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1. This advertisement aims at calling on people to ________.
A. attend full-time universities                      B. work part time to further their education
C. improve their education at home to get better jobs   D. earn their degrees in different ways that suit them
2. Which of the following is NOT clearly mentioned in this advertisement? 
A. The way how you will get your degree.        B. Tuition price. 
C. The hot fields you will be preparing yourself for.  D. The length of time it will take you to get a degree.
3. What does the writer of this ad intend to say by naming General Electric, IBM, Ford, etc.?
A. To show that their training is widely used in the country. 
B. To show that the training program is fully supported by famous companies in the U. S.
C. To prove the value of their training in every area. 　
D. To show the importance of getting recognized by the most famous companies.
4. It seems to the writer that the greatest attraction for people to take their training is______. 
A. its convenience                           B. the degree’s nation-wide recognition
C. the economic benefit(利益) it will bring about  D. the hot fields the training will help people to enter
5. How many ways are mentioned in the ad for people to get in touch with the Harcourt Learning Direct?
A. One. 　　　  　B. Two. 　　  　　C. Three. 　 　　　D. Four.

Probably you have seen photos of the Grand Canyon（峽谷）, the great valley in the desert country of Arizona. But you must go there yourself to feel its true size and beauty. The Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world
The Colorado River formed the Grand Canyon over millions of years. Slowly, the river cut down through hard rock. At the same time, the land was rising. Today the canyon is 1.5 kilometers and 445 kilometers long. The oldest rocks at the bottom of the canyon are more than 1 billion years old. The width varies from about 200 meters to 29 kilometers across. The rim or top of the canyon is about 2,300 meters above sea level on the South Rim, and about 3,000 meters on the other side. As a result, there are different kinds of plants and animals on opposite sides of the canyon. The South Rim is dry desert country. The North Rim has tall forests.
The canyon looks different at different times of day, and in different seasons and weather. At sunrise and sunset the red, gold, brown and orange colors of the rocks are especially clear and bright. In winter, the canyon is partly covered with snow.
The view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the best. Most visitors come here and stay in campgrounds or hotels. Every point along the canyon’s edge offers a different view.
The North rim of the Canyon is quieter. It takes all day to drive there from the South Rim because there is only one bridge across the Colorado River. On the way, you go through Navado Indian lands, and a colorful pink desert called “The Painted Desert”.
11. The best way to feel the true beauty of the Grand Canyon is to________.
A. see its photographs            B. listen to the report about it
C. watch its introduction on TV    D. go there yourself and visit it
12. According to the second paragraph, ________.
the Grand Canyon has a short history      
B. its size never changed in the history
C. the Grand Canyon was formed by the earthquake 
D. You can enjoy different scenery on different sides of the canyon
13. The scene the canyon is ________.
various depending on different time and places
the same    
various depending on different time
various depending on different places
14. If you want to visit the North Rim from the South Rim, you________.
can go there in many directions
won’t spend much time on the way
can visit The painted Desert on the way
needn’t go across any bridges
15. If you want to have a visit to the Grand Canyon, you’d better go to _______.
A. the North Rim                  B. the South Rim
C. the bottom                     D. Navado Indian Lands

In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastestgrowing U. S. minority. As their children began moving up through the nation schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nation’s best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U. S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English. They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively. And the return on the investment in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree.
Most Asian?American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps. Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture that breeds success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education.
Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image. Many can remember when Chinese,Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.
8.While making tremendous achievements at college, Asian?American students           .
A.feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English
B.are afraid that their academic successes bear a strong Asian character
C.still worry about unfair treatment in society
D.generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents
9.What are the major factors that determine the success of Asian Americans?
A.A solid foundation in basic mathematics and Asian culture.
B.Hard work and intelligence.
C.Parents’ help and a limited knowledge of English.
D.Asian culture and the American educational systerm.
10.Few Asian American students major in human sciences mainly because            .
A.their English is not good enough
B.they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgment in these areas
C.there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures
D.they know little about American culture and society
11.Why do “both explanations” (Para. 3) worry Asian Americans?
A.They are afraid that they will again be isloated from American society in general.
B.People will think that Asian students rely on their parents for success.
C.Asian Americans will be a threat to other minorities.
D.American academic achievements have taken on too strong an Asian character.

How the iron of tomorrow (the first Self Clean Iron)can change your lifestyle today?
General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.How? With a push of a magic blue button.
The magic blue button.The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits  that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.
Less chance of brown spotsSure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.Steams much longerCommon sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.What does it mean to youToday you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids. You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better housemaker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.
Lifestlye.We’re with yours. GENERAL ELECTRIC
9.This passage is ______.
A.an introduction to General Electric     B.an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron
C.an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron  D.a description of the change of lifestyle
10.This iron can clean itself by ______.
A.empting itself                       B.washing out mineral deposits 
C.blocking up mineral deposits          D.giving off more steam
11.According to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?
A.It is made by General Electric.            
B.The iron will not produce mineral deposits.
C.There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.
D.Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.
12.Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because ______.
A.you can run your house better         B.you don’t have to run after the kids
C.you can use it while you are working    D.we want you to be a better housemaker

The volcano is one of the most surprising frightening things of nature. Maybe you have seen pic­tures of these " fireworks " of nature. Sometimes when a volcano erupts, a very large wall of melted rock moves down the side of a mountain. It looks like a " river of fire". Sometimes volcanoes ex­plode, throwing the melted rock and ashes high into the air. But where does this melted rock come from?
The earth is made up of many layers (層). The top layer that we see is called the crust. Under the crust are many layers of hard rock. But far, far beneath the crust the rock is so hot that it is soft. In some places it even melts. The melted rock is called magma. Sometimes the magma breaks out to the surface through cracks (裂縫) in the crust. These cracks are volcanoes.
Most people think of mountains when they think of volcanoes. But not every mountain is a volca­no. A volcano is simply the opening in the earth from which the magma escapes. The hot magma, or lava as it is called, cools and builds up on the surface of the earth. Over thousands of years, this pile of cooled lava can grow to be very, very big. For example, the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanja­ro, is a volcano. It rises more than 16,000 feet above the ground around it.
8. The underlined word "erupts" means ______.
A. moves down   B. breaks away    C. builds up       D. suddenly throws out lava
9. Which words in the passage have the same meaning as "melted rock"?
A. volcano and crust                B. crust and hard rock
C. magma and lava                D. volcano and magma
10. Which is the correct order of the layers of the earth (beginning with the top layer)?
A. crust — hard rock — magma — soft rock
B. crust — hard rock — soft rock — magma
C. agma — soft rock — hard rock — crust
D. volcano — cracks — magma — crust
11. The best title of the passage should be______.
A. The Volcano        B. Kilimanjaro Volcano   C. The Mountains   D. The Melted Rock

Thousands of years ago people guessed the time of day by watching the sun.
Later，they found it was easier to tell the exact time by looking at the shadows.Thus， the sundial(日晷) was invented.
The sundial proved a useful timepiece  in sunny weather. However，another typc of  timepiece was necessary  for cloudy weather and nigh time.A sand glass was another  common measurer of time.Two glass bottles were connected by a very  small opening.  The top bottle was filled with sand，which dropped slowly into the botton one in a  certain period of time.Hour glasses were widely used then.Three—minute sand glasses  are still used in many homes to time the boiling of eggs.
The real ancestor of modern clocks was the water clock.In China ,an early  water clock was made up of several bowls. Water trickled(滴) from one bowl to another to keep the clock  going. Visitors to the  Beijing Palace Museum can still see the old  water clocks showing the time there.
In the Middle Ages a wateless clock was invented which  worked by means of  weights. To keep  the  weight  falling  at  the  same  speed，a  system  of wheels  was  invented. The pendulum(鐘擺) was  soon  developed  to control  the  speed of the  wheels. Thus the modern form of clock came into being.
9.Which of the following is the correct picturr of a sand glass?
            A.                       B.                       C.                     D.
10.Three minute sand glasses are still used in many homes         .
A.to boil eggs                           B.to measure the time of boiling eggs
C.to hold the boiled eggs                 D.to have eggs boiled
11.If you visit Beijing Palace Museum, you         .
A.will see the old water clocks broken
B.will find the time shown by the old water clocks is wrong
C.can find the old water clocks still telling the time there
D.will find the old water clocks have gone
12.In the Middle Ages the weight falling speed of a clock was kept by .
A.several bowls                        B.a system of wheels
C.a system of pendulum                  D.several springs

NASA’s Mars detector (探測器), Opportunity, succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet. Opportunity landed on Mars in January. Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life.
This discovery was chosen by Science, one of the world’s leading magazines, as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday.
“This little, wheeled, one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,” according to Science. “It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed.”
“Although we still can’t say that life could have existed in this environment, it is now certain that there was water on Mars,” said Steve Squyres, one of the scientists working on the Mars mission. The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity. It includes marks on rocks like those caused by flowing water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds. Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has been existed on Mars. But it is still unknown whether the water on Mars was like an ocean or just ice.
While Opportunity has not found any signs of life, the presence of water means life is possible. “In everything we know about life on Earth, there is no example without liquid water,” Squyres said. “So water is important for the search for life on Mars.”
Researchers agree that a future mission (任務(wù)) should bring back physical samples (樣品). But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth. “The problem here is how to get the samples back,” Squyres replied. “I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk.”
1. ________ prove that water existed on Mars.
A. The physical samples with salty chemicals      B. The marks on rocks and salty chemicals
C. Scientific achievements of 2004              D. Creatures from Mars
2. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. It is now certain that there was water on Mars.
B. The water on Mars was like an ocean.
C. Evidence of life on Mars has been found.
D. Search for life on Mars is a great risk to humans.
3. How did scientists draw the conclusion that there was water on Mars?
A. The world’s leading magazine has announced the fact.
B. Scientists have taken many pictures and chemical readings on the Mars.
C. Astronauts have got some rocks from Mars.
D. Scientists have made a study of the pictures and readings sent back by Mars detector.
4. It can be inferred that, if the creatures from Mars came to Earth, ________.
A. they would be kind to humans    B. they would be cruel to humans
C. they would be a great danger to Earth
D. it would be hard to say whether it would be a good news or bad news

The United States is trying to improve an edueation system that produces millions of citizens who cannot read, write, or add—let alone finding their country on a map.
In his first State of Union message since taking office a year ago, President George Bush promised to wipe out illiteracy(文盲) in the next decade and declared that“by the year 2008, U.S students must be first in the world in math and science achievements. ” They have a long way to go. American students were placed 14th in a recent general science test conducted in 16 countries. In a separate survey of chemistry students, the United States came 12 out of 14. In a mathematics test, they were last. According to Bush, there are 17 million illiterates in this country of 245 million people. Other estimates put the number as high as 23 million. In percentage terms, that ranks the United States alongside Niearague and below Cuba. “This nation,”Bush said in his State of the Union address, “will not accept anything but excellent in education.” Bush, who has declared himself “Education president”, and senior officals of his administration are warning that the United States will be unable to compete in the world without an educated workforce.
How to increase educational standards is a matter of debate in a country whose schools have no uniform national curriculum and are subject to a confusing variety of state and local controls. Most experts think that the problem lies at the elementary and high school'levels rather than with universities-but even their graduates show huge gaps in general knowledge. Among the root causes most frequently mentioned in education debates is the low respect in which U.S. society holds teachers-in contrast to Japan and Germany. In Japan teaching is a profession of high prestige(威望) and high pay. In the United States teachers are near the bottom of the society.
5.By“the United States came 12 out of 14”(Para. 2), the author means .      
A.the United States ranked 12th not 14th in the chemistry test
B.the United States ranked 12th in the chemistry test conducted by 14 countries
C.the United States progressed from 14th to 12th in the chemistry test
D.the United States ranked 12th in chemistry test and 14th in general science test
6.The cause of low educational level in America include the following EXCEPT that .      
A.some problems exist in primary and secondary education
B.society keeps teachers in low respect
C.America pays more attention to economy instead of education
D.America has no uniform national courses
7.Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
A.President Bush carried out his promise made in his first State of Union message.
B.The education in Japan and Germany is in higher level.
C.According to Bush, the number of illiterates accounts for 9% of the total.
D.Teachers in the United States enjoy good treatment and great respect.
8.Which of the following is the right order of the least-first of the percent of illiterates?
A.Germany, Cuba, Nicaragua.         B.Germany, Nicaragua, Cuba.
C.Nicaragua, Japan, Cuba.            D.Cuba, Japan, Nicaragua.

It is over 40 years since first atomic bomb was dropped on a major city in Japan. Yet even now its effects are showing themselves and may continue to do so for years to come. Much effort and human energy have been used to try to prevent such a terrifying thing from happening again. So far there is no guarantee that it will not. Countries which already possess nuclear knowledge and resources have bombs stored away which are powerful enough to wipe out all life on earth. But this is not all. Other countries, which previously were not so advanced in technology, are gradually buying materials that can be used for making atomic devices. This nuclear energy will naturally be of great value in helping the economy of poorer nations.
The generation of electricity through nuclear power came directly from the original work on the atom bomb. Because of the increase in demand for energy and the possibility of decreasing supplies of oil and natural gas, the interest in electricity has increased. One of the by-products of nuclear power stations is plutonium (鈽) produced from unclear fuel: plutonium is ingredient (成分) in bomb-making. It means that there are far more opportunities for the manufacture of bombs.
This brings the problem to a full circle again. How can something so valuable and useful be controlled so that it works for the benefit and not the destruction of man?
9. The effects of dropping the first atomic bomb ________.
A. are not over                    B. may go on forever    
C. could last much longer            D. will not be over in the near future
10. The writer says that enough atomic bombs have already been manufactured to ________.
A. wipe out Japan                  B. last forever    
C. act as a peace-keeping device      D. destroy all living things
11. The advantage of less developed countries being able to make atomic devices is that it ______.
A. gives them more opportunities for work     B. will help poor countries to become richer
C. will enable them to make better explosives   D. will be of great value to them
12. The second paragraph tells us that the increased demand for electricity today ________.
A. has led to the decrease in supplies of oil
B. means that more countries are interested in nuclear power
C. has increased the risk of accidental explosions
D. has increased the very means of producing more atomic bombs

In a time of low academic (學(xué)術(shù)的) achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答問卷者) listed "to give children a good start academically" as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.
In the recent comparison of Japanese and American pre­school education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. 62 percent of the more individually oriented (強(qiáng)調(diào)個性發(fā)展的) Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An em­phasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.
Like in America, there is diversity (多樣性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential (潛力) development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools.
Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.
5. We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________.
A. Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents
B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements
C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic in­struction
D. Japan’s higher education is better than theirs
6. Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach
importance to ________.
A. problem solvingw。       B. group experience
C. parental guidancew。      D. individually oriented development
7. In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on ________.
A. preparing children academically    B. developing children’s artistic interests
C. tapping children’s potentialw。     D. shaping children’s character
8. Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?
A. They can do better in their future studies.
B. They can gain more group experience there.
C. They can be individually oriented when they grow up.
D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate edu­cation.