US researchers have found traces of an anc
ient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.
The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the U
niversity of Colorado.
“This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,”said Boulder’ s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
“The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”
Analysi
s of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).
“Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.
Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.
The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.
| A．80 square miles | B．1,500 square miles |
C．3.4 billion square miles |
D．300 million square miles |
When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ____.
| A．hot and wet | B．wet and warm | C．cold and dry | D．cold and wet |
Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?
A．Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of marker s of life. |
| B．Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there. |
| C．Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars. |
| D．Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era. |
| B．The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years. |
| C．The discovery can’ t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life. |
| D．The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now. |
In most of the time, I am devoted to my research in the lab with my friend Dave, who loves traveling very much. To make our life colorful and relax ourselves, in July, my friend and I are taking a camping trip. We will travel for four weeks and will tour the United States and part of Canada. We have decided to camp because it does not cost as much as vacationing (度假) in hotels.
We have to plan very carefully in advance. First, the car we are going to drive is very small, so we have decided to take only one small suitcase each and as few camping things as possible. We will take some medicine with us to prevent insects (昆虫) from hurting us, and also food for picnics. Second, there is a lot to see in the United States and Canada, so we have to decide on the direction (方向) we want to drive.
The date we are leaving is July 2, from which day we will have two months off. We want to see and do many things on our camping tour. We want to climb in the mountains, visit famous caves, and swim in cool mountain rivers. We want to visit many cities and talk to many people, which I am sure can enrich our experience greatly. We also want to find a hotel room if it rains at night. We expect to have an exciting trip. The two friends are going to take a camping trip ________.
| A．if they have four weeks’ time off | B．though it will be a long trip |
| C．so that they can save money | D．because it will be warm enough in July |
Which of the following statements is possibly true?
| A．They are now on the trip | B．They are going to make a tour all over the U.S and Canada. |
| C．They are quite rich. | D．July is drawing near. |
We learn from the second paragraph that ________.
| A．they must be ill. | B．they will bring a lot in the car. |
| C．they must have studied the map carefully. | D．they must have been hurt by insects. |
It is quite clear that ________.
| A．there will be no insects at all. | B．they are sure to take some medicine on the trip. |
| C．the two friends will take turns to drive. | D．the two friends will share a suitcase. |
If they are caught in the rain , they will ________.
| A．talk to their families while it rains. | B．ask others for help. |
| C．have to stop climbing. | D．have to stay in a hotel for the night. |
Jack was so excited about getting a new backpack because his old one had a broken zipper(拉链) and a hole in the bottom.
Jack’s elder brother took him to buy a new backpack. There were so many cool ones. How would he ever decide? He saw blue ones—his favorite color. He saw ones with his favorite action hero on the front. And then Jack saw a backpack with a black square design. When he opened it, he saw it had a hidden, secret small bag. He liked it, which made it different from others.
“This is the one,” he said, then carried it to the check-out counter.
That evening, Jack carefully filled his new backpack with his school things. He put his special pen in the secret small bag. The next day in English class, Mr. Mack said, “Let’s write an essay about earthquakes!” Jack looked for his pen in his backpack, but he couldn’t find it! He rummaged through his desk and his pockets, but no pen.
Jack asked if anyone had seen his pen, but no one had. Mr. Mack lent him a pencil, but Jack was feeling anxious because he lost his pen. When he got home, Jack told his brother he couldn’t find his favorite pen. His brother said, “You must have put it in that secret small bag.”
Jack laughed and said, “That small bag was so secret that I forgot all about it.”The backpack that Jack bought is__________.
| A．a blue one. | B．one with a black square design. |
| C．one with an action hero. | D．a small one. |
Jack decided to buy that backpack because __________.
| A．it had his favorite color | B．he liked the black square design |
| C．the secret small bag made it special | D．his brother suggested he get that one |
The underlined word “rummaged” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”.
| A．forgot to look at | B．searched really well | C．turned sideways | D．threw away |
When Jack realized what he had done, he thought it was ________.
| A．funny | B．annoying | C．surprising | D．cool |
This text mainly tells us ________.
| A．a story of Jack’s old backpack | B．that Jack was studying earthquakes |
| C．that Jack was old enough to do shopping | D．a story of Jack’s pen and new backpack |
七选五：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。选项中有两项为多余选项。（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
A man came home from work late, tired and found his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”“Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man. “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. Then he looked up and said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10?” The father was angry, “If the only reason you asked for that is to borrow some money to buy a silly toy, then you should go to bed.”
After about an hour or so, the man calmed down, and started to think. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. “Are you asleep, son?” He opened the door and as
ked. “No, Daddy,” replied the boy. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was 
too hard on you just now.” said the man, “Here’s the $10 you asked for.” “Oh, thank you, Daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some small change.
“Why do you want more money if you have already had some?” the father asked angrily.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do.” The little boy replied, “Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home earlier tomorrow, I would like to have dinner with you.”
| A．Silently the little boy returned the money to his father with tears. |
| B．The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. |
| C．“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?” |
| D．“Daddy, how much do you spend a day?” |
E. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room.
F. The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
G. The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
A couple from Miami, Bill and Simone Butler, spent sixty –six days in a life-raft (救生艇) in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.
Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales (鲸鱼). “They started to hit the side of the boat,” said Bill, “and then suddenly we heard water.” Two minutes later, the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.
For twenty days they had tins of food, biscuits, and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water— two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw (生的). Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks (鲨鱼) came to feed, and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands.”
About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea their life-raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn’t stand up. So the captain carr
ied them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over. Bill and Simone were traveling ______ when they met some whales.
| A．in a life-raft | B．in Miami | C．in Simony | D．in Panama |
During their days at sea, ______ saved their lives.
A．tins of food and bottles of water |
B．a fishing-line and a machine |
| C．whales and sharks | D．Twenty passing ships |
After their boat sank, the couple ______.
| A．jumped into the life-raft | B．heard water |
| C．watched the boat go under water | D．stayed in the life-raft |
You have the ability to decide whether you are happy or not. Happiness is a choice.
You can’t depend on someone else to make you happy. That is a lesson I learned early in my marriage. I realized that I couldn’t rely on my husband as my source of happiness. I learned that my happiness depended on myself and not my husband’s actions. I learned that you have to choose to be happy.
You can choose your emotions. True happiness comes from within, and it can’t be forced by outside force. So how do you choose happiness? The same way, you choose to smile or choose to wear a certain outfit（一套衣服）. You choose it because that’s what you want to experience in you life.
You want to buy a new pair of shoes so you choose a pair that you like and feels good. You wouldn’t buy a pair of shoes that you don’t like or that doesn’t fit well, right? So why do we keep choosing emotions and feelings that don’t make us feel good?
Choosing to be happy after you realize your anger has shown up (or even choosing to be calm) can be beneficial. We choose our feelings; no one else can do that for us. If we let others get to us, influence our 
emotions — we are giving them power over us. When others cause us anger or pain, we are giving them our power.
We need to keep our feelings in check and not to react（反应） automatically to what is thrown at us. We need to think our actions out instead of just reacting to what someone says or does.
Remember that we can always choose happiness. At first it will be difficult to just switch（使转变）your thoughts and feelings from anger, self-doubt, or fear to joy and happiness. But it is only a thought away. Don’t dwell on（细想） what happens to you unnecessarily but realize what is causing you to feel that way. Realize that thoughts, feelings and emotions can change. Then move on and choose to be happy. What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Pretend to Be Happy |
| B．Choose Your Emotions |
| C．Choose to Be Happy |
D．Find Happ iness |
The lesson the writer learned in her marriage is .
| A．one can’t depend on someone else to make himself or herself happy |
| B．balancing the relationship between husband and wife is an art |
| C．she can depend on her husband to find happiness |
| D．happiness can be influenced by outside force |
Why did the writer mention buying shoes?
| A．To offer advice on how to choose comfortable shoes. |
| B．To use it as an example to illustrate（阐述）her point of view. |
| C．To compare choosing shoes and choosing an outfit. |
| D．To help move to the next paragraph easily. |
The writer suggests that we should .
| A．let others control our feelings |
| B．respond immediately to others’ words |
| C．hold back our feelings properly |
| D．pay more attention to words than actions |
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