Scientists in Mexico have just begun a new study of one of the world’s biggest pyramids(金字塔): the Pyramid of the Sun, north of Mexico City. They’re putting lots of small, high-tech machines under the pyramid to try to unlock some of its secrets. For thousands of years, people have tried to uncover the secrets of the pyramids.

The people who built the pyramids made lots of secret doors and rooms to stop robbers from finding the treasures inside. However, there always have been some smart thieves in history. Now, almost all of Egypt’s pyramids have been robbed, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest pyramid in the world. It is the only one of the ancient wonders of the world that is still standing.

In AD 820, an Arab king named Abdullah AL Manum got a group of workers to dig their way into the Great Pyramid and have a look. Inside the pyramid, they found three rooms—the Queen’s Chamber, the Grand Gallery and the King’s Chamber. But to their surprise, the men didn’t find the treasures they wanted. The Queen’s and King’s Chambers were both empty! Where were the King’s mummy and his treasures? Had someone already taken them away? The huge stone doors at the pyramid’s entrance were still closed when AL Manum’s men went inside. How had the thieves got in and out?

Since then, many people have gone inside the Great Pyramid to have a look or to try to take things. But still, no other chambers or walkways have been found.

In 2002, an American team made the most recent visit to the Great Pyramid. Scientists sent a robot into the pyramid, but they only found a mysterious locked stone door.

1. The first two paragraphs were written to show that ____.

A. ancient Egyptian emperors were cruel

B. the Pyramid of the Sun is an unusual historic building

C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient Egypt

D. the secrets of the pyramids remain to be uncovered

2. What is the purpose of making some secret doors to the pyramids? _______.

A. To try to unlock some of its secrets

B. To stop robbers from finding the treasures inside

C. To refuse some visitors all over the world into it

D. To tell the truth to the people in the future

3. Which of the following is NOT true to the Great Pyramid of Khufu?

A. It is the largest pyramid in the world.

B. It is the only one of the ancient wonders that is still standing.

C. Abdullah AL Manum took the King’s mummy and his treasures away.

D. Scientists found a mysterious locked stone door to the Great Pyramid.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A. Unlocking the Doors of History of the Pyramid B. The Great Pyramid of Khufu

C. A Mysterious Locked Stone Door D. The Pyramid of the Sun

B

A teenager realized her dream of becoming a professional model three years after a serious car accident.

Marita Davies was on her way home from a party when the crash happened. The car that Marita took as a passenger was going the wrong way and crashed into another car driven by a drunken driver named David Hudson, which left her with a broken leg and back. It took the firefighters more than two hours to free the teenager from the damaged car before she was taken to hospital. Marita was in a wheelchair for a year after being bed-ridden for nine months.

Marita feared her dream of a modeling career was over. She said, “I was extremely upset and shocked when I knew about my terrible injuries. I thought my dream of becoming a model was over. My leg and back were broken. The crash had broken my confidence and I became quiet and spent less time with other people. I was 16, and at that age all I wanted to do was go out with my friends.”

But as her health took a turn for the better, Marita finally came out of the wheelchair and learned to walk. She decided she would still try to follow her dreams, and sent some photos off to some modeling agencies. She did a few unpaid jobs while studying at college. Soon, paid commercial modeling jobs started coming in. Marita was a bit doubtful at first, because the crash had left her with huge scars on her leg and back. She was worried that people wouldn’t want her to model for them, but this didn’t stop her.

Marita had done amazingly well to overcome everything that had been thrown at her in the three years. Finally, Marita became a professional model in 2013. She was signed up for advertising campaigns and appeared in TV ads.

5. Who should be to blame for the accident?

A. Both of the drivers involved in the accident. B. David Hudson.

C. The driver of the car that Marita took. D. Marita Davies.

6. It can be known from the passage that _______.

A. Marita was sent to hospital soon after the accident.

B. it took Marita twenty-one months to fully recover.

C. Marita felt hopeless when she knew about her injuries.

D. Marita’s friends helped her build up confidence again.

7. How did Marita feel when modeling jobs became available to her?

A. Lucky. B. Unconfident. C. Surprised. D. Satisfied.

8. The passage is intended to ______.

A. prove modeling is a promising career.

B. warn people not to drive after drinking

C. suggest having a dream is a good thing

D. praise Marita’s spirits to overcome difficulties

C

Ahead of so-called Singles’ Day on the 11th of this month，2013, online sales have already begun peaking.

The leading e-retail（零售）platform, tmall.com（天猫网）, has promoted its fifty-percent-off discount to lure（吸引）consumers. They are also trying to attract buyers through social media.?Vice President of tmall.com Wang Yulei says more than 20 thousand online stores have joined the Double 11 Day promotion campaign. This number has doubled. The final number of how many products going to be on sale has not been known yet. But so far, many more products planned to be put on shelves with discounts.

During last year's Singles’ Day, tmall.com, together with taobao.com, reached a record of 19.1 billion yuan in sales volume, which considered a hallmark(品质证明) in the e-commerce history of China.

Singles’ Day was first started by Chinese college students in the 1990s as the opposite of Valentine’s Day, a celebration for people without romantic partners. The timing was based on the date: Nov. 11—or double 11—for singles. Unattached young people would treat each other to dinner or give gifts to woo that special someone and end their single status.

But now, the Singles’ Day has been promoted as a kind of grand craze just for the shopping season kicks-off, thanks to thousands of discounted products being promoted online.

Taobao.com was the first big e-retail platform which used the double 11 idea to promote sales. Taobao.com reached one million yuan worth of sales volume on that day in 2009, when they first promoted the Singles’ Day idea. In 2010, that volume increased to 936 million yuan. The figure climbed up to 5.3 billion yuan in 2011, putting huge demand on shipping services. The figure doubled in 2012.

E-commerce is considered to be elbowing out the traditional retailing industry, but the reality is both sides are learning from each other.

9. We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. to get rid of the single status is the original wish for those who celebrate Double

11 Day

B. more than 20 thousand products are to be participated in the promotion campaign

C. Chinese University students don’t have any romantic partners

D. taobao.com is the most popular network

10. Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

A. Why Singles’ Day is so popular. B. Singles’ Day promotes online sales.

C. How people celebrate Singles’ Day. D. What the definition of Singles’ Day is.

11. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. When taobao.com first promoted the Singles’ Day idea, it was a success.

B. Taobao.com reached 2.65 billion yuan in 2012.

C. E-commerce is going to replace traditional business.

D. Tmall.com is the first to make use of the double 11 idea to push sales.

12. Where do you think is the passage taken from?

A. A Science Textbook. B. A Science journal. C. A Newspaper. D. A book review.

D

Bicycle tour (旅行) and race:

A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27 (Sat&Sun) at 5:30 am., and the riders will leave Tian’anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometres as a training leg. Then the next 55 kilometre leg from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive (竞争性的) part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli.

The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaihe, covering a distance of 20 kilometres. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for play at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing.

Cost: 200 yuan

Telephone: 4675027

Brazilian footballers:

The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo’an Team at the Workers’ Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Romario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes.

Ticket prices: 60, 100, 150 yuan

Time/Date: 4:30 p.m., August 26 (Sat.)

Telephone: 501 2372

Rock climbing:

The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26—27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators (观众).

Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou,

Time/Dates: 9 12 a. m. , August 26 and 27

Telephone: 7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua

13. If you take part in the bike tour, you will ride for ________.

A. 35 kilometres B. 55 kilometres

C. 75 kilometres D. 110 kilometres

14. The underlined word “leg” in “Bicycle tour and race” probably means _______.

A. race B. practice

C. part of the tour D. part of the training