Over the next 20 years, we are going to send more and better robots to Mars. Those robots will send back better pictures, maps, samples, and weather reports. There is a limit to what robots can tell us, though, so eventually we will have to send people to study the planet.
Before people can visit Mars, we need to invent a spaceship that can take us there. Mars is very far away. Depending on where Mars and Earth are in their orbits around the sun, it could take between six months to a year to get there.
The moon is much closer, and we were there, 25 years ago. Over the next 10 years, we are going to work on building a new spacecraft that can go to the moon. Using this craft, we will practice the skills we need to go to Mars.
Once we return to the moon, we are going to build a station so that people can live and work on the moon for months at a time. This is important so that we have a place to start from when we want to visit Mars, but it is also important because it gives us practice （实际经历）with living away from Earth.
By the time you are old enough to be an astronaut, we will have people spending months on the moon. By the time you are old enough to be a commander of a space mission, we will be taking trips to Mars. By the time your kids are old enough to be astronauts, we may have people living on Mars. Wouldn’t it be cool to get a postcard from someone who was building a house on Mars? Wouldn’t it be cooler if it was you who sent the postcard?We eventually have to send people on Mars because_________.
| A．robots could not send back pictures |
| B．robots can’t tell us all we want to know |
| C．robots are controlled by us humans |
| D．robots are no longer of any use to us |
A space station on the moon is important because_________.
| A．it gives us experience with living on other planets |
| B．people can plant crops in it |
| C．the new spacecraft can only land in it |
| D．it is a place for astronauts to have fun |
The author of the passage_________.
| A．thinks that trips to the moon are impossible |
| B．encourages all kids to become astronauts |
| C．hopes to receive a postcard from the moon |
| D．thinks people’s dream of living on Mars may come true |
Tell a story and tell it well,and you may open wide the eyes of a child,open up lines of communication in a business,or even open people's mind to another culture or race.
People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them.For example,most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources,cultures,and times.They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education,but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own.
"Most local stories are based on a larger theme,"American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says,"Cinderella(灰姑娘),or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness,appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world."
Working with students in schools,Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories.She works with prisoners too,helping them know who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write,direct,and act in their own lives.If they don't like the story they are living,they can rewrite the story.Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers."For every advance in business,"she says,"there is a greater need for communication."Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship,she says.
Pugh spent several years in Nigeria,where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there.The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere,she says."I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,"she says."What I do is to focus on the value of stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs.We are all storytellers.We all have a story to tell.We tell everybody's story."
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What do we learn about American storytellers from Paragraph 2?
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The underlined sentence(Paragraph 4) suggests that prisoners can.
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Pugh has practised storytelling withgroups of people.
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What is the main idea of the text?
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Below is a web page from Google.
| Olympic—Modern Olympic Games The complete results archive of summer and winter Olympic games,with winners lists,statistics,national anthems and flags of all countries since 1896. www.olympic.it/english/home-16k Environment Beijing steel plants to run at the lowest level of cost during 2008 Olympics［2007-03-11］Beijing able to treat 90 pct of waste water ［2007-02-05］·Air quality in Beijing has improved over the past six years［2007-02-01］·Green Olympics dream coming true... en.beijing2008.com/80/67/column211716780.shtml-52k Beijing announces planned route of Olympic torch relay Beijing announced the 2008 Olympics Games torch relay route and set off the Olympic Games torch on Thursday. ...Green Olympics is one of the three concepts of the Beijing Games,... english.china.com/zh-cn/news/sports/11059227/14069663.html-26k Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics—‘Green Olympics’ |
| Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics—‘Green Olympics’,officially annouced on Saturday,24 September 2005.The symbol,created using a calligraphic art form,is composed of human and tree-like shapes,... my.opera.com/green_head/blog/show.dml/92155-18k Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004 On behalf of BOCOG,Wang Wei,executive vice president of BOCOG,gave a presentation about Green Olympics,introduced the environment protection work of BMG and BOCOG,and answered several questions such as protection of cultural relics... en.beijing2008.com/84/91/article211929184.shtml-36k Olympic Games Quizzes and Olympic Games Trivia Who was the founder of the Modern Olympics?In which cities were the modern Olympic Games due to be held/scheduled during the ‘war years’,i.e.,1916,1940,and 1944?...In which three years of the Modern Olympic Games were...More questions... www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/sports/olympic_games.html-12k OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT ...aimed at young researchers engaged in scholarly research on the Olympic Movement,its history and values,and the impact of the...［Full story］SPORT ACCORD［2005-01-23］... www.olympic.org/ Ancient Olympic Heritage and Modern Olympic Games in Athens 2004 As put forward in the various official texts,the Olympic symbols of ancient Olympia,the Olympic flame and the Marathon race and bridges between the ancient and the modern Olympic Games,... www.c2008.org/rendanews/knowledge_detail.asp?id=911-106k |
When was the environmental symbol of Beijing Olympics made public?
| A．On January 23,2005. |
| B．On September 24,2005. |
| C．On February 5,2007. |
| D．On March 11,2007. |
Which of the following websites is designed for young researchers interested in the Olympics?
| A．Environment |
| B．Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004 |
| C．Olympic Games Quizzes and Olympic Games Trivia |
| D．OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT |
Which website provides a complete list of the winners in the Olympic Games?
| A．Olympic—Modern Olympic Games |
| B．Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004 |
| C．Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics—‘Green Olympics’ |
| D．Ancient Olympic Heritage and Modern Olympic Games in Athens 2004 |
What do we learn from the above web page?
| A．Beijing has made efforts to improve its air quality. |
| B．The Olympic torch relay route has not been planned. |
| C．The Olympic flags will be on display in Athens. |
| D．A quiz on the Olympics will be held in Beijing. |
People who have lost the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasics(失语症患者).Such patients can be extremely good at something else.From the changing expressions on speakers’ faces and the tones of their voices,they can tell lies from truths.
Doctors studying the human brain have given a number of examples of this amazing power of aphasics.Some have even compared this power to that of a dog with an ability to find out the drugs hidden in the baggage.
Recently,scientists carried out tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true.THEY STUDIED A MIXED GROUP OF PEOPLE.Some were normal;others were aphasics.It was proved that the aphasics were far ahead of the normal people in recognizing false speeches—in most cases,the normal people were fooled by words,but the aphasics were not.
Some years ago,Dr.Oliver Sacks wrote in his book about his experiences with aphasics.He mentioned a particular case in a hospital.Some aphasics were watching the president giving a speech on TV.Since the president had been an actor earlier,making a good speech was no problem for him.He was trying to put his feelings into every word of his speech.
But his way of speaking had the opposite effect on the patients.They didn’t seem to believe him.Instead,they burst into laughter.The aphasics knew that the president did not mean a word of what he was saying.He was lying!
Many doctors see aphasics as people who are not completely normal because they lack the ability to understand words.However,according to Dr.Sacks,they are more gifted than normal people.Normal people may get carried away by words.Aphasics seem to understand human expressions better,though they cannot understand words.What is so surprising about aphasics?
| A．They can fool other people. | B．They can find out the hidden drugs. |
| C．They can understand language better. | D．They can tell whether people are lying. |
How did the scientists study aphasics?
| A．By asking them to watch TV together. |
| B．By organizing them into acting groups. |
| C．By comparing them with normal people. |
| D．By giving them chances to speak on TV. |
What do we learn from this text?
| A．What one says reflects how one feels. |
| B．Aphasics have richer feelings than others. |
| C．Normal people often tell lies in their speeches. |
| D．People poor at one thing can be good at another. |
If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say,"Hey,Butterfly Man,"his face would break into a smile.The title suits him.And he loves it.
Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly(蝴蝶),once thought to have died out.Today the butterfly is coming back-thanks to him.But years ago if you'd told him this was what he'd be doing someday,he would have laughed,"You're crazy."As a boy,he used to be "a little tough guy on the streets".At age thirteen,he was caught by police for stealing.At eighteen,he landed in prison for shooting a man.
"I knew it had hurt my mom,"Bonner said after he got out of prison."So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again."
One day he met Professor Mattoni,who was working to rebuild the habitat(栖息地) for an endangered butterfly called EI Segundo blue.
"I saw the sign'Butterfly Habitat'and asked,'How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?'"Bonner recalls,"Dr.Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass(放大镜),'Look at the leaves.'I could see all these caterpillars(蝴蝶的幼虫) on the plant.Dr.Mattoni explained,'Without the plant,there are no butterflies.'"
Weeks later,Bonner received a call from Dr.Mattoni,who told him there was a butterfly that needed help.That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue.Since then he's been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back.He grows astragalus,the only plant the butterfly eats.He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs.Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat.
The butterfly's population,once almost zero,is now up to 900.For their work,Bonner and Dr.Mattoni received lots of awards.But for Bonner,he earned something more:he turned his life around.
For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison.While he's bringing back the Palos Verdes blue,the butterfly has helped bring him back,too.
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When he was young,Arthur Bonner.
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| 2． |
Bonner came to know the Palos Verdes blue after he.
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From the last sentence of the text,we learn that raising butterflies has.
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Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
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I entered high school having read hundreds of books.But I was not a good reader.Merely bookish,I lacked a point of view when I read.Rather,I read in order to get a point of view.I searched books for good expressions and sayings,pieces of information,ideas,themes-anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated.When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated(复杂的) idea" until he had read at least two thousand books,I heard the words without recognizing either its irony(嘲讽) or its very complicated truth.I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read.Strict with myself,I included only once a title I might have read several times.(How,after all,could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length.(Could anything shorter be a book?)
There was yet another high school list I made.One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college.The article had a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization.""More than anything else in my life,"the professor told the reporter with finality,"these books have made me all that I am."That was the kind of words I couldn't ignore(忽视).I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles.Most books,of course,I hardly understood.While reading Plato's The Republic,for example,I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about.However,with the special patience and superstition(迷信) of a schoolboy,I looked at every word of the text.And by me time I reached the last word,pleased,I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic,and seriously crossed Plato off my list.
| 1． |
On heating the teacher's suggestion of reading,the writer thought.
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While at high school,the writer.
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The underlined phrase "with finality" probably means.
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| 4． |
The writer's purpose in mentioning The Republic is to.
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The writer provides two book lists to.
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