When you are curious about something and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The following steps can guide you during the research.

Step 1 Write down the subject that you are interested in on a piece of paper. Just get the main idea down. For example, you might write:

Discover more about robots.

Step 2 Stop and think for a moment about what you have already known about your subject. List what you have already known like the sentences below:

1. The first robot appeared in the USA in 1959.

2. A robot can do housework and act as a teacher.

3. Sometimes a robot catches viruses and causes a lot of problems.

Step 3 What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions, start writing down questions about the robots on the paper:

1. What might robots be like in the future?

2. What other things can robots do for people?

3. What kind of power will robots possibly use in five years?

Step 4 Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you'll probably discover some new questions.

For example, you might discover that robots can help scientists explore dangerous places, like the sea and outer space. How? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.

The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember that learning more always brings more questions.

1.What does the writer advise us to do when we’re curious about something?

   A. To read more books about it.      B. To look it up in the dictionary.

   C. To turn to the teacher for help.  D. To raise questions and find the answers.

2.What does the underlined part “Armed with your list of questions” mean?

A. Writing down your list of questions. B. Discussing your questions with others.

C. Taking your list of questions with you.                D. Putting your list of questions under your arm.

3. What might be the correct order of the steps when you do research?

① List what you want to learn.         ② Find new problems.

③ List what you’ve already known.      ④ Choose a research subject.

A. ④③①②           B. ④①③②       C. ②③④①       D. ③②①④

4. What might be the best title for this passage?

A. Doing Research on Robots           B. Asking Good Questions While Doing Research

C. Having Interesting Answers on Robots  D. Finding Subjects before Doing Research

Have you ever been afraid to talk back when you were treated unfairly? Have you ever bought something just because the shop assistant asked you to buy it? Have you ever been afraid to ask someone for an appointment?

    Many people are afraid to assert themselves （坚持主见）. Dr. Alberti, author of Stand Up and Speak Out, thinks it’s because their self-respect （自尊心） is low. “Our whole system （体制） of society is designed to make people less confident,” says Alberti. “There’s always a person who knows more and better around us—a parent, a teacher or a boss. These people often chip away at （削弱） our self-image （自我形象）.”

    To help people assert themselves, Alberti and other scientists offer AT courses where people learn that they have a right （权利） to do so. They learn to speak out and feel good doing so. They learn to be more active without hurting other people.

    In one way, learning to speak out is to get over fear. A group taking an AT course will help the shy person lose fear. And AT even encourages the need to share （分享） so that even the shy person wants to tell others how he feels.

    Whether you speak out depends on your self-image. If someone you face is more “important” than you, you may be afraid to do so. But, why should you? AT says once you can learn to speak out, you will gradually feel good about yourself.

1．The author asks some questions in the first paragraph in order to     .

A．find out the answers

B．make a survey

C．ask for some advice

D．introduce the topic

2．The underlined phrase “talk back” in the first paragraph means     .

A．criticizing somebody

B．answering to show disagreement

C．talking behind somebody’s back

D．fighting with somebody

3．One thing that AT does NOT do is     .

A．help people to get over fear

B．remind people of their right to assert themselves

C．teach people to assert themselves without respecting others

D．help people to feel good about themselves

4．What’s the author’s attitude towards AT courses?

A．肯定的          B．否定的         C．冷漠的       D．怀疑的

5．The most suitable title for this passage would probably be     .

A．The AT courses

B．Speak out for yourself

C．The sadness of shy people

D．The importance of self-respect

Have you ever thrown away a bottle of water? Maybe a bottle of water does not seem like much to you, but it can save the day for people who live in drought-hit* areas in China.

In the past few months, some places in southeast China has experienced a serious drought. In Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and Chongqing, there has been very little rain since last autumn. Crops have died. The land has cracked* and wells and rivers have dried up. More than 20 million people are having difficulty finding safe drinking water.

After learning about the drought, many people across the country have helped by giving water, money and other resources*.

Last week, China asked every member of the Communist Youth League and Young Pioneers to give one bottle of water to the drought-hit areas. Students in primary schools and middle schools quickly joined in the activity. “A bottle of water isn’t much, but thousands of bottles will be of great use.” One student said. Some students offer their pocket money to the people there.  Other students also wrote their best wishes on the bottles.

The serious drought has also made students realize that saving water is very important. Some students decided to take a shower twice a week instead of every day, so that they can save a little water. Some students said they would never forget to turn off the water taps after using. Some students even went on the street to tell people to take part in water-saving activities.

Actually, learning how to save water is not difficult, and it can begin with teaching good habits to others around you. All you have to do is to think a little about how easy it is to waste water in everyday activities.

(   )48.What does a bottle of water mean to the drought-hit areas?

       A. It can change the whole situation.

       B. Even one bottle is important for them.

       C. It won’t help the drinking problem at all.

       D. It means nothing because it is not enough.

(   )49. There is a drought in those provinces because____________.

       A. the river has no water all the time.

       B. the sunshine is not strong enough there

       C. it has not rained for a long time

       D. people there don’t save water

(   )50.People are doing the following to help the drought-hit areas EXCEPT___________.

       A. giving best wishes to the people there

       B. encouraging more people to save water

       C. visiting drought-hit areas by themselves

       D. raising money for the drought-hit areas

(   )51.What have the students learned from the drought?

       A. The importance of water

       B. How to get on with others.

       C. Never waste food.

       D. How to find safe drinking water.

　　　　   A　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B

1. What does she do？　　　　　　　　 a．It's six o'clock．

2. Where dose he live？　　　　　　    b．It's Tom's．

3. Who is she？　　　　　　　　　　   c．By bike．

4. Whose coat is it？　　　　  　　　　 d．He's reading a book．

5. What time is it？　　　　　　　　    e．English

6. How does she go to work？　　　　    f．Fine，thank you．

7. What's he doing？　　　　　　　　   g．She's a teacher．

8. What does she teach？　　　　　　    h．In a village。

9. How are you？　　　　　　　　　　  i．She is Bill’s mother．

    　　   A 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B

1. What does she do？　　　　　　　　 a．It's six o'clock．

2. Where does he live？　　　　　　 b．It's Tom's．

3. Who is she？　　　　　　　　　　  c．By bike．

4. Whose coat is it？　　　　　　      d．He's reading a book．

5. What time is it？　　　　　　　　   e．English.

6. How does she go to work？    　　   f．Fine，thank you．

7. What's he doing？    　　　　　　  g．She's a teacher．

8. What does she teach？    　　　　   h．In a village。

9. How are you？    　　　　　　　　 i．She is Bill’s mother．

Alice is a young woman. She likes to exercise for her health. She walks five kilometers before breakfast every morning, and goes swimming twice a week at the swimming pool. She doesn’t smoke and never drinks wine(酒). She doesn’t eat chocolate, and she doesn’t eat sweet and fatty foods.

One day Alice was on her daily walk when she saw a man sitting in a chair. He looked very old and his hair was white. He looked thin and weak, and his hands were shaking(发抖), but he looked very happy.

He smiled at her and said, “ Good morning! Lovely day, isn’t it?”

He had a big smile on his face, and his eyes showed his happiness. But Alice saw that he had no teeth.

“Good morning!” said Alice. “Yes, it’s a lovely day.”

Alice thought he was old and clever. She thought he must be more than 90 years old. She wanted to ask him about the secret of a happy old age.

“Excuse me. But what is your secret for being so happy at your age? I hope I can look as happy as you do when I am your age.”

The man in the chair said, “My secret for happiness? I smoke every day, and drink three bottles of wine every day. I eat hamburgers, I eat chocolate and I never eat vegetables. I never walk anywhere and I never play sports. I sit and watch TV all day.”

Alice couldn’t understand. She wanted to know how the man got to be so old when he did everything wrong. She thought he should be sick and unhappy. Perhaps she was wrong. Maybe, she thought, people could live a long happy life without eating well and doing lots of sports.

“How old are you?’ she asked.

“It’s my birthday today.” Said the man, “I am forty-seven.”

46. What does Alice like?

A. Smoking.　　　 B. Drinking wines.　　　 C. Eating unhealthy food.　　 D. Doing sports.

47. Which is WRONG about the old man?

A. He didn’t have any teeth.　　　 　　　　　　　　　 B. He was more than 90 years old.

C. He looked happy although he looked thin and weak.　　 D. He looked very old.

48. How often did the old man do sports?

A. Never.　　　　 B. Often.　　　　　　　 C. Sometimes.　　　　　　 D. Every day.

49. How did Alice feel when he heard the old man’s secret for happiness?

A. Happy.　　　　 B. Interested. C. Excited. D. Surprised.

50. After the old man told Alice about his age, Alice knew 　　　 .

A. the man was in good health for his age　　　　

B. the man had a healthier lifestyle than her

C. a good lifestyle was important for one’s health　

D. people could live a long life without a good lifestyle

Try this: for a whole day, forget about the clock. Eat when you’re hungry and sleep when you’re tired. What do you think will happen?
You may be surprised to find that your day is much like most other days. You’ll probably get hungry when you normally eat and tired when you normally sleep. Even though you don’t know what time it is, your body does.
Inside our bodies are several clocklike systems that follow a 24- hour cycle. Everyone is unique, which is why you might like to stay up late while your sister always wants to go to bed early.
Regularly staying up late can make kids do worse on tests and quizzes. And working shifts at night leads to higher rates of heart disease.
“There is a growing sense that when we eat and when we sleep are important parts of how healthy we are,” says Steven Shea, Director of the Sleep Disorders Research Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“During the night, we are prepared to sleep,” Shea says. “During the day, we are prepared to eat and move around, If you reverse ( 颠倒) what you are doing, everything is out of phase. That can have adverse consequences.

1. 1.

   What does the underlined sentence suggest?

   1. A.
      We don’t need to care about time.
   2. B.
      We don’t need the clock.
   3. C.
      The clock is not useful.
   4. D.
      The clock is not remembered.
2. 2.

   What makes some like to stay up late while others go to bed early?

   1. A.
      our bodies
   2. B.
      our minds
   3. C.
      the clock
   4. D.
      our unique system
3. 3.

   Steven Shea suggests ________.

   1. A.
      when we eat, we are prepared to eat.
   2. B.
      when we sleep, we are prepared to sleep
   3. C.
      when we eat and when we sleep are important parts of how healthy we are
   4. D.
      we are prepared to follow clocklike system
4. 4.

   “Everything is out of phase.” means________.

   1. A.
      everything is out of order
   2. B.
      everything is bad
   3. C.
      everything is good
   4. D.
      everything is not controlled

You thought the Dark Ages are well behind us? Think again. As we speak, the world is getting darker. Without sunlight, oxygen (氧气) levels will drop, and there won’t be enough food. In the end, we’ll die a horrible death. Probably, we will have forgotten what kind of a sunny planet Earth once was.

It is the thick clouds that are causing all the trouble. They bounce back (弹回) the sunlight into space, preventing it from reaching the Earth’s surface and its people. The result: darkness, and cold. So, who put those clouds up there in the first place? Well, blame (归咎于) yourself: you did. You guessed it: it’s those humans and their pollution again.

Already, the Earth is a bit darker than it should have been. An agricultural biologist (农业生物学家), Gerald Stanhill, first discovered Global (全球的) Dimming in Israel in the 1980s. The sun shines about 22 percent less in Israel than it did in the 1950s. It is as if someone is slowly turning off the lights! In fact, global dimming may have made its first victims (受害者) already. In the 1980s, about a million Africans in the Sahel died during a massive drought (大面积干旱). It was global dimming’s doing: the sun simply didn’t shine hard enough to ‘power up’ the system that should have given the Sahel its rainy season.

But isn’t the world getting warmer, instead of colder? How about global warming? Many facts show that the world is indeed getting warmer. But it’s also getting darker. In fact, many scientists believe that global dimming puts the brakes on the warming of our planet. Without global dimming, global warming would be much, much worse! And there’s no telling which will win in the end, heat or cold.

So, what do you prefer? Would you like to get roasted, or would you rather die in the dark? Hmm...Perhaps it’s a better idea to cut down a little on both pollution and greenhouse gases, after all.　

54. Why is the world getting darker?

A. Because oxygen levels on the earth are dropping quickly.

B. Because the thick clouds stop the sunlight reaching the earth.

C. Because the thick clouds are covering a large area of the earth.

D. Because the earth is becoming colder and colder.

55. What does the phrase “puts the brakes on” in Para. 4 probably mean?

A. puts out　　　 　　　　　　 B. breaks down　　 C. slows down　　 D. catches up with　　

56. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A. The earth used to be sunnier and warmer.

B. We are responsible for global dimming.

C. Africa suffers most from global dimming.

D. Global warming is better than global dimming.