How many things can you see in the night sky? A lot! On a clear night you might see the Moon, some planets, and thousands of sparkling stars.

You can see even more with a telescope. And with bigger and bigger telescopes you can see more and more objects in the sky. And you can see those objects in more and more detail.

But scientists believe there are some things in the sky that we will never see. We won't see them with the biggest telescope in the world, on the clearest night of the year.

That's because they're invisible. They're the mysterious dead stars called black holes.

You might find it hard to imagine that stars die. After all, our Sun is a star. Year after year we see it up in the sky, burning brightly, giving us heat and light. The Sun certainly doesn't seem to be getting old or weak. But stars do burn out and die after billions of years.

As a star's gases burn, they give off light and heat. But when the gas runs out, the star stops burning and begins to die.

As the star cools, the outer layers of the star pull in toward the center. The star squashes into a smaller and smaller ball. If the star was very small, the star ends up as a cold, dark ball called a black dwarf. If the star was very big, it keeps squashing inward until it's packed together tighter than anything in the universe.

Imagine if the Earth were crushed until it was the size of a tiny marble. That's how tightly this dead star, a black hole, is packed. What pulls the star in toward its center with such power? It's the same force that pulls you down when you jump--the force called gravity. A black hole is so tightly packed that its gravity sucks in everything--even light. The light from a black hole can never come back to your eyes. That's why you see nothing but blackness.

So next time you stare up at the night sky, remember: there's more in the Sky than we can see! Scattered in the silent darkness are black holes--the great mystery of space.

68. According to the article, what causes a star to die?

A. As its gases run out, it cools down.                B. It has a collision with other stars.

C. It can only live for about a million years.         D. As it gets hotter and hotter, it explodes.

69. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Black holes are dead stars.         B. Black holes have gravity.

C. Black holes are invisible.           D. There is nothing as mysterious as a black hole.

70. What happens AFTER a star dies?

A. It becomes invisible.                              B. It fails to Earth.

C. It burns up all of its gases.                     D. It becomes brighter and easier to see.

71. Why can't you see light when you look at a black hole?

A. Because most black holes are so far away.

B. Because the gravity of a black hole is so strong that it sucks the light inward.

C. Because as the star's gases burn, it stops giving off heat and light.

D. Because as a star cools, its outer layers pull in toward its center.

New research says 35 percent of the deaths of children worldwide are caused by hunger. The research is from poor to middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Robert Black from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland was the leading writer of the research. He says more than 3.5 million mothers and children under five die in poor countries each year because of hunger.

He says more than two million children die from underdevelopment, either before or after birth. Millions of others who survive face a lifetime of disabilities or early death. And the effects are not just physical. Poor brain development can limit economic success as children become adults. Then the cycle of poverty and hunger often repeats for their children.

Doctor Black says hungry children are also more likely to have conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease as adults. He says the studies show that food programs need to place the greatest importance on the first two years of life. Hungry children can suffer the whole life damage from age two.

So it is high time to improve their diets. Diets should include foods rich in vitamin A and other useful things. The researchers say early help like these could reduce child deaths by 25%.

The research has faced some criticism（批評(píng)）. A medical aid group says the researchers underestimate（低估）the number of child deaths from hunger. The researchers say there are findings that support this treatment but more studies are needed to compare it to hospital care.

64．What is the main idea of the third paragraph?

A. Poverty and hunger have influenced all children's lives in the world.

B. Hunger has some bad effects on children's physical and mental development.

C. Ever year over two million children die of hunger after birth.

D. Poverty and hunger can limit people's success.

65．What can we learn from this passage?

A. If a child is hungry at childhood, he will be disabled in the future.

B. Criticism is the best medicine for hunger.

C. The results from the research is not satisfactory.

D. Generally speaking, hungry children have less chance of catching heart disease when they grow up.

66．Which period is the most important for children's physical development?

A. Before birth.                             B. Between birth and the age of two.

C. From age two to five.                D. Under the age of five.

67．Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A. Hunger―children's biggest enemy.                      B. How to prevent hunger.

C. A latest survey about hunger all over the world.    D. Time to improve our living conditions.

In tough economic times, school counselors （顧問） don’t just wait for students to come to their offices in search of college brochures, health pamphlets or other help. These days, they are looking for at-risk kids to prevent personal or academic troubles before they arise. Nowadays, students and families need the guidance more than ever.

Counselors play a steadying role in schools as the economy weighs on families, college admission becomes even more competitive, immigration continues to reshape the population and state-testing pressures many students. They use computers to search through attendance data, grades and standardized test scores for kids who might need extra help.

Schlatter, director of guidance and counseling at Prince William County’s Woodbridge Senior High School, has checked attendance records against grades and test results to start peer groups （同年齡群體） for students who are failing classes but not skipping them. She said group counseling is another way to reach more students though it can be difficult. “Kids really do start helping and sharing with each other.”

At Fairfax High School, counselors found through surveys that students who transferred （轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)） to the school after ninth grade enjoyed school significantly less than those who had been there all four years. The counseling staff set up a special program and group for new arrivals in response, said Marcy Miller, the school’s director of student services. Counseling staff members also have started small study groups for students to prepare for state Standards of Learning exams, which Miller said have helped raise test scores. She said that some of the newest counselors have had some of the freshest ideas.

60. We can learn from the passage that __________.

A. counselors don’t wait for kids to come to ask for help now

B. counselors are trying to help people with economic problems

C. counselors have made college admission less competitive

D. counselors are trying to reach more kids in need of help

61. The author uses the example of Fairfax High School to show that ________.

A. counseling work is obviously effective       B. many students transfer there for help

C. new arrivals will no longer skip classes       D. counseling means little to new arrivals

62. What would the author most probably discuss in the following part?

A. What assistance they can offer.

B. The significance of their counseling job.

C. Other approaches to counseling at-risk kids.

D. The barriers of counseling the students with troubles.

63. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A. Guiding Hands Find New Ways                     B. Small Study Groups Raise Test Scores

C. Transferred Students Need More Help            D. Tough Times See More At-risk Kids

Justin's bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room.

"What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?" his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy."

When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack--a smaller version of his bedroom--a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore.

Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny, came looking for Justin.

"Do you think you have something in your bag that could help me remember my locker combination?" he asked. "I lost the piece of paper it was written on. I have a science class in two minutes and if I'm late on the first day it'll make me look bad for the rest of the year." Kenny looked really worried.

"Relax," Justin said, taking his backpack off and unzipping the top. "Remember how you borrowed my notebook in homeroom to write the combination down? Well, I know how we can recover what you wrote."

He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his bag. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint marks on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the marks. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white, set off by the gray pencil rubbings.

"That's amazing!' Kenny said. "I owe you one." And he dashed off to open his locker.

It was just another day in the life of the boy whose motto was "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy."

56. Why is Justin's room such a mess?

A. He always forgets to clean it.           B. He never throws anything away.

C. He has no time to clean it.               D. He shares the room with his brother.

57. In what way is Justin's backpack a smaller version of his bedroom?

A. He uses it as a place to store objects.

B. He uses it to carry his books and sports equipment.

C. His parents tell him to clean it all the time.

D. He's had it for as long as he can remember.

58. The underlined phrase "pleaded with" means

A. Ignored          B. Asked                    C. Pushed              D. Ordered

59. How does Kenny feel toward Justin?

A. Annoyed.       B. Disinterested.          C. Grateful.            D. Angry.

In the doorway of my home, I looked closely at my 23-year-old son, Daniel. In a few hours he would be flying to France to   36   a different life. It was a transitional（過渡的） time in Daniel's life. I wanted to   37   him some words of significance. But nothing came from my lips, and this was not the   38   time I had let such moments pass.

When Daniel was five, I took him to the bus stop on his first day of kindergarten. He asked, “What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it?” Then he walked     39     the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. The bus drove away and I said nothing. A decade later, a similar   40   played itself out. I drove him to college. As I started to leave, I tried to think of something to say to give him  41    and confidence as he started this new stage of life. Again, words   42   me.

Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those    43   opportunities. How many times have I let such moments   44   ? I don't find a quiet moment to tell him what they have   45   to me. Or what he might   46   to face in the years ahead. Maybe I thought it was not necessary to say anything.

What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him?   47   as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it did matter. My father and I loved each other. Yet, I always   48   never hearing him put his    49   into words. Now I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten. Why is it so   50  to tell a son something from the heart?

My mouth turned dry, and I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly. “Daniel,” I said, “If I could have picked, I would have picked you.” That's all I could say. He hugged me. For a moment, the world   51   , and there were just Daniel and me. He was saying something, but tears misted my eyes, and I couldn't understand what he was saying. All I was   52   of was the stubble（短須） on his chin as his face pressed    53    mine. What I had said to Daniel was   54   . It was nothing. And yet, it was    55     .

_______ she had time to realize what was happening, she was hit on the head.

A. Since                B. Before              C. When              D. Until

Because of the financial crisis, quite a few companies are ________ now.

A. in the black           B. in the red            C. as white as a sheet           D. as dark as night

Over 200 people died ______ the air crash.

A. with regard to     B. as a consequence of   C. in the course of     D. on the ground of

Nowadays, when people talk about magicians, the first one ________ comes into their mind is Liu Qian.

A. whom        B. which               C. that                D. what

--- ______ is it that makes you so happy?

--- The fact that our volleyball team has got into the final.

A. Which          B. Why                C. Who               D. What