The Metropolitan Museum of Art unwillingly handed over 363 pieces of gold, silver, precious stones, paintings, and sculptures back to Turkey after a court case. Following increasing demands for the return of artistic objects that were removed decades or centuries ago, some of the world’s leading museums have signed a declaration that they will not hand back the ancient artifacts (器物) to their countries of origin. They say people all over the world have only been able to fully appreciate ancient civilizations because these museums have provided access to these artistic objects. The ancient civilizations would not be so deeply admired today if these ancient artifacts were not so widely available to an international public in major museums throughout Europe and America. For example, Egyptian culture would not have become so well-known if the museums had not put Egyptian mummies on show.

The Britain Museum has not signed the declaration, but say it fully supports it. Over the recent years, it has faced growing pressure to hand back the Elgin Marbles, sculptures taken from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, in the 19^th century. But the British Museum has said that the Museum is the best possible place for them. “ They must remain here if the museum is to continue to achieve its aim, which is to show the world to the world, ” said the director of the museum.

1. What reason do some museums provide for NOT handing back the ancient objects?

   A. Only in these museums can the objects be fully appreciated by the world.

   B. It is better for those objects to remain at a certain place to be moved around.

   C. They need those well-known ancient objects to attract people from all over the world.

   D. Ancient civilizations can only be admired when they are removed from their home countries.

2. Which of the following is Not mentioned as one of the “ countries of origin” in the article?

   A. Turkey.                     B. Britain.             C. Egypt.             D. Greece.

3. What does the underlined phrase “the world” mean in “show the world to the world”?

   A. The global village.              B. The leading museums.

   C. The ancient civilizations.         D. The international public.

4. The British Museum is ________ to hand back the ancient artifacts to their countries of origin.

   A. ready                   B. desperate        C. unwilling         D. supportive

Even though she’s just 5 years old, Cindy Smart speaks five languages. She’s a good reader. She can tell time and do simple math, including multiplication and division. Cindy looks like an average doll, with long, blond hair, baby-blue eyes, and a button nose.

But loaded with some devices, Cindy is the first doll that can see, think, and do as she’s told. The eagle-eyed Cindy follows in the path of other breakthrough toys like Sony’s barking Robot Aibo, which was the first to popularize voice command in the late 1990s. Cindy takes Aibo’s innovations(創(chuàng)新) one step beyond: she not only follows instructions but also recognizes shapes, colors and words, and remembers. The effect is a doll that appears to be learning.

The toy company which produced Cindy Smart spent a decade trying to see how much human nature it could breath into an inanimate(無(wú)生命的) object. Its engineers began creating minibots that sense light, sounds, and pressure. However, without the sense of sight, their toys seemed to be lacking in one of the abilities that life-forms use to react to their environment.

So how do the engineers make a doll actually see? In Cindy’s case, it’s a multistep process. When presented a text like “I love you” and asked “Can you read this?” Cindy identifies it as one of 70 preprogrammed commands. Then the inbuilt digital camera scans a 15-degree radius in search of number- or letter-shaped objects. Buried in her stomach, Cindy’s 16-bit microprocessor compares the text with her database of 700 words. If it’s a match, “ I love you,” she says.

1. This passage most likely appears in a _______________.

A. medical report                       B. classified ad

C. science journal                      D. music magazine

2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true about Robot Aibo?

A. It could recognize shapes and colors.

B. It could respond to spoken commands

C. It came onto the market no later than 1990

D. It was created much later than Cindy Smart

3. The underlined “ it ” in the third paragraph most likely refers to _____________.

A. the process          B. the object          C. the doll         D. the company

4. According to the passage, how can Cindy “see ”?

A. She recognizes any text as “I love you”

B. She is equipped with a camera to search for text

C. She is instructed by an engineer standing next to her

D. She makes contact with the shapes of the text with her stomach

If it takes Kate twenty seconds to add 12 and 26, while Terry can do the sum in a quarter the time on his pocket calculator, how much better grades will Terry get than Kate in the maths exam?

Pocket calculators are as cheap to buy as a pair of shoes, and as essential to thousands of school children as a pencil and eraser. Schools have tried to limit their use, by allowing them in science lessons, to save time but by not allowing them to be used in maths classes. When children do their homework, a pocket calculator is a must. Nowadays in Britain, calculators can be used freely in school examinations, and already in many schools the only sound to be heard during a mathematics examination is the sound of children tapping out their answers.

Many parents feel that their children are not being given a basic understanding of the facts of maths. “The process of addition, division, subtraction and multiplication is part of a training in logic which is important for every child. It teaches them to take series of steps necessary in coming to a conclusion,” says a local maths teacher. “ With a calculator, the child can reach the right answer, but have no idea at all how he got there.” Another teacher in the same school disagreed. “Of course the children understand the principles(基本原理) behind what they do on the calculator. It makes no difference to the mental processes they go through, except to make them much faster, and less boring.” “It’s far easier to teach them to completely understand the idea of division and multiplication by making them understand which button they need to push than to talk about apples being cut in pieces,” said another teacher, who uses calculators to keep the interest of his class.

In any case, the pocket calculator is here to stay; it’s taking the stress out of mental labor in all sorts of ways.

1. From the passage we learn that ______________.

A. in Britain students are encouraged by schools to use pocket calculators

B. parents use the calculators to keep the interest of their children

C. people have different opinions on whether pocket calculators should be used in maths classes

D. all the teachers agree that pocket calculators should be used in classes but not in school examinations

2. As a local maths teacher says, children can reach the right answer with a calculator, but they ______________.

A. really don’t know how they can get better grades

B. have no idea how to use the calculator properly

C. can’t understand whether the answer is right

D. don’t know how they get it

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Calculators used to be as cheap as a pair of shoes

B. Some schools don’t allow the students to use pocket calculators in maths class

C. How to add, divide, subtract and multiply is a question of maths

D. It’s easy to calculate with a calculator

4. The author stands for the opinion that ______________.

A. Students should be allowed to use pocket calculators freely

B. since the pocket calculator has been created, it should be made use of

C. pocket calculators shouldn’t be used by students in maths classes

D. Terry should get grades four times better than Kate

Directions: Read the following passage which is followed by several questions. Give an answer to each question as required.

Many artists late in the last century were in search of a means to express their individuality(個(gè)性). Modern dance was one of the ways some of these people sought to free their creative spirit. At the beginning there was no exact technique or no foundation from which to build. In later years, trial, error and genius founded the techniques and the principles of the movement. Eventually, innovators even learned from ballet, but first they had to abandon all that was academic so that the new could be discovered. The beginnings of modern dance were happening before Isadora Duncan, but she was the first person to bring the new dance to general audiences and saw it accepted.

Her search for a natural movement form sent her to nature. She believed movement should be as natural as the swaying(搖擺) of the tree and the rolling waves of the sea and should be in harmony with the movements of the Earth. Her great contributions are in three areas.

First, she began the expansion of the kinds of movements that could be used in dance. Before Duncan danced, ballet was the only type of dance performed in concert. In the ballet the feet and legs were emphasized, with virtuosity(精湛技巧) shown by complicated positions and movements. Duncan performed dance by using all her body in the freest possible way. Her dance came from her heart and soul. She was one of the pioneers who broke tradition so others might be able to develop the art.

Her second contribution lies in dance costumes. She gave up corsets(緊身衣), ballet shoes and still costumes. These were replaced with long loose dresses, bare feet, and unbound hair. She believed in the natural body being allowed to move freely, and her dress displayed this idea.

Her third contribution ____________. In her performance she used the symphonies of great masters, including Beethoven and Wagner, which was not the usual custom.

She was as exciting and eccentric(古怪的) in her personal life as in her dance.

1.What would be the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 8 words)

__________________________________________________________________________

2.Please fill in the blank in the fifth paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please answer within 8 words)

__________________________________________________________________________

3.According to the passage, what does the following paragraph most probably discuss? (Please answer within 8 words)

__________________________________________________________________________

4.Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.

__________________________________________________________________________

1. To build a road in the mountainous area was really _____________________ (具有挑戰(zhàn)性的)

2. The president presented the prizes _______________ (親自), which encouraged the staff.

3. If you want to sell your product in large quantities, you’d better get it _____________(登廣告)

4. It was _______________ (慷慨) of you to share your food with me.

5. He is considered to be _____________ (貪婪的) for power than anyone else in the party.

6 .He continued speaking, r_____________ of my feelings on the matter.

7. The government is taking m_____________ to protect the environment in this area.

8. Driving with c____________ can prevent traffic accidents.

9. Some high school graduates want to go abroad to r___________ college education.

10. Even financial experts felt p______________ when the value of the dollar suddenly fell.

-- Bill, if it doesn't rain, we can go straight on and spend more time in Vienna.

--        I just want to hear Mozart.

A．Well done !                          B．No problem.

C．That' s great !               D．That' s it.

I’ll be going to work on foot while my bicycle_____.

A．is being repaired               B．is repaired

C．will repaired                    D．has been repaired

He’s going to compete______ his old rival in the second round.

A．for          B．with          C in       D．to

I will never forget the day _____ I first met him.

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

Two-thirds of the members _____ Class 2.

A．belong to         B． belong          C．a(chǎn)re belonged to       D．a(chǎn)re belonging to