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词数: about 220     难度: ★   建议用时: 3 minutes
    Every October for more than thirty years, the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico welcomes visitors to a colorful celebration. The visitors spend much of their time looking up at the sky. That is because they are attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival. More than seven hundred colorful hot-air balloons fill the sky. This year, there is also a new ballooning museum.
    The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque balloon Museum opened on October 1st. It celebrates the art and science of ballooning. The name honors two men from Albuquerque who were important in the history of balloon flight. They are Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson. Along with Larry Newman, they completed the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by gas balloons in 1978.
    The museum aims to answer questions many people ask about balloons and those who fly them: How are balloons built? How do they get up into the air? Why do people fly them at all? The museum also shows how balloons have been used for fun, for war and for scientific purposes.
    One exciting part of the museum is called “the New Mexico Adventure”. It is a virtual reality (虚拟时空) balloon ride through the state of New Mexico. The experience shows the beautiful areas of the state that visitors can only see from the air.

1. What’s the best title for this passage?
   A. Use of balloons     B. Interest in balloons 
   C. Balloon museum      D. Flying by balloons
2. The museum is aimed at answering the following questions EXCEPT _____.
   A. how balloons work
   B. the reason why people fly balloons
   C. how balloons are made
   D. how the balloon festival came into being
3. What’s new at this year’s balloon festival?
   A. More than 700 colorful hot-air balloons will fill the sky.
   B. There is a new ballooning museum.
   C. There is an event called “the New Mexico Adventure”.
   D. Visitors will spend more time staring into the sky.

词数: about 320    难度: ★★  建议用时: 4 minutes
    A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is worth reading, especially for those who love science, space, physics, and the universe. About half of Hawking’s text is rather hard to digest, which must be why he added pictures to newer editions. Some of the more “abstract” things are hard to imagine, so the pictures help you understand, which is great for visual learners.
    One turn-off is that this book is based on theoretical physics. Most read the back jacket (封面) and think that it will be way over their heads, but it’s not, I assure you. First of all, there are two ways to read it. You can read the chapter overviews, which are basic and you’ll still learn a lot, but it won’t be too difficult. Or, you can read the full details in each chapter, which is how you’ll learn the most, but if it’s all too confusing you can just look at the pictures.
    This book constantly makes references to other physicists, history, and current social and economic issues, and explains how each of us is involved in the universe. Dr. Hawking also openly says “I think” about things. He gives his view on matters, shows the facts, presents the most accepted theory to help you see what you think the answer is, so it feels like he’s talking directly to you.
    The reason I love this book more than any other physics “text” is because Dr. Hawking wrote it like a novel. He’s telling a story, the story of the universe, and it’s just fun to read!
    I always want to know how and why something is, and in this book Dr. Hawking always answers this question as best he can. If he can’t give you a definite answer, he’ll tell you what he thinks and help you develop your own opinion. I truly hope that I’ve convinced you to read this unusual book.

1. Pictures are added to A Brief History of Time in order to _____.
   A. make it more attractive to readers
   B. make it interesting and easy to understand
   C. help you to develop your imagination
   D. show you more about the universe     
2. The underlined phrase “over their heads” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_____”.
   A. higher than their heads  
   B. rather difficult for them to understand
   C. very easy for them to read 
   D. too high for them to reach  
3. According to the author, A Brief History of Time is _____.
   A. expensive    B. popular    C. interesting    D. confusing 
4. We can infer from this passage that  _____.
   A. Hawking didn’t answer all the questions on the universe
   B. not all of us have something to do with the universe
   C. the book doesn’t deal with economy but science
   D. Hawking can talk to everyone face to face