閱讀理解

A

The Russian Soyuz TM-31 spaceship with the worlds first space tourist Dennis Tito and two Russian astronauts on board safely returned to the Earth on May 6， 2001 after an eight-day visit to the International Space Station （ISS）. The capsule landed near the city of Arkaly in Kazakhstan at 9：41am Moscow time， said the Korolyov Mission Control outside Moscow. Tito and his two Russian partners felt well after the landing and asked for permission to get out of the capsule on their own. They were inspected （檢查） by doctors right after the landing and will be under observation for several days.

As the worlds first space tourist， Dennis Tito said on May 4， while still in space， that he had seen China from outer space and plans to visit the country again one day after returning to the Earth. “I flew over the Chinese territories （領(lǐng)土）， but I could not recognize the specific sites and symbols of China such as the Great Wall and the Yangtze River because of the long distance and atmospheric （大氣的） conditions.” Tito told Xinhua excitedly in an interview televised at Mission Control. During the trip， Tito kept a diary， took many photos and filmed video footage （錄像片段）.

It was the first flight of a short-term visiting mission （任務(wù)）， or the so-called “space taxi” to the ISS.

1. Why couldnt Dennis Tito see the symbols of China clearly？

A. He was short-sighted.

B. He was too much inexperienced.

C. He was not allowed to watch directly below.

D. He was far from the Earth with bad atmospheric conditions.

2. What did Dennis do during the trip according to the passage？

A. He fell into a deep sleep sometimes.

B. He kept busy observing the Earth from space.

C. He wrote his dairy and took a lot of photos and videos.

D. He refused to accept an interview televised at Mission Control.

3. What can we learn about the “space taxi” according to the text？

A. The cost of the spaceship flight is too low.

B. Dennis Tito has spent more money to fly to the space.

C. It is usual that the spaceship can carry out the private flight.

D. It is the first private space flight of a short-term visiting mission.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for this text？

A. Dennis Tito

B. The Space Taxi

C. The First Space Tourist—Dennis Tito

D. The First Flight of Soyuz TM-31 Spaceship

B

When I was a child， my parents often took me to an old house in a thick forest. No other children ever stayed there. I didnt even have the choice of playing with a brother or sister.

I could never understand what the attraction of the house was， even for my parents， who enjoyed nothing better than to sit in silence with a good book. The woman in the house， my fathers distant cousin， was a terrible cook and her food was inedible.

One day， when I was wandering around the garden behind the house， I noticed a wooden house which had clearly been abandoned. As I walked towards it， I heard a noise， like an animal moving hurriedly away. Then I saw a man with a long beard standing at the door. I was greatly surprised.

“Please dont tell them you saw me，” he said. “They never use this place， and I have nowhere else to live.” “Dont worry，” I said. “I wont tell anyone. But are you all right out here？ I mean—do you have enough to eat？” The old man shook his head.

The same evening， I took a small plastic bag into the dining room and， while no one was looking， emptied some of the food into it. Later， I got out of the back door secretly and gave the food to the old man， whose name I had discovered was Taff.

I had never seen anything else as lovely as the smile of satisfaction on Taffs face when he ate the food. From then on， my visits to the old house had a purpose， and I enjoyed every minute of the rest of my stay.

5. How did the writer feel staying in the old house at first？

A. He enjoyed reading good books there.

B. He was happy to be with his parents.

C. He was pleased with the woods.

D. He felt very lonely.

6. The underlined word “inedible” is closest in meaning to “___”.

A. nice to look at B. not enough to eat

C. too bad for him to eat D. as delicious as usual

7. What can we know about the old man from the passage？

A. He was poor and hungry.

B. He raised many animals.

C. He helped to repair the old house.

D. He liked to play hide-and-seek with the writer.

8. What does the story mainly tell us？

A. Its valuable to help others.

B. Its good to live in the forest.

C. Its nice to raise wild animals.

D. Its comfortable to live in the old house.