund Halley figured out the orbit of ____.

       A. some different comets appearing several times

       B. the same comet appearing at different times

       C. three different comets appearing at the same time

       D. several comets appearing at the same time

6. Halley made his discovery ____.

       A. by doing experiments

       B. by means of his own careful observation

       C. by using the working of other scientists

       D. by chance

7. Halley made a surprising, but correct prediction in the year____.

       A. 1704          B. 1705     C. 1706           D. 1707

8. This passage in general is about ____.

       A. Halley and other scientists

       B. the orbit of a comet

       C. Newton and Halley

       D. Halley and his discovery

9. Which of the following is TRUE?

       A. Edmund Halley was an American scientist.

       B. Halley made his discovery by doing experiments.

       C. Isaac Newton was a famous mathematician.

       D. The orbit of a comet had the shape of an around.

It’s high time someone spoke up for today’s college students.  They’re probably the most hardworking, ambitious people in America and their problems are not properly appreciated.

   People like the Secretary of Education simply don’t know what they’re talking about when they knock students.  Nor do those who complain about falling academic standards.

   The vast majority of the nation’s 12 million students are struggling to pay for their educations.  They are part of the invisible workforce.  Many hold down full-time jobs.  They’re frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables.  The fact that they even show up for classes is a wonderful event.

   The financial situation of most students explains a lot about what is happening in schools.  Why are the traditional courses so unpopular?  Why are students flocking to accounting and computer science and any professional programs that seem to lead to careers?

   Answer: Today’s working student has been forced into a kind of premature matter-of-fact way of viewing things.  Romance is gone.  The notion of transforming one’s self through study alone has disappeared.  Today’s students seek freedom from manual labor, and the status conferred by a good job.

   There are other consequences.  Today’s students don’t have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework.  That’s the secret behind falling academic standards.  Students have become consumers.  They want grades and certifications.  Their professors can’t be expected to give a grade of failure to students who are clearly tired from the effort to pay their bills.

   There’s a lot wrong with this situation.  It’s twisting the definition of education out of shape.  Worse, it’s creating a generation that is totally unpleasant.  The brightest students turn out to be yuppies (雅皮士).  The vast majority are, at least, good-natured semi-literates.

   The time has run out for philosophical debates about fixed courses of study.  What this country needs is someone to stand up and say that being a full-time student during one’s formative years is an honorable calling worthy of support.  If families can’t or won’t give it to their children, then the government should.

1.The author’s purpose in writing this article is to __________.

awaken the whole society to the problems today’s college students face

warn Americans that academic standards are falling

advise college students to study hard

provide a suggestion that only full-time students be enrolled

2.The most suitable word to describe the author’s feelings about today’s college students  is _________.

   A. criticize            B. sympathize                   C. complain                D. urge

3.Which of the following cannot be learned from the passage?

Many students are often absent from classes.

Traditional courses are not popular.

Students commit crimes with computers.

Students don’t devote much time and energy to their homework.

4.By saying “Romance is gone” in paragraph 5, the author means ____________.

today’s students do not believe in love stories any more

today’s students become more practical in dealing with things

students think there is no affection any more and break up with their lovers

today’s students hold matter-of-fact opinions on love

5.Which of the following suggestions will the author not agree with?

We should encourage students to give up full-time jobs.

Families should offer their children more help financially.

We should stand up and say something for today’s college students.

D．We should make more strict regulations to force students to study hard.

―Hurry up ! Alice and Sue are waiting for you at the school gate.

 ―Oh! I thought they          without me .

      A．went                   B．are going            C．have gone           D．had gone

I prefer to stay at home rather than _____ to see him.

  A. went             B. go             C. going           D. gone

When you are little，the whole world feels like a big playground.I was living in Conyers，Georgia the summer it all happened.I was a second grader，but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade.Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.

It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement.As I opened the basement door，before us lay the biggest room，full of amazing things like guns，dolls，and old clothes.I ran downstairs，and spotted a red steel can.It was paint.I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple，orange，blue and green.

“Stephanie，I just found us a project for the day.Get some paintbrushes.We are fixing to paint.”She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work.We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard.There on the road in front of my house，we painted big stripes(条纹)of colors across the pavement(人行道)．Stripe by stripe，our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow.It was fantastic!

The sun was starting to sink.I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car.It was my mother.I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece.The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother's face，I could tell that I was in deep trouble.

My mother shut the car door and walked towards me.Her eyes glaring，she shouted，“What in the world were you thinking？I understood when you made castles out of leaves，and climbed the neighbors' trees，but this！Come inside right now！”I stood there glaring back at her for a minute，angry because she had insulted(侮辱)my art.

“Now go clean it up！”Mother and I began cleaning the road.Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.

Though years have now passed，I still wonder where my rainbow has gone.I wonder if，maybe when I get older，I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away.I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

56．What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

A．To introduce Stephanie to her.

B．To prevent her from seeing his painting.

C．To put the materials back in the yard.

D．To show his artwork to her.

57．In his mother's eyes，the writer________.

A．was a born artist        B．always caused trouble

C．was a problem solver   D．worked very hard

58．The underlined word“rainbow”in the last paragraph refers to______.

A．the rainbow in the sky

B．the stripes on the pavement

C．something imaginative and fun

D．important lessons learned in childhood

59．It can be learned from the passage that parents should______.

A．encourage children to paint

B．value friendship among children

C．discover the hidden talent in children

D．protect rather than destroy children's dreams