任务型阅读专项训练一For centuries people dreamed of going into space．This dream began to seem possible when high-flying rockets were built in the early 1900s.In 1903 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky figured out how to use rockets for space travel．His plan was the first one in rocket science to use correct scientific calculation．About 30 years later, a U.S．scientist named Robert Goddard built the first rockets that could reach high altitudes．During World War II, German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives．After the war, scientists from Germany went to the United States and the Soviet Union to help those countries build space rockets.These two countries were soon racing to get to space first．Each of these countries wanted to prove that it was stronger and more advanced than the other one．Both countries also had powerful bombs．People in the United States were worried when the Soviets were first to launch a space satellite, which was called Sputnik．The Soviets were also first to send a person into space．Yury Gagarin orbited the earth in the V ostok I spaceship in 1961.The US government set a goal for its space program to be the first country to put a person on the Moon．The U.S．space program built a series of Apollo spaceship．These vehicles were powered by huge Saturn 5 rockets．In 1969 Apollo II took three men to the moon successfully．Nell Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.The Soviets may have lost the race to fly people to the Moon, but they built the first space station in 1971．The United States also built a space station．The space stations allowed people to live and work in space．Then the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated to hook two spaceships together in space．This action ended the "space race"．Today a much larger space station, built by several countries together, orbits Earth.Another new way to go to space is by space shuttle．A space shuttle, first made in the United States in 1981, looks like an airplane．Astronauts who fly spaceships have used shuttles to help put二Whenever we meet with difficulty or failure, teachers, parents or others often say to us or perhaps we say to ourselves, “Never give up.” These can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in himself will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion , the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel disappointed and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail , we will not be able to develop new skills and grow.Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes so that we can not make the same ones. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted.Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives. If we never challenge ourselves, we will begin to doubt our abilities.In short, it is important that we do not give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not , we will learn something , and what we learn will help us to become better and more confident. Furthermore, if we give up , we have no chance of attaining our goals any more , but if we keep making great efforts, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.make 7.lesson 8.improve 9.chance/ opportunity ter三Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor. Whenever I speak to Chinese students they always say, “ My spoken English s poor”. However, their spoken English doesn’t have to remain “poor”. I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English. First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary. Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary. However, you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if your attitude is positive. Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know. Second, they are afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking, because they are shy and nervous. Yet students should remember that their goal should be fluency not accuracy. Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using tenses to get your message across. But to talk to someone in English, as quickly and well as you can, even though sometimes you may use a wrong word of tense, but it doesn’t matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you.The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening. you have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing is necessary for you to start speaking.Fourth, most Chinese students are reactive rather than pro-active language learners. Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English, they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor. If you have this pro-active outlook, then, you will see English opportunities wherever you go.If you don’t use your English beyond the classroom you will forget that English you know.四It is an all too familiar story. A natural disaster strikes in a remote part of the world, causing destruction and suffering. Villages are flattened and people are forced into camps. It is now happening in China, after the earthquake of magnitude（里氏）8 that was centered on Wenchuan but shook the entire country.Actually, in the past centuries, there were hundreds of thousands of earthquakes in different parts of the world. In Sept. 1923, Tokyo and Yokohama were both destroyed by an earthquake and the fires that followed it. They had to be completely rebuilt. One of the most serious earthquakes was in China’s Shanxi Province in 1556. It claimed almost one million people died.We measure an earthquake’s strength on the Richter scale. The Richter scale was introduced in 1935 in Southern California in the USA. It measures earthquakes on a scale of one to ten. Any earthquake measuring five or more is usually serious.The earth’s crust (地壳) is made up of layers of rock called plates. As these plates move, they sometimes crash against each other, causing the crust to quake. In cities such as Tokyo, where small quakes happen quite often, many modern buildings are designed to be flexible so when the earth moves, they move with it.Earthquakes can also break up gas or oil pipes. This can cause fires to break out, which can do as much damage as the earthquake itself.Another effect of the earthquakes is tsunamis (海啸). These are huge waves created by earthquakes beneath the sea. They can be many meters high and cause great damage to costal towns and cities.China, Japan, Russia and the USA have the highest occurrence of earthquakes in the world.1. earthquakes;2. history;3. following;4. happened/ occurred;5. way;6. measures;7. cause;8. form;9. effects/ results 10. fires。