Have you ever dreamed of visiting a planet in the Milk Way? While the trip sounds exciting, it would take years and years to reach your destination. So in the future, bedtime for astronauts may be more than a few hours of regular shut-eye. They would have to sleep for years.

European researchers are now conducting hibernation experiments. The study may help them understand whether humans could ever sleep through the years it would take for a space flight to distant planets. "If there was an effective technology, it could make deep-space travel a reality," said Mark Ayre of the European Space Agency last month.

What seems like science fiction is not completely unlikely. Researchers have been able to use chemicals to put living cells into a sleep-like state where they don't age. They have now moved on to small, non-hibernating mammals like rats. The results will be out by the end of 2004.

A major challenge is the fact that cells can be very simple systems, whereas body organs are far more complex.

"It's like moving from a simple Apple computer to a supercomputer," said Marco Biggiogera, a hibernation researcher at Italy's University of Pavia.

Just like bears and frogs, the hibernation of human beings would cause a person's metabolism (新陳代謝) to lower so they would need less energy.

Medical research, however, is just half of a space flight hibernation system.

There is the challenge of designing a suitable protective shelter. Such a shelter would provide the proper environment for hibernation, such as the proper temperature. It would also have to monitor (監(jiān)控) life functions and serve the physiological needs of the hibernator.

According to Ayre, the six-person Human Outer Planets Exploration Mission to Jupiter's moon (木星的衛(wèi)星) Callisto, could be an opportunity to use human hibernation. The mission aims to send six humans on a five-year flight to Callisto, where they will spend 30 days, in 2045.

9. European researchers are conducting hibernation experiments to ________.

A. ensure astronauts to get a complete sleep  B. find the secret of some creatures

C. make preparations for the journey to Jupiter’s moon Callisto

D. know if man can sleep for years

10. The sentence “What seems like science fiction is not completely unlikely” means ________.

A. Science fiction is people’s imagination.

B. Science fiction is imaginative, but it can be realized.

C. Things seem impossible may come true.

D. Things described in science fiction are sure to become true.

11. The passage is implied but doesn’t states that ________.

A. putting living cells into a sleep-like state is full of failure

B. Biggiogera is confident with the experiment

C. human’s hibernation needs no energy

D. medical research is the key to space flight hibernation system

12. By designing a suitable protective shelter, astronauts can ________.

A. have a good hibernation        B. lessen the pressure of traveling in space

C. feed themselves in spaceship    D. moinitor their body changes

13. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Six humans to fly to Callisto  B. Human hibernation improves health

C. Space travel attracts people   D. Deep sleep for deep space travel

Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes in contact with them. Their values—this can’t be repeated too often—are not necessarily our values. Physical comfort, cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important things. The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a flat with decaying food covered by small worms, and an old person lying alone in bed, taking no notice of the worms. But is it interfering(干涉) with personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their relatives so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers, the ones who clear up the worms, think we are in danger of carrying this concept of personal freedom to the point where serious risks are being taken with the health and safety of the old.

Indeed, the old can be easily hurt or harmed. The body is like a car, it needs more mechanical maintenance(機(jī)械維修，保養(yǎng)) as it gets older. You can carry this comparison right through to the provision of spare parts. But never forget that such operations are painful experiences, however good the results will be. And at what point should you stop to treat the old body? Is it morally right to try to push off death by seeking the development of drugs to excite the forgetful old mind and to activate the old body, knowing that it is designed to die? You can’t ask doctors or scientists to decide, because so long as they can see the technical opportunities, they will feel bound to give them a try, on the principle that while there’s life, there’s hope. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

When you talk to the old people, however, you are forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or on health than it does on your ability to have fun.

1. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A. The values are different between the old and the young.  B. The moral problems raised by old people.

C. The personal freedom for the old.                    D. Old people’s viewpoint on life.

2. We can know from the first paragraph that________.

A. Very old people would like to live alone to have more personal freedom.

B. Very old people are able to keep their room clean.

C. Very old people like to live with their children.

D. Social services have nothing to do with very old people.

3. According to the author, which of the following is right?

A. The older a person, the more care he needs.  B. Too much emphasis has been put on old people’s values.

C. The human body can’t be compared to a car.  D. It is easy to provide spare parts for old people.

4.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to “________”.

A. their money or their health          B. the conclusion you come to

C. your talk to the old people          D. whether age is happy or unpleasant

The mother often tells her son to be a good boy, warning him to______ trouble.

A. hold back from         B. keep out of      C. break away from      D. get rid of

Robert is said______ abroad, but I do not know what country he studied in.

   A. to have studied   B. to study   C. to be studying    D. to have been studying

Hiring a self?drive car really adds to the enjoyment of your holiday. There are so many places of interest to visit, and if you enjoy seeing more than just the city center there’s no better way to explore than by car.

Condition of Hire

The shortest rental period at these specially low prices is three days. For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative at the hotel.

Car hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee a car. But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance, please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.

The car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range, but a particular car cannot be guaranteed.

Upon delivery the driver(s) will be asked to sign the car hire company’s Conditions of Hire.

If you decide to hire a car, just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us. A booking fee of ￡12 as part of the car hire cost is required.

Should you be forced to cancel your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before date of hire), a cancellation charge of ￡12 will be made.

5.From the advertisement we can see a car hirer will pay           .

A.insurance against damage to the car          

B.insurance against injury to the driver

C.the cost of maintenance of the car         

D.the cost of repairs to the car

6.Which of the following is NOT true judging from the advertisement?

A.Such an advertisement most likely appears in a newspaper.

B.You are required to fill in a form before you hire a car.

C.You are pretty certain to hire a particular car if you’d like to.

D.You have to pay a booking fee when you hire a car from the company.

7.If car hirers change their minds after paying the whole cost of hiring, the ￡12 booking fee is .          

A.partly returned  

B.doubly paid 

C.not returned at all  

D.returned within two weeks.

He was once referred to as the Picasso of poetry. Beloved by Chileans of all classes, he is one of the most widely read and respected poets in history. And this year is the 100th birthday of Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).

Born with the name Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto, he was a tall, shy and lonely boy. He loved to read and started to write poetry when he was ten. The American poet Walt Whitman, whose framed picture Neruda later kept on his table, became a major influence on his work.

However, his father did not like the idea of having a poet for a son and tried to discourage him from writing. To cover up the publication of his first poem, he took the pen name Pablo Neruda.

In 1924 Neruda gained fame with his most widely read work “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair’’. Yet his rich experience as a diplomat and exile made him go beyond the theme of love. His work also reflected the political struggle of the left and development of South America. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Neruda loved the sea which he saw as creative, destructive and forever moving. He found inspiration in the power and freedom of the waves and the seabirds on the coast. “I need the sea because it teaches me,” he wrote. “I move in the university of the waves.” He loved how the sea forever renewed itself, a renewal echoed in his work.

5. The underlined word “Picasso” can probably be replaced by “________”.

A. most important person          B. famous person from Picasso

C. freedom fighter in Picasso     D. poem fan

6. Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto took the pen name Pablo Neruda because ________.

A. literary greats usually used the pen name

B. his father encouraged him to use the name

C. he wanted to prevent his father knowing the publication

D. he was greatly influenced by other poets

7. Which of the following is not the theme of his works?

A. Love.    B. Political struggle.  C. Social reform.   D. Development of South America.

8. The last paragraph mainly tells us ________.

A. the sea gave Neruda vast writing inspiration  B. the beautiful scenery along the Chile coast

C. Neruda’s poems were widely read overseas  D. Neruda loved to write his poems near the sea

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’s so surprising to hear from my school teacher again. ______, we last met more than twenty years ago.

       A. That’s to say      B. What’s more      C. Believe it or not D. In other words

I used to drink a lot of tea but these days I ＿＿＿coffee.

A.prefer     B.preferred  C.have preferred     D.am preferring

——It is said that another new car factory＿＿＿＿＿now.

—— Yeah.It ＿＿＿＿＿one and a half years.

A.is building； takes     B.is being built； will take

C.is built； will take     D.is being built； takes