In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon (惡魔) that was determined to throw the world into darkness forever. A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a threat now rushing towards Earth from outer space. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metere wide asteroid (小行星) discovered last year, which is potentially on a collision (碰撞)course with the planet.
NASA has estimated that Apophis has an outside chance of hitting the Earth in 2036. If it did hit us, thousands of square kilometers would be directly affected by the explosion but the whole of the Earth would see the effects of the dust sent into the atmosphere. At a recent meeting of experts in Near-Earth objects (NEOs) in London, scientists said it could take decades to design, test and build the required technology to deflect the asteroid.
The Apophis asteroid is placed at four out of ten on the Torino scale—a measure of the threat caused by an NEO where 10 is a certain collision which could cause a global disaster. This is the most possible danger of any asteroid in recorded history and it has a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the Earth.
Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen’s University Belfast, said, “When it does pass close to us on April 13, 2029, the Earth will deflect it and change its orbit. There is a small possibility that if it passes through a particular point in space, the so-called keyhole, the Earth’s gravity will change things so that when it comes back around again in 2036, it will collide with us.” The chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-meter patch of space, is 1 in 5,500, based on current information.
There is no shortage of ideas on how to deflect asteroids. The Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency has led the effort in designing a range of satellites and rockets to nudge asteroids that are on a collision course for Earth into a different orbit.
小題1:The best title for this passage would be ___________.

A．Apophis Asteroid, a Possible Destroyer of Earth

B．Apophis, a Good Name for Dangerous Asteroid

C．Our Planet Will Be Ruined in 2036

D．Scientists Study Apophis Asteroid

小題2:The name Apophis mentioned in the passage indicates that the asteroid is _________.

A．powerful

B．mysterious

C．boring

D．destructive

小題3:The underlined word “deflect” in Paragraph 2 probably means _________.

A．destroy the quality of

B．change the direction of

C．measure the size of

D．look into the truth of

小題4:Which of the following is NOT true?

A．If Apophis hit the earth, its impact would be enormous.

B．No way to deal with Apophis is available at present.

C．Apophis is the first dangerous asteroid in recorded history.

D．It is uncertain whether Apophis will hit the earth in 2036.

小題5:What would the passage talk about if it continued?

A．An Egyptian myth about Apophis.

B．NASA’s study on NEOs.

C．How the keyhole influences Apophis.

D．What methods can be used to deflect the asteroid.

Schooling Matters
March 25, 2014  Chengdu  Michelle Obama
You see, the truth is that I grew up like many of you. My mom, my dad, my brother and I, we lived in a tiny apartment in Chicago, which is one of the largest cities in America. My father worked at the local water plant…
While we certainly weren’t rich, my parents had big dreams for me and my brother. They had only a high school education themselves, but they were determined to send us both to universities.
So they poured all of their love and all of their hope into us, and they worked hard. They saved every penny. And I know that wasn’t easy for them, especially for my father. You see, my father had serious illness called multiple sclerosis(多發(fā)性硬化癥). And as he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, and it took him longer to get dressed in the morning.
But no matter how tired he felt, no matter how much pain he was in, my father hardly ever missed a day of work, because he was determined to give me and my brother a better life. And every day, like so many of you, I felt the weight of my parents’ sacrifices on my shoulders. Every day, I wanted to make them proud.
So, while most American kids attend public schools near their homes, when it was time for me to attend high school, I took an exam and got into a special public high school where I could get a better education. But the school was very far from my home, so I had to get up early every morning and ride a bus for an hour, sometimes an hour and a half if the weather was bad. And every afternoon, I’d ride that same bus back home and then immediately start my homework, often studying late into the night – and sometimes I would wake up at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning to study even more.
And it wasn’t easy. But whenever I got tired or discouraged, I would just think about how hard my parents were working for me. And I would remember something my mother always told me – she said, “A good education is something that no one can take away from you.”
小題1:The passage can be sorted as a        ．

A．self-introduction

B．short story

C．news report

D．speech draft (草稿)

小題2:Which of the following is TRUE about Michelle Obama and her family?

A．Her parents were poor but had good educational backgrounds.

B．She attended a public high school near her home.

C．Her father suffered a serious disease and became disabled.

D．She was aware of her parents’ sacrifices and expectations.

小題3:Which of the following words best describes Michelle’s father?

A．Optimistic.

B．Humorous.

C．Strong-minded

D．Generous

小題4:What does Michelle mainly want to tell readers in this excerpt?

A．We should work hard and get good educations.

B．Our parents always have high expectations for us.

C．She is an ordinary person from an ordinary family.

D．The road to the US First Lady is not easy.

Can noncombustion (非燃燒) technology create a no-pollution way to drive？Imagine pulling into a service station to fuel up your car. But not at the gas pump or electric battery charger —at the air pump! That’s not hot air, either! The next generation of cars may run on thin air. Wouldn’t that be an incredible way to cut both pollution and dependence on foreign oil?
If you’ve ever inflated a balloon and then let it go, you’ve got the basics to test-drive the amazing MiniCAT, currently being developed by Noteur Development International (MDI), headquartered in Luxembourg. Invented by Formula One racing car designer Guy Negre, this experimental vehicle is unlike any car you’ve ever seen. While your family’s traditional car or SUV draws its horsepower using combustion, the only fuel that MiniCAT needs (CAT stands for Compressed Air Technology) is the air we breathe.
Start with about 25,000 gallons of air. Now, press it all into a space smaller than your school locker—because that’s the size of two super-strong, high-pressure air tanks, made from fiber and fixed beneath the air car. 
Confining that much air inside those small tanks generates an internal pressure of over 4,000 pounds per square inch. That’s over 300 times normal air pressure.
When this cold, high-pressure air enters MiniCAT’s unique engine, it interacts(交互作用) with warmer air to create pressure waves that pump the engine’s engineered pistons (活塞) to move the car. MiniCAT’s projected top speed is 60 miles per hour, with a range of 120 miles on a full air supply.
小題1:What is the passage mainly about?

A．Ways to cut down air pollution.

B．Cars that run on thin air.

C．Formula One racing car designer.

D．Dependence on foreign oil.

小題2:What is MiniCAT according to the passage?

A．The name of a car.

B．The name of a balloon.

C．The name of a car company.

D．The name of a car designer.

小題3:The underlined world “Confining” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ___________.

A．Keeping

B．Preventing

C．Pushing

D．Running

小題4:What does the last paragraph tell us?

A．How much pressure the air creates.

B．How the car works.

C．What the normal air pressure is.

D．How the air gets into the engine.

A huge cloud of dust rose and an overpass disappeared. This was the scene in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province on May 17.Nine people were killed and 16 injured.
Things were similar last year in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them?
People are always racking their brains to find a way of preventing buildings’ collapse. Better materials and technology help，but they are not a solution.
Just like humans，a building has its own life cycle from “birth” to “death”．If we know when a building is going to collapse，we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls.
Now，scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports.
The research was led by Nancy Sottos，a professor at the university’s Beckman Institute，and Douglas Davis，a graduate research assistant.
The secret behind the color­changing material is a type of molecule (分子)．A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle，holding hands. Each person stands for one atom，your hands represent the bonds，and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands，the molecule changes color.
The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material，it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material，without breaking it，it only turned a little red.
The major problem is that light can get rid of the red color. When the team shone bright light on the molecule，the broken bond was fixed，and the color disappeared.
If the bright light keeps the red color from appearing，the material’s warning system will be useless. Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the color­changing molecules can be used outside the lab.
小題1:What does the passage mainly introduce?

A．The collapse of an overpass in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province.

B．The Sichuan earthquake

C．A material that turns red before it breaks.

D．A way of preventing building from collapsing.

小題2:The underlined words “racking their brains” in the third paragraph mean ________.

A．suffering a lot	B．collecting beyond imagination
C．losing a lot	D．thinking very hard

小題3:Which of the following is a WRONG statement?

A．Thousands of people died from the collapse of buildings in the Sichuan earthquake because they hadn’t been warned.

B．There is no building that will never collapse.

C．A new material has been applied to buildings to warn people of collapse.

D．A color­changing material can turn red before it breaks.

小題4:What can we infer from the passage?

A．The color­changing molecules are certain to be used outside the lab.

B．There will be no collapse with the help of the color­changing material.

C．There is a long way to go before the material can be applied.

D．The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists.

The following are letters to the editor of a school newspaper  
Dear editor,
I’d like to express my opinion about grades. Students should be allowed to study without worrying about grades. Fortunately, most educators are becoming aware of the fact that students have different interests and abilities. I understand that grades are useful, but grades often limit creativity. Competing for better grades causes many students to turn down opportunities to pursue music, dramatics and sports. Grades force an arbitrary(武斷的) standard of success on everyone. I do not demand as some extremists do, that grades be removed immediately. However, I do believe that less emphasis should be placed on grades. I hope that someday grades will become optional at Village High School.
Magdalena Smith
Drama Club
Dear editor,
I’d like to say something about grades. Let’s face the facts about grades. Grades perform three basic functions. First, grades motivate students to work at their highest level of competence. Second, they act as a reward for hardworking students and as a punishment to students who do not work hard. Finally, grades are used as an effective standard by which to measure student achievement. Good grades help students to get jobs and to get into university. I've spoken with a number of students who have jobs, and most of them say that they were hired primarily on the basis of their grades. My grades helped me land a part-time job and will help me get into university next year. I think grades are extremely important at Village High School.
Simon Harper
Science Club
小題1:Which of the following is not Magdalena Smith’s opinion?

A．Students may give up the chance to learn music and sports for grades.

B．Students’ creativity may not be developed for grades.

C．Grades should not be used to measure a person’s success.

D．Grades should be taken away at once.

小題2:We can learn Simon Harper _____.

A．believes in the benefits of good grades

B．is concerned about students' creativity

C．doesn't work too hard at his studies

D．supports students' interests and abilities

小題3:From the second letter, we can infer that Simon Harper is a/an_____.

A．teacher

B．headmaster

C．student

D．a(chǎn)dvertiser

Did you know that there are actually people who have paid for a flight to the moon? In the future, there will be a lot more opportunities to travel to faraway places than now… perhaps even as far as the moon. As people adventure further and further away and as planes, trains, cars, and rocket ships become faster, is it safer to have these vehicles controlled by humans or by computers?
While many flights by plane are controlled automatically by machines, most people today wouldn’t let their car drive itself. That’s because currently the autopilot function on your car can only keep it on the same course you are travelling on. It won’t turn the car right or left. It won’t stop if an animal jumps in the way. However, cars today can sense when something is too close and warn the driver with flashing lights and alarms. Many cars also have GPS（global positioning systems） that tell drivers which road to take and when to turn. These systems, unlike human drivers, never get lost. In the future, it is easy to believe that your car will be better able to drive itself with the aid of computers that can determine the position of your car and the speed it should travel at.
In addition to computers being ‘smarter’ than people regarding the best way to go or knowing how close another vehicle is, computers don’t get sick, tired, or angry. This means they won’t make the same mistakes that people make when they are not having a good day. While responding with emotion is a good thing when choosing the best way to deal with a friend’s personal problem, it may not be such a good thing when deciding what to do at the wheel of a fast-moving vehicle.
So what are the disadvantages of autopilot systems? Maybe one disadvantage is that a small computer problem could cause a serious accident. It could also be argued that in unexpected situations, computers might not be able to respond appropriately; some decisions require human emotions. Another problem might be that if everything were controlled by computers or robots, people wouldn’t have any jobs.
小題1:What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Development of Autopilot

B．Technology of Future Travel

C．A New Driving System

D．Computerized Cars

小題2:Which of the following is the disadvantage of an autopilot system?

A． It won’t make the same mistakes as people do.

B． It can point out the best route for the driver.

C． It might not respond properly to unexpected situations.

D．It does not have human emotions to influence its function.

小題3:If some falling rocks roll down toward your car, the autopilot on your car will_______.

A．inform you of the danger

B．turn the car right or left

C．do nothing about it

D．stop the car

小題4:What’s the author’s attitude towards the autopilot?

A．Approving.

B．Objective.

C．Negative.

D．Doubtful.

The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to details of exam and admission reform revealed by the Ministry of Education. The national college exam, known as the “Gaokao” has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. The Ministry will solicit(征求) public opinions before its release. Instead, tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to ease study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
The plan and suggestion for its implementation(實施) will be announced in the first half of next year. It will be piloted in selected provinces and cities and promoted nationwide from 2017. A new exam and admission system will be established by 2020, according to the education ministry.
The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better.
“The reform shows China is learning from the West to give students more test-taking chances. But more chances might become more of a burden since Chinese students are likely to repeat the test until they get the highest score,” said Cai Jigang, a professor at Fudan University’s College of Foreign Languages and Literature and chairman of the Shanghai Advisory Committee for College English Teaching at Tertiary level.
Yu Lizhong, chancellor of New York University Shanghai, where classes are in English and students are required to have a high standard of English, said the most important aspect of the reform lay in what to test and how to test.
“As far as I see, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the college entrance exam,” Yu said. “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, can have different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system.”
Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.
The education ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years.
小題1:What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．English will become less and less important in the stage of compulsory education.

B．It has been 30 years since English became one subject of national college entrance exam.

C．China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system is unacceptable at all.

D．The system that tests are held several times does more good than once-in-a-lifetime exam system.

小題2:According to the passage, Shanghai educators and parents argue that________.

A．the new exam and admission system will make no difference.

B．English shouldn’t be removed from China’s college entrance exam.

C．the reform may accomplish the very opposite.

D．Western educational system does not apply to China.

小題3:What does the passage try to express in the underlined sentence?

A．Students needn’t lay a good foundation during the period of high school.

B．Whether students should study English hard may depend on their major.

C．Students can constantly struggle for perfection only in their major.

D．English must be close to full mark.

小題4:What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To advise students not to devote themselves to English.

B．To call on Education Department to remove English from “Gaokao”.

C．To support the act of Ministry of Education

D．To encourage students to do as they have planned.

No one wants to be tested. We would all like to get a driver’s license without answering questionsabout rights of way or showing that we can parallel park a car. Many future lawyers and doctors probablywish they could join their profession without taking an exam. 
But tests and standards are a necessary fact of life. They protect us from unskilled drivers, harmful products and dishonest professionals. In schools too exams play a. constructive role. They tell public officials whether new school programs are making a difference and where new investments are likely to pay off.
They tell teachers what their students have learned--and have not. They tell parents how their children are doing compared with others their age. They encourage students to make more effort. 
It is important to recall that for most of century, educators used intelligence tests to decide whichchildren should get a high-quality education. The point of IQ testing was to find out how much children were capable of learning rather than to test what they had actually learned. Based on IQ scores, millions of children
were assigned to dumbed-down programs instead of solid courses in science, math, history, literature andforeign language. 
This history reminds us that tests should be used to improve education. Every child should have access to a high-quality education. Students should have full opportunity to learn what will be tested; otherwise theirscores will merely reflect whether they come from an educated family. 
In the past few years, we have seen the enormous benefits that flow to disadvantaged students because of the information provided by state tests. Those who fall behind are now getting extra instruction inafter-school classes and summer programs. In their efforts to improve student performance, states are
increasing teachers salaries, testing new teachers and insisting on better teacher education. 
Performance in education means the mastery of both knowledge and skills. This is why it is reasonable totest teachers to make sure they know their subject matter, as well as how to teach it to young children. And this is why it is reasonable to assess whether students are ready to advance to the next grade or graduate 
from high school.
小題1:According to the passage, school exams enable ______. 

A．governments to make right policieshave made efforts

B．students to meet their teachers' requirements

C．teachers to understand if their students

D．parents to compare their kids' behavior across schools

小題2:"Dumbed - down programs" in Paragraph 3 refer to the programs which       .

A．lead to high-quality education

B．a(chǎn)re less academically challenging

C．a(chǎn)re intended for intelligent students

D．enable children to make steady progress

小題3:Which of the following does the author probably agree with?

A．Disadvantaged students can benefit from state tests.

B．Tests should focus on what students have actually learned.

C．Intelligent tests decide if children should get a high - quality education.

D．Intelligent tests are helpful in separating excellent students from poor ones.

小題4:What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To re-assess the value of IQ testing.

B．To defend the role of testing in education.

C．To explain what high-quality education means.

D．To call for thorough and complete reform in education.

A blind baby is doubly handicapped. Not only is it unable to see, but because it cannot receive the visual stimulus（刺激）from its environment that a sighted child does, it is likely to be slow in intellectual development. Now the ten-month old son of Dr. and Mrs. Dennis Daughters is the subject of an unusual psychological experiment designed to prevent a lag（滯后）in the learning process. With the aid of a sonar-type electronic that he wears on his head, infant(嬰兒) Dennis is learning to identify the people and objects in the world around him by means of echoes(回聲).
The device is an improvement of the “Sonicguide”, an instrument produced by Telesensory Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif, and used by blind adults in addition to a smart or guide dog. As adapted for Dennis, it consists of a battery-powered system about the size of a half dollar that is on a headgear. A transmitter sends out an ultrasonic(超聲的) pulse that creates an 80 degree cone of sound at 6 feet. Echoes from objects within the cone are perceived (felt) as sounds that vary in pitch(音調) and volume(音量) with the size and distance of the object.
The closer an object is, the lower the pitch, and the larger the object, the louder the signal. Hard surfaces produce a sharp ping, while soft ones send back signals with a slightly fuzzy quality. An object slightly to the right of Denny’s sends back a louder sound to his right ear than to the left. Thus , by simply moving his head right and left and up and down, he can not only locate an object but also get some notion of its shape and size, thanks to the varying qualities of sounds reaching his ears as the cone of ultrasound(超聲波) passes its edges. Dennis likes to use the device to play a kind of peek-a-boo with his mother. Standing on her knee and facing her directly, he receives a strong signal in both ears. By turning his head away, he makes her seem to disappear. “From the first time he wore it,” says Mrs. Daughters, “it was like a light going on in his head.”
What remains to be determined is how well the device will help Dennis cope with his surroundings as he begins to walk and venture further into his environment.
Meanwhile, Telesensory, Inc, is working on the development of sonar(聲納) device with somewhat the same sensitivity as Dennis’s for use by school-age children.
小題1:Dr. and Mrs. Daughters’ research is directed to ________.

A．helping the blind to see and learn as well as others

B．benefiting the learning process of blind children

C．solving blind children’s psychological problems

D．finding out how children develop intellectually

小題2:Infant Dennis becomes the subject of the experiment most probably because ________.

A．he already lags behind the sighted children

B．he leads a life as normal as any other children

C．he is at the early stage of the learning process

D．he has the aid of a sonar-type electronic device

小題3:What can we learn about infant Dennis’ device?

A．Its first design was designed for blind adults.

B．Its battery is as small as a half-dollar coin.

C．It is functionally similar to a sane and guide dog.

D．It has been improved by Telesensory Systems, Inc.

小題4:In the third paragraph, “its edges” refers to ___________ .

A．the edge of an object

B．the edge of the device

C．the boundary of Dennis’ movement

D．the boundary of the sound pitch.

The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to details of exam and admis­sion reform revealed by the Ministry of Education. The national college entrance exam, known as the “Gaokao” has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. The Ministry will solicit(征求) public opinions before its release. Instead, tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to alleviate study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
The plan and suggestions for its implementation will be announced in the first half of next year. It will be piloted in se­lected provinces and cities and promoted nationwide from 2017. A new exam and admission system will be established by 2020, according to the education ministry.
The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would re­duce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better.
“The reform shows China is learning from the West to give students more test-taking chances. But more chances might become more of a burden since Chinese students are likely to repeat the test until they get the highest score,” said Cai Jigang, a professor at Fudan University’s College of Foreign Languages and Literature and chairman of the Shanghai Advisory Committee for College English Teaching at Tertiary Level.
Yu Lizhong, chancellor of New York University Shanghai, where classes are in English and students are required to have a high standard of English, said the most important aspect of the reform lay in what to test and how to test.
“ As far as I see, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the unified college entrance exam,” Yu said. “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, can have different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system. ”
Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.
The education ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years.
小題1:What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．English will become less and less important in the stage of compulsory education.

B．It has been 30 years since English became one subject of national college entrance exam.

C．China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system is unacceptable at all.

D．The system that tests are held several times does more good than once-in-a-lifetime exam system.

小題2:According to the passage, Shanghai educators and parents argue that _____.

A．the new exam and admission system will make no difference

B．English shouldn’t be removed from China’s college entrance exam

C．the reform may accomplish the very opposite

D．Western educational system does not apply to China

小題3:What does the passage try to express in the underlined sentence?

A．Students needn’t lay a good foundation during the period of high school.

B．Whether students should study hard English may depend on their major.

C．Students can constantly strive for perfection only in their major.

D．English must be close to full mark.

小題4:What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To advise students not to devote themselves to English.

B．To call on Education Department to remove English from “Gaokao”.

C．To support the act of Ministry of Education.

D．To encourage students to do as they have planned.