(08·江西)

The three youths leaned over the metal rails along the sea-wall and watched a few fishermen pull in their nets．About thirty metres away, a boat pulled alongside the slippery steps leading

  36   to the sea．

“Hey, look!” exclaimed Rahim．“Those two men are   37   heavy rocks．I thought we no longer do muscle labour in this technological   38   ”．

“You don’t    39    a crane（起重机）to unload less than a dozen rocks, do you?” smiled Joshua.

“But those men don’t    40    to have muscles at all.” said Michael, rather surprised. Joshua smiled.

“They are    41    labourers who know how to spread the weight of the rocks they

  42  ．See how the man positions the rock just at the slope of his   43  ．Some of the rock’s weight is set   44   his head, some on the right hand and some on the left hand．His body isn’t bent．His legs are well  45  .”

“You’re right, Josh．He may have a small build．  46    he certainly well knows his job．Dear me! And to think we have been studying   47   ! ” Rahim thought about all that was happening．Suddenly, he said, “Technology won’t   48   the human being completely, it appears．”

“I don’t think it will．”   49    Joshua．“You can harvest a crop of potatoes or wheat with one of those large, multi-purpose tractors, but you   50    use that equipment to harvest tea leaves and tomatoes, will you?”

“You can get a computer to    51    multiple-choice assessments, but you cannot get the computer to produce or assess essays, can you?” asked Michael．

“Well, the washing machine leaves my shirt collar quite as   52    as ever — that’s domestic technology for you! ” said Rahim．

“One day, perhaps, there won’t be anybody    53    who can carry a large rock the way those men do．It’s not going to be a very   54    world, I’m afraid.” sighed Michael．

“You’re too much of a pessimist (悲观主义者），Mike.” said Joshua．“    55   will always be other things that will make the world exciting．”

36．A．through                 B．across                C．down                         D．up

37．A．loading                 B．unloading              C．covering                D．uncovering

38．A．way                   B．revolution             C．process                 D．era

39．A．ask                    B．expect               C．attempt                 D．hope

40．A．happen                 B．fail                  C．have                   D．seem

41．A．ambitious              B．experienced           C．potential               D．energetic

42．A．take                  B．fetch                   C．carry                  D．bring

43．A．shoulder               B．back                  C．chest                 D．arms

44．A．on                    B．against                 C．toward                D．under

45．A．supported             B．grasped                C．placed                 D．strengthened

46．A．but                   B．however               C．so                     D．therefore

47．A．chemistry             B．physics                 C．biology                 D．psychology

48．A．control                B．affect                C．remove                 D．replace

49．A．agreed                B．proposed              C．refused                 D．denied

50．A．can’t               B．mustn’t             C．won’t                D．needn’t

51．A．point out               B．take out               C．hand out               D．print out

52．A．dirty                  B．clean                 C．old                    D．new

53．A．caught                 B．arranged              C．left                   D．convinced

54．A．exciting                B．mysterious            C．technological         D．modern

55．A．That                  B．This                 C．They                  D．There

    

 (08·江西B篇)

Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city Monday,7th of January until Sunday,13th of January 2008 Feast until you’re full! Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets．Order from the following: ●Succulent chicken rice             ●Spicy satay beef ●Delicious noodle dishes            ●Plump pork chops ●Seafood specialties                ●Crunchy vegetables ●Sweet tropical fruit Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven. Win Prizes and Gifts! l         Spend ＄20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box． l         Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner． l         Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls． l         Win a holiday to Western Australia．A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt．Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided． Winner to be announced in The Straits Times on the 15th of January． Join in the Fun! Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you: ●May Lee                     ●Jackie Chen ●Kim Yap                     ●Kamal Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out．

60．Munchies Food Hall does NOT sell ____    ．

A．lamb        B．beef                        C．pork                D．chicken

61．The prices at Munchies are         ．

A．lower than usual                                  B．bargain prices for the opening

C．lower for two people                             D．lower if you spend ＄21.00

62．Everyone who eats at Munchies will receive a        ．

A．free raffle ticket                                  B．lucky draw coupon

C．free meal                                       D．balloon and whistle

63．I will find out who has won the trip to Western Australia when I _      _．

A．watch Channel 3 television       

B．come down to Munchies at noon

C．read The Straits Times on the 15th of January

D．attend the lucky draw at Munchies Food Hall

 (08·江西E篇)

Most people, when they travel to space, would like to stay in orbit for a few days or more．And this stands to reason, if you’re paying $20,000 for your trip to orbit! So in order for tourism to reach its full potential there’s going to be a need for orbital accommodation—or space hotels．What would a space hotel actually be like to visit? Hotels in orbit will offer the services you expect from a hotel—private rooms, meals, bars．But they’ll also offer two unique experiences: impressive views—of Earth and space—and the endless entertainment of living in zero gravity—including sports and other activities that make use of this．

   The hotels themselves will vary greatly—from being quite simple in the early days to huge luxury structures at a later date．It’s actually surprising that as later as 1997, very few designs for space hotels were published．This is mainly because those who might be expected to design them haven’t expected launch costs to come down far enough to make them possible．

    Lots of people who’ve been to space have described vividly what it’s like to live in zero gravity．There are obviously all sorts of possibilities for dancing, gymnastics, and zero-G sports．Luckily, you don’t need to sleep much living in zero gravity, so you’ll have plenty of time for relaxing by hanging out in a bar with a window looking down at the turning Earth below．

    Of course all good things have come to an end, unfortunately. And so after a few days you’ll find yourself heading back though you’ll be much more expert at exercising in zero gravity than you were when you arrived．You’ll be thinking how soon you can save up enough to get back up again—or maybe you should change jobs to get to work in an orbiting hotel!

72．When traveling in space, most people would like to stay in orbit for a few days because

_______．

A．It is expensive to travel in space

B．they would find the possible life in other star systems

C．they could enjoy the luxury of space hotels

D．they want to realise the full potential of tourism

73．Which of the following is a unique experience that space hotels will offer?

A．The gravitational pull.                         B．The special views．

C．The relaxation in a bar．                             D．The space walk．

74．Which of the following is NOT discussed in the passage?

A．When was the space traveling made possible?

B．What are the unique experiences that space hotels will offer?

C．Why were there not many published designs for space hotels?

D．How can the travelers enjoy themselves in space hotels?

75．This passage is mainly about ________．

A．traveling in space                                  B．the ways of living in space hotels

C．zero gravity and space hotels                 D．the description of space hotels

 (08·江西C篇)

Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage．Studying was a breeze for  Nigel．The reward was certainly incomparable to the little effort that he had to put it．It began when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories．

The peak of his school career came not when he topped the school but when he was selected

for the nationwide competition．Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets and making something out of them．Nigel spent the next two months rebuilding the robot．It was during the time that Nigel found out about the prizes for the competition as well as another competitor, Alicia, from a neighboring school．His early intentions were forgotten．Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important than anything else．Nigel decided to befriend Alicia．Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition．He even helped her to put the finishing touches to her robot．He was glad with the way things had progressed．His robot looked even better than Alicia’s and it was able to bounce a ball with its arm, something Alicia had failed to do．

On the day of the competition, he saw Alicia．Everything dawned on her the minute she saw

him among the competitors. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her．

The flashbulbs of the camera exploded in Nigel’s face．The robot had performed actions so

unique and different that the specialists’ judgments were the same．Nigel was so pleased with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him．Without her, he would never have won the competition．

64．What reward did Nigel receive for doing well in his school work?

A．He was offered a part-time job.

B．He was honored with a scholarship.

C．He helped his teachers construct a robot.

D．He helped in the computer laboratories.

65．Nigel’s original intention of joining the contest was to ___      ．

A．be the top student of the school            B．being great honor to his school

C．construct a robot with the Lego sets     D．wins the thousand-dollar prize

66．Why did Nigel help Alicia finish her robot?

A．He tried to make friends with her.         B．He was fond of building robots.

C．He intended to help her.                       D．He didn’t want her to suspect him.     

67．What is the author’s attitude towards Nigel’s actions?

A．He is mildly critical.                      B．He is strongly critical.

C．He is in favor of them.                  D．His attitude is not clear.

 (08·江西A篇)

Despite the fact that it has never been seen,almost everyone is familiar with the legendary

unicorn（独角兽）．Descriptions of unicorns have been found dating from ancient times．The great philosopher Aristotle theorized that there were two types of unicorn— the so-called Indian Ass and the Oryx, a kind of antelope．Unicorns are often used in the logo of a noble family, town council or university as their special sign．Even Scotland is represented by a unicorn．

According to the legend, anyone attempting to catch a unicorn had to be extremely cautious

as it has a reputation for being very fierce．A clever trick suggested by unicorn-trappers, in order to catch this magnificent beast without being hurt by its horn, was for the hunter to stand in front of a tree and then to move quickly behind it as the unicorn charged．Hopefully, the creature could then be captured when its horn was stuck in the tree．

 When hollowed out and used as a drinking-cup, the unicorn’s horn was said to have the

power to offer protection against poison．It was believed that nobody could be harmed by drinking the contents of a unicorn’s horn．Right up until the French Revolution in 1789, the French court was said to have used cups made of “unicorn” horn in order to protect the king.In addition, the horn was said to have medicinal value, so much so that it could be sold for more than ten times the price of the same weight of gold．What, then, was “unicorn” horn? We know at times the rhino (犀牛) was confused with this legendary creature．A drinking-cup supposedly made of “unicorn” horn was discovered to be made of the horn of a rhino．

56．Which of the following is TRUE of the unicorn?

A．It was not historically recorded.

B．Its horn was first used in France.

C．It was similar to the Indian Ass and the Oryx.

D．It could be the symbol of a university.

57．To catch a unicorn, the unicorn-trappers had to try all of the following EXCEPT __   _  _．

A．tempting the unicorn to attack            B．making use of the tree as a protection

C．hiding quickly behind the unicorn          D．having the unicorn horn stuck in the tree

58．The last paragraph is mainly about __    __．

A．the properties of the unicorn horn       

B．the users of the unicorn horn

C．the price of the unicorn horn           

D．the comparison between the unicorn horn and the rhino horn

59．In the last paragraph, the word “unicorn ” is in quotation marks (引号) because ____   _．

A．the cup is designed only for a royal family         

B．the unicorn does not exist in reality

C．the unicorn is the rarest animal in the world

D．the medicinal value of the horn is appreciated