Human beings have a natural desire to explore the unknown. People with a strong interest in space like to say it is the last place left to explore. But scientists are warning that space exploration for long periods is not going to be easy. They say the human body is not designed to stay in space over an extended period.
The New York Times recently published a report about scientists who are preparing astronauts for a trip to the Moon. The newspaper said the scientists want to make sure that their crews return home in good health. But there are many problems to be solved before people are ready for long trips to the Moon, an asteroid or even the planet Mars.
Humans developed on a planet with a surface that is more than 70 percent water. Our bodies are also about 70 percent water. When there is no gravity that water moves up toward the head, raising pressure in the skull. Arms and legs grow weaker at what is called zero gravity because they no longer need to push against the force of gravity.
Five years ago, astronauts who spent weeks in space reported a change in their eyesight. These astronauts were members of the crew on the International Space Station. Research showed a change in the shape of their eyes. Normally-round eyeballs had become flat during time in space. The research also showed that the right eye was affected more than the left, and that men were more affected than women. Scientists could not find an explanation for the differences.
Bone loss was one of the problems first reported by astronauts returning to Earth after longer stays in space. So scientists designed exercise machines to use on the space station. Tests showed that the exercise equipment helped space travelers keep their bones almost as strong as when they left Earth.
There are other health issues for astronauts who spend a long time in space. They may have problems eating and sleeping. But the biggest health issue is exposure to radiation. On Earth, human beings are protected by the atmosphere and the planet's magnetic field. In outer space, there is no such protection.
小題1:What is the main idea of the passage？

A．Long periods in space will affect the health of astronauts.

B．Scientists are trying to find out how to protect astronauts.

C．Space is dangerous to human beings.

D．People shouldn’t explore space.

小題2:What will happen to human bodies in space？

A．Arms and legs grow stronger at what is called zero gravity

B．Blood moves up toward the head.

C．Pressure in the skull will be raised.

D．All of the above.

小題3:The following are problems mentioned in the passage Except________.

A．bone loss

B．loss of water

C．eyesight

D．exposure to radiation

小題4:Why did scientists design exercise machines to use on the space station?

A．To make sure that their crews return home in good health.

B．To help astronauts keep their bones almost as strong as when they left Earth.

C．To help astronauts get ready for long trips to the Moon, an asteroid or even the planet Mars.

D．To let astronauts adapt to the environment of space.

小題5:What is true according to the passage?

A．The biggest health issue is exposure to Sunshine.

B．Research showed a change in the size of their eyes.

C．The right eye was affected less than the left.

D．Men were more affected than women.

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of visiting with Deputy Superintendent Pedro Martinez, Principal Neddy Alvarez and her staff at Western High School, located in the Clark County School District, in Las Vegas. The school undertook a comprehensive effort to completely transform the culture of the school and added a motivated group of talented teachers. Western altered（改變） the school day to add opportunities for students to get additional credits toward graduation and created smaller learning groups. As part of these comprehensive changes, the school’s leadership also focused on four main reforms to transform their school.
First, improvements started with the change in the relationship between the school and students to create a caring atmosphere at the school. Using the “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” strategies, school leadership and teachers began building a trusting environment and students and families described seeing changes aimed at improving student outcomes and ensuring the success of every student. The school day was altered to add more options for students to obtain additional credits toward graduation. Students and teachers were grouped into “houses,” so that smaller groups of teachers and counselors(輔導(dǎo)員)could create one-on-one relationships with students. Teachers and counselors said that the altered school day provides time to address student’s individual concerns and develop individualized learning plans to put every student on a path to graduation.
The school also made changes to encourage parents to support school and encourage real dialogues between parents and the teachers and leaders at Western. Funded in part through the United Way, the school created a family engagement center to get parents more involved in their children’s education, particularly parents of English language learners. Parents like Ally Gaona and Martha Mendez told me that they had a voice and the tools to engage in their children’s learning and that they recognize that the main responsibility for their children’s learning must rest with the parents. Parents were passionate about these positive changes and said that these changes signaled to the entire the community that the school was serious about family engagement.
小題1:What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To attract people to the school.

B．To talk about the school reforms.

C．To introduce the school

D．To introduce the relationship between the school and students.

小題2:How many main reforms are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two

B．Three

C． Four

D．Five

小題3: Students and teachers were grouped into “houses in order to ___.

A．provide time to address student’s individual concerns.

B．a(chǎn)dd more options for students to obtain additional credits toward graduation..

C．create one-on-one relationships with students.

D．develop individualized learning plans to put every student on a path to graduation.

小題4:Which statement is the right according to the passage?

A．Parents didn’t support the reforms.

B．The reforms intended to improve student outcomes and ensure the success of every student.

C．The school asked parents to donate their money.

D．the school was not serious about family engagement.

閱讀下面的短文，從短文后各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
Geography is an important tool for learning and understanding history. Geography affects history—just look at  the changes in world geography over recent years. Governments change, and __ _ countries were born.Many countries no longer have the same names they _ __even five years ago. Climate changes _  ___events such as droughts(干旱) and floods that cause lots of loss of life and the movements of people from one place to another in search of_ __. Environmental changes can change the entire __ __of a community or region.
As with history, children have a natural interest in_ __. Watch a group of children playing in the sand. One child makes streets for his cars, _ __ a second child builds houses along the_ __.A third scoops out a hole and_   ___ the dirt to make a hill, then pours water in the _ __ to make a lake, using sticks for _ __. The children name the streets, and __  __ may even use a watering can to make_ __ that washes away a house. They may not realize it, _ ___these children are learning some core features(核心特征)of geography—how people interact with the Earth, how climate _ __land, and how places _ __each other through the movement of things from one place to another. Turning to maps or globes, When we talk with our children about vacation plans, events   ___around the world or historical events, we teach them a great deal about geography. Not only can such activities help our children learn how to use key reference tools,__   _ over time, they help them form their own mental maps of the world, which allows children to better organize and _ ___information about other people, places, times and_ __. Such activities also help our children learn to how to work together in the future.

小題1:	A．new B．some C．many D．old

小題2:	A．did B．do C．a(chǎn)re D．have

小題3:	A．bring about B．come about C．take place D．happen

小題4:	A．relative B．safe C．help D．safety

小題5:	A．people B．history C．nature D．housing

小題6:	A．climate B．building C．environment D．geography.

小題7:	A．while B．but C．a(chǎn)nd D．so

小題8:	A．paths B．streets C．railway D．ways

小題9:	A．makes B．create C．pull D．uses

小題10:

A．house B．street C．hole D．hill

小題11:

A．houses B．bridges C．streets D．road

小題12:

A．we B．he C．they D．workers

小題13:

A．cloudy B．cover C．snow D．rain

小題14:

A．but B．a(chǎn)nd C．yet D．still

小題15:

A．effects B．a(chǎn)ffects C．a(chǎn)ffect D．influence

小題16:

A．relate to B．concerned C．involving D．refer to

小題17:

A．to happen B．happening C．happen D．happened

小題18:

A．but B．a(chǎn)nd C．besides D．so

小題19:

A．write B．read C．understand D．know

小題20:

A．weather B．history C．climate D．events.

Forbes asked a panel of architects and campus designers to nominate their picks for the best-looking campuses in the world. These are their top choices.
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio, US
Mike Evans, a principal at Norfolk, Va., design firm Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, says to be beautiful a campus must have a “signature campus space as a carrier of the campus brand.” At Kenyon College, that space is “Middle Path,” a 10-foot-wide footpath that serves as the Gothic hilltop campus’ central artery. More than just a trail, it’s a village green for the tight-knit campus community. Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, who teaches 17th-century poetry at Kenyon, says the college, both isolated and pastoral, is “a small place to think big thoughts.”
Oxford University
Oxford, England
Teaching within Oxford’s stone walls dates as far back as the 11th century, and the school is considered a paradigm(典范) for all college campuses. With its labyrinth of quads, cloisters, and archways, it evokes elegance and tradition at every turn. “Its monastic roots and the spectacular quality of its buildings make it an architectural wonderland,” says David Mayernik, associate professor at Notre Dame’s School of Architecture.
Princeton University
Princeton, N.J., US
Princeton’s style is pure Collegiate Gothic（學院派哥特式）; most of it executed in gray stone covered in, yes, ivy. As imposing as these old stone structures are, the campus keeps life on a “human scale” by preserving green spaces and walkability.Sinuous footpaths, archways, plazas – all are designed to inspire spontaneous discussion and learning.
Scripps College
Claremont, Calif., US
The total plan of this women’s college, founded in the 1920′s, has always called for artistic connection between buildings and landscape. Together, architect Gordon Kaufmann, in collaboration with landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout, created a distinctively Southern Californian blend of Mission Revival-inspired architecture and landscape, which is lovely, evocative and intact. An expert in deciduous trees, Trout planted rows of liquid amber trees to give the students “a sense of autumn” come fall. He also peppered the campus with tulip trees, sycamores, almond and orange trees, as well as rare shrubs.
Stanford University
Palo Alto, Calif., US
New additions like the Science and Engineering Quad manage to gracefully blend modern and technological elements with the timeless, elegant aesthetics of the campus’ early California Mission Revival architecture. The campus also scores big points for its dramatic entrance via Palm Drive, its romantic Spanish red-tile roofs and myriad patches of green.
Tsinghua University
Beijing, China
Forbe’s panel of architects says natural setting plays a big part in assessing a campus’ beauty. In that regard, this campus is blessed: Founded in 1925, Tsinghua sits on the former site of the Qing Dynasty’s royal gardens. Many of Beijing’s most notable historical sites, like the Summer Palace, are close by. The campus is peppered with artificial ponds where stone benches and floating lotus blossoms inspire reflection.
小題1:In this text, the writer mentioned many best-looking campuses in the world. How many Universities are in America?

A．Six.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

小題2:which school is considered a paradigm for all college campuses.?

A．Oxford University.	B．Stanford University.
C．Scripps College.	D．Princeton University.

小題3:Which University has the style of pure Collegiate Gothic?

A．Tsinghua University	B．Oxford University
C．Princeton University	D．Kenyon College

小題4: In which part of a magazine can we probably read this passage?

A．Entertainment.

B．Education.

C．Culture.

D．Health.

小題5:Why does Tsinghua University enter the list of the best-looking campuses in the world？

A．because the amber trees give the students “a sense of autumn” come fall.

B．because the artistic connects between buildings and landscape.

C．because its natural setting plays a big part.

D．because it is founded in 1925.

There are some things humans can go without. We can lose a kidney (腎)or a lung, an arm or two and still live perfectly well. But some fish put us to shame. They can get by without stomachs.

One such fish is the stout longtom（尖嘴魚 ）. The group it belongs to carries a more appropriate name: the needlefish. All needlefish lack stomachs. Their ancestors had them, but later they were lost.
The stout longtom can reach 1.3 meters in length, and lives near the sea surface. Like all needlefish, it can jump out of the water to escape its enemies. Tropical(熱帶) fishermen are sometimes injured by needlefish. In 1977, a 10-year-old Hawaiian boy was killed when a needlefish jumped through his brain. The longtom eats smaller fish. Its teeth are not good at cutting fish into pieces, so it swallows fish whole.
Ryan Day from Australia and his colleagues wanted to know how the longtom digests its meaty meals without a stomach, so they ran some chemical tests about the fish.
Day’s results show that the longtom can consume food without the help of a stomach. It uses a special material called trypsin（胰島素） that can break down proteins without acid — although the approach is less efficient than using a stomach.
Because it’s a meat-eating animal, the longtom gets a lot of protein in its food, so it can afford this slightly less efficient system for absorbing it. Two plant-eating fish that Day studies actually had higher levels of trypsin in their body, as their food was low in protein.
Day thinks that the longtom and its stomachless relatives might actually have arrived at an energy-saving solution. He says that although the stomach is critical to many kinds of animal, the organ is “a fairly expensive organ to run”. This perhaps explains why some animals have got rid of theirs.
小題1:What does the underlined phrase “get by” mean?

A．Live.

B．Fight.

C．Hunt.

D．Recover.

小題2:Ryan Day ran the chemical tests in order to find out how the longtom ______.

A．catches smaller fish in the water

B．can jump so high to escape its enemies

C．digests the smaller fish in its body

D．uses acid to break down the protein

小題3:What plays a key role in the longtom’s digestion process?

A．Acid

B．Trypsin.

C．The stomach.

D．Protein in its body.

小題4:Ryan Day’s results show that ______.

A．the longtom often waste energy

B．the longtom can make acid easily

C．the longtom’s high-protein food helps its unique way of consuming food.

D．meat-eating fish have higher levels of trypsin in their bodies than plant-eating fish

Where do you find out about the world’s longest walk? The world's tallest man? The world's oldest woman? You know the answer, of course. It is the Guinness Book of World Records. How would people find such unusual facts without this book?
Guinness Book did not exist until 1951. Here is what happened. The managing director of Guinness Brewery was a curious man. He wanted answers to some questions about records. For example, he wanted to know what was the fastest flying game bird in Europe. But he was frustrated. There was no book to answer questions like this.
The director, Sir Hugh Beaver, contacted the McWhirter twins. They were brothers who owned a research agency. He asked them to put together a new reference book. It would include all kinds of unusual records. The brothers quickly accepted. The first edition of their book was published in 1955. Soon the Guinness Book of World Records was a best seller. It has sold more copies than any book except the Bible. A new edition is published every year.
Where do all the book's records come from? They are a combination of things like natural wonders, sports records, and stunts(特技) (How many people would push an egg with their noses if they weren’t trying to get to the book?). But the editors try to keep things honest. All records must be verified by an investigator. Only then are they printed.
The Guinness Book is a big business. It is published in dozens of languages. There are TV shows and museums. It is proof of how interested people are in strange pieces of information.
小題1:The passage is mostly about _____.

A．the McWhirter twins

B．the director Sir Hugh Beaver

C．unusual records in the Guinness Book

D．a(chǎn) history of the Guinness Book

小題2:The Guinness Book _____.

A．is a best seller

B．is published only in English

C．does not always check its records

D．has a full-length movie based on it

小題3:It is clear from the passage that the McWhirter twins _____.

A．wanted to publish the book so that they set up a research agency

B．owned so good a research agency that they liked to help others

C．recognizes that Sir Hugh's idea for a book was a good one

D．wanted to know the answers to some questions about records

小題4:In this passage, the underlined word "verified" means _____.

A．questioned

B．proved the truth

C．written up

D．blocked

You might not know it, but there is something wonderful at your fingertips. You can make people happier, healthier and more hard-working just by touching their arms or holding their hands.
Doctors say that body contact is a kind of medicine that can work wonders. When people are touched, the quantity of hemoglobin (血紅蛋白)－a type of matter that produces the red color in blood increases greatly. This results in more oxygen reaching every part of the body and the whole body benefits. In experiments, bottle-fed baby monkeys were separated from their mothers for the first ten days of life. They became sad and negative. Studies showed the monkeys were more probable to become ill than other babies that were allowed to stay with their mothers.
Human babies react in much the same way. Some years ago, a scientist noticed that some well-fed babies in a clean nursery became weak. Yet babies in another nursery were growing healthily, even though they ate less well and were not kept as clean. The reason, he concluded, was that they often had touches from nurses.         
Experiments show that most people like being touched. And nearly all doctors believe touch helps to reduce patients' fear of treatment. Of course there is time when a touch is not welcome. But even if we don't like being touched, a smile can make us feel better. Smiling increases blood flow and starts the production of "happy brain" chemicals. So let's have a big smile and don't forget to keep in touch.
小題1:Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Everyone knows that body contact can make people happier.

B．People may work harder because of body contact.

C．Your fingertips can do something.

D．People may not understand the importance of touching.

小題2:According to the passage _____.

A．human brains need oxygen and blood supply now and then

B．touches from doctors and nurses have nothing to do with treatment

C．new-born baby monkeys should stay away from their mothers

D．not all the people like being touched

小題3:The word "benefits" in the second paragraph probably means _____.

A．to be useful or helpful

B．to get something useful or helpful

C．to be ill

D．to be hurt

小題4:The best title for the passage might be _____.

A．Why People Touch	B．Smile and Touch
C．Wonders of Touch	D．Touch or Not

Many of our favorite travel destinations are in danger of being changed badly by increased temperatures and rising seas. The following are some of the places that may be in danger and some that are already experiencing the effects of global warming.
The Everglades, Florida: Perhaps no region of the country is as unprotected to climate change as Florida. Even a slight increase in temperature and water level could devastate popular destinations like the Everglades, Miami Beach and the Keys.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef: One of the most impressive natural habitats in the world, the Great Barrier Reef could be killed by increased water temperatures and the resulting coral bleaching (漂白法). Australia is particularly easily damaged by global warming because of its large number of fragile (脆弱的) ecosystems, uncertain water sources and a large group of people gathering on the coast.
Dalian, China: Fast-growing China, shown here during a heat wave last year, is opening about one coal factory every day this year. Along with the U.S., China is one of the world's leading contributors to the greenhouse gases , which can lead to the increase in the Earth's temperature.
Venice, Italy: No stranger to flooding, Venice has invested $4.5 billion in a floodgate system that is due to open in 2012. But the frequent changing ocean levels have made people question the floodgates' ability to hold out the rising waters.
London, England: Designed to protect London from storms and extremely high tides, the Thames Barrier was opened in 1984. Some analysts fear that rising oceans will create conditions beyond the capabilities the barrier was designed to meet.
小題1:The word “devastate” in paragraph 2 means “_____________”.

A．protect

B．destroy

C．swallow

D．enlarge

小題2:What can endanger Great Barrier Reef directly?

A．Fragile ecosystem

B．Uncertain water sources.

C．The large group of people.

D．Increased water temperatures and the coral bleaching

小題3:The underlined sentence means “____________”.

A．flooding is common in Venice

B．everyone is familiar with flooding

C．it is strange for Venice to experience flooding

D．there is no flooding in Venice

小題4:The subject discussed in the text is that ____________.

A．the dangerous destinations

B．the most popular destinations

C．the fascinating destinations

D．the endangered destinations

Wikipedia: The Online Know-It-All
If you want to find out a piece of information about anything, the best place to search for it is Wikipedia. The name “Wikipedia” is from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning “quick”. This online encyclopedia (百科全書) is written by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with Internet access can write, add or make changes to Wikipedia articles if he or she finds it incorrect or not well written. In this way, people who know a lot about a certain subject can write about it even if they are not university professors. But contributions cannot damage Wikipedia because many experienced editors are watching pages and techies (技術(shù)專家) can write editing programs to keep track of or correct bad edits. Where there are disagreements on how to present facts, editors work together to arrive at an article that fairly represents current expert opinion on the subject.
Wikipedia is quite different from paper-based reference sources in important ways. Unlike printed encyclopedias, it is continually created and updated, with articles on historic events appearing within minutes, rather than months or years.
What’s more, Wikipedia includes articles written in about 285 languages. This fact makes it one of the few websites on the Internet that are truly international. It was started in 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales, as a free online English-language encyclopedia project. Since its creation, it has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference websites, attracting nearly 500 million unique visitors monthly. There are more than 77,000 active contributors working on more than 22,000,000 articles in different languages. As of today, there are 4,396,866 articles in English.
So, if you are looking for some information, why not try Wikipedia? It’s free, multilingual，and informative.  
小題1:According to the passage, what is Wikipedia?

A．A free website encyclopedia.	B．A computer game.
C．A free encyclopedia in book form.	D．An online university.

小題2:From the passage we know that ______.

A．Wikipedia only charges users a small fee

B．Wikipedia catches a wide audience

C．incorrect editions might do great harm to Wikipedia

D．it will take long to update the information on Wikipedia

小題3:Where can we probably read the passage?

A．In a story book.	B．In a research report.
C．In a science magazine.	D．In a travel brochure.

Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time; _________________, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way children, learning to do all the other things without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle, compare their own performances（表現(xiàn)）with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes for himself, let alone correct them. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Soon he became dependent on the teacher.
Why should we teachers waste time on such tiring work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let’s end all this nonsense（荒謬的）of grades, exams and marks. Let us throw them all out, and let the children learn what all educated persons must someday learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what they know or do not know.
We should, of course, offer help to them just as they ask for it. The idea that there is a body of knowledge to be learnt at school and used for the rest of one’s life is nonsense in a world as complicated（復(fù)雜的）and rapidly changing as ours. Don’t worry! If something is basic, they will go out into the world and learn it.
小題1:What is the main idea of the passage? (No more than 8 words.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
小題2:Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
Teachers seem to think that a child can’t find out a mistake or correct it without their help.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
小題3:Please fill in the blank in the first paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.
(No more than 10 words.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
小題4:According to the passage, what should a teacher do? (No more than 15 words.)
A teacher should ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
小題5:What is the author’s attitude towards grades, exams and marks at school?
(No more than 5 words.)
The author thinks _____________________________________________________________