Humans may not have landed on Mars (火星) just yet, but that isn’t stopping a European company from devising a plan to send four people to the Red Planet within the next few years．This project, called Mars One, aims to send a small group of people to Mars in 2022 and eventually establish a permanent colony on the planet.
“Everything we need to go to Mars exists,” said Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp in March 2014．“We have the rockets to send people to Mars, the equipment to land on Mars, the robots to prepare the settlement for humans．For a one-way mission, all the technology exists.” Yet the four astronauts chosen for the trip will be stuck on Mars—forever．And despite Mars One’s thorough planning, there are a number of challenges that may prevent the mission from ever taking place．The biggest road block could be the mission's huge cost ($6 billion)．However, Lansdorp is confident that Mars One will be able to fund the project by selling the broadcast rights for the mission and subsequent experiences living on the planet.
Those broadcast rights will also play a part in helping to select the people who will be sent to Mars．Lansdorp said the company will hold a selection process similar to a reality show．Lansdorp is expecting at least 1 million applications from people around the world．In addition to the cost, several other potential problems could inhibit (阻止) the mission to Mars.
“It’s even more challenging to send people there with life support, with food, with air, with all the other things like books, entertainment, means of communication and of providing for their own resources for a long stay on Mars,” said Adam Baker, senior lecturer in space engineering at Kingston University in London．“The size of the rockets you’d need to do this would be absolutely colossal.”According to Project Mars One, humans could send four people to Mars within the next ________years.
| A．seven | B．eight | C．ten | D．six |
According to Bas Lansdorp, which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Robots are prepared for the settlement for humans. |
| B．He could not come up with the fund for Mars One. |
| C．We humans have the rockets to send people to Mars. |
| D．The equipment is ready for humans to land on Mars. |
The word “colossal” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ___________.
| A．very large |
| B．very small |
| C．medium |
| D．average |
Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?
| A．Ready for a Round Trip to Mars |
| B．Ready for a Short Visit to Mars |
| C．Ready for a One-way Trip to Mars |
| D．Ready for a Walk on Mars |
Alex Wood began fundraising when he was four years old. He sold lemonade and cookies to raise money for a school in Haiti. Later, Alex sent 15 bags of food he collected from his neighbors to a food store near his home which asked for donations(捐赠).
Alex wanted to help more people. He decided to donate to Heifer International, an organization that gives farm animals and farm training to poor people around the world. His goal: $5,000 for a “gift ark”. That amount would mean that 15 pairs of animals would be given to people in need. Those families would agree to give one of their animals’ young to other needy families.
Alex decided that baking was the best way to raise money. He started a business, named it Clean Hands Bakery, and now sells his baked goods year round. In his family’s kitchen, he created all kinds of cookies and cakes. He says his top sellers are lemon pound cakes and chocolate cupcakes. Alex likes the baking as much as the fundraising. “I like it that you can take so many ingredients(原料) that don’t taste good on their own and come up with something amazing,” he says.
In September 2011, Alex reached his goal of $5,000 and bought a gift ark. “I feel absolutely overjoyed that I got to my goal,” he says. “I can’t help everybody by myself, but I can do my part, which I hope will inspire other people to do their part, too.” One of the people Alex has already inspired is his younger brother. “He had people donate to me, instead of giving him a birthday present.” Alex explains. “In the end he donated $200 toward my goal.”
So now that he’s met his goal of a gift ark, will Alex keep baking and fundraising? He says yes. He wants to end world hunger, one cupcake at a time.What did Alex Wood donate to Heifer International?
| A．$5.000 in cash | B．Farm animals |
| C．A gift ark | D．Lemon Hands Bakery |
According to the passage, Clean Hands Bakery ______.
| A．was set up in September 2011 |
| B．uses many unusual ingredients |
| C．belongs to Heifer International |
| D．sells food cooked by Alex himself |
What’s Alex’ younger brother’s attitude towards his fundraising idea?
| A．Doubtful | B．Curious | C．Supportive | D．Uncaring |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A charity helping the poor. |
| B．Feeding the world by baking. |
| C．The best way to raise money. |
| D．Cooking with different ingredients. |
The first visit to a foreign country that I can remember was when I was about seven years old. We live about 5 miles away from the Canadian border(边界). My family and I went to Parc Safari, Quebec, a wonderful place that has animals and rides. We drove down a nice long road. My sister and I sat in the back of the car, and it was a hatchback(有仓门式后背的汽车) so we opened it up. I remember feeding the animals snacks we had bought for ourselves.
The time we went we were told there would not be monkeys because they had escaped and had not been found. I remember thinking to myself, how cool it would be to see a monkey in our backyard.
Even though the monkeys were not there it was still so much fun. When we reached the area that had camels, giraffes and other animals, I remember one of the camels reached into the car to get our snacks. However, we were a little gross out because the camels seemed to froth(吐白沫) at the mouth and we had camel slobber(口水) all over the car and us.
It was one of the best family vacations that I can remember. It was not too far from home, it was in a different country and it was with my family. I cannot remember if we went on the rides or not but seeing many animals was a great time. Now I am grown up and have a son, and I am planning to go there again. He is 7 years old and I think he is at a great age to enjoy a trip like this. I am sure it has changed a lot over the years but it will still be a great family trip.Where did the author live when he was 7 years old?
| A．In Canada | B．Near the Canadian border |
| C．In the central US | D．In Parc Safari |
We fed the animals something _____.
| A．offered by people living there |
| B．we bought for them |
| C．we prepared for ourselves |
| D．cooked by my sister |
what does the underlined part “gross out” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
| A．surprised | B．excited |
| C．tired | D．uncomfortable |
What does the author intend to do?
| A．To revisit the place he went to at seven. |
| B．To take his 7-year-old son to a zoo. |
| C．To have a family trip in his own country. |
| D．To have a holiday abroad with his parents. |
（共5小题，每小题3分，满分15分）
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项是多余选项。
You may know the benefits of laughter on the mind and spirit. __1__. Norman Cousins used to say that laughter is so beneficial for your body that is like “inner jogging”.
Mayo Clinic Health Letter reports that laughter aids breathing by increasing your breathing rate. It can even help clear mucus (粘液) from your lungs. __2__. It increases circulation and improves the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues throughout your body. __3__. It helps fight off colds, flu etc. by increasing the concentration of immunoglobulin A (免疫球蛋白A) in your saliva (唾液). And it may help control pain by raising the levels of certain brain chemicals.
Furthermore, it is a natural stress reliever. Have you ever laughter so hard that you doubled over, feel off your chair, spit out your food? __4__. The good news is that you are allowed more than 15 laughs a day! Go ahead and double the dose and make it 30 times today. (You may begin to notice immediate improvement in your relationships!) Then double it again! __5__. People will enjoy being around you as well.
Laughter, it's the best medicine.
A. Laughter is also good for your heart.
B. A good laugh helps you build up you body to protect against diseases.
C. However, it is confusing why laughter makes people so good.
D. However, are you aware of how much a good laugh can help you physically?
E. A good laugh relieves physical tension and stress.
F. You cannot maintain muscle tension when you are laughing!
G. You are likely to feel better and deal with problems more effectively.
The US space agency NASA is looking for people to go to Mars, and stay there. This attractive career is for people who want a huge change of scenery and planet. The project is called the Hundred Years Starship, which aims to colonize (开拓殖民地) other lands such as the red planet Mars.
Settlers would travel to the red planet and live there forever. NASA says it would be too expensive to bring humans back to Earth. The space agency can afford, however, to send supplies to the astronaut pioneers from Earth. Astronauts would be landed on the planet's surface and would never be able to return home due to the cost.
NASA has started the project with $1.6 million, and hopes to attract investment from space-living billionaires. Google co-founder Larry Page told NASA he would be interested if the cost of a one-way ticket can go down from $10 billion to $2 billion.
The journey to Mars could take 4 months. Setting on the red planet would be extremely dangerous, especially given the freezing temperatures there. The thin atmosphere would be another problem as it is mostly carbon dioxide, so oxygen supplies are a must. A director in NASA said that he believed the trip might start with visiting Mars's moons first. He claimed that humans could be on Mars's moons by 2030.
Many scientists think colonizing space is absolutely necessary. Steven Hawking believes we must move to other planets to survive as a species. He said: “Once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.” Scientists Dirk' Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies also call it a “desirable goal”, though there surely are huge risks to explore new lands.Which of the following is TRUE about the Hundred Years Starship?
| A．It has cost NASA around $10 billion. |
| B．It is expected to be conducted on Mars in 2030. |
| C．It aims to explore new lands in the universe. |
| D．It is a project first raise by Steven Hawking. |
We can infer from the passage that Google co-founder Larry Page _______.
| A．used to be an astronaut | B．is no longer rich now |
| C．is a fan of space travel | D．is a generous man |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．One-way trip to Mars |
| B．Mars's another moon is found. |
| C．Human landing on Mars. |
| D．NASA's first cooperation with Google. |
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, becoming a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held, with Super Bowl I being the 1966 season championship game, when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Super Bowl XLVI (46) was played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, on February 5, 2012, to determine the champion of the 2011 season; the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots.
The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in an AFL--NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was appointed as a “conference”, and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the National Football Conference (NFC) leads the series with 25 wins to 21 wins for the American Football Conference (AFC).
The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered to be an existing American national holiday, is called “Super Bowl Sunday”, though it is not determined by the government. It is the second—largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most watched American television broadcast of the year.
Because of its high viewership, commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast is the most expensive of the year. Due to the high cost of investing in advertising on the Super Bowl, companies regularly develop their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event. In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and halftime ceremonies because of the exposure’s attracting more fans.What does the Super Bowl use to show each game?
| A．The year when the game is held. |
| B．English letters. |
| C．Roman numerals |
| D．Arabic numerals |
What does the underlined word “merger” in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．Union. | B．Appearance. |
| C．Division. | D．Competition. |
According to the third paragraph, we can know that_______.
| A．the Super Bowl Sunday is an official national holiday |
| B．the Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day for U.S. food consumption |
| C．the Super Bowl has owned the biggest TV audience among all games |
| D．Thanksgiving Day is the second--largest day for U.S. food consumption |
We can infer from the last paragraph that________.
| A．singers and musicians perform during the event’s ceremonies to get more attention |
| B．people seldom discuss the broadcast’s commercials |
| C．commercial companies make much money by broadcasting advertisements |
| D．commercial companies are not interested in the Super Bowl |