A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently from other ones.
Black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or “staff”, in an object.
Another kind of black hole is called “stellar”(星球黑洞). Its mass can be up to 20 times more than the mass of the sun. There may be many stellar mass black holes in Earth’s galaxy. Earth’s galaxy is called the Milky Way.
The largest black holes are called “supermassive”(超大质量黑洞). These black holes have masses that are more than one million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy has a mass equal to about four million suns and would fit inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths.
Scientists think the smallest black holes formed when the universe began. Stellar black holes are made when the center of a very big star falls in upon itself, or falls apart. When this happens, it exploded part of the star into space. Scientists think supermassive black holes were made at the same time as the galaxy they are in.
A black hole can not be seen because strong gravity pulls all of the light into the middle of the black hole. But scientists can see how the strong gravity affects the stars and gas around the black hole. Scientists can study stars to find out if they are flying around, or orbiting a black hole.
When a black hole and a star are close together, high-energy light is made. This kind of light cannot be seen with human eyes. Scientists use satellites and telescopes in space to see the high-energy light.The gravity of a black hole may become so strong that light cannot get out when ____________.
| A．the star is going to die |
| B．special tools are used on it |
| C．other stars come close to it |
| D．it is seen from the space telescopes |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．A black hole can be very tiny but extremely heavy. |
| B．The gravity of a black hole holds all light in its center. |
| C．Scientists observe high-energy light through their own eyes. |
| D．Some small black holes came into being as early as the universe. |
The underlined word “galaxy” in Paragraph 5 means __________.
| A．a black hole | B．the Milky Way |
| C．a series of stars | D．a planet near the earth |
What does the last sentence in Paragraph 5 suggest?
| A．Neither the sun nor the earth is as heavy as a black hole. |
| B．There is a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. |
| C．The supermassive black hole had existed before the Milky Way was formed. |
| D．There is a reason why the large black holes are called “supermassive”. |
The last two paragraph mainly focus on the question of _________.
| A．what a black hole is |
| B．how black holes form |
| C．how big black holes are |
| D．how scientists know about black holes |
People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver．Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida，Nevada and California．They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road．The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars，which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August．Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020．
In September，California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state．"Today we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality—the driverless car．"The technology for these cars includes cameras，radar and motion sensors．The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the U．S．government agency DARPA．Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races．
Cars have become much more fuel-efficient，and new electronic features are making Hondas safer，said Angie Nucci of Honda America．"A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes．" Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars．These systems help drivers，but don't replace them．Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
"By taking out drivers，you also remove most risks of an accident," Kendall said．He said consumers，however，may be unwilling to lose control．"It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable，but it will have to prove itself first．"
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable．He said this will happen as the technology is improved．What can we learn from Paragraph l?
A．Driverless vehicles are now legal in the whole USA．
B．Volvo will be the first to sell driverless cars．
C．Driverless cars are pointing us a faraway future．
D．Google's self-driving cars have covered a long distance．We learn that Governor of California Jerry Brown_________．
| A．helped design self-driving cars |
| B．supports self-driving cars on roads |
| C．considers self-driving cars science fiction |
| D．improved the self-driving car systems |
What is the role of the systems mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．They can help people drive more safely． |
| B．They can take the place of drivers now． |
| C．They can make cars run without fuel． |
| D．They can help cars run much faster． |
According to Richard Mason，what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?
| A．They are not allowed to run on the road． |
| B．Their technical problems remain to be solved． |
| C．They are now too expensive for consumers． |
| D．They are more dangerous for people on the street． |
Students from Florida International University in Miami walked on water Thursday for a class assignment．To do it，they wore aquatic (水上的）shoes they designed and created．
Alex Quinones was the first to make it to the other side of a 175-foot lake on campus in record time—just over a minute．Quinones，who wore oversized boat-like shoes，also won last year and will receive $ 500．Students had to wear the aquatic shoes and make it across the lake in order to earn an “A” on the assignment for Architecture Professor Jaime Canaves，Materials and Methods Construction Class．"It's traditional in a school of architecture to do boats out of cardboard for a boat race．I thought our students were a little bit more special than that，" Canaves said．" We decided to do the walk on water event to take it to the next level．"
A total of 79 students competed in the race this year in 41 teams．Only 10 teams failed to cross the lake．Others who fell got back up and made it to the end．The race is open to all students and anyone in the community．The youngest person to ever participate was a 9-year-old girl who competed in place of her mother，while the oldest was a 67-year-old female．
A large crowd on campus joined Canaves as he cheered on the racers．He shouted encouraging words，but also laughed as some unsteadily made their way to the end．
"A part of this is for them to have more understanding of designing and make it work better，" he said．It is also a lesson in life for the students．
“Anything，including walking on water，is possible，if you do the research，test it and go through the design process seriously．”For what purpose did the students take part in the race?
| A．To go across the lake to school． |
| B．To test their balance on the water． |
| C．To pass Professor Canaves’ class． |
| D．To win the prize money of $ 500． |
Which of the following is true about the race?
| A．The students who fell into the water had to quit． |
| B．More than 20 teams failed to cross the lake． |
| C．The students kept silent when the other racers competed． |
| D．The youngest competitor competed instead of her mother． |
According to Canaves，this race can help the students_________．
| A．understand designing better |
| B．achieve almost everything |
| C．work together and unite as one |
| D．walk on the surface of water |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To advertise a student' s program． |
| B．To report an interesting assignment． |
| C．To introduce a creative professor． |
| D．To encourage special events on campus． |
My daughter and I collected the empty cans and bottles in our home this morning．We had 6 full garbage bags later so I knew we would be spending a bit more of time at the recycling center．When we got there，a man and his kids were also doing the morning recycling and were using two of the four machines to recycle their plastic and cans．Luckily，we were able to use the 2 remaining machines．
Of course，there were others that came，but when they saw the two families with garbage bags full of recycled things，they quickly left．However，one woman came in with just 5 cans and looked as if she was in a hurry．So I stopped what I was doing and let her in to recycle her cans．Of course，she was grateful，and it felt good to let her go ahead of me．But that was not the whole story．
My daughter and I continued to work through the bags，but the plastic recycling machine stopped working because it was full．My daughter was left with nothing to do．The other family was still using the other two plastic recycling machines，but it seemed that they were almost done．I just told my daughter we would have to wait until they were done．But the man of the other family came through with another act of kindness．He offered to let us go ahead of him．I was really surprised，because we had more than 5 bottles，but he didn’t seem to mind．I happily accepted it．
It was great to give and then to get an act of kindness in turn．It was small，I didn't expect it，but it surely brightened up my day．Why did the writer let the woman recycle her cans first?
| A．Because there were many other families there． |
| B．Because the woman seemed to be in a hurry． |
| C．Because the writer wanted to hear a story． |
| D．Because the woman was very grateful． |
Why couldn't the writer finish her recycling in time?
| A．Because her daughter' s machine stopped working． |
| B．Because the other family was still using the machines． |
| C．Because she let the other family use her machine first． |
| D．Because she helped recycle the other family's bags first． |
What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．The kindness． | B．The offer． |
| C．The machine． | D．The 5 bottles． |
Which of the following best describes the topic of this passage?
| A．A good name is sooner lost than won． |
| B．A little is better than none． |
| C．All men cannot be first． |
| D．One good turn deserves another． |
Down-to-earth means being honest，open，and easy to deal with．It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth．A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to．He or she accepts others as equals．A down-to-earth person may be an important member of society，of course，but they do not let their importance go to their heads，and they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important．Someone who is filled with self-importance and pride，often without cause，is said to have his nose in the air．There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth．
Americans use another expression that is similar in some way to down-to-earth．The expression is both feet on the ground．Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality．He has what is called common sense．He may have dreams but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real．The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds．A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the world．Sometimes such a dreamer can be brought back to reality；sharp words from the teacher，for example，can usually get a daydreaming student to put both feet back on the ground．
The person who is down-to-earth usually has both feet on the ground．But the opposite is not always true．Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down-to-earth．When we have both our feet firmly on the ground，we are realistic and we act honestly and openly toward others，and our lives are like the ground below us，solid and strong．If a person has his nose in the air，he ．
| A．is down to the earth |
| B．is easy to deal with |
| C．always thinks he is more important than others |
| D．is confident |
If a person has both feet on the ground，he ．
| A．is in touch with reality，and doesn’t have any dreams |
| B．has some dreams but he is realistic |
| C．is honest，open and easy to deal with |
| D．is honest，open but hard to deal with |
The underlined sentence “But the opposite is not always true．” most probably means that ______．
| A．the person who has his nose in the air is not true |
| B．a man with his head in the clouds is often not intelligent |
| C．the opposite direction is always wrong |
| D．a person who has both feet on the ground may not be down-to-earth |
You may have experienced the frustration of receiving a parking fine or finding your car towed away （拖走）after leaving it parked for a couple of minutes.
But now a hightech car sticker could help motorists avoid such a situation by allowing a traffic warden（管理员）to get in touch with them. Car owners can buy the sticker and place it inside their car’ s windscreen， having set it up with vital information, such as their phone number. The slim design will include a sensor that will send a text message warning a driver about a coming fine when touched by a traffic warden. The message will ask them to move their car immediately. The driver could then type a reply for the warden using their smartphone, which will appear on the sticker’ s screen.They may choose to write something along the lines of“back in two minutes”in a bid to avoid a fine. Frankfurt-based IT consultant, Daniel Kalliontzis, came up with the idea and is raising funds on Indiegogo to put his 54 sticker into production.
The smart sticker system will rely on the good will of traffic wardens and critically, a German law. The law states:“An officer has to choose the most efficient and inexpensive way for the car owner to remove the vehicle.”It could be cheaper for the authorities to contact the driver than to tow his car.
At the time of writing, Mr Kalliontzis has raised just over 3,000 of his 50,000 goal on Indiegogo. If he manages to raise the money, the stickers will be shipped in June 2015. But it appears that car owners using the smart system could get some unnecessary warning messages, because anyone could touch the smart sticker.The first paragraph is intended to ________.
| A．highlight an awkward situation |
| B．complain about a parking fine |
| C．introduce the topic of the passage |
| D．remind motorists of the parking risk |
What may probably contribute to the application of the TowStop sticker in Germany?
| A．The sticker’ s low cost. |
| B．The mass production. |
| C．The goodwill of motorists. |
| D．The law of the country. |
What can be concluded from the last paragraph about the TowStop Sticker?
| A．It takes time and efforts to put it to use. |
| B．Only traffic wardens can touch the sticker． |
| C．All car owners will use the sticker in 2015． |
| D．Kalliontzis is experienced in raising money． |
What’ s the right order of the following statements according to the passage?
①A message is sent by the sensor.
②The sticker is put inside a car’ s windscreen.
③A traffic warden touches the smart sticker.
④The sticker is set up with vital information.
⑤The motorist sends a message.
| A．②④⑤③① | B．④②③①⑤ |
| C．④②③⑤① | D．②④①③⑤ |