C

A few years ago, a pilot had to have perfect eyesight and a college degree if he or she wanted to land a job with an American airline. But today, airlines have waived(宣布放弃) those requirements because they can’t find enough qualified pilots.

Airlines must hire up to 6200 new pilots in the next decade. But qualified pilots are few and far between in the United States. Every year there are more planes being flown. At the same time, 12 to 15 foreign countries are recruiting (招聘)American pilots.

As a result, pilots are earning spectacular salaries. The going rate for skilled pilots is well over $ 90,000 a year. Some pilots can earn about $ 160,000 plus free housing working for foreign airlines.

Because of the shortage, some people say unqualified pilots are being allowed to fly planes. They fear the number of crashed will skyrocket. Each year, more and more pilots with less than 2,000 hours of experience are being hired. Airlines are also bringing on board many more pilots who are older than 50, although law requires pilots to retire at age 60.

Being an airline pilot is a difficult job that requires people to make life and death decisions under pressure. Some pilots crack under the pressure.

The military is also having a hard time keeping pilots. Air Force pilots must commit to spending at least six years in the Air Force. The Air force invests millions of dollars to train each pilot, so it doesn’t want to lose them.

Experts say this problem is going to get a lot worse. Congress may establish a commission to study the country’s pilot needs. In the meantime, salaries of pilots will continue to rise and the number of crashes may keep pace.

49. The main idea of the article is ____________

A. a shortage of pilots is caused by airlines and the military.

B. there have been more crashes because pilots have worse eyesight and higher salaries

C. a shortage of pilots may lead to more crashes

D. airlines should hire more pilots even if they’re unqualified.

50. Today a pilot no longer needs __________

A. perfect eyesight

B. military training

C. two college degrees

D. to be recruited

51. Most pilots earn ___________

A. less than $ 90,000

B. more than $ 90,000

C. about $ 160,000 or free housing

D. about $ 160,000 and free housing

52. Air Force pilots should stay in the Air Force because ___________

A. the Air Force is a good place to work

B. the Air Force pays more than airlines

C. the military should have a hard time keeping pilots

D. the Air Force spends a lot of money training them

D

Imagine，one day，getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours，and then，after a full day of work，going back home to Beijing and having dinner there.

Sounds unusual，doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic，with the development of China’s high—speed railway system.And that’s not all.China has an even greater high—speed railway plan to connect the country with Southeast Asia，and eventually Eastern Europe.

China is negotiating to extend its own high•-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 10 to 15 years，eventually reaching London and Singapore.

China has proposed three such projects.The first would possibly connect Kunming with

Singapore via Vietnam and Malaysia.Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan，and possibly to Germany.The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe.w_w w. k#s5_u.c o*m

If China’s plan for the high-speed railway goes forward，people could zip over from London to Beijing in under two days.

The new system would still follow China’s high—speed railway standard.And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour，almost as fast as some airplanes.

China’s bullet train(高速客车)，the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou，already has the

World’s fastest average speed.It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours.

Of course，there are some technical challenges to overcome.There are so many issues that need to be settled，such as safety，rail gauge(轨距)，maintenance of railway tracks.So，it’s important to pay attention to every detail.

But the key issue is really money.China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on

domestic railway expansion.

China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital

investment.Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development.

It’ll be a win-win project. For other countries，the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business，tourism and so on，not to mention the better communication among those countries.

For China，such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources，but would also help develop China’s far west.We foresee that in the coming decades，millions of people will migrate to the western regions，where the land is empty and resources unused.With high-speed trains，people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all.And they’ll trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries.

53.China’s new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because      .

A.China will get much-needed resources and develop its western regions

B.China and the countries involved will benefit from the project in various ways

C.China will develop its railway system and communication with other countries

D. the foreign countries involved will develop their railway transportation，business and tourism

54.According to the passage，the greatest challenge to the new high-speed railway plan is      .

A.technical issues    B.safety of the system

C.financial problems  D.maintenance of railway tracks

55.Which of the following words best describes the author’s attitude towards China’s high-speed

railway plan?

A.Critical.    B.Reserved.    C.Doubtful     D. Positive.

56.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A.New Railway Standards     B.Big Railway Dreams

C.High—speed Bullet Trains   D.International Railway Network

E

The 2012 London Olympics had enough problems to worry about. But one more has just been added - a communications blackout caused by solar storms.

After a period of calm within the Sun, scientists have detected the signs of a cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2012, just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London.

Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth, causing strong solar storms that could jam干扰 the telecommunications satellites and interact links sending five Olympic broadcast from London.

"The Sun's activity has a strong influence on the Earth. The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites," said Professor Richard Harrison, head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

At the peak of the cycle, violent outbursts called coronal mass ejections (日冕物质抛射) occur in the Sun's atmosphere, throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged matter. "A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million    kilometres per hour. Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount, can disable satellites, cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications," Professor Harrison added. The risk is greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots.

Next week in America, NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available.

The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory helped to make the high-tech cameras that will capture images of the solar flares (太阳耀斑) and explosions as they occur.

Professor Richard Holdaway, the lab's director, said that the SDO should be able to provide early warning of a solar flare or explosion big enough to affect satellite communications on Earth "If we have advance warning, we'll be able to reduce the damage. What you don't want is things switching off for a week with no idea of what's caused the problem," he said.

57. The phrase "communications blackout" in paragraph 1 most probably refers to      during the 2012 Olympics.