When Geoff Marcy was 14, his parents bought him a telescope. Every night, he would go onto the roof outside his window to see the wonders of the sky.
“What excited me most was whether there were planets in other solar systems where life might exist,” he says. “I decided to try to find planets orbiting other stars like our Sun.”
And he did. “My fellow researcher, Paul Butler, and I found our first planet in 1995,” Dr. Marcy says. “We worked for ten years without finding anything! But we stuck with it and our patience paid off.”
Since then, the two scientists have discovered 65 of the more than 100 planets found orbiting other stars. Dr. Marcy and Dr. Butler also spotted the first “family” of three planets. In June 2002 they announced another discovery: a Jupiter-like planet orbiting star 55Cancri.
At first, the two researchers found only planets that orbit close to stars. Recently, the scientists found planets farther out. The planet orbiting 55Cancri is a major breakthrough: it is the first sighting of a large gas planet about same distance from the star as Jupiter is from the Sun.
Why is this important ? Scientists think that life on Earth may exist because of two special features in our solar system. The first is Jupiter.
“Because it’s so big, Jupiter pulls comets and asteroids(小行星), or they all come and hit the Earth.” Dr. Marcy explains. “Without Jupiter , life on Earth would likely have been destroyed.”
A second feature is that Earth is a rocky planet where liquid water, which is necessary for life , can exist. Unlike gas planets, rocky planets like Earth have surfaces where water can gather in pools and seas, which may support life. A huge space exists between the Jupiter-like planet and two other planets that lie close to 55Cancri. Is there an Earth-like planet in the space, too small for us to notice? If so, says Dr. Marcy, “We would have two striking similarities to our solar system: a Jupiter-like planet and an Earth-like planet. And there may be life!”What can we learn about Dr. Marcy from the passage?
| A．He is fond of watching Jupiter. |
| B．He is from a scientist family. |
| C．He dislikes working with Paul Butler. |
| D．He is interested in finding life in outer space. |
Which of the following is true of the recent discovery?
| A．The planet is not as protective as Jupiter. |
| B．The planet is close to star 55Cancri. |
| C．The planet proves to be a gas planet. |
| D．The planet is as large as Jupiter. |
Dr. Marcy and Dr. Butler began to find new planets in ____.
| A．1995 | B．1985 | C．2002 | D．1981 |
Dr. Marcy thinks that life may exist in the 55Cancri system because ____.
| A．he has found the system similar to the solar system. |
| B．he has discovered an Earth-like planet there. |
| C．he has discovered a rocky planet there. |
| D．he has found signs of life in the system |
“But we stuck with it”( in Paragraph 3) means ____.
| A．they felt discouraged | B．they carried on with it |
| C．they failed in their attempt | D．they made some progress |
B
Last night, on my way home I stopped because of being attracted by some hamburgers at a fast food restaurant. On my way in, a homeless man approached me and asked, “Do you have any bottles lying around?” I knew he would recycle them for a few cents, but I didn’t have any, so I said no. And again he asked, “Can you spare some change ?” I smiled, and said no again. He was very respectful; he smiled back and said, “OK, thank you.” Even though he didn’t have anything, he was still in good spirits. From the way he spoke I could tell he was smart.
Then I bought one hamburger and enjoyed my meal, but in the back of my mind I wondered whether the homeless man was hungry. After I finished my meal I decided to order another one for him. At this point I didn’t know if he was still around, but I tried anyway.
At the counter I ordered a hamburger and also a hot chocolate, because it was cold outside, and I thought it would help warm him up. They delivered me the hot chocolate first and as I waited for my hamburger, I noticed the homeless man was standing right beside me. I looked at him and smiled, “This hot chocolate is for you.” He replied like a gentleman, “Thank you so much. That’s very kind of you.”
I always believe no matter how hard up I am, there are always those who are worse off than I. When you help someone, it’s not always about money, it’s about love. The love you give today, someone might forget tomorrow. It doesn’t matter. Love anyway, because the greatest thing you can give is love.What does the underlined phrase mean according to the passage?
| A．Rich in money. | B．Short in money. |
| C．Generous. | D．Selfish. |
We can learn from the first two paragraphs that the author _____.
| A．was angry with the homeless man |
| B．was an old friend of the homeless man |
| C．decided to help the homeless man after his meal |
| D．finished his meal quickly to help the homeless man |
We can infer from the text that the homeless man was _____.
| A．old and sick | B．polite and friendly |
| C．sad and nervous | D．calm and confident |
.The author wants to tell us that _____.
| A．love cannot be forced |
| B．money cannot buy everything |
| C．there is always someone that we can help |
| D．we shouldn’t forget those who once helped us |
Do you want to help others—but don’t know where to start? Do you feel that the challenges facing us are too big for one person? One advantage of supporting the American Red Cross is that each of our individual contributions is magnified(放大)when we all join together.Another advantage is that it's easy to start helping.You can start this every minute, by using your mobile to send a text message to make a $10 donation to one of our ongoing campaigns.
Donate to Help Victims of Natural Disasters: Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, which helps people affected by disasters such as floods, earthquakes, wildfires and hurricanes.
Please consider making a donation today to help the thousands of people who have been affected by these disasters.
Donate to Help Reduce Deaths from Measles(麻疹): Text PREVENT to 90999 to give $ 10 to the Red Cross and help us vaccinate（注射疫苗）children against measles.
Started in 2001.the Measles & Rubella Initiative—led by the American Red Cross， provides technical and financial support to governments and communities for mass vaccination campaigns around the world.The Initiative has supported the vaccination of more than 1 billion children helping to reduce measles deaths by 78％globally(compared to 2000).
Please consider making a donation today to help us continue this campaign.To learn more visit www.Measlesrubellainitiative.org.
Important Information for Text Donors: You can make a $ 10 donation to the American Red Cross.Charges will appear on your wireless bill.All purchases must be authorized by account holder.You must be over 18 years old or have parental permission to participate.Text STOP to 90999 to STOP.Text HELP to 90999 for HELP.The text mainly aims to tell us_____________.
| A．how to keep our wireless bill safe when making donation |
| B．how to make a $10 donation by text message |
| C．when to become an authorized account holder |
| D．how to make individual contributions magnified |
We should text_______to 90999 if we want to help victims of natural disasters.
| A．STOP | B．PREVENT | C．HELP | D．REDCROSS |
.What does “this campaign” in Paragraph 6 refer to?
| A．Offering help to the disaster victims. |
| B．Supporting the American Red Cross. |
| C．Mass vaccination around the world. |
| D．Applying for charges on wireless bills. |
1f a school boy wants to be a text donor, he should _____________.
| A．get the permission of his parents |
| B．reach the marriage age |
| C．pay ＄10 to own an account |
| D．stop his daily purchases |
A California man who was feeling sick almost died recently from a shocking cause.
26-year-old Luis Ortiz went to a hospital because of a headache and nausea(恶心，作呕). When doctors examined him, they were shocked to find a tapeworm larva(绦虫幼虫) in his brain. The story gets stranger. The larva was still alive.
The creature had caused a cyst(囊肿) to form inside his head. The cyst was restricting the flow of liquids to different areas of his brain. The situation was so serious that doctors said they had to perform an emergency operation to remove the larva.
A doctor who operated on Ortiz told him he had only 30 minutes to live. When the doctor pulled the worm out of his head, it was still moving.
Luis Ortiz was a student at California State University in Sacramento. He began experiencing headaches in late August. But Ortiz said he did not think the headaches were serious.
In September, he visited a friend and his parents in another city. That is when the pain got worse. His mother saw Ortiz throwing up and took him to a hospital emergency room.
The doctors saved Ortiz's life. However, the surgery also affected him. Ortiz had to drop out of school and move back home. For now, he is not permitted to work or drive a vehicle.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has about 1,000 reported cases of tapeworms each year. The CDC adds that tapeworms are more common in developing countries with poor public health systems.
The best way to avoid a tapeworm infection (感染)is to wash fruits and vegetables. Also, make sure meat is cooked thoroughly. The CDC suggests cooking all meats to an internal temperature of at least 63 degrees Celsius.What caused Luis Ortiz to feel sick and headaches?
| A．Dirty food eaten in August. |
| B．Travelling for a long way, |
| C．A living creature in his brain. |
| D．Uncooked meat eaten by him. |
If the doctors didn’t have an emergency operation on him , Luis Ortiz was likely to ________ _ .
| A．die of cancer |
| B．live for only half an hour |
| C．finish studying in school |
| D．pass the driving tests |
How should people avoid infecting tapeworms?
| A．By washing fruits and vegetable. |
| B．By boiling plates and bowls before meals. |
| C．By cooking meats to at least 63 °C outside, |
| D．By improving the development of economy. |
What did the writer think of the cause of Luis Ortiz’s disease?
| A．Quite frightening. | B．Very dangerous. |
| C．Rather puzzling. | D．Extremely surprising. |
The stories we share with one another are important.They show wisdom and provide inspiration.They are important to our development.But sometimes people choose not to tell.
Consider the negative effects of not sharing a story in the news: People are wondering if public health officials are holding back too much information about the recent outbreak of Ebola.
There is a danger in holding back stories that ought to be told. Bobette Buster said it like this, “The fact is, history has shown us that stories not told can become like a dangerous genie (妖怪) left in a bottle. When they are finally uncorked, their power to destroy is set free.”
There are a number of reasons why we hide parts of our story: they often show our weaknesses or expose our disadvantages; they require courage and strength to share; and of course, there are some stories that should be kept secret—especially those that embarrass someone else.
Most of us have two selves: the one we display on the outside and the one we actually are on the inside. And the better we get at hiding the stories that show our true selves, the more damage we may be causing to ourselves and to others.
Honesty and openness is important: It proves we are trustworthy. It displays we are human. We are not perfect or better.It highlights the importance of hard work and personal development. Hard work may not allow us to overcome our disadvantages completely. But with hard work, we do not have to be restricted to our mistakes.
Does this mean we admit every weakness, every disadvantage, and every secret regret to everybody we meet? No, of course not. There is a time and a place and a certain level of relationship necessary for some stories to be told in an appropriate manner.What’s the function of the example in Paragraph 2?
| A．It reflects that people are concerning about the spread of Ebola. |
| B．It shows the bad effect caused by sharing a story. |
| C．It proves not sharing a story can cause trouble. |
| D．It concludes that one should share a story at a proper time. |
One of the reasons why people are unwilling to share experiences is that _______.
| A．story-sharing highlights the importance of hard work |
| B．people are used to exposing their weaknesses |
| C．people sometimes have no courage to share their stories |
| D．some stories make themselves feel uneasy |
Which is close in meaning to the underlined word “uncorked” in Paragraph 3?
| A．freed | B．broken | C．unfolded | D．untouched |
The writer aims to convince us to _______.
| A．be open to people close to you by sharing some secrets |
| B．share stories appropriately for the good of others and ourselves |
| C．remove the dangers that can be caused by untold stories |
| D．realize the importance of being honest when making friends |
When Nancy Lublin got $5,000 from her grandpa in 1996, she never once considered taking a vacation or paying off student loans .Instead, the 24-year-old New York University law student began thinking about helping low-income women get better jobs."If a woman goes for a job interview poorly dressed, she won't get the job." Lublin says.“ But without a job, she can't afford suitable clothes."
So with the money Lublin founded "Dress for Success” and began collecting women's clothes which were still in good condition but which their owners no longer needed."So many women have clothes lying around that they will never wear again," one of Lublin's assistants says "Nancy's idea is so simple and yet so important to women."
Many women come to Lublin's office before going to a job interview. Here, they receive a suit, shoes and any other things they need, Since it was set up, more than 1,000 women have turned to "Dress for Success" for help. Many of them have won jobs. Some have round jobs after being out of work for many years. Jenny, a 32-year-old woman who was recently hired as a law-firm office manager says, "I made a good impression because of “Dress for Success”What can we learn from the text?
| A．Nancy's grandfather lent her the money to set up the office. |
| B．Nancy set up "Dress for Success" to make money |
| C．Low-income women can get jobs at "Dress for Success" |
| D．Nancy's office gathers used clothes from women |
"Dress for Success" attracts many women because they_______
| A．need to look smart when looking for a job |
| B．like the design of the dresses |
| C．prefer buying clothes at a low price |
| D．like to wear different clothes. |
From what Jenny says, we know that ______.
| A．clothes from Nancy's office helped to get her a job. |
| B．she is working happily at her present job |
| C．she got a lot of good ideas from Nancy |
| D．"Dress for Success" has a good business relation with her firm. |
What would be a good title for the text?
| A．Keep Your Old Clothes |
| B．A Successful Clothing Business |
| C．Nancy: A Successful Law Student. |
| D．A Helping Hand for Women |