The space shuttle Discovery has had a long and busy career. For 27 years, it has worked for NASA, carrying astronauts to space and back on 39 missions. On March 9, 2011, after returning from its final voyage, the world’s most traveled spaceship was retired.
A crowd of shuttle workers, reporters and schoolchildren waited to greet Discovery at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Three minutes before noon, they watched as the shuttle appeared in the sky and made one last touchdown. “For the final time: wheels stop,” Discovery’s commander Steven Lindsey said when the shuttle rolled to a stop.
Discovery’s final trip was to the International Space Station (ISS), a giant space lab in the sky. Discovery’s crew took care of the last U.S. construction project at ISS. They delivered 10 tons of supplies for the ISS. The six-person crew also dropped off an unusual companion for ISS’s researchers: a human-like robot named Robonaut 2. Astronauts will assemble（組裝）R2 at the ISS over several months.
Now, NASA is winding down its shuttle programme. NASA is to begin work on new spaceships that can travel longer distances. Discovery’s retirement is the first of three. Endeavor, another shuttle, is scheduled to make its final voyage soon. And Atlantis’s last trip is planned for the end of June.
Museums across the country have requested the retired shuttles. The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, in Washington, D.C., was the lucky recipient（接收者）of Discovery. The museum’s collection contains hundreds of NASA artifacts.
Where will the other shuttles go? You’ll have to wait to find out. NASA will announce its decision on April 12, the 30^th anniversary of the first space shuttle launching. Stay tuned!

1. 1.

   As part of the final mission, Discovery’s crew___________.

   1. A.
      carried researches to space
   2. B.
      assembled the Robonaut 2 at the ISS
   3. C.
      brought supplies to the ISS
   4. D.
      went on a spacewalk
2. 2.

   The underlined phrase “winding down” in Paragraph 4 probably means _________.

   1. A.
      improving
   2. B.
      ending
   3. C.
      changing
   4. D.
      testing
3. 3.

   What can we infer from the text?

   1. A.
      Discovery completed 39 missions during its two decades of space travel.
   2. B.
      The ISS is a big project and six researchers live on the station.
   3. C.
      American space exploration will focus on longer missions.
   4. D.
      The shuttles Endeavor and Atlantis will make their last missions next month.
4. 4.

   According to the text, we can learn about ___________.

   1. A.
      people’s opinions of Discovery’s retirement
   2. B.
      the government’s concern about the shuttles’ future
   3. C.
      the shuttles’ final homes after retirement
   4. D.
      museums’ great interest in the retired shuttles

Mom and Dad are two of the most important people in your life. You probably see at least one of them every day. If your dad worships(崇拜) the Pittsburgh Stealers, you are likely to grow up being a big fun of that football team. And if your mom loves to read you just might grow up carrying everywhere you go, just like she does.
Here are four ways you can stay close and build a strong relationship with your parents.
1. Spent time together. How much time do you spend just enjoying each other’s company? Instead of playing a computer game or watching TV, maybe you can ask your mom and dad to play with you. Go outside together, try a board game, or read a book out.
2. Share your feelings and ask for help. Your mom or dad may not know that you are having a problem. Tell a parent if you are sad or struggling with something.
3. Show your care. Some families are always kissing, hugging, and saying “I love you”. It’s important to show that you care for each other. In addition to kisses and hugs, kids and parents show their love by respecting each other, being caring, polite, and thoughtful.
4. Whatever you do, do your best! You don’t have to be perfect, but when you do your best, you make your parents proud. It makes them happy to see how you are turning into such a great kid. Why? Because it lets them know they’re doing a good job.

1. 1.

   The first paragraph mainly tells us___________.   

   1. A.
      the Pittsburgh Stealers is a famous football team
   2. B.
      the kid will like reading if his or her mother likes
   3. C.
      parents influence(影響) their kids greatly.
   4. D.
      we should follow our parents’ hobbies.
2. 2.

   In the third paragraph, the author suggests that ____________.  

   1. A.
      you keep your parents company all the time
   2. B.
      you stay at home with your parents
   3. C.
      you do something together with your parents.
   4. D.
      you enjoy games when your parents watch TV
3. 3.

   The underlined part “they’re doing a good job” means_____________. 

   1. A.
      they have very good jobs
   2. B.
      their jobs can bring the family much money
   3. C.
      they make you become a great kid
   4. D.
      they make you find a good job.
4. 4.

   The text intends to（旨在）tell us______________. 

   1. A.
      parents are important to everyone
   2. B.
      how we get along with our parents
   3. C.
      to respect our parents
   4. D.
      to share feelings with our parents

We all love our children and we all know how competitive the world is these days. What’s it going to be like when our children leave school? Will they have the skills they need to stay ahead of the competition?
All children need two basic skills to succeed. They must be able to read and they must be able to write. And with so much information available to them these days, they must be able to read quickly and accurately. That’s why your children need to be able to speed-read.
It’s ironic (諷刺的) that at this time of space-age technology, we’ve gone back to one of the earliest forms of mass communication—the written word. The Internet has introduced a revival (重新流行) of writing, and if you can’t keep up, you’ll be left behind. You certainly don’t want your children to be left behind.
You can help to make sure that your children are excellent writers—you can help them to learn how to use their language. Better still, you can learn with them!
You and your children can spend time together in a worthwhile pursuit (事業)—learning how to write. Forget the theme parks, the computer games, the expensive movies and interesting sports. If you want your children to have treasured memories of time spent with you, learn together.
For less than you would pay for tickets to a theme park, you can invest in your children’s future—help them learn to write well with my six-part writing course.
Don’t stand by while your child is left further and further behind.   

1. 1.

   From the last two paragraphs, we can know the main purpose of the passage is_______

   1. A.
      To encourage students to be better prepared for the future.
   2. B.
      To list the qualities children must have for their future success.
   3. C.
      To persuade parents to choose a writing course for their kids.
   4. D.
      To explain the difficult situation children have to face at present.
2. 2.

   In the author’s opinion, ______.

   1. A.
      speed-reading is the first step in a child’s formal education
   2. B.
      children today waste too much time on games, movies and sports
   3. C.
      children’s success depends much on good skills in reading and writing
   4. D.
      writing helps people communicate more effectively in modern society
3. 3.

   What does the author think of writing as a form of communication now?

   1. A.
      Important.
   2. B.
      Funny.
   3. C.
      Informal.
   4. D.
      Old-fashioned.
4. 4.

   What’s the advantage of children’s learning together with their parents?

   1. A.
      They will learn more quickly and accurately.
   2. B.
      They will not be affected by games and sports.
   3. C.
      It will encourage them to work for a higher pursuit.
   4. D.
      They will have good memories of time spent with parents.

In Europe people hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right throughout the meal, a system that is generally agreed to be more efficient than the American zigzag（曲折的）method. Americans hold both the fork and the knife in their right hands throughout the meal, so they continually change their forks to the left hand when they have to cut their meat. It seems to be funny for the Europeans to see Americans busy changing their dinner sets, making a lot of noises. A few explanations for this American style are as follows:

(1)Americans are practical and efficient. Since most of us are right-handed, it is reasonable to keep our working tools at all times in the right hand that can use them most efficiently.

   (2)Americans, the master of the New World are rebels（判逆者).. They use the zigzag method to break the rules in the Old World and in this way they are thumbing their nose at Mother England. Americans are a restless kind. They do not like to sit in one spot for very long when dining.

(3)Forced to do so, they respond by “playing” with the silver.

Whatever the reason for the practice, it is now certainly as American as apple pie. Europeans recognize this and are quick to attack it as evidence of American innocence of form. Arguments against the zigzag method rest not only on grounds of efficiency but also on those of tradition. In Old World Dining, the knife is held in the right hand continually because it can serve as an instant defense against the uninvited intruders. However, such alertness（警覺）is out of place in the New World, as every American believes that this is the home of the brave. Americans juggle their silverware, perhaps, to show that they are not afraid and that one of them holding a fork is worth any number of them holding blades（刀）.

41．Americans use _______ to hold their fork to pick up the salad.

       A．the right hand  B．the left hand   C．both hands          D．either of the two hands

42．As the masters of the New World, Americans use a different cutting method from that in the Old World to_____ .

       A．show their independence of Mother England

    B．show their disrespect to Mother England

       C．add a new tradition to those in Mother England

       D．show off their creativeness to Mother England

43．In the sentence, the word “juggle” probably means           .

       A．hold                   B．play with             C．pick up               D．lay down

44．Also in the last sentence, the two “them” refer to          .

       A．Americans                                          B．Europeans

       C．Americans and Europeans separately      D．Europeans and Americans separately

45.What could be the best title of the text?

A. Old World Dining                   B. zigzag method

C. New World Dining                  D. Juggling fork and knife

It’s not polite to arrive at a dinner more than 15 to 20 minutes late. The host or hostess usually waits for all the ___1___ to arrive before serving the meal. If someone is late, the food may be spoiled(變味), and ___2___ may the host or hostess’ spirits. If you have to be ___3___ call and tell them to start ___4___ you.

It’s even worse to be early! The host or hostess will probably not be ___5___. If you are early, drive or walk around the block a few times, or just sit in your car until the right time.

Though it’s often ___6___ to arrive at a party on time, on the other hand, the host or hostess ___7___ guests to arrive and leave between certain times, so you can ___8___ at any time between the times he or she gives you.

It’s nice to bring an empty stomach, but it’s even nicer to bring ___9___ present. The present should not cost a lot, or you might make the host or hostess ___10___. Flowers, wine, or a box of candy will be fine. ___11___ bring money as a present. In an introduction, the ___12___ of a name is: (1) the given name; (2) the family name. In other ___13___, the given name comes ___14___. It’s important not only to learn and remember ___15___, but to repeat them often in conversation. After the introduction, we usually call friends by their ___16___ names. Older people may want you to call them by their titles and family names, such as “Mrs Smith”, “Mr Johnson”, “Dr. Brown”.

A maiden(閨女) name is a ___17___ family name at birth. In the United States and Canada, after a woman ___18___, she takes the family name of her ___19___ in place of her maiden name. It is now becoming common, however, for women to ___20___ their maiden names after they get married.

1. A. guests     B. visitors       C. customs      D. passengers

2. A. or   B. so       C. but     D. yet

3. A. tired       B. hungry       C. late     D. early

4. A. without  B. for      C. with    D. after

5. A. awake    B. ready  C. up      D. friendly

6. A. useless    B. impossible  C. unable D. important

7. A. forces     B. invites C. begs    D. orders

8. A. play       B. fly      C. arrive  D. start

9. A. a big      B. a small       C. a good       D. an expensive

10. A. pleased B. satisfied     C. interested   D. uneasy

11. A. Never   B. Always       C. Do      D. Be sure to

12. A. spelling       B. calling       C. order  D. pronunciation

13. A. words   B. letters C. idioms       D. sentences

14. A. last       B. first    C. finally D. in the middle

15. A. expressions  B. appearances       C. names D. addresses

16. A. given    B. family C. middle       D. pen

17. A. gentleman’s  B. boy’s  C. woman’s    D. man’s

18. A. works   B. marries      C. bears   D. dies

19. A. husband       B. mother       C. father  D. sister

20. A. stop      B. give up      C. keep   D. find