What science fiction once told of other worlds far away is now a fact. Astronomers prove another solar system like ours with some planets in the constellation (星座) Andromeda ( 仙女座).
Geoffrey Marcy is a professor of astronomy and physics at San Francisco State University and says, “What we have found now, for the first time ever, is indeed a fully-grown system of planets around the star Upsilon Andromeda. It appears to have three planets, one close in, one at a middle distance, and one farther out.” The star is slightly larger than our sun. The planets are huge, like our Jupiter(木星)
Marcy’s partner in this research, Debra Fischer, describes the solar system, “Here’s the inner planet that goes around every 46 days, the middle planet that goes around every 242 days, and then the outer planet that goes around every three and a half to four years.”
Astronomically, it’s not far away, 44 light years. The sun of that solar system, Upsilon Andromeda, is so near and bright that it can be seen by using no equipment during summer and fall.
For twelve years astronomers searched the skies in the belief that if our sun has planets around it, surely others do, too. Geoffrey Marcy says, “And then starting three and a half years ago, we began finding for the first time planets singly, one planet here around one star.”
“When I look up at the stars now at night, I can imagine easily that every one of them has planets around them,” says Debra Fischer.
It was a tremble in the star that led Marcy to the planets. “The star rocks around due to the gravity of the planet much like a dog owner gets pulled around by a little dog.”
Can they support life? We don’t know, because present technology is not advanced enough to determine what the planets are made of. “That,” Marcy says , “is astronomy’s next challenge.”
1. What’s the relation between Andromeda (A), Upsilon Andromeda system (U) and the mentioned planets (P) ?
2. According to Debra Fischer, in the new solar system, ________.
A. the larger a planet is, the shorter it takes to go around the star.
B. it takes all the planets around three and a half to four years to go around the star
C. the planets move around the star at uneven speeds
D. the farther a planet is from the star, the longer it takes to go around the star
3. What led to Marcy’s discovery of the planets?
A. The tremble of Upsilon Andromeda.
B. That any planet has gravity.
C. That he believes any star has its planets.
D. that he found a dog owner was pulled by his dog.
4. We can infer that the scientists are .
A. to find means to communicate with the living beings on the planets
B. to find means to travel to the planets
C. soon to be able to answer the question of whether there is life on these planets
D. to find out whether the planets can support life.
B
Dear Editor,
I’m a Senior 1 student in a middle school. This term, my favourite teacher, Miss Mao, no longer teaches us. I want to see her, but I’m afraid that she no longer likes me and I don’t want to trouble her. I really miss her. What should I do?
Tian Yan
Dear Tian Yan,
It’s bad luck that you have lost your favourite teacher. But, if she is still in your school, nothing can stop you going to see her. When she isn’t busy, ask her if she minds having a quick chat. You can then tell her she was your favourite teacher. Everyone is happy to know they are liked!
If she has left the school, it will be more difficult to meet her. It will be hard, but remember people always come and go in our lives. We can’t rely on（依靠） them being with us all the time.
You may be sad to say goodbye to her, but we can remember and learn from her. Think of her best qualities.
You could also try looking for similar qualities in your other teachers. Study hard and give your new teacher a chance. In time, you might start to see that he or she has different qualities to learn from.
Finally, you can not completely rely on other people getting you through your studies, or even your life.
Editor
35. Tian Yan ______.
A. is a troublemaker B. likes Miss Mao very much
C. is happy these days D. doesn’t like to tell her secret to anyone
36. Which of the following does the editor advise Tian Yan NOT to do?
A. Find a time to see Miss Mao. B. Have a short chat with Miss Mao.
C. Tell Miss Mao she likes her. D. Keep quiet about the thing.
37. The expression “in time” in this passage means “______”.
A. over a period of time B. on time C. at the right time D. a long time ago
38. According to the passage, students can make progress in their studies ______.
A. completely by their favourite teachers B. completely by their favourite classmates
C. mainly by their parents D. mainly by themselves
第二部分阅读（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C或D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
An old friend from California called from the airport（机场） to tell me that he had arrived. I was not able to leave the office, but I had made plans for his arrival. After explaining where my new house was, I told him that I had left the key under the doormat (门垫). Since I knew it would be pretty late before I could get home, I suggested that he make himself at home and help himself to anything that was in the refrigerator.
Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house. At the moment, he said, he was listening to some of my records after having had a delicious meal. Now, he said, he was drinking a glass of orang
e juice. When I asked him if he had had any difficulty finding the house, he answered that the only problem was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat(门垫), but luckily, the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and he had climbed in through the window. I listened to all this in great surprise. There is no apple tree outside my window, but there is one by the living room window of my next door neighbor's house!
31. An old friend of mine called ______.
A. to tell me to meet him at the airport B. to tell me about his arrival
C. to ask me to leave the office D. to ask me to make plans for his arrival.
32. My friend climbed into the room because ______ .
A. there was an apple tree outside B. the living room window was left open
C. he had difficulty opening the door D. he hadn't found the key
33. My friend telephoned me two hours later ______ .
A. from my home B. at the airport C. in his office D. from my neighbor's house
34. The purpose（目的） of writing this passage（文章的段） is to ________.
A. introduce a friend B. tell an interesting story
C. explain something D. show what friendship is
E
It is often difficult for visitors to understand Americans lack of desire for privacy(隐私) . They are not a nation of walled gardens and closed gates. Their yards normally run into one another without fences, they often visit one another’s homes without being invited or telephoning first, they leave their office doors open while they work.
Their lack of desire for privacy probable results from their history as a nation. America is a big country. There have never been walled cities in the United States, nor was there the need for Americans to protect themselves from neighboring states. During the early years, America had so few settlers that neighbors were very important, they were not to be shut out by doors and fences. Neighbors offered protection and helped in the hard work of settling the land. They depended upon each other.
From the nation’s early history has come the desire for openness rather than privacy. Visitors will notice this desire in a number of small ways, there may be rooms in American homes that do not have doors or that have glass walls. If you notice that people forget to close your door when they leave your room, do not think that this is rude, help them to learn that you would like it to be closed, or else become used to new ways. In either case, be patient with the differences.
72. According to the passage, visitors to America sometimes have difficultyunderstanding _____.
A .Americans’ openness B. American’s lack of desire for privacy
C. Americans’ way of home D. American’s style of life
73. During the early years, people were never shut out by doors because _________.
A. they were neighbors B. they were friends
C. they depended on each other D. they got used to that
74. Visitors will notice American’s desire for openness in a way ___________.
A .they walled their houses with glass
B. they leave the office doors open while working
C. they never have fence
D. they depended upon each other
75. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A .No Walled Cities. B. The Early Settlers
C. Americans’ Lack of Desire for Privacy D. be Patient with Differences
D
Global warming is the process of earth’s atmosphere heating up. Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of earth’s atmosphere has gone up 1 Fahrenheit. The weather has not changed exactly the same way in every area of the planet. But scientists think that the rise in average temperature is already affecting the earth’s climate.
Many scientists now believe that global warming is caused by cutting down trees, producing more trash, and polluting the environment are some of the reasons that the temperature has gone up. Many scientists believe that the biggest causes of global warming are new human technologies that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect is not new. Certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, prevent heat energy from escaping back into space. In the past, the climate didn’t change much because nature produced just the right amount of greenhouse gases to deal with it.
Today, most scientists are pretty sure that the rising temperature can’t be blamed on nature. Ever since the industrial revolution in the 1700s, humans have relied on machines for daily life. And many of those machines give off a lot of greenhouse gases. An increase in the release of greenhouse gases from human activities is throwing nature off balance.
The climate is a very complicated thing, but many scientists agree that the rising atmospheric temperature has already damaged the environment. Sheets of ice, called glaciers, are melting in Antarctica and other parts of the globe. As glaciers break off and melt into the oceans, they are adding warm water to the oceans and causing the sea level to rise.
Over the past last 100years, the sea level has risen 6-8 inches around the world. That means land along the coasts is beginning to disappear under water. Bigger and warmer oceans are also adding to other weather problems caused by pollution in the atmosphere. Some places have received more rain, others have had bigger storms and a few areas in the world have experienced unusual droughts.
68. What is mainly talked about in this passage?
A. The melting of glaciers. B. Global warming.
C. The world’s weather. D. The earth’s temperature.
69. What causes global warming according to scientists?
A. Human activities. B. The nature itself.
C. The earth’s atmosphere. D. New discoveries
70. How can greenhouse gases make the globe warm?
A. They keep heat in the atmosphere
B. They let the heat go out into space.
C. They release heat into the air.
D. They can make the other gases warm.
71. From the passage we can see that global warming will bring about _________.
A. the pollution in the atmosphere B. natural disasters
C. population pollution D. the rise of glaciers
C
Marie Curie was a Polish physicist and chemist who lived between 1867---1934.
Together with her husband, Pierre, she discovered two new elements (radium and polonium) and studied the x-rays. She found that the harmful properties of x-rays were able to kill tumors(肿瘤). By the end of World WarⅠ, Marie Curie was probably the most famous woman in the world. She had made a conscious decision, however, not to patent（申请专利）methods of processing radium or its medical applications.
Marie Curie was born on November 7, 1867, in Poland and died on July 4, 1934.
Her co-discovery with her husband Pierre Curie of the radioactive elements radium and polonium represents one of the best known stories in modern science for which they were recognized in 1901with the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1911, Marie Curie was honored with a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, to honor her for successfully isolating pure radium and determining radium’s atomic weight.
As a child, Marie Curie amazed people with her great memory. She learned to read when she was only four years old. Her father was a professor of science and the instruments that he kept in a glass case fascinated Marie. She dreamed of becoming a scientist, but that would not be easy. Her family became very poor, and at the age of 18, Marie became a governess(家庭教师). In 1891, Marie attended the Sorbonne University in Paris where she met and married Pierre Curie, a well-known physicist.
Marie Curie contributed greatly to our understanding of radioactivity and the effects of x-rays. She received two Noble Prizes for her brilliant work, but died of leukemia, caused by her repeated exposure to radioactive material.
64. What does the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
A. To give us a general introduction of Marie Curie.
B. To show us how Madame Curie discovered radium.
C. To tell us how Madame Curie received the Noble Prize.
D. To let us know something about Madame Curie’s childhood.
65. In this passage the underlined word “isolating” probably means________.
A. discovering B. inventing C. separating D. comparing
66. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Marie Curie could learn things by heart very easily as a child.
B. Marie Curie had a great ambition when she was young.
C. Marie Curie found it hard for her to receive high education.
D. Marie Curie received two Noble Prizes in physics.
67. Which is the right order of happenings in this passage?
a. married Pierre Curie b. attended University
c. discovered radium d. determined radium’s atomic weight
e. won the Noble Prize in physics
A. b, c, a, d, eB. b, a, c, d, e C. b, a, c, e, dD. b, c, a, e, d