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Astronauts’ meals have come a long way from the free-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes of decades ago, now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the moon.
Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when residents of future lunar or even Martian outsteps will be able to dine on fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has unveiled what it called the first step toward growing flowers—and eventually food-oh the moon.
This is a sealed greenhouse that looks like a bell jar encased in a 46-cm triangular aluminum frame. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the lunar surface, and protect it while it grows.
The miniature greenhouse is to be launched into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, a participant in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $20 million to any entrant who can launch, hand and operate a rover on the lunar surface.
Paragon officials say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.
When it does lift off the greenhouse will contain the seeds of Brassica, a hardy plant related to Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Because Brassica goes from seed to flower in just 14 days, it can complete its life cycle in single lunar night.
“Coloizing the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now, ” Paragon president Jane Poynter said.
“It takes a long time to get a lot of research, and to get integrated, reliable efficient systems before colonists move in,” she said.
57．The article is written mainly to________.
A．predict the astronauts’ meals in the future
B．introduce an experiment “Lunar Oasis”
C．tell us the future development of astronomy
D．focus on the human’s great progress
58．The article implies that_________.
A．astronauts can grow flowers in space at present
B．Paragon and NASA will carry out the test separately
C．Lunar Oasis is a series of experiments carried out in space
D．the earliest testing of the Lunar Oasis may be in 2012
59．The underlined word “colonists” in the last paragraph probably has the meaning of________.
A．plants B．wild beasts C．human beings D．scientists
60．The sees of Brassica will be contained in the greenhouse mainly because__________
A．their life cycle is much shorter
B．they are more nutritious than other food
C．they are related to Brussels sporouts and cabbage
D．they are very delicious
The creation of a Chinese Green Card in 2004 was a milestone in the country’s immigration law. Five years on, the card is an increasingly sought-after document.On August 15, 2004, the Regulations on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence
oAliens in China created a Green Card system granting qualified foreigners the right to live in
China permanently.
Liu Lili, who works in the Exit and Entry Administration of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, has watched the Green Card system develop since its inception. She said nearly all applications received by the Bureau are approved. So far, 323 people have been granted a “Green Card” qualifying them for permanent residence in Beijing. Another 15 are awaiting final approval. It takes around 6 months to process each application.
Of the 323 Green Card holders, 94 are wives or husbands of Chinese citizens; 50 are minors dependent on their parents; 20 are senior citizens returning to live with relatives; 114 are individuals who have made outstanding contributions or are of special importance to China (another 7 are their family members); and 23 are high-level foreign personnel who hold posts in businesses (another 15 are their family members).
Liu said the authorities had been granting residence to returning senior citizens for some time before the Green Card system was formally launched .The government has approved permanent residence for over 3,000 foreigners since the implementation of the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens which was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in November 1985.
Four groups of people are eligible for permanent residence: high-level foreign personnel who hold posts in businesses that promote China’s economic, scientific and technological development or social progress; foreign citizens who make large direct investments in China; persons who have made outstanding contributions or are of special importance to China; and people who come to China to be with family, such as husbands and wives, minors dependent on their parents, and senior citizens dependent on their relatives.
Liu said that most applications she dealt with were from American citizens.
Why do overseas citizens apply for permanent residence status in China? The main concern, aid Liu, is the political factor. Once people have a “Green Card”, they feel they are accepted and trusted by the Chinese government. The “Green Card” also facilitates entry and exit. With permanent residence status, visas are no longer needed and people can enter and leave the country using only a valid passport. China offers outstanding career opportunities and is seen by many as safer and more secure than many other countries, said Liu.
Liu said that Green Card holders have the same rights and responsibilities as Chinese citizens. However the card is not equivalent to Chinese nationality and holders are not allowed to vote in elections, hold political office, or serve in the military.
Obtaining a Green Card is not easy. The qualifying conditions are tough. Unless you are a close relative of a Chinese citizen，you will either have to invest a substantial amount of money in the country or make a genuinely outstanding contribution to the country’s development.
To meet increasing demand, he authorities are considering making the Green Card more available by broadening the range of applicants without lowering the requirements, aid Liu, but she gave no further details.Which of the following can’t get a green card?
| A．A foreigner whose wife of husband is of Chinese nationality. |
| B．A foreign child whose parents are Chinese citizens. |
| C．A foreigner who invests large sum of money in China. |
| D．A foreigner who works in China for a long time. |
If a foreign gets a Green Card in China, he /she_________.
| A．has the right to vote in China. | B．can be a high official in China |
| C．can enter or leave China without a visa | D．becomes a citizen of Chinese nationality |
From the article we can see foreigners apply for Green Cards mainly to ________.
| A．show that they are important | B．be accepted and trusted by the Chinese |
| C．make entry and exit easier | D．make more money. |
Which of the following is not the reason for foreigners to work or live permanently in China?
| A．They can find satisfactory jobs. |
| B．China is more secure country than many. |
| C．They have their professions, families and investments in China. |
| D．The weather, working conditions are better than better than their own countries. |
People are talking about the “new economy.” It’s very different from the “old economy”.
In the old economy, people travel to walk. They buy things in stores. They use the post office, the fax and the telephone to send information. They see people face-to-face at their jobs or in stores. People get information from newspapers, radio, television, books and libraries.
In the new economy, people do business through the “net,” which is a connection of millions of computers everywhere in the world. In the new economy, workers often work at home. They can get information online. They can communicate with employers and co-workers by e-mail. Businesses have “virtual stores”. They are websites on which customers can see the products. Businesses can sell to customers anywhere in the world.
In the new economy, people live a fast paced, convenient and colorful life. The whole world develops more quickly than before. But the new economy is a double-edge sword. Its disadvantage is also obvious. For example, the Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card cheating. Some illegal websites offer some cheap or banned goods or services. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they want to buy and their card information could even be for sale in an illegal website. So people in the new economy should be smarter and knowledgeable.The cause of the differences between the new economy and the old economy is ____.
| A．the change of people’s idea | B．the business people do |
| C．the use of the Internet | D．the change of people’s life |
In the old economy, people can do the following things EXCEPT____.
| A．getting information from books |
| B．communicating with friends by telephone |
| C．meeting people face to face |
| D．shopping online |
“But the new economy is a double-edge sword ” in the last passage means_____.
| A．The new economy is as sharp as a sword |
| B．The new economy has advantages and disadvantages |
| C．The new economy is better than the old economy |
| D．Both the new economy and the old economy have disadvantages |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People can get all kinds of information on the Internet. |
| B．Telephone, radio, television, newspapers and so on will disappear in the new economy. |
| C．People in the new economy should have high quality. |
| D．Life in the new economy is more comfortable than the one in the old economy. |
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University’s Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen
All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I’m a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.What was the writer a decade ago?
| A．A worker working in a university. |
| B．A teacher teaching in a college. |
| C．A clerk working in a museum. |
| D．A university student who had not yet taken a degree. |
What does the underlined world “handicap” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Life difficulty. | B．Troublesome problem. |
| C．Failure in work. | D．Physical disability. |
How did the writer probably feel before meeting the disabled girl?
| A．She felt full of hope. |
| B．She was filled with confidence. |
| C．She felt unhappy because of poverty. |
| D．She felt life was beautiful. |
Which of the following title suits this passage best?
| A．A Disabled Girl. |
| B．A Disabled Girl’s Smile. |
| C．Full of Hope. |
| D．Full of Confidence. |
Three wishes
A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.
The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, “I wish I had a big cake!”
Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate.
“You fool!” His wife cried. “You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! ”
Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose.
Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. “It’s your fault!” she man cried. “No, it’s your fault!” she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband’s nose.
“Oh!” the wife cried. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”
Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, “I’m still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! ”
But of course nothing happened.. The man quarreled with his wife because ___.
| A．he always enjoyed eating |
| B．his wife hoped that he asked for a house |
| C．the cake stuck to the end of his nose according to his wife’s wish. |
| D．he didn’t want anything except cakes |
The wrong statement of the following is ___.
| A．the man made his wishes before dinner |
| B．the wife made two wishes, which worked |
| C．the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake |
| D．the man wished that the cake were not on his nose |
Why did the old woman not satisfy the man’s wish when he said he was still hungry and wanted some cakes?
| A．Because the old lady was angry with them |
| B．Because this was the fourth wish. |
| C．Because the man had made this wish before. |
| D．Because the cake had been gone. |
It is reported that today in China, 50% of people who write blogs do so as a personal diary and 83% use their blogs for sending messages to friends. It is also found that there is a strong East-West difference. In places like the US, blogs that offer information on news attract more readers but in China, blogs are more likely to be about sharing personal feelings.
It seems that bloggers can be divided into three types: IT bloggers, bloggers who record their ordinary feelings and media bloggers.
When blogging first started, the IT people had the technological advantage and they took the chance to put their thoughts on the web. Some of these IT people read their blogs.
The next wave of bloggers did not have any training as writes or in IT and wrote about normal daily life. Media bloggers, however, are trained writers, such as journalists and editors. When the many media bloggers showed up, the everyday blogs lost most of their readers. Media bloggers have the advantage of knowing how to communicate well through the written word.
However, the normal bloggers are still out there and increasing in number. It seems that blogging is the new way to express your feelings. People feel like the world is listening to, or rather reading, their problems, even if they are not .What type of text is this?
| A．A blog. | B．A diary. | C．A news report. | D．A school textbook. |
What is the passage’s subject?
| A．How many people in China blog. |
| B．How did blogging get started. |
| C．Different types of blogs and bloggers. |
| D．What media bloggers do. |
How does the writers feel about the subject?
| A．He/She feels strongly that blogging is a good thing. |
| B．He/She feels that there are lots of problems with blogging. |
| C．We can’t tell since he/she is not a blogger. |
| D．We can’t tell since he/she is just reporting facts. |
What is the writer’s tone?
| A．Humorous and light-hearted. | B．Serious and factual. |
| C．Conversational. | D．Informal. |