【題目】It was not until near the end of the letter __________ she mentioned her own plan.

A. that B. where

C. why D. when

【題目】From our smartphones to our latest weaponry, the technology that underpins（支撐） modern life would be impossible without rare earth metals． The importance of rare earths has only grown as emerging markets increase their demand for technologies made with it, as does the renewable energy industry．

The 17 metallic elements are common in the earth-s crust, but the technique used to extract and refine them is labor-intensive, environmentally hazardous and increasingly costly． Thomas Gradael, a professor of geology and geophysics at the Yale School of Forestry Environmental Studies, explains that the鈺criticality" of rare earths was only recently understood after China, which dominates the world-s supply of the minerals, cut exports by 40% in 2010, citing concerns over how polluting the rare earth industry was．

Along with colleagues at Yale, Gradael decided to investigate the metals used in modern technologies to determine if there were viable（可行的） substitutes．“Twenty or thirty years ago electronics were being made with 11 different elements," explains Gradael． “Today's computers and smartphones use something like 63 different elements．" Their findings showed that there were no "readily apparent" substitutes for a metal that would not compromise on quality or performance．

However increased mining for these scarce resources can have some nasty side effects for the environment． China, which has intensively mined for rare earths with little regulation, allowing it to dominate the global industry since 1990, has acknowledged the incredible environmental harm caused by the process． “Excessive rare earth mining has resulted in landslides, clogged rivers, environmental pollution emergencie and even major accidents and disasters, causing great damage to people's safety and health and the ecological environment," read a white paper issued by the Chinese cabinet in June last year．

Recycling metal has been advocated by some as a possible way of managing these precious resources-the European Parliament adopted a law curbing dumping of electric waste in 2012． But Gradael says that for rare earths, recycling will have little impact．

【1】Rare earths are growingly important in that

A． they exist in small numbers

B． they are essential in modern technologies

C． life would be impossible without them

D． new technology markets are emerging

【2】Which one of the following can be used in the blank?

A． It is in China that rare earths are fully understood．

B． Despite the name, rare earth metals are not in fact rare．

C． There is a growing concern over the rare earth industry．

D． Rare earth metals are difficult to collect though important．

【3】Gradael investigated the use of rare earths in modern technologies to ．

A． prove the important role rare earths play

B． learn the number of different elements used

C． determine whether there are substitutes for rare earths

D． research further the quality or performance of rare earths

【4】 Why does the author take China as an example in Para．4?

A． To tell the wide use of rare earth in China．

B． To prove the side effects of rare earth mining．

C． To warn people of the possible damage．

D． To teach other countries a lesson to follow．

【5】The text may probably be followed by the paragraphs about

A． the reasons why recycling works little

B． the ways to manage rare earths

C． the effects brought about by rare earths

D． the attitudes people hold to the law

【題目】When delivering the speech, you can __________ your note if necessary.

A. refer to B. come across

C. look after D. watch out

【題目】Six seconds after its launch in Virginia, US, an unmanned rocket bound for the International Space Station （ISS） exploded, disappointing people both on Earth and in space．

Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cargo was destroyed in the Oct． 28 explosion due to An“equipment failure”, said Orbital Sciences, the company hired by NASA for the resupply mission．

The rocket was carrying a cargo ship loaded with 2,200 kilograms of supplies such as food, tools, parts, and experiments． Roughly a third of the cargo was a series of scientific investigations． Some of them were from high school students in the US． For example, 10 students from the Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston were conducting experiments about microgravity and put their samples on the rocket． “I know that failure is a part of science, but I really feel sorry for my students," science teacher Greg Adragna told the Houston, Chronicle ．

Astronauts at the ISS felt a more urgent disappointment, however． The cargo included 617kg of food． Now they will have to rely on supplies from a Russian launch on Oct． 29．

Launched in 1998 and involving the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the member countries of the European Space Agency, the ISS is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in history． Currently, there are six astronauts at the station, five male and one female． Three are from Russia, two are from the US, and one is from Germany． They have lived together for about six months． The station gets regular resupplies fom Earth, using unmanned spacecrafts． Food is always a big part of the supplies． Most of the food is frozen and ready to eat, and often tastes bad-somewhat like trying to eat when you have a heavy cold．

To make space life better, however, scientists have made breakthroughs． Earlier this year, Russian astronauts managed to grow a variety of crops aboard the station． Next year they are going to try to grow rice and other plants． And, as transporting water to space is expensive, astronauts are looking for ways to recycle water． "Astronauts on board the ISS already drink water distilled from sweat and urine<尿） ," Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported．

Is that the reason the astronauts were so disappointed not to get the water from the failed resupply mission, by any chance?

【1】 What is the author-s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To explain what caused the explosion of NASA-s unmanned rocket．

B．To inform us of the explosion of NASA-s unmanned rocket and its effects．

C．To tell us about astronauts lives at the International Space Station．

D．To tell us how the world reacted to the explosion of NASA-s unmanned rocket．

【2】 The underlined word “cargo” in the second paragraph is closet in meaning to

A． goods B． equipment

C． food supply D． investigation

【3】How did teacher Greg Adragna feel about the explosion of the rocket?

A． Angry． B． Anxious．

C． Frustrated． D． Unconcerned．

【4】We can conclude from the article that the situation seemed for astronauts on board the ISS when the rocket exploded．

A． hopeless B． interesting

C． depressing D． dangerous

【5】Which of the following statements is TRUE about the ISS, according to the article?

A． Half of the astronauts at the ISS are from the US．

B． The ISS was set up by four countries．

C． The water that astronauts at the ISS drink is mainly made by recycling．

D． Most of the food astronauts eat at the ISS is frozen and tastes bad．

【題目】—What do you think makes him so sad?

— __________ the exam.

A. He failed B. He failing

C. His failing D. To have failed

【題目】Vitamin C helps our bodies make a special chemical, which __________ affects our brains, making us feel happy.

A. in all B. in turn

C. in advance D. in short

【題目】My husband and I only have one car． So after work I always walk to his office and wait for him to drive mc home．

One day, while I was waiting for him, a beautiful Cadillac near me．Honestly, the driver was probably the prettiest woman I had ever seen outside of a movie screen． Her eyes were as blue as the sea, and she had like an even row of pearls． Minutes later, a man came out of the building and walked over to her． They kissed and drove off．

Sitting there, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, I wanted to cry． It is so that some people have it all．

The next week I saw her again, and after that it became almost to see her． I would wonder if she and her husband ate out a lot and where they went． I wanted her to the car so I could see her in full length． Did she wear classy, high-heeled shoes?

A few weeks, I was waiting in my usual spot and the lady's husband came over to their car．He opened the door． Slowly the pretty woman walked around to the passenger side— on a walking cane． She one leg with her hands and then the other one; she had a prosthetic（假肢） on her left leg and a brace （文架） on her right one．

When my husband arrived I told him about what had happened． He said he knew her husband and that, when the lady was 12 years old, she had been in a car that got stuck on the railroad tracks． Both her parents were killed．The rail company made a large with her because the crossing had no ; that is why she owned such a nice car．

For weeks I had this woman and her way of life． Now I realize how lucky I am．When you meet a person who seems to be much better off than you don't be appearances．

【1】A． rang up B． sped up C． went up D． pulled up

【2】A． cars B． hairs C. teeth D． fingers

【3】A． unfair B． lonely C． surprising D． touching

【4】A． strange B． boring C． stressful D． routine

【5】A． stay away from B． get out of C． look out of D． pick up

【6】A． putting B． turning C． leaning D． carrying

【7】A． skipped B． patted C． pressed D． lifted

【8】A． limited B． left C． knocked D． trapped

【9】A． arrangement B． fortune C． settlement D． contract

【10】A． signals B． stations C． pedestrians D． announcement

【11】A． ignored B． envied C． respected D． understood

【12】A． prevented B． limited C． blocked D． fooled

【題目】People tend to love agricultural products without the use of fertilizers, pesticides or chemical additives．

A． growing B． grown

C． being grown D． having been grown

【題目】In some languages, 100 words make up half of all words __________ in daily conversations.

A. using B. to use

C. having used D. used

【題目】—Kevin, you look worried. Anything wrong?

—Well, I __________ a test and I'm waiting for the result.

A. will take B. took

C. had taken D. take