C

We don't have beds in the space shuttle (航天飞机), but we do have sleeping bags. During the day, when we are working, we leave the bags tied to the wall, out of the way. At bedtime we untie them and take them wherever we've chosen to sleep.

On most space shuttle flights everyone sleeps at the same time. No one has to stay awake to watch over the space plane; the shuttle's computers and the engineers at the Control Office do that. If anything goes wrong, the computers ring a warning bell and the engineers call us on the radio.

On the space shuttle, sleep-time doesn't mean nighttime. During each ninety-minute flight around the earth, the sun "rises" and shines through our windows for about fifty minutes: then it "sets" as our flight takes us around the dark side of the Earth. To keep the sun out of sleep masks (眼罩).

It is surprisingly easy to get comfortable and fall asleep in space, and we sleep differently. Some sleep upside down, some sideways, some right side up. When it's time to sleep, I take my bag, my sleep mask, and my tape player with earphones and float up to the flight platform. Then I get into the bag, and float in a sitting position just above a seat, right next to a window. Before I pull the mask down over my eyes, I relax(放松)for a while, listening to music and watching the Earth，by under me.

When I'm in space I don't need as much sleep as I do on Earth. Maybe that's because when I am weightless, I don't feel as tired. Or maybe it's because I'm excited to be in space and don't want to waste time sleeping.

8. What do the shuttle people do with their sleeping bags while working?

A. Keep them where thy work.

B. Leave them where they sleep.

C. Place them on the beds.

D. Fix them to the wall.

9. During sleeping time, the job of watching over the shuttle is done by      .

A. the shuttle's radio

B. the shuttle's warning bell

C. people working in the shuttle

10. How often does the sun rise to people in the space shuttle?

A. Every 140 minutes.

B. Every 90 minutes.

C. Every 50 minutes.

D. Every 40 minutes.

11. What do we know about people sleeping in the space shuttle?

A.They sleep while listening to music.

B. They have difliculty falling asleep.

C.They Sleep in different positions.

D. They go to sleep when it is dark.

D

You have probably seen ads (广告)in newspapers or on TV for mail-order shopping. Perhaps you have been sent a catalogue(商品目录)and have bought something by mail. Why do people buy things they have not seen with their own eyes? One of the reasons might be that some people believe that things can be bought more cheaply by mail. Another advantage of mail-order shopping is that it is more comfortable to sit at home and look through a catalogue than to rush around the stores. With the catalogue from a large company, you have your own shop window for almost everything you might want to buy.

The mail-order business is very wide-spread. Some companies hire people to show products listed in the catalogue to possible customers. Perhaps you have had one of these people call you or come by your home.

pay later on. Some companies allow a customer to pay for a product over a long period of time. People can also pay a certain percent of the total price. This is called a down payment. Then the customer pays a certain amount of money every month until the product is completely paid for. People can buy almost everything by mail-order shopping-furniture, tools and even heavy machines.

12. People prefer to buy things by mail-order because        .

A. they think the price is lower

B. they enjoy the shopping service

C. they can get catalogue they want

D. they can buy things from big companies

13. What do we know about mail-order business from the text?

A. Mail-order shops is very common nowadays.

B. Mail-order companies respect their customers.

C. Shopping by mail causes trouble to old people.

D. Companies spend a lot of money sending catalogues.

14. What might be a big problem for mail-order customers?

A. It's possible to get what they don't like.

B. It's easy to buy more than they can pay for.

C. They may fail to get what they have paid for.

D. They will wait for a long time to get the product.

15. What does "down payment" in the last paragraph mean?

A. The money a customer saves each month.

B. The money a customer pays for a product.

C. Part of the total cost a customer pays first.

D. Part of the total cost a customer saves.

参考答案：

1.A   2.B   3. D   4.A   5. A

6.B   7. D   8. D   9.D   10. B  

11. C   12.A   13.A   14. B  15.C