The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar. It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X---or Nibiru---heads toward or collides with the Earth.
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”. “There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website. “If such a cllision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA.
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space. But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible(unimportant)”, NASA said.
“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs.
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said.
49. ______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors.
A. A new book B. The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C. NASA D. An Indian calendar
50. We can infer that ______.
A. people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B. Planet X --- or Nibiru does exist
C. astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D. the rumor caused a panic among some people
51. NASA thinks that Eris ______.
A. might have a threat to the Earth
B. dosen’t have any threat to the Earth
C. is too far away to be visible
D. is similar to our planet, where life might exist
52. Which of the following is the best title?
A. New Hollywood movie 2012
B. December 21, 2012, Not the end of the world
C. End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D. How rumors came into being
Joey is loyal, encouraging and self-sacrificing, always putting others’ interests ahead of his own. He is a hard worker, who also loves to run and play. In short, he’s an ideal friend and a heroic character.
Here is the thing: Joey is a horse, who appears as the main character in Steven Spielberg’s new film War Horse.
It is based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, which also caused the same-titled Tony Awards winning play.
The film follows the saga of Joey, a racehorse that’s trained for farm work under the loving care of Albert (Jeremy Irvine )after Albert’s drunk father Ted(Peter Mullan ) overpays for the animal at auction(拍卖会).
Then the World War I tears Albert and Joey apart. Joey is sold into the war effort for the British and starts his episodic adventures in Europe.
Splendidly staged, the battle plots in the film are visually astounding and impressive.
And with Spielberg’s unique, top-notch direction and storytelling skills, War Horse cannot escape its episodic nature, calling to mind another Spielberg film about the horrors of war and its effects upon soldiers and civilians—Saving Private Ryan.
While that film shocked with horrific scenes of bleeding, it relied on a company of easily-described characters and a focused storyline to present heroic themes.
Like Saving Private Ryan, War Horse clings to a series of characters, not only Albert, but also British officers, French civilians and German soldiers, who display courage in the face of danger. Everyone who comes in contact with Joey is either already in touch with their inner angel or is quickly moved to become more humane.
Although none of this covers the fact that we’ve seen this stuff elsewhere before, the lovely sentiment will steal your heart.
And the emotional signature of Spielberg can be felt as he establishes the relationship between the boy and the horse and the mood of the piece – there will be tears.
Therefore, calling this beautiful, dramatically incomplete film “ Saving Private Joey”, is entirely justifiable. In common with “ Saving Private Ryan”, the film War Horse _________ .
| A．is full of terrifying scenes of bleeding and killing |
| B．received the title of Tony Awards Winning Play |
| C．covers a lot of characters |
| D．tells the story happening in the Second World War |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．War Horse is based on the same-titled novel by Steven Spielberg. |
| B．Joey is a heroic character because he saved many people’s lives. |
| C．Albert sold Joey into the war effort for Europe. |
| D．Joey came to Albert’s care after Ted paid a lot of money for it. |
According to the passage, what does the underlined word astounding mean?
| A．astonishing | B．confusing | C．satisfying | D．disappointing |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Joey ─ a heroic race horse | B．Albert and Joey |
| C．Saving Private Joey | D．Spielberg’s Joey |
With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.” The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.
| A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.
| A．available panda eggs | B．host animals |
| C．qualified researchers | D．enough money |
The best title for the passage may be _______.
| A．China’s Success in Pandas Cloning |
| B．The First Cloned Panda in the World |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas |
| D．China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever |
From the passage we know that _______.
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
| D．about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century |
The blue tits(山雀) have been inspecting the nest-box again this year. The male is the house-hunter but the female will make the final choice. He lands at the hole and turns his head to expose his white cheeks as a signal to attract the female from where she has been feeding.
Among many birds that nest in holes, the male has a light-coloured patch on its plumage(鸟羽) which acts as signal for drawing the female’s attention to a suitable nesting-place. Unlike the blue tit, the redstart(红尾鸲) may be only the male that strikingly coloured and the female is not beautiful.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to spot a pair of redstarts in action in a Walsh wood. The male was leading an interested female to holes that he had previously(先前) checked out. He sat at the entrance of each hole and put his head on to show off his white forehead, or his head in to reveal(显露) his tail.
If the female failed to react to his visual signals, the male sometimes sang for extra effect, while gliding towards her on spread wings and tail. Once the female accepts by following the male through the hole the displays stop, you must be at the right place at the right time to watch them. How do the blue tits choose their nest?
| A．They choose their nest together. |
| B．The male chooses their nest. |
| C．The house-hunter chooses their nest. |
| D．The female chooses their nest. |
The writer was lucky to see ________.
| A．how the male made his tricks |
| B．how an interested female played with the male happily |
| C．what the male displayed and won the female |
| D．that the male tried his best but failed to attract the female |
You can spot a pair of redstarts in a Walsh wood ________.
| A．at any time | B．regularly | C．in April | D．occasionally |
The writer is probably ________.
| A．a bird expert | B．a bird-hunter |
| C．a bird raiser | D．a scientist |
Millions of years ago dinosaurs lived on the earth. In the days of dinosaurs, the whole earth was warm and wet. There were green forests and they could find enough to eat. Later, parts of the earth became cold and dry, and the forests there died. Then dinosaurs could not find enough to eat. This must be one reason why dinosaurs died out.
We can guess another reason. New kinds of animals came on the earth. Some had big brains and strong .They could kill dinosaurs.
There may be other reasons that we don’t know about yet. Scientists are are trying to make more discoveries about dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs were of many sizes and shapes. Some were as small as chickens, while some were about 90 feet long.
There were also terrible rights between dinosaurs. They night have happened more than 100 million years ago. Though there was no man to see any of the fights, we can be told by the animal’s footprints(足迹)that fights did take place .According to the passage, dinosaurs did exist only on the earth _______.
| A．for millions of year | B．millions of years ago |
| C．more than 100 million years ago | D．when it was warm and wet somewhere |
One reason why dinosaurs died out is that __________.
| A．there were too many dinosaurs |
| B．parts of the earth became cold and dry |
| C．the dead forests there could not supply them with enough food |
| D．they couldn’t find enough go eat |
One more reason why dinosaurs died out may be that _______.
| A．new kinds of animals came on the earth |
| B．some fast and strong animals with big brains could kill them |
| C．some dinosaurs were as small as chickens |
| D．some big dinosaurs died in the fights |
We can see from this passage ________.
| A．scientists are trying to make some dinosaurs |
| B．dinosaurs are dangerous enough |
| C．dinosaurs are worth studying |
| D．scientists know nothing about dinosaurs |
Edmund Halley was an English scientist who lived over 200years ago. He studied the observations of comets which other scientists had made. The orbit of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not figure it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.
However, Halley had a friend named Isaac Newton. Who was a brilliant mathematician. Newton thought he had already which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse.
Now Halley set to work. He figured out the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by scientist. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607 and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearances had been 75 to 76 years apart.
This seemed very strange to Halley. Three different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the more he thought that there had not been three different comets, as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.
It was an astonishing idea! Halley felt certain enough to make a prediction of what would happen in the future. He decided that this comet would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley’s prediction could be tested.
In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet been called Halley’s comet, in his honor.Halley made his discovery ______.
| A．by doing experiments | B．by means of his own careful observation |
| C．by using the work of other scientists | D．by chance |
Halley made a surprising but correct prediction in the year ________.
| A．1704 | B．1705 | C．1706 | D．1707 |
This text in general is about _______.
| A．Halley and other scientists | B．the orbit of a comet |
| C．Newton and Halley | D．Halley and Halley |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Edmund Halley was an American scientist. |
| B．Halley made his discovery by doing experiments. |
| C．Isaac Newton was a famous mathematician. |
| D．The orbit of a comet had the shape of an around. |