After spending years searching for a planet with life, scientists may have found

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After spending years searching for a planet with life, scientists may have found one. In September 2010, a team of US scientists discovered an Earth-sized planet called Gliese 581g. It has a surface temperature neither too hot nor too cold for liquid（液态）water. Scientists think there is a chance that the planet could have life.
The planet Gliese 581g goes around a star called Gliese 581, which is about 20 light-years from Earth. That is about 194 trillion（万亿）kilometres －500 million times farther away from us than the moon.
A spacecraft traveling at a one-tenth of the speed of light would reach Gliese 581g within about 220 years. A human can’t live that long, but robotic explorers could make the job easier. However, our fastest spacecraft don’t come anywhere near that one-tenth light-speed mark.
At present, scientists don’t know what the surface might be like on Gliese 581g. What they know is that the planet is at the sight distance from its star to have liquid water. It’s also at the right distance to have an atmosphere that could protect the water if it is on the surface.
Although spacecraft won’t be getting there anytime soon, one way to look for life on Gliese 581g is to turn our radio telescopes（望远镜）towards the planet and search for radiation（放射）. By studying the radiation, scientists would find out about the chemicals（化学物质）around the planet and discover it Gliese 581g has an atmosphere. If it has one, studying the atmosphere would give us a good idea if the planet has life or not. But it’ll probably be many years before we can do this properly.
People have been arguing about whether there is alien life on Gliese 581g. Any discussion about alien life is just guessing at this point, according to its discoverers.
小题1: What did scientists find in September 2010?

A．A planet with water.	B．A planet similar to the earth.
C．A planet without life.	D．A planet near the earth.

小题2:According to the article, Gliese 581g ________.

A．is at the right distance from its star	B．moves around the earth
C．is as far away from us as the moon	D．can be reached in about 220 years

小题3: Paragraph 5 is mainly about ______.

A．the possibility of living on Gliese 581g

B．the kinds of chemicals around Gliese 581g

C．the way of looking for life on Gliese 581g

D．the aim of studying the radiation on Gliese 581g

小题4:Which of the following is the best title for the passage above?

A．Gliese 581g, a Likely Living Planet	B．Gliese 581, a Likely Living Planet
C．Gliese 581g and Its Star	D．Gliese 581g and Radiation

答案

小题1:A
小题1:A
小题1:C
小题1:A

解析

【主旨大意】科学家在2010年9月发现了一个带有生命迹象的球体，然后介绍了它与地球的距离以及寻找生命的方法。
小题1:细节理解。第一段第一句：科学家发现了一颗存在生命的行星。
小题1:细节考查。从第四段可知：the planet is at the right distance from its star.
小题1:整体理解。本段主要介绍寻找Gliese 581g上面生命的方法。
小题1:整体理解。Gliese 581g是一个充满生命的球体。

举一反三

In learning English，one should first pay attention to listening and speaking．It is the groundwork of reading and writing．You’d better 31 your best to speak while you

do much listening．Don’t be 32 of making mistakes．But be careful not to let them stop you from improving your 33 ．While you are doing this，a good 34 is to write-keep a diary，write notes or letters．Then if you can，ask some others to go through 35 you have written and tell you where it is wrong．Many mistakes in your speaking will be 36 found when you write．Through correcting mistakes，you can do better in learning English．
If you are slow in speaking，don’t 37 about it．One of the helpful ways is reading，either aloud or to yourself．The important thing is to choose 38 interesting to read． It mustn’t be too difficult for you．When you are reading 39 this way，don’t stop to 40 the new words if you can guess their meanings when they have nothing to do with the sentences．You can do that some other time．

小题1:

A．have

B．send

C．make

D．try

小题2:

A．sure

B．afraid

C．proud

D．tired

小题3:

A．English

B．Chinese

C．Japanese

D．French

小题4:

A．start

B．idea

C．way

D．manner

小题5:

A．how

B．when

C．why

D．what

小题6:

A．happily

B．easily

C．really

D．slowly

小题7:

A．talk

B．fear

C．worry

D．hurry

小题8:

A．something

B．everything

C．anything

D．nothing

小题9:

A．by

B．on

C．at

D．in

小题10:

A．look at

B．look for

C．look up

D．look over

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A mother planted many kinds of vegetables in her garden. One day, she said to her 31________, “Betty, come here. Look at all these little yellow marks on

the 32________ of the cabbages. They are eggs of a

kind of insect(虫子). They are very beautiful but very bad for cabbages. This afternoon you must 33________ all the eggs on the leaves and kill them. In this way, you will help us have 34________, greener and bigger cabbages.”
Betty didn’t think she could do it 35________ and in the end she forgot all about it. The mother fell ill for a few days and 36________ work in her garden. When she was well, she took Betty with her to the garden to see the cabbages. To 37________ surprise, the insects had eaten every leaf. When Betty saw this, she began to 38________. Then her mother said to her, “We should never put off what we have to do today till 39________. And you must learn to deal with the bad things while they are small, 40________ it will turn into a big problem.
小题1: A son B. mother   C daughter
小题2:A tress   B. leaves   C. grass
小题3: A find   B. eat   C. fly
小题4: A worse   B better   C thinner
小题5:A at most   B at last   C at once
小题6:A must   B couldn’t   C need
小题7:A my   B their   C his
小题8: A cry   B wait   C run
小题9:A yesterday   B today   C tomorrow
小题10:A. but      B. or     C. and

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When Oakland High School in California moved into a new building, the students and teachers noticed a strong smell. Then almost half of the students began to have a headache and a cough. Experts (专家) came to find the cause of the sickness. Finally, they discovered that the air in the building was not safe to breathe. They were surprised to find out that the desks and chairs in the school library caused the trouble. These desks and chairs were made of particleboards(合成板). This kind of board is cheap. It is made of very small pieces of wood held together with a chemical (化学物质). This is just one example of a modern problem that is most common in cities—indoor air pollution(污染).
People have worried about air pollution for many years, and the government has spent lots of money trying to clean up the air of big cities. But now we found that we are still breathing unhealthy air. A study shows: Indoor air pollution is almost two to five time(倍) worse than outside pollution. So remember to open the windows and don’t stay too long in modern buildings with windows closed.
小题1:Many students and teachers _________ after they moved into the new building.
A were very happy and excited   B. didn’t feel well    C. felt tired because of hard work
小题2:The experts came to Oakland High School for _________.
A staying with the sick students and teachers
B. taking away the desks and chairs
C. finding the cause of the illness
小题3: Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
A. The indoor air pollution is common in cities.
B. We needn’t worry about the outside pollution.
C. The air in this school library was not safe to breathe.
小题4:A study shows that indoor air pollution is _________.
A even worse than the outside pollution   B. not so bad as outside pollution
C. the only problem to worry about
小题5: What’s the main idea of the passage?
A Never move into a new building   B. We shouldn’t buy cheap desks and chairs
C. The indoor air pollution is a big and common problem.

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It was the last day of final examinations at a large college. On the steps of one building, a group of engineering students were discussing the exam that was ahout to begin. On their faces was confidence. This was their last exam before they graduated(毕业)and found jobs.
Some talked of jobs they already had，others of jobs they would get. With four years of college study，they felt ready and able to conquer(征服)the world.
The coming exam，they knew，would be easy. The professor(教授)had said they could bring any books or notes they wanted，but they couldn’t talk to each other during the test.
They walked into the classroom. The professor passed out the papers. The students’ smiles became wide as they saw that there were only five essay-type questions.
Three

hours passed and the exam came to an end. Then the professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked confident. They seemed worried. No one spoke as the professor faced the class with the papers in her hand.
She looked at all the worried faces in front of her, and then asked，“How many students completed all five questions?”
Not a hand was put up.
‘‘How many of you answered four?” Still no hands.
“Three?Two?”The students moved restlessly in their seats.
“One，then. Certainly somebody finished one．”But the class stayed silent. The professor put down the papers.“That is just what I expected，”she said.
“I just wanted to make sure you realize that even though you have studied engineering for four years, there are still many things about the subject you don’t know. Instead of testing you on what you learned in this class, I’ve given you questions that skilled engineers face in the world outside the classroom. You can’t expect to be an expert(专家)on the day you graduate. You have to learn as you go.”
Then，smiling, she added，“You will all pass this course, but remember that your education has just begun.’’
小题1:What does the underlined word“restlessly”mean in the passage?

A．confidentIy

B．proudly

C．excitedly

D．nervously

小题2:Why did the professor design the final exam in such a way?

A．To make the students realize that they still had much to learn after graduation.

B．To find out whether the students could put what they had learned into practice.

C．To show that she had much more knowledge than her students in engineering.

D．To examine whether the students learned what they had been taught in her class.

小题3:What can be the best title of the passage?

A．A Playful Joke	B．A Lucky Chance
C．A Strange Professor	D．A Special Exam

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You are probably familiar with the saying：An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A recent research carried out by the Chinese University of Hong Kong may change the saying:
An apple a day may keep aging away.
The research chose fruit flies(果蝇), as they share many genes(基因)with humans. The fruit flies were either fed normally or had an apple extract(浓缩物) added to their diet.
It turned out that those fruit flies that were given apple extract lived about 55 days—five days longer than the flies that were normally fed. The research group also found it easier for the flies to walk，climb and move about as they aged.
According to the result, the researchers believed that the antioxidants(抗氧化剂) in the apple extract helped clean up dangerous chemicals(化学物质) that cause illnesses，as well as aging.
In another study，researchers examined diets of thousands of women. They discovered that those who regularly ate apples were 20 percent less likely to suffer heart illnesses and stroke.
The apples’ genetic code(遗传密码) was discovered recently. It allows scientists to develop nicer and healthier fruits. Researchers are already using the information to grow a kind of apples full of antioxidants that can keep eyes and joints healthy and protect humans against heart illnesses and cancer.
Apples that kill the desire(***) to eat could also be produced, with the first“extra-healthy’’apples on supermarket shelves within just four or five years.
T

he team that keeps studying apple DNA includes 100 scientists from five countries. Their research also suggests that around 65 million years ago, when dinosaurs began to die off the plant，which would finally become today’s apple tree, experienced a great genetic change. The number of many of its genes doubled. The extra genes allowed the apple to get used to worse conditions and go through a different development from peaches，strawberries and other related fruits.
小题1:Why were fruit flies used for the research?

A．Because they have a similar diet to humans.

B．Because they have a history as long as apples.

C．Because they share a lot of genes with humans.

D．Because they feed on nothing but apple extract.

小题2:What result did the researchers find out?

A．Apples produce chemicals that can change hu

man genes.

B．Apples have antioxidants that kill chemicals that cause aging.

C．Apples are rich in vitamins that are needed in humans’bodies.

D．Apples produce chemicals that make apples taste more delicious.

小题3:What happened to apples around 65 million years ago according to the research?

A．Their genes stopped their development as the environment got worse.

B．Their genes became twice in number but they finally died off like dinosaurs.

C．They experienced a great genetic change making them used to worse conditions.

D．They went through a similar development to peaches, strawberries and other related fruits.

小题4:What can we infer(推断)from the passage?

A．Eating apples may bring us more advantages than we might believe before.

B．People who have the habit of eating apples don’t need to see a doctor.

C．Apples that kill the desire to eat are already available in supermarkets now.

D．People will eat apples instead of peaches and strawberries from now on.

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