For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive to such messages.
Scientists are using powerful radio telescopes to listen to signals from about 1, 000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan（扫视）the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal they stands out from the background noise.
Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy（银河星系）, scientists find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution（进化）of life. Based on the inhabitable（that can be lived in）planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.
However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent（有智力的）life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.
Other scientists believe that our search hasn’t been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family is only about five billion years old, our galaxy is about 20 billion years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilization（文明）much more advanced than ours have developed. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.According to the passage, how many planets in our galaxy might be inhabitable?
| A．5 billion． | B．10 billion. |
| C．15 billion. | D．200 billion |
The first paragraph in this passage is mainly about ________ .
| A．how scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| B．why scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| C．where scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| D．when scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
The underlined word “monitor” in the passage means“ ________ ”.
| A．find | B．follow |
| C．check | D．form |
Which of these statements is true based on the information in the passage?
| A．The earth is one of the oldest planets in our galaxy. |
| B．Most scientists believe that there is intelligent life on other planets. |
| C．Scientists are trying different ways to find signs of life on other planets. |
| D．Scientists don’t believe that there might be life on other planets. |
Do you know what Street Sense is? It’s a newspaper in Washington D.C. about homeless people and problems that affect them. Homeless, or formerly homeless, Washingtonians write many of the articles. The newspaper’s business model is based on homeless sellers who sell the newspaper. You can hear them call out “Street Sense for sale!” near subway entrances, lunch places and other areas around the city.
The Street Sense newspaper is housed in an office in a Christian church in Washington. Every other Wednesday about fourteen thousand copies are printed. The newspaper expresses the thoughts and experiences of people who call the streets home.
Four staff members work at Street Sense and two of them are paid. The staff members write the first two pages of the paper. Interns--students working as part of their studies--and volunteers help. Homeless writers provide the rest of the material. This includes poems, stories and essays.
Street Sense provides training for the homeless people who want to become part of the sales team. After the training, each student is given ten free copies of Street Sense. Once those are sold, trainees become real salespeople. They buy papers for thirty-five cents each and sell them for a dollar.
Lisa Gillespie is the managing editor of Street Sense, She says the newspaper plays a part in homeless people’s lives that other media can not. With the help of the newspaper, a lot of homeless people have become confident again, and their lives have also been improved a lot.What does the writer mainly tell us in Paragraph 1?
A. Something about the Street Sense.
B. Homeless people in Washington D.C.
C. How Street Sense solves homeless people’s problems.
D. Where you can buy Street Sense.How often is Street Sense printed?
| A．Once a week | B．Twice a week |
| C．Every two weeks | D．three times a month |
What do the staff members mainly do at Street Sense?
| A．They sell newspapers along the street. |
| B．They write the first two pages of the paper. |
| C．They edit the newspaper after they receive articles. |
| D．They provide the last two pages of the paper. |
What can we infer from this passage?
A. If you are one of the trainees of Street sense, you can get ten dollars from selling all of your newspapers.
B. There are too many homeless people in Washington D.C. for the government to help.
C. Most articles of Street Sense are about Washingtonians’ lives.
D. If you become real salespeople of Street Sense, you can get thirty-five cents from a copy of the newspaper.
Last summer, after finishing our work in China, I took a trip of a lifetime on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Leaving Beijing early on a Wednesday morning in July, my wife and I traveled through some gorgeous countryside before we arrived in Moscow the following Monday evening.
The first part of the journey took us past the Great Wall and through the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. At the Mongolian Republic border, we had a delay(耽搁) while the wheels were changed because the railway is different.
On our way to the capital, Ulan Bator, we saw herdsmen(牧人) on horseback looking after their cattle. There was a terrible thunderstorm as we crossed a vast open plain. Later we had a quick tour of Ulan Bator.
Next, the train took us into Siberia. After a stop at Irkutsk, a popular holiday resort (胜地), where a tour group left the train, we passed the great Lake Baikal. Later, we saw some lovely wooden houses in pretty, sunny countryside. This surprised us, as we had imagined Siberia as being covered in thick snow.
Over the next few days, we passed through Novosibirsk, Omsk and other cities in the heartlands of the Russian Federation. By now, our body clocks were losing their sense of time. We wanted to sleep and eat at the wrong time!
At last we reached Moscow. We were too tired and slept for 16 hours that night. The next day we went sightseeing. We saw the Kremlin and some other great buildings in the Russian capital. Then, all too soon, it was time for us to return to our home in London.How many days did it take the author to reach Moscow?
| A．four | B．five | C．six | D．seven |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Ulan Bator is the capital of Mongolian Republic. |
| B．The author travelled with a group of friends |
| C．The author’s body clock ran faster than the others’. |
| D．The train broke down at the Mongolian Republic border. |
The author was surprised by what he saw in Siberia because _____.
| A．it was covered with thick snow though it was sunny. |
| B．the houses there were so pretty. |
| C．there were a large number of tourists there. |
| D．It was not covered in snow but it was sunny. |
The passage mainly tells us_____.
| A．how to travel to Moscow from Beijing. |
| B．the trip from Beijing to Moscow. |
| C．How wonderful the capital of Russia is. |
| D．The trans-Siberian Railway. |
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student. By using your time properly, you can do your homework more quickly. Learning to study is not difficult.
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn. It doesn't mean that you must always like the subject. It does mean, however, that you must be willing to do whatever is necessary to learn. Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things. Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life. Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier. Sometimes subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly. Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them.
Here's some advice for you: have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study, so that you can concentrate on your study without interruptions; have everything ready before you sit down to study, a dictionary, paper, a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing, first find out the main parts and then recite the whole thing; check your homework after you finish it; never forget the importance of review and preview.We learn things because______.
| A．we are willing to learn |
| B．it can be fun and exciting |
| C．we are interested in the subjects |
| D．we may use these things in the future |
Which of the following is NOT the advice given in the article?
| A．To focus on what you are studying. |
| B．To study at any possible time and place. |
| C．To review and preview. |
| D．To pay attention to the most important things. |
The main purpose of the article is______.
| A．to prove that learning is not so difficult. |
| B．to make the readers interested in study. |
| C．to encourage students to study hard. |
| D．to tell the students how to study well. |
If you’re planning on traveling, there are a few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey.
First of all, always check and double-check departure (起程) time. It is amazing how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten. My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10:50. When I arrived at the airport, the clerk at the departure desk told me that my flight was closed. Therefore, I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting.
The second rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards, it is still important to have at least a little of the local currency(货币) with you when you arrive in a country. This can be necessary if you are flying to a place few tourists normally visit. Once I arrived at a place at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi and because I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. “Listen! I only take real money!” the driver said angrily. Luckily I was able to borrow a few dollars from a clerk at the hotel, but it was embarrassing.
The third and last rule is to find out as much as you can about the weather at your destination before you leave. I feel sorry for some of my workmates who travel in heavy suit and raincoats in May, when it is still fairly cool in London or Manchester, to places like Athens, Rome or Madrid, where it is already beginning to get quite warm during the day.Where is the writer most probably from?
| A．Italy | B．The USA | C．Britain | D．Greece |
According to the passage, the driver was angry because_______.
| A．the author gave him false (假的) money |
| B．the author did not give him the local money |
| C．the author offered to pay by credit card |
| D．the author had no enough change |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The author tells people to choose warm places as their travel destinations. |
| B．You don’t have to take credit cards when traveling. |
| C．You should know more about the weather of the place you’ll visit. |
| D．It’s unnecessary to check the departure time carefully. |
The writer mainly tells us ______.
| A．how to make life easier |
| B．how to be well prepared for a trip |
| C．how to enjoy ourselves on trip |
| D．how to plan our trip |
When I was 12, all I wanted was a signet (图章) ring. They were the "in" thing and it seemed every girl except me had one. On my 13th birthday, my Mum gave me a signet ring with my initials(姓名首字母) carved into it. I was in heaven.
What made it even more special was that it was about the only thing that wasn't being "replaced". We'd been burnt out in fires that swept through our area earlier that year and had lost everything—so most of the " new" stuff (东西) we got was really just to replace what we'd lost. But not my ring. My ring was new.
Then, only one month later, I lost it. I took it off before bed and it was missing in the morning. I was sad and searched everywhere for it. But it seemed to have disappeared. Eventually, I gave up and stopped looking for it. And two years later, we sold the house and moved away.
Years passed, and a couple of moves later, I was visiting my parents' when Mum told me that she had something for me. It wasn't my birthday, nor was it Easter or Christmas or any other gift-giving occasion. Mum noticed my questioning look. " You'll recognize this one," she said, smiling.
Then she handed me a small ring box. I took it from her and opened it to find my beautiful signet ring inside. The family who had bought our house 13 years earlier had recently decided to do some redecorations, which included replacing the carpets. When they pulled the carpet up in my old bedroom, they found the ring. As it had my initials carved into it, they realized who owned the ring. They'd had it professionally cleaned up by a jeweler before sending it to my mother. And it still fits me..The underlined word "in" in the first paragraph probably means "_____".
| A．fashionable | B．available |
| C．practical | D．renewable |
.When she got the ring back, the writer was about _____.
| A．13 years old | B．15 years old |
| C．26 years old | D．28 years old |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The writer's family moved several times. |
| B．The writer never stopped looking for her ring. |
| C．The writer's ring was cleaned up by the new house owner. |
| D．The writer lost her ring in the morning when she took it off. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．My New Ring | B．Lost and Found |
| C．Lost and Replace | D．An Expensive Ring |