Searching for life on other planets
For more than thirty 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, as well as messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may receive 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 the entire sky to listen for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight million channels at a time. Scientists are looking for any signal that stands out from the background noise.
Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, 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 life. Based on the planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that one or more of these planets may support some life.
However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent life exists on other planets. Some believe that thirty years of searching without any intelligible messages shows that no one is out there. They say that 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 civilizations 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.To look for signals from distant stars, scientists _____.
| A．have sent up spaceships to other planets |
| B．have sent radio and television messages to outer space |
| C．are listening to the radio messages all the year round |
| D．will use computers to pick up background noise |
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. |
Some scientists believe no other planet has life because ______.
| A．most of the researches have been done over the radio |
| B．thirty years of searching doesn’t have any result |
| C．we didn’t send messages on spaceships |
| D．none of the other stars is right for life |
Some scientists think there might be more advanced civilizations on other planets because _____.
| A．some planets support more advanced civilizations |
| B．some civilizations have sent us signals we can’t recognize |
| C．the evolution of intelligence on other planets is unlike ours |
| D．some planets in our galaxy are much older than the earth |
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．More advanced civilization than ours have developed on other planets. |
After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dick,
My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew The boy looked forward to meeting the author because _________.
| A．he was also good at weight lifting | B．he wanted to get to the Olympics and win a medal |
| C．he was one of the author’s students | D．he admired the author very much |
The underlined sentence in the third paragraph pr
obably means that _______.
| A．the boy never complained about how unlucky he was to have this disease |
| B．the boy never complained about not being able to go to school |
| C．the boy never complained why the author had never come to see him before |
| D．the boy never complained about not getting a medal |
From the passage we learn that _________.
| A．Matthew was an athlete | B．Matthew was an optimistic and determined boy |
| C．The author used to have the same disease as Matthew had | D．Matthew became a champion before he died |
Matthew didn’t accept the author’s medal because _________.
| A．he thought it was too expensive | B．he was sure that he could win one in the future |
| C．he thought it was of no use to him as he would die soon | D．he would not be pitied by others |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A sick boy. | B．A special friend. | C．A real champion. | D．A famous athlete. |
Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a tough working-class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side. But Hell's Kitchen lies right next door to Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a teen. Being stage-struck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his partners. Fearing their ridicule, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons at age 17. If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction worker, longshoreman or criminal. Not an actor.
Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east. He studied acting, turned out for all the cattle calls -- and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of $2,000. "I wasn't a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with my life," he says.
He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a bartender. "My father said, 'Stop this 
craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter.' “But Moresco kept working at his chosen craft.
Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a mob-linked killing. Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore the pain and the patrimony of Hell's Kitchen. Half-Deserted Streets, based on his brother's killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988. A Hollywood producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay.
His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood. By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him. Haggis wanted help writing a film about the country after September 11. The two worked on the writing, but every studio in town turned it down. They kept pitching it. Studio executives, however, thought no one wanted to see a severe, honest vision of race and fear and lives in collision in modern America.
Moresco believed so strongly in the script that he borrowed money, sold his house. He and Haggis kept pushing. At last the writers found an independent film producer who would take a chance, but the upfront money was too little, Moresco delayed his salary.
Crash slipped into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a hit and a critical success. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three -- Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Paul Haggis and the kid from Hell's Kitchen.
At age 54, Bobby Moresco became an overnight success. "If you have something you want to do in life, don't think about the problems," he says, "think about other ways to get it done." Rearrange the following statements in terms of time order:
a. His work Half-Deserted Streets drew attention as it opened at a small Off-Broadway theater
b. Unexpectedly Crash became both a hit and a huge success.
c. He moved to Hollywood to be a taxi driver and a waiter.
d. He started learn acting in spite of hardness with the belief of doing something diiferent.
e. His younger brother Thomas was killed in conflict among bullies.
| A．d; c; e; a; b | B．d; e; c; b; a | C．c; d; e; a; b | D．c; e; d; b; a |
Why Bobby Moresco did not tell anyone that he started taking lessons at age 17?
| A．He wnted to give his girlfriend a surprise. |
| B．His girlfriend did not allow him to do this. |
C．He was afraid of being lau ghed at. |
| D．He had no talent for acting. |
Which of the following sentences is NOT true?
| A．His father did not support his work as a bartender. |
| B．Before he became an overnight success, his life experienced ups and downs. |
| C．His brother’s death inspired his writing Half-Deserted Streets. |
| D．Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen which is a few blocks east of Broadway. |
The Studio executives turned the script Crash down because ______________.
| A．they thought the script would not be popular. |
| B．the script was not well written. |
| C．they had no money to make the film based on the script. |
| D．they thought Moresco was not famous. |
What’s the best title of the article?
| A．The Road to Success | B．Try It a Different Way |
| C．A Talented man—Moresco | D．Moresco’s Perseverance |
Which of the following can best describe Bobby Moresco?
| A．initiative (主动) and persistent | B．shy but hardworking |
| C．caring and brave | D．aggressive and modest |
London has become a cycle friendly zone after the launch of a new bike hire scheme. It has been designed to encourage more people to cycle in and around central London.
So how does it work？First you have to sign up to the scheme to be sent a key. The key will unlock one of the bikes，which are kept at docking stations in and around central London. You have to pay an access fee for the key and then you pay as you go，for the length of time you use the bike.
Transport for London，which runs the scheme，are hoping to have 6，000 bikes and 400 docking stations in place by the end of the year. The new hire system is hoping to ease congestion (拥挤) in London and is expected to create up to 40，000 extra cycle trips a day into the city centre. London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the scheme and said London had been “filled with thousands of gleaming machines that will transform the look and feel of our streets and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses”.
However，there have been a few problems since the scheme was launched last Friday. On the first day some people found they couldn’t dock their bike properly and their usage of the bike had not registered. Transport for London did admit they had been expecting a few “teething problems” and have said they wouldn’t charge for the first day as a “gesture of goodwill”. Some other people have criticized the lack of docking stations and locks for the bikes as well as the price it costs to hire the bicycles.
Despite the comments，the green-thinking London Mayor still seems very positive about things，saying，“My campaign for the capital to become the greatest big cycling city in the world has taken a big pedal-powered push forwards.” London Mayor boris Johnston launched the new bike scheme in order to _________.
| A．reduce the air pollution of the city |
| B．encourage the citizens to take exercises |
| C．deal with the city’s traffic problems |
| D．increase employment opportunities |
If you want to hire a bike, in which order will you do？
a. pay for the bike according to the time you use it
b. pay for the key to a bike
c. cycle in and around central London
d. sign up as a member to get a key
| A．b-d-c-a | B．b-c-a-d | C．d-c-b-a | D．d-b-c-a |
All the following are the problems of the scheme EXCEPT．
| A．the high cost to hire a bike | B．not registering their usage of the bikes |
| C．not charging for the first day of the scheme | D．docking the bikes properly |
From the passage we can infer that .
| A．the London Mayor is confident in the scheme |
| B．the scheme will be cancelled because of the problems |
| C．all the citizens in London support the scheme |
| D．the cycling revolution is not successful |
You wake up in the morning，the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings，you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!
Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness．It may not change what you think，but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．
Life brings ups and downs，but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect．
When you communicate with positive people，your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首) of a negative person is put in you，you feel the heavy feeling that all in all，brings you down．
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker，or a relative．In this case，say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person，but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that．
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着) you throughout the rest of your day，which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible． The purpose of the first paragraph is to ______.
| A．make a comparison | B．offer an evidence |
| C．introduce a topic | D．describe a daily scene |
How can negative people have effect on us?
| A．By influencing our emotion． | B．By telling us the nature of life． |
| C．By changing our ways of thinking． | D．By comparing their attitudes to life with ours． |
Some negative people base their happiness on _______.
| A．other people’s pity for them | B．making other people unhappy |
| C．building up a positive attitude | D．other people’s respect for them |
According to the passage, to reduce negative people’s influence on us，we are advised to ____.
| A．change negative people’s attitudes to life |
| B．show our dissatisfaction to negative people |
| C．make negative people feel ashamed of themselves |
| D．communicate with negative people as little as possible |
What is the author’s attitude towards negative people?
| A．Favorable． | B．Critical. | C．Indifferent. | D．Supportiv |
The dyed bun scandal (染色馒头丑闻) deals another blow to shoppers' confidence in buying food products, as well as the reputation of local sellers. Li Zhen reports on shoppers’ reactions in Shanghai.
An investigation by the municipal government revealed that Shanghai Shenglu Food Company produced more than 3,000 steamed buns daily. These were then sold across the city, including large supermarkets such as Hualian, Lianhua and Dia.
Fewer steamed buns were for sale at this Lianhua Supermarket. More than 32,000 buns were taken off store shelves when the scandal emerged.
Mr. Wang, Sales Manager of Lianhua Supermarket, said, “We removed the dyed steamed buns produced by Shenglu as soon as we learned of the incident. We gave customers who had bought the steamed buns from our outlets refunds with their receipts. Despite the scandal, our sales volume has been fine so far.”
However, most customers we met remained concerned about food safety. Steamed buns are a regular breakfast food for Ms. Gao. She used to buy them mostly from supermarkets because she felt it was in a clean and safe environment.
But now, she has second thoughts about buying the popular snack.
Ms. Gao, Shanghai shopper, said, “I can’t believe that even steamed buns from the supermarkets are no longer safe. The only places I trusted to shop at were major supermarkets and specialist shops. But now even there, product quality cannot be guaranteed. I really don't know where to buy my goods from in the future.
Shoppers at supermarkets who still bought steamed buns said they had few options. “I feel like giving up supermarkets. But I really don’t know where to do my food shopping. I can't make these things myself.” said Ms. Tang, Shanghai shopper.The colored buns were sold in some large supermarkets EXCEPT ______.
| A．Hualian | B．Lianhua | C．Shenglu | D．Dia |
What Ms. Gao and Ms. Tang said suggests that ______.
| A．they still trust major supermarkets when shopping |
| B．they will make food by themselves |
| C．they will never go to supermarkets |
| D．they feel confused about where to buy safe food |
The underlined word in the last paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A．choices | B．ideas | C．hints | D．marks |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Major supermarkets removed the dyed steamed buns. |
| B．Dyed steamed buns brought great loss to major supermarkets. |
| C．Famous supermarkets are involved in the bun scandal. |
| D．Dyed bun scandal hurts consumers’ confidence. |
Where can you most probably read the passage?
| A．In a fashion magazine. | B．In a newspaper. | C．In a guideline book. | D．In an official document. |