4. Passage 2 Man has always wanted to fly. Some of the greatest men in history had thought about the problem. One of them， for example， was the great Italian artist， Leonardo Da Vinci. In the 16th century he made designs for machines that would fly， but they were never built. Throughout history， other less famous men had wanted to fly. An example was a man in England 800 years ago. He made a pair of wings from chicken feathers. Then he fixed them to his body and jumped into air from a tall building. He did not fly very far. Instead， he fell to the ground and broke every bone of his body and rested in peace. The first real step took place in France， in 1783. Two brothers， the Montgolfiers， made a very large ―hot air balloon‖. They knew that hot air rises. Why not fill a balloon with it? The balloon was made of cloth and paper. In September of that year， the King and Queen of France came to see the balloon. They watched it carry the very first air passengers into the sky. The passengers were a sheep and a chicken. We do not know how they felt about the trip. But we do know that the trip lasted eight minutes and that the animals landed safely. Two months later， two men did the same thing. They rose above Paris in a balloon of the same kind. Their trip lasted twenty-five minutes and they traveled about. The very first air passengers in the balloon were.

53.They have done a lot to raise the( )of women in society.

A. 　role

B. 　 status

C. 　 condition

D. 　 function

65.She failed to pass the exam although she had worked very hard. She should( )the causes of her failure.

A. 　analyze

B. 　 explode

C. 　 eliminate

D. 　 foster

2. Passage 14 Shortly after graduation， it is time for you to start the next phase of your life. You will begin your first “real job.” Generally speaking， most of what you have learned in school will not prepare you for this. There is a big difference between being a student and being an employee. Certainly， more will be expected of you. The best career-related advice I ever received came from my former boss on my first day of work. She told me to listen and observe before suggesting any changes. I took that advice and have used it in other situations， both in and out of the workplace. While innovation is a good thing， it is important to be mindful of dynamics of the workplace. If you are entering an environment where routines are already in place， a newcomer walking in and talking about “better ways” to do things， will often be met with negative reactions. Why? First， you know nothing about why they do things the way they do. Second， you haven＇t gained the trust of your co-workers. Finally， people， by nature， are threatened by changes. By listening and observing， you will gain a lot. You will learn about the environment of which you are now a part. You will find out more about the people you are working with. You may save yourself from making a major， public mistake—you are the new kid on the block while your co-workers have been around longer. You can learn from their collective experience. What is the best career-related suggestion according to the author?

A. 　Suggesting new changes to show your creative talents.

B. 　Obeying the routines that are already in place.

C. 　Listening and watching carefully before making suggestions of any change.

D. 　People， by nature， always welcome new changes.

63.When children( )difficulties on their own， they develop new skills and a strong belief in their abilities.

A. 　overcome

B. 　 encounter

C. 　 overthrow

D. 　 overwhelm

3. Passage 17 Since we are social beings， the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human conditions is our tendency to give and receive support from one another under stressful circumstances. Social support consists of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to cope with life changes and daily hassles. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over a range of illnesses， from depression to heart disease， reveal that the presence of social support helps people fend off illness， and the absence of such support makes poor health likely. Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First， friends， relatives， and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others despite our faults and difficulties. Second， other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third， we typically find social companionship supportive. Engaging in leisure-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting us from our worries and troubles. Finally， other people may give us instrumental support ― financial aid， material resources and needed services — that reduces stress by helping us resolve and cope with our problems. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word ―cushions‖ (Para. 2) ( )?

A. 　Lays the foundation for.

B. 　Lessens the effect of.

C. 　Adds up to.

D. 　Does away with.

171.( )production up by 60%， the company has had another excellent year.

A. 　As

B. 　 For

C. 　 With

D. 　 Though

31.I firmly( )to this scheme because it‘s not practical at all.

A. 　refuse

B. 　 reject

C. 　 object

D. 　 decline

10.The fact that something is cheap doesn‘t( )mean it is of low quality.

A. 　necessarily

B. 　 especially

C. 　 essentially

D. 　 practically

30.The elephant is the largest land animal( ).

A. 　in practice

B. 　 in existence

C. 　 in turn

D. 　 in common

194.Our-school-run factory( )various kinds of chemical devices last year.

A. 　turned into

B. 　 turned up

C. 　 turned out

D. 　 turned off