A Star Is Born
1 The VLT(Very Large Telescope)is the world’s largest telescope(望远镜)and is taking astronomers(72文学家)further back to the Big Bang than they ever thought possible．Located 2,600 metres up io the Chilean Andes，it has four huge mirrors，each about the size of a London bus．The VLT is SO powerful it Can spot a burning match 10.000 kilometres away．
2 This astonishing power will allow astronomers to see events in space from the birth of stars to the collision(碰撞)of galaxies(星系)on the edge of the cosmos(宇宙)．The VLT is giving astronomers their best-ever view of the cosmos．The power of the VLT to see the smallest detail at the furthest distances makes its designers amazed．
3 Take the case of Eta Carinae，one of the most explosive stars in the universe．This star produces ultraviolet laser rays(紫外线)and it will destroy itself in a few million years time．It is five times brighter than the sun and when it explodes it is going to be a sight worth waiting for 14 But it is at distances of millions，even billions，of light years that the VLT really shows its power．The VLT can detect light that set out on its journey before the earth even existed．This gives astronomers their first—ever detailed views of events that took place in the earliest days of the cosmos．
5 In other words．the VLT is a kind of a time machine．It takes astronomers back to a time when complete galaxies crashed into each other．The effects of these past collisions Can now be seen by scientists，and astronomers believe the telescope will reveal more about these exciting events in the years to come．One day, we might be able to say we have traveled back to the beginning of time，and we will have a much clearer picture of how our planet was born．
23 Paragraph 1
24 Paragraph 2
25 Paragraph 3
26 Paragraph 4
A Enents That Took place Before the Earth Existd
B Power of the Telescope
C Details of Eta Carinae
D Invention of a Time Machine
E Biggest Telescope
27 The VLT will allow scientists to see events
28 The designers of the VlT are surprised at
29 Eta Carinae is taken
30 Scientists believe the VLT will tell us more about
A its detecting power
B millions of light years away in space
C the location of the VLT
D as an example
E the birth of the earth
F the rotation of the earth
第4部分：阅读理解(第31-45题，每题3分，共4 5分)
下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题，每道题后面有4个选项。请根据文章的内容从每题所给的4个选项中选择1个最佳答案，涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
第一篇
Pushbike Danger
Low speed bicycle crashes can badly injure——or even kill——children if they fall onto the ends of the handlebars(车把)．So a team of engineers is redesigning it to make it safer
Kristy Arbogast，a bioengineer at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania，began the project with her colleagues．The cases they reviewed about serious abdominal(腹部的)injuries in children in the past 30 years showed that more than a third were caused by bicycle accidents．”The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with seine countermeasures，”she says
By interviewing the children and their parents，Arbogast and her team were able to reconstruct many of the accidents and identified a common cause for serious injuries They discovered that most cases occur when children hit an obstacle at slow speed，causing them to topple f摇摆)over．To maintain their balance the children turn the handlebars through 90 degrees—but their momentum(冲力)forces them into the end of the handlebars．The bike then falls over and the other end of the handlebars hits the ground，pushing it in to their abdomen(腹部．
The solution the group came up with is a handgrip (握柄)fitted with a spring and damping(减速)system. The spring absorbs up to 50 per cent of the forces transmitted(传递)through the handlebars in all impact．The group hopes to commercialize the device，which should add only a few dollars to t}le cost of a bike．“But our task has been one of education because up until now．bicycle manufacturers were unaware of the problem，”says Arbogast．
31 The engineers are trying to improve the handlebars because
A they are not beautiful
B they may kill children
C they are likely to crash．
D they affect the speed of the bike
32 How many abdominal injuries in children were caused by bicycle accidents?
A Thirty．
B Ninety．
C 50 percent．
D More than a third.
33 The world “countermeasures” in paragraph 2 means
A “problems”
B “approaches”
C “solutions”．
D ‘‘actions”
”in paragraph 2means
34 Paragraph 3 mainly discusses
A why the children and their parents were interviewed
B how serious abdominal injuries occur.
C when the children turn the handlebars
D what stops bicycle accidents
35 The advantage of the new handgrip is that
A it can be made cheaply.
B it reduces the impact in bicycle accidents．
C it helps to slow down the speed of the bicycle．
D it sells well at bicycle shops．
第二篇
Saving Money
Where you save your money often depends on what you are saving for If you are saving to buy a CD(光盘)or to go to a concert, then probably you would keep your money somewhere in your room?
If you are saving for a big purchase like a mountain bike or a school trip，where would you save your money?
One place to save money is the bank Putting your money in a savings account will help your money early more money If you put your money in a piggy bank(猪形储蓄罐)，one year later you’11 still have the same amount of money you put in．If you put your money in a savings account，one year later, you’ll have more money than you put in Why?
When you keep your money in a bank，your money earns interest．Interest is the amount of
money a bank pays you to use your money．The bank uses your money (and the money of other
people，too)to loan money to people and businesses．
The bank will send you a statement several times a year A bank statement tells you how
much money you have in your account，It also tells you how much interest you have earned．If you leave your money in the bank，you Can watch it grow!
Another way you can save money is to buy a certificate of deposit or CD．If you have some money that you don’t need to use for a long time，this is a good way to make your money grow．
You Can buy a cd at a bank．You agree not to use the money for a certain period of time
That period might be from six months to five years．You Can’t touch your money during that time If you do，you must pay a penalty，or fee
36 Your money will earn more money if you put it.
A in your room．
B in a piggy bank
C in your pocket．
D in a savings account
37 A bank pays you interest for
A wasting your money．
B losing your money．
C using your money．
D decreasing your money
38 Among other things．a bank statement tells you
A the amount of money you have in the bank
B the current rates of interest．
C the current rates of exchange．
D the best way to save your money
39 If you draw your money before it is due．you will have to
A pay interest to the bank．
B close your account
C open a new account．
D pay a penalty or fee
40 The word “touch’’ in paragraph 7 could be best replaced by
A “deposit”
B “lend”．
C “use”．
D “cash”．
责任编辑：虫虫
