China to launch 1st lunar probe chang’E 1 this year

　　China says the launch of its first lunar probe chang’E 1 is just around the corner. Chinese scientists made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the satellite would be launched in the second half of this year.

　　Since China announced the project in 2004, the country’s first lunar exploration project has drawn worldwide attention. Now, China’s space scientists say the satellite is ready for lift-off.

　　Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist, China’s lunar exploration project, said, “Preparations for the satellite, rocket, ground control and data reception are ready for the exploration. We will be able to launch the probe the second half of this year.”

　　The probe’s operational orbit has already been decided on, and chang’E 1 is scheduled to enter the moon’s orbit after a nearly 400,000-kilometer journey in space. And a committee of over 100 space experts has also been established for the project. The scientists have agreed to share the data sent back by chang’E 1 on the lunar environment.

　　Ouyang Ziyuan said, “We will make a 3D map of the moon and research the distribution of lunar elements, lunar soil thickness and the moon’s surface environment.”

　　Ouyang Ziyuan says chang’E 1 will be carried by a long march 3a carrier rocket for its launch. This is scheduled to take place at the Xi’chang satellite launch center.

49. What does the underlined words “around the corner” in the first paragraph mean?

　 A. in the corner                       B. on the way

　 C. in the way                          D. at the corner

50. What will chang’E 1 do in space?

　 A. It will just circle around the moon.

　 B. It will make a 2d map of the moon and research the distribution of lunar elements.

　 C. It will send the TV signals to make our life more colorful.

　 D. it will make a 3D map of the moon and do some research about the moon.

51. Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

　 A. The committee is made up of less than 100 space experts.

　 B. It is scheduled to launch at the jiuquan satellite launch center.

　 C. The data sent back by chang’E 1 will be shared by the scientists.

D. chang’E 1 will be carried by a long march 3a carrier rocket for its launch.

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said.

    "Can we write him a letter?"

    She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."

    My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.

    "No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.

    "Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.

    She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped (纏繞) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.

    "Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."

The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.

Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend (超越) this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditar. I prayed to be a balloon.

When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.

    A．felt it hard to answer       B．thought her a creative girl

    C．believed it easy to do so        D．found it easy to lie

When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.

    A．jumped with joy                  B．became excited

    C．started writing immediately              D．was worried that it couldn't be delivered

In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

    A．An incurable disease.           B．An unforgettable memory.

    C．The hard time her father had.                D．The failures her father experienced.

What would be the best title for the passage?

    A．An unforgettable experience     B．The strong red balloon

    C．Fly to paradise                          D．A great father

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, so mostly I just lied a lot to appear to be skilled at dealing with people. At least I never needed the map.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she gossiped about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from England Eric, waved at me from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't staring at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an over interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught and held my attention.

I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all extremely, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine, or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful -- maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.

1.What does the underlined word “diplomatic” mean?

2.From the passage, we can infer that _______________.

3. According to the last two paragraphs, why did “they” catch “my” attention?

4.According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic    36 ; in the other a toy broom. I listened as she was speaking to her make-believe(假裝) little friend and I’ll never forget the words she said, even though it was imagined.

She said, “Suzie’s in the corner because she’s not been very   37 . She didn’t listen to a   38  I said or do the things she should.” In the   39  I saw her baby doll all dressed in lace and pink. It was   40  she’d been put to sit alone and   41 .

My daughter   42  her “conversation”, as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all fed up. I just don’t know   43  to do with her any more. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games, too. She never   44  me do the things that I just have to do. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot   45 . And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the   46  to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play —   47  what I mean?”

And that day I thought a lot about making some   48  in my life, as I listened to her words that   49  me like a knife. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what I hold most   50 . I’d been caught up in responsibilities that increased   51  years.

But now my   52  has changed, because, in my heart, I realize that I’ve seen the world in a different light through my little darling’s eyes. So, let the cobwebs（蜘蛛網(wǎng)）  53  the corners and the dust bunny rabbit rule the floor. I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them   54 .

I’m going to fill the house with   55  of a child and her mother, for we are granted only one childhood, and we will never get another.

1.                A．table           B．camera         C．hammer  D．phone

2.                A．gentle          B．happy          C．good D．helpful

3.                A．story           B．word           C．joke D．sentence

4.                A．corner         B．bed            C．room D．box

5.                A．possible        B．clear           C．common  D．unusual

6.                A．recover        B．pretend        C．think D．regret

7.                A．continued       B．stopped        C．repeated D．interrupted

8.                A．what           B．whether        C．why D．how

9.                A．has            B．helps           C．makes    D．lets

10.               A．reach          B．settle          C．a(chǎn)rrive D．handle

11.               A．a(chǎn)bility          B．duty           C．energy    D．reason

12.               A．mind          B．see            C．feel  D．learn

13.               A．influences      B．changes        C．plans D．troubles

14.               A．cut            B．hurt           C．broke D．harmed

15.               A．clever         B．heavy          C．dear  D．lovely

16.               A．over           B．a(chǎn)fter           C．for   D．during

17.               A．purpose        B．principle        C．destination D．a(chǎn)ttitude

18.               A．have           B．manage        C．make D．stop

19.               A．either          B．a(chǎn)ny more       C．neither    D．a(chǎn)nywhere

20.               A．conversations    B．messages       C．imaginations    D．memories