Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have reported evidence that Mars was warmer and wetter long ago than it is today. The Caltech scientists say they have directly established the temperature of Mars four billion years ago. At least, they established the surface temperature on part of the planet at that time. The researchers say it is the first such evidence to be discovered and presented.
The Caltech scientists say carbonate（碳酸盐）minerals formed on Mars at about eighteen degrees Celsius. They reached the finding after studying a meteorite（陨石）that had its beginnings near the Martian surface.
Today, the average temperature on Mars is sixty-three degrees below zero Celsius.
The finding was reported on the website of the National Academy of Sciences. Caltech Assistant Professor Woody Fischer helped to prepare the report. He says eighteen degrees Celsius is not especially cold or hot. He says this makes the finding extremely interesting. Knowing the temperature can give scientists an idea of the climate on Mars long ago. It can also help them decide whether the planet had liquid water. Spacecraft orbiting Mars have shown what appear to be rivers, lakebeds and mineral deposits. These pictures suggest that, at one time, water did flow there. Mars Rover vehicles and other spacecraft have proved the information.
The meteorite the scientists examined is one of the oldest known rocks in the world. It is called the Allan Hills meteorite. Its name came from the place in Antarctica where it was found in 1984. The meteorite is believed to have blown loose from the Mars' surface when another space rock struck its "home."The underlined word “establish” in Paragraph 1 probably means “___________”.
| A．to set up |
| B．to make people accept a belief |
| C．to discover or prove |
| D．to start having a relationship with others |
How did the scientists reach the finding?
| A．By studying Allan Hills meteorite. |
| B．By using spacecraft orbiting Mars. |
| C．By studying minerals gathered on Mars. |
| D．By studying a meteorite on the Martian surface. |
According to the fourth paragraph, what have spacecraft orbiting Mars done?
| A．Measuring the temperature of Mars. |
| B．Taking photos of the surface of Mars. |
| C．Finding that there is water flowing on Mars. |
| D．Proving where human beings will probably land on Mars. |
Where can we most probably read this passage?
| A．In a biography of scientists. | B．In a geography magazine. |
| C．In an environment report. | D．In a science report. |
In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.
First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For then hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.
I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time—two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $ 100 a week.
But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.
I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again.
49. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time?
A. To pay for his schooling.
B. To save for his future.
C. To support his family
D. To gain some experience
50. The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT ______.
A. loading boxes in the freezing cold B. having limited time for breaks
C. working and studying at the same time D. getting no pay for lunch time
51. What is the subject discussed in the text?
A. The writer’s unhappy school life. B. The writer’s eagerness to earn money.
C. The writer’s experience to earn money. D. The writer’s hard work in an apple plant.
52. How is the text organized?
A. Topic—Argument—Explanation
B. Opinion—Discussion—Description
C. Main idea—Comparison—Supporting examples
D. Introduction—Supporting examples—Conclusion
PEOPLE
NOBLE SMUGGLER
This Thursday, Irena Sendler will be honoured for her work as a smuggler（偷运者）. During World WarⅡ, the Polish social worker smuggled nearly2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto（聚居区）. She gave them new identities, found them safe places with good-hearted Christians, and kept the children’s real names buried in jars in her neighbours’ gardens.（The play, Life in a Jar, based on her story, is being performed.）At 93, Sendler lives in a Warsaw nursing home and is too weak to travel to Washington D.C., to receive the 2003 Jan Karski Award for Valorand Compassion from the American Center of Polish Culture. One of the children she saved will accept the award for her.
You risked your life to save the children.
I was taught by my father that when someone is drowning, you don’t ask if they can swim，you just jump in and help. During the war, everyone was drowning, but mostly the Jewish children.
How did you persuade parents to give up their children？
I had to answer honestly that I didn’t even know if we would get past the guards.
What was the most frightening moment？
When I saw a priest（牧师）in charge of an orphan age for Jewish children in the ghetto walk with them out to be killed. The children were in then best Sunday suits. The priest was killed with them.
How did you get the children to be have as you smuggled them out？
I told the older children to act as if they were sick and sometimes gave the younger ones a sleeping pill. They were told to remember their new names. I also told the children to tell guards they had only been visiting a servant in the ghetto and were going back to their real homes outside.
Did you tell your own two children what you did？
I never told them. Only when my daughter went to Israel did she learn all about me. I thought it was only normal to do so. And it was a very painful subject. It was always on my mind that I couldn’t do more.
——Samantha Levine
1. We can learn from the passage that Irena Sendler____.
A. will go to Washington to accept the award with her daughter
B. was caught a few times while she was rescuing the Jewish children
C. told those parents that their children’s lives would be guaranteed
D. saved thousands of Jewish children at the risk of her ownlife
2. The expression “everyone was drowning” can best be replaced by“______”.
A. everyone was involved in the war
B. all the people were drowned
C. people were facing danger and death
D. Jewish children were being killed
3. Which of the following could NOT be expected when Sendler was smuggling the Jewish children？
A. Some children were told to pretend to be sick in front of the guards.
B. Some children pretended to be returning home after visiting servants in the ghetto.
C. The children were asked to remember and use new names instead of real ones.
D. The children pretended to be brothers and sisters from one big family.
4. Sendler didn’t tell her own children what she did in the war because ______.
A. she thought it was the most frightening experience
B. the topic was too painful and heart-breaking to mention
C. it was already recorded and made known to the public
D. she planned to bury the secret in her heart until her death
How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments－mostly for entertainment purposes－is fair and respectful?
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. How ever, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats (栖息地). Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural bones.
Zoos claim (声称) to educate people and save endangered species(物种), but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range(分布区). The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding (圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted n their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.
64. How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos?
A. Dangerous. B. Unhappy. C. Natural. D. Easy.
65. In the state of zoochosis, animals _________.
A. remain in cages B. behave strangely
C. attack other animals D. enjoy moving around
66. What does the author try to argue n the passage?
A. Zoos are not worth the public support.
B. Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals.
C. Zoos should treat animals as human beings.
D. Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment.
67. The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _____.
A. pointing out the faults in what zoos do
B. using evidence he has collected at zoos
C. questioning the way animals are protected
D. discussing the advantages of natural habitats
68. Although he argues against zoos, the author would still agree that _______.
A. zoos have to keep animals in small cages
B. most animals in zoos are endangered species
C. some endangered animals are reproduced in zoos
D. it’s acceptable to keep animals away from their habitats
If you walk slowly through downtown Helsinki（赫尔辛基）during the day, taking in the splendid 19th century buildings, white boats and noise of passing trams（有轨电车）, you will start to understand why it is called a city of two colors: white and blue.
The sea is always present in Helsinki. When you take a walk over the great open space of the central square, you will hear seabirds screaming. When you take the tram, suddenly and unexpectedly, you are faced with a calm, shining blue sea. You may notice that people in Helsinki do not rush about as in other cities. Instead, they walk along the roads, politely letting other people by.
A usual way to see Helsinki for the first time is to start out by the boats. You will walk by the elderly women selling fish and vegetables in the market square and find yourself in front of a beautiful park. You may enjoy a pleasant walk in the park for a few hours and then take the tram. Trams are the perfect way to get around in Helsinki. Watching the old houses, parks, theatres, churches, shops, restaurants and people in the streets, you may have a slightly sad film feeling to it.
The pale summer nights are another wonder in the city. Following the waterfront（滨水区）of the city after sunset, you couldn’t help stopping and listening to the sweet silence, interrupted only by the screaming seabirds and leaving fishing boats.
However, in some way, Helsinki is also the most modern city in northern Europe. You will surely want to visit the white Glass Palace, the modern art museum, and all those extremely popular cafes and design stores.
68．Helsinki is called a city of two colors mainly because of the colors of its ________.
A．19th century buildings, boats and parks
B．19th century buildings, boats and seabirds
C．old houses, parks and trams
D．old buildings, boats and the sea
69．The best way to see most of Helsinki is to go ________.
A．by boat B．by bus C．by tram D．on foot
70．The 19th century buildings, the White Glass Palace, popular cafes and design shops in Helsinki all show that Helsinki is _________.
A．both splendid and traditional B．both quiet and noisy
C．both historical and modern D．both old and new
71．This passage is most likely to be found in _________.
A．a story-book B．a geography textbook
C．a research report D．a travel magazine
The Home of My People
When Lewis and Clark stepped onto the Weippe Prairie in present-day Idaho in September 1805, they met the Nez Perce Indians. In the following years, the white explorers（探险者）began to fight with the Indians for their land. Some Nez Perce chiefs signed agreements with the U.S. government, selling part of their lands. But the government always broke those agreements and demanded more land.
Other chiefs refused to go along with the government’s plans. The most famous was Chief Joseph, whose people lived in the Wallowa Valley（present-day Oregon）.
“In order to have all people understand how much land we owned,” he once explained, “my father planted poles around it and said: ‘Inside is the home of my people…It circled around the graves（坟墓）of our fathers, and we will never give up these graves to any man.’”
But in 1874, the U.S. government declared the valley open for white settlement and ordered the Nez Perce onto a reservation（保留地）. Seeing that resistance was useless, Chief Joseph agreed to move.
Later fighting broke out between the Nez Perce and U.S. soldiers. Chief Joseph tried to lead his people to Canada, winning several battles against the soldiers during their flight. But finally, he was forced to give in.
56. Which historic site （on the map）lies in the south of today’s Nez Perce Reservation?
A. Buffalo Eddy. B. Dug Bar.
C. Joseph Canyon Viewpoint. D. Chief Looking Glass Camp.
57. What can we learn about the Nez Perce lands from the map?
A. They were in the state of Oregon.
B. They have become a historic site.
C. They have become much smaller.
D. They were limited to the Wallowa Valley.
58. From Paragraph 3, we know that the Indians wanted to ______.
A. show off their land B. keep their land
C. turn their place into a graveyard D. build their homes around the poles
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