1. 阅读B篇短文，从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

B

    Great changes have taken place in our lives in the last century. Here are some examples:

    Firstly, people were not able to travel such a long distance in such a short time in the past. Planes were not very popular at that time because they used to be a very expensive way to travel. Nowadays, we have fast and comfortable cars, and more and more people can travel by plane.

    Secondly, in the past, people had to work much harder because they did not have the tools that we have today. Today, machines do most of the difficult and dangerous work.

    Thirdly, the living conditions in the past were not as good as they are now. There were no bathrooms or running water in many houses, and many people couldn't buy the things like refrigerators, TV sets or washing machines. Now, most families have several of these things. And many families have computers, cars and so on.

    Finally, nowadays, more and more people have the chance to get a good education. In the past, there were fewer schools and quality of education was much poorer. Now people can also study on the Internet at home.

    The development of science and technology in the world is amazing(令人惊异的). Life now is much faster and busier than it used to be. And we are still creating(创造) new things to make our lives better and easier.

1. （1） The underlined word “they” refers to _______.        

   A . planes B . cars C . people D . children
3. （2） What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?        

   A . The people in the past were hard-working. B . Machines can help us do dangerous and difficult work now. C . The people now are too lazy to do difficult work. D . Machines were too expensive in the past.
5. （3） Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?        

   A . All the people couldn't use running water in the past. B . People sometimes went to the movies in the past. C . People didn't watch TV at all in the past. D . Some people used washing machines to wash their clothes in the past.
7. （4） What does the underlined word “quality” mean in Chinese?        

   A . 方法 B . 资料 C . 质量 D . 改革
9. （5） Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?        

   A . Living conditions. B . Ways to travel. C . Education. D . Sports.