Singapore Flyer was launched in 2008 and states to hold the current title for the world's biggest observation wheel, full 30 meters taller than the London Eye observation wheel in London! Soaring 165 meters, Singapore Flyer offers a whole view of Singapore's important tourist attractions including the scenic Marina Bay.

Singapore Flyer is also popular for providing an attractive range of shopping and dining choices. Among its greatest dining choices is the Singapore Flyer Sky Dining, one of the most exciting dining experiences you will ever come across.

    Singapore Flyer Sky Dining is the first ever in the world to offer a full service in the sky. To top it all you are presented with best menus created by award-winning cooks from all over the world.

The sky dining doesn’t stop from there. You will gain fast boarding flights, in other words, no more waiting in line to board an observation capsule (機艙). You can enjoy the service of an in-flight host along with a nice three-course fine dining menu.

Be ready to enjoy yourself in the air-conditioned glass capsule where you will be served a welcome drink, an appetizer (開胃品) along with the main course. From the capsule you will see the night skyline of Marina Bay, Merlion Park, Raffles Place, Empress Place and Padang, bathed in exciting colors. And not just once but you will get to see these very interesting sights twice, during your almost one hour long special dining experience.

Up to five couples can book a small room and there are even choices to book an entire room for you and your partner. The sky dining experience begins from the VIP waiting room where you will be served with tasty desserts and drinks of your choice. You can see the Singapore Flyer conveniently from one of the top hotels in Singapore like M Hotel Singapore.

At Singapore Flyer, tourists can ___________.

A. do some shopping and have dinner

B. enjoy some interesting sights just once

C. enjoy a wonderful 30-minute dining experience

D. get a whole view of all the Singapore's tourist attractions

Which of the following statements is TRUE about Singapore Flyer?

      A. It is the second biggest observation wheel in the world.

      B. The menus are created by native cooks.

      C. It provides fast boarding service.

      D. There are no special rooms for couples.

The underlined phrase in the third paragraph probably means “___________”.

A. What’s more                                    B. At the top of it     

C. What’s worse                                     D. From top to bottom

The three-course dining menu at Singapore Flyer usually includes the following EXCEPT___________.

A. a welcome drink                                 B. the main course     

C. an appetizer                                       D. tasty desserts

Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A. Virtual Tourism                        B. A Guide to Singapore Flyer

C. Eating at Singapore Flyer                      D. The future of Singapore Flyer

MOSCOW(Reuters) – Russia hopes the United States will extend the deadline to retire its space shuttles beyond 2011 and has heard unofficially it is possible, the head of Russia"s space agency was quoted as saying on Friday.

The U.S. space agency NASA(美國宇航局) plans six more missions by its fleet of aging space shuttles by late next year or early 2011 after the construction of the $100 billion International Space Station (ISS) is completed. The shuttles will then be retired. But the head of Roscosmos, Russia"s space agency, said he would prefer to see further shuttle missions to the Space Station, now in orbit 360 km (225 miles) above Earth. "From some sources we have learned that it is possible to extend the life of the shuttle beyond 2011," Roscosmos chief Anatoly Perminov was quoted by RIA news agency as saying. Reuters was not invited to the briefing(簡報會). "Then the situation would change substantially and it would be possible to work jointly with the Americans, unlike now, when the main burden (for the ISS) lies with the Russian side," Perminov was quoted as saying by Interfax. Perminov said he had not been told this through official channels, Interfax news agency reported. He added that NASA"s new chief and former astronaut Charles Bolden would visit Russia"s Baikonur cosmodrome on September 30 in his first foreign trip.

NASA"s future strategy is currently under review with the main focus on possible flights to Mars. It is also encouraging a private space taxi project to the ISS. NASA"s current plan, conceived under former President George Bush after the Columbia accident, is to complete the space station, retire the shuttles and build new spaceships. A new rocket and capsule to transport astronauts to the ISS is also being developed but will not be operational until about 2015. Until then, NASA will rely on Roscosmos and must pay $50 million per seat for flights to the ISS by Soyuz capsules.

The U.S., Russian and Chinese governments are the only entities currently capable of human orbital space flight, although several U.S. companies are developing vehicles and support services to do so.

What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

       A．NASA agrees to extend the life of the shuttles beyond 2011.

       B．Reuters was not invited to the briefing.

       C．The US would work jointly with Russia.

       D．NASA’s new chief would visit Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome.

NASA’s current plan includes all the following EXCEPT       .

       A．completing International Space Station

       B．flights to Mars

       C．retiring the current space shuttles

       D．building new spaceships

If the US doesn’t extend the life of the shuttles beyond 2011,         .

       A．International Space Station will be quit

       B．Roscosmos will have to build more spaceships

       C．NASA will have to quicken the development of the new rocket and capsule

       D．Roscosmos will be burdened with the transportation to ISS

We can infer from the passage that        .

       A．China has already been involved in the project of flights to Mars

       B．it is certain the NASA will retire the current space shuttles as planned

       C．NASA is considering Russia’s suggestion

       D．NASA will be able to provide a private space taxi project to the ISS by 2015.

Steve Fossett did not really look like an adventurer, but he reached some of the most difficult goals in sailing and flying.
Fossett was most proud of being the first person to fly around the world alone in a hot-air balloon. To make a trip around the world alone, it was necessary to have an improved autopilot (自動駕駛儀) device. Fossett had one of his team members develop a more advanced balloon autopilot that would allow him to sleep and do other tasks while flying safely.
Steve Fossett attempted the hot-air balloon trip around the world six times. This was not easy to do. He flew in the balloon’s capsule (密封艙) that was too small to stand upright. During his fourth attempt in 1998, he was almost killed during a storm off the coast of Australia. He fell 9,000 meters into the Coral Sea with his balloon’s capsule on fire. He was later rescued at sea.
Fossett successfully made the trip in 2002. The trip started and ended in Australia. He traveled more than 33,000 kilometers for more than 14 days. On this flight, Fossett set other records including a speed record of 322 kilometers per hour. One main problem with earlier balloon flights was the threat of dangerous storms. A team of weather experts e-mailed and talked to Fossett by a satellite telephone to help him avoid such weather.   
Steve Fossett’s hot-air balloon is now at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  It is there as an example for other people to try and succeed in doing something important to them.
【小題1】What did Steve Fossett specially prepare for the trip around the world?

Gregory Olsen is not an astronaut. He is a 60-year-old businessman from New Jersey where he owned his successful technology company. This week, however, Olsen became the world’s third non-astronaut to pay for a trip into space.

On Monday, the Russian-built Soyuz rocket, carrying Olsen, an American astronaut and a Russian astronaut, docked (對接) at the International Space Station (ISS).

Olsen’s wish has come true. He is the third “space tourist” in four years to travel on a Russian craft to the space station. American Dennis Tito and South African Mark Shuttleworth have both made round trips to the ISS. Going into space is not easy, however. Olsen has worked hard for two years to prepare for it.

The Russian Federal Space Agency offers an ISS trip to anyone who can afford it and pass the necessary training. Olsen reportedly paid $20 million for his trip. The Russian space program has been short of money in recent years and is looking for individuals interested in space travel to _________.

NASA（美國宇航局）has relied on the Russian space program and its Soyuz capsule（太空艙）to transport American astronauts to the ISS since the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003. The space shuttle Discovery (發(fā)現(xiàn)號宇宙飛船)made a flight earlier this year, but the program stopped halfway because of safety concern. So far, the Russians have not charged the U.S. for trips to the ISS. That may change by the end of the year.

As one of the few space tourists, Olsen focuses his attention on the glory of traveling in space.

1.What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 5 words.)

________________________________________________________________________________

2.Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

Up till now, Russia has been helping American astronauts go to the International Space Station for free.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.Fill in the blank with the proper words or phrases. (Please answer within 10 words.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

4.According to the passage, who can travel into space in the Russian shuttle? (Please answer within 30 words.)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

In a way, Pompeii is like a time capsule ____ a frozen moment in history.