Washington: NASA has announced evidence that Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, has a saltwater ocean under its icy surface. The ocean seems to have more water than all the water on Earth's surface, according to new Hubble observation.
New Hubble observations of Ganymede's magnetic field strongly suggest that the moon, which is the largest in our whole solar system, is home to a subsurface ocean.
Scientists estimate the ocean is 95 kilometres thick, which is about 10 times deeper than Earth's oceans. But unlike our salty waters, Ganymede's ocean is buried under 150 kilometres of ice.
While scientists have speculated(推测) since 1970s about the presence of an ocean on Ganymede------the largest moon in our solar system------ until now the only observational evidence came from a brief flyby by the Galileo spacecraft, which didn’t observe the moon long enough to confirm a liquid ocean.
This discovery marks an important milestone, highlighting what only Hubble can accomplish. In its 25 years in orbit, Hubble has made many scientific discoveries in our own solar system. A deep ocean under the icy surface of Ganymede opens up further exciting possibilities for life beyond Earth.
Scientists have already confirmed the existence of an ocean on Europa, another moon orbiting Jupiter, and NASA has announced plans to send an unmanned mission there searching for the life that might come with liquid water.
Hubble is a telescope that orbits Earth, but because of its impressive gravitational analyses it can be used to study the inside of far distant planets. Using these same principles, scientists could theoretically detect oceans on distant planets as well.What can we learn about the Ganymede from the passage?
| A．It is a planet with the largest moon in our whole solar system. |
| B．Its ocean adds to people’s excitement about life beyond Earth. |
| C．It will be used by NASA as a base for the Hubble telescope. |
| D．Its liquid ocean was first proved by the Galileo spacecraft. |
Which of the following best describes the writer’s attitude towards Hubble?
| A．Cautious | B．Doubtful |
| C．Negative | D．Favourable |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 6 mean?
| A．An underground ocean has been found in Europa. |
| B．The presence of an underground ocean in Europa is not possible. |
| C．It is now certain that there is an ocean on Europa. |
| D．No evidence has shown the existence of an ocean on Europa. |
What type of writing does this passage belong to?
| A．A term essay | B．A news report |
| C．An experiment report | D．An exploration review. |
In the Caucasus (高加索) region of Russia, nearly 50 out of every 100,000 people live to celebrate their 100th birthday, and many don’t stop at 100! By comparison, in America only 3 people in 100,000 reach 100. But these Russian old people aren’t alone. The Pakistanis, who live high in the Himalaya Mountains, and the Ecuadorans (厄瓜多尔人) of the Andes Mountains seem to share the secret of long life, too.
These people remain healthy in body and spirit despite the passage of time. While many older persons in industrial societies become weak and ill in their 60s and 70s, some Caucasians aged 100 to 140, work in the fields beside their great-great-grandchildren. Even the idea of aging is foreign to them. When asked “at what age does youth end?” most of these old people had no answer. Several replied, “Well, perhaps at age 80.”
What accounts for (解释) this ability to survive to such old age, and to survive so well? First of all, hard physical work is a way of life for all of these long-living people. They begin their long days of physical labor as children and never seem to stop. For example, Mr. Rustam Mamedov is 142 years of age. His wife is 116 years old. They have been married for 90 years. Mr. Mamedov has no intention of retiring from his life as a farmer. “Why? What else would I do?” he asks. All these people get healthful rewards from the environment in which they work. They all come from mountainous regions. They live and work at elevations (海拔) of 1,660 to 1,000 meters above sea level. The air has less oxygen and is pollution-free. This reduced-oxygen environment makes the heart and blood vessel (血管) system stronger.
Another factor that may contribute to the good health of these people is their isolation. To a great extent (程度), they are separated from the pressures and worries of industrial society. Inherited (遗传) factors also play some role. Most of the longest-living people had parents and grandparents who also reached very old ages. Good family genes may, therefore, be one factor in living longer.The example of Mr. and Mrs. Mamedov implies that some Caucasians aged 100 to 140 _________.
| A．become weak and hopeless |
| B．benefit from physical work |
| C．are too old to work in the fields |
| D．are still working in the fields |
What is the main way of life for all of these long-living people?
| A．Retiring from their lives as farmers. |
| B．Having been married for 90 years. |
| C．Hard physical work. |
| D．Having no intentions. |
Which of the following factors is NOT helpful to people’s health and long life?
| A．Clean mountain air. | B．Daily hard work. |
| C．Good genes | D．Stress and pressure. |
What does the underlined word “isolation” mean?
| A．the state of being separated | B．pressure |
| C．lack of physical labour | D．worry |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Russian people live longer than Americans |
| B．People in the city live longer than those in the country |
| C．The reason why mountainous people live longer |
| D．Pressures and worries contribute to long life |
In China, if you are not married by the time you are 30, you are in for trouble: social blame and pressure from family and friends can get you down. And if you are a woman, it’s even worse.
Many young people get married simply to get other people off their backs (免受别人的指责) . This is a serious compromise. One ends up not marrying the ideal partner.
There are, however, a few young people who refuse to compromise: if they can’t find a good marriage partner, they say, they would rather not marry at all.
34-year-old Kate is a university lecturer in English. She said she would not describe herself as celibatarian (独身主义者) but simply a woman who hasn’t come across the right man yet. She has sharp comments for the way in which the old generation looks at marriage.
“Many people think marriage is a duty---to your parents, family and society. Nobody cares if your marriage is happy or not, she said, I think this is very wrong and I intend to live and act according to my own will.”
Happily for her, her parents are open-minded and not lay stress on her. But the same does not apply to her friends. They are constantly trying to get her together with some young man or another. She always refuses politely.The main idea of this passage is that _________.
| A．marriage is a duty to society |
| B．people should get married before 30 years old |
| C．late marriage should be respected |
| D．women should get married earlier than men |
Miss Kate refuses to get together with some young man or another because __________.
| A．she doesn’t think he is the right man she wants |
| B．he is either too old or too young |
| C．he is either important or little learned |
| D．he doesn’t have good manners |
In the first paragraph the underlined words “in for” refer to _________.
| A．interested in | B．satisfied with |
| C．worried about | D．likely to suffer |
Which is NOT TRUE according to this passage?
| A．In China, one may face social blame and family pressure if one hasn’t got married by 30. |
| B．Miss Kate’s parents are always worried about her marriage. |
| C．Miss Kate won’t compromise if she can’t have her ideal marriage. |
| D．Miss Kate wants to marry a worthy young man. |
If marriage is regarded as a duty to society, __________.
| A．everybody will be happy and satisfied |
| B．nobody will pay attention to whether you are happy or not in your family life |
| C．you can easily find an ideal partner |
| D．young people will have nothing to worry about in marriage |
If you want to find a parttime job or learn something different during your spare time, you can have a look at the following jobs offered by the DC Public Library.
Teens of Distinction Program
The DC Public Library offers parttime jobs for teens through the Teens of Distinction Program. Teens work 1012 hours per week all year long, helping the library with important tasks and projects. The Teens of Distinction Program is now hiring! To apply, you have to：
● be a DC resident
● have and maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average
● be 16 to 18 years old
● be able to work 1012 hours per week
● be able to work for DCPL for at least 9 months
Oh, and of course you have to impress us with your wonderful personality!
Teen Volunteer Opportunities
If you want to earn community service hours for school, Youth202 is a good choice.
Youth202 is a radio program created by youth and for youth. You can learn radio production skills, interview people around you, and help keep other teens to learn news, events, and anything else you think is important.
Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
Every summer, teens can work here to help library customers organize books and learn lots of new skills, such as program planning, writing and media production.
On Friday, January 25 at 12：15 p．m., the application for the 2014 SYEP will be open to teens between the ages of 14 and 21.
Applications will be processed on a firstcome, firstserved basis. Space is limited this year, so teens are encouraged to apply early, and remember not to miss the deadline, Saturday, February 16.Working for the Teens of Distinction Program, teenagers will ________．
①become a DC resident
② work 1012 hours per week
③ work for DCPL for at least 9 months
④ have a wonderful personality
| A．③④ | B．①②③ |
| C．②③ | D．①③④ |
If a teenager wants to interview people around him, he should apply for a job at ________．
| A．Teens of Distinction Program |
| B．Youth202 |
| C．Teens Library |
| D．Summer Youth Employment Program |
What can’t teenagers get in Summer Youth Employment Program?
| A．Community service hours. |
| B．Program planning skills. |
| C．Writing skills. |
| D．Book management skills. |
Who has the biggest chance to work for the 2014 SYEP?
| A．A teenager who is smart. |
| B．A teenager who is popular. |
| C．A teenager who applies early. |
| D．A teenager who gets high grades in exams. |
The aim of the text is to ________．
| A．introduce the DC Public Library |
| B．describe the job of library workers |
| C．teach how to apply for parttime jobs |
| D．offer teenager parttime jobs in the DC Public Library |
Culture helps human societies survive in changing natural environment．For example, the end of the last Ice Age, beginning about 15,000 years ago, brought a big challenge to which humans had to adapt．Before this time, large parts of the northern hemisphere were covered in great sheets of ice that contained much of the earth' s water．In North America, large animals that wandered the vast tundra （冰原） provided people with food and materials for clothing and simple shelters．When the earth became warm, large Ice Age animals disappeared, and many land areas were covered by rising sea levels from melting ice．But people survived, they developed new technologies and learned how to survive on new plant and animal species． Finally some people settled into permanent villages, durable houses and farms．
Cultural adaptation has made humans one of the most successful species on the planet． Through history, major developments in technology, medicine, and nutrition have allowed people to reproduce and survive in ever-increasing numbers．The global population has risen from 8 million during the Ice Age to about 6 billion today．
However, the successes of culture adaptation can also create problems in the long run．Over the last 200 years, people have begun to use large quantities of natural resources and energy and to produce a great amount of material and chemical wastes．The global population now consumes some important natural resources—such as petroleum, wood, and minerals—faster than nature can produce them．Many scientists believe that in the process of burning fuels and producing wastes, people may be changing the global climate in unpredictable and possibly harmful ways．Thus, the adaptive success of the present-day global culture of production and trade may be temporary．What is the first paragraph mainly talking about?
| A．How the human beings survived in the Ice Age． |
| B．What the situation was like during the Ice Age． |
| C．What caused the Ice Age to come to an end． |
| D．Why the Ice Age was very important． |
To deal with the problems, human beings should ______according to the passage．
| A．stop developing any longer |
| B．reduce the overuse of natural resources |
| C．stop the global warming and using natural resources |
| D．save more animals in case they all die out |
Which of the following is the problem caused by cultural adaptation according to the passage?
| A．A very developed culture came into being． |
| B．New technologies have been developed． |
| C．Natural resources have been used up． |
| D．Human activities have done damage to the balance of nature． |
Which of the following can be the best tide of the passage?
| A．Natural Environment Should Be Protected． |
| B．The Success of Cultural Adaptation Is Not Permanent． |
| C．The Global Population Is Increasing Since Ice Age． |
| D．Human Beings Are Capable of Surviving on Earth. |
While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail miserably often flourish (繁荣) more in the long run, according to a new study by Vinit Desai, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Researchers have found that people missing their goals perform much better in the long run. That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay longer in their minds.
“We found that the knowledge gained from success was often fleeting while knowledge from failure stuck around for years,” said professor Desai, who led the study. “But companies often ignore failure. Managers may fire people or turn over the whole workforce while they should treat the failure as a learning opportunity.”
Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Challenger. During the Atlantis flight last year, a piece of insulation (绝缘体) broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster (助推火箭) but didn’t influence the program. There was little investigation. The Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven–person crew were destroyed. The disaster led to a major investigation resulting in 29 changes to prevent future disasters.
The difference in response in the two cases came down to this: Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.
“Despite crowded skies, airlines are extremely reliable,” he said. “The number of failures is extremely small. And past researches have shown that older airlines, those with more experience in failure, have a lower number of accidents.”
Prof Desai doesn’t recommend finding out failure in order to learn. Instead, he advises organizations to analyze small failures to collect useful information rather than wait for major failures.Why did experts pay little attention to the problem of Atlantis?
| A．Because it worked perfectly. |
| B．Because the right booster was still OK. |
| C．Because nothing serious happened then. |
| D．Because fewer people died in the flight. |
Fewer accidents happen to older airlines in that ________.
| A．their planes couldn’t fly high in the sky |
| B．they gained much from experience in failure |
| C．their planes were often checked by the experts |
| D．they were unpopular among passengers |
The passage is written mainly to ________.
| A．show failure is a better teacher than success |
| B．explain why Challenger failed |
| C．introduce something about Prof Desai |
| D．tell managers how to achieve success |
Which writing strategy is NOT used in developing the passage?
| A．Giving definitions. |
| B．Making comparisons. |
| C．Analyzing causes. |
| D．Providing different examples. |