C

If you’re tired of the Mediterranean and don’t want to head to Disney again, perhaps it’s time for a summer holiday in space. Russia has declared plans for its first floating hotel, 217 miles above earth, and it is something of an offering with good service. 

Hosting just seven guests in a four cabins, the accommodation will boast huge windows with views back to earth and tasty microwave meals will be served instead of the ones often used by astronauts.  

Just getting there will be an adventure in itself—it will take two days aboard a Soyuz rocket—and it won’t exactly be a budget holiday: A five-day stay will cost you￡100, 000 to￡500, 000 for your journey. The hotel is due to open by 2016 and, according to those behind it,  will be far more comfortable than the International Space Station (ISS) used by astronauts and cosmonauts.          

In the weightlessness of space, visitors can choose to have beds that are either vertical(垂直的) or horizontal. Tourists, who will be accompanied by experienced crew, will dine on food prepared on Earth and sent up on the rocket, to be reheated in microwave ovens. Many kinds of delicacies will be available. 

Iced tea, mineral water and fruit juices will be available, but alcohol will be strictly prohibited. Toilets will use flowing air instead of water to move waste through the system. Waste water will be recycled.          

Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies which will construct the hotel,  said: “Our planned module inside will not remind you of the International Space Station. A hotel should be comfortable inside, and it will be possible to look at the Earth. The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space.” The hotel can also be used as an emergency bolthole (避难处) for astronauts aboard the International Space Station if there is a crisis.  

9. Which can be the best title of the passage?  

A. Russia declares the design for its first space hotel 

B. The first space hotel is under construction now 

C. The astronauts will have a second home in space 

D. Russia has the advanced technology in exploring space 

10. What does the underlined word “budget” in the 3rd paragraph mean?  

A. expensive  B. worthwhile     C. economic   D. uncomfortable  

11. What kind of accommodation will the guests have in the space hotel?  

A. They will have the same food as the astronauts have.  

B. Many kinds of drinks are available including alcohol.  

C. Guests can have beds that are either vertical or horizontal.  

D. Tourists are accompanied by the astronauts from the ISS.    

12. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?  

A. The space hotel is built to remind you of the International Space Station.  

B. The hotel is constructed with big windows so that tourists can see the earth.  

C. The company, Orbital Technologies, has already begun to build the space 

hotel.  

D. In the near future, a space trip for most of the people can be realized.   

                                  D

I wish there would be a way to describe China in simple terms but that’s impossible. For the most part Chinese people are friendly, easy-going and optimistic. They are curious and unusually patient and they are also the hardest-working people I have ever met.

In China, family is everything. In my English classes when the students were asked what they would do if they only had a few hours to live, most students told me how they would spend their last few hours with their families and parents. Many times the subjects in the classes center on families and friends. I teach many students a year, talking to them freely.

The cost of living here is very low compared with that of the US. The city of Xiang Fan I live in isn’t large and I live better. Non-imported(非出口的) foods are very cheap, so are clothing and articles of everyday use. The cost of public transportation is very low, too. Chinese value education. However, it is reported that many children can’t afford the expenses of schooling and are forced to leave school in some poor areas in China. But they organized Project Hope many years ago. It creates conditions for the poor children to go back to school. In my opinion, Project Hope is of great importance to the development of the rural education.

When we read news of China in the west, rarely, if ever, will we see anything mentioned of the positive changes China has gone through. While it is true that economic miracles have not reached many areas of China, but we also have the same problems.

When I am asked which country I consider better, China or the US, my answer has always been the same, “We are not worse or better than each other, we are only different.”

13.  What does the author think of Chinese people?

A. He thinks most Chinese people hardly work.

B. He thinks most Chinese people are proud.

C. He praises most Chinese people a lot.

D. He dislikes most Chinese people.

14.  What are not cheap in China in the author’s opinion?

A. Clothes and shoes made in China.        

B. Local foods

C. Public transportation tickets.              

D. Imported foods

15.  We can infer from the passage that the author thinks __________.

A. the westerners have got to know China well

B. China’s economic miracles have appeared everywhere

C. the progress of China is seldom reported in the US

D. the education in rural areas is never cared about in China
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